May-June 2016 Newsletter

“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence”

SPIRIT WEEK
Spirit Week starts Monday, June 20th at 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. and will run through Friday the 25th. Everyone will be in class together. Because of space class may move from the dojo to Carey Park. It is important that everyone start drinking plenty of water and bring water with you to every class. On Saturday we will have our annual karate school picnic for students and their immediate family. We ask that every family bring a side dish. Like every year the school will be closed the week after Spirit Week. This year we will be at the Fair Grounds. There will be more information as the date draws closer.

SUMMER HOURS FOR ADULT CLASSES
This year Summer Hours will start a month later starting July 5th through August 31st.
Monday 
6:30 – 7:30 Youth Intermediate 6 – 12
7:30 – 8:30 Adult Novice 13 & over
Tuesday
5:30 – 6:15 Youth Novice 6 – 12
 6:30 – 8:00 Adult Open 13 & over
Wednesday
5:30 – 6:30 Weapons Purple belt & over
6:30 – 7:30 Youth Intermediate 6 – 12
Thursday
5:30 – 6:15 Youth Novice 6 – 12
6:30 – 8:00 Adult Open 13 & over

TOURNAMENTS
SAM’S SUMMER KICK OFF 
TBA
CONTACT: Sam or Jessica Price 316-669-9051

GREAT PLAINS CHALLENGE 
Saturday, June 25th, 2016
Kansas State University
2310 Centennial Drive
Salina, Kansas
CONTACT: Roy Miller 785-493-0257

KANSAS STATE SUNFLOWER GAMES 
Saturday, July 9th, 2016
Christ The King Church
SW 25th and Wanamaker
Topeka, Kansas
CONTACT: Tony Mielenz, 785-554-4220, anthonymielenz@yahoo.com 

KANSAS SUNFLOWER STATE GAMES
The Sunflower State Games is a 501(c) (3) organization dedicated to providing a forum that initiates and encourages camaraderie between different ages, socioeconomic and cultural groups through athletic competition. The event promotes the development of healthy lifestyles and physical fitness for the participants, their families and the communities where they live. The Sunflower State Games is the largest amateur multi sport festival in Kansas conducted annually three weekends in July. The martial arts games are tentatively the second weekend of July. This year we plan to have as many of our students attend as possible. Start warming up at local area tournaments not so we can all make the trip to Topeka.
Mr. Williams, Chief Instructor

COMPETITION FOR YOUTH IN THE MARTIAL ARTS
Competition can be a touchy subject sometimes when talking about kids. Whether it’s something like little league or kids martial arts many parents have a different view on the role of competition and when their kids should engage in it. It’s unfortunate that there have been situations in many youth sports that have given “competition” a bad connotation to it. It is very important for children to learn about competition in our martial arts classes. They have to learn how to be a good winner. They also have to learn how to deal with losing. There are many reasons but I think the main one is for a child to learn how much work goes into preparing and going to a tournament. It’s goal oriented in the short term, there’s a tournament, you need to prepare and the tournament will happen at a specified date and time. Some kids will love the whole experience and yet others may not like the experience, whether or not they win. The main reason youth competition is important for me is that we do not operate a “Sports Karate”, McDojo type facility. With bullying the way it is in our country martial arts classes need to take more of a serious turn. The down side to that is that there are times when classes are just boring because there is curriculum that must be taught and skill sets that must be achieved. Many of our kids cross train in other sports like football, baseball, soccer, volley ball and gymnastics. All of them said that it would not be fun to just practice those sports all of the time and not play against another team. The martial arts are no different. Children in the martial arts have a long journey because it is a life’s. There is no end of season. They need to compete in kata, weapons kata, team kata or sparring, any one or any combination. I was a child martial artist. A big part of my early journey was tournament competition. Had I not had the chance to test my skills in a safe controlled environment, I would probably have moved on to something else. It’s not about the winning or losing. It is about the experience.
Mr. Williams, Chief Instructor

TRAINING: TOURNAMENTS, STREET, THE DIFFERENCE?
Training is essential in any sports, activity, discipline, however, call it what you want. The Martial Arts students must be aware of some of the differences in their training routine with the understanding in the dojo one trains hard to defend themselves and/or others, get in condition, learn philosophy, and practice many techniques/routines. This is all good, outstanding, and great! However, the things a student learns, and execute in tournaments will not always work on the streets. Therefore, the student must know the difference in the point-fighting techniques, have different effects on the streets. The mentality of tournament preparation, and street preparation must always be on the mind of the student, and distinguish between tournament technique applications and street execution. In the event of the student’s main goal of being in the martial arts to only prepare for tournament execution, with the thought of not ever getting involved in a street situation (is something to avoid if possible) is admirable, however, not too practical, but admirable. The ‘street’ and “tournament” applications are very different. Student’s must keep this in the fore-front of their thinking. Will you know and do the difference?
H. James Young, 5th Dan

RANK ADVANCEMENT
The martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practices, which are practiced for a variety of reasons such as self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental, physical, and spiritual development. The term martial art has become heavily associated with the fighting arts of eastern Asia. The term martial arts are ultimately derived from Latin, and means “Arts of Mars,” where Mars is the Roman god of war. Some martial arts are considered ‘traditional’ and are tied to an ethnic, cultural or religious background, while others are modern systems developed either by a founder or an association. Various forms (kata) and sparring are commonly used during testing and tournaments. Some competitions pit practitioners of different disciplines against each other using a common set of rules. Rules for sparring vary between art and organization but can generally be divided into light-contact, medium-contact, and full-contact options, reflecting the amount of force that should be used on an opponent. The intent of competition is to serve as a pop quiz for the student as a way of testing skills or experimenting with their tools in a “controlled” environment. Testing or evaluation is important to martial art practitioners of many disciplines who wish to determine their progression or own level of skill in specific contexts. Students within individual martial art systems often undergo periodic testing and grading by their instructor in order to advance to a higher level of recognized achievement, such as a different belt color or title. In order for a student to advance he/she must set goals and reinforce learning through shake downs and competition. It is not about winning or losing in competition. It is about the experience and affirmation from testing your skills.
Thomas Williams, Chief Instructor with excerpts from Wikipedia

April 2016 Newsletter

“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence”

MR. WILLIAMS’ SURGICAL PROCEDURE
Mr. Williams underwent total hip replacement surgery on March 24th. Everything went well and he is at home resting. He contributes his injury to years of martial arts training, competing, being taken down and performing exhibitions on concrete and hard wood floors with no mats. Mr. Williams stated that he could only imagine what shape his joints would be in today if he had all the equipment and flooring that he has in his school now that was non-existent for him all those years ago. He will be out for several weeks while classes will be continued by his black belts. The aerobic kickboxing boot camp will also continue to meet on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon with Christiana Wise covering the class. He would like to thank you for all the prayers, visits and assistance from his family, friends and students.

WOMEN’S SELF DEFENSE
Every year in April, the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) helps lead communities throughout the country in their annual observances of National Crime Victims' Rights Week (NCVRW), which will be observed on April 10–16. This year's theme Serving Victims, Building Trust, Restoring Hope underscores the importance of early intervention and victim services in establishing trust with victims, which in turn begins to restore their hope for healing and recovery. In support of Crime Victims Week, American Karate will be hosting their first self defense workshop for women this year. This year’s workshop will be Saturday, April 16th from 9:30 am until 2:30 pm open to women and young ladies 13 and over. Visit with your friends and family. There will also be discussions on concealed carry and active shooter options.
-AKMS Defensive Tactics Team 

TOURNAMENTS
AMERICAN SPORT KARATE CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS
Saturday, March 5th, 2016 Lenexa, Kansas
Dylan Kiatoukaysy - 4th in Kata/Sparring (11 yrs old)
Brandon Kiatoukaysy - 4th in Kata/Sparring (10 yrs old)
Adam Kiatoukaysy - 3rd in Kata/Sparring (7yrs old first timer)
Andrew Kiatoukaysy - 2nd in Kata/Sparring (7yrs old first timer)

ST. JUDE BENEFIT TOURNAMENT RESULTS
Saturday, March 19, 2016 Topeka, Kansas
Chance Barr 7-8 Intermediate 1st Kata, 1st Weapons Kata, 1st Kumite
Jake Winters 7-8 Intermediate 2nd Kata, 2nd Kumite
Marcus Espinoza 7-8 Novice 2nd Kata, 2nd Kumite

DAVE ESTES KARATE TOURNAMENT RESULTS
Saturday, March 26th, 2016 El Dorado, Kansas
Cristine Warring Black Belt 2nd Kata, 1st Weapons Kata
Jake Winters 7-8 Intermediate 1st Kata, 4th Kumite
Dominic Rivera 7-8 Intermediate 4th Kata, 1st Kumite

MATT LEBEAU MEMORIAL KARATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Saturday, April 30th, 2016
Memorial Road Church of Christ
2221 East Memorial Road
Edmond, Oklahoma
CONTACT: Johnny Whatley 405-330-1996

SAM’S SUMMER KICK OFF
TBA
CONTACT: Sam or Jessica Price 316-669-9051

KANSAS STATE SUNFLOWER GAMES
Saturday, July 9th, 2016
Christ The King Church
SW 25th and Wanamaker
Topeka, Kansas
CONTACT: Tony Mielenz, 785-554-4220, anthonymielenz@yahoo.com 

JOURNALS FOR KARATE KIDS
Theoretically martial art training is the perfect activity/sport for kids with challenging behavior. For those of us that teach kids, it may be perfect for them but it is far from easy for us as instructors. If you believe everything you read in the forums and parenting magazines you’d think that simply enrolling a child in a martial art class is a miraculous remedy for their challenging behavior. I first started teaching kids about 27 years ago. Our school had grown to such an extent that we needed to add separate children’s classes. A small class of about 5 kids quickly grew to 20 and eventually 40 with different ages, different grades and only one instructor, me. Add to the mix at least one child with a diagnosed behavioral disorder and then on occasion those who because of the environment also exhibited challenging behavior. When teaching challenging kids it is best to remember that nothing is a quick fix. Most kids take a month or so to settle into regular classes. The more difficult kids about 6 months. Those with more entrenched problems can take up to 18 months, sometimes even longer. The fact is like any behavioral modification strategy, to get these kids engaged, keep them motivated and limit their disruptive behavior takes enormous amounts of support, planning, time and patience on the part of the instructor. This month we will be introducing journaling and some other physical activities to American Karate. Keeping a journal doesn't necessarily mean just writing about things that happened to you - that's more of a diary. Instead they can write about their thoughts and feelings, or work through a problem they may be having. Journaling for kids is a wonderful way to open up new horizons. A journal can be a friend, a confidant and a mentor. They can use them to be creative, find out more about themselves, develop intuition and solve problems. They can provide thoughts on kata, step sparring or other martial arts task. By getting thoughts out of their head and down on paper, they can gain insights about themselves that you and them otherwise never see.
-Tommy Williams, Chief Instructor

DAVE ESTES KARATE TOURNAMENT

Karate Tournament Results
Saturday, March 26th, 2016
El Dorado, Kansas

Cristine Warring Black Belt 2nd Kata, 1st Weapons Kata
Jake Winters 7-8 Intermediate 1st Kata, 4th Kumite
Dominic Rivera 7-8 Intermediate 4th Kata, 1st Kumite

ST. JUDE BENEFIT TOURNAMENT

Karate Tournament Results
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Topeka, Kansas

Chance Barr 7-8 Intermediate 1st Kata, 1st Weapons Kata, 1st Kumite
Jake Winters 7-8 Intermediate 2nd Kata, 2nd Kumite
Marcus Espinoza 7-8 Novice 2nd Kata, 2nd Kumite

AMERICAN SPORT KARATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Karate Tournament Results
Saturday, March 5th, 2016
Lenexa, Kansas

Dylan Kiatoukaysy - 4th in Kata/Sparring (11 yrs old)
Brandon Kiatoukaysy - 4th in Kata/Sparring (10 yrs old)
Adam Kiatoukaysy - 3rd in Kata/Sparring (7yrs old first timer)
Andrew Kiatoukaysy - 2nd in Kata/Sparring (7yrs old first timer)