April 29

Small MMA classes today. I think we have quite a few people out sick with the flu. The Judo classes were relatively small too. We had great practices in Judo. We did grip fighting drills and lots of throws. Hopefully everyone has a chance to get well over this weekend and get back to training next week. See you at the dojo.

student instructors....

Two of our instructors (Ryan and Tommy) for the kids' classes were out sick yesterday. Tony Pepe and Justin Johnson stepped up and did a great job helping Ashley and me with the kids.

Teaching is a very important part of being an advanced student. It helps one to better understand the art. If you can explain to another student how a technique works, it means that you must know the intricacies of it. If you can explain to another student why we do things a certain way, you must be knowledgeable of the strategies the art entails.

When a student/instructor runs into a wall and is unable to answer the questions of the junior student, the Sensei is available to help meet that challenge. This enables both the junior and senior students to continue growing in the art.

Is teaching part of your curriculum? Yes, it is indeed. Even as an intermediate student, you are a mentor to beginners.

So, if you are called on to help teach another student, or a class, consider it both an honor and a learning experience. Just like everything else we do in martial arts, you will get out of it what you put into it.

See you at the dojo!

Wildlife Safari

Wow! Sooo many kids came by to break a board and earn a 2 week pass to train with us. We even had some teens and adults come by to try it.

I would like to extend a special thank you to everyone from our dojo that showed up to help out. (Tommy, Seth, Don, Justin, Daniel, Tiffany, Sierra, and Kelly) You guys did a great job and kept everything running smoothly.

I also thank the Wildlife Safari for inviting us to be part of the event and giving us such a great spot to set up our booth. (we were right at the entrance) We are already looking forward to being there again next year.

We have several more special events coming up soon. Keep looking here and on the bulletin boards at the dojo to stay up to date. If you wish to help out at any of these events, ask Olga to put you name on the list.

Wildlife Safari

Volunteers needed to help out at the KIDS DAY at Wildlife Safari in Winston tomorrow. We will meet at the Safari between 10 and 10:30 am Saturday, April 24th. We will be teaching kids how to break pine boards and talking to them about getting involved in our martial arts programs. See you at the Safari!

volunteers

We have many outside activities to do over the next few months. These activities include, Healthy Kids Day at the YMCA, Safety Day with the Optimist Club, Summer Jiu-jitsu camp at the Boys and Girls Club, Winston/Dillard after school program, Camp Millennium, and possibly a DSGC tournament. It is always nice when we approach these events as a team. All the help we can get is greatly appreciated.