Tournament this Saturday at Rick Fowler’s in Irving! It’s going to be a great tournament, with lots of forms, techniques and sparring. WE WILL HAVE CLASSES AT THE CARROLLTON STUDIO ON SATURDAY if you aren’t in the tournament, but we encourate everyone to do at least one tournament a year just for the experience. If you’d like to schedule a private class this week to prepare, email back or call anytime!
Testing is next week, so we’re doing lots of review this week to get ready. Lots of techniques, forms, and basics, and there’s still time to get thos missing stripes and move up next week.
It’s been a busy few days. Friday, we went to Rainwater Elementary and did a board breaking class. We also sponsorred a bounce house at HebronValley Elementary and I spent some time over there promoting the program. It’s amazing how many people I see who’ve been with us or know us from being in the community. Saturday, in addition to our busy class day, I went to Primrose Castle Hills for their Spring Fling, and then back to the studio for our 11AM class. After that, it was off to Walker’s Mark apartments to speak with some neighborhood watch people about self defense.
More events coming - the next month or two look like they will be very busy. And it’s paying off - three kids signed up today. We’ve had 2 from Blanton, 2 from Primrose, 1 already from Rainwater. It looks like it will be a busy summer!
Tuesday night, we went to Blanton Elementary to talk to the kids about bullying. Naturally, we don’t just talk - we also did some Kenpo. There was a PTA meeting going on, and we had 100+ kids in the gym. We talked about what bullying was, and we talked about how knowing martial arts can help you protect yourself and the people around you.
Then we got to work. We worked blocks.We worked stances. We did delayed sword, and we did some practical and fun exercises designed to show the kids that they can have CONTROL over the things going on around them. While we were there, we broke a bunch of boards, hit everyone with a couple of big ukemi balls, and finally had to chase the last group of kids outo the gym just after 8, because they didn’t want to leave. Special thanks to Deborah Gates, who set it up and Steele Lane, Susan Miller, and Sammy de la Garza who came along and helped make it a great class.
Earlier this year, we added
JUNIOR 2ND BLACK BELT to our curriculum. The material needed for this belt should take 12-18 months; besides learning 19 techniques and 1 form, the student must spend time teaching other students and assisting other instructors and must become better at all the Junior material.
Saturday, Sammy de la Garza tested for Junior 2nd Black and became the first student to get there. Check out our FACEBOOK page (PowerKenpo - American Kenpo Karate!) for video.
Also testing - Sarah Bourestom tested for Junior Red Black. Forms, techniques, and, of course, lots of sparring. What makes Sarah’s test particularly impressive is that everyone she sparred against was a Junior Black Belt, and she excelled and controlled the floor even during the 3-on-1 and 4-on-1 sparring sessions.
Congratulations to both students - and we’re looking forward to Sarah’s Black Belt test this fall.
We’ve been doing a lot of review this week. Coming off testing week, it’s a good time to go back to basics, make the stances sharper, make the kicks faster, make the techniques flow better.
I’m becoming a big fan of repetition. Doing 200 front kicks can be tiring; it can be painful; you might feel them for days. But when you can get to the end and the 200th or 300th kick is better than the 1st kick was, then you’ve accomplished something.
Repeating basics is one thing; repeating forms, another. In my lead-up to 4th Black, I would go to Arbor Hills, get out of the car, and do Form 6 and my extensions for half an hour or an hour, then run, then cool down for another 30-40 minutes with more forms and extensions. Doing the forms in the cold, the wind, the rain, then running, then doing them again when my body was tired, burned them in and took me to another level.
So expect more repetition in class. Expect to do a form 10 times in a row. Expect 300 back kicks or 500 hand strikes. It’s OK if it hurts - because we need to learn to soften the body, relax the muscles, and dissolve the pain to get to the next level.
After morning classes, I went to Rick Fowler’s to sit on the promotion board for a Black Belt Test. One adult testing for 4th Black, 1 Adult testing for 2nd Black, and 5 Juniors testing for Junior Black. It was a good test - forms were sharp, techniques were good, and sparring was enthusiastic.
There are a lot of philosophies of testing - some schools make testing incredible hard, to the point where gaining a Black Belt ceases to be a realistic goal for all but a few students. Others promote regardless of skill level, based on time in class. If you read the Journey, there were many times when Ed Parker would show up at a studio, promote someone to Black Belt, and sometimes toss them the keys to open in the morning. He didn’t need to make the test a huge production because he knew the student - and he knew what they could do.
We treat tests the same way; it’s an opportunity for the candidate to show everyone what he or she can do. It’s his or her chance to demonstrate abilities, and he or she definitely does not want to be at the bottom of the curve. In the end, though, your instructor knows if you’ve got what it takes, and the test is a formality. If you hadn’t already made yourself into a Black Belt by years of training, you wouldn’t be on the mat testing. We’re there to recognize you for your work and your effort, and to welcome a new Black Belt into the Brotherhood.
We recently launched our new web site, www.PowerKenpo.com! The new site features a variety of tools for current and prospective martial arts students at PowerKenpo, including detailed training tools, class schedules, a photo gallery, video demonstrations and more.
As part of the web site launch, the staff at PowerKenpo have developed even more ways for students to interact with the school, including:
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be adding even more features to the site, including a blog and even more instructional videos. Meanwhile, spread the word about our new web site and invite your friends to sign up for a free introductory martial arts lesson at PowerKenpo — the most family-friendly martial arts school in the Dallas metroplex.
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