| 10 Week Adult Self Defense Academy In the 10 Week C.O.B.R.A. Self Defense Academy, you will develop the ultimate mindset for real self defense and the skills you need to defend in any situation. YOU WILL LEARN:
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C.O.B.R.A Kids Manual & Graduation Certificate included! |
Sparring has become more realistic lately - we’ve been starting off with working together, striking and moving, then doing techniques, then continuous sparring, and then point sparring. Point sparring gets a bad rap sometimes, because it’s considered to be staged; it does, however, require a good defense, fast reaction times, and an aggressive offense. Putting them together gives us a well-balanced program.
One mother talked to me because her son was being matched up with bigger kids, and was losing, and taking it badly. I explained that her son was being matched up that way because he needed to start thinking, to develop more control, and to stop charging in furiously. It works with some kids, but not with bigger stronger kids.
Another mom called because her daughter, while sparring, received a hit to the face. Her daughter was the more advanced student in the pair, has been sparring for a while, and continued to spar and did well even after the event. We strongly discourage face contact, giving out big piles of pushups when it happens, but incidental contact does happen - and any program that eliminates it completely leaves a huge gaping hole in the student’s ability to defend. Many schools bar students from striking to the head, or hitting the back - and they accept the loss of defensive skills that comes with that safety.
My goal - to make the program effective and realistic, while avoiding injuries. We’ve never had a serious injury in the 8 years we’ve been opened - nothing beyond a twisted ankle or jammed finger. And everyone needs to remember that the journey here is what’s important - the important part of sparring is THE SPARRING - not the point count at the end. Or, as I sent back to one parent:
I’ll go more into that with everyone. He (and maybe other kids) needs to understand that winning and losing the match doesn’t really matter. If I put him up against kids who beat him here, every single time, for the next 5 years, and he never won a match, but saw his skills improve, then he’d be successful. In our controlled environment, winning and losing is, to a certain extent, decided by the instructor who matches you with your opponent. There should be no pride in beating someone less skilled than you, or no shame in losing to someone more skilled – it’s all about what you got out of it. Did you learn something? Can you apply it? Did you get stronger?
At PowerKenpo, we do something differently from other karate studios in the area. Most places push for a contract - 1 year, 2 years, even, in the case of 1 local school - 4 years! At PowerKenpo, though, you can walk on the mat and start month to month. Our commitment comes when you move from one belt to another. You have the opportunity to commit to Black Belt. It’s a commitment that should not be made lightly - it’s a commitment to yourself, to the studio, to your faimly and to the other students training with you, to approach your training seriously and to make every effort to make it to Black Belt. More specifically, it’s a 12 month commitment to train with us. For students who choose to follow the path to black belt and to show that commitment by wearing the black stripe, there’s a two class a week minimum and tuition is due whether they attend or not. This commitment, of time and energy and money, will help the students who make it stay on track and move up in the belts over the months and years needed to make it to Black Belt.
After a year of pursuing our program of allowing students to voluntarily commit to Black Belt, the results are in. 75% of our Junior and Little Dragon students are wearing the black stripe. 90% of our adult students are wearing the black stripe. The art, and how we teach it, is clearly reaching our students and motivating them. I, personally, like this system. I like that students make the choice on their own to go to Black Belt. I like that every one of the students wearing the Black Belt could train without it, month to month, but have chosen to make a deeper commitment, and I and our staff are working hard to find ways to help every one of them make it to their destination.
Saturday, June 13, 9AM to 10:30AM - Ed Parker seminar at PowerKenpo on Saturday morning for Kids. THERE WILL BE NO OTHER CLASSES AT THE STUDIO THAT DAY - All of our instructors will be at the seminar on Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday. Kids should do the seminar on Saturday at Carrollton, and Adults really should make every effort to go thte seminar in Irving for at least one day, because it’s gonna be a great seminar!
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!
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.
Several PowerKenpo students recently tested for and were awarded their black belts in American Kenpo Karate — including Sifu Jim Dryburgh, now a fourth degree black belt.
On December 20, 2008 at Rick Fowler’s studio in Irving, Texas, these PowerKenpo students were promoted:
Congratulations to everyone who tested!
You can see more video of the test on the PowerKenpo YouTube Channel, and view pictures of the test in our photo gallery.
© 2009 Martial Arts, Self Defense and Karate Classes in Dallas - PowerKenpo Inc. | 3108 Old Denton Road, Suite #111 ( Map ) | Carrollton, TX 75007 | (972) 394-7385
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