Merii Kurisumasu Karateka!!
(That is how you say Merry Christmas in Japanese.)

Belt Promotions: Testing was held in November 28th. Congratulations
to the following on their promotions: Shae Miller, purple belt;
Madison Lammon, blue belt; Murphy Lammon, blue belt; Zack bumpous,
blue belt; Brandon Bumpous, blue belt; John Boggs, green belt.
Kodi Hanson received his purple stripe for passing the purple belt
equivalency test. The next testing was going to be held December
19th but because of Christmas and New Years it's a short training
month plus we have our Christmas party. Further I don't think
anyone would be ready to test anyway. There will be no testing in
December. The next testing will be held in January 2007.

Schedule: Nothing different this month however the days we have
class may change beginning in January.

New Students: None in November. Just a reminder that if someone you
refer to the dojo joins you get 10% off your membership dues as long
as that person stays a member. Bring in 5 people and get a 50%
discount. Bring in 10 people and train for free. It's crunch
time. We need 5 additional students or this may be the last month
the dojo will be open.

Business: Just a reminder that monthly membership fees are due this
month. Please have dues paid by December 7th. If you've ordered
gear or equipment please pay for it right away.

Upcoming Events: The 1st Redfield Taekwondo Tournament will be held
Saturday December 9th, 2006 at 11 AM. Preregistration by December
2nd is only $25. It's $30 after that and at the door. Master
Sanchez of Clark also has a school in Redfield. It will be a
sparring only tournament. This would be an excellent tournament to
participate in if you've never competed before. See bulletin board
flyer for more details.
We will be having our Christmas party December 26th beginning at
6:30 PM lasting until approx 8:30 PM. We will be watching a movie
again and will probably order pizza. We will be watching Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze. It's rated PG and is
88 minutes long. Again if any parent has a problem with this movie
please let me know ASAP. You can bring your own drink if you wish.

Dojo: I will make an announcement toward the end of the month as to
the fate of the dojo. I'll try to keep it going if at all
possible. For those of you still training, you made a commitment to
train and I made a commitment to teach you. Even if the dojo closes
I will work something out to keep teaching those who want to learn.
I do have a plan in place to get the dojo back on a good financial
base. I'm hoping to host a seminar in January or February 2007.
I'd also like to host a tournament next summer or fall. Further
ways to raise fund include selling more AKKA t-shirts and we willl
be taken the 2007 class picture sometime in January. I'm also going
to start work on a DVD set covering the various belt levels as a
reference tool. This way you can pop a disc into your DVD player at
home and go through the material anytime you wish. I hope to start
work on the yellow belt material this month.


KPFT: Students took the Karate Physical Fitness Test last month.
Again the KPFT is just a tool you can you to measure and monitor
your own fitness levels. We only did the push-up and sit-up
portions as it was too cold and dark outside to do the run. We'll
be taking it again probably in March.

MMA: I'm bringing back the MMA class but this time there are going
to be a few changes. First it may not always be on Wednesday
nights. If you decide to train you need to be serious and not
complain about going for a 2 mile run or doing lap swimming.
Conditioning and proper fitness is the key to winning a fight. If
you can not run 2 miles you have no business inside a full contact
ring. We're not looking to set any speed records just be able to
complete the 2 mile run in a timely manner. Also for the good of
the dojo you will be required to train in kenpo. How can you expect
to win fights if you don't know any strikes? I don't have the time
to get people caught up if they don't even know the basics of
striking. Also this will assist the dojo in keeping the doors open
financially. $35 a month to train in MMA was not worth what it cost
just to have the place open. If you want to train in MMA you will
need to be a standard paying AKKA member. Training is real. It's
rough and you will get some minor injuries. Don't expect to train
in MMA and not get a few bumps and bruises. You will be sore after
training. It's hard work but it's also a lot of fun.

Traditional Karate: I've decided to bring back the kenpo sets. Sets
are similar to katas but slightly different. They are not belt
specific. Sets assist in teaching and reinforcing the basic
fundamentals.

Kobudo: Just a reminder that you are required to obtain at least one
weapons patch prior to testing for black belt. Do not put this off
until you are a brown belt. As much baton (kenpo sticks) work as we
do in class picking up the escrima patch should be easy for most of
you.

Other: UFC 66 will be held December 30th, live on PPV. Chuck Liddell
vs Tito Ortiz for the title. This should be one of the best fights
this year.
Be sure to check out our Yahoo Groups webpage:
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/aberdeenkenpo/ You can stay in
contact with Mr. Holland via his email address on the site. I post
pics from time to time.
There is a good article about kenpo in the January 2007 issue of
Black Belt magazine(which is on sale right now). The focus of the
article is on Jeff Speakman and what he is calling Kenpo 5.0. He's
updated a lot of the kenpo techniques to go along with the changing
times. He's also added ground fighting to the training and
eliminated some of the repetitive techniques and those that just
don't work. Gee, our dojo has been doing that very same thing for
the past two years. If you want to know what the cover looks like
there is a pic of it under the miscellaneous folder in the photos
section of the webpage. I've been invited to join the World
Organization of Mixed Martial Arts by Grandmaster Jack Stern.
Grandmaster Stern began his training back in 1947 while serving in
the military in Korea and Japan. When he returned to the US he
opened up the Paja Dojo in 1960. I've avoided parent organizations
because most of them start dictating what you can and cannot teach.
They also demand that all students in a dojo belong or they will not
recognize their ranks. From what I've read the WOMA isn't like
that. We can teach what we've been teaching. We don't have to follow
their curriculum and there are no yearly membership fees and
association fees. I'm seriously considering joining the WOMA. I
could even test for my 3rd degree black belt through their
organization. We'll see.

A special note from Mr. Holland: Mr. Holland says hi and happy
holidays. He hopes everyone is having a good time training. He's is
trying to find a dojo to train at. He's having a good time down in
AZ and wishes us well with our training.

A special note from Mr. Lammon: Over the past two years I've had the
great pleasure of being your instructor. At times it's been a
roller coaster of a journey along the martial path. When I decided
to open up a dojo in November 2004 I wanted to establish a real
dojo. I didn't want to start yet another shopping mall martial arts
school that taught watered down sport karate. I wanted to teach
real martial arts as close to how they are taught in Okinawa and
Japan as I could. I made the decision from the beginning not to
charge any belt testing fees. I had seen this become a big problem
in my former taekwondo and karate schools where I trained. If you
earn a belt then you should actually earn it, not buy it. I had
seen instructors have students test who were not ready because they
wanted the belt testing fee. I also saw some heated arguments
between instructors and parents when a child paid a testing fee they
did not pass. I wanted to avoid all those problems and had to power
to do so.
I also was tired of all the hidden fees in martial arts clubs.
Sure it only costs $25 a month to train at such and such school but
that's just an introductory fee. Most places I've trained at or
checked into have yearly association fees that students have to pay
for their ranks to be recognized. Then there are sparring fees and
weapons fees. Every time you turn around there is another fee. You
are slowly bled dry with all the hidden fees. Again I had the
ability to avoid this mess. I decided to charge a flat monthly
rate. I also had the ability to focus on teaching karate, not
making the all mighty buck. I made the decision not to turn anyone
away simply because they could not afford it. For me teaching is
about passing the martial knowledge on to the next generation. Many
of you were not even born when I first put on a gi began kicking a
heavy bag. The only thing I asked in return was for people to be
dedicated to training. Sadly American culture is very different
from the culture in Japan and Okinawa. Asking for dedication 2
hours a week was too much for some of your fellow former students I
guess.
I also decided to be honest with my students from the first day
they stepped in the dojo. Too many people make it to black belt
only to be let down because they did not receive super human powers
where they can levitate and have X-ray vision. I've told you all
that reaching black belt won't turn you into Bruce Lee or Jackie
Chan. I wanted to do my little part to help get the martial arts
back on the right path. Too many school pride themselves in how
many black belts they promote. When someone makes black belt in my
dojo they will be a real black belt and should be able to handle
themselves should the need arise.
Over all I have learned a lot. It's taken a lot of time and money
but the result has been worth it. Helping you all discover the
meaning of being a martial artist has been a pleasure. I'm glad to
be able to pass on the kenpo knowledge to the next generation. You
will be the ones to pass it on to those who have not even been born
yet. Kenpo is not about speed, it's about power. And knowledge is
power. Mele Kalikimaka!