Testing: The next testing will be May 15th, at 7 PM. The CLU
building is not available as they have regular scheduled union
meetings there during the evenings. For you blue belts we will run
through as much of the material as you know. As long as you know
more than half you'll receive a green stripe on your belt. I don't
think anyone is ready to test for their full green belt. Wayne
Krysowaty should be ready to test for his black belt.

New Students: None thus far. I'm actually going to be very
selective on who I accept as new students. With trying to get ready
for my 3rd degree black belt test and work on my MMA training I
simply do not have time to spend on someone only to have them quit in
6 months or less. I will always train those who want to learn.
Also good bye to John Boggs and Shae Miller.

Upcoming Events: May 5th there will be the annual International
Taekwondo Tournament in Clark, SD. There will be competitors from
Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. This event is sponsored by Master
Sanchez of Clark TKD. It will be held at the Clark High School Gym.
Registration is from 8:30-10 AM. There is a black belt meeting at 10
AM with the tournament beginning at 10:30 AM. Color belts will again
spar two 90 second rounds. This should be a fun tournament. If you
missed the pre-registration you can still compete as the entry fee is
only $40 at the door.

Business: Just a reminder that monthly fees are due by May 8th. JD
you still owe for April. Dues are $50 a month per person or $75 a
month for family rate (2 people).

Dojo: I've had several people ask me about opening up another dojo.
I think people are too focused on the building when then should be
focused on the training. I'm still about $4700 in debt from the last
two dojos. First that debt needs to be paid off. Operating costs
run about $800-$1000 a month. It's not a money maker unless you
water down the material and hand out black belts like candy, which I
refuse to do. I honestly don't know how I'm going to pay
off the dojo debt I have now let alone go deeper in the hole. A
naked man in an empty room can practice karate. It doesn't take a
special building and fancy equipment to train. This stuff was
practiced in secret for many years, even as recent as the late 1940's
after WWII.

Other: UFC 70 was held April 21st. It had a surprising upset when
Gonzaga knocked out Mirko Cro Cop with a kick to the head in the
first round. UFC 71 will be held May 26th live on PPV. Chuck
Liddell will be fighting Rampage
Jackson for the Light Heavyweight (205 lbs) Title.
And season 5 of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) is on weekly on Spike
TV. It features lightweights (155 lbs) fighting for a million dollar
contract with the UFC.
The UFC also recently bought Pride FC for $70 million. TUF series
is getting higher ratings than the NBA, NHL, or even NASCAR. The UFC
hopes to draw bigger crowds than the Super Bowl within the next few
years. That's very impressive considering that there is usually a
fight close to once a month.
Check out our Yahoo Groups webpage:
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/aberdeenkenpo/ It still has
lots of good info and updates that don't make it into the
newsletter. Also the dojo has something new now, a Myspace page.
You can check it out at www.myspace.com/akkadojo The newsletter will
be posted on both the Yahoo Groups webpage and on Myspace as a blog.
Both are good ways to network with other martial artists.