December at the Dojo – Weapons, Grappling, Leadership Team, Black Belt Test!
In the last few weeks of December the dojo has seen a ton of action! We’ve done everything from regular classes and monthly special offerings to a Black Belt Test and celebrating the holidays. The college winter break has even given us a chance to see Mr. Steinberger, Miss DiLeo, and Miss Piombino back in the dojo for classes this month.
Our December Friday night weapons classes focused on eskrima and sai. Students at the beginner class worked on eskrima foundations while our experienced class worked on partner stick drills and kata training with sai. In our monthly grappling class our 7+ beginner students worked on offensive and defensive strategies from mount. We have been loving these additions to our dojo schedule this year. Our Friday class offerings have allowed our age 7+ students to dive further into various aspects of martial practice in addition to their training in their weekly classes.
The Leadership Team met this month for their all team training session and for a coaching workshop. The coaching workshop focused on helping our leaders learn how to best support in green/brown – intermediate – level classes. Our Leaders also had the opportunity to get festive with a holiday party that allowed time for team bonding!
We also had the honor of watching 9 students test for their first degree black belt this month. These tests are very special and unlike any other belt test that a Magnus Karate student will take at our academy. This group of students showed off their focus, endurance, and of course their technical competence with martial skills. Our December Black Belt test has made us excited for our next group of black belt candidates to test in spring 2023.
It has been a great month here at Magnus and a great year! We have loved watching our students learn, grow, and become more advanced martial artists through their commitment to practice and consistent training. We are looking forward to all that is to come in 2023 at the dojo. As always we have new ideas and a few fun surprises up our sleeves!