March Review!

 

March was another fun filled month at the dojo. With lots of offerings from grappling to sparring and a Parents’ Night Out – the dojo has been busy!

LEADERSHIP

This month we held our 7th all levels team training of 2022-2023 season. The session was taught by Sensei and 5 of our Teaching Team members. We focused heavily on developing clear public speaking volume by using kata instruction as the tool. Team members also learned how to coach for one-on-one protection drills in our age 7+ beginner class. Additionally they worked on how to best support lead teaching team members in green-brown class.

Our Leaders also attended their monthly coaching workshop taught by Sensei and Mr. Cortes. We had over 30 leaders from all levels in attendance. They learned how to support 7+ beginners with one on one kata instruction and how to support for intermediate ground grappling. The students were also provided public speaking strategies and given insight into instructional strategies that the Teaching Team employs. Our Teaching Team members had the opportunity to share their experiences leading and assisting in classes during this session as well.

IN HOUSE LEADERSHIP GROUND GRAPPLING TOURNAMENT

In March we held our first ever mock grappling tournament for our Leadership Team students. It featured teaching team members as judges and all of the students learned about competition in ground grappling. It was another great competition experience – we look forward to holding this event again!

GRAPPLING

Our monthly ground grappling session for our beginner and green-brown students focused on transitional escapes and arm bars. The students were joined by over 10 Leadership Team members to privately assist them and coach their groups during partner drills. We finished the session with live rolling (ground sparring). We all can’t wait for our April grappling intensive to explore even more!

SPARRING

The first sparring class for beginner and intermediate age 7+ students was taught by Sensei, Mr. Cortes, and Mr. Sinowitz. They focused on lead leg offensive kicking and had the opportunity to wear their foot and hand gear. The class was supported by 10 Leadership Team members allowing our students to work on drills with their support as coaches/partners.

Our second sparring session was for our youth advanced and youth Black Belt students. Our Leadership Team members were the main attendees for this session which focused on lead leg attack strategies. This group also enjoyed 20 minutes of intensive live sparring rounds.

PNO CAPTURE THE FLAG

March featured our 5th Parents’ Night Out of school year. Over 35 children joined us at the dojo for a Capture the Flag themed night. We started out with multiple capture the flag themed games with party lights. That was followed up by 3 variations of our epic Magnus glow in the dark Nerf battle. The night wrapped up with a viewing of SpiderMan: Into the Spider-Verse with pizza, soft pretzels, and lollypops. Everyone had a blast – we can’t thank Mr. Cortes enough for his support at this event!