A Karate Lesson in Self-Defense on a Typical Snow Day

Yesterday was a snow day.  Well, it would have been had there been school on a Saturday.  I opened the dojo at 9:30 am and prepared for the 10 am class.  It was great to see that some of our students were up early and ready to train in spite of the 5 inches of snowfall.  A few students expressed how excited they were to get out early, get some karate training in and then head out for a day of sledding.  This sparked a discussion on self-defense.  Last year there were two serious accidents in our area on a local hill here in the Hamptons.  It is a very popular hill for the kids in our area to get in some sledding. Because of the accidents last year, we discussed how staying focused and paying attention can help to keep us safe.  We went on to chat about how we can turn a fun activity in a dangerous situation by sledding off the trail or carelessly sledding off snow piled jumps.  The kids understood the dangers of piling too many kids on one sled, or sledding into a group of people. We continued to discuss some important safety rules for sledding as the students contributed to the discussion.  I am very proud of my students as they continue to be safe and aware in all situations and their everyday lives.  This is our self-defense and by continuing the dialogue with our karate students-this is how we avoid potentially dangerous situations.  
Sensei!

Imitation Is the Highest Form Of Flattery!

I watch a lot of videos and read even more blogs on the subject of martial arts training.  I am always picking up new and old training methods and adapting them to my classes at Epic Martial Arts.  I have always found that most of the techniques can be broken down for the beginner student yet still be challenging for the more advanced student.  This video demonstrates basic and realistic self defense techniques.  These are techniques that I teach on a regular basis, but I never put them together in this sequence until I watched two black belts working this drill on thenewwaynetwork.com  One of the black belts was a 6th degree and the other was in training for his 4th degree graduation test!  These guys have some serious martial arts experience between the two of them.  

In this video our beginner students are working a straight palm strike followed by a rear leg push kick and finishing it off with a round kick to the leg.  I started them on the heavy bag, then moved them on to striking pads and eventually added some movement.  I am looking forward to taking this same drill and working it with my younger students. Seems like I will be making another video soon of this same drill with our kids karate students at Epic Martial Arts in Sag Harbor NY.

Press Release for Push-Ups for Pennies Campaign

Sag Harbor, New York, December 9, 2011- Sensei Michelle Del Giorno and the children’s karate students at Epic Martial Arts-EAST are participating in a campaign called “PUSH-UPS FOR PENNIES”. This is an ongoing charity event to raise awareness and donations to St. Jude’s Research Children’s Hospital in memory of Alex Koehne, a young Sag Harbor resident who passed away from cancer in March 2007.  Alex’s family has created the foundation called ‘Alex’s Promise’ in his loving memory.

Sensei Michelle and her students are performing 1 push-up for every 1-penny donated. On Thanksgiving Day, the students at Epic Martial Arts-EAST followed Sensei Michelle on You Tube via: www.epicmartialarts-east.blogspot.com as she completed 1,000 push-ups. On Christmas Day and on New Year’s Day, Sensei Michelle and her students will once again complete 1,000 push-ups!

The mission and purpose of Alex’s Promise Foundation is to completely ensure that Alex’s dream of helping young people comes true. As a tribute to his life, this foundation has been created so that his death can serve as a catalyst to benefit other young persons at critical times in their lives.

“This project is an example of how the children of our community can make a difference by participating in acts of kindness,” says Sensei Michelle. “ We are teaching our young children that they can be leaders in our community and that every penny counts in making donations to children’s cancer research”.

Sensei Michelle conducts children’s karate classes for ages 3 and up and self-defense, martial arts and kickboxing classes for teens and adults. The students at Epic Martial Arts-EAST regularly participate in community service activities as part of their black belt training.

For more information please visit the website at www.hamptonskarate.com or call 631 725-5425.  Donations for the Push-Ups for Pennies campaign can be made at Epic Martial Arts-EAST, 75 Main Street in Sag Harbor or to Alex’s Promise, PO Box 3319 Sag Harbor, NY 11963.

I AM SHOWING YOU WHAT I DO!

There is always so much to learn, so many drills, so many fighting styles, and most importantly so many amazing training partners in my life.  This is how I live my life.  This is my Self Defense!
Sensei

3 Reasons Children Should Take Martial Arts Lessons

Young people should take martial arts lessons for the following reasons:
1. Exercise is a life-saver.
2. Self-defense training can, in a worst-case scenario, be a life-saver.
3. There’s more talk and focus on respect, courtesy, and self-discipline in a week of good martial arts lessons than the average young person will hear in a year of TV and computer time.

Sensei and the Epic Martial Arts-EAST Team!