Events and Info for March

Posted on March 16, 2016

Hi MPK Families, there are a few important dates and changes coming up for the end of March. Here’s a quick summary:

  • Weapons Seminar — just a reminder for those of you who signed up for the Bo or Bokken seminar this weekend, we’ll be starting at 4:00 on Saturday, March 19th. Please come a few minutes early if you still need to take care of payment or pick up your weapon.
  • Super Sunday — there will be a Super Sunday this weekend, March 20th from 5:00-6:30 p.m. for 1st and 2nd Degree Black Belt Candidates. With only one Super Saturday this month, this is a great opportunity to get the additional training in, especially for those of you who might test in July — ramp up for the July test starts in April!
  • No Class Saturday, March 26 — we will be closing on Easter weekend, so there will be no Total Fitness or martial arts classes that Saturday.
  • Weapons/Hyper Rotation — In April we’ll be starting the next rotation of Hyper and weapons training with both Bo and Bokken modules available. Classes will be Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings and are appropriate for both kids (8 and up) and adults. Cost is $20 per month ($60 for the 3-month rotation), and the sign up sheet will be available after this weekend’s seminar. It’s not necessary to attend the seminar to participate in the program.
  • Tuesday Evening Schedule Change — Beginning in April, our Tuesday night schedule will change to allow our A+ After School members the opportunity to participate in our Weapons/Hyper training. The new schedule is below — please also note the change to the sparring age groups.

    • 3:30 – 5:00 – A+ After School classes (no change)
    5:00 – 5:45 – Hyper/Weapons class with Bo and Bokken
    5:45 – 6:15 – Group 1 Sparring – all students age 4-10
    6:15 – 7:00 – Group 2 Sparring – all students age 11 and older
    7:00 – 8:00 – Total Fitness Training (no change)

  • Lost and Found — a lot of our lost items have found their homes, but we still have some sweatshirts and other clothing, water bottles and lunchboxes hanging out at the studio. If you haven’t checked it out, please do in the next couple of weeks. We’ll be donating any items still left at the end of March.
    Thanks, have a fantastic week!

— Jeni Risgaard, Front Desk Coordinator

Important Reminders…

Posted on March 10, 2016

We have two important reminders for you:

  • Our weapons seminar scheduled for March 19 has received good response. So we can order weapons by this weekend, we need to have everyone who wants to attend signed up as quickly as possible. If you plan to attend but haven’t signed up yet, please sign up tonight in class or send me an email with the details, and I’ll get you registered.
  • There will be no regular Saturday classes (March 12) except for Total Fitness Training at 8:00. We have a Black Belt test scheduled to start at 10am, so feel free to come down and cheer on the 4 candidates who have worked so hard to get to this point.

New Weapons Training

Posted on March 7, 2016

We’d like to announce our exciting new rotation for weapons training! We’ll be holding a Bokken and Bo seminar featuring your choice of the Bo (staff) or Bokken (wooden sword) on Saturday, March 19, from 4-6 pm.

The seminar is open to those students who are age 9 and older and who are at Gold Belt or higher. White Belts or those under age 9 may attend with instructor permission. Cost for this training is:

  • $40 for either the bo or bokken seminar and weapon (standard wooden weapons for students 12 and up. — younger students will benefit from a lighter foam weapon)
  • $25 for the seminar if you already have your weapon
  • $65 for the bo seminar with an upgrade to a lightweight graphite bo

*The sign-up sheet is on the front desk now. Because we need to allow time to order weapons, you must get signed up no later than Thursday, March 10. If you can’t make it in to sign up, you’re welcome to email us at this address — please see the list of information to include below.

This is a great opportunity for both adults and junior students to learn a new skill, and we’ll be carrying these weapons into our next Hyper Training and Weapons rotation beginning in April. Along with the new rotation, we’ll have new schedule for Tuesday night classes to allow more people the opportunity to participate in the weapons class. Beginning in April, the Tuesday night schedule will be as follows:

  • 3:30 – 5:00 — A+ After School classes (no change)
  • 5:00 – 5:45 — Hyper/Weapons class with Bo and Bokken
  • 5:45 – 6:15 — Group 1 Sparring – all students age 4-10
  • 6:15 – 7:00 — Group 2 Sparring – all students age 11 and older
  • 7:00 – 8:00 — Total Fitness Training (no change)

Cost for the 3-month Hyper/Weapons rotation from April-June is $20 per month — you may choose to pay $60 for the rotation or add $20 to your regular tuition payment if you pay monthly. Signup for the Hyper Rotation will begin after the seminar.

To email your seminar enrollment, please send the following:

  • Name
  • Age
  • Choice of Bo or Bokken seminar
  • Do you need a weapon? If yes, Standard Bo, Premium Graphite Bo, Wooden Bokken, or Foam Bokken? You may want to get input from an instructor for younger kids. If you chose a graphite bo, would you like black or red?

Lost & Found

Posted on March 1, 2016

Hey MPK Families, when you’re in for class over the next couple of weeks, please stop at the lost and found area just behind the front desk to see if you recognize anything. We’re building up a pretty good collection of sweatshirts, along with a few pairs of snow pants, a couple of winter coats, some pink rain boots, water bottles, and a large variety of miscellaneous items…

Super Sunday Cancelled

Posted on February 19, 2016

Brown and Black Belts: Super Sunday on Feb 21 has been cancelled due to scheduling conflicts. We’re sorry for any inconvenience.

Please make a note that the next Super Saturday will be on March 4.

Notes for the Week of Feb 15

Posted on February 11, 2016

Happy Valentine’s Day a little early! We have a group of students who will be testing next week, Feb. 15-19, so we have a modified evening class schedule.

The A+ After School schedule will be the same as usual, although testing will be going on during regular times for those students who have been approved to test.

Evening students who are not testing, please note that there are no regular classes on Monday for Little Kickers and no regular classes on Monday and Wednesday for Juniors and Adults who are under Red Belt. Red and Brown Belts are invited and encouraged to attend class during the Monday and Wednesday test times to take advantage of some additional training time. Please see the evening class schedule below for details.

Uniforms: Full uniforms are required for all test days and graduation.

Test Fees: If you have not yet paid your test fee, you can take care of this any time next week, or make other arrangements with the front desk staff. Fees are noted on permission slips – $10 for all Little Kicker testing, $20 for Gold, Orange, and Green testers, and $40 for advanced testers in the Junior and Adult groups.

EVENING CLASS SCHEDULE

Monday, Feb. 15 – No regular classes except for Master’s class.

  • Testing for Little Kickers at 5:00
  • Testing for Junior and Adult Gold, Orange, and Green belts at 5:30
  • Testing for Junior and Adult Purple, Blue, Red, and Brown belts at 6:15 (Red/Brown may attend)
  • Regular Master’s class at 7:00

Tuesday, Feb. 16 – Regular sparring and Hyper classes at normal times

  • Sparring is required for testing students who are Blue Belts and above

Wednesday, Feb. 17 – No regular classes except for Master’s class

  • Regular Little Kicker class at 5:00 plus make up LK testing
  • Testing for all Junior and Adult belt ranks at 5:30. Advanced belts will continue into in the 6:15 class time. No regular classes.
  • Regular Master’s class at 7:00

Thursday, Feb. 18 – Regular classes for all time slots plus any make up testing still needed.

Friday, Feb. 19 – Graduation and belt presentation for all belt ranks, both A+ After School and evening students, beginning at 6:00 p.m. Family members are welcome to come and celebrate the hard work and accomplishments of these students.

— Jeni Risgaard, Front Desk Coordinator