Posts Tagged ‘Dojo’
Earning A Black Belt In Martial Arts
Students at The Dojo of Karate can potentially earn a Black Belt in about 3-4 years…
One of the most common questions I get from students and prospects that come to my school is: “how long does it take to earn a Black Belt?”
My response, “about 3-4 years… that is if you come to class consistently for the entire time, and you or your child are a minimum of 10 years old”.
Some think that is a long time, others think it’s not long enough.
Here’s my reasoning behind a 3 to 4 year minimum to earn a Black Belt.
How long does it take to earn a college bachelors degree from an accredited university or state college? About 4 years rights. Now keep in mind students have summer vacation, spring break, and Christmas break. You can get a degree in 3 years by going year-round.
If you want to continue your education to achieve a Masters degree, than it can be an additional 2-4 years (depending on the major). And, if you are overly ambitious, then getting a Ph.D will take an additional 2-4 years.
Now, in Karate, why should it be any different…? I’ve heard of schools that make their students train 5-7 years to earn a Black Belt — even more! As a Martial Arts Instructor at The Dojo of Karate, I understand there are certain techniques one needs to learn, but I feel the one thing many instructors are missing is this…
Your Training Begins At Black Belt
As a Martial Arts Instructor, your goal is to teach them the fundamentals of your style, whether it be Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Kung Fu, etc. By teaching them this foundation, you are able to mold, shape, and create the type of student you envision for your school.
I expect my Black Belts to look better than all of my students in our school and to demonstrate progress in their training. More importantly, I look at their inner strength, such as attitude and will power.
A Black Belt should demonstrate the Will Power to continue and never give up, and have an “I Can” attitude. Obviously, there is more that just those two characteristics though.
By detaining your students longer than 5 or 6 years to achieve a Black Belt, you are simply creating a barrier to success. The same goes with college. If you require a basic bachelors degree to take 5-6 years — or longer; more students are likely to quite and drop out of college than continue their education.
But, if you make the goals attainable, however demand higher performance and expectations, than you will begin to get better students who believe in themselves.
A student with confidence in their skills is more likely to be successful than a student who has no confidence. As Karate instructors we are not just teaching, but building confidence.
So, the fact that The Dojo of Karate requires a minimum of 3-4 years of continuous training and a minimum of 10 years of age to obtain a 1st Degree Black Belt is a good thing. It’s an attainable goal. But, it’s not easy. 
Javier Lozano, Jr.
Owner / Head Instructor
NASKA World Champion
Certified Personal Trainer
Child Safety Instructor
3rd Degree Black Belt
Still Under Construction
We are about 95% sure we will be moving on Monday, June 10th 2013
As many of you know, The Dojo of Karate was hoping to move to our new location by Saturday, June 1st 2013 — with the goal to have our 1st class by June 3rd.
Well, it looks like that’s NOT going to happen.
Why?
Inspections.
Today, I had a conversation with the general contractor and after learning there are some setbacks with inspections, it’s ALMOST (95% sure) safe to say that we will be moved in by Monday, June 10th 2013.
There are some setbacks with getting our electrical panel, connected, since they need to schedule Xcel to connect the meter. And, since Xcel hasn’t connected the meter, then the City of Westminster won’t schedule an inspection.
In addition, the plumbing will officially be finalized by Monday, June 3rd, with the goal of having the inspection on Tuesday.
So, even though our Certificate of Occupancy may be awarded Wednesday or Thursday next week, I think it’s best to make our move on Monday, June 10th 2013.
Just keep in mind, I will not commit to that date just yet… I want to make sure we get our Certificate of Occupancy.
Check back frequently to our website and / or Facebook page to see what our status is.
Until next time!
2013 Summer Potluck
Kids lining up to fill up their water guns!
The Dojo of Karate will be hosting their annual, Summer Potluck at our usual location — Big Dry Creek Park on Sunday June 23rd from 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM. The Big Dry Creek Park is literally across the street from Safeway. If you can see and smell the dog park, then you’ll know where it’s located. Just go to the back of the park where the Picnic Shelters are located.
Twice a year, The Dojo of Karate hosts two events that gets our community of students, parents, siblings, and family members together to hangout, enjoy some food, and just chat or catch up.
We usually do a Winter event, with this past one hosted at the Noah’s Event Center in Westminster. Our Annual Christmas Party is the time when The Dojo of Karate recognizes students for their dedication, hard work, and perseverance in Karate by giving out awards for various categories, such as Best Beginners Student, Best Focus, or Best Leadership Team Member.
While in the Summer, The Dojo of Karate host a Summer Potluck, usually after school is out, where students and members all bring a dish to share with everyone else, and Sensei Lozano provides Hot Dogs (Hebrew Nationals at that!), condiments, plates, napkins, and utensils to everyone that joins.
We also tell students to bring a water gun because the playground becomes a water gun shooting zone where kids just go crazy. And, sometimes you’re able to shoot Sensei Lozano when he’s not noticing.
The only thing we ask is that you DO NOT bring water balloons, as your and / or your child will be spending time picking up the balloons all over the park.
If any of you are softball players, there is a baseball diamond where we can put together a team parents and/or students to play a game of softball, but please make sure you bring bats, balls, gloves, and anything else that makes you think you’ll be awesome at softball.
There will be a signup sheet at the front desk next week where you and your family can tell us what you plan to bring and how many of you will be attending. This helps Sensei Lozano know how many hot dogs need to be provided for the group.
We look forward to hosting your family this year, at our annual Summer Potluck!
Closed Memorial Day – May 27th, 2013
The Dojo of Karate will be closed on Memorial Day — Monday, May 27th 2013. If you have the desire to train, feel free to go to Safeway, in your Karate gi, and start doing front stance line drills down the middle of an aisle. I’m sure you’ll freak people out AND draw some attention by others.
Enjoy your time off!!
Testimonial Contest Winners!
OK, so you’ve all been waiting for the announcement of the Testimonial Contest Winner… and well, we have them.
Please watch the video below, so you can see who the winners are.
Just to reiterate, we greatly appreciate all of the testimonials you and your family have turned in for The Dojo of Karate. This helps us both in marketing, but also inspires me to be a better Karate teacher, as I want to continue to help the families in our school.
By PDBLINK BlinkLoans