The Dojo of Karate

So last weekend, my students had the privledge of competing in their first Karate Tournament in Parker, CO — called the CKA Season Opener.

It was a great turnout, I had about 10 plus students compete in the Colorado Karate Association season opener, and my kids all had a blast.

We ended up meeting at The Dojo before all leaving to the tournament site.

So here is the list of competitors that represented The Dojo of Karate, with their placings in each division.

• Mollee Hanson - 4th in Forms, Finalist in Fighting
• Andrew Settergren - 1st in Forms, 1st inf Fighting, competed for Grand Champion Forms
• Caleb Demaray - 7th in Forms, 4th in Fighting
• Colby Bird - 3rd in Forms, 3rd in Fighting
• Britney Torres - 4th in Forms, 5th in Fighting
• Brandon Torres - 5th in Forms, 2nd in Fighting
• Debbie Torres - 8th in Forms, Finalist in Fighting
• Rosy Cobb - 6th in Forms
• Nick Post - 6th in Forms, 2nd in Fighting
• Luana Lee - 6th in Forms

For this being their first Karate tournament, in addition most of my students have not been sparing very long… less than 1 month to be exact, I thought all of my students did AWESOME!!!

I have several pictures that I will be posting shortly, including videos, but I need to get many of them emailed to me, so that I can edit them.

Otherwise, I would probably say the shining star for the day was Andrew.  Not only did he take 1st place in both his divisions, he got a bloody nose from getting hit too hard in the face.  But, he had a great attitude the entire time.  In addition, since he won 1st place in forms, he was eligable to compete for Grand Champion forms, which included ALL kids between the ages of 9 and 12 who got 1st in their division - such as Black Belts, weapon performances, muscial forms, and many other divisions.  Though he was sorta out of his league, I believe Andrew can be a very successful competitor if he keeps at it.

As for the rest of my students… I am very proud how well they did and couragous they were.  It takes a lot of courage and strength to step out into a ring and perform in front of judges, competitors, and spectatorts.  I’m sure they will only get better.

The next tournament is May 30th — R.A.G.E. Karate Championship in Parker, CO.

Go Team Dojo!

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Starting a new business is probably one of the most difficult tasks one can face in their life.  But, starting a new venture in what is considered the worst economical recession in over 30 years… now that’s a challenge!

The Dojo of Karate is a new Martial Arts school next to Safeway on the Northeast corner of 128th and Zuni St. in Broomfield/Westminster.  It has only been open for 6 months, however it is growing at a steady rate with over 50 new Karate and Fitness Kickboxing students.

So how are they doing it?  Creativity!

Founder and Head Instructor of The Dojo of Karate, Javier Lozano, Jr. is simply making Karate so much fun that students can’t resist to invite their friends, or tell their neighbors.  Plus, he’s using his current clientele base as his own personal marketers.

For instance, on Valentine’s Day, every student inserted a V.I.P. Pass in their Valentine cards, which were handed out to their classmates in school.  This pass was good for 1 Month of Free Karate lessons at The Dojo of Karate.  This is a great marketing tactic because it is not only cost effective, but gets the word out to the local community that there is a new Martial Arts school that has a family friendly environment.

Their latest marketing idea… Buddy Day.

On Buddy Day, students at The Dojo of Karate get to bring in one or two friends that would be interested in trying out Karate lessons.  During this event, the Karate student will shadow their friend(s) and help teach them some basic Martial Art techniques, while the instructor leads class.  The students love this because it allows them to showcase their new learned skills to their friend, while hanging out together and having fun.

After the short Karate lesson, they all play some games that help develop a child’s motor skills, coordination, balance, focus, and teamwork.  Skills that are essential in every child’s development.

At the end of the event, they all sit down to have some pizza, and their buddy will receive a V.I.P. Pass for 1 Free month of Karate lessons at The Dojo of Karate.

Not a bad way to spend 1 hour on a Friday night.

The next Buddy Day Event will take place on Friday, February 28th from 5:30pm to 6:30pm.  These events are scheduled to be hosted on a quarterly bases, so don’t be surprised if your child’s next door neighbor invites you to the upcoming Buddy Day.

The Dojo of Karate is Colorado’s premier Martial Arts school.  They focus in teaching kids life skills, such as discipline, confidence, goal setting, respect, improving their grades at school, and good physical fitness habits.  They also conduct adult classes that are fun, yet challenging.  Students will learn a proven art of self-defense, as well as improve their conditioning, strength & flexibility, and mental awareness – while releasing some stress.

Javier Lozano, Jr. is a 3rd degree Black Belt in Wado Karate and a Sport Karate World Champion with over 18 years of Martial Arts experience.  He graduated from the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder with a B.S.B.A. in Business and an emphasis in Entrepreneurship.

To learn more about The Dojo of Karate please go to TheDojoOfKarate.com or you can contact them at 303-920-4500 or [email protected].

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This is the 2003 5,280 Challenge Karate Championship hosted in Denver, Colorado.

I believe this is my 2nd fight for the 18-34 year old Black Belt Men Heavy Weights. I don’t know who I was fighting, but I am the white fighter closest to the camera.

This fighting style you see from 2003 probably resembles my current style right now. And probably my most effective to be quite honest. I don’t do a whole lot of hand moving, rather pick my points by moving the body, and beating my opponents with speed.

Enjoy the fight! BTW, I ended up winning.

The Dojo Blog CKA, denver karate, javier lozano, karate tournament, point fighting, sparring, tae kwon do

This is the 5,280 Challenge Karate Championship, but in August 2003. I had been out of national tournament competition for a couple of years because college took a priority. I still competed randomly in local tournaments, and would train at Denver Karate Academy during my free time, but I didn’t have time to do serious training like before… which sucked…

Anyways, this fight is part of our Team Fights. A few days before, we just had a seminar with a friend of ours, World Champion Jadi Tention - one of the nations best fighters from NYC. We put together a team which he anchored as the last fighter, and I was the 2nd fighter. Our 1st fighter was a student named Dan who didn’t have much tournament competition experience, so we needed to make up points during the fight.

In this fight, I’m the white fighter, furthest from the camera. I started pretty strong, but ended up getting kinda tired due to my previous fights during the day. Overall, though, it was a good fight.

And, if you were wondering, we lost the fight. Don’t know how, but we believe it was local politics…

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As I wrote a few days ago, Jason N. Bird left us on MLK Day due to a car accident on I-70 near Limon, CO.  I would like for you guys to please read his obituary which was published in the Daily Camera - a Boulder newspaper.

I didn’t know Jason personally (other than him bringing Colby to Karate classes), but he seemed like a wonderful man, who was very family oriented & supportive of Colby’s passion in the Martial Arts.  Both of his kids are great too.  Logan is this sweet little boy with such great energy who looks up to his big brother.  Colby is one of my students at The Dojo of Karate, and has become an amazing Gold Belt.

Anyways, click here, to read his obituary.

Thanks,

Javier

The Dojo Blog