Kenpo Karate

Ron Nakamoto is joining Sacramento Kenpo Karate!

We have some big and wonderful news!

Ron Nakamoto has agreed to come to Sacramento Kenpo Karate full time! He is bringing his student, Thomas, and later Thomas' daughter, Nicole, with us as well. With that, we'll be getting Johny back with us, even if only part-time.

Ron will be coming with us to train Tues and Thurs for the regular class and Wed for the advanced class.

As a general announcement, I will not be attending Wed. night workouts for the month of December. If the rest of you would like to get together at Mather on those Wednesdays, you are more than welcome to, but Ron and I need a little break.

We've been looking forward to having Aron come back. He's been out for a little bit and class isn't the same without him.

We've also enjoyed having Kevin Bates come to class and share his knowledge and good nature with us.

We would like to Welcome Ron and his students with great enthusiasm. He is a wealth of information and is an all around good guy. We're delighted to have him join us.

--Amy

American Kenpo Karate is a hard/soft style of martial arts, created by Ed Parker, designed to promote good self-esteem, confidence, self-reliance, excellent defensive skills and is a lot of fun. If you want to learn the ultimate in self defense, we teach Kenpo Karate in Rancho Cordova at Mather Sports Facility.     

Sacramento Martial Arts

Seminar with John Sepulveda

Yesterday, Ron, Eugene and I went to see John Sepulveda in Elk Grove at Sher Khan karate.

As always, it was a pleasure to see him. I first met him when I was about 12.
He was very good friends with my first instructor.

At any rate, he went over a variety of techniques with the extensions and did some double stick work.

I know Eugene had a good time, as did Ron.

It's always great to work out with different martial artists and it's also a good check to see where we need to improve and where we can smile secretly to ourselves knowing that we did a good job.

While we all recognize that doing kenpo is for ourselves and that we shouldn't compare our skills to others, it's hard not to. :)

It's also a great learning experience to work with people who've had different instruction and have different ways of moving. Anyway, it's was a great time had by all.

We all appreciate Chris Tanaka for the invitation and will gladly return anytime Mr. Sepulveda is in town.

I was glad to see him getting around so well after his back injury almost a year ago.

Next week is Mr. Lee Wedlake. :)


American Kenpo Karate is a hard/soft style of martial arts, created by Ed Parker, designed to promote good self-esteem, confidence, self-reliance, excellent defensive skills and is a lot of fun. If you want to learn the ultimate in self defense, we teach Kenpo Karate in Rancho Cordova at Mather Sports Facility.     

Kenpo Karate

Happy Halloween! We had some new people come in last night for intros. It was a husband and wife team, Tony and Brooke. Tony has had some training, on and off, at another school (or several schools) in Livermore. We hope they enjoyed their lesson and look forward to seeing them again. Several of us are going to see John Sepulveda at a seminary in Elk Grove this Saturday. Below is a picture of Amy and Ron with Mr. Sepulveda at the Internationals in August. We have some other changes coming up, and we'll keep you posted as they happen. I believe Tara will start keeping us updated on the kid class. We have some great new little students who are doing a wonderful job. --Amy American Kenpo Karate is a hard/soft style of martial arts, created by Ed Parker, designed to promote good self-esteem, confidence, self-reliance, excellent defensive skills and is a lot of fun. If you want to learn the ultimate in self defense, we teach Kenpo Karate in Rancho Cordova at Mather Sports Facility.

Sacramento Kenpo Karate

More Promotions

More promotions at Sacramento Kenpo Karate. Chad and Kirk got their yellow belts! Woot! They have been practicing hard and they look really good. It has been odd not to have Eugene in class, but his work schedule doesn't permit him to be there. Ron and I met in Ron's garage on Sunday and the three of us smacked each other around for a few hours.

The following day, at Ron's school, Johnny got his orange belt! His schedule changed too, so he hasn't been able to come to our class, so he switched to Ron's, which is on opposite days. He has been looking really good and we were most pleased to kick him into his new rank.

--Amy

American Kenpo Karate is a hard/soft style of martial arts, created by Ed Parker, designed to promote good self-esteem, confidence, self-reliance, excellent defensive skills and is a lot of fun. If you want to learn the ultimate in self defense, we teach Kenpo Karate in Rancho Cordova at Mather Sports Facility.    

Sacramento Kenpo Karate

Jeff Lane was Promoted!!

Last class, we had a promotion! Jeff was promoted to orange belt. He was not expecting it, which is what made it all the more fun. We did our normal warm up for class, then I told everyone to go stand by the wall.....except for Jeff. The look on his face was priceless! It was a 'what? who me?' look. Then I announced that Jeff was going to perform long form 1 for us. We all commented on what looked good and what needed improvement. Then, I sprang it on him. Lots of fun.

We have several new students since last posting. Two white belt brothers, Chad and Kirk, who have been a lot of fun. Another new student, Greg, comes from a Tae Kwon Do background and he's been great to have in class.

Most recently, we had a brown belt visit, Don, who we hope to have join us. He's been on a long break from kenpo, but like the rest of us, can't stay away. His instructor, Kevin, may also be dropping in from time to time to workout with us. Black belts are always welcome to come in and workout with us.

Kenpo Camp happened this last weekend too. Johnny was the only one able to go. I ended up having work, Steve hurt his wrist and Tara got strep throat at the last minute. But Johnny went to represent. :)

Due to his change in schedule, he isn't able to come to our class anymore, but Ron's class runs opposite days, so Johnny is able to go there. His class is at No-Limit Fighting and I go there to train with him on Mondays, just as he comes to our school on Tuesdays. It's great to have another school to work with that way.

I've been working with Dr. Dave Crouch for the last few months and we've been working on form 4. I've been able to pass on the new stuff I've learned to both Bryan and Eugene and everybody is benefiting from it.

More as it happens.....

--Amy

American Kenpo Karate is a hard/soft style of martial arts, created by Ed Parker, designed to promote good self-esteem, confidence, self-reliance, excellent defensive skills and is a lot of fun. If you want to learn the ultimate in self defense, we teach Kenpo Karate in Rancho Cordova at Mather Sports Facility.    

http://kenpokarate.ourtoolbar.com/

Sacramento Kenpo Karate

We have been having a lot of fun, as always, at Sacramento Kenpo Karate. Ron Nakamoto has been visiting our school regularly and bringing a wealth of knowledge with him. As a 'returning the favor' thing, he took me to his school where I got to watch Arnie Inouye teach form six. He and I had a wonderful chat and he is welcome at our school anytime, as are any/all of his students.

In a week, we're going to have the pleasure of having Dave Crouch come to our school and teach us a thing or two about Kenpo. He has agreed to be my new instructor and I'm greatly looking forward to what he has to share.

Rich Hale may be coming to Santa Rosa soon and I hope to get down there to work with him. If anyone reading this is in the Sacramento area and would like to see Dave Crouch on Wed May 7th, please email me at kenpokaratechick@gmail.com for further details. :)

--Amy

American Kenpo Karate is a hard/soft style of martial arts, created by Ed Parker, designed to promote good self-esteem, confidence, self-reliance, excellent defensive skills and is a lot of fun. If you want to learn the ultimate in self defense, we teach Kenpo Karate in Rancho Cordova at Mather Sports Facility.    

Sacramento Martial Arts

We had the most amazing test on the first Wed. in April. Bryan Parker tested for his third brown, Tricia Stirling tested for her blue and Steve Holland tested for his blue as well.

They have all been training really hard for this test, so it was no wonder that they did so well. As expected, they were all a bit nervous. I think Steve did the fastest long two known to man. :)

Part of the nervousness probably had something to do with the large cast of characters watching them on their test. :)

We had a seven-person panel who gave them endless grief and questions. We had Ronald Nakamoto, 3rd black, Renee Neal, 3rd black, Aron Jolly-Meers, 2nd and Elaine Christensen, 2nd and Evan Christensen, 1st, along with Tara and me. We had a lot of fun. I think they had fun too, but not the same kind the panel did. :)

We wanted to make sure that they all felt like they earned their rank and got to show off on their test.

As you can see, we decided to do a mass attack on Bryan. I stayed out to direct. :)

Tara and I were very proud of our students. We could see, as well as our students, the areas they need to work on, but we could also see very clearly how far they'd come. Good job everyone!!

American Kenpo Karate is a hard/soft style of martial arts, created by Ed Parker, designed to promote good self-esteem, confidence, self-reliance, excellent defensive skills and is a lot of fun. If you want to learn the ultimate in self defense, we teach Kenpo Karate in Rancho Cordova at Mather Sports Facility.    

Sacramento Kenpo Karate

For the last week, I've been visiting Camey in Texas. We have been having a great time, of course, and not the least of which was our visit to Bill Piper's school, where she trains. The first time we went, she and I had tons of fun running through techniques and extensions. Camey really knows how to bang!

We worked out the following Saturday morning for 3 hours and had a wonderful time, as always. We were, after all, doing kenpo. Later, her friend Dawn met us at the botanical gardens to take some pictures.

While I was away, I really appreciated having Bryan and Eugene cover the children's and adult's class. Aron was a tremendous help as well. Tara's family has been hit hard with the flu and she wasn't able to attend.

I look forward to getting back to class!

American Kenpo Karate is a hard/soft style of martial arts, created by Ed Parker, designed to promote good self-esteem, confidence, self-reliance, excellent defensive skills and is a lot of fun. If you want to learn the ultimate in self defense, we teach Kenpo Karate in Rancho Cordova at Mather Sports Facility.    

Kenpo Karate

Last week, we had a visit from a new kenpoist named Ron. He's a third black and has been studying for over 30 years. Like many of us, he's missed having other black belts to work out with. He came to check us out and worked out with me, Renee and Phillip. I'll be bringing my camera to class shortly to get pictures with all of our new friends. Having all of these black belts come is like having a mini-seminar or camp every class. Aron and his mom Elaine came the next class and we worked on doing yellow belt techniques for a wide variety of attacks.

All five of the new additions to our school have a lot of great information and move really well. One of the things I love about our school is that we attract kenpoists from many backgrounds, so we get a wealth of different perspectives.

Steve, Trish and Bryan will be testing soon. All are looking sharp and we are really proud of their progress.

If you are a kenpoist either in, near, or passing through the Sacramento area, you are always welcome to come by and visit. And if you like it, you can even stay awhile. :)

--Amy

American Kenpo Karate is a hard/soft style of martial arts, created by Ed Parker, designed to promote good self-esteem, confidence, self-reliance, excellent defensive skills and is a lot of fun. If you want to learn the ultimate in self defense, we teach Kenpo Karate in Rancho Cordova at Mather Sports Facility.    

Sacramento Martial Arts

Tara and I had a great time with Lee Wedlake in Fresno. Graham Lelliott hosted Mr. Wedlake and I was most pleased to see both of them. On Friday, I went to an all-belt seminar where we looked at the 'gift' techniques. I learned something really cool about Gift of Destiny, which I promptly shared with Tara the next day. She agreed and we made the executive decision to do the technique that way from now on.

I'm amazed at how much I have learned in the last year and a half, since leaving 'formal' instruction.

In addition to this, we worked on form 6 the whole next day. We learned it from start to finish and I learned things in that kata that I had always suspected, but had never been shown.

When I say 'suspected,' I mean that I knew that certain movements had purpose, but was told they didn't. I now know that information to be false. I learned a ton of great stuff and so did Tara.

Lee Wedlake and Graham Lelliott were as great a always and I look forward to our next meeting. Until then, Tara and I will be practicing diligently and getting ready for our next kenpo adventure. :)

We also look forward to sharing our new knowledge with our students and our new kenpo friends.

American Kenpo Karate is a hard/soft style of martial arts, created by Ed Parker, designed to promote good self-esteem, confidence, self-reliance, excellent defensive skills and is a lot of fun. If you want to learn the ultimate in self defense, we teach Kenpo Karate in Rancho Cordova at Mather Sports Facility.    

Kenpo Karate

Eugene Got His Brown Belt!!

A couple of nights ago, we were very happy to be able to promote Eugene Brathwaite to Third Brown. He gave his all and tested for about an hour. We know how hard he'd been working before the test, so this was really just an opportunity for him to show off what he has been working so hard on.

His Uke, Steve Holland, did a great job kicking, striking and falling down a lot.

We have found the areas where we, as instructors, need to improve our teaching and I believe Eugene has found some areas where he could put more attention as a student.

Overall, we were very proud of him. We were also pleased to have Arin, a black belt who has been working with us lately, sit on the board as well.

On another note, I went and visited a Trevor Haines' school in Citrus Heights and we were invited to their next inter-school tournament. When it happens, I'll be sure to let our students know so they can get a taste of what competition is like. I'll be visiting another school very soon as well and hope to get back down to Santa Rosa soon to visit Dr. Dave.

Tara and I will be heading out to see Lee Wedlake on the 16th and might go to his all-belts seminar the night before in Fresno. If any of you are interested in going, see me for details. The Friday evening event is $25 and open to all belts. I believe Steve was talking about going, so perhaps you all can discuss carpooling. Tara and I will likely be spending the night so we can go to the all-day seminar the next day.

It'll be great to see Eugene this Tuesday wearing a black gi for the first time.

Congratulations Eugene!!

--Amy

American Kenpo Karate is a hard/soft style of martial arts, created by Ed Parker, designed to promote good self-esteem, confidence, self-reliance, excellent defensive skills and is a lot of fun. If you want to learn the ultimate in self defense, we teach Kenpo Karate in Rancho Cordova at Mather Sports Facility.    

Sacramento Martial Arts

January 2008 News

Last night, we had 4 visiting black belts come to our class. They are kenpo 'orphans' and we are hoping to convince them to make SKK their new home. All four were very competent and a lot of fun to play with.

Eugene will be up for testing for brown belt at the end of this month and we know he'll do great. The new year has started off a little slowly in the adult class, but we have two new students in the kids' class. Danielle and Alex have joined us and are having a great time.

Steve is a ton of fun to harass in the adult class and he takes it so well. It could be because he can't hear what I'm saying. Bryan was gone for 3 weeks, as was Tara and Eugene and Kevin is taking this month off.

Tara and I will be seeing Lee Wedlake next month for a seminar on form 6. I also may be heading up to Milt Guinette's school in Oregon for a seminar with Phil Porter and possibly Lee Epperson. Bryan visits their school on a fairly consistent basis and has all good things to say.

I visited two other schools recently, Don Snider's in Gold River and Bob Langley's school in (I think) Citrus Heights. Both of them made me feel very welcome and, as always, I picked up a few new little drills and such to torture our own students with.

The Kenpo Continuum book is well on its way to being done. I've been getting a few last minute entries and I've been having to do a fair amount of editing on some of the ones I've received. But it's moving along and I'm getting quotes from printers to get this show on the road. I hope to have it done no later than the end of Feb. Hopefully sooner, depending on how long the printer takes.

Oh, and most importantly, Tara and I were sporting our new electric blue matching gis the other night. We looked and felt spiffy. We've decided that blue is the new black, which are our school colors (black and blue). :)

See you on the mats!

--Amy

American Kenpo Karate is a hard/soft style of martial arts, created by Ed Parker, designed to promote good self-esteem, confidence, self-reliance, excellent defensive skills and is a lot of fun. If you want to learn the ultimate in self defense, we teach Kenpo Karate in Rancho Cordova at Mather Sports Facility.