JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE: INITIATIVE WEEK OF 4.22.24 This week’s Junior Samurai stripe challenge is blue for Initiative! Students can earn their blue stripe by comprehensively cleaning up after dinner for two nights in a row.
JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE: TECHNIQUE WEEK OF 4.15.24 This week’s Junior Samurai stripe challenge is green for Technique! Students can earn their red stripe by successfully completing the following drills on a parent or sibling (under parental supervision): 10 Sweeps 10 Standups 10 Submissions/Guard Passes
JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE: FITNESS WEEK OF 4.08.24 This week’s Junior Samurai stripe challenge is red for Fitness! Students can earn their red stripe by successfully completing the following workout: 20 Sprawls + 20 Jumping Jacks (repeat x5 for a total of 100 repetitions for each exercise).
JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE: KINDNESS WEEK OF 4.1.24 This week’s Stripe Challenge is Blue for Kindness! Students can earn their blue stripe by cleaning their room — and keeping it clean for at least three days.
JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE: TECHNIQUE WEEK OF 3.25.24 This week’s Stripe Challenge is Green for Technique! Students can earn their green stripe by drilling their favorite submission on a parent or sibling (under strict parental supervision). Students must also exercise best safety practices as well as educate their partner on how to tap […]
JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE 03.18.24 THIS WEEK’S STRIPE CHALLENGE IS RED FOR PHYSICAL FITNESS Students can earn a red stripe this week by completing 50 pushups each day for a total of five days!
JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE 03.11.24 This week’s challenge is blue for initiative Students can earn a blue stripe on their belt by successfully writing and sending a small note through the mail. Surprising a friend or family member with a handwritten note is a great act of kindness and is sure to put […]
JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE 03.04.24 THE STRIPE CHALLENGE THIS WEEK IS green FOR technique Students can earn a green stripe this week by successfully drilling their favorite technique 25 times on a parent or sibling (with parental supervision). Students will be required to describe/name the technique being drilled and may be asked to […]
JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE 02.26.24 THE STRIPE CHALLENGE THIS WEEK IS red FOR fitness Students can earn a blue stripe this week by successfully completing the following workout (in one session): 30 Jumping Jacks 30 Situps 1-Minute Plank (no knees touch the floor) Repeat 3 times through (a total of 90/90/3min)
JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE 02.19.24 THE STRIPE CHALLENGE THIS WEEK IS blue FOr initiative Students can earn a blue stripe this week by successfully completing a chore (or chores/tasks) of their parents’ choice. Students must fully complete the task in order to be eligible for the stripe.
JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE 02.12.24 THE STRIPE CHALLENGE THIS WEEK IS greeN FOR technique Students: teach your parent the guard position (remember, “small is STRONG and big is WEAK”). Then, drill 20 guard passes on your parent’s guard. A guard pass is when we clear the legs and secure the side mount, knee on […]
In one of my earlier emails, I told you that persistence is one of the five core tenets of martial arts. It’s a must for kids to learn to fulfill their obligations and stick to their commitments – but what makes them want to do that? In martial arts, we attribute it to one small […]
You know how good it feels to set your sights on a goal and then achieve it. It’s empowering and invigorating – and it’s not just a matter of chance. Goal-setting is an important life skill. The good news is that studying the martial arts can help your child learn: The importance of setting goals How to […]
There are a lot of emotional benefits available to kids who study the martial arts. We’ve talked about some of them already, but today I’m going to talk about one that sometimes gets overlooked: Martial arts classes are a great place to make friends! Think about how most of us make friends. Friendships often start with commonalities, […]
As adults, we think a lot about stress. Modern life is difficult. We worry about paying the bills, doing our jobs well – and we worry about our kids. That’s part of our jobs as parents, but we don’t want our kids to be affected by stress. It’s not good for them physically or emotionally. Still, […]
It’s time to talk about the emotional benefits of studying martial arts. Let’s face it – kids have a hard time managing their emotions. You’d be hard-pressed to find a parent who hasn’t had to deal with their share of temper tantrums. It’s exhausting. Also, consider the other side of the coin: it’s exhausting for […]
It’s time to talk about the fifth and final core tenet of martial arts. In many ways, this tenet brings all the other tenets together – and it explains why kids who study martial arts have a light in their eyes that other kids don’t. We call it Indomitable Spirit. What does it mean to have an indomitable […]
In the last couple of blog articles, we’ve been talking about the core tenets of martial arts instruction, and today’s tenet is one that a lot of kids need to learn. I’m talking about self-control. Control is something that’s hard for kids. Their brains and bodies aren’t fully developed, and from the time they’re babies, […]
You know how that saying goes, right? Try, try again! And that brings us to our next core tenet of martial arts: perseverance. Perseverance is what keeps us going when it would be easier to give up. It’s what makes us get up when we fall down – and it often means the difference between […]