Winter 2011

Volume 10, Issue 1

NOTICE: Effective immediately we now have a new address for ALL correspondence - 
esda.office@yahoo.com

STUDIO HOURS

NOTICE: Effective immediately we now have a new address for ALL correspondence - 
esda.office@yahoo.com

STUDIO HOURS

THOUGHTS

            It is hard to believe that Christmas is next month, it seems as though Christmas was just celebrated 2 days ago.

            This time of the year holds many memories, a lot of stress and for some a yearning for those loved ones who are no longer with us during this special time of the year.

            While we are moving at warp speed to ensure everything is just right and we have the perfect present, let us stop for a couple minutes each day and thank God for sending His son to us. For without Jesus we all know there would be no Christmas and all the merchandise we purchase at Wal-Mart, K-Mart or any number of stores wouldn’t matter.

The reason for the season is not Tickle-me-Elmo and we all need to remember that.

Enjoy the Christmas season, go to church, look at the cross closely and think about the greatest present ever given.

As we reflect on the memories and exploits of all ESDA students both past and present, each and every one of you holds a special place in our hearts.

We also want to thank the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and all of you who have supported their students. Your efforts and sacrifices have not gone unnoticed.

With His blessings.

     Master Jack & Eagles family

PRAYERS

Let’s keep the following students and instructors in our prayers:

Zach Hoffer and family

Lisa Dodge and family

Suzanne Kohan and family

Hnath family

Bowman family

If you know of others, please let us know as we wish all our family good health and God’s blessings.

MARKETING

As I have discovered over the years, many of our students and their families have wonderful ideas on how to improve our various programs. Several of their ideas have been incorporated into our curriculum. Please keep thinking outside the DoJang.

Submit your ideas no matter how small to esda.office@yahoo.com

ORDER OF RANK

Everyone knows that a new student is automatically a White belt and the last color is Black.  What goes in the middle?

The order of color is as follows:

        White, Gold, Purple, Orange, Blue, Green, Red and Black

     Junior belts have a black stripe running horizontally. Adult belts are solid colors. Seniors and physically challenged individuals have special requirements and they shouldn’t be denied advancement up to and including black belt. With this in mind, modified programs have been developed at the advanced levels with unique belt recognitions. Blue, Green and Red with one horizontal white stripe and Black without stripes are reserved for these special students.

      Provisional Black Belts (half red/half black) are reserved for those students who have successfully passed their 1^st Dan pre-test.

The number of stripes on a Black Belt indicates the levels or degrees. Third degree Black Belts and above will be referred to as either Sensei or Master. Seventh and above will be referred to as Grand Master or whichever title they so desire.

There are 10 degrees of Black Belt in karate.

PATCHES

The following list is the positioning of the patches on the uniform.

Right Sleeve

Instructor – Top

Demo Team – 2” down

Full Splits – ½ ways between shoulder and elbow

Assistant Instructor – on forearm

Right Breast

Hall of Fame – Top

Student of the month – Even with school logo on left breast

Left Sleeve

Academic Achievement – Top

American/Korean Flag – ½ way between shoulder and elbow

Eagles Club – Below flag

Left Breast

School logo

Left Lapel

Most Improved – Top

Rising Star – just below most improved or just below shoulder level

Additional small iron-on patches’ placement will be determined when procured.

PROMOTIONS

Congratulations to the following people for their hard work in earning their next grade:

Adams, Jackson (Jr. Gold)

Alexander, Sam (4^th Green)

Avery, Lucy (Jr. Gold)

Baker, Sarah (Jr. Gold)

Barrett, Zane (Jr. Gold)

Barkley, Jazmin (Jr. Gold)

Berkley, James (Jr.Purple)

Berkley, Ned (Jr. Purple)

Benedict, Toni (Gold)

Besgen, Charlie (Jr.Purple)

Bonheur, Amelia (Jr. 6^th Blue)

Bonheur, Becca (Jr. 6^th Blue)

Bonheur, Chardan (Jr. Purple, Jr. Orange)

Bonheur, Hannah (Jr. Orange)

Borja-Tibule, Zoe (Jr. Gold)

Bowman, Jackie (Purple)

Bronson, Reanna (Jr. Gold)

Bronson, Steven (Jr. Gold)

Corbett, Maggie (Jr. Gold)

Connelly, Charley (Jr. Gold)

Corpus, Raeanna (Jr. Gold)

Couture, Radomyr (Jr. Gold)

Cruz, Jamie (6^th Blue)

Cruz, Jillian (Prov Red)

DeVita, Dawn (Gold, Purple, Orange)

DeVita, Michael (Jr. Orange. Jr. Blue)

Dodge, Lauren (Jr. Orange, Jr. 6^th Blue)

Dodge, Rachel (Jr. 6^th  Blue)

Donnelly, Ethan (Jr. Purple)

Finnegan, Ryan (Jr. Gold)

Gadams, Nick (Jr. Purple, Jr. Orange)

Hanley, Nicole (4^th Green, 5^th Green)

Hiatt, Annie (Jr. Gold, Jr. Purple)

Hiatt, Dave (Gold, Purple, Orange)

Hiatt, Evan (Jr. Gold)

Hiatt, Ian (Int. Gold, Jr. Purple, Jr. Orange)

Himstreet, Leo (Jr. Purple, Jr. Orange)

Himstreet, Max (Jr. Gold)

Hnath, Liam (Jr. Gold)

Hoffer, Gracie (Jr. Gold, Jr. Purple)

Hoffer, Justice (Int. Purple, Jr. Orange, Jr. 6^th blue)

Hoffer, Zach (Orange, 6^th  Blue)

Holland, Evan (Jr. Gold)

Holland, Howard (Jr. Gold)

Hughes, Ryan (Jr. Gold)

Jenne, Sophia (5^th Blue)

Jones, Brian (Jr. Purple)

Karweta, Ewa (Gold, Purple)

Kirkwood, Ashley (Jr. Purple)

Kirkwood, Audrey (Jr. Purple)

Kirkwood, Chase (Jr. Purple)

Kohan, Lauren (Jr., Purple)

Kohan, Michael (Int. Orange, Jr. 6^th blue)

Lambert, Jacob (Jr. Gold)

Larson, Hannah (Jr. Purple)

Linder, Tyler (Int. Orange)

Lowmack, J’Ashanti (Jr. Gold)

Lynch, Hayden (Jr. Gold)

Maloney, Trevor (Jr. Purple, Jr. Orange)

Martin, Brooke (6^th Blue)

McCullough, Samuel (Jr. Gold)

McKay, Amy (Purple, Orange, Prov Blue)

McKay, Cullen (Jr. Orange, Jr. Blue)

McKay, Lillie (Jr. Orange, Jr, Blue)

McMahon, Connor (Jr. Purple)

Mingin, Chloe (Jr. Gold)

Moreira, Tatiana (5^th Blue, 4^th Green)

Moriera, Eythan (4^th Green)

Morgan, Grant (Int. Purple, Int. Orange, Prov blue)

Munoz, Elijah (Jr. Purple)

Ornelas, Gustavo (6^th Blue)

Ornelas, Oscar (Jr. Orange)

Orosco, Al (Jr. Gold)

Pachecho, Sol (Jr. Orange)

Pitman, Harrison (Jr. Purple, Jr. Orange)

Pitman, Maggie (Jr. Purple, Jr, Orange)

Pomeranz, Alex (Jr. Purple)

Pomeranz, Andrew (Int. Gold, Int. Purple)

Powell, Jaxon (Jr. Purple)

Raheb, Johnny (Jr. Gold)

Rasheed, Rahim (Jr. Purple)

Rubin, Isaac (2^nd Red)

San Miguel, Angelene (Jr. Gold)

Sadler, Rylee (Jr. Purple)

Scourfield, Scott (Jr. Purple)

Scruggs, Daniel (Jr. Gold)

Searing, Noelle (Jr. Gold)

Seeley, Amber (Purple, Orange, Prov Blue)

Seeley, Kaitlyn (Int. Purple, Int. Orange)

Shank, Rebecca (Gold. Purple, Orange)

Snodgrass, M.J. (Jr. Purple)

Thomas, Richie (4^th Green)

Trapani, Annalina (Jr, Gold)

Tuttle, Riley (Jr. Purple)

Wanack, Alex (Jr. 6^th Blue)

Wells, Hayden (Jr. Purple)

All the tests and basic katas are posted on the website.

NEW MEMBERS

The following students have become members since our last Talon. Introduce yourself when

you see them and make them feel welcome.

Holy Trinity

DeVita, Dawn

Hiatt, Dave

Hiatt, Annie

Hiatt, Evan

Hiatt, Ian

Karweta, Ewa

Miano, Lucas

McKay, Amy

St. Patrick

Avery, Lucy

Barrett, Zane

Connolly, Charlie

Corbett, Maggie

Couture, Radomyr

Himstreet, Max

Hnath, Liam

Lynch, Hayden

Orosco, Al

Raheb, Johnny

Searing, Noelle

Trapani, Annalina

St. Pius

Jackson Adams

Sarah Baker

Jazmin Barkley

Zoa Borja-Tibule

Steven Bronson

Reanna Corpus

Ryan Finnegan

Evan Holland

Howard Holland

Ryan Hughes

Jacob Lambert

JaShanti Lomack

Samuel McCullough

Chloe Mingin

Angelene San Miguel

Daniel Scruggs

Virginia Beach

Toni Benedict

Rebecca Shank

Angelea Sullivan                                 

If your student has been inadvertently omitted from either the promotion or new student lists, please let us know so we can send a correction.

TESTING

Testing Schedule:

The next testing cycle for all belts (below Black) will be Saturday 10 December 2011

Times as follows:

o    Gold/Purple/Orange - 9am

o    Blue/ Green – 10am

o   Red – 11am

*All testing will occur at Holy Trinity Catholic School Cafeteria located at 154 W. Government Ave., Norfolk, VA.

There are four things to remember

1.      Be on time, tests will not be held up as it will impact follow-on tests.

2.      Wear full uniform (if trim is authorized, it needs to be sewn on the Toe Bok top)

3.      6^th Blue and above need to bring sparing gear. Boys should also have protective cups.

Elbow and shin/instep guards as well as chest protectors for girls can be purchased through ESDA. These items are not required, but are recommended.

4.      Testing fees ($20) to be paid either on or before test. They can be included in tuition payments.

automatic

advancement

There are a few instances where a student receives an automatic advancement. The instances are: student of the Year/month, joining demonstration team, assisting instructor when it requires teaching higher belts, being awarded 1^st place at a major tournament.

Prior to a student receiving these advancements, several criteria have to be met. First, the student has to be able to demonstrate at least 75% of the techniques required for the next higher belt, they have to have strong work ethics, be model students, recommended by a Black Belt, confirmed by a parent in writing (e-mail works) and finally receive unanimous approval from all the senior Black Belts.

No student may receive more than two such promotions during their entire Martial Arts career at ESDA and it doesn’t preclude them from being responsible for all testing material during their next testing cycle.

These promotions are not taken lightly and not all students will be selected although they can be. It is a reward for hard work and performance and is not a gift but rather an incentive to soar to even greater heights.

Demonstration Team

Please remember that we perform demonstrations throughout the year and we would like to get out and show the community our skills and accomplishments.

All students are eligible to be members of the demonstration team. All you have to do is come to class on a regular basis at any of the studios.

If you are interested let Master Jack, Master Larry, Mr. Jarrard or Ms. Olivar know.

EAGLES/GOLDEN EAGLES

Congratulations to our newest Eagle Club member, Rebecca Shank!

The requirement for Eagle or Golden Eagle has changed slightly. To become an Eagle you must bring in at least one new member. You will receive a check for $25.00 once they join. Two new members in the same month and you receive a check for $50.00.

KARATE Party??

How about trying something different at your child’s next birthday party? Have a KARATE Party where members of our demo team will come to your location, put on a small demo, conduct a class for the partygoers and present a karate gift to the birthday boy or girl.

If you are interested, contact Master Jack, Master Larry, Mr. Karl or Ms. Olivar.

Website

Check the website to be informed of upcoming events, class changes, and other information regarding our studios.  Be sure to check back often to receive the latest updates.

If you have any comments or inputs, contact Master Jack.

http://www.bassai.biz

ONLINE PAYMENTS

For those of you who may not know, tuition payments may be made using the online banking provided by your bank.

The following information is needed:

            Eagles Self-Defense Academy

172 Haven Dr.

Norfolk, VA 23503

(757) 480-5282

FOR SALE

We have some overstock T-shirts/Polo shirts that we are offering at a 30% discount to reduce our inventory. The t-shirts will be $8 and the polo shirts $13.

        The following sizes and colors are available:

T-shirts                                      Polo Shirts

AL                   Red                     XXL             Burgundy

AS                   Lavender           AL    Red

YL (14-16)      Black                 AS    Royal Blue

YS (6-8)           Royal Blue         AS    Navy Blue

                                                   YM   Gold

Sparring Gear (Blue) – Youth Gloves, Youth Headgear, 5/6 Shoes

Screen printed items

In the past we have offered different items to advertise our school. The following list is provided; please let us know if any of these items appeal to you.

Ball caps (have sample)

Lined personalized windbreaker (have sample)

Bumper stickers (have sample)

Collared polo shirts (have samples)

We can get additional items such as sweat shirts, sweat pants, coffee cups or just about anything that can be screen-printed or decaled.

Something to think about. Please send me your ideas.

Student/Parent Input

If you wish to share anything with your karate family, let us know and it will be in the next “Talon Update”. This can be anything from personal accomplishments to vacations.

For example, on the 11^th of November Maggie Corbett spoke at the Veterans assembly at St. Pats.

Ms. Olivar at St. Pius is studying for her Master’s degree

Mr. Karl at Holy Trinity and St. Pats just returned after a long illness. Welcome back Mr. Karl

I’m certain there are many more.

This newsletter is also an excellent forum for advertising your favorite get together.

 If your event occurs between publishing, we have TALON updates that are sent to the family.

Yours in the martial arts,