Like any school, growth is essential. Although I have announced it in class, we will be having a PERMANENT Buddy Contest. We will be awarding points to everyone who brings their friends and family to class. Our goal is to continue to grow larger and larger every month. We should have a new batch of white belts EVERY training cycle. although our school is still new, soon we will have students of many different ranks.
For those who were not to the open mat session last Thursday, I have bought some new kicking bags. We will begin putting these to use immediately. But, this is not the only change planned for the future. I am already planning out a budget to purchase more mats so that we can expand the full length of the school. I also have plans for other styles of bags, including some heavy bags. The more we continue to grow, the more / better equipment we can purchase for student training.
Throughout the year we will also be expanding our class schedule and offering additional opportunities to expand our knowledge. At the moment we are offering a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class (at 8:00 after the adult class), but we do not currently have an official affiliation for offering rank. But, for anyone concerned, I can assure everyone this issue will be resolved in the future. Please see me if anyone is interested (or has questions). We also have options to offer a weapons program or expand our self-defense / Hapkido programs. These classes will be based on interest, and if I find we have enough students, I will be happy to expand our schedule to include these.
Our school is affiliated with both the United Taekwondo Federation and the Global Taekwondo Alliance and due to this, we have many opportunities for seminars. At the moment, Grand Master Russ Northup teaches a board breaking seminar, hosted at Plymouth Family Taekwondo. I am also expecting to expand some offerings by hosting some sparring, self-defense, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu seminars in Rochester. These will be announced as I begin planning these.
Overall, I am very excited about this coming year, and I expect this to be an amazing year for everyone at Rochester Family Martial Arts. If anyone has any new goals or resolutions, please feel free to tell me and I will do everything I can to help everyone meet those goals.
Until next time, I'll see everyone "In the Dojang".