Many Journey Martial Arts students in Austin had the opportunity to test their skills on Oct 18 and to demonstrate what they have learned for many weeks. What a fantastic event!   

Congratulations Team Journey!

Rank testing is usually a stressful but important step in the path towards black belt.  While we celebrate our promotion and acknowledge the achievements in attaining new skills, we also recognize that there is still a long way to go in the Martial Arts journey.

Sometimes students who test don't always pass, those who are promoted enjoy the symbolism that this moment is the end of one era and the beginning of another, a journey to black belt. Those who are not promoted are encouraged to pick themselves up and try again.  Perseverance is a true trait of a champion.

Whether you have tested or not, we encourage everyone to attend the award ceremony.  There will be many exciting announcements that you don’t want to miss.  Our new cycle tenet is “Respect”.

You want us to do what??
We now have students at different ranks and ages.  Classes will be conducted so everyone can work at their level.  When the students are at different ranks and skill levels, not every student will do and learn the same things.  The key to success is focusing on skills that are at your rank level while learning, and “Respecting” the knowledge and experience of other students.  Simply put, learning by observing.

This cycle some students will be challenged with more complex spinning kicks and jump kicks, and sparring. All students will learn some foundations about board breaking and get to apply their learning on actual re-breakable boards.

Award Ceremony at Westover Hills Church in the Family Room: (no classes at the school)
      Oct 20 at 6:00 PM (All ages)
      8332 Mesa Dr, Austin, TX 78759     
      Students in Full Uniform

New Cycle Starts: (“Respect”)
     Oct 21

 Halloween Party: (Ask for details)
       Oct 25 at 6:00 – 8:00 PM

Halloween Night: (No evening classes)
       Oct 31

Parent’s Night out: (No classes at 6:30 or 7:30 PM.  Open to non-members.)
       Nov 21: 6:30-10:00 PM

Taekwondo is known for its flashy kicking and punching techniques.  These techniques have artistic, sports, and martial applications.  Sport and freestyle sparring is a big part of the martial arts training.  Students develop the basic skills of control, safety, and improved fitness before they spar.  Sparring is part of rank testing at Orange belt and beyond.

Is My Child going to Get Hit?
This is one of the most common questions from a parent.

Sparring is fun and safe but students must develop the right skills before being eligible to spar.  We take every measure and precaution to create a safe environment for training.

Journey Martial Arts sparring rules are based on no contact sparring through green belt and light contact thereafter.

The students will start one-step and controlled non-contact sparring at Orange belt.  They must develop the safety skills before they can do sport sparring.  All students will be wearing approved protective sparring gears for spar training. 

Can I get any sparring gear I want?
One of the critical measures of safety in sparring is wearing the proper protection gears.  We only allow Journey Martial Arts certified sparring gears.  Contact us for details.

If you had a chance to take pictures and videos at test time, please visit. 
Https://www.Facebook.com/JourneyMa

And share them with us.  No Facebook account? No problem!
You can upload your file through the Journey website:
http://www.journeyma.com/gallery.html

Don’t like that either? Then just email them to us and we will post them for you.
info@journeyma.com

Many of you have heard me say that Martial Arts training does not start and end in a training class.  Martial Arts training is a life style. 

So what does that really mean? Simple!  Train to build sustainable skills for life
-          Set a goal.  Don’t just go day by day, and don’t just hope that something great will magically happen.  A great martial artist must set a goal and fight for that goal.  “A goal without a plan is just a wish”!
-          Get involved and take charge of your journey:  Those who show leadership in their everyday training will see impact in their daily life to face challenges of life, recover from life disappointments, and strive for something better.

What is your goal?

The students have been working hard to learn the Knowledge form, to perform their contact skill, self-defense skills, to develop better fitness level and perform their agility challenges, and understand the importance of our cycle tenet: “Knowledge”.  It is now time to achieve the next level of success by testing for the next rank. If you or your children are unfamiliar with these terms, or they don’t have their stripes, there is still one week left.  Show up as often as you can and get ready.  THIS IS A GIANT STEP IN YOUR JOURNEY.  Promotional testing is on Oct 17 and 18. There will be no regular classes on these days (except for the Friday morning 6:30 AM class).

If you are unsure about meeting the basic requirements and the readiness to test, talk to Mr K as soon as possible. If you miss this opportunity, the next time you can test will be in late December. Every cycle has different test requirements so you will still need to learn new skills and earn new stripes.   

Registration process:

-          You should have received a test registration email from Journey MA.  The email includes a link for online registration.  No hassle, no waiting in line at school.  Just register at your convenience. 

Why should I or my Child test:

-          Testing is a measure of progress and achievements in your Martial Arts Journey. Celebrate and measure your achievements.

What is remediate/late test:

-          It is possible that during the test, we may lose focus or have an off day and not perform to our best ability.  This may result in a “no change” status.  Students get one more chance to fix the problems they may have encountered during the remediation time. 

-          Student who decide not to test on Friday and test on Saturday instead, that is considered late testing but there is no remediation option available to those students.

What to wear:

-          All tests are done in FULL Journey MA uniforms only

-          Proper belt tie with (all stripes on the right side)

When can a student join and become a member?

Students can join ANYTIME during a cycle. You do not need to wait for a cycle to be finish in order to start your Journey. 

What happens in class when there are different students with different ranks and color belts?

The training segments are designed to allow different ranks to participate in the same class but perform the techniques at their rank level.  Not everyone does the same technique. As students achieve higher level of mastery in the art, they will be challenged for more advanced skills.

What if I am a transferring student or have trained before?

Discuss options with Mr. K.  Most frequently the student is assessed to determine the proper rank at Journey.  Not all Martial Arts schools follow similar ranking and technical skill. 

Many family members take pictures during classes and events.  Please share your pictures and memories.

At Journey Martial Arts, we strive to keep an open communication with our members.  We provide most current news and updates on our Facebook page. 

We encourage you to visit us on:

Https://www.Facebook.com/JourneyMa

Please help us promote the page and share your comments, thoughts, and experiences with us.

Next time you take a class, ask for a Guest Pass. You can get a $20 referral fee.

What about those shoes?

Just a note … shoes are required for entry into the school but not on the mats.

Why? During the workout, your hands are on the mats, you roll around on the mats…  We clean the mats every night after the last class but dirty feet coming in from the street tracks in dirt. 

So, please tell your kids to wear shoes (slip-on shoes are fine) – less dirt is tracked in.  Mats still get dirty but not as bad.

Thanks and can’t wait to see you on the mat!