Karate Kid Bully Defense Workshop

In the theme of the new Karate Kid movie, students and their buddies will learn how to deal with bullies and defend themselves if anyone tries to hurt, hit, or grab them. Students and their buddies will also learn the negative effects that being a bully has on a kid. We’ll also do some of the techniques and exercises that the main characters from the Karate Kid movies used when training (catching a fly with chopsticks and other fun games).

The first 20 kids and their friends that come to the seminar will get a FREE Karate Kid poster, and other Karate Kid prizes. This seminar will be PACKED, so RSVP right away by calling us at 908.541.9800 or email Info@ATABranchburg.com.

Date: Saturday, June 19th, 2010
Time: 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Location: ATA Branchburg
Street: 999B US Hwy 202N
City/Town: Branchburg, NJ 08876

Martial Arts for Older Students

The Wall Street Journal published an article in their Retirement Planning section on May 15, 2010 about the benefit of martial arts and mature students. This piece provides many interviews from students aged 50-plus and the benefits they receive from taking Taekwondo. The article is very positive with many health and physical benefits and how it’s becoming more popular among that target audience. A video is also provided which features Master Candidate Mr. Fernando Navarrete and his students.

By ROBERT JOHNSON

Lining up at least twice a week beside fellow students young enough to be his grandchildren, 63-year-old Ron Roe stretches, kicks and punches his way through classes in the Korean martial art of tae kwon do.

“Personally, I never thought I could achieve a black belt because I’m getting kind of old,” says Mr. Roe, a semiretired home-health-care worker in Aurora, Colo.

Earning a black belt, the traditional symbol of self-defense proficiency, took Mr. Roe nine years after his first class at age 50. Since then he has advanced in rank to third-degree black belt, a rise accomplished by less than one of every thousand martial-arts students of any age, according to veteran instructors.

It’s a far cry from tai chi, the Chinese system of slow, graceful noncontact movements long associated with older adults. But so-called hard martial arts—tae kwon do, karate, kung fu, judo and aikido—are attracting more students age 50-plus. Mr. Roe, who credits his rough and tumble workouts with increasing his flexibility and balance, says, “Anyone my age can do it if they have the desire.”

Of course, the kicks of older combatants may not be Bruce Lee-style head shots, and they don’t have to be. Instructors at many of the roughly 30,000 commercial martial-arts schools in the U.S. increasingly are tailoring programs to older students, in whom they see the potential for an expanded clientele. AARP, the Washington-based advocacy group, says martial-arts are becoming more common at community recreation centers, YMCAs and wellness facilities.

5-year-old gives last dime for Haiti relief

Nimai Kini, a 5-year-old pupil at Raritan Valley Montessori Academy in Bridgewater, discovered the power that one person can have.

When the elementary students announced that they were collecting money to send to Haiti, Nimai went home and told his mom that he wanted to donate all of the money in his piggybank. She agreed and helped him empty the contents. They put more than $80 into a plastic bag that he proudly delivered to his teachers. “My mom said she was so proud of me that she gave me $2 to put back into my piggy bank,” he said with a smile.

When asked if he had second thoughts about donating every last penny, he said, “No way. They need our help. They need clothes and food and water.” He knew when he heard the call for money that he could make a difference.

The entire school chipped in, along with sister school, the Cherry Blossom Montessori School in Hillsborough. Some students sold their toys to make extra money while others asked family members to contribute. A total of $1,045.27 was given to the American Red Cross earmarked for Haitian relief.

Summer Spectacular