USSD Martial Arts San Clemente

Memorial Day Weekend

    First off, Happy Memorial Day to everyone, especially to our military students and families; We thank you for your service and sacrifice. We hope you all take some time to enjoy the long weekend! Just a reminder: There will be no Martial Arts Group Classes on Monday, May 30th (Adults/Kids Kempo, BJJ, MMA), but we will be open if you have a Private Lesson scheduled. If you do have a private lesson scheduled for Monday but will be unable to attend, please let us know by Saturday so we can reschedule it for you (we will be open this Saturday on regular schedule).

    This Sunday, Team CFSC will be taking on the 2011 SoCal Tough Mudder in Running Springs, CA. We wish them luck (they're gonna need it) and in the spirit of Memorial Day, would like to point out that the proceeds from Tough Mudder go to the Wounded Warrior Project. Get some, Team CFSC!

    After the long weekend, it's back to training for the Tournament next Sunday, June 5th at Soka University in Aliso Viejo. If you haven't registered yet or would like to buy more spectator tickets, go to www.USSD.com or CLICK HERE. Let's keep our Champion-status so we can enjoy ourselves even more at the Summer Showdown on June 18th!

    Have a happy and safe holiday weekend and don't forget to practice we'll see you next week!

PS- Good luck to our Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu students who will be testing on Saturday. We'll get the smelling salts ready :)

Countdown to Summer

    Summer's coming up but there's still al lot to be excited about for Spring. Check out the schedule and make sure you mark your calendars down!

Saturday, May 21^st - The Shaolin Summit at the LA Convention Center - The Summit will feature Shaolin warrior monks, Kung Fu demonstrations, Shaolin techniques and training tips and a talk from Shaolin Temple Abbot, Shi Yongxin, who is traveling to the event from China. You can get your tickets by CLICKING HERE.

Sunday, May 29^th - 2011 SoCal Tough Mudder - Some of CFSC's and USSD Martial Arts' finest craziest will compete in a 10-mile, mud-slicked obstacle course in Snow Valley. This team race is about camaraderie and not about who finishes first. Our guys and gals could use all the help they can get so get your Spectator tickets ONLINE HERE for just $15 which will get you into the race to cheer on Team CFSC and in to the awesome after-party. More info on the CrossFit San Clemente website.

 

 

Sunday, June 5^th - USSD Summer Grand Championship Tournament - You know what time it is! Time for some friendly and exciting competition in Sparring, Forms, & Weapons events for all ages and ranks. We've got a title to defend, folks. REGISTER today and don't miss out on this good stuff. For more on why competition is an important part of martial arts training, see last week's post, 2011 Summer Grand Championship Tournament.

Saturday, June 18^th - 2011 Summer Showdown Open House and BBQ - We're doing it again! What better way to kick off Summer than with some delicious Brazilian barbecue, music, student recognition awards, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Kempo Black Belt showcases, our Kids Demo Team, live MMA exhibition fights, raffle prizes, the Bounce Obstacle Course, and more! All ages and non-students welcome and tickets are just $5 for adults and FREE for kids ages 10 and under when you get them before June 15^th. We had a great time last year and we can't wait for this one!

 

Friday, June 24^th and Saturday, June 25^th - Adults and Kids Belt Tests - Your Instructors will let you know if you'll be ready for this test and if not, there'll be another one in August after Ninja Camp. Keep practicing!

2011 Summer Grand Championship Tournament

    Coming up on Sunday, June 5^th is the 2011 USSD Summer Grand Championship Tournament at Soka University in Aliso Viejo! This Tournament has divisions for all ages and ranks and it will give our students the opportunity to compete against students from other Dojos all over Southern California and beyond in exciting Forms, Sparring, and Weapons events!

    Tournament competition is not required for a student to reach his/her next rank, but we do highly recommend it because students who compete regularly in the biannual Tournaments usually progress faster through the ranks and tend to have better overall technique. This is because competitors are usually more consistent with their training and practice more at home. Besides benefits such as improved speed, timing, accuracy, and confidence, Tournaments are also a good chance for family and friends to show their support for the students and have a good time, and for all of our students to bond as a team. Not to mention the fact that we have a title to defend (Winter Tournament Grand Champions!).

    This time around, they are doing all of the registrations ONLINE for your convenience. You can register by CLICKING HERE or visiting www.USSD.com. 

    Keep practicing and we can't wait to see everyone there!

Watch Out, Strangers!

    Saturday's Stranger Danger and Child Safety Seminar was a lot of fun for everyone in attendance and, more importantly, kids and parents alike learned the skills that will help them stay safe and be better able to recognize, avoid, and escape from dangerous situations. First off, we would like to thank Ms. Janet Dunford of the OCSD Crime Prevention unit for coming in and giving the kids a great presentation on how to stay safe and giving demonstrations of the kind of tricks strangers use to lure kids away from safety. We'd also like to thank her for the at-home Child ID and DNA kits (and I'm pretty sure the kids didn't mind the sticker badges or Slurpee coupons either).

    Secondly, we'd like to thank all of our students and parents who brought their friends and family members along and helping us "spread the Karate love". Our students learned a lot from the presentation and the techniques we taught, but it's even more important that the kids who do not have any martial arts training learn these skills in case they find themselves in a potentially dangerous situation. We couldn't believe how well the kids with no martial arts experience did when confronted with our "Bad Guy" and how awesome our students were at helping their friends and classmates with the techniques. And we would be crazy not to thank Jose for volunteering to be our Bad Guy and taking all those knees to the groin and palms to the face.

   Before we ended the seminar, we gave the kids the chance to apply the techniques they learned on a real "Bad Guy". It's one thing to kick a bag or hit a pad, but it's another thing altogether to have to fight your way to safety against a bigger and stronger attacker who's got you by the arm or in a bear hug from behind. When kids practice their techniques in a more realistic way, they'll be less likely to panic or freeze if they find themselves in a similar situation in real life. Although some kids started off slow and nervous, they all ended up getting the hang of it and really using the kicks and strikes they learned to free themselves and get to safety.

    The techniques we taught the children at the seminar were very simple and effective, but kids who practice regularly are obviously going to be better able to utilize them if they find themselves in a high-stress situation. Our students will have the techniques reinforced and refined by their ongoing training and we recommend that kids who are unable to participate in some kind of ongoing martial arts program at least practice the techniques they learned at home under their parents' supervision.

    Below we've added some of the photos from the seminar so you can get a better idea of how awesome these kids were, and the rest will be up on our Facebook page.

    Thanks for coming out and we look forward to the next free seminar so we can continue to do our part to keep our San Clemente kids safe!