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Hi Karate Family,

You are invited to come train with us on this Thursday morning (Thanksgiving) to get some exercise in so you can at least feel like you've earned the right to eat all of that delicious food later in the day. The class will run from 9AM to 10:00 or 10:15AM and will consist of mostly kata (I may be persuaded to throw some sparring in there as well). By the way, this is a great way to get some extra training in if you're planning on testing next month and is also a good warm up for our upcoming 100+ Katas for Christopher Court event. C'mon out... It should be fun.

By the way, check out the attached pledge form for the upcoming 100+ Katas for Christopher Court event. Christopher was a student at Granite Forest Dojo (one of our sister schools) who succumbed to childhood brain cancer in 2011. His family and his karate school have been fighting tirelessly ever since to raise money and awareness in the fight against this devastating illness. Please help us help the Court Family and Granite Forest take another small step toward eradicating this disease. On New Year's Day 2019 The Empty Hand will host 100+ Katas for Christopher. Our goal this year is to raise at least $1,000.00 for more childhood brain cancer research. If we can get just 10 people to do 100 katas and they each get 10 people to donate just 15¢ per kata, we will easily reach (and surpass) our goal. Please consider participating in this worthy cause and event and using the attached pledge form to get your family and friends to support your efforts. For more information visit https://www.christopher-court.org. Thank you in advance for any help you can give!

Please have an awesome, fantastic Turkey Day!

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Sensei writes:

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To:	All Empty Hand and Huaxia Chinese School Karate students and Parents
From:	Sensei Todd Elliott
Date:	April 29, 2018
Subject:	Kyu Exam and Class – 5/19/2018 – 10:30 AM at The Empty Hand

We will hold our next kyu exam starting at 10:30 on the morning of Saturday, May 19, 2018 (the class will actually start at 10:30 AM with the kyu exam beginning immediately following the class - usually class runs 45 mins. to an hour). All Empty Hand and Huaxia Chinese School Karate students are both welcome and encouraged to come to class that morning even if you aren’t taking the kyu exam. You are allowed take the kyu exam if you have the minimum number of attendances and you have your instructor’s permission (Sensei and Elijah at Huaxia, Joe, Dan, Shani, Lincoln, Elijah and Sensei at The Empty Hand). Students who are testing or training the class should be at the dojo dressed and ready to help prepare the dojo for the exam no later than 10:00 PM on the 19th.

Although we let Huaxia students wear street clothes under their uniforms at the Chinese School. For the test all students should make sure they are wearing the official uniform. A plain white tee shirt is allowed under the gi top, but no other street clothes are permitted.

Mr. Judson Sumbler, the chief instructor at both Greater St. Matthew’s and the Yeadon Shotokan Karate Clubs, is the scheduled examiner for the 19th. He is a 6th degree black belt with over thirty years Karate experience. Mr. Sumbler has visited our club, and invited us to his own, on many occasions throughout the years. He is an excellent examiner and always teaches fun, informative and entertaining classes. Please give him your best effort and pay close attention to his instructions.

Administrative Details

In order to be eligible to test a student must have trained a minimum of 4 months and have at least 30 attendances (Huaxia students must also show a completed practice log) . The fee for the examination for a color belt with a current ISKF membership card is now $50.00. Students testing for the very first time (white belts or color belts transferring to The Empty Hand from another club) must complete the green ISKF (International Shotokan Karate Federation) membership application, have the application signed by your parents and also get it notarized (Yes, they really have to be notarized!!), and pay both the $35.00 annual ISKF/Empty Hand membership fee and the $50.00 examination fee ($85.00 total). All payments, membership cards, and completed ISKF applications must be presented to one of your instructors no later than the end of class on Wednesday, May 15, 2018. Please make checks payable to The Empty Hand. If you have any questions about the test, you can ask any instructor before or after your normal class times.

And once again, just a reminder... When you take any rank examination please remember to do all of your techniques with speed, power, and focus; remember that you should make loud strong KIAIs throughout your basics and twice during your kata, and DON’T BE LATE!! Finally, Sensei Sumbler WILL NOT LET ANYONE TEST IN A DIRTY UNIFORM. All gis must be clean and neat!! Keep up the good work. Thank you in advance for an outstanding performance during class and on the test.

-Sensei

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-Joe Elliott

Best wishes,
-Joe Elliott

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"Hi Folks,
Since the school districts are already starting to send kids home and since this stuff is already beginning to stick, I'm going to go ahead and cancel class for tonight (Tues., Mar. 20, 2018). Please keep warm and stay safe"
-Sensei Elliott

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-Joe Elliott