11th March 2023

Elite Karate Academy Newsletter

March 2023

Welcome to the March newsletter of 2023. 

St Patrick’s Day Parade

We will once again take part in this year’s parade.  All members of the Academy are welcome to walk with us as are their families and friends.  The more the merrier.

Children are asked to wear their karate uniform.  Depending on the weather, they can wear normal clothes under their uniform.

We will be meeting in Clondalkin Sports & Leisure Club Car Park, Old Nangor Rd, between 1-1:30pm on the 17th.  The parade starts at 2pm and is estimated to finish at 4pm.

There will be no regular classes on St Patrick’s Day.

Elite Karate Academy Expo

The annual Elite Karate Expo will take place on Sunday 23rd of April 2023, once again in the Green Isle Hotel.    This is the biggest event in the Elite Calendar. 

The aim of the Expo, as always, is to allowing students demonstrate their skills and abilities to their family and friends, whilst educating parents about the aims and ethos of Elite Karate Academy, in a relaxed fun environment.

All students will be taking part, those not grading will be involved in demonstrations. 

This event is open to anyone. So bring the grandparents, this year’s Expo will include;

• Grading (see below for details)

• Club Sparring Competition (semi-finals and finals only, early rounds will take place in class through March, entries now closed)

• Demonstrations (Instructor & Students)

• Award Ceremony (Grading, Competition, and Special Awards, including Student of the year)

• Full Bar Facilities

• Bake & Cake Sale

• Raffle – Can you or your business can donate a prize?

Grading

Those eligible to grade must pay their grading fee before 7th of April to insure they receive their certificate at the Expo. 

Please check with Sensei Gareth if you are unsure if your child is eligible to grade.  Gradings will take place in their regular classes prior to the expo and receive their results at the Expo.  

Tickets

Pre-entry for the Expo now on sale. 

Current members of the Academy do not need to pay for entry, only their families.  Those that pre-pay will gain entry to Expo earlier to secure better seats.

Children’s Anti Bullying Program

We have now started our Children’s Anti-Bullying Program – this course will teach children how to stay safe, avoid trouble and how to deal with bullies by building their confidence and teaching simple protection skills. 

All done in class via our mat chats.

App

Our new Elite Karate Academy App is now up and running. 

This is a game changer for modern karate students, video tutorials for every technique they will ever learn to black belt and beyond in an ever-growing resource in the palm of their hand 24/7.

If anybody has difficulty logging into the app, please message me and I will resend the log in details.  If you did not receive an email, please check your spam folder, as some of the emails were landing there.

Once you have the App downloaded to your phone, long press on the app to bring up the app info and turn notifications on.

Leadership Program

The Elite Karate Academy Leadership Team program has been designed for students who are interested in leadership in martial arts or life and is now up and running.  Over the coming weeks these new Academy leaders will be assisting in various classes within the Academy.

Those selected students should now make themselves available in the class times that suit them and confirm with Sensei.  All leaders start a 30-day intro program once they attend their first class as leader.  After 30-days they then move on to level one.

The new Leaders Program Uniforms will be ordered once the Students have been confirmed and accepted to level one.  Uniforms will cost €30 the same as a normal suit.

Those currently accepted on the leadership program, will be given access to the training video on our App and should watch them ASAP.  More videos for level one will be added from next week.

Uniforms and equipment

Unforms are now back in stock, they can be bought through the website for click & collect at the dojo.

Sparring gloves and boots are now available.  I will have x-small boots in stock hopefully by the end of the month.

New beginner’s class

I will be starting a new beginner’s class on Tuesday & Thursdays from 5-6pm this month.  If any current beginner would find that time better suited then the class they are currently in, please let me know and we can transfer you to this time.

Direct Debits

If you would like to set up a direct debit for your membership either weekly, 3 months or yearly, and pay that way please message me and I can set it up.

Moving Dojo

To those asking, I am still looking for suitable premises to move too in Clondalkin.  I have not yet been successful.  Ideally, I would like to move during the summer, if we can find a premises.

As always thank you for your continued support of Elite Karate Academy

Sensei Gareth