Champions Way of Life Black Belt Extravganza

I just wanted to take the opportunity to congratulate the new Black Belts. For those of you who were at the show, it was awesome! This was our first BBX, and it was  far better than any other one I have ever been too. We opened with the Champions Way of Life National Team which was exceptional. Following the National Team, we had our candidates perform their individual routines.

I received a phone call from Faye Goldstein this morning, she is the head physical education teacher at the school, and she told me that the show was the talk of the school. They are interested in having us come back and perform for the kids in the spring. It was great to recognize all the people and students that gave a helping hand. I would like to personally like to thank the following people; Joann Semirglia, Debbie Reid, Donna Levicoff, Angie Carney, Bill Grayson, Preston Conyers, Joe Hamilton, Keith Loftus, Chris Rollo, Ashley Cafferty, Megan and Melanie Schmidt, Ryan Dannenhauer, Leah Corbett, Paul Graber, Jon Brascetta, Joann Burns, Frank Baccare, and my wife. Without everyone there was no way possible it could have been such a huge success.

We will be calculating how much we will be donating to the kick for cancer later today, but so far it looks like we had over 250 people in attendance not including the candidates. Our DVD of the performance will be mailed to everyone by next week. And for those of you who never received a DVD in the past, we will send you one out free!

Please help Champions with our Kick for Cancer this Saturday. Please see the front desk for your pledge sheets.

Thanks again and all the best,

Sensei Nick

Giving Thanks

When you set goals, one of the first things you should do is write your goals on a piece of paper or in a journal of some sort. This something that I did when I started training in the martial arts. Today, I going to write in my blog everything that I am thankful for. And for the students I would like you to write it down on a piece of paper and bring it in for class.

I am thankful for having the best wife in the world. My wife supports everything I do, and always is there for me when I need to talk to someone. She is the best mother, I have ever seen. I am thankful for my health. I always have a lot of energy, and have been very lucky to never have been injured while training in the martial arts. I am thankful for having great parents, my mother and father tried their best to give me and my sister the best things in life. My mother and father showed me about hard work, and my father has always been a hero to me. He has the most amazing personality, that everyone that knows him talks about how he is so nice, and has a great personality. I love you Mom and Dad!

I am thankful for having the best team of instructors. Joe Hamilton, and Ryan Dannenhauer at the Turnersville school are great people that I enjoy being around every day. They are passionate about the martial arts, and for making a difference in our studetns lives. Preston Conyers, Ashley Cafferty, Leah Corbett, Jon Brascetta, Megan Schmidt, Angie Carney, and McKenzie Laman for all the effort they put into teaching great classes, answering the phones and doing whatever it takes to take Champions to the top.

I am thankful to Master Farid for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime to work with someone who continue to help me grow as a person, and in business. I am thankful to have a special friend like Jon Malach who is always there for me when I need him, even though he is the busiest person in the martial arts industry. When I travel to Canada, Jon has always taken care of me, and has gone out of his way to make me feel comfortable no matter where we go.

I am thankful  to all the parents and students who give me the opportunity to train their children . It is very special to take someone form White Belt to Black Belt and see them grow as an individual, and go through a Black Belt Test. I am grateful that I can do what I LOVE every day, teaching martial arts the best job in the world.

Last but not least, I am grateful for being a great poker player, and for being so good looking! Just kidding, one thing I have learned that I am grateful for just being able to be me. It has provided me with opportunities, and given  me the confidence to take risks and to follow my heart when making decisions. I am thankful for all the mistakes in life I have made. As I have matured I have realized that mistakes are learning experiences that are hidden. Learn and grow from all your mistakes, and never look back!

Please share you thoughts and give thanks for everything you have.

Yours in the martial arts,

 Sensei Nick

The pursuit of Happyness

On Sunday, me and my wife watched “The pursuit of happiness” starring Will Smith. If you haven’t seen it, I would recomend it for the entire family. It’s based on a true story of a man who goes from rags to riches. His battle with poverty, and the other challenges he encounters, should be watched to get the real feeling of what he went through.

I am including a few videos of the movie.  This month for all the students I will be sharing stories of determination. As a martial artist you will be faced with situations and times where it’s just easier to give up, then to fight through the difficult times. I hope the more stories of triumph and determination will only make you realize that a Black Belt Martial Artist is the one that never gave up, and symbolizes a never surrendering attitude.

One of my special parents at the school, shares the same feeling as me. She believes with hard work, determination, and focus you can attain anything. This special parent lost her parents and went on to become a doctor. The most amazing thing is, that she is now considering to become a lawyer. Pretty AMAZING! Not  really, just DETERMINED! If you believe you can then you can, if you believe you can’t then you can’t. Either way your right. Decide today, what you want to be, or who you want to become and with simple skills you can do it. You don’t have to be a genius, or test through the roof, just be determined.

Please watch the video, and if you have a story to share I would love to hear it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNB6n0FfqAU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1iYp0lsR5w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7DUcio-lSQ

The last video that I included it was the best scene, True Happyness!

Oh, one more thing, I finally figured out how to use the spell check on the Blog-So Samatha let me know if you see any other mistakes! LOL.

I love Martial Arts,

Sensei Nick

Champions Kick for Cancer-December 1st

Champions Way of Life will be hosting a Kick for Cancer on December 1st, from 12-3 PM. We are reaching out to members of the community to that would like to be involved in the fundraiser. We are in the process of getting all paperwork from CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Phidelphia) so members of the community that wish to make a dontation will have the proper forms.

We are reaching out to all the students and parents to participate in this event. Please tell everyone you know. We will be allowing sponsors to set up tables in the school that day to give out information about their businesses. Please give me a call or send me an email if you would like to participate.

Champions Way of Life-Vancouver and Sicklerville will also be participating!

I look forward to see who is willing to help out!

I love Martial Arts,

 Sensei Nick

Determination and Perseverance

One on my good friends asked me to write something for the kids about determination, perseverance, and facing adversity. For those of you who know what I’ve been faced with past several months, one thing I can say is that Im glad Im a Martial Artist. Martial Arts has taught me about perseverance more than anything. When I first started martial arts, my instuctructor had me working every day from 9:00-9:00. My pay was a $349 car payment at the end of the month. I was told to get more students, and then I would make more money. As a green belt I began teaching alot of classes, and going to local tournaments. I was enjoying every second of my life, however most of my family didn’t support my decision in pursuing martial arts as a career. But I persevered and followed my heart. This is what I wanted to do. The first Christmas at the school changed my life, I couldn’t believe that the studetns actually bought me gifts. I recieved cards and presents from the parents for working with their children. They thanked me for teaching their children to be confident, they told me that what I was teaching was different than the other instructors. This is when I decided that I wanted to open my own school.

Things were tough, my instructor was not around that much as he traveled to tournaments all over the world. But this was great for me, because I was basically running all the classes, and learning from the mistakes that I made. I started looking for locations, shortly after recieving my black. This was another tremendous learning experience, my lease in Echo Plaza was 52 pages long, and I knew nothing about lease negotiations. So I bought a book so I knew the terminology. It felt so good to actually know what the lawyers and landlord were talking about.

After signing the lease, I opened in Washington Twp. I was so excited, the grand opening was a success, we enrolled 52 studetns the first month. I spent the entire month of August giving out door hangers to every developement in town. Things were moving, and I was growing. After spending five years in that location, I faced another challange. I bought land and had the new location bulit, I was out of Echo plaza, and I owned my own building. I was the only person in the orgainization to ever do that, and I did it on my own, no help from my parents,  my friends, just my incredible staff. They helped me so much, they were running awesome classes while I was meeting with the planning board, contractors, laweyers, environmental, buliders, electricians, and anyone else you could imagine. The stress of the buliding process was very tough on me, every day something was going wrong, however I just focused my energy on how great it would be when it was over. It was suppose to be done in September, however I ran my first class in January. One thing I’ve learned is that you have to wait for great things, be patient and it’s more special when you accomplish it.

Then from there everything was great, right? Wrong! The classes and the school was great, but I made some decisions that I learned so much from and have made me a better person. Most people might say, I made some mistakes. But mistakes are learning experiences. Ant that’s where Im at today. The new Champions Way of Life is a new beginning, a clean slate. When I was going through rough times, it was two key people that helped me through it, they told me to follow my heart! Do what my heart is telling me, the complete opposite of former mentor. And that’s my advice to my students, follow your heart, do what you love, and success will follow. If your not happy, make your move, life is to short to settle and live a life of unhappiness. Surround yourself around people you love, you do have a choice! And no matter how bad things look, your attitude and determination will get you through anything. So for some of us, we need to change the way we think! It’s the power of positive thinking!

I would like to thank all the parents and students who have supported me along the way. Our black Belt candidates who have been loyal, and stuck by the instructors that have shown them them martial arts, shown them life skills, shown them effort and determination, and have taken them to Black Belt. We appeciate your support, and the new Champions Way of Life Black Belt will symbolize having the heart of a Champion. Please have your children read the blog, so they can see that everyone is faced with challanges and adversity, and so they can remember, the first time they are faced with a life changing decision. I hope that they have the confidence, and that they can follow their heart, when faced with a tough decision. 

In closing , I would just like to say thanks to my friend, Frank Baccare. Frank is a great father, a great husband, and a great friend. His son Frank is a direct reflection of him, he has a great attitude, great spirit, and will be a great Black Belt on the 24th!

I owe everything to the martial arts,

Sensei Nick

Bowing in the Martial Arts

Just in case you didn’t get a chance to read the article this month in the newsletter about bowing, I have inserted it in my blog. Please take a minute and read it over, and take a few minutes to explain why we bow to your children. We have recieved alot of positive feedback about our new conduct policy. Please give me your thoughts after reading the article.

 All the best,

 Sensei Nick

Bowing in the Martial Arts

In Martial Arts there is a lot of bowing going on. People bow when they enter the school, they bow to each other a lot, they bow to the instructor and they bow before sparring. They seem to bow to everything except the water fountain. We often have a hard time understanding this because bowing is not used in this country and the last time it was really used heavily was during the dark days of slavery when slaves had to bow to their masters. In the Orient bowing does not mean the same thing as it once did here. It doesn’t mean that one person is acknowledging the other as a superior or a master, even if that person is the Master of the school. Bowing, to the Japanese, Chinese and Koreans, is much the same as shaking hands in Western cultures. It’s a sign of friendship, respect and mutual admiration; not subservience.In the martial arts bowing is very important because it reminds us of the importance of what we are doing and the need to always be aware and in control. When a student bows before entering the training hall he is saying that he has respect for the training that happens there. He is also saying that he will do his best to uphold the honor of the school and to strive to be as good a student as he can be.

When students bow to the instructor at the beginning of the class, they are showing their respect for the Sensei’s years of training, his knowledge, and his skill. When the teacher bows back he is doing more than acknowledging the student’s bow; he is also showing his respect for the students. Remember that a teacher was once a student himself and knows full well how tough it is to be a beginner and to work hard up through the ranks.

When students bow to each other before training or sparring they are saying, “I will try my best to show you honor and respect, and not to injure you in an way.” This is especially important before a sparring match because it reminds us that this is not a fight, but another aspect of training also that this person is not the enemy but a friend and fellow student. It helps one to be reminded of the need for restraint and control over techniques.

It may seem like there shouldn’t be any need to continue the bows after the first time, but since the martial arts are potentially deadly, and always dangerous you can never be too concerned with safety, good manners and good sportsmanship. The next time you bow, remember that it is the key to understanding the respect and etiquette of the martial arts 

Note:Please make sure all students bow when entering the school and before leaving the school. 

Champions Way of Life Grand Opening

Champions Way of Life will be hosting its Grand Opening on Saturday, November 24th. This will be a great day for everyone to come in and see the great things Champions will be offering that were not offered in the past. Some of the exciting updates include the following; We will be teaching the students more about respect, we will be requiring all students to Bow when they enter and leave the school. Black Belt Testing will be more challanging, and more individual attention will be provided for the candidates.  We offer a 3 month training bootcamp at no charge to make sure all candidates know exactly what it means and what it takes to be a Champion Way of Life Black Belt. 

We will also be providing more options to the students in the Martial Arts. We will be offering a Ed Parker Kenpo Karate system for the serious Kenpo student. One of the best additions for our students will be our new Kickboxing program. It is a complete system that can take you to Black Belt as well, this system has been taught at the most suuccesful school in North America for 25 years and has produced many Champions in the Martial Arts as well as life. We will still be offering our aerobic kickboxing classes, but will also be adding more serious and more effective training that has been taught to us by Champions.

Another option for our students will be our BJJ (Brazilian Jui Jitsu classes), this class will be optional and will not be required to reach Black Belt. It is however highly recommended by our staff. Please see any instructor for more information.

The Master Club and Black Belt Club members will be given new uniforms at no cost. Our programs will also we upgraded to provide more for the students.  All Master Club members will be given an addtional 15 minutes of training on certain days begining in January.

Another exciting addition will be our Champions Way of Life Tournament Team. Any student that is interested in competing in our Champions Way of Life Circuit, should see the front counter for more detailed information. Sensei Jon, will be the coach of this new team. Sensei Jon will be teaching tricks, weapons, musical forms, sparring, kickboxing , and BJJ along with myself.

Another addition will be our exchange program, that will be offered this summer. Students that wish to visit and train at Champions in Vancouver can travel with parents ot one of the most beautiful cities in the world and train at the school for an entire week while growing as a person and working with world champions.

To give everyone the vision of where Champions is heading in the future, we have nothing but goals of a Champion. We will launching the National Franchise Campaign in the next few months. Our goal is to be the most succesful Martial Arts Franchise in the world. The unique thing about our team is our two major goals for all Franchises-Quality of the students, and reputation of the school. All school owners will be go through a qualifying process, we will not be taking anyone, only Champions in Life.

We would like to thank everyone for their support, we have recieved many emails and phone calls in regards to the new logo, and the new look of the school. We appreciate all the feedback, and we look forward to making you a Champion in the Martial Arts, and in LIFE!!!!

Some letters from the students

Hey Sensei,

   I just want you to know how much of an impact you and your staff have made on Shane. His level of focus has grown so much in the last 18 months that it is amazing! His desire and drive to be the best that he can be is something that Kathryn and I always fostered, but the martial arts, along with the positive attitude, professionalism, and support of you and your team has made him even more determined. Shane and I went out early Monday morning and had a celebratory breakfast. I was not able to attend the tournament this weekend  as I had to work and wanted to let him know how proud I was of him. I reminded him that as he progresses in martial arts, as well as in life, that there will be tougher tests that he will have to endure. Yet, with drive, determination, spirit, and support, the only person that can ever stand in his way is himself. Shane made it very clear that he will not let anything or anybody get in the way of what he wants to do. As parents, we tell our children how much we love and care for them and that we support them no matter what. In martial arts, Shane knows we are there for him, but thanks to all of you, I feel that he knows that you are also. I thank you and your team for all you have done for our son and the other children in the school. I wish you the best with the reformation of the school and your future. See you at school and take care.

                                                                                                        Ed Rojas

Hello Sensei Nick

Lauren had a great time at the Halloween party to night. Thank you so much. I really love that you organize these activities for the kids. It makes it so much more than a regular karate studio!

I can’t wait to see the upcoming changes you are making-the wood floors, the new logo, etc. I am very excited for you! The kids will continue to learn all the positive values that you and the other sensei’s are teaching them in a new environment, not just in class, but by your example.

I am so glad that we came back to your studio, and I continue to offer support & wish you much success!

Happy Halloween!

Barbara Gini