Show up at the Dojo!!!!!!

Sad times have befallen when The Halls Dojo looks as bad as we did last night sparring!!!  My fault guys.  In my overzealousness to bring up our kata and drills levels we put our sparring on the back burner and last night it showed.
So get ready for alot more sparring and conditioning in the months to come!!!

Thanks for great workout last night guys.  Charts, Kata, Hubud, Sparing Drills and some Kumite ... I ache just thinking about it ....
Thanks to Sensei McKeehan and the young Donald for training with us ... always a pleasure to have you guys in the Dojo.

Another year, another seminar and another great banquet for Doyle Seiber Academy of Martial Arts and Associated Dojos.

We would like to thank everyone who attended for helping to make this year special and for christening the newly opened D & D Martial Arts Oak Ridge Dojo in style.

Special Thanks to our Seminar Instructors this year;

Master Michael Garner "Kicked" off the morning, (sorry, couldn't help myself), with a Kicking Seminar that gave us all some new insights and drills to take back to our dojos.

Master David Santos, took us outside our Isshinryu comfort zone with his Hapkido Seminar effortlessly disarming knife attacks.

Grand Master Jim La Rocco performed the impossible by taking close to 50 Bo weilding students through his Bo Charts without injury.

Master Doyle Seiber stepped in and demonstrated  Proper stances, 90% Punch and his famed "Pull My Finger" technique.

Plus, a Sword Demonstration By Master Santos and a Breaking Demonstration by World Champion Breaker Freddie Cantrall.


The Banquet was another hugh success with the addition of MC Alex Wilson and the band Tragedy .  Fantastic Food, Wonderful People and a Great Tribute to an Amazing Group of Martial Artists!!!


Thanks  you all for being a part of our Family and allowing us to be a part of yours.

Valuable lesson learned last night .... never train with weapons without 100 percent of your concentration!!!
Woke up this morning with a purple thumb, sore knuckle and a big toe the size of a lemon from dropping my own stick on it ..... but still, great night ... we trained ......

Last nights class was Brad, Aaron and myself, hard to believe that it turned out being one of the best classes we've had in awhile.  Even harder to believe is we spent the entire night on Kata. Ran it, broke it down and tried different Bunkai on one another.  Felt wonderful!!!!

I use to just shake my head and think how silly it was when every few years a new crop of blackbelts or old masters would start proclaiming how useless kata was as if the ultimate goal of martial arts is to fight, and then bemoan the lack of interest by the general public.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that most people don't want to fight, most people want to avoid conflict and that is exactly what martial arts teaches.  Now I pity them because their usefulness is directly tied to their youth.  You can only last so long telling stories about your glory days.  Eventually some young pup will come along who is faster and stronger, and if all you are teaching is kicks and punches you are obsolete in no time at all. 

I totally understand the business model for a successful commercial dojo has to focus on what's selling at the moment but my fear is that by doing this we constantly dilute the true nature of martial arts.  That's why The Halls Dojo is and will probably never be a successful commercial dojo.  We love what we are doing!!

Anyway ..... (rant over)

The Halls Dojo is alive, well and open to anyone interested in Traditional Isshinryu or Arnis.

Well it's been a long summer for Brad and I, tearfully watching our core group head off the college and seeing some of our old warriors drift off.  I've always said that even if nobody showed up for class I'd still be there training and sadly it's happened more than a few times this summer .... but on the bright side my kata has improved 100%. 
Monday night Arnis is still going strong ... it's hard to believe it's been 5 years since Evan and I started banging sticks in the back room at North Knox.  Big thanks to Chuck, Evan and Louie for sticking it out! (no pun intended).
Anyway, The Halls Dojo will remain a Traditional Kata based Dojo, we will continue to bend with the current but we won't be swept away by it.

Remember Mike Taylor's Battle of Cumberland Gap on Oct. 1st w/ Board Meeting to follow ....
(don't think I don't realize this was scheduled just to get me to a tournament ....)

Look for a Family Night to be scheduled soon ... it's long overdo!!!!

Seminar Flyer

On Staurday August 27 our own Master Seiber, Master Lewis and Sensei Shultz will be joining Sensi Zellner and others for a full day seminar. 

Click on the Seminar Flyer for more information and lets try to support our Instructors.

Last night while covering class for my young padawan who was up the creek (with or without a paddle is yet to be learned) I made the amazing discovery that The Halls Dojo does indeed still have students .... they just don't show up on the nights I teach!!!!

Great Class and a big thanks to all of you that showed up to train. 

Just remember, we are open thursday nights also!!!!!

AMAPS Pocono Farms Karate Club dojo in Pennsylvania attended the 16TH ANNUAL WORLD KARATE UNION HALL OF FAME tournament this past weekend – JUNE 12TH, 2011 at the Chateau Resort & Conference Center in Tannersville, Pa.

This was Sensei Papa’s first tournament as the Sensei of the Pocono Farms Karate Club and he and his student performed as expected from one of our group.  We are all very proud of Sensei Papa and Mudansha Joe Rollo.

Brown belt student of Sensei Anthony Papa, Joe Rollo competed in Empty Hand Kata and Weapons Kata placing 1^st in each division.  Sensei Papa said that Mr. Rollo normally takes 1^st in Kumite as well but due to the amount of competitors and the delays in running the event both men had to leave for work obligations and could not stay for the kumite rounds. 

SPECIAL PRESENTATION TO WKUHOF "MEN / WOMEN  OF HONOR"  LEGENDS was given to Col. Lisa McManus during this weekend as well.  As you know She was the lady that taught at the Karate 5 function earlier this year.

Photo One:  Empty hand kata – Joe Rollo

Photo Two:  Bo Kata – Joe Rollo

Photo Three:  Sensei Papa, Grandmaster Leon Wright who is a private contractor and teaches self defense to our troops overseas in Afghanistan.   Shihan Frank Williams of Universal Martial Arts Association in N.C. and teaches Isshinryu.  He is retired USMC.

(Nice shirt Sensei Papa!!!  Wear it with pride!!!!!.)