Memorial Day Weekend Schedule Changes

There will be some slight adjustments to the Memorial Day Schedule for that weekend.  Also be sure to check the schedule adjustments for the following weekend for our Anniversary.

• The Little Dragons group class will move to Saturday morning at 11 AM, instead of Sunday at 11 AM.
• All private classes that are scheduled for Sunday will also need to be rescheduled.  Saturday times are available.
• The school will be closed on Sunday, May 27th and Monday, May 28th.

Thanks in advance for your cooperation and we hope you enjoy the Holiday!

Raffle Prize HQ!

Here is a list of currently participating businesses:

 

Island Books – 2 Books (“Karate Hour” and “Eyewitness Sports”) and every kids favorite: a Flesh-eating Plant Kit

AMC Theaters – $30 Gift Card

Antica Farmacista – 2 Scented 8 oz. Candles

Emerald City Smoothie –

Great Clips – 2 Gift Baskets of Hair Care Items, one Men’s and one Women’s

Noah’s Bagels – 6 Free Bagels

Big 5 Sporting Goods – $30 Gift Card

Red Robin – $25 Gift Card

KidsQuest Children’s Museum – 4 Free Admission Passes

Yo Mercer! – 5 $10 Gift Cards

Roberto’s Pizza – 2 Large Pizzas

Au Courant – Men’s $40 Gift Card to the Den and Free T-shirt

Indulge Spa –

Shear Madness – 2 $50 Gift Cards for Woman’s Cut and Style and 1 $35  & 1 $40 Gift Card for Men’s Cut and Style

Marlene Goodman – Free 1 hour of Massage

PC-Fix – Free PC Diagnosis

Cold Stone Creamery –

Games Workshop – Lord of the Rings Miniature Figurines and Paint Set + Free Painting Lesson

Tatters – Scarf by Lunne Marine

and of course Z-Ultimate Self Defense! – Free 10-block of lessons or 3-month Starter Package AND $100 Gift Certificate

Thanks for all your help and I look forward to seeing you all at our Anniversary!

Anniversary Celebration!

In case you haven’t noticed, it’s coming up fast, so get it on your calendar!  Our Anniversary Celebration will be held Friday, June 1st and Saturday, June 2nd, with special events planned for both days.

Read on to see what’s happening!

First of all, there will be some adjustments to the group schedule for those two days, and we’ll ask all of you to reschedule your private classes for those days as well.  Here it is in a nutshell:

Friday, June 1st:

Bring-A-Buddy Day

Instead of the regularly scheduled Friday classes, we will be hosting two very special classes on that day!  There will be a Kids group class for All Ages from 5:15 -6:00 PM, and an Adult Class at 7:30 PM.  Both classes are “Bring-A-Buddy” Events, where you can bring a friend or family member to try out a class and act as their personal Sensei for the day!  Also, any student who brings a buddy who enrolls will receive a free uniform!

Saturday, June 2nd:

Women’s Self Defense

We are hosting a Women’s Self Defense Class on Saturday at Noon!  This class is open to all women, and space is limited, so let us know if you or someone you know would like to participate, since we are already about half full as of this writing! If anyone also knows any High School Seniors who are heading off to college in the fall, I think it is an extremely good idea to attend something like this….

Raffle to Benefit Mercer Island Youth and Family Services

Also, on Saturday, we are having a raffle to benefit MIYFS and the Food Pantry!  We’ve been busy getting prizes donated from many of the local businesses and are super excited to be able to give back to the community!

Why are we doing this?

Summer is typically a very slow time for donations to Food Pantries and the other services that require community support because the need is not perceived to be as great.  Especially after the last couple of years, this need is growing more and more acute as funding is cut back.  Unfortunately, this causes a crunch for organizations of this type, so we wanted to lend our support for the great work that they do.  For more information about what they do, you can visit their page here.

Here’s how it works:

We will be collecting items for the Food Pantry here at the dojo. Items should be non-perishable, and the items most in need are: cereal, canned food, pastas and sauces, peanut butter, jams, tomato products, chili, boxed rice and grains, etc.

Each student that brings in a full paper bag of groceries will receive 10 raffle tickets and two invitations to the Kids Party (read on).

Additional raffle tickets can be purchased for $2.

The drawing will be held at 1:30 PM on Saturday, so be here to pick up your prize!

Proceeds will be donated to MIYFS.

I will be setting up a separate post detailing the prizes that are available.

Kids Party!

As the grand finale for the day, we will be hosting a Kids Party to say “thank you” for donating!  Sorry, it’s only open to students who donate a full bag of groceries to support the Raffle.  The party will start around 2 PM, and run until approximately 3:30.  There will be food, fun, games, and more prizes!

Oh, yeah, in the midst of all this, I almost forgot the SPECIALS!

In addition to the FREE WOMEN’S SELF DEFENSE SEMINAR; in addition to the BRING-A-BUDDY DAY; in addition to the FREE KIDS PARTY; in addition to the FREE UNIFORM when your friend enrolls at the school; in addition to the PRIZES WHEN YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE RAFFLE; we also are offering the following very special deals:

15% off additional blocks of lessons!

10% off any items ordered that day, except Sparring Gear Packages!

$30 off any Sparring Packages!

New students enroll for only $99!

$25 off any of our Summer Camps!

We are also authorized to extend the offer for One Black Belt Program that weekend for those students that are seriously committed to their training and would like to save some serious dough over the long run….

If you know there are things you want to take part in, or any specials that you want to take advantage of, please let us know so we can have everything run smoothly!  I am really looking forward to having a great event, and hope that you are all able to attend!

Summer Stuff

Dear Parents and Students,

As you are no doubt aware, summer is fast approaching. For many, this means vacations, swimming lessons, and other activities that may interfere with the ongoing pursuit of martial arts training. I would like to take this opportunity to explain the school’s policies regarding vacations and summer scheduling, as well as provide you with some information about events that will be happening during the summer months.

In my experience, those that are able to maintain their training during the summer are at a huge advantage for a variety of reasons. In my experience, the vast majority of students who do take large chunks of time away from their training end up not returning to it, in spite of the best intentions. Those that do take significant time off generally take about as long to get back up to speed as the amount of time they took off in the first place. Since class sizes are generally smaller during the summer, there is much more opportunity for personal progress and individual attention. The extra availability of private lessons, camps, and other special events help propel this growth even faster.

In order to help students maintain their skills and keep their momentum during the summer months, here are some additional things to consider:

• Check the schedule for morning classes. The current schedule will continue through the summer, and we will most likely (depending on interest) add morning options as well for those students that would prefer to come in during the early part of the day.
• During the summer, it is a great time to add training to your schedule! Because of the increased availability of class times, your skills can really skyrocket by adding additional private lessons during the week.  If this interests you, remember that our Anniversary Sale is coming up shortly, which provides the perfect opportunity to upgrade your experience!
• There will also be (at least) two week-long karate camps for kids enrolled in belt programs this summer.  The first will run July 9^th – July 13^th and the second will be July 23^rd – July 27^th.  Details can be found here.
• If none of these options work for you, we will of course credit missed time when you return, provided you let us know in advance how much time you will be away (in writing, please, so there is no confusion later).

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the summer (or anything else for that matter) please feel free to call, email, or speak with me any time. Thank you so much for your continued support of the school, and I hope everyone has a safe and pleasant summer!

Sincerely,

Sensei Ben

Summer Camps!

Since so many of you have been asking for details about our summer camps for this year, here they are!

The Camp is scheduled for Monday, July 23rd – Friday, July 27th.

The details:

• Camps are open to kids under the age of 13.
• Camps run from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  Snacks and drinks are provided, no need to bring lunch.
• Camps are limited to 12 participants per session.
• Campers explore a wide range of activities, including extra karate classes, sparring, advanced forms, performance, and weapons training.  In addition, campers also experience other fun and exciting activities, such as origami (paper folding), fight scene choreography, playing go, and other possibilities.  The specifics will be decided depending on the students enrolled.
• Camp fee is $249. There is a $25 discount for a second participating family member.
• In order to participate, a non-refundable deposit of $50 per child is required to secure your space.
• If you reserve your spot on or before Saturday, June 2nd, you will receive a $25 “Early Bird” discount.
• If for some reason the Camps do not have enough attendees, we will let you know at least one week ahead of the start date.

In the past when I have run Camps, they have pretty much always filled to capacity.  If for some reason the Camp does not fill to capacity, there may be the possibility of attending individual days, but I definitely wouldn’t count on it. Almost 100% of the attendees returned for future Camps because they had such a great time, and I look forward to making that a tradition here as well!

Lots of Fun Stuff Coming Up this Summer!

Here’s a list of upcoming events for the next couple of months, plus some more TBA:

Monday, May 28th:

School Closed for Memorial Day

Friday, June 1st and Saturday, June 2nd:

On Friday, we will be featuring a Bring Your Buddy to Karate Day and Special Classes for the afternoon and evening.

On Saturday, we will be hosting a FREE Women’s Self Defense Class at Noon and a raffle to support Mercer Island Youth and Family Services with the drawing to be held at 1:30 PM.

Be on the lookout for some great specials coming up for that weekend!

Wednesday, July 4th:

School Closed for Independence Day

Monday, July 9th – Friday, July 13th:

First week of Summer Camp for Kids!

Saturday, July 14th and Sunday July 15th:

Mercer Island Summer Celebration Days.  We will have a booth and be participating in the parade on the 14th as well!

Monday, July 23rd – Friday, July 27th:

Second week of Summer Camp for Kids!

Saturday, August 18th:

Z-Ultimate Northwest Tournament!

Don’t miss out on any of these great events!

Calling all Moms!

May is Mother’s Month at Z-Ultimate Self Defense!

What does this mean?

It means that ALL MOMS TRAIN FREE IN MAY!!

In celebration of Mother’s Month, we are giving all moms that want to try our martial arts program a month of lessons and a free uniform!! If you are a mom, or know any moms out there that could use some STRESS RELIEF, flexibility, exercise, and TIME TO THEMSELVES, give yourself (or your friend) a great gift! No commitment required, just let us know and we will get you started, or if it is for a friend, we will be happy to provide a certificate for you to give them.

We look forward to seeing you in the dojo!