Merry Christmas and our Wishes for the Happiest of New Years.

Snow and Class Cancellations

Please note that class cancellations will be sent out via e-mail and posted to the web site.  During the previous year, class was only cancelled once.

Closures for the Holidays

The studio will be closed on Saturday, December 24th.  If classes on other dates are added, a special e-mail will be sent out announcing the change.

As a reminder to all the sparring students, no sparring classes are held on the night of Junior Belt Testing.  Parents should expect the Junior Belt Test will be approximately 1 - 1.5 hours long.

Several of our students made the honor roll first quarter at their school.  We are very proud of our students' academic achievements and have included them in this month's newsletter.  The people whose names are in red had straight A's.  Special congratulations to Jessica Reynolds who was inducted in the National Honor Society at Fairfield High School. Please congratulate these students when you see them.

I have a tradition each year of making a New Year's resolution to lose weight and not overeat during the next holiday.  Unfortunately, I believe a lot of other people also have a similar tradition. The article, 12 Healthy Ways to Survive a Holiday Eating Frenzy,  reported that the average American gains 7 - 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years.  Those of us not in our 20's anymore can probably appreciate how hard losing 7 pounds can be.  If you can't, then stop reading.

The author provides 12 great ideas for controlling one's weight.  I have listed the ideas, but I recommend that you read the entire for more insight into each item.

• Exercise

• Review your cooking methods

• Invest in lower fat ingredients

• Eat regularly

• Prepare for outings

• Balance your meals out

• Be wary of sugary foods.  I am sure our dentists echo this suggestion.

• Stock up on healthy snacks

• Be aware of food allergies

• Moderate alcohol intake

• Be assertive

• Leave what you don't want

After reading the article, I quickly saw that there were a lot of ways I could change my behavior to control my weight during this time of year.  The holidays are supposed to be joyous.  If you do overeat at one meal, don't feel guilty; just get back on track.  The first item in nearly all of the articles I researched was exercise, so I encourage you to try to maintain a workout schedule during the holidays.  If you are not able to make it to class, then try to spend some time at home doing the exercises from class, taking a walk, going ice skating, and just staying active.

http://www.betterhealthusa.com/public/273.cfm

We are going to introduce a special 12 week class this winter for our cardio, Taekwondo students, and the parents of our junior Taekwondo students.  The people that are students/participants in Taekwondo or the cardio classes may join this special class for $3 per class.  The class will be offered on Wednesday nights starting the second week in January and will focus on self defense.  Unlike the self defense taught in our Taekwondo class, the students will be encouraged to practice in street clothes.  This class will replace the Wednesday night sparring class.  The class will be taught by Master Huffstutler and Mr. Robert Gerhardt, a police officer. 

We think the addition of this class with offer an exciting change to our curriculum.  We will send out a special announcement when we have scheduled the first class and will provide a curriculum at the first meeting.  In addition to the class offering, we hope to be able to offer a companion CDROM that includes many of the techniques shown in the class.

We will continue in December working on Gi less grappling.  For those who have not already purchased an Under Armour® shirt, there is a knock-off brand, Athletics Works, offered at Wal-Mart.  The off-brand shirt is approximately $11.00 and a good deal.  The material and quality seems to be comparable to the UnderArmour shirt.

This month's technique is the Basic Body Throw.  You block or avoid a punch, grab the person around the waist, and perform a basic sweep or a basic overbear. The technique is very straight forward and very fast.  The takedown is easily controlled and will have minimal impact to your practice partner.