Karate Quest Kicks Off Birch Bay Square’s Block Party

This was a great event with a lot of public excitement.  What a great community we live in.  Birch Bay Square is the newly remodeled outlet mall just off I-5 at Birch Bay Lynden Road.

The performers had fun too!  Thank you to all the school members that came to see the show as well.  Let us know what you thought in the comments below.

HAVE A GREAT MEMORIAL DAY!!!!!

Eli Jolly – 1st Place Winner in Weapons, Battle at the Rock

Eli did a great job at this event.  The result of focus and dedication that is achievable for those that will invest in themselves.

Pacific Jewel Nationals Grand Championships – Adam Jolly

This was a great event.  Adam was competing in the Black Belt Weapons Division and of course it is obvious that he was using the sword.

Teaching Self-Defense at WWU

Back in early 2003 I had a few minutes of free time and went by the Physical Education Health and Recreation (PEHR) Department at Western Washington University (WWU) to check out what they offered in terms of Martial Arts classes.  This interested me greatly due to my personal history with the Martial Arts.  You see, although I had been associated with the Martial Arts from an early age (7 years old) with some of the basics that my father shared from the perspective of a Marine Corp Veteran and spent many years training in traditional and non traditional arts my first start to finish teaching occurred when I was in University myself.  I was charged with teaching a PE Sports Karate Class and taking individuals from complete novice to a basic proficiency during the term.  Of course with the perspective of my family the Self-Defense was a greater emphasis than the sport aspects and this empowered many of the students, good people who had not been in fights, with a greater understanding of how to manage conflict.

Post university with degree in hand I found myself drawn into the law enforcement community where the physical skill I had developed were a valuable asset for myself as a Deputy, Detective and later as a U.S. Secret Service Special Agent.  I also enjoyed numerous opportunities as a Defensive Tactics Instructor to share those skill with others in the law enforcement community and that tradition continues today.

Now back to the University.  When I stopped into WWU to check out what they had I learned that they had introductory classes for Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Judo, etc.   However the program director advised me that they wanted a class that addressed the topic of Self-Defense directly.  Having conducted many Citizen Self-Defense Academies in the past I offered to outline a program to cover the basics, but I would not be able to teach the program due to my commitment at that time with Uncle Sam and the Secret Service.  There was just know way to insure that I would be in the area the next day or even that night.  Little lone the next week.  However, the outline of the basics I could commit to do and I did.

Of course those basic involve many things from environmental awareness, victimology and how to avoid looking like the prey for the predators out there to verbal control and descalation of an incident with posture and demeanor to the “Fight or Flight” syndrome and gross motors skills to natural weapons and multiple attackers and what to do immediately before during and after an incident has occurred.  Throw in some classic situational training along with many other cool things to numerous to mention in this blog and you have the recipe for a  great class geared for that group of people who may not have all the street smarts and want to be law abiding citizens, but not be taken advantage of by those who choose to follow a lessor path.

Well a few years passed and I had the opportunity to make a change from the Secret Service to a Dot.Com company which provided me a somewhat more stable schedule.  I learned that WWU had approved the class that I drafted, but they had not found any qualified instructors in our community to teach it.  I spoke to my then current employer and he graciously provided the flexibility for me to begin teaching that class at WWU.  Now nearly three and a half years have passed with approximately 300 plus WWU students having completed the course.  I have to say, it is a wonderful time to see these student have the light go off in there heads and comprehend that they have more ability than they recognize.

We always end the class with a practical training scenario with a suited attacker working through various scenarios which allows the students to apply their newly found or newly awakened skills in as close to a real life situation as possible.  They fight through that situation and show that they can survive and don’t need to play the role of the victim, but can be the predator when absolutely necessary.  Of course they are taught to avoid those potentially volatile situation beforehand.  However, when you can’t a little preparation can help advert  a disastrous experience.

Now the class is among the most popularly requested in the PEHR Department.  They also have a class that I recommend to my students in Brazilian Ju-Jitsu (taught by the only genuine certified Gracie -Barra Black Belt in our area who also happens to be a retired Law Enforcement Professional and personal friend).  There are a lot of people out there who profess to do a Brazilian Ju-Jitsu, but lack the true credentials to back it up from a credible source or hide behind the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) title as an excuse for an anything I want to throw out there attitude.  The trouble is that they can teach techniques that might work in the ring or might not, but there is no room for compromise when it comes to your personal security and the safety of your loved ones.

The best thing about teaching the WWU students is getting the feed back from them of how they feel safer, more empowered, aware, and occasionally how they negotiated their way out of a situation with the verbal skill learned.  I encourage the students to continue learning and growing in their skill and abilities.  Even if they can only find the local Tae Kwon Do school that is better than nothing for they can get a good work out learn some things, but apply the Self-Defense principles that they have learned in my class as a litmus test of what works and what doesn’t when the going gets tough.  Rarely do I hear about them having to apply their physical skill on an aggressor.  The nice thing is that when I do hear back from them that they applied the techniques the training paid off, and that is success.

Ferndale Boys and Girls Club Auction

I had the opportunity to attend the Boys and Girls Club Auction in Ferndale last Saturday evening.  It was an excellent event with the purpose of raising funds to support the clubs on going activities as well as to accumulate funds to build a new building.  The building the club had used for many years was the old Ferndale skating rink located at Pioneer Park.

That building had a lot of history.  I actually skated there a time or two when I was a kid growing up in Whatcom County.  Many years later, I ran a small martial arts club out of that building which by then had become the Ferndale Boys and Girls Club.  I was working full time as a Detective for the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office at the time which allowed for me to dedicate a certain number of hours to the club.

Regrettably, I had to revert to offering only private instruction when I was recruited away for a Federal position.  What is nice is that some of the people that I trained during those early days are still training with me today.   However, the Boys and Girls Club building that we spoke of was struck with a fire that basically destroyed the building.  Thus the auction has an even greater purpose.

That being said, the food was phenomenal and the bidders were generous.  I’m not positive how much money was generated, but It had to be more than a quarter million dollars.  Why do I think this is important?  Because the Boys and Girls Club provides an economical service for those kids who get out of school and have a few hours to go before their parents arrive home.  What a great thing that is to have a positive place and a safe environment. 

I feel very similarly about the opportunity that we provide to youth and families here at Karate Quest.  Of course it comes with the added purpose and benefit of learning the martial arts in a safe and positive environment that fosters leadership, integrity, and goal setting.  The kids have tons of fun and what they learn may just help them to save their own life or the life of another someday, though we hope they learn to recognize and avoid conflict before it happens.

 

CSI: Cub Scout Investigators!

Karate Quest was invited to assist with the Cub Scout Twilight Camp for the second year in a row.  The camp is held each year at Hovander Park in Ferndale, Washington and serves the Bellingham and Whatcom County area.

Adam Jolly, a fellow Boy Scout member, highly accomplished weapons competitor and a very capable Karate Quest Instructor, led the training for the young scouts.  This is a fantastic demonstration of how the leadership taught in the martial arts and scouting go hand in hand.  The 2008 theme was none other than CSI:  Cub Scout Investigators.  Adam learned to dust and lift his first set of prints when he was a Cub Scout.  Probably not a big surprise as he grew up in a law enforcement family.  However, his task was to teach some very basic self-defense to the 100 plus attendees.  That was done smoothly and efficiently and the Cubs had a great time.

The highlight was at the end of the evening when Eli Jolly performed a bo-staff demonstration that he carried out flawlessly with the back-flips, butterfly kicks and many other cool techniques thrown in.  Oh, did I tell you that Eli is a Cub Scout participating in the camp.  What’s more is that Eli recently placed third in the underblet division of the Pacific Jewel Nationals.  This was just another example of Karate Quest Excellence!

Karate Quest’s Adam Jolly 1st in Black Belt Competition at Pacific Jewel Nationals

The Black Belt divisions are tough and the best martial arts athletes in the world show up at Padific Jewel Nationals which is a top NBL (National Black-Belt Legue) event making it one of the most highly credible events there is in the Sport Martial Arts world.  There are a ton of tournements conducted by schools and small associations of schools where they declare their own world championships.  However, the Pacific Jewel Nationals is not one of those.

So, let’s get down to business.  The event spanned over two days, Friday and Saturday, May 9-10, 2008, in which competitors were eliminated from competition.  This was not a small task as there were nine different rings in constant motion up until eight of them had to broke down for the Grand Championship on Saturday night.  By the end of the eliminations Adam Jolly secured 1st Place in Black Belt Weapons.  Of course he used his preferred weapon the Katana to slice through the competion. 
Saturday night he competed against two other highly skilled competitors for the overall tournement Grand Champion position for the weapons. 

New to the stage, Adam Jolly, had a restart with his sword routine but then nailed his second attempt.

  The restart cost him a little bit and he tied for second with a very narrow margin between he and the first place competitor.  Overall this was and outstanding performance as it was Adam’s first time attending the Pacific Jewel Nationals, it was great that he was able to bring home the Gold and perform so well in the Grand Champion runoff.
Eli Jolly competed at the Pacific Jewel Nationals as well and placed third in weapons for his under Black-Belt division.  I don’t think it will be long before he has the opportunity to compete for a Grand Championship Position at a prestigious and credible tournament like this one was.

Congratulations to both Adam and Eli for their Karate Quest Excellence!

Adam Jolly Grand Champion Swordsman

The October 20th, 2007, Western Canadian Martial Arts Championships was and exciting martial arts event with something for everyone. They had the usual traditional forms and sparring, but they also had the Pankration, MMA (mixed martial arts) and Ju-Jitsu events. One of the most exciting events was that of the various creative forms divisions with the high-flying acrobatic kicks, twists and flips. What a high level of athleticism it takes too when you consider that most people only see that kind of action in movies and television programs.

What made is particularly fun for Team Karate Quest was that they took home two first and a second in various age divisions while the Team Captain, Adam Jolly, took home the Grand Champion Title following an outstanding sword performance. Eli Jolly and McKenna Jolly contributed to the other victories.

Gabriel Jolly made his Pankration debut and performed very well. His performance demonstrated that he has the potential to take the division in the years to com. Gabriel made a few mistakes kept him out of the running for a title in his division this time.

What a cool day!

Summer Is Over, But The Fun Is Just Beginning!!

Well I have taken far to long to write a post on the website.  In short we have accomplished so very much and we have had so little time to take it all in.  It has been great.  We ended the summer with a phenomenal week at the Northwest Washington Fair where we carried on a constant flow of demonstrations and allowed the public to win some free Karate Training.  We teamed up with Shayne Simpson’s Pacific Northwest Karate Center, Bellingham, Washington at the fair grounds.

We were not center stage at the fair, but when the members of Team Karate Quest and Shayne Simpson’s Team Rock Solid were performing we would have hundreds of people simply watching in amazement as the martial arts were performed in ways that were thought only possible in movies.  The kids performing ranged from 8-17 years of age and they all performed at levels well beyond their years.  Of course they could make no better tribute to their respective schools than to perform at such a high level.

 Come to think of it, that is what makes this so fun.  There is nothing like seeing a child develop well beyond their expectations and the expectations of their parents.  The secret behind that is dedicated instructors and committed parents who support their kids on their journey to Black Belt.  Many places teach karate or some form of martial art.  However, the instruction that helps kids become the best they can be and express that in all areas of their lives is found in very few schools.  We want to continue the tradition of being that kind of school.

If you didn’t get a chance to see us at one of the local events, such as the Northwest Washington Fair or the Ferndale Street Festival, come on by and see as at our school.  We would love to see you and get a chance to know what it is that you find interesting in the martial arts.

Kid’s Fair 2007