2014 Annual Dojo Kick-A-Thon

The Kick-a-thon for this year was a very successful fundraiser, there was lots of participation and energy.

Students again made up their own kick boards and we even had a few small contests for best decorated, most original and best art. We also upped the timed kicking to 30 seconds since 15 is just not much of a challenge, highest number of kicks went to Shihan Lori with 109 in 30 seconds. Students and parents have worked really hard this year on the fundraisers for sponsoring the Nationals team so Since we only needed a small amount to go towards the Nationals team we were able to donate $1,000.00 of the proceeds raised to this years chosen beneficiary Rene Elkins- Rene has survived 2 separate battle's with 2 different types of cancer in one year. She is one heck of a fighter and we are proud to be able to help out with her fight. Lot's of prayers and good wishes to you Rene!

2013 Dojo Christmas Banquet and Awards Party

This years Christmas Party was the best yet! Thank you to the VA for allowing us to use your facility, we were in the theater and had access to all of the great benefits it offered. Also Thank You to all of the volunteers who helped set up and tear down, you guys are awesome! This year we were able to set up a giant projection screen filled with pics from the past year, what a delight to see how everyone has changed and how many great times we have enjoyed together.

Also this year we were able to honor the volunteers in the dojo who give SO very much of their time and energy with custom embroidered hoodies and framed Thank You's. Another really special part of the party included live music from a new friend who entertained us with his beautiful piano playing all evening.

The room was filled with music and conversation and laughter, what more could you want? Well how about a visit from Santa?! What a treat, the smallest ones there were just thrilled to have Santa come to their party and spend time with them, a few even had some good conversations with him about what they could give during this season instead of what they wanted to get.

The evening capped off with the traditional brick breaking, many students broke their past records as did even Sensei Alex. What a wonderful evening! We sincerely look forward to the coming New Year with all of our friends and families!

November 2013 - 8K Hike

This Fundraiser for Flyin' High Turkey Drive was a great time for everyone. We had to postpone our date since we got a bunch of snow and freezing rain the weekend we had it planned- figures for weeks before the event nothing but clear sky's and sunshine! Everyone who attended completed the hike although a couple of the smallest ones had to hitch a piggy back ride for the last stretch. Brave little souls trekked on as long as they could, this was a 5 mile hike around Watson Lake in November after all. Many beautiful scenic sites were to be found and lunch was a welcome rest break. At the end of the hike Sensei Alex showed some of the kids a great trick with the cat tails, I think I still have fluff covering my coat. Tremendous spirit and energy for the whole trip, and the parents that came with us for back up were just as much fun to have along as the kids. All the effort goes to a good cause, The Yavapai Food Bank Thanksgiving Turkey Drive. This Dojo has much to be thankful for!

2013 Dojo Sleepover

2013 Dojo Sleepover was quite a success! there were 25 in attendance not including the adults! We rumbled, we tumbled we danced, we ate popcorn watched movies and just blew the roof off the dojo for hours! Students were just to fun to watch while they learned line dances and played at YOU KNOW SUMO?! along with Shihans cool obstacle course for parkour! Then all night long we watched movies on the ceiling and just kick'd it and relaxed! This event is also a treat for the students that help with raising the funds for the Flyin' high turkey drive.

2013 Haunted Halloween Blowout

This years party was a bit on the chilly side, but the decorations and all the games were just freaky and awesome. Parents came out early in the week to set up the haunted house, the grave yard candy dig, the mad scientist lab, the swamp challenge and many more fun games and activities! Welcome guests from Germany served as our costume contest judges and the prizes this year were really cool. Inside the Haunted house was a screeching witch and a caged skeleton along with rats and fog and snakes and such.

Cupcake eating contests and bloody worm filled donut eating contests along with surieken balloon games and the chocolate fountain were some of the favorites. All sorts of wonderful costumes came out to enjoy the evening and candy and prizes flowed like water.

A big thank you to the volunteers who worked so hard to make this such a cool event!

2013 Zombie Run

There were 13 students that competed in the Prescott Valley ZOMBIE RUN event at Mountain Valley Park. This was a fun event where participants can run as humans or zombies. A 1.5 mile trek around the park is the course and along that course are zombies who will try and steal your life flags- runners and zombies received a cool zombie run t-shirt for entering the race. All proceeds raised are used to send Bradshaw Mountain High School (BMHS) delegates to RYLA, Rotarys Youth Leadership Awards Camp that is held at Camp Pine Rock, Prescott.

Veterans Administration Demo July 13

Students performed 2 separate Demonstrations at the VA in Prescott. As a salute to our Veterans, 20+ students and instructors engaged in two action packed demonstrations at 10:00 in the theater and again at noon inside the hospital. All of the folks that attended had a great time especially watching the Mighty Mights. Afterward all of the students went around the room shaking hands with and thanking every Vet for their service.

2013 Demo at Tim's Toyota Center June 15

Twenty four Students performed in a 45 minute Demo at Tim's Toyota Center on Saturday. The Demo ran as a 3 ring circus with multiple areas being shown at one time.

The demo started off with a bully prevention skit performed by 2 of the students followed by exercises, kicking demos and then a fun and hilarios demo performed by one of the dojo's Get K.I.S.S.D. graduates and Sensei Travis. After that there were sparring rings, grappling rings, and Team Kata performances followed by individual and team weapons demonstrations Students from 4 yrs and up participated.

After the demo students and parents attended a family picnic at Mountain Valley Park. Everyone celebrated a successful Demo and a couple of birthdays and Hanshi Gary was presented with his Sensei afghan.

Dojo Summer Fun Camps June 2013

Shinpu-Ren began its Dojo Summer Fun Camps this year and it is off to a great start. Offered only to tuition-ed students and Parks and Rec Students, this pilot program will set the pace for future camps to come. Every day begins and ends with Martial Arts. Field trips to movies, hiking, swimming and exploring are only a few of the activities.

Visits to local sites and parks, outdoor adventures to rivers and mountains, kids stay busy all day long followed by an hour and a half Karate Class. Dojo Day Camp is not day care ! It is adventure, new experiences, learning opportunities and challenges around every corner.

Join us next year and try it out for yourself, the kids will have fun and stay busy all summer long.

2013 February Sweetheart Spaghetti Dinner

This year the Annual kick-A-Thon turned out to be more of a community event rather than a competition fundraiser. Students worked for weeks to secure as many pledges as they could. Fortune had smiled upon the Competition Team this year and they were able to return 65% of the funds raised back into the community. Word had spread of a local family in need, students and parents were very pleased to be able to donate a much larger sum than the usual 10% since only a small portion of the Kick-A-Thon money was needed to cover all of the competitors. This year we used a different version of our usual event.

Students decorated their own kick boards and each team had fifteen seconds to try and get as many kicks as possible completed. They were all given two try's to get their personal best. After everyone finished, all of the participants had a great time enjoying all of the amenities that Freedom Station had to offer including pizza and drinks. Again a number of the codes of Bushido have come into play and students , instructors and parents have all benefited from the joy of giving back to their community.

2013 February Nationals Fundraisers

February kicked off the first of many Dojo fundraisers with a multi family Yard Sale and Ice Cream social. Parents turned out in force to assist and support the Nationals team in their effort to raise sponsorship money for this years competitors.

All items in the Yard Sale were generously donated by friends and families of the school. The Ice Cream Social held on Saturday was a big success with some very impressive Ice Cream Sundaes being created by their consumers.

Students and parents, friends and yard sale customers came out to indulge and everyone had a great time.

2012 Annual Christmas Party and Awards Banquet

This years Christmas Party was filled with wonderful families, tables full of amazing food and an abundance of Christmas Spirit. Awards were given to students from every class including the Yavapai College Class. Awards ranged from Student of the Year, to Most Improved, to the coveted Bushido Award.

This year Sensei Bob Received the Bushido Award in recognition of his tremendous gift for teaching and giving to the students in the Dojo. Sensei Bob is a One of a Kind instructor, he is patient , encouraging and and always conscientious of each students personality and needs.

Another special item for this year were the custom knit Karate afghans made by a very special Dojo Mom for each of the Sensei, to be given as gifts for their continuous dedication and instruction. Sensei Bob, Sensei Travis and Sensei Amber each received a blanket, custom made for each of them, to represent their Martial arts journey.

At the close of the evening students were lined up to break their bricks some for the first time and others to break their own personal records. With music and laughter, good friends and good cheer the ShinPu-Ren Family ended 2012 on a very good note.

2012 Dojo Sleepover

Students had a wild night of games, contests, popcorn, super screen movies and crazy fun. The annual Dojo Sleepover was held for the students that stepped up to the plate and participated in the annual Bowl-a-Thon to raise money for the Flyin' High Turkey Drive.

Through out the night there were contests of strength, endurance, strategy and skill. Judging by the noise level at time it could be said the kids had a great time! Movies projected onto the ceiling gave students the feeling of being at an open air drive in theater while they watched Jackie Chan, Jet Lee, and others through the night. Instructors and parents served as chaperons through the night. All of this was followed up by a big breakfast spread for all to enjoy in the morning.

Halloween Monster Bash 2012

Ninjas, Goblins and Spooks OH MY!! The Halloween party this year had a great turn out! From a tiny little rabbit to a giant Sumo man there were wonderful costumes everywhere you turned. Students had their pictures taken with the peanuts waiting for the great pumpkin and the giant man eating pumpkin.

They Trick-or-Treated the haunted houses, played pumpkin bowling, bobbing for donuts, web weaving, created their own amazing caramel chocolate dipped apples, identified monster parts at the Monster Morgue and ran through the haunted tunnel while being attacked by silly string toting boogey men. Families brought in pot luck and we had mountains of goodies to eat.

The Highlight of the event was when the winning class for the food drive was announced and each student from that class got to PIE the Sensei of their choice. After the costume contests and games and food everyone gradually filtered out into the night to finish up their Trick-or-Treating adventures.

2012 Nationals Kick-a-Thon

On March 17th Shinpu-Ren students held a Kick-a-Thon in front of Freedom Station in Prescott Valley. Thirty students showed up to participate.

In 52 minutes all students completed the 1000 kicks goal. The final set of 50 flying side kicks being the most challenging since everyone was getting tired. None the less, all students finished and were rewarded with hours of fun at Freedom Station with a pizza party and open pass to all of the games and activities. This years goal was to get all 14 competitors full sponsorship for Nationals. After the final tally was in students donated 10% of their funds to the local Prescott Valley Yavapai Food Bank.

2011 Christmas Party

This years Christmas party was so much fun. The entire dojo was decked out in Christmas lights and Japanese lanterns. The giant garage door served as a 20 ft. tall Christmas tree adorned with gingerbread men wearing their little karate uniforms, belts and all as gifts for every student. Parents and family brought in loads of wonderful food to share. Entertainment included a giant piñata, numerous games and contests. Awards this year were given out to 8 individuals that have represented themselves and the dojo in the most exemplary manner.

Thank you to all of the families that attended, and Thank You for all of the lovely Sensei Christmas Gifts and Cards. Here’s to a spectacular New Year 2012.

2011 Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser

This years Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser was a great success. We served 103 dinners total. Students worked as waiters and seated and served as guests arrived. Nationals team members performed their Katas for the audience, door prizes were given out throughout the event. A raffle was held which helped to bump up the proceeds for the competition team. One for the Dojo mom's generously donated a hand knit afghan for the raffle. A really great family event with wonderful support from families and friends.

The 2010 Christmas Party

The biggest and best yet. 15 awards were given out this year to students, families and The Amazing Dojo Mom's of 2010. This year we celebrated the immense support of our families that helped make 2010 such a special year. Food and games were of course not to be overlooked, students wrapped each other up in sheets and rolled across the floor building their partners into snowmen, the pinata literally exploded across the entire dojo. Ornaments for all the students were handed out, and by the end of the night everyone went home happy and full.

2010 Kamikaze KICK-A-THON

USKA Nationals fundraiser March 19, 2010

Shinpu-Ren students held a Kick-A-Thon in order to sponsor the Schools Nationals team. The twist however was that the school would donate 10% of the proceeds that they raised to the Prescott Valley Food Bank. This brought everyone together to help make the fundraiser a success.

The school really pulled together and we had a great turnout of students from 4yrs old and up. The goal was 1000 kicks, and not just any kicks there were 20 different types of kicks performed. The event was held out in front of the dojo, as was a dojo family yard sale.

After the Kick-A-Thon the students enjoyed food and drinks and a bounce castle, which was provided by a very generous dojo family for the kids to enjoy.

On May 21, the students piled into the dojo battle wagon and delivered $250.00 worth of groceries to the National Bank of Arizona for the Prescott Valley Food Bank’s food drive.

2009 HALLOWEEN LOCK-IN AT ANTELOPE LANES

Halloween all nighter lock-in party at Antelope Lanes. Shinpu-Ren Family Karate hosted a Halloween All Night Bowling Alley Lock-In Party for kid’s ages 7-20 yrs of age.

The evening started at 11:00PM and didn’t end until 7:00AM the next morning.

There were Tournaments and Contests of all kinds including: Pool Tournaments, Karaoke, Costume Contests, Arm Wrestling, Bowling, Push up’s, Disgustingly Gross Pie eating contests and of course Guitar Hero.

Participants played multitudes of games throughout the night for prizes of all kinds.

All of the contests and tournaments had great Prizes to be won.

In fact there were over 100 door prizes for the event generously donated by local business. The party room of the bowling center was decorated in an early-haunted amphitheater design with a skeleton rock band on one side of the room and a giant eyeball surrounded by flaming ruins on the other wall. A giant fluorescent monster with huge teeth and glowing eyeballs frighteningly consumed the guitar hero television.

Cobwebs and spiders were everywhere and a 20-foot fluorescent snake loomed over the bowling lanes. This event was held for a two fold reason, first to provide the older kids in the Prescott / Prescott Valley a safe way to spend Halloween night having fun and cutting loose, and second it was a fundraiser for the Dojo Competition team. The proceeds of which are to help to try and send a team to the 2010 World Karate Championships.

The last word at the door the next morning—That was freakin’ awesome Thanks

2008 Christmas Banquet

Annual Dojo Christmas Banquet and Awards Ceremony. Shinpu-Ren celebrated the holidays with the annual Christmas Banquet and Awards Ceremony. There were 13 awards given out this year to students and one to Sensei Todd. Awards ranged from Student of the year to most improved and more. This year also Hanshi Gary and Shihan Lori celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary by renewing their wedding vows before the entire Dojo. A great time was had by all especially after the formalities, when students played many fun holiday games and relay races. There were also 2 big piñatas for the students to demolish. The food, which was supplied by all, was truly a banquet. This party was a terrific way to end 2008.

2008 Halloween Party

This year’s party in Prescott Valley was a blast! We held the Halloween party outdoors since the weather was so nice. Everyone brought lots of delicious food for the pot luck to share.

The whole parking lot was decorated with fun things, skeletons, spider webs, black cats, and more, and this year we even had a bonfire. Students played games and demolished a huge homemade pumpkin piñata made by the dojo mom’s.

A fun, and safe evening was had by all.

2008 Karate Boot Camp

Shinpu-Ren students returned home from their first Karate boot Camp, held at Mormon Lake in Flagstaff Arizona. This was a three-day training and camping event that turned out to be a great time for all who attended. Students participated in two different types of obstacle courses.

The first day’s course was an “Okinawan rice field and farm” where students learned the practical and cultural use of traditional weapons as well as the defensive application of weapons such as the Bo, Kama, and Sai etc. From cutting their own fields with Kama’s, to using Sai for moving feed, carrying buckets of water with their Bo staff, using Aku to row their raft, to planting fields with Bo staff, and even grinding grain using a milling stone and Tonfa. The marsh land of Mormon Lake made a great rice field and farm. They practiced line forms out on the waters edge and also on a raised beam in the water. They worked Chanbarra “Padded Samurai Sword Fighting”, and basic Bo techniques along with diving rolls, and all on the first day. This was all followed up by a bit of “laundry and a bath” in Lake Mary afterward.

On day two students began their day with a two-mile hike/run back to the fields where they learned a new Bo kata in the morning, then ran back to camp in the afternoon. After lunch the next event was another obstacle course named the Ninjitsu course. This included rock face climbing, rope swings and climbs, knife throwing with “surieken” throwing stars and daggers, defending against random attackers, diving over obstacles and more. After dinner, Saturday’s evening event was the ring of fire where students participated in sparring matches with only a ring of tiki torches for light, this was a very exciting event. On the last day of the camp they all took a five mile hike to Lakeview point, practicing much of what they had learned along the way, using fallen trees, rocks etc.

There were many valuable lessons learned by everyone on the trip regarding confidence, perseverance overcoming self doubt and stepping out of their comfort zones in order to be successful in their task. This camp was a tremendous amount of fun and learning for everyone.