FunShop 2021 - 2 days of Martial Arts Excitement

Funshop 2021

Tuesday, February 16 and Wednesday, February 17 (8 am to 12 noon)

Taught by Grandmaster Crandall, Headmaster Stalloch, Master Freleigh, and School Staff. The Funshop is a fun and educational experience. Students learn about a variety of topics that are not covered in regular classes such as chess, extension tools, specialized self-defense, and much more.

Each morning started with a warm-up and stretching session that lasted 15-minutes from 8:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. with assistance from our Red Tops (Junior Rank Black Belt Class Assistants).

TUESDAY

3 Point Sparring with Extension Tools (Bo vs Bo)

Three point sparring is a set of predetermined blocks and counters against a repeated attack. Students learned fundamental blocks and strikes. This allowed the 3 point sparring to take place without physical contact between participants due to the length of these extension tools. Equipment was not shared. Students faced one another and did the bo vs bo drills.

10 Fundamental Self Defense Techniques

Our style requires 10 specific techniques at testings. These are listed in the members’ only section of our website and taught in class. Students learned and practiced these techniques without partners and using the padded self-defense sticks which simulated grabs.

Chess Introduction

Using our 6 foot chess board, students learned the basic rules and concepts of chess before playing fun practice games with one another. The red tops assisted by overseeing each pair of students.

Health and Sanitation Class

One of our instructors, Dr. Hotvedt, is a cardiologist. He presented a special class about health and safety practices to prevent the spread of germs. The class provided general information about how viruses and bacteria spread and how to stay safe. Dr. Hotvedt demonstrated how a vaccine shot is administered using a syringe and saline solution (salt water) to inject an orange.

Tumbling

Our style includes the practice of five floor exercise: shoulder roll, backward roll, cart wheel, round off, and “Meet Mr. Floor.” Each student had their own their own mat and were taught / practiced these important skills.

Karate Man Says

The day ended with a game of “Karate Man Says,” similar to “Simon Says” but with martial arts techniques.

Students were then picked up at noon so that they could go home, take off their masks, and eat.

WEDNESDAY

Moving Kicks

The first class of the day was moving kicks. Our style has 8 required moving kicks which can be found in our school’s textbook. Students practiced all 8 moving kicks including flying side kick, skip center kick, spinning back kick, roundhouse instep, and others.

Written Exam Questions

Brown Belt and Black Belt American Eagle Style rank testings include a written exam. These exams test the students’ knowledge regarding the American Martial Arts Institute as a school and American Eagle Style as an empty hand style. Grandmaster Crandall took time to discuss this requirements, many of the most commonly asked questions, how to prepare oneself for this part of the testing.

Obstacle Course

Students raced through a challenging obstacle course using the agility ladder, mats, push up

bars, kicking bags, a bo, and more. The red tops assisted with sanitizing the equipment between every student (just one of the many extra safety precautions we took to address concerns regarding Covid 19).

Surprise! New Rank Presentation

On Monday prior to the Funshop there was a color belt rank testing. One of the Funshop participants had tested for yellow belt at that testing. As a surprise Grandmaster Crandall announced the results the testing and presented the student with their new rank before the results were officially posted for all other students.

Indoor Snowballs vs. Ninja!

One of our red tops used our simulated “ninja” and ran through the room as a moving target. The ninja silhouette cutout was labeled with different point areas. All student wore gloves to throw our simulated snowballs (foam balls) to try to hit the targets to earn points.

Whacker Sparring

While we are still not permitting physical contact among our students as partners at this time, whacker sparring allowed for an exciting competition where students used padded “whackers” to try to score points against one another.

Golf Putting

Students learned about how to put for golf or miniature golf using our indoor putting green.

Whack-a-Doo Karate Game

The day ended with an exciting game of “whack-a-doo karate.” This cardiovascular workout is a fun game focused on teamwork and hand-eye coordination. Students try to get a balloon into the opposite team’s goal. Sometimes when our students do this activity, the winning team receives ice cream (and the losing team gets nothing! J). The game ended in a rare tie, and both teams received ice cream. An great end to two days of fun.

We are looking to our annual funshop again next year! In the meantime, our students are back to training in regular classes twice per week at our 6,400 square foot professional training hall, which is sanitized regularly including an industrial HEPA air recycler.