August 2008 Newsletter

Student of the Month



Student of the Month in Windsor

Our Student of the Month in Windsor is Kristelle Canlas. This young lady just tested for her Yellow Belt Green Stripe and did an amazing job. See is an excellent student, who has set a definite goal for Black Belt. We are looking forward to see some great things in the future from this lady!






Student of the Month in Lakeshore

Our Student of the Month in Lakeshore is Jake Denomey. Jake was with us originally when he was a young child back in 2000. He returned to training with us last fall. Now in our adult class he is enjoying his training very much and has set his sites at Black Belt. Jake is an excellent student and we are looking forward to some great things from him in the coming months and years.



Student of the Month in St Clair Beach

Our Student of the Month in St Clair Beach is Zak Burns. Zak is one of the senior (junior) Black Belts in our system and is currently holding the rank of 3rd Bo Dan Black Belt. Zak is a great example and role model for the younger students exhibiting our 5 Tenets. Keep up the great work Zak!





Perfect Attendance Award

Every 3 months we award students who have achieved perfect attendance during a specific 3 month interval. Perfect attendance is a student who is in class 2 times per week for the period specified. This period is from April 1st to June 30th. Our congratulations to the following students.

Ana Armstrong, Dylan Baillie, Jan Fielder, Brendan Pfahler, Julia Zheng, Alexandra Brown, Riley Garant, Dustin Lesperance, Yves Quenneville and Heather Snow.

Great work everyone!

Master Mason's Self Defense Workshop

On Saturday July 12th Master Mason hosted a Self Defense Workshop for our junior Green and Blue Belt students. In attendance were students from all 3 Peaceful Warriors' Schools. Everyone had a great time and learned a lot about real self defense on the streets.

Open House

As everyone should now be aware our Windsor School will be hosting an Open House on Saturday August 9th from 10:00am to 3:00pm. There will be demonstrations by our demo team as well as by our instructors and staff. There will be prizes, raffles and draws, so don't miss this one!

Martial Arts & Kids with ADD/ADHD Part 2

Last month I gave some surprising information on how to increase a child's focus who has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder. In part 2 I will elaborate on this more as well as give some advise on how to keep building focus in your child.

Back in the 80's when ADD/ADHD first started to appear people often considered these children to be 'slow' since they did so poorly in school. Now we know it is just the opposite. These children are highly intelligent, often far above average.

Part 3 or this article with appear in Septembers Newsletter.

Read Martial Arts and Kids with ADD/ADHD now. You can also visit our New ADHD Information website


The Cornerstones to Building Focus.

Building Focus in children is a primary goal of our school (in adults too). One way in which we accomplish this is with our 3 Laws of Concentration. They are as follows;

1. Focus Your Eyes
2. Focus Your Mind
3. Focus Your Body

If you are trying to get your child to focus on a particular task at hand, use these 3 laws to help. Remind them to focus using the 3 Laws and see how much better the results will be!

Chat with the Masters

Sometime in the near future we will be setting up a web chat on our Student Website for the purpose of allowing our students to ask the instructors anything they would like to know about training, history and personal martial arts experiences. This looks like it will be an amazing events. Watch our website for more details. Click Here to go to our Student Website.

School Camping

We had a fantastic time at school camping as usual! It rained on Saturday, which was a drag, but for the most part it was a great event. I know the kids really enjoyed the Snake hunt! To view pictures of our school camping trip please visit the picture gallery of our student website! Next year camping will be held from Friday July 17 to Sunday July 19th 2009.

Labour Day Weekend

A reminder our school will be closed over the Labour Day Weekend. There are no classes Saturday August 30 and Monday September 2nd. Our normal schedule will resume on Tuesday September 3rd 2008.

C.M.A.T.C 2008

The Canadian Martial Arts Training Conference is fast approaching! This event happens every 2 years and will be held at the Lamplighter Inn in London Ontario on Saturday November 1st and Sunday November 2nd. Every person who has attending this conference has come back energized and re-focused on their martial arts goals.

All students regardless of rank are welcome to attend this event! For more information please CLICK on this Link.

This year our school will have several graduating Kyusho Jitsu students who are testing for various Black Belt Ranks. The graduation this year will also feature a demonstration by Kyusho Jitsu Master Art Mason. Book your spot today!

School Tournament

A reminder that our Peaceful Warriors' Invitational Tournament will be held on Satuday November 15th at Talbot Trail School. This tournament is highly recommended for all students regardless of rank. More information will be available in September.

Testing in August

Coloured Belt testing will be held on Saturday August 23th with the Juniors at 2:00pm. Our first Black Belt Pre Test will be held on Friday August 22nd at 7:30pm. Please see your instructor for more information.

Important Updates on St Clair Beach School

As everyone in the St Clair Beach School is aware the schedule for the summer is rather complicated due to the construction project at St Marks Church. Please CLICK HERE for updated dates, times and places.

Novice Kyusho Sessions this Fall

Starting sometime early this fall, we will be starting a new Novice Kyusho Jitsu Certification Course in Windsor. This is open to students age 15 and over. More information will follow very soon. To read more about the art of Kyusho Jitsu visit our NEW Kyusho Support Website.

This will complete our August 2008 Newsletter. See you again in September!

July 2008 Newsletter

Student of the Month


Student of the Month in Windsor

Our student of the month in Windsor is Louise St Jacques. Louise is a 1st Dan Black Belt. She is currently a Novice Kyusho student and will be testing this fall for her 1st Dan Black Belt in Kyusho Jitsu. Louise loves to be challenged. When an event comes up at our school she is always one of the first people to be involved. We are looking forward to watching her progress over the next few years.




Student of the Month in Lakeshore

The Student of the Month in Lakeshore is Riley Garant. Riley is currently a Blue Belt with his first stripe. He is a member of our Master's Club and has definitely set his sites on becoming a Black Belt. He is a student who is always demonstrating the 3A's that our school finds so very important. Great work Riley!







Student of the Month in St Clair Beach.

Our Student of the Month in St Clair Beach is Mikal Fakhreddin. Mikal is a very dedicated students who works hard each and every class. She is looking forward to being a Black Belt someday. Keep up the great work Mikal!







The 3 A's

Ask any student of our school and they will tell you what the 3 A's are, and why they are so important.

1)Attitude - "A Black Belt Attitude"
2)Attendance - 2 Classes per week.
3)Academics - Practicing what is taught.

The 3 A's are the cornerstone of martial arts training and advancement. Without these steps in place it is not possible for the student to advance in the martial arts. But just as important as understanding these concepts as applied to Art Mason's Peaceful Warriors' Martial Arts Institute, these also translate into real life. In real life no one will ever succeed without a great attitude. We use the term Black Belt Attitude, because it truly relates to excellence. Attendance is also a critical area. Whatever career a child chooses for their future they must learn the habit of going to work, school or what have you and also being ON TIME. The final trait is Academics, which simply relates to understanding and studying whatever field or endeavor you are involved with. The 3 A's are the key to success in any walk of life.


Iron Man Award

Our first "Iron Man" Award recipient is Kayla Snow. Kayla is an Assistant Black Belt in our Lakeshore school. Kayla has shown to be a true Iron Man or Woman after breaking her wrist at school the week after Black Belt testing. When this type of thing happens many people disappear from the arts until the problem is healed, but not Kayla, she only missed one class! Now she is limited in what she can do in class, but she knows and understands that the learning does not need to stop! Great job Kayla!



Martial Arts & Kid's With ADHD

Almost every doctor who deals with child or adults with Attention Deficit Disorder will agree that martial arts, if taught correctly, will help kid's or adults with ADD/ADHD, but why?

Well first any parent who has ever talked with me about this problem knows that I am apposed to drug use unless the child's safety is at risk. Drugs are a band aid solution at best. So, why does martial arts training work? Well it is a combination of exercise (aerobic) and having to focus or concentrate on what you are doing. What his means is that lung capacity and focus have a direct relationship.

It has been show that intelligence can be increased in any person, if the proper learning steps are taken. Unfortunately school in the traditional sense will not accomplish this. If you look at history you will see many examples of this phenomenon in action. Albert Einstein is one such example. As a child he was considered to be mentally retarded, horrible in math, and a waste of teaching resources.

Please Click Here to read the rest of this article.

8th Annual School Camping

That's right, it's time for our 8th Annual School Camping trip to Rondeau Park. The event starts Friday July 18th and runs until Sunday July 20th. Reservations can be made via the Rondeau Park Website. If you don't wish to camp, everyone is welcome to come visit on Saturday. Many students come up for the day. See everyone there!



Peaceful Warriors' Invitation Tournament

Our annual invitation tournament will be held on Saturday November 15th 2008. More information will be available soon, but mark your calendar now as not to miss this great event!

Canadian Martial Arts Training Conference

The CMATC in London Ontario is fast approaching! It is being held on Saturday November 1st and Sunday November 2nd at the Lamplighter Inn in London. This event is open to all Peaceful Warriors' Students. I don't have any schedules for this event as of this writing, but more information wil follow soon. There are special sessions for both adult and junior students. Special guest instructors this year include Grand Master Steve Stewart, Grand Master Frank Trejo, Master Ken Smith and many, many more! Mark your calendar as you won't want to miss this one! You can download the information packages by right clicking and saving the appropriate links here. Adult & Juniors.

Summer Training

One of the most important aspects of martial arts training is summer training. Often times with the warmer weather, school being out and vacations, martial arts training get put on the back burner. So just how important is summer training?

One of the keys to success in life is establishing healthy routines. These routines when started young are the keys to a successful life! Children need routine, especially in the summer when school disappears. I had one parent say to me many years ago that her son worked very hard during the year (he was 9) and he deserved to do nothing in the summer. now he is no longer a student, but it came as no surprise when one summer out of boredom and lack of direction he got in trouble with the law. If you would like to read more on this topic please follow this link.

Open House

The Peaceful Warriors' will be holding an open house at the Windsor School on Saturday August 9th starting at 9:00am and running until 3:00pm. This event will be open to all school members as well as the general public. There will be demonstrations, a BBQ and much more! More information will be sent out to students as the date comes closer.

Congratulation Sean O'Donoghue!

Odyssey of the Mind is the world's largest international competition for creative thinking, problem solving and team work.

It has been running for 29 years.

Sean and his team won first place in their category at the Provincial Championships in March and were invited to the World Finals

which attract more than 800 teams of up to seven students resulting in 15,000 in attendance from around the world. It was a great

honour to be invited to participate, as not all provincial or state winners qualify to attend the World Championships.

Sean's team was in the Road Rally Division and had to devise a vehicle adhering to outlined specifications and able to accomplish

4 tasks in an 8 minute time interval while presented in a story or play form. A second part of the competition involved Spontaneous Responses where by the team was asked questions and had to respond within an allotted time. The more creative the answers

the higher the scores obtained. Sean's team did a good job, as this is their school's first year in the program. They placed 26 out of 50 teams.

At the World Finals, there was also a Float and Banner Parade Competition. Sean's team created and carried a banner in the parade. Judges rate the top ten banners and the winners are awarded a plaque. Their team represented Ontario and was awarded one of the ten Finalist positions. Part of the team's experience included pin trading with other participants from around the world. They had a lot of fun and had a unique souvenir to take home in the end.

June Testing Rescheduled

Our June Coloured Belt Testing has been rescheduled to Saturday July 5th at 2:00pm. The storm that we had on Thursday June 26th caused a lighten strike to the transformer behind the building cutting our power till after midnight. If you have any questions please contact our office.

The Kids Safe Canada Network

We are very pleased to announce the creation of the Kid's Safe Canada Network website, which is dedicated to helping parents keep their children safe on our streets, in their homes and on the Internet. Drop by the website and take a look around. The address is http://www.kidsafecanada.net

Monthly Events Calendar

We have changed the format of our school events calendar. At one time I was using Office to create and publish a calendar that was posted to the website on a monthly basis. It work OK, but was difficult whenever something came up and an event changed. We now have a new, much better format to keep up on all school events! On our Student Website you will find the new School Event Calendar. This calendar is able to give you information on events months in advance! If you have not yet seen it, go check it out now.

An Afternoon with Master Art Mason

On Saturday July 12th at 1:30pm Master Mason will be holding a Self Defense Workshop for all Green and Blue Belt Junior Students. This event is open to all 3 locations and is being held at the Windsor Main School. The event runs for 1 hour. There is no cost for this workshop. See you all there!

August Coloured Belt Testing

Just a note for anyone who is expecting to be testing in August. Because the Labour Day Weekend falls a little early this year, the August Coloured Belt Testing will be on Saturday August 23. Junior students at 2:00pm and adults at 3:30pm

An Artist's Work

As some of you already know my wife Mireya (Miyo) is a very talented artist. She has been having a great time the last few weeks drawing pictures of various students at various events. If you would like to see some of this work CLICK HERE.

The Newsletter

We have been publishing this newsletter each and every month now since January 2006. I changed the format and started using this blog back in January 2008. There has been some great feedback on this format too!

Typically it takes me about 5 hours to write, edit and process this newsletter. This is done over the entire month, so the time does not really seem like that much to me. I do however need a little help! If you have something you would like to see written about here, something special outside of our school that a student has done, some interesting family event or anything else please send me an email! We would love to include it in our newsletter.

My thanks to Mr and Mrs O'Donoghue for the information sent on Sean this month.

Black Belt Pre-Test Dates

Attention all Black Belts! The dates for all the Black Belt Pre-Tests are now available on the Student Website. Note these dates on your calendar. If you are unable to make certain dates please advise your instructor.

This concludes the July 2008 Newsletter. See you all next month!