Fall 2010 Judo is Starting

Summer vacation is over. That means school is back up and running and so is... Judo! Dust off your gis and start stretching. Sensei Rick Calabrese is in much better working condition, so he'll be back.
Registration is on Tuesday Sept 21st & Wednesday Sept 22nd at the Merrick PAL clubhouse from 7:00 to 8:30pm. We will then start regular classes on Wednesday September 29th at 7:00pm, at Brookside School. There is also talk of having a short session for the younger kids on Friday nights, so if you have a younger kid 4, 5, or 6, come down to registration.
See you soon.

USJA Judo Magazine

If anyone is interested, here is the link to the latest USJA Judo magazine with updates on some rule changes:
http://www.usja-judo.org/americanjudo/winter2009_2010.pdf

Winter-Spring 2010 Session

Happy New Year, Judoka. We hope you've enjoyed your holidays, but vacation time is over.
The official start date for the 2010 Winter-Spring session is Wednesday, February 3rd. However, any student with a colored belt, or a white belt with stripes, is invited to start this Wednesday, January 13th. These "advanced" students will enjoy a few extra classes so they can get some more individualized attention to prepare for the Judo club tournaments that we've been invited to. Until then, parents are asked to get their kids registered before the February 3rd start date.
Registration will be at Brookside School (where we have class) on Wednesdays, January 13th, 20th & 27th and is $65.00 per student (checks made to Merrick P.A.L.). Since the instructors will be running classes during those pre-season classes, we are asking for help from any parents who can assist with registration.
So, dust off your gis and get ready to work and again... any student with any color on their belts will start this Wednesday, January 13th, and everyone else starts on Wednesday, February 3rd.
And of course, all students are invited to come down and watch the advanced classes during the pre-season on January 13th, 20th, & 27th.
See you soon.

Hey, Judo Parents, Come On Down

Welcome Merrick P.A.L. judoka (judo students), both new & returning ones. The Fall, 2009 season has started and is going strong, and now is the time to see Sensei about purchasing gis (judo uniforms). So you ask, 'Why does my child need a judo gi and not regular clothes or even a karate gi?' Well, in Judo, as in most Japanese martial arts, we wear a traditional white judo uniform. We are constantly practicing our grip and grabbing onto each other, and while a karate gi might look the same, most kids' karate gis are not heavy enough of a material to withstand the constant tugging and grabbing, and the light-weight gis and kids' clothes can rip very easily. So it's in everyone's best interests to wear judo gis. Not only for your kid's comfort and to save your clothing bill, but their training partners can properly practice kumi-kata (gripping the opponent) when they correctly grab on to their gi. So try to pick them up ASAP.

The site has a few new updates such as a "staff" portion on the right side of the page, and is moving along little by little. In the staff portion, you will find pictures of who you see on the mat teaching and training alongside your kids. Jon Abrams, Brian Solomon, and Leo Bazil are all dads of students who are training in Judo. As this website develops, you will find bios on the staff so you can really get to know us (even if we don't get a chance to talk during class). So check up on us every so often.

Now that we have gotten started, we invite and encourage parents to train alongside their kids. While learning Judo alongside their kids, parents get a chance to not only get a little exercise, but also learn self-defense. There is also Judo & Jui-jitsu training available to parents after class. The only requirement that we ask is that the parents sign up with USJA, United States Judo Association. The USJA is a major governing association which the Merrick P.A.L. Judo club belongs to and it provides tournaments, training, and ranking. Most important about the USJA, is that it also supplies insurance for its members. The fee is minimal, $45.00 per year, so go to http://www.usja-judo.org/ and go to 'Join the USJA' and support the organization. When registering, the dojo is listed as Merrick P.A.L./Ronin Judo, and the instructor is Rick Calabrese. The kids are insured through Merrick P.A.L. so they don't need to be registered through USJA, but parents certainly do.


Another great source for Judo information is http://www.kodokan.org/. The Kodokan is the head Judo dojo (school) in Japan, and the site has every piece of information that anyone could ask for in their quest to expand their Judo knowledge.

New Fall 2009 Season

Break out your gis (uniforms) and start reviewing your sheets. Summer vacation is over and Judo is about to start up again and we hope everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable summer, but now it's time to get back to training.
Registration started on Saturday and it's looking good. The second day of registration will be this Wednesday night, September 16 at 7:00pm at Brookside school (where we hold class). We hope to see all of last season's judoka (Judo students) come back.
Please remember that we encourage the parents to train alongside their kids.
-Jon Abrams, Sempai

Judo Test Results

Well, the Winter/Spring, 2009 Merrick P.A.L. Judo session is finished and on Wednesday, June 17, 2009, we had a Judo promotional test for the students. Students were asked questions on dojo (Judo school) rules & etiquette, Japanese terminology, and were asked to perform various Judo techniques. Everyone did a very nice job, and we'd like to thank all the parents for all their time and effort in helping prepare their kids for the test, and congratulate all the kids who tested and advanced in rank.

Promoted to white belt with one (1) yellow stripe:

Jarred Tasch, Luke Kaminsky, Zachary Kaminsky, Sam Leone, Kyle Ednie, John Eisert, Sam Moskowitz, Odin Francis, Max Bazil, Brandon Fiala, Jackie Barba, Arthur Grim, Brandon O'Neill.

Promoted to white with two (2) yellow stripes:

Samuel Abrams, Toby Harrington, Eddie Shunk

Promoted to yellow belt:

Matthew Rosin & Alex Cruz

Promoted to yellow belt with one (1) stripe:

Jeffrey LeBeaux

Promoted to orange belt:

Dominick DiBari & John Gandolfo (tested & promoted on prior date)

Promoted to green belt:

Aaron Solomon (tested & promoted on prior date)

And in case anyone was interested in the adults... Some of the sempai (assistant instructors) tested for advancement also:

Promoted to yellow belt:

Leo Bazil

Promoted to green belt:

Sempai Brian Solomon & Sempai Jonathan Abrams

Congratulations to all who were promoted, and we hope to see you all next seesion and please remember, all of the parents are welcome to train alongside their kids.

Once again, thanks to all the parents for their contribution to the club & thanks to Sensei Rick Calabrese for his dedication & instruction, Sensei Cliff Wolff for his continued guidance, and to Sensei Ken Mandel for his support and making the time to come down.

Keep in touch,

-Jon Abrams

Sam's First Judo Tournament

During last class, we were joined by the Baldwin PAL Judo club. We were able to practice randori (free style practice) with different kids and we were informed of a shiai (tournament) on Sunday, May 31, 2009 in Long Beach.

Well, on the day of the tournament, Sam and I were the only ones from our club to attend this small & friendly shiai with the exception of Sensei Cliff Wolff. This was unfortunate. Sam had two matches against a well-experienced orange belt, and at the end of the day, Sam took home a second place trophy. More important than the trophy, was the experience that Sam gained by attending a shiai. Good sportsmanship & competitiveness.

And remember two things:

Tournament experience is necessary for rank advancement and, it's not whether you win of lose, but how you play the game.

Great job, Sam.