To All

Our Fall 2015 Judo Club has started up again.  First class September 30th.
7-12 years old 7:00-8:15pm
13 and up 8:15-9:00pm

Classes at the former Brookside Jr HS Meadowbrook Rd Merrick just south of the southern state pky.

You can still sign up at the next class Wednesday nights.


We are looking for parents to help out with some administrative help as well. 

Sensei Rick Calabrese

No class this week, Feb 25th

Hey all,
There won't be judo class this week, Wed, Feb 25th, 2015 because Sensei Rick will be out of town.
See you next time and sorry for the inconvenience.

Judo Classes Back Up & Running

Following Hurricane Sandy and the nor'easter, many of you, I'm sure, suffered some loss, whether it be power outages or downed trees or damaged property, and some of us followed suit. The staff of the Merrick PAL Judo club hopes everyone is doing better, and now we're ready to start up again

As a reminder, whether it be holidays or inclement weather, the school where we have classes follows the same schedule as Merrick schools. So, as a rule of thumb, if schools are closed for whatever reason, there won't be Judo class that day.

Now that school is back up and running, so is Judo, and we will start again tomorrow, Wednesday, November 14.

See you there.

Jon

We Have New Yellow Belts!

On February 8th right after class, Sensei Rick was checking the progress of the advanced students. This turned into an impromptu promotional exam. Some of the white belts had one, two, or three yellow stripes on their white belts. At the end, all five were promoted to full yellow belt.
Promoted to yellow belt were Sam Abrams, Toby Harrington, Andrew Razza, Nicole Vaccariello, and Ryan Vaccariello. Good job by all.

Winter 2012 Session to Start

The Winter 2012 Judo season is about to start. Our first class wil be Wednesday night, January 18th at 7:00pm. If you haven't registered already, you will be able to do so on the first night. If there are any parents who are interested in helping out please let us know.

See you soon.

Sempai Jon

End of Judo Session Info

To all members and parents, here is information for the program. All of the instructors and PO Serrao wish you a happy holiday season and a healthy new year!

Toy Drive:

Please bring in unwrapped new condition toys for donation to the Nassau County Medical Center. We will collect toys until 12/14/11. We have been doing this for several years now and it is greatly appreciated.

Holiday Party:

We will have a holiday party on 12/21/11. We will do some judo games and have a grab bag ($10 limit). Also we ask parents to coordinate bringing in cupcakes, cookies, etc and napkins, plates and cups. The PAL will provide pizza and drinks. If your child has special dietary needs please bring in something that they can have and enjoy.

Testing:

Several returning students missed last session tests. They will be informed 12/7/11 to be prepared to test the following week. Please note there will be no testing for brand new students this session, which will take place next session.

Winter-Spring Session:

Sign up sheets will be available for the next session on 12/14/11. For anyone in the program already the fee will be $60 for anyone that signs up that night. The cost to sign up at the beginning of the next session will be $75. A 10% discount will apply for multiple children sign ups.

Adult Assistance:

We will be looking for parents' help in the following areas. Please let me know if you are interested.

Registration, attendance, making copies, delivering paperwork to PAL, bathroom monitor & help on the mat.

Please note: Starting the next session we will hold 3 x 30 minute sessions right after the regular class for any parent that wishes to help on the mat. After that we will holds 60 minute jujitsu/self defense work outs for the rest of the Winter-Spring session.

Please see me for details,

Sensei Rick Calabrese

Class in ON for Thanksgiving Eve

For all of you who were wondering, I spoke with the police officer in charge of Merrick PAL who stated that since the school is OPEN Wednesday night, November 23rd, Thanksgiving Eve, there WILL be class that night.
If we don't see you, have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Win a Trip to the 2012 Games to Watch Judo!

http://www.usjudo.org/documents/2011LUDUS_Ticket_Form.pdf

World Judo Day

World Judo Day Website is open as of October 3rd, 2011.
The IJF has launched today the website dedicated to the World Judo Day, which will take place on October 28th, 2011. The theme of that first edition of the event will be "RESPECT".
You can find all the information related to the World Judo Day at:
http://www.worldjudoday.com

New Fall, 2011 Session & Tournament info

Welcome to the new Fall, 2011 Judo seesion has started, and as you can tell, we have a LOT of kids on the mat. If your child is new to the sport of Judo, there are several points to remember. Judo is contact sport. While Judo is source of exercise and self defense (different to karate) children can get hurt. Safety is paramount, so before any children are taught how to perform throws and takedowns, they must be taught how to fall properly to avoid getting hurt. Unfortunately, until they get this right, it might seem boring, so please explain this to your kids. Students don't train for very long if they hurt the first time they get knocked down.

What's the difference between Judo and Karate or Tae kwon do? To explain it simply, first of all, Karate and Tae kwon do are essentially the same except for the country of origin. Karate is Japanese and TKD is Korean. Both Karate and TKD are essentially punches, kicks, and blocks. Judo is essentially Japanese wrestling, so if you're expecting to see Karate "stuff" at Judo, you won't.

If anyone is interested, there is a Judo tournament taking place on Novmber 5th in Smithtown. While the new students won't have trained long enough to compete in the tournament, they are more than wesome to spectate.
Here's the info:
Registration is at 9am, competition starts at 10am. Smithtown Judo is located at:
1219 Route 25A, Smithtown, NY.
Please e-mail John the age, weight, rank, and sex of each contestant or ifo you have any questions at jp.lucas@wellsfargoadvisors.com

How To Tie Your Belt

For those students (and parents) who are learning how to tie their belts, there are several pictures and videos on the internet to show you how, but here's a handy guide I found. Enjoy.

Jon

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.

Ski Trip Anyone?

As announced at the last class by Sempai Dave Freese, if anyone is interested in a Judo club ski trip.

The below website has the rental form information at the bottom. Please download fill it in for all people getting rentals, and bring to Judo on Wednesday. If you have a scanned and want to email to me
http://www.catamountski.com/group-info/groups.cfm
Trip info:
1) Date Sat. March 7
2) $24 for lift ticket
3) $24 for ski / snowboard rental.... which comes with a 1 hour lesson. The lesson starts at 9:30, you should be at the ski school area at least 10 minutes in advance.
- Would only suggest snowboarding for people who have done it before... it takes at least 3 days to learn to snowboard
- You can also rent helmets.... I believe it is $5.
4) The place opens around 8 in morning we will leave from the Brookside parking lot at 6:00 am
5) Dress Warmly:
- if you have "snow pants / bib
- ski jacket.
- If you have ski socks please use those. Sweatsocks are not recommended, they hold moisture not heat.
- Other suggested clothing: a) Insulated underwear b) sweater/fleece c) warm waterproof gloves d) ski hat
6) if it is going to be sunny day sun tan lotion for your face, and definitely lip balm.