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Bulletins October 2nd Sooner rather than later: All students have peaks and troughs of enthusiasm with their training. We can help, if you let us know early on when your child is losing motivation. Its very sad for us if someone quits, and the parent says he or she has been reluctant to come along for a while. In most cases, we can use targeted goals and get them bouncing back in again, but communication is the key. Hip Hop: Tickets are selling very fast for our hip hop work shop on 14th October. Make sure you grab yours this week to avoid disappointment! Squad News: A fantastic trip for the OSMA TT competition squad who proudly took to the mats at the Hanko-Ryu Tournament in Harlow on Sunday. As a first outing the team was only looking to gain experience, but coach Sensei Claire Maden was delighted when Megan Fitzgerald battled her way to a silver medal, and Jojo Dawes and Chi Bikishoni both came away with bronzes. More details to follow on the website soon, and many congratulations to the team. Circus: The Chinese State Circus is in town, plus Shaolin Warriors. Oxpens recreation ground Wednesday 3rd-Monday 8th. We're all going! Are you? For further details contact Ticket Office on: 07717 475855 Facebook: We've now got a facebook group for news, views and chat. We've put a few pictures up - get stuck in :-) If you're not already on facebook.com its easy to join, and then apply to Oxford School of Martial Arts. Add some captions to our picture gallery... Water works: Can we ask parents to send kids in with water rather than sports drinks please? Examination Day: Is this Sunday! If you or your child is being tested for a new belt on Sunday please ensure you know what time your session is, and arrive promptly.
August 17th News Roundup... Welcome back, we hope you have all had a good break. There is a change in classes at St John's in Kidlington. In order to split the groups for more specific grading work we are dividing the 4.35pm and 5.35pm classes by grade. The 4.35pm class is for students up to and including orange belt. The 5.35pm class is now for green belts and above. There is *no* change to the first class at Kidlington (3.40pm class) From time to time it is necessary to restructure classes in order to serve the students more effectively. We understand this can be inconvenient to parents and apologise for this. We hope you understand we do not make these decisions lightly, and that the educational needs of the students are paramount. Exciting news this week is that a member of Team Taurus aged only 6 has achieved a gymnastic milestone! Elise Stretton has become the youngest ever OSMA student to perform a back handspring. Sensei Rob is very proud and wants to congratulate her and her parents on all the hard work and extra training she has put in with him to master the skill. We all think its flipping brilliant... Have a great weekend, OSMA :-) July 25th FLOODS: Our sympathy to all those affected by the flooding. Classes are so far unaffected - however if travelling to classes in Botley today please note that you may not currently approach from the Botley interchange. We are informed that access to Botley is down Cumnor Hill, through Eynsham road (go from Botley interchange onto A420 up half a mile and turn onto Eynsham road into Botley), or via Westminster turn off on the A34. We will see you there! Classes in Abingdon are still at risk of being washed out tomorrow if the river continues to rise - latest information is on the website of the White Horse Leisure Centre www.whltc.co.uk BRAULIO SHIRTS: If you ordered and paid for a t shirt or hoody at the Braulio seminar, these have now arrived (in good Brazilian time!). Please mail Sensei Mary (mary@schoolofmartialarts.com) to let her know which venue you can collect it from, and she will tick you off the list and arrange delivery. SHUTDOWN: We are now fast approaching the summer shutdown (29th July-12th August) and would like to remind you that if your child is desperate for martial arts training during this period then Senseis Jake and Claire are not on holiday and are available for PT! Contact jake@schoolofmartialarts.com for further details or bookings. and finally.. WHITE T SHIRTS may now be worn in classes until the end of the summer holidays. Plain white please, or Yu Bu Kai shirts. Belts must still be worn. Hope you're all keeping your heads above water! :-) OSMA Office July 10th Happy Tuesday to you all! More success for the OSMA bjj team - have a look at report and pictures at www.schoolofmartialarts.com Our fantastic pre school programme: Mini Karate has started in Summertown! 2-3 year olds, Tuesdays and Thursdays 10.15-11am. Summer closure - No classes from 29th July-12th August, except Sensei Claire's competition class on Tuesdays. Sensei Claire is planning to open a new competition class on Saturday mornings 9.30-10.30 in Kidlington. Please contact us if you would like to book a place. Thats all for now folks, good luck to those taking examinations this Sunday - keep practising... OSMA June 29th For the Braulio Seminar on Sunday participants must wear a gi please. Team Taurus may wear their black gis. Mini Karate for 2-3 year olds will be starting on 10th July at 10.15-11am every Tuesday and Thursday in Summertown Church Hall. Parking available. More details through the office :-) Grading applications are now closed, if you have not returned paperwork then your child will have to wait until the October examination. Have a good weekend! OSMA June 25th At OSMA we pride ourselves on our experience, qualifications and most importantly on our continuing professional development (CPD). One would have to search far and wide to find an organisation that gives more focus to the development of its staff and we hope that you are proud to be a part of us. Once again this April all OSMA teaching staff attended a weekend fitness concepts conference at Loughborough University. Sensei Claire has now completed her Sports Science Diploma. She has recently gained a level 2 gym instructor certificate and is about to embark on her personal fitness trainer qualification. Sensei Jake is now working with us full-time and we now also have a dedicated Press Officer who is responsible for the OSMA article in today's Oxford Mail! Sensei Mary has booked a course to train as a street dance instructor in order to help Team Taurus. Both Mary and Sensei Rob have now been training for 18 months in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with current world champion, Braulio Estima in Birmingham. As you know Braulio is coming to see us on Sunday 1st July at the White Horse. The grading is on the 15th July. Please check that you are sure of the correct session for your grade. We have a professional MTV star, hip-hop dance instructor pencilled in for 14th October. Many children have been begging for this for months: your wish is granted! This afternoon we have reviewed the movie 'Jump In'. In our opinion it's fantastic! A feel good movie geared for children, but we loved it too. We weren't sure about it for the first 15 minutes but it gets better and soon gathers pace. It has a character development plot line which reflects many issues raised in our programme and the finale is worth the wait. Below are some links to ebay where it is on sale very cheaply. Do make sure that your DVD player runs with the format though. http://search.ebay.co.uk/jump-in-dvd_W0QQfcclZ1QQfclZ4QQfnuZ1QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQssPageNameZWLRS http://search.ebay.co.uk/disney-jump-in_W0QQfcclZ1QQfclZ4QQfnuZ1QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQssPageNameZWLRS Keep on kicking and we'll see you in the dojo! PS We now run children's parties and do home tutoring. Call the office 01865 370339 for more information June 18th Many parents comment that our examination days run very smoothly - this is only possible if we can organise all the paperwork well in advance. Grateful thanks to all parents who have returned their examination forms, licences and payments so swiftly. There are over 1000 items to deal with and therefore we have to assume that any invitations not responded to after a week wish to defer to next time. Botley parents have been the quickest this time around, congratulations to them :) If you have been sitting on your admin then please get it in to us by the end of the week, after this the grading will be closed. Don't forget your Braulio tickets, its a great honour to welcome a genuine world champion athlete and this event is not to be missed. (Sensei Rob is currently 3 ahead in the competition with Sensei Mary for ticket sales!) Have a great week... OSMA Office June 11th Braulio tickets are selling very quickly - even faster than the skipping ones, so please get yours this week. Also please support your Sensei, as once again Sensei Rob and Sensei Mary are competing for who sells the most tickets, and Sensei Mary is hoping not to be the one cleaning the fish pond this time!! Family discounts are as follows £20 for 2 children, £25 for one adult and one child, and £30 for a family of three irrespective of which workshop they attend. Tickets are ONLY available in the dojo, not over the phone or by email, so please come ready to buy to avoid disappointment... OSMA Office June 7th Get them while they're hot...tickets to our seminar with the world champion (see attached flyer). Like the skipping, this non profit event will sell out quickly, so please buy early to avoid disappointment. You've heard all about him, now its your chance not only to meet him, not only get his autograph but actually train with him! Don't miss this opportunity...tickets only available in the dojo, must be paid for at time of booking. Also this week - train alongside your 3 year old! Any 3 year olds in the programme are invited to come along Smart Start at 10am on Friday and Wednesday as this programme is a great complement to regular training, and enables you to be active with your child. During June and July we are offering Smart Start to all 3 year olds already registered with OSMA. Please mail Sensei Mary for more details. Hope you are all having a good week! OSMA May 18th Huge congratulations to those who graded at the weekend, an impressive display from all ages and a very high standard. We appreciate your help in getting your paperwork in early to enable the day to run like clockwork! :) Particular credit to Lewis Dark, who was not grading but performed the poem "In the Arena" by Theodore Roosevelt, and impressed everyone with his calm, confident delivery in front of 200 people. Truly a life skill! So many parents have asked for a copy I attach the text for everyone, it really strikes a chord for us here at OSMA Central and we hope you find it inspiring too. Sensei Mary's classes will not run in Abingdon this Thursday 10th May* For alternative classes and venues please check the website. At OSMA we have pioneered pre-school martial arts and have a passion to build good habits at an early stage for our children. Now we are excited and delighted that you can now begin OSMA classes with your 2 year old, in our new parent and toddler programme: Smart Start. Led by pre school expert Theresa Quinn, these classes will book up really fast, so please spread the word and contact us asap if you think you are ready to book your trial sessions. We attach a pdf with more details and booking information. Please order your kit bags - on special offer in the dojo this week. And Yellow/Orange belts are reminded they need to order sparring equipment to commence the next stage of the syllabus, speak to Victoria or Sensei Mary for orders.Thats enough for now! Train Hard, have a great week...see you all at SENI!!(pick up a flyer in the dojo...) OSMA Office
April 17th Welcome back to those who have been away, we hope you all had a good Spring Break. This month in the OSMA shop our featured product is the Student Guide book at £6.50. In all dojos this essential reference book has sold fast and we recommend you snap it up quickly if you have not yet bought one. We have 15 remaining from our second batch. If you ordered in advance at £5 - yours has been set aside and will be given to you at class. Its now less than 3 weeks until the next examination day! If your child is being tested then he/she should now be practising daily... See you in class, OSMA team :)
March 31st 2007 Next week (3rd+ 5th April) St John’s classes will be held at St. Thomas More School due to the unavailability of the hall. No classes will be held at Polstead Rd or Botley on Bank Holiday Friday. In addition to this there will be no classes in Kidlington or Botley w/c 9th April. You are welcome to bring children to classes in Polstead rd or Abingdon this week. Details/directions on website. There will be no Team Taurus over the Easter weekend, (Saturday or Monday) nor the following Saturday (14th April) as the OSMA team are all away on a children's fitness conference. Normal class timetable will be resumed from 16th April. Happy Easter! OSMA :)
Christmas Bulletin 2006 Read on for news about Examinations, Body Combat, Christmas closures, New January class times, competition results…its all going off here! Christmas Examinations Administration deadline for the Christmas grading examination has now passed and no further invitations will be issued. Next grading is Saturday February 24th, please put it in your diary now to avoid disappointment. Dates for 2007 gradings are now available on the website. Congratulations! Sensei Mary took Silver at the London Open Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Competition on November 18th and then Gold in the Northern Open to become women’s heavyweight champion. Pictures and details on the website. Venue/Day change Summertown classes will move from Esporta to St Margaret’s Institute, Polstead Rd from January. These classes will be Wednesdays and Fridays. Car parking is available in the Anchor Pub next door. We are now running martial arts fitness classes in Botley on Wednesdays at 6.45. Reduced membership fees apply if you already have a child in the programme. Combat is a non-contact class, set to music, helping you shape up, burn calories, kick stress and have fun! STOP PRESS: SPECIAL BEGINNERS COMBAT CLASS WED 6th DEC 6.45 FREE! Christmas Closures OSMA will cease classes on Saturday 23rd December and return to business as usual on Tuesday 2nd January. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and look forward to another year of fantastic achievement in 2007!
News and calendars constantly updated on website www.schoolofmartialarts.com or please call us on 01865-370339
Oxford School of Martial Arts Summer Bulletin 2006 Please keep this somewhere safe – its full of important information! There will be programme alterations as follows: Esporta Saturday classes will move to Friday with effect from 1st September at the following times: Foundation Stage 3.45-4.30. Stage 1 class 4.30-5.15, Stage 2, 5.15-6.10, and XMA 6.15-7pm. Last class at Esporta will be Monday 24th July before summer break. The White Horse Leisure Centre classes on Fridays will move to Thursdays – times will remain the same (3.40-4.25/4.25-5.10/5.10-5.55pm). Last Friday class will be 11th August before Sensei Mary’s holiday, and the classes will recommence on Tuesday 29th August. All other classes will continue though the summer holidays as normal. We are running our STORM team staff training programme on 4th August and 1st September and once again need volunteer children to participate in challenging junior instructors. These sessions are great fun for the kids and we would like as many children as possible to join us at Aviators from 1.15-2.15pm on one or both days. Please let us know if you can help on 01865370339 or office@schoolofmartialarts.com Next Examination Day is 24th September, invitations are being issued now and all admin must be returned to us within a week of receiving the invitation. Plain white T-Shirts may be worn instead of jackets from July 24th. White YuBuKai shirts are also acceptable, but no other designs please. Relaxation of the dress code is until September only, and students must still bring their belts to class. If the class alterations make it difficult for you to continue with your membership please let us know and we will endeavour to resolve the problem. XMA payments will freeze during August and restart in September. We hope you will all be able to train through the summer and around holidays - all venues and times are on the website www.schoolofmartialarts.com For those going away we wish you happy holidays and welcome pictures of martial arts practice in exotic locations… Sayonara!
Oxford School of Martial Arts Bulletin w/c 20th March Presentation Winter is on the way out and its time for a spring clean as we focus on presentation. The vast majority of our students are well turned out, and we are proud of the improvements we have seen in the belt tying since the introduction of incentives for parents! Sensei Rob has penned a few thoughts on the importance of presentation which we hope you will find interesting. We are keen not to offend those parents who take a lot of time and trouble to send their children to classes properly presented but appearance is a very sensitive issue and we ask you all please to read and think about these issues to save us having to approach individuals to point out problem areas. Themes The current theme for foundation and intermediate classes is Discipline – always trying your hardest to do your best. Please reinforce this at home with your children, alongside the development of the stranger alert material. The Stranger handout is still available thorough the website www.schoolofmartialarts.com. Cancellations There will be no Team Taurus class this Saturday 25th March. Also please note that all staff will be attending a conference on children’s fitness on April 8/9th so no classes will run at Aviators or Esporta on Saturday 8th. Next grading The date for the next grading is 14th May. The following dates have been provisionally booked for gradings later this year: July 2nd, September 24th, October 29th and December 17th. All these grading will take place at Exeter Hall – thank you all for your positive feedback on this venue. That’s all for now, thanks as ever for your commitment and support. We continue to be amazed at some of the achievements of your children! Please email or call if you have any questions… Sensei Rob/Sensei Mary Oxford School of Martial Arts Bulletin w/c 20th February The bulletin will also be available in classes – please let Sensei Claire/Sensei Mary know if you have already read this – in this way we will save a lot of trees… Some important announcements this week:There will be no classes next Saturday (25th) due to staff training – this affects Sensei Rob’s classes at Aviators (Team Taurus and the intensive grading session) and Sensei Mary’s classes at Esporta. Please try to pick up an extra session during the week – all class times and directions now appear on our website www.schoolofmartialarts.com.From 4th March all Esporta classes on Saturdays will move 15 minutes earlier to make way for: Thanks for all your wonderful feedback after the Chloe Bruce event last week. So many parents have now asked for an XMA class that we have decided to open the programme to families. XMA is all about fun and fitness, so why not come and train with your children? It’s a non contact, non competitive class, inclusive of all abilities – all about enjoying what you can do and aiming for more. Classes will be at 5.45-6.30pm on Saturdays and at 4.30-5.15pm on Wednesdays. Free trial class available, please call to book or find out more.We use email constantly to communicate with parents, so please mail us if you have not yet joined our snippets/news list. Mail will be slow for the next 2 weeks due to a line change with our service provider so please call for urgent enquiries, or bear with us for less vital communications. Grading All grading administration and licences should now be with your Sensei. The grading will be at Exeter Hall in Kidlington, directions are on the grading form and on the website. That all for now folks! Train hard… Sensei Rob/Sensei Mary Oxford School of Martial Arts Bulletin w/c 30th January Welcome to 2006 at OSMA. Sensei Rob, Sensei Mary and all the team would like to thank everyone for their kind cards and presents over Christmas, much appreciated! Lots of exciting news and developments as we dive into the New Year with tons of energy… Our website www.schoolofmartialarts.com will soon be back up and will form a valuable resource for students and parents. Huge thanks to Theresa Quinn for the brilliant job she has done with the design and development of the site; we are delighted with it. We are still adding and updating pictures to the site, and will be snapping shots in many classes. If any parents would prefer that their child’s picture is not used on the site we ask that they inform Sensei Mary. We are heading fast towards the first big event of 2006: the launch of our XMA programme (Xtreme Martial Arts) at 1.30pm on 12th February. There will be an amazing demonstration from Chloe Bruce – champion martial artist and stuntwoman at the Douglas Bader Hall, Esporta, Oxford. There will be no charge for this spectacular event, but advance booking is essential: first come first served. Details from your Sensei, or call us for further information. We guarantee you’ll be rushing to book your place once you download Chloe’s showreel at www.chloebruce.co.uk Next event will be the grading on 5th March at Exeter Hall in Kidlington. If invited to grade please make sure you return your grading form within seven days to book your place. Spaces are limited now that we have more frequent gradings and if you are unable to get your form back quickly its possible that your place will be given to someone else. Whether you are grading or not it is still essential that your licence is kept up to date; forms are always available at class. Our Life Skills thread is focused on the School Safe/Street safe programme once more, please ensure you have had the handout and discuss the ABCD of conflict avoidance with your children as well as our current theme: Balance. That’s all we’ve got room for this week! More soon… Sensei Rob/Sensei Mary
Oxford School of Martial Arts Bulletin w/c 5th December Greetings to you all! A few reminders as we approach the festive season… Christmas Closures: There will be no Esporta or Team Taurus classes on Saturday 17th December due to the grading. Esporta: last class before the Christmas break will be 19th December. Classes will resume on 7th January. St.John’s, Kidlington: last class will be 15th December due to the Christmas closure of the hall. Classes will resume on 10th January. Botley: last class will be 21st December. Classes will resume on 11th January. Abingdon: last class will be 20th December. Classes will resume on 3rd January.
For those students invited to attend Sensei Rob’s special grading practice class, please note that this last class on Saturday 10th will be from 1.30 until 4pm. Have a very Merry Christmas from all of us here at OSMA, and we look forward to making 2006 an amazing year of achievement!
Sensei Rob/Sensei Mary
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Oxford School of Martial Arts: To train for excellence, to help people and to have fun website designed by tq design Theresa Quinn 01235 553509 tq@tqdesign.co.uk |
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Sensei
Rob, Sensei Mary and all the team at OSMA