Due to the snow we are closed today. Be safe, and practice!

It was a great day watching the mini dragon perform excellent sidekick technique , thanks to our mini dragon specialist Gretchen Pellaton. Our kids class were perfecting there rear leg sweep technique, and our adults worked real hard on out combination kicks and strikes .

Power to the strip mall is back on, classes are ON!

If you want to see the power of a front hand punch,  watch the Rich Franklin vs Cung Lee fight on Youtube.  Spectacular Front hand knockout by Cung Lee. This fight ends too quickly in the first round leaving a stunned Rich Franklin.  When Cung Lee lands his punch he doesn't just hit Franklin with his hand.  It is the end result of his rotation of his hip with his whole body behind it.  A front hand jab in boxing is used to set up the back hand cross, but in MMA the gloves are a lot smaller and a front hand hook is a very effective counterstrike to use when your opponent has over committed his weight, just like Franklin who was too far forward after a kick.  Congratulations Cung Lee for a job well done.

I should also mention that at that crucial moment Rich Franklin had his hands down.  Something we all can learn from.  

See you in the Dojo- Sensei

Croton Karate Food Drive Update: Sandy Relief

Thank you to everyone who has participated in the CK Food Drive so far -- our box is nice and full!

This food drive was originally created by our summer campers after being inspired by a conversation they had with Sandy. We planned to continue to collect food and deliver to a local food pantry shortly before the holidays.

Under current circumstances (and considering that it originated with "Our" Sandy) it only seems right to deliver the food to Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.

If you still would like to make a donation, please bring it into the dojo Friday or Saturday.

Artwork by Julian.

RAINBOW TEAM!

Please Don't Forget to Bring In Your Fruit&Veggie Sheets! There are new ones in the rack by the door. I know we got off track with the hurricane...

1 sheet per week. Bring to dojo on Monday or Tuesday (if possible).

KIDS V. ADULTS!

Here are the instructions again...

Thank you for joining the
Rainbow Team!

Our Goal: To Eat a Rainbow that reaches All the Way Around the Dojo!!!

Why? Fruits and Vegetables come in so many Beautiful Colors! Did you know that those colors also mean that they are full of vitamins? The very thing that makes them beautiful also makes them nutritious! So… the more colors you eat, the healthier and stronger you will be…and the healthier and stronger you are, the better martial artist you will be!

How? We are going to keep track of what fruits and veggies we eat individually on a chart and at the end of each week, you will bring the chart to the dojo. We will put a colored post-it on the wall for each serving you eat.

Please fill in your chart everyday – so you don’t forget!

Extra Power? If you eat a serving of fruit or vegetable that is Locally Grown… please put a star on your chart next to that serving! Locally Grown means that it grew within 100 miles of your house… that includes Farmer’s Market, CSA, local farms, and Your Own Garden! (Hey, if its your own garden… put 2 stars!)

And if you eat a serving of fruit or vegetable that is Organic… please put an “O” on your chart next to that serving!

And if you eat something for the very first time… put a “#1” next to it!

Rules? Yeah. Be sure that every time you write something down it is a serving. 
1 blueberry does not count. ¼ cup of blueberries count (or at least 20 berries)
1 grape, no. 7 grapes… yes!
If this is confusing, just ask your parent... they know what counts as a serving!

White? While not technically a rainbow color, cauliflower, mushrooms and white asparagus are super nutritious… So, lets say those count as Yellow!

Prizes? Of course… at the end of the rainbow! Think quantity, quality and variety!

Potatoes? 
Red potatoes (skins on) = Red
Blue potatoes = Blue
White potatoes don't count, sorry.

Please Sign up to participate on the Rainbow Team! We want everyone to participate, but we also need to know who is doing it. Everyone who is a student or teacher at Croton Karate is welcome to join in! All ages and All ranks!

Please check our page on Facebook… you can see the Rainbow we made at camp! 
That took 12 days to eat… How long do you think it will take to go around the dojo?

What is Core Combat ?
Core Combat (TM) is a program that we at Croton Karate have been developing for over a year.  We want to offer our members (or the parents of our members) a fitness program that is powerful, intense and actually teaches striking.  Unlike many other martial-cardio programs available, each participant uses his/her own bag and does not take turns. Through the duration of the class participants will knee, strike, kick, sprawl and fight their way to fitness.  

Our program uses MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) drills along with theory from Karate and Kung Fu to provide a dynamic and challenging fitness program. 

Is Core Combat right for me?
You do not need prior martial arts experience to attend class!  Most classes are geared for women only but we are willing to open a Co-Ed class for Saturday mornings.  We offer classes five days a week in various time slots. Please check our Calendar for available time-slots. 

Thanks to Gretchen for the amazing idea of Smoothie Smack down night! All participants spent time surveying the ingredients and creating recipes that were later created and judged by the group.
It was a ton of fun, and extremely educational for all our kids. Driving home the fact that eating well can taste great too!

Thank you to Amy Tucker for putting together the video.