Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

First I want to wish everyone a great holiday. Santa has been watching and I hope you've been good :) Soon it will be a new year. Time to look back at all the things that have happened and look forward to all the great things to come. Everyone has been working really hard this past year and it really shows. You all are becoming fantastic karate-ka and I'm proud of everyone of you. I also want to thank everyone who went to this years christmas party hope to see more of you next year it was a blast!

Caleb got Student of the Year(Kids) as well as both of his patches. Sonia got Most Improved(Adults) and The Spirit Award(Kids). Katie got Most Dedicated(Adults) and First Stripe Brown Belt. Brian got The Spirit Award(Adults) and First Stripe Brown Belt. Dan got Student of the Year.(Adults) Chris got his Kumade Nobushi Kyokai patch. Sensei Justin got presented his Kumade Nobushi Kyokai Black Belt Diploma. And I got presented with my Shihan Award. We also had some awards for some students who couldn't make it this year. Joshua got Most Improved(Kids) and his Kumade Nobushi Kyokai patch. And Zack got Most Dedicated.(Kids)

There was a lot of other well deserved awards for the students of Mountain Top Martial Arts. Everyone is working so hard and doing excellent. There was also a lot of high rank given out this year too. Master Dixon got his 4th in both Kumade Nobushi Kyokai and Fudoshin Kai. As well as Master Gilbert in Fudoshin Kai. Sensei Darcie got her 3rd in both Kumade Nobushi Kyokai and Fudoshin Kai. Sensei Tommy and Sensei Scott both got there 2nd in Fudoshin Kai. And Sensei O'Leary got his 1st in Kumade Nobushi Kyokai and 2nd in Fudoshin Kai. Whew! That's a lot of rank! All I can say is that I'm very proud and honored to be part of two great systems with such amazing teachers and outstanding students.

I also want to say congratulations to Caleb on his Orange Belt and Dan on his Yellow Belt. You guys both did an excellent job and should be proud of yourselves. You work hard and continue to push yourselves. You are both becoming great martial artists really fast. Keep up the good work. You make my job easy!

I just want to say that (again) I am proud of each and every one of you and we are all like a great big family. Have a happy holiday and a brand new year. Eojsensei :)

P.S I fixed it so anyone can leave comments now. I look forward to hear what you guys have to say.

"SENSEI " JUSTIN !

Finally! It seems like it's been forever. (11 years is pretty close.) Our brand new Black Belt, Sensei Justin Toporcer. After 3 long and crazy days it's finally over, you made it. You rose to the occasion and over came obstacles and no one can take that away from you. Deep down it is all about you and pushing yourself to the limit mentally and physically. Striving for perfection in everything you do. It's been a long journey so far and it is just the beginning. Now comes the hard part of the road towards mastery. It is even harder than the road toward black belt because only you know where you will end up and how long the journey will be. But never be afraid to ask for help if you need it. You have many friends along the way to help guide you. You earned this rank/title, wear it with pride and honor. Never forget where you came from and always look to the future, always moving forward never back. I am honored to call you Sensei. Congratulations! Eoj Sensei :)