Spin Kick

A slow motion video of spin kick by a student of the school. (displayed with permission).

Board Breaking Day

Yes, another day of students making kindling.  A great time was had by all in what was the most challenging breaking event we have held to date. Students vied to out do each other in a friendly round of board breaking with each trying to show off their best techniques. All in all about one hundred boards were broken at the event. Some students even raised the bar by doing board breaking while blind-folded. Disappointingly, no one yelled "Marco!" But to the students credit they all found their marks on the first try. It was a great event and a lot of fun, we will hold the next event on April 9th.

Test Results

We had another successful series of exams for our students. Both children and adults advanced in rank with several students performing outstandingly. The test consisted of examination of basics, combinations, sparring and poomse. The last part of the testing was board breaking with students executing required and choice techniques to demonstrate speed, power and acuracy. Several students surprisingly did more than break the boards but shattered them into pieces with outstanding power.

Master Otieno is very pleased with the results and congratulates all who passed.

Next exam is scheduled for June.

3/12 testing

Belt testing is next weekend. Students who want to participate need to have the testing request form filled out and signed. (see Vincent) Over the past several weeks Vincent has spent quite a bit of time with students working on their basics so we will be expecting a very high level of skill. Students should know the poomse required for your rank. For certain ranks board breaking will be required so focus those punches and kicks.
Testing should start about 10 AM on Saturday. Parents and Relatives are welcome and encouraged to observe.  Don't forget to bring your cameras.

Testing soon!

Students are reminded that belt testing is just around the corner (3/12). Students and parents need to let the office know if they are participating in this round of testing. Please see Vincent for "Testing request" form. Complete this form along with testing fees before the test date.

Board Breaking day

Tomorrow (Sat) is the 2nd board breaking session being held in the school. As before we are running it as a small competition to see who is the best and creative in their board breaking. Readers may wonder why board breaking? Simple, for WTF it is a requirement to demonstrate speed, accuracy and power. Board breaking is used in more advanced tests and at most all tournaments. Students need to develop keen skills to be able to perform successfully through a gauntlet of board breaking. Testing involves breaking boards at multiple locactions with a wide variety of techniques and heights. Advanced students will need to reach heights of 8-10 feet with their kicks breaking 3-4 boards with front kicks. Already our 10 yr olds can easily reach over 6 foot high.  Our board holders now are standing on anothers shoulders to get enough height.
We wonder what student will be the first to kick out a ceiling tile?! Board breaking will begin about 9:30 AM.

2011 Calendar

2011 Otieno Martial Arts School Calendar


January
22nd - OMAC school tournament

February
19th - Board Breaking
21st/22nd - Bring Friend to class day

March
12th - Belt Testing
19th - Board Breaking
25th - Belt Test make up exam
26th - MJA Karate tournament

April
9th - Board Breaking
29th - Parents night out

May
21st - Open House

June
4th - Belt Testing
6th/7th - Bring Friend to class day
18th - End of school year party and board Breaking
25th - Belt test make up exam

July
2,3,4 - School closed
16th - Otieno school tournament

August
12th - Parents night out
20th - Open house

September
10th - Belt Test
17th - Belt test Makeup exam
24th - Board Breaking

October
3rd/4th - Bring Friend to class day
8th - Parent meeting for Lowell tournament
22nd - Halloween Party

November
6th - Open Masters Championship (tentative date)
7th - Post championship party
19th - Board Breaking
24th Thanksgiving - school closed

December
3rd - Belt Testing
9th - Parents night out
13th - Xmas party
24th/25th - Xmas - School closed

Notice: Dates subject to change always check with the school.

Mini-tournament

The school held its first mini-tournamnet this past Saturday. The purpose was to introduce the tournament environment to all students of the school. Although it was a internal-school only competition. it was run and operated just like a full blown sancitioned event. We had several parents who have been trained over the past several months to perform a judges. The events were judged on WTF rules. The event ran a bit over two hours. In the end winners were awarded trophies and everyone gained a useful experience. We plan on having another event in a few months. Congratulations to all trophy winners.

January Rank Testing

Congratulations to the students who tested on the Jan 15th rank test. All students passed and demonstrated their best work in going toward their next rank. The school now has 4 new Green belts. The next test is on the usual cycle which will be held on the first Saturday in March.

Happy New Year!

The Otieno Martial Arts Center wishes everyone a Safe and Happy New Year. We will be resuming normal operation on Monday January 3rd.

As a reminder annual registration is on going. Everyone needs to complete the new registration form! Please see Vincent if you have any questions. Also the new tuition rates will be in effect in January.

Thank you everyone for your support this past year, we have great plans for 2011. INcluding schuling of 3 tournaments, cross trainning at other schools and lots more board breaking to be had. We will publish the schools full years schedule in the next week or so. We hope to have much better planning and communications this year. Keep an eye on this blog for official annuncements and schedules.

Again... Hoppy Gnu Ears!

Merry Christmas to All

The Otieno Martial Arts Center wishes everyone a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Which is coming up real fast! Our classes will be beginning again on Monday, Dec 27th at their usual times.
See you there! Have a safe and Happy weekend.

Holiday schedule.

The Dojang will be closed Dec 23rd, 24th and 25th. We will be open again on Dec 27th!
Have a great Holiday!

Holiday Party

There will be a Holiday Party at the school on Dec 22nd. Anyone desiring to contribute food or munchies please feel free to do so. For further details contact Vincent.

Belt Test Results

The Belt testing held on Dec 4th was a success. Every passed their exam. We did have a couple of close calls but everyone did well. We are being stricter than before and following the WTF testing guidelines. We want our students to advance but we also have to uphold standards. Some allow us more flexibility in their interpretation but we are moving more to the "letter of the law" so's to speak so there is no ambiguity.

So, Congratualtions to all examinees on  their advancement. You earned it.

The next test cycle is scheduled for March 5th (Saturday) at 10:00 AM. We will have more information as we get closer to test time. Also if we can find the time we will post  rank requirements here so they can be referenced online.

Train Hard, Train often.

Belt tests coming REAL SOON

IT's almost that time again. Belt test are being held on Dec 4th (Sat) beginning at 9:00 AM. Students who  think they are ready have your parents fill out the testing request form and get it to the office ASAP!

Students should make sure they are training hard.

Know your poomses...  check below

yellow....................... poomse 1
yellow with stripe ..... poomse 2
green ........................poomse 3
green with stripe ....... poomse 4
blue .......................... poomse 5
blue with stripe .......... poomse 6

Know your blocks, punches and stances. Don't forget the ethics and tenets. IF you've been show self defense techniques you will be required to demonstrate them. Students above yellow must show their sparring skills.

Tournament Results

The school participated in the 2010 US Masters Open Taekwondo Championships on Sunday, Nov 7th. The school did quite well in Sparring and Forms. A quick tally of the days results produced: 4 Gold Medals, 4 Silver Medals and 6 Bronze Medals.  The students did an outstanding job and made the school very proud. With number of wins and the superior performance of the students, it has made the Otieno school noticed by many other instructors across the greater Northeast region. We made a big spash in our first major event. Now we have to work even harder! Congratulations to all competitors!

Belt test notice

Students,
The next scheduled Belt Test is December 4th (Sat). If you are eligible for testing please obtain a "Test Request form" from the office and have it returned to the office before the test day. We anticipate that this quarters testing event will be crowded with many students testing for their next rank. The earlier you let us know you are testing the easier it will be for us to schedule the day. Testing will begin at 10 AM sharp.

Schedule UPDATE

OMAC Taekwondo schedule

The school is open Monday thru Friday Noon until 8:00 PM
Saturdays 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

Current Class schedule

4:00 M-F Children ages 4-6
5:00 M-F Children ages 7-11
6:00 M-F MMA training (Adults)
6:30 M-F Kickboxing (adults)

Reminder: Every Friday is "Sparring Day" all student must bring their competion gear to class.

Multi-school practice

Students of the Otieno Martial Arts School (OMAC) on Friday Oct 8th  traveled to Tiger An's Martial Arts School in Lowell MA. They went to participate in a  multi-school invitational training . Schools from all over North Eastern MA were in attendance. The classes were conducted by Master Richard An, 6th Degree Black Belt. The practice helped to further OMAC students experience by allowing them to to see and feel how other schools spar and train. The Tiger An school hosts these events ever several months and the students at OMAC are already looking forward to another exchange practice.

We just can not stand still!

Those Taekwondo guys are always moving and jumping around! Yes the school has even gained legs and jumped over the wall into the next spot. Yes the school moved.... a whole 20 feet into the next and LARGER space at 27 Main Street. Our Address is the same we just now occupy a larger dojang and now floored entirely with new 1" thick Taekwondo competition mats.  So now we occupy the former"Curves" location (we have to do something about the sign) But you can still find us via our Taekwondo banner.

We are growing fast. Alot faster than we anticipated.