MacDonald Academy of Martial Arts
Kenpo Karate, Krav Maga, and Fitness for the Boston / Watertown area
News and articles for Krav Maga students
For those of you starting to plan for the fall, we have put together a list of important dates to be aware of:
*Belt Testing will take place the week of August 31st
*The Academy will be closed on Monday September 7th in observance of Labor Day
*The fall session will begin on Tuesday September 8th
*Our bi-annual Black Belt test will take place on Saturday September 12th
*Our Saturday classes will resume on September 19th
MORNING KRAV MAGA IS BACK!!!
Only it will be Wednesday, not Sunday, and anything but easy. Rick Gershberg and Josh Passell will lead classes Wednesday mornings from 9-10, focusing on drills and combatives to encourage the crouching tiger inside you to stretch its legs, the hidden dragon (this being morning) to show off its combustible breath. Rick and Josh have been taking and leading classes at the Academy for years–years–and are only too happy to share what they’ve learned with beginners and experts alike. Drop the kids off at school, tell your boss you’re “working from home”–whatever it takes–and head on over. Wednesday morning at 9 is the time, and the MacDonald Academy of Martial Arts is the place.
It’s been a very busy week for us as we’ve been mapping out how to respond to the shifting landscape we find ourselves in. We’ve been consulting with many other school owners and consultants in our industry to try and figure how to best serve our students as we all ride out the next few weeks and possibly months ahead. We are taking things a week at a time and where next week was scheduled to be our testing week that is the subject of this week’s update.
Tara and I have completed putting together the review videos and testing format for each class. Tomorrow you will receive a link to the videos for the students to watch to aid them in preparing for the test you will administer at your convenience next week. We will also be sending you a detailed outline of what to record for us. (If you do not receive the email with the video links, please contact us.)
As difficult as this situation we find ourselves in is, it has given families a chance to spend more time together than the business of life usually allows. We hope this process will provide an enjoyable experience for you to share with your child and give you some deeper insight into our testing process and what we are trying to develop in our students. When your child is happy with their video email it over to us, or if you choose to use YouTube (or any other video-sharing site) send us the link. Once we have viewed it we will respond with a result and, if appropriate, some feedback.
In next week’s update, we will share with everyone what training will look like for our students as we await a return to normalcy! We have been developing a method of utilizing both YouTube as well as the zoom platform to allow our students to continue their training in a unique way that is both user friendly and personal. We’ve got a lot of exciting material to present but for now, let’s focus on next week’s test!
Stay Safe and Healthy!
Brian and Tara
Well a lot can happen in a week! As we mentioned in our last update as new information is gathered and as the situation evolves we will make adjustments as necessary. As of yesterday our local government has implemented a 3-week ban on public gatherings starting today and our federal government has hinted at a national 2-week mandatory quarantine. Based on these updates we will keep the academy closed until April 6th.
When we re-open we plan to implement all of our previously mentioned changes with the exception of how we run testing. Where this has developed at the very end of our testing cycle and we are closed for 3 consecutive weeks we don’t want all of student’s efforts over the last 3 months to be wasted. These are scary times for everyone and many of our students suffer from various forms and degrees of anxiety so this disruption to their schedules can be very upsetting. For this reason (as well as the fact we may all be going stir crazy in a few days!) we would like to help out by giving everyone something to do so that the students can keep up their training and not have all their hard work go to waste.
In the next few days we will send you a video of the curriculum each class has been working on and was prepared to test on. In the video we will highlight the specifics of what we are looking for in each individual class and level. Students can take as much time as they like training to meet the expectations. When they feel ready email us a video of them performing the material. If the expectations have been met when each student returns to class they will break a board and receive their new belt. If there are any concerns we will email you back with what needs correction and you can resubmit the video with the corrections. I am aware that many of our students have equipment at home to practice on but if you don’t you can find a variety of equipment on amazon or century martial arts. If you don’t wish to make the investment (or delivery services shut down!) you can also be creative with pillows!
These are uncharted waters we are all navigating and we GREATLY appreciate all the support and encouragement we received from all you in the past few days!! As a community we will weather this storm and be stronger for it! We are praying that you all remain healthy and safe and will continue to keep you updated as needed!
Our instructors are highly trained and certified in their respective disciplines. Brian … Learn More
We're proud of our achievements as a school and in the community. Awards: We've been voted "Best of the Best" Martial Arts in Watertown - from 2003 through 2013! MSA and GKM are survey … Learn More
