Urban Kempo Newsletter

8/13/2019 Urban Kempo Newsletter

1/4

urbankempo.com (703) 807-0360

Vol. 1 January 2014

Hello and Happy New Year from Urban Kempo!

We hope you had a fantastic 1stmonth of 2014!! After dipping our toesinto the New Year, we wanted to take a look back at 2013 to celebrate the progress we madeduring our first year in business!

This time last year at Urban Kempo, we were still putting on the final touches of the build out and struggling with thecounty over code and inspections. It seemed like we were never going to open and that Urban Kempo was going toexist forever nomadically between basements and parks!

As the cold set in, however, and the outdoor Iwo Jima Park thathad served so well as our dojo during the interim no longersufficed, we decided to finally put our stake in the ground. Withnail spattered floors and dust saturated air, we held our firstlessons inside our Urban Kempo.

Roughly four months later, we officially opened our doors in lateMarch 2013 with 22 students who had literally spent the previous12 months following Urban Kempo from basement to familyroom to park in order to stay in the loop, maintain theircommunity, and to show support for their sensei.

Live Life. Live Long. Live Healthy.

Live Kempo.


2/4


Throughout the year we grew by an average ofroughly 9 students per month, and by the endof 2013 wed reached almost 90 students!

Some transferred from other dojos, whileothers walked from their homes or simply tookthe elevator down from their apartments inneighboring high rises.

In June I began looking for a part time assistantas I became unable to accommodateprospective students. Going into 2014,however, weve developed a well-trained andhighly motivated instructor academy fromwhich we will discoverthe sensei for our secondlocation.

We look forward toawarding our seniorinstructor, Jay Craft,his black belt in 2014,which he will receivefrom both ourGrandmaster andmyself!


3/4


The summer was an exciting time forUrban Kempo! We held our first belttests in late May and early June 2013and had a highly successful GrandOpening party on June 15th. Wecontinued our Kempo Camping

tradition that began in 2012, only thistime we went with a crew of OldTowners AND Clarendonians.

Since June 2013 our student roster hasmore than doubled, we founded ourinstructor academy, we finally replacedthe Hollywood Tans sign with one thatsays Urban Kempo, and wecontinued to collect transfers tricklingin who began to believe in what wewere doing.

Finally, in an unprecedented accomplishment for Urban Kempo, we found lineagethrough Grandmaster Shihan Paul Taylor, who flew out from his headquarters inHuntington Beach, CA to meet our students and hold a seminar. After spending afew days around our community, Shihan agreedto both train and mentor me, as well tofacilitate Urban Kempos brown and black belttests, which adds high prestige to UrbanKempo as well as our students certificates.

With Shihans guidance, weve developed acurriculum that is congruent with his, whileallowing Urban Kempo the artistic freedom to

purport its unique personality. He is slated toreturn in the spring. So for you green andbrown belts anticipating rank promotions,practice up! He doesnt give out promotions soeasily and has been known to fail people. Imjust saying


4/4


A lot has changed since the days of parks and basements. As a 2,66space with a kids room and a separate private lesson area, 12 foot ceilina location only minutes from Georgetown and two blocks from Clarendon metro, a talented instructor academy, and the most prestigiolineage that the Kempo community has to offer, Urban Kempo is quicgrowing into one of the premiere locations in which to study in the D

area.

For those of you who sweated out the hot summer of 2012 with our iccoolers filled with Gatorade and water, and trudged through the brisk with your winter hats and blanketsthank you. This could not hahappened without your support and loyalty, both of which have taken new meanings to me and which are qualities that have come to defiUrban Kempo. And to the new comers that helped us take lift off aestablished Urban Kempo as what is quickly becoming a neighborhostaple, thank you for accepting us into your neighborhood and puttyour stamp of approval on us. We owe our growth to your support a

word of mouth, which is the vital source of stability in this industry.

So now for our plans for the spring! Were holding our ONE YEAANNIVERSARY party in late March! Shortly thereafter, we plan topen our SECOND LOCATION!! And, as previously noted werbringing GRANDMASTER TAYLOR back for a SECOND VISI(Some things you just have to do twice)!! And finally, well hold banquet in celebration of all the successes that Urban Kempo haenjoyed since late March 2013!

So here we go into 2014! Again, this time last year things looked verdifferent from inside these walls!! Our history serves as an example owhat can happen if you believe and surround yourself with good peopleANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!! Community is the foundation of all tha

we do. Looking back on 2013, I cant help but to be enthusiastic abouthe ensuing 11 months! Thank you all for being a part of my dreamand collaboratively making the seemingly impossible seem like a strothrough the park.

All the best,

Sensei Mike

Urban Kempo Newsletter

Documents

Transcript of Urban Kempo Newsletter