The plan is:  hold a small, mock-mini-tournament to:

• Have some fun with our dojo
• Learn/Correct/Make mistakes in front of our friends – before our official Tournament in April

We would need and appreciate some help with the following two (2) things:

1. Old medals!  If you have any old karate medals, we will hand them out to anybody who participates.  It is not about winning 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd, it is about getting up and doing it for fun. Most black belts should have a ton and any contributions will be greatly appreciated.
2. Show up if you can!  Any Black Belts and Brown Belts who can participate at judging or helping guide the overall group that day would be extremely helpful.

We will set up some rings like we do at an actual tournament, and we only need a few judges per ring.  The “mock practice tournament” is meant to recognize ALL participants (yes, everybody will get a medal or certificate).  This mock tournament is about learning to get in the ring and do your karate in front of other people.  And, also a little bit about how to manage yourself (time/distance/spirit/noise blocking) when there is a lot of activity going on.

• The idea is to have all rings going on at the same time and have the experienced students/new students to do anything they feel comfortable doing in their ring.
1. Kata’s, basics, weapons, point sparring (encouraging any self-defense if possible, especially if a student is testing soon).  Black Belts should also participate as well to brush up on their experience. 
2. No black belt demo, sai-tai-bo, etc., we can save all the showmanship for the formal tournament. 
3. Anyone that needs/wants to practice their activity/how to enter/exist the ring/announce yourself, can practice at the back of the room before they do their kata…..just like we all do at a real tournament.  This practice tournament is all about learning/experiencing the craziness of a tournament, which is very different than a regular class.

COST is free/zero/zip/nadda to everyone who comes and participates!!!….just come away with a good time, learn something and be even more prepared for the Atlanta Tournament that’s being held on Saturday, April 14 (this date should already be marked on your calendar!).