ATA FIT Cross Training for 2011

ATA Martial Arts is starting new Fit Training classes at noon every day starting January 3, 2011. The goal of these classes is to improve overall health including flexibility, core strength, cardiovascular endurance, and muscle tone. The workouts are martial arts inspired and feature yoga, pilates, cardio kickboxing, and other influences. This sweaty, kick butt workout is for anyone and everyone. No uniforms or previous experience necessary. We'll see you in class in January!

Last Belt Promotions of 2010

On December 22nd and 23rd, ATA Martial Arts of West Chester had it's largest number of students promote to new ranks yet. Over 150 students received new ranks. Many belts, collar uniforms, patches & headbands were earned as well as our first ever recommended black belt midterms. The original group that started with us two years ago are now gearing up for 1st Degree Decided Black Belt in February. Way to go everyone!

Parents' Day Out December 2010

Saturday, December 4, 2010 parents enjoyed a nice afternoon off courtesy of ATA Martial Arts. Many parents took advantage of our Parents' Day Off and let their children come to ATA for an afternoon of martial arts training, fun, food, and games. Most importantly, all the children made a very special thank you card for their parents thanking them for everything they do. Be on the lookout for our next Parents' Night Out event in February for Valentine's Day.

After Thanksgiving Training Camp 2010

Friday, November 26, 2010 marked the second annual Day After Thanksgiving Training Camp at ATA Martial Arts of West Chester. Over 20 students came to train on single ssahng jeol bong skills, single bahng mahng ee skills, and XMA Creative skills. Also, students at the camp were the first in ATA West Chester to do double bahng mahng ee training drills. 5 hours of training was capped off with pizza and Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special on tv. Great training was done by all.

The Last Airbender UStream Event

On Tuesday, November 16, 2010, students at ATA West Chester were treated to a special presentation by Paramount Pictures. Noah Ringer, the star of the movie and ATA 2nd Degree Black Belt, put on a live demonstration at XMA HQ in Los Angeles, California. The show featured 4 remote locations: Dallas, Chicago, Miami, and ATA West Chester! Students demonstrated great leadership and self control as they were on camera supporting the event. Students were also treated to exclusive clips of the movie and received free posters, tatoos, books, cinch sacks, and even copies of the DVD! The entire event can be viewed at http://www.ataondemand.com/.

Trunk or Treat and Halloween Party

Saturday, October 30th, the mummies were unleashed at ATA West Chester. ATA's Egyptian inspired theme was complimented by our Mummy Demo Team. Kids were treated to a Trunk or Treat in the parking lot and a hayride around the parking lot and then were admitted into the spooky mummies' tomb. Once inside the children participated in various games, activities, and a fantastic glow in the dark martial arts demonstration.

Special thanks goes out to Ms. Gladson, Ms. Curry, Mrs. Mastnjak, and Mr. Grosse for set up and clean up. Thanks also to Mr. Ashby, Mr. Grosse, Mr. Zavaleta, and Ms. Rickert for being our mummified demo team. Thanks to all of the parents that set up for trunk or treat. Also, a special thanks to Mr. Ciarlello for the hayrides. Everyone had a blast and we look forward all the craziness over again next year!

The Dawn Of A New Day

October 23, 2010 - ATA Martial Arts held it's belt promotions that featured our very first ever 1st Degree Black Belt Recommended belts. There were also many students receiving their new red/white/blue leadership collar stripe uniforms. In addition, all of the items collected for Faithful Friends, a no kill animal shelter, were presented to Jane and Shannon, representatives from Faithful Friends. Everyone had a great day and we were treated to cards for free appetizers and kids meals from our testing sponsor, TGI Fridays.

ATA West Chester at Chili Cookoff

A great job to everyone who represented ATA West Chester at the Chili Cookoff on Sunday!!! Our demo teams rocked thanks to Mr. Max Ashby and Miss Kelly Rickert. Mrs. Kelly Mastnjak did an awesome job handling the table. Mr. & Mrs. Jouan couldn't be prouder!

Red/Black Collars

Thursday, September 23, 2010, Ms. Gladson and Ms. Curry were introduced as the first red/black collars at ATA West Chester. This is a long road of specialized training for these two awesome ladies. Ms. Curry has been an junior instructor trainee for over 4 years and Ms. Gladson a trainee instructor for over 5 years. This is truly a great accomplishment that they worked hard for. It was a very emotional night and the students and other instructors are very proud of them.

Chester County Restaurant Festival

On Sunday, September 19, 2010, the ATA Martial Arts of West Chester demo team did performances at the West Chester Restaurant Festival. The weather made it a beautiful day to do martial arts outside. We had a chance to meet many from the community and share martial arts with a great crowd. Thank you to all the families that came to help out and show off. Everyone looked sharp. Thank you to Mrs. Mastnjak and crew for setting up, Mr. Ashby for coordinating all the demonstrations (and co-captain, Ms. Rickert), Mrs. Gladson for talking to everybody and anybody that would listen about the benefits of ATA, Mr. Nagel for providing all the photography, and all the other students, parents, and their families that came out.

ATA Martial Arts 2nd Annual School Picnic

On Saturday, September 11, 2010, ATA Martial Arts held its second annual school picnic! Over 50 families came to East Bradford Park and ate lots of great food at the pavilion. The spread was impressive - mac and cheese, ribs, pasta salad, plum cake, cookies, smores, baked beans, and of course, hot dogs and hamburgers. Thanks to Mr. Dow, Mr. Grosse, and Mr. Mitchell for cooking up the burgers and dogs. The kids had fun running around the park playing soccer, kickball, playing in the sand pits, and climbing on the jungle gym and swinging on the swings. The weather was gorgeous and everyone had a great time. We even got to have cake and sing for Drew's birthday!

BIG MONTH AT ATA WC

It's official! Mr. Jouan and Miss Boulden are finally MARRIED! Miss Boulden is now known as Mrs. Jouan. The outside ceremony happened in Newark, Delaware on Saturday, July 31st. It was beautiful. After the Wedding, the newlyweds went on a Mediterranean cruise. While they were absent, ATA West Chester had a special guest --Mr. Jason Morgan! Mr. Morgan trained with the students for 2 weeks and made sure everyone was having a great time training hard in class and getting their 3rd stripes. The students loved him! Mr. Morgan could not have done it without the help of Ms. Gladson, Mrs. Ciarlello and the other trainee instructors & junior leaders.

Belt Promotions was right around the corner when Mr. & (now) Mrs. Jouan returned. On August 28th, over 130 students advanced for new ranks. The highest rank at ATA West Chester is now a red belt decided. Also at Belt Promotion, Ms. Gladson & Ms. Curry successfully advanced in their instructor collar rank to a red/black collar. This means that they are now a step closer to being certified instructors. Mr. & Mrs. Jouan are super proud of everyone! Keep up the hard work!

The Last Airbender

Don't forget to go see The Last Airbender this 4th of July weekend.
The movie stars ATA's own Noah Ringer, ATA black belt! Go with a friend to check it out. Inspired by the movie, then bring them into ATA West Chester to harness the power of martial arts training!
See the trailer here...
http://www.thelastairbendermovie.com/

Rookies Of The Year

Ms. Boulden and Mr. Jouan enjoyed all of the things that World Championships 2010 had to offer. Ms. Boulden certified in the Jee Pahng Ee (cane) while Mr. Jouan certified in the Combat Bahng Mahng Ee (stick fighting). Opening ceremonies was incredible. Emotions were running high. Mr. Jouan and Ms. Boulden had a chance to go onstage to hold boards for Senior Master Dilegge as he tested for his 8th Degree Black Belt. The highlight of the week was the 2009 School Owners Awards. ATA West Chester received the award for Rookie School of the Year. Along with accepting the award, Ms. Boulden and Mr. Jouan got to go up in front of everyone and shake hands with Grandmaster Lee and the Founders Council. It was a great time to watch competition, make new friends, reconnect with old friends, and learn new Songahm material. Thanks to Ms. Gladson and the rest of the crew for holding it down while Mr. Jouan and Ms. Boulden were away.

The first phase of growth has been accomplished

On Saturday, June 19, 2010, ATA Martial Arts held its biggest belt promotions to date. This showcase of martial arts talent included over 50 Tiny Tigers (ages 4, 5, and 6), and produced the school's first red belts! In addition, Walker Holman was the first student at the school to receive the solid blue Victory patch for his uniform. This means that Walker collected 100 stars and for this accomplishment he also received a $100 savings bond. Any student receiving this patch will also get the savings bond. ATA was also proud to have Ray Parker, third degree black belt and designer of the new school t-shirt, as a special guest.

XMA Comes to ATA

Sunday, May 23, 2010 provided an elite group of students the first look at the world of XMA, X-Treme Martial Arts. Vince Johnson came to share his knowledge of XMA and tricking with students from ATA West Chester, ATA Middletown, and ATA Elkton. Students of all ages, sizes, and martial arts talent worked on new tricks such as butterfly kick, tornado kick, cartwheels, aerials, butterfly twist, 720's and more! Despite the fact that some of the power in the building was out (including the air conditioning) the students still put forth 100% effort for over 4 hours! Way to go, guys!

2010 Community Day Open House

On Saturday, May 22, 2010, ATA Martial Arts hosted its second annual Community Day Open House. The day was full of exciting martial arts training classes. The day started with a packed class for children's self defense. The 60 some students had fun learning about entry points (EYES EYES!!) and how to get away from strangers. The next class was the first ever XMA training class in ATA West Chester and it was taught by one of the best in the biz...Vince Johnson. Even though space was tight, everyone had a blast learning split kicks and butterfly kicks. The day rounded out with board breaking out in the parking lot and more self defense training. We gave away so many prizes throughout the day including pre-screening passes for the new Karate Kid movie. Everyone enjoyed the free hot dogs, chips, and juice. The bake sale and board donation money ended up at around $450 that will go toward a new AED for the school. We had the West Chester Fire Department bring a truck, the Sheriff's Department there with the DARE Cruiser, and Good Fellowship Ambulance there as well. MicroGuard treated and cleaned up everyone's sparring gear and Suntricity showed everyone how solar panels work! Thanks to everyone who came out, participated, and helped make the event a great success!

Double Sshang Jeol Bong Training

ATA West Chester hosted it's first ever Double Sshang Jeol Bong Seminar at the school on April 30th! We had 2 classes. One was for the Tiny Tigers and the other was for the Juniors, Teens, & Adults. Both classes were a lot of fun. We did all 9 Double Sshang Jeol Bong drills as well as putting together some of our own personal free style forms for the last 10 minutes of the class. Second Degree Black Belt and 2009 Weapons World Champion Ms. Sharon Gladson was there to assist! We will now be working with this new training tool in our Leadership Classes. We had a blast!

Be on the lookout for ATA Martial Arts of West Chester at the Chester County Hospital's May Festival next weekend on May 15th and 16th. ATA will have an on stage demonstration on Saturday the 15th at 1PM. We will also be hosting our Community Day Open House on Saturday, May 22nd. For more information, call Miss Boulden or Mr. Jouan at 610.344.9370!

MicroGuard Environmental Health Comes To ATA!

Today ATA Martial Arts of West Chester was treated with MicroGuard, a cutting edge antimicrobial protection to keep our students and their families healthy and safe. MicroGuard is considered a "long lasting control and prevention service to harmful pathogens like bacteria, mold, and viruses". This proactive technology will help prevent common germs around our ATA school. It is EPA approved and is the same protection being used right now in hospitals, healthcare businesses, and even NFL locker rooms! For more information on MicroGuard Environmental Health visit their website at www.microguardhealth.com.

ATA Las Vegas Nationals

Last Wednesday-Saturday Mr. Jouan & Miss Boulden traveled cross country to Las Vegas, Nevada for ATA Spring Nationals! The event took over the Las Vegas Convention Center and drew thousands of ATA competitors and ATA instructors from across the world. Miss Boulden & Mr. Jouan's agenda included a two day Oh Sung Do(Korean Broad Sword) Certification, ATA Fitness Tests, an Instructor Workout, and Black Belt High Rank Midterm Tests.

Although the students back home in West Chester were missed, the trip was a huge success! Both instructors had an informative Oh Sung Do Certification and can officially teach the new weapon at ATA West Chester! Although they had a tough judge, they both passed the ATA Fitness Test with flying colors! Miss Boulden scored a 349/300 and Mr. Jouan scored a 408/300! A lot of knowledge was shared from many of the Chief & Senior Masters at the Instructor Workout. Finally, the Midterm Test was a great success! Forms were completed, sparring was action packed, and board breaks were crushed! Results from the Midterm Test will be available in a few weeks after the ATA Headquarters reviews them.

The Tree Is Firmly Rooted

The tree is firmly rooted in the Earth. ATA West Chester tested their first group of brown belts this past Saturday at Belt Promotion! We had over 100 students advance in belts and patches in presence of our Special Guest Judge, Master Karla Capobianco! Mr. Jouan and Miss Boulden felt very honored to have Master Capobianco share this great milestone with them.

At the conclusion of our High Rank Belt Promotion, Dr. Lorna Stuart from The Clinic in Phoenixville, was our Guest Attitude Judge. Dr. Stuart is a leader in our community because she provides health care for the uninsured. As the founder of The Clinic, Dr. Stuart has appeared in People magazine and on The Today Show. All February the students at ATA West Chester collected various items such as chapstick, soup, tea bags, thermometers, throat lozenges, tissues, and hand sanitizer for special Geusenheit Bags that Dr. Stuart hands out to her patients at The Clinic. We were able to put together a total of 40 bags and even had some extra items leftover to donate! ATA West Chester is very proud. For more information about The Clinic, please visit www.theclinicpa.org.

New Jersey Regional Tournament

Sunday, February 14th, ATA West Chester sent almost 30 students to a Regional Tournament in Lincroft, NJ! The West Chester students did very well and came home with many trophies-- many of these were 1st places! A few of our students are currently in the running for Pennsylvania State Champion. We are very proud of everyone and are excited to help each student reach his or her goal!

Bahng Mahng Ee

Bahng Mahng Ee training is officially at ATA West Chester! On Friday, January 22nd Miss Boulden & Mr. Jouan introduced the Bahng Mahng Ee(short stick) to the students of ATA West Chester. There was a seminar for Tiny Tigers and then a separate seminar Juniors, Teens, & Adults Seminar. Both seminars were completely full! Everyone learned the 9 lines of attack, fan strike, figure 8s, combative drills, and of course how to handle the training tool with responsibility and respect. We are excited to begin practicing with the Bahng Mahng Ee in regular classes now!

One Year Anniversary

Saturday, January 2, 2010 marked the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of ATA Martial Arts of West Chester! We celebrated by having a party after classes. Everyone dressed up and had the opportunity to relax with their ATA instructors and friends. The party was catered by Brother's Pizza & Pasta. We had baked ziti, salad, sandwiches, and pizza. We would like to thank everyone who came and are very excited for what is to come in year two!

Reaching Towards the Sky for New Heights

On December 23rd, Master Candidate Tim Chewning from New Jersey was our special guest judge at our Belt Promotion. We had over 85 students test for new belts and patches. There were many family members here to watch their loved ones earn one more belt before the year's end! We even had a special surprise visit from SANTA CLAUS! Our first group of students is now officially blue belts! How exciting! As always, everyone did a fantastic job!