Recently I had the honor of being part of Sensei Jackie Chan's 3rd degree black belt test.
Here is the article:
http://www.durhamregion.com/sports/article/1524942--uxbridge-okami-kai-promotes-black-belt

On Oct 14th 2012 Okami Kai's, Scott and Darcie Campsall Sensei's will be hosting the first international Ronin Kenjutsu class as part of their anual Break Fall Seminair, one of the premier martial arts events in Southern Ontario. Many of the top instructors from around Ontario will be in attendance for the Saturday training, and Sunday from 10am - 11:30am we will be putting new students through the Intermediate level Ronin Kenjutsu curriculum.  It should be an amazing 2 days of martial arts and socializing. If you haven't registered be sure to check out the Break Fall FB page or visit Okamikai.com to register, you really shouldn't miss this one!
OSU!

Well ,we were looking all over for a Red Ninja suit for our kids birthday partys and while we did find "costumes" we were unwilling to compromise in giving our birthdays a sense of authenticity.  Enter KarateMart.com, they were the best place to find and source these and we are happy we did.
KarateMart.com was quick to deliver and the quality is - so far - good.  I would say that it seems the black ninja uniforms seem longer wearing because of the type of material.
I will update this review as soon as we start using both the black and red but for now I am going to give both the black and the red Ninja uniforms 4 out of 5 stars for value.
here is the Link: NINJA UNIFORM KARATE MART

Last week I reached out to KarateMart.com to see if they would like to suport The Samurai Club and they were very open to work with us.
While we won't be leaving our regular supplier for most things, KarateMart.com has some really interesting and unique items we cannot get anywhere else and their prices are fair.  In the next couple of post I will review a few of the products that we ordered already.  Just a note about their store in general; first, the website is clean. Not a lot of information is available on each item nor are there a lot of reviews I found everything well organized and could easily get a good idea of what most items where.
Please check KarateMart.com out and be sure to let them know you heard abou them here.

kids classes starting soon.. Scary!

Quick note about training in the martial arts and technology...
Take Video!  Take as much as you can and review it!
It is almost always hard to look at yourself since we are always our worst critiques but suck it up.  It is extremely difficult to get better without visual feedback.
here is a couple of quick tips:

1.  forget the video cameras and just use a cell phone.  It is always with you and newer phones take great video.  I prefer iphone since it imports to iMovie nicely but windows users can go the android route and slip a memory card into their PC's and import to Movie Maker a great and free Microsoft Program.

2. Upload to facebook, youtube, vimeo, etc.  get feedback and take it all with a grain of salt but dont ignore any comments, most people tend to want to help you improve.  Their are exceptions to that where people Troll but have thick skin and dont allow those comments to antagonize you - you are a martial artist not a 13 year old in the school yard.

3. here is a nice little stand for your Phone:
http://www.amazon.com/iStabilizer-Flex-Smartphone-Flexible-Tripod/dp/B0056C4WN8/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1345992713&sr=8-6&keywords=cell+phone+tripod 
This is small enough to put in your dogo bag and it will instantly turn most phones into a great video recorder.  BTW if you use your phone please, please be sure to use it sideways so that you are capturing video correctly. vertical video is a huge mistake :)

I am always interested in seeing others cut or do Aikido, please post here if you have some video - we would love to see it!  Osu!

While we wait for a suitable location to start our new Dojo in Kansas - Kenjutsu will take place at my home in Shawnee on Sundays at 6PM.  Please call or email me to let me know you are coming.
Everyone is welcome - cost is FREE.  Targets for cutting are $4 each for a limited time.  Or a bundle of 30 is $100.  I will roll and soak targets for you for $100 each... meaning I dont want to to do it!! :)  If I have to I will need to charge at least a $1.
See you soon.

Just returned home to Shawnee Kansas after being invited to and teaching at Kyoshi Kevin Blok's Chudokan Dojo in Windsor Ontario.  Shihan Roger Jarrett was also in attendance and the weekend was an incredible mix of martial arts from across North America.

I was lucky enough to be ask to teach to this incredible groupa and I got to share a little information about who I am and why I study Aikido.  It is always wonderful meeting new people of like minds.  I tend to believe that Karma pulls us in and our reason for being martial artists becomes evident.

To all my new friends OSU!

Hi Everyone, we will start our Kenjutsu Classes this Wednesday night at 7pm.  To register just call or email us from the contact page but here is the number in case you can't find it: 310-597-9449. Address is 22607 w59th St. Shawnee KS.
I am happy to say that we should be ready to open the Aikido Club shortly as well - I am looking at locations tonight and should be able to make a decision within the next couple of weeks.  We are targeting classes starting the last week of Aug. 2012.

Well my family and I are on our way to a new life in the Kansas City area from California.  I am really anxious to start the new Dojo up and at the same time keep connections with my school in Calabasas.  The ability to have two schools up and running at the same time just makes me want to work harder on all my technique.  If you are in the Kansas City / Overland Park / Shawnee or Olathe area and you are interested in doing some practical Aikido or Practical katana- please let me know by preregistering here
See you all soon

Mick Chambers Sensei