Please note there will be NO online classes this Saturday, May 23 and NO online classes on Monday May 25 in observance of Memorial Day.
See you all on the virtual mat! Now in full high definition!
Category Archives: Sensei’s Musings
Important Notice!
*UPDATE: AS OF MARCH 16, 2020*
All regularly scheduled classes and one on one lessons will be suspended temporarily.
FOR THE TIME BEING, WE ARE CLOSED!
ALL CURRENT STUDENTS PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR ONLINE CLASSES AVAILABLE NOW!
March 13, 2020
We have no doubt been following the news of the spreading COVID-19, particularly in relation to how various small business are ensuring the safety of their guests and staff. With that in mind we would like to update everyone on the status of our school, classes and upcoming events.
Cutting Edge Kempo Karate maintains the highest of sanitary standards throughout our training area, and we have taken extra measures to ensure that our students and parents are not at risk to contract COVID-19. This includes strictly following the directions provided from the World Health Organization (WHO) and CDC, as well as reviewing and reinforcing our safety and sanitation procedures with all staff and members.
The entire school is cleaned and sanitized every day before our classes begin. The training mat is mopped and all targets and training equipment are sterilized every day. Throughout our open hours, staff members will be sanitizing all doorknobs, desktops and other surfaces frequently touched. Our staff members are instructed to wash and sanitize their hands frequently, clean any surfaces that need disinfecting, and to stop class to send any children to go clean their hands need be as well.
Please review the following safety procedures as well:
We will be asking every student to sanitize their hands via soap and water or hand sanitizer upon entering and leaving the school.
We ask any students and parents who are not feeling well to stay home until they have fully recovered.
We will be reviewing personal hygiene habits in our classes (no face-touching, lots of 20 second hand washing, covering your mouth and nose, mindful movements near other people) We will also be operating on a minimum contact basis to prevent the spread of any potential germs, focusing on the details of technique with the least amount of personal contact possible until this threat has subsided.
We will continue to keep you posted about our classes and will remain open as long as it is safe for our members. I am also setting up a live stream so I may bring our Kempo classes online so that our students can join in on classes from the comfort of their own home! More news about this soon, we will keep in touch.
Thank you for your continued support and efforts to keep our school safe and thriving! Looking forward to seeing you in class soon,
Shihan Nick and the CEK Staff
Shihan Nick’s Radio Interview
For those of you that missed the live interview, here it is! Check it out and feel free to let us know what you think! More to come in the future!
Congratulations Gentlemen
Our second Black Belt test as Cutting Edge Kempo couldn’t have gone much better.
A true test.
These three young men deserve all the accolades they worked so very hard for. Three people. Five hours of non stop movement. A two mile run. Every technique in the system. Right handed, left handed, Mushin (no mind), grappling, weapon defense, sparring and Kata…we did it all. Each and every one of these young men put their all into this exam, as well they should. Nothing short of one hundred percent would have been acceptable, and each had their moment to shine as they excelled at their strongest attributes and powered through to overcome their weakest. These three men emerged victorious, and should be proud of their dedication.
Warriors. Every one.
Words do no justice in explaining how very proud I am to hold the honor of being your instructor and brother in the arts. Each and every one of you have survived, thrived, and will continue to excel, not only on the mat, but in the real world as well. Your respect for the arts and others, the discipline you have shown, and the indomitable spirit that it takes to reach this level of training with us is commendable, especially in a world where our art has been brutalized by others through the adoption of the “It’s just too hard” mentality of society today. We stand strong in the face of adversity. We will be the last bastion of real world life lessons. We will never fold to those that would take the easy road, for that is not how real life works. Reality is hard. Life is full of loss and failure. What defines you is how you learn from those losses and failures. How you overcome and grow.
How you RISE.
Let it be known, I have proudly promoted the following people in the art of Kempo on November 12, 2017;
Congratulations to:
Shodan Andrew Gansrow (1st degree)- Time in training = 8 Years
Nidan Peter Poliey (2nd degree)- Time in training = 20 Years!!! – Time from Shodan to Nidan = 2.5 Years (Time from candidate to Shodan 11 YEARS! Way to stick it out sir!)
Nidan Joseph Nuzzi (2nd degree) – Time in training = 11 Years – Time from Shodan to Nidan = 2 Years
When you see them, give them a big hug and congratulate your brothers, there is no doubt they earned it. I could not have asked for more out of you three.
A special thank you to Sandan Josh and Sandan Matt for helping me to proctor this exam, your input was invaluable. And now you all know the routine. Heal your bodies, get a day’s rest and then…
Get back on the mat.
An answer to a popular question…
Many of you have asked, “What is the meaning of the Kanji on our under rank certificates?” Well, just about everyone knows the kanji for Fist law, China (empty) hand method; Ch’uan Fa (Kempo) Karate, but many people have inquired about the writing in the border of our certificates.
A poem by the father of modern Karate, the founder of Shotokan Karate-Do; Gichin Funakoshi entitled “Karate-Do”, and in it he references the Taoist principle of “The Way”, something that has always intrigued me.
So here it is, with it’s English translation, enjoy!
Only one way to pass it on straight and well ladies and gentlemen….
Get back on the mat.
To My Faithful Students, Senior Grandmaster Rick Kingi, and Grandmaster Rich Fescina
First and foremost; For those of you that came and represented Cutting Edge Kempo Karate and had the honor to train with Senior Grandmaster Rick Kingi, thank you. Thank you not only for upholding the standards of true Martial Artists with your never ending want to learn and expand your knowledge, but thank you for your dedication to our art , your level of training, and your respect for Senior Grandmaster’s time and efforts. Thank you for inspiring me to continually strive for the best; you are all my inspiration, and you all make me proud to be given the privilege of sharing what I learn. I am so very honored that Senior Grandmaster got a chance to see what we here at Cutting Edge Kempo Karate are all about, and your performance of SGM Kingi’s forms was second to none. I applaud you all.
Senior Grandmaster Rick Kingi; Once again thank you for your time and guidance on my journey through this life of a Martial Artist. Thank you for all your kind words about my students and their performance. Your accolades are so very appreciated, and it was our honor to show you how we do what we do. Thank you for your unending support of my instructor and friend, Grandmaster Rich Fescina. Without you and he, we would not be where we are today. Thank you for being a true human being, your personality and ability to share without the presence of ego is so very refreshing, and is something I constantly strive for in my own life. I was so very happy to have my students who could attend see someone in your venerable position not only on the mat, but really there with us, not above us. Thank you for the opportunity to let me show you some of the knowledge I have attained in the Kajukenbo system, and you have my word that I shall represent you and your family with all the honor and integrity I have always put forth in the past.
Thank you for the promotion, sir. I am honored to be a Fourth Degree Black Belt in Kingi’s Kajukenbo, and I look forward to either your next trip to the east coast, or my next trip to the west.
Thank you Grandmaster Rich Fescina for your unending support and your friendship. Words cannot explain what it means to me. Without you, sir, only God knows where I would be.
…and finally Thank you Sensei Walter Chan for joining your Cutting Edge Kempo family on the mat for this event, it was wonderful seeing you back on the mat with your brothers and sisters training the way training was meant to be done. Now don’t be a stranger.
And now for you all, the mantra of the life of all martial Artists, all students, instructors, and Grandmasters and Senior Grandmasters alike…
Get back on the mat.
Announcing our second annual scholarship winner!
Our 2017 Cutting Edge Kempo Karate Scholarship winner is:
Nidan Nicholas Sunday
Congratulations Nidan Sunday, your outstanding hard work and dedication to your Kempo family and your community have not gone unnoticed! Watching you grow from a child into a young man has been an honor and a privilege, and we look forward to the future.We are proud to present you with this token of achievement to help you in your continued journey to becoming better, stronger and faster. Here is to many more years of hard work and grind, and of course,now that you have yet another reassurance that you are on the right path…
…Get back on the mat.
Announcing Our 2016 Cutting Edge Kempo College Scholarship Winner
We are proud to announce that the winner of our first annual college scholarship is:
SANDAN KELLIE CAVE
For all your hard work and outstanding achievements, Cutting Edge Kempo Karate is proud to present our first ever college scholarship! Kellie began her training with us over a decade ago and has proven that she can persevere and perform even under the utmost pressure, although I am sad to see her leave us for college, I am so very proud of the adult she has grown to be, I am proud to be your instructor.
Although Kellie will be leaving to start the newest chapter of her life, I am sure we have not seen the last of her on the mat.
Once again congratulations!
ALL NEW – Limited Edition Design Tie Dye T’s!
They are here!
Check out this awesome new design! These T-shirts are fantastic, and they are going fast. Don’t miss out on your opportunity to own one (or two, or three…) of these unique Cutting Edge Kempo Karate Tie Dyes. We will only be producing these shirts for a limited time, and once we are done this design will be retired so get a few today!
Only $25.00 for this limited edition T-shirt!
These newly designed T’s are acceptable to wear in class during the summer months and help keep you super cool while you are looking super cool!
Our regular school T-shirts and tank tops (also super cool) are always available as well!
Wear those tie dye Cutting Edge Kempo Karate school T’s proudly, and thank you all for the support!
Now get back on the mat.
The way of the warrior
Our first Black Belt test as Cutting Edge Kempo has come and gone, and I could not be prouder of everyone who did their part on Sunday November 15, 2015. Through all the muscle failure, cramping bodies, mental stress and hours upon hours of physical and mental pressure and non stop movement, you all emerged victorious. Even our one student who could not complete her test due to an unforeseen injury early on in the test should hold her head up high knowing even the few short hours she spent with us was tougher than what most people she knows could endure, and there will be another time for her, and she will rise to the occasion and perform as I know she can. I can not express how proud and elated I was when she walked through the door at the end of the exam to be a part of the ceremony for her brothers and sisters in the art. That is one of the hallmarks of the warriors we train to become.
Our panel of Black Belts did a fine job both judging and guiding the students through their experience, helping them along the way to better themselves and offering their knowledge freely to enhance everyone’s martial skill. It is good to have panel members who do not know the capability of each student, as we get a fresh perspective on areas that may need improvement as well as strong points for each individual. Thank you Grandmaster Fescina, Sensei Caracciola and Sandan Goldberg for joining me and my students for the six hours plus that was our first test.
