This last month we opened up the new PIT area making the Mesa school over 6700 square feet. A lot of work and effort by many people made the expansion possible. I want to thank everyone for their hard work and all of our students for their patience during this time. I was unavailable to teach a few of the normal classes while working on the construction and now am glad to be back on my regular schedule.
I think back to the changes we have made over in the past 7 years and cannot believe the growth and success that Kaju AZ has achieved.
We implemented the PIT program almost 6 years ago and have watched our capabilities grow ten-fold. We have several new black belts promoted (five this year alone) which has increased our talent of instructors. We opened our Gilbert location and our Ohana has blossomed. We have watched junior students become fine young men and women who are leaders in their own right. We have seen young dragon-aged students become more in control of their bodies and minds and even overcome the challenges of being bullied.
Sijo Emperado always said that Kajukenbo was a changing art: that it was up to the instructors to change it and make it grow. I now have some slight understanding of what he was saying. We cannot always do the things the same way we were doing them, even if the way we were doing them was right. The reason: times change and we need to adjust or we get left behind.
For example, when we started the school it was me, my wife, and my two sons. My sons were young and could not teach the adults but were great examples in the juniors and dragons classes. We only had a few classes during the week and I could easily teach every one of them. Now we have multiple schools with many students and a class schedule that no one person can handle.
As more of our students have become proficient and earn higher belts, we have had to make changes in order to maximize the talent that we have at Kaju AZ. We have a saying at Kaju AZ: "you haven't learned it until you have taught it."
Part of the learning process is to teach the material. If I taught every class, when would the Sibak's ever get a chance to become better martial artists, as well as better teachers? Shouldn’t every black belt have the opportunity to grow by teaching the material and discovering new things as they teach? YES!
One area of growth and change has been our dragons and juniors program. I love teaching the kids and one of the main duties that I will never abandon is being fully involved in making sure the kids programs are successful. We now have more of our kids helping in the classes and what an awesome addition to our program! I see our students getting stronger and better by having a more-experienced young person as a role model and the juniors we use as role models are exceptional. They are required to attend our special leadership training course, spend extra time with me and our senior black belts to become better examples and teachers. I am proud of our junior leaders and at what good examples of martial artists they are.
Another area of change that has occurred is hiring Ms. Jessica Blatnick to be our Children's Program Director. She has very aptly filled in the gaps of teaching classes, assisting in designing the curriculum and program and getting the important feedback that helps us improve. She has been a great resource for innovative ideas and for helping me implement the kids programs successfully. I meet with her at least once a week to review individual students progress and how we can help them get to the next level. We make notes about what we need to do that week for every child and then we discuss these ideas with the class instructors. I think we have seen our capabilities and resources multiplied by implementing this new position at Kajukenbo Arizona.
No doubt there will be even better and more changes ahead. If we focus on what's important – our students and Ohana – I am certain we will only make changes that are positive and necessary.
Its funny, I'm not a person that likes change in any way. Same girl for 29 years, same job for 22, same house for 20. It hurts me when a shirt from 1988 mysteriously disappears or my favorite television show is cancelled. Change is hard but change is good! One thing I have learned is this: my capabilities as a martial artist and leader are dependent upon my ability to grow and change with the times.
So, as hard as it may be, we will continue to make the changes necessary to grow as martial artists and Ohana. We will all be better for it!
-Sigung Kelly
