Alright Parents, Lorenzo here, I’ve been getting a ton of questions about our Ageless Martial Arts Tournament of America. I wanted to clear up some questions parents might have during our event and I wanted to answer some some common questions I get asked a lot during these type of events. I’ll try to give you my honest opinion and also give you a comparison compared to other activities and why martial arts tournaments benefit your child the most.
Will the tournament help with my child progress?
The short answer is Yes. Here’s why,
Extra training always matters. We are providing free tournament classes for the event at no cost to you. The more your child is able to practice the more your child is able to get better at Karate. We prepare them to do there best, and also prepare them just in case they lose. We are planning to do the tournament twice a year in hopes of challenging the skills of our students so they can get better at Karate. Here are concepts that I do to ensure you or your child gets better in our tournament prep class.
- Drilling speed dills and footwork drills
- Real fighting techniques applied in time
- Changing the mindset to a Bushido Way ( Warrior)
- Unique drills that help with reflexes during their match
- Rounds rounds and MORE rounds
- Teaching the importance of applied realism in a match
- Focusing on a goal oriented win
- Community and friendship through friendly competition
- Parent involvement during the event
- Times matches and pressuring them to preform at a higher level
- Training received from a former USA TEAM Olympic coach for Karate
I feel like the tournament is expensive? Doesn’t it seem a bit much to do an event?
Do you remember some of the coolest events that you had as a kid? Do you remember how amazing they were? Or do you remember the price? I’m sure your parents did but you didn’t. This is kind of of what I’m doing for the kids.
Look, I know I’m going to sound like a salesman here, but at the end of the day I am a business owner. But hear me out, I’m going to tell you why its worth spending a little money to give your child an amazing memory and you’ll realize based on my experience of WHY its actually cheaper than you realize. For a Karate Tournament compared to other sports around the area. I’ve been doing this argument for literally years so this come from experience honestly.
So yes its $55 for a division and a trophy,
But according to Football,
” Depending on the equipment, the cost to outfit a player for practice and a game can be from $800 to $1,000 a player. The cost for a helmet and a pair of shoulder pads alone can easily be $500 per player, and that’s just a starting point.
To break down the cost of equipping a player, take a look at the equipment that has to be purchased yearly:
Helmet $225 to $350
Shoulder pads $200 to $350
Jersey $80 to $100 each
Pants $65 to $80
Girdle, thigh pads and knee pads $50 to $65
Shoes $70 to $100
Socks $18″
This doesn’t include travel or food and drink and the hours spent trying to get your child to train for the game.
Taken from: https://www.gadsdentimes.com/news/20160817/cost-of-high-school-football—dollars-must-be-stretched-to-train-equip-feed-teams
Alright parents check out gymnastics,
Competitive gymnastics classes cost about $200-$400 per month and vary based on the level the athlete is training as well as the number of hours the athlete is training each week.
Taken from: https://blog.pinngym.com/how-much-do-gymnastics-classes-cost
This doesn’t even include tournament cost which could be roughly between a $200-$500 entry fee depending on the division and level of the gymnastic athletes. Their privates lessons also can go up to $2000 a month! (Maybe I should change careers!! LOL )
Check out Ice Hockey,
Average cost is about $900-$3000 a month based on travel and competitions.
Dance,
$1500-$7000 a month!
Your tournament, is $55 PLUS discounts and a really expensive trophy, free cotton candy, and a happy kid at the end of the event. And a Sensei who gives you free tournament lessons in hopes you go home with something, Im not even charging for the tournament classes! ( Whos your fav now) 🙂
What if my kid loses? Doesn’t that mean they suck?
And? So what! I realize I might get some heat for saying this, but what do you want me to do? They are here to learn! Martial Arts make the weak stronger! I cant tell you how many fights Ive lost over the years and how many fights Ive won! Teaching them failure is so important! If they cannot handle failure how are they suppose to get better?
Will they get something?
Yes I have ordered at least 300 trophies and some participation trophies. Yes I know PARTICIPATION trophies, I know roll your eyes, but I wanted to help our kids encourage them to keep going and have a good time. SO I figured it was a good call. The more divisions you enter the more likely you have a chance of winning. If the child or teen/adult wins the gold they are put into the grand championships for these divisions. They will win a 6 FOOT trophy if they win that night! Check out the list!
- Grand Champion EK Kids Flags Sparring Ages 3-6 Years old ( All toddlers that won gold)
- Grand Champion Kata Level 1-2 Boys
- Grand Champion Kata Level 1-2 Girls
- Grand Champion Kata 3-4, Black Belt Candidates Girls
- Grand Champion Kata 3-4, Black Belt Candidates Boys
- Grand Champion Kata Teen Adult: Level 1-2
- Grand Champion Teen Adult Level 3-4 Black Belt Candidate
- Grand Champion Flag Sparring White Belt- Level 1-2
- Grand Champion Flag Sparring Levels 3-4 Black Belt Candidate Girls
- Grand Champion Flag Sparring Levels 3-4 and Black Belt Candidate Boys
- CASH PRIZE: ULTIMATE GRAND CHAMPION POINT SPARRING, White Belt,
- CASH PRIZE: ULTIMATE GRAND CHAMPION POINT SPARRING, Level 1-2
- CASH PRIZE: ULTIMATE GRAND CHAMPION POINT SPARRING, Level 3-4 and Black Belt Candidates
- CASH PRIZE : ULTIMATE GRAND CHAMPION POINT SPARRING TEEN AND ADULT Levels 1-2
- CASH PRIZE: ULTIMATE GRAND CHAMIPION POINT SPARRING TEEN AND ADULT LEVELS 3-4
Teaching them failure is an important part of the process to become a black it teaches them to be humble and when hard challenges face them they are able to become better and stronger. We want to create a new generation of Black belts and when I’m old I want my students to be the for front of society whether that be leaders of the future and just good people.
What if they get hurt is it safe?
Like any activity everything has a risk. But I always take the best practice at hand and really try to make it a safe activity for our kids especially during sparring. I also hold a Class C Judging licensing for the USA KARATE federation so we are trained to ensure safety first and making sure that the match is safe all the time.
We also do point sparring which is a type of semi contact fighting practice. It can get kind of soft at times, but as they progress in the higher ranks I let them go harder. For the white belts however its more of a hard tag to the body but as they get better I let them hit harder and I express that in every level as they progress.
Is the gear a requirement for the tournament?
No. You can do the tournament without gear. But its recommended that you should at least do the sparring part. I always recommended doing sparring in gear so they can challenge themselves to get better at Karate.
What kind of skills will they learn for it?
- Speed Training
- Explosive training
- USA TEAM drills
- In depth sparring skills
Why aren’t you charging for the tournament classes?
Because I love Karate. I really do. I want others to love it too. One day Ill be old and I wont be able to move my body and I want my students to see I cared. I want my students to be able to do things I couldn’t and this is their chance to shine now. Doing it free allows me to make it an easy way for them to practice Karate in a fun challenging way. If I was to charge you lets say gymnastic prices for my “special classes” lets say $500 a month, you’d be sure to show up correct? Of course! But it would weed out those who really wanted to just try and learn more! I want it to be open to everyone and encourage them to practice their Karate so they get better at it. Because this is my goal as a teacher to improve our kids skills.
What is the tournament schedule before the tournament?
Wednesday 7:15PM
Fridays: 7:45PM
Saturdays: An email will be sent the night before to check this schedule.
Private lessons for $65: we close the dojo just for you and prepare you for the event.
How much is the spectator fee and why are you charging for it?
Its just only $5 for the spectator fee. I’m charging because due to the limited amount of room we do have I can only let a certain amount of people in.
How are you fitting all of us in there on the Dojo that day?
We are doing a schedule based on age, rank and skill. We will be emailing the schedule of each skill level and age weeks and days before the event. Depending on these factors we will choose what time your coming to the event. You need to show on time so you do not miss your divisions.
Isn’t flag sparring kind of silly/stupid? I mean your not really going to be doing this in a fight Sensei Lorenzo….?
I’m going to be honest with you It kind of is. I think its kind of silly to be honest. I actually got it from an old friend of mine from a guys named Sensei Doug Clark. From Nevada Shotokan Karate. It kind of is a silly game, so why I am adding this game?
Its kind of genius really when you think about it, it teaches them to block down, react and teaches them to close their fist at the last second. It also teaches them the importance of foot work and not to get caught without getting hurt. The most important thing it teaches them how to have fun! I want my kids to trust us and trust the process and they are having fun and they can trust the journey they are more likely to stay and learn more and become better. Then, I can slowly mold them into great Black Belts. Because ultimately that’s my goal is to teach them concepts in the martial arts way or the “Bushido” way . It is to gain trust and get them to do things like games that will eventually benefit them in a positive light and improve their skills ultimately as martial artist.
What will the ring look like?
That’s a great question this is our plan.
He just wants the money!
Yes and No, its kind of both honestly. At the end of the day I am a business. But to be frank anything great will always cost resources. Something will always cost us whether that’s time, money effort or emotional effort. I actually do want our kids to improve their skills. I dedicate a portion of my life to the martial arts in Las Vegas so one day our kids turn out better than I did growing up especially in our town like ours where Las Vegas community needs a home to call home, and me being born and raised here I want to create that with our dojo.
Sure the trophies are pretty expensive, I could have gotten cheaper ones and maybe the same results. But I didn’t. Because when you sees the child holding a trophy compared to a small cheap medal ( I could have made more money ordering medals for $5 each) you’ll see why I made the investment.
- I’ve spent hours back and forth to the trophy shop
- I’ve been on the phone with my mentors learning how to prep for a great event so your child has an amazing memory for a lifetime.
- I’ve planned, set up and created a schedule that I stayed up until 5am in the morning working on so things run smoothly.
- I’m teaching extra free classes and creating drills that I know that will help our students get better at Karate.
Most of the cost will go to the trophies the cash prizes and other things will be doing for the tournament. And I want all of our students to have fun!
Can we sign up the day of the tournament?
Yes you can for an extra $20 fee. But to save just sign up the night before or a week before so we can at least organize everyone it can be a logistical nightmare so please register early so we can put you in the right division.
Lorenzo why don’t you compete anymore?
I’m too old, and I want to do other things the days of fighting are done for me, but I can still show some moves here and there. Besides I love to teach and I love running my school so I find value in that and also photography. Here’s a cool picture in my tournament days. I’ve accomplished a lot as a athlete, and I am very grateful for those who helped me get there and my Sensei’s. Especially to those who are passing away. I can only hope my Karate teachers will be proud of me.
How do we practice for Board breaking?
Easy you can order rebreakable boards so you don’t have to keep buying wood so you can practice for the board breaking. You can order them through us, we really don’t make much from them as in any equipment so our prices are the same as most stores online.
To my Karate Teacher, I miss you Sensei.
I dedicate this event to my Karate teacher, Soke Dan Sawyer a WW2 Veteran, who was there doing D day during the German War at Normandy beach front lines, and always taught me at his house in his backyard. Ill never forget everything you taught me. One day I’ll see you in heaven Sensei. I miss you terribly and I hope one day you can be proud of the man I’ve become.
— Little Jojo ( Sensei Lorenzo )
