2007 Prescott Valley Days Parade

Shinpu-Ren students chose to represent their school in this years Prescott Valley Days parade with a theme that represented the “Shinpu-Ren or Gods Divine Wind” Tsunami wave from legendary stories of the first Mongol invasion of Japan in 1274-1281. Fortunately since the parade theme was Hawaiian vacation the selected theme blended in even better than expected.

The float itself was a 14 ft. tall Paper Mache tidal wave with two Karateka fighting just underneath. Students worked for weeks on end plastering soggy newspapers up over the chicken wire frame. An evil looking Samurai was hand painted into the water on the backside of the wave. Smaller students lined the front of the float to wave to parade goers. The float was skirted by grass and covered in ferns and cherry blossom flowers.

Students wore flower lei’s around their necks and had a great time following the float along performing kata’s and kicking drills and handing out candy. At the end of the day students were presented by the Prescott Valley Chamber of Commerce Representative the Youth Division SECOND place trophy.

2008 Car Wash Fundraiser to benefit Prescott Valley Food Bank Flyin’ High Turkey Drive.

Students got together and decided to hold a car wash to see how much money they could raise to purchase turkeys for the Turkey Drive in Prescott Valley. After a long day of scrubbing cars in front of the Western Wearhouse, and with generous support of supplies by Checker Auto, the students raised a grand total of $311.00. Thanks to Fry’s Food Stores, they were able to turn that into a donation of 60 turkeys, for the Flyin High Turkey Drive on Monday November 24th.

2008 Karate Boot Camp

Shinpu-Ren students returned home from their first Karate boot Camp, held at Mormon Lake in Flagstaff Arizona. This was a three-day training and camping event that turned out to be a great time for all who attended. Students participated in two different types of obstacle courses.

The first day’s course was an “Okinawan rice field and farm” where students learned the practical and cultural use of traditional weapons as well as the defensive application of weapons such as the Bo, Kama, and Sai etc. From cutting their own fields with Kama’s, to using Sai for moving feed, carrying buckets of water with their Bo staff, using Aku to row their raft, to planting fields with Bo staff, and even grinding grain using a milling stone and Tonfa. The marsh land of Mormon Lake made a great rice field and farm. They practiced line forms out on the waters edge and also on a raised beam in the water. They worked Chanbarra “Padded Samurai Sword Fighting”, and basic Bo techniques along with diving rolls, and all on the first day. This was all followed up by a bit of “laundry and a bath” in Lake Mary afterward.

On day two students began their day with a two-mile hike/run back to the fields where they learned a new Bo kata in the morning, then ran back to camp in the afternoon. After lunch the next event was another obstacle course named the Ninjitsu course. This included rock face climbing, rope swings and climbs, knife throwing with “surieken” throwing stars and daggers, defending against random attackers, diving over obstacles and more. After dinner, Saturday’s evening event was the ring of fire where students participated in sparring matches with only a ring of tiki torches for light, this was a very exciting event. On the last day of the camp they all took a five mile hike to Lakeview point, practicing much of what they had learned along the way, using fallen trees, rocks etc.

There were many valuable lessons learned by everyone on the trip regarding confidence, perseverance overcoming self doubt and stepping out of their comfort zones in order to be successful in their task. This camp was a tremendous amount of fun and learning for everyone.

2009 Halloween Tailgate Trick or Treat in Prescott Valley

HOSTED BY SHINPU-REN FAMILY KARATE AND ANTELOPE LANES BOWLING CENTER

The First Ever and hopefully the First Annual Tail Gate Trick or Treat Event held by Shinpu-Ren Family Karate was a huge success!

The crowd was estimated at 1,200 or more!

Local businesses turned out with Great Spirit to help the kids of Prescott Valley celebrate one of the favorite nights of the year-HALLOWEEN Ghosts, Pirates, Clowns, Princesses, and creatures of all shapes and sizes were able to do their Trick or Treating in a safe and fun family environment.

Company vans and cars and trucks were decorated in an amazing display of fun and imaginative spooky decors. Gary from Just ask Rental took home the Great Pumpkin Award for his efforts to make the event so much fun with the giant bounce slide with a light show, cotton candy for the kids and a great sound system that pumped out music and spooky sound effects through the evening.

People’s choice awards went to Truly Nolen, Trinity Lutheran and Critter Clippers for their wonderfully fun décor of their vehicles. There was candy and balloons, games and prizes for all of the kids. We would like to thank all of the local business that participated with us and helped to keep the P.V. kids safe this year.

• Antelope Lanes Bowling Center

• Just Ask Rental/ Grand Rental Station

• Baskin Robbins

• Best In Show

• Matheson Gas

• Trinity Lutheran and Gods World

• Voltage Softball Team

• AZ Service

• B & J Hair Affair

• JH Equipment Sales

• Pitzer Air

• Critter Clippers

• National Bank of AZ

• Central Highlands Real Estate

• Truly Nolen

• American Family Insurance

The 2010 Christmas Party

The biggest and best yet. 15 awards were given out this year to students, families and The Amazing Dojo Mom's of 2010. This year we celebrated the immense support of our families that helped make 2010 such a special year. Food and games were of course not to be overlooked, students wrapped each other up in sheets and rolled across the floor building their partners into snowmen, the pinata literally exploded across the entire dojo. Ornaments for all the students were handed out, and by the end of the night everyone went home happy and full.

2011 Flyin' High Turkey Drive Fundraiser

Once again the wonderful students of ShinPu-Ren have put their best foot forward.

As a Sensei it creates a tremendous sense of pride to see the students you train learning and applying the values of giving to others. Students age 4-40+ this year raised enough money with their Bowl-A-Thon to donate to the Prescott Valley Food Bank 20 Full Thanksgiving Dinners and in addition they were able to present a check for $1,000.00 to help with the demand on the Food Bank this year. What a joy and a blessing to have such a dynamic group in the Dojo!!

2012 Demo St Germaines

June 10th Students performed a demo at St. Germaines Catholic Church Spring fling. Student groups designed and performed numerous displays of self defense against multiple attackers with weapons. Students also showed the audience some of the basic drills they go through in class along with bare hand and feet sparring exhibition matches.

2012 Bully Prevention Seminars

Beginning in February, Shihan Alex held seminars at both Glassford Middle School and Bradshaw Middle Schools in an effort to open a dialog with students regarding bullying.

The seminar was called "Be the Change." Students of all grade levels participated.

Students were surveyed and interviewed to get their personal and anonymous input on the problems with bullying in their respective schools. Afterward students were given numerous examples of conflicts, and had to work out ways to handle those situations, intellectually, verbally and physically.

Students participated in learning levels of discretion as well as simple non-violent means of self defense.

2012 Annual Christmas Party and Awards Banquet

This years Christmas Party was filled with wonderful families, tables full of amazing food and an abundance of Christmas Spirit. Awards were given to students from every class including the Yavapai College Class. Awards ranged from Student of the Year, to Most Improved, to the coveted Bushido Award.

This year Sensei Bob Received the Bushido Award in recognition of his tremendous gift for teaching and giving to the students in the Dojo. Sensei Bob is a One of a Kind instructor, he is patient , encouraging and and always conscientious of each students personality and needs.

Another special item for this year were the custom knit Karate afghans made by a very special Dojo Mom for each of the Sensei, to be given as gifts for their continuous dedication and instruction. Sensei Bob, Sensei Travis and Sensei Amber each received a blanket, custom made for each of them, to represent their Martial arts journey.

At the close of the evening students were lined up to break their bricks some for the first time and others to break their own personal records. With music and laughter, good friends and good cheer the ShinPu-Ren Family ended 2012 on a very good note.

2012 Nationals Kick-a-Thon

On March 17th Shinpu-Ren students held a Kick-a-Thon in front of Freedom Station in Prescott Valley. Thirty students showed up to participate.

In 52 minutes all students completed the 1000 kicks goal. The final set of 50 flying side kicks being the most challenging since everyone was getting tired. None the less, all students finished and were rewarded with hours of fun at Freedom Station with a pizza party and open pass to all of the games and activities. This years goal was to get all 14 competitors full sponsorship for Nationals. After the final tally was in students donated 10% of their funds to the local Prescott Valley Yavapai Food Bank.

2013 Get K.I.S.S.D.

Beginning January 2013 the FREE Women's Self Defense Class took on a New personality. GET K.I.S.S.D. , Keep it Simple Self Defense. With a newly re-vamped format, the Free Women's Self Defense 2 hour class has turned a corner. As always, the 2 hour Defense Seminar is always FREE to all women ages 13-adult. This class is offered to women from all over Prescott Valley and all surrounding areas as a community service. ShinPu-Ren is a strong supporter of women having the needed tools to stay safe out in the world.

Now we have streamlined the process down to keep basic defense skills easy to remember, working from the ground up, ladies are run through a series of simple drills and techniques designed to promote awareness and assertiveness, verbal and physical skills. At the end of the 2 hour class a new feeling of self assurance is shining through the participants faces. However that's not where it ends. For some women the 2 hour class is as far as they want to go, however a number of others want more, and now they can get it. Get K.I.S.S.D. has become a total of a 5 week (2 hour class included) program that will take women through numerous aspects of various dangerous situations and attacks, while all the while keeping every technique as simple and basic as possible.

2013 Drop and Give 'em 10

May 28 - Everyone in the Dojo today decided to Drop and Give 'em 10 in honor of Americas Wounded Warriors. Donate to the troops by dropping and giving 10 today. You can snap a photo on Instagram of you completing 10 pushups or share a tweet using #GiveThem10, and we'll donate $1 to Wounded Warrior Project®. We need your help to hit our $50,000 goal by midnight tomorrow

2013 Demo at Tim's Toyota Center June 15

Twenty four Students performed in a 45 minute Demo at Tim's Toyota Center on Saturday. The Demo ran as a 3 ring circus with multiple areas being shown at one time.

The demo started off with a bully prevention skit performed by 2 of the students followed by exercises, kicking demos and then a fun and hilarios demo performed by one of the dojo's Get K.I.S.S.D. graduates and Sensei Travis. After that there were sparring rings, grappling rings, and Team Kata performances followed by individual and team weapons demonstrations Students from 4 yrs and up participated.

After the demo students and parents attended a family picnic at Mountain Valley Park. Everyone celebrated a successful Demo and a couple of birthdays and Hanshi Gary was presented with his Sensei afghan.

2013 February Nationals Fundraisers

February kicked off the first of many Dojo fundraisers with a multi family Yard Sale and Ice Cream social. Parents turned out in force to assist and support the Nationals team in their effort to raise sponsorship money for this years competitors.

All items in the Yard Sale were generously donated by friends and families of the school. The Ice Cream Social held on Saturday was a big success with some very impressive Ice Cream Sundaes being created by their consumers.

Students and parents, friends and yard sale customers came out to indulge and everyone had a great time.

2013 Zombie Run

There were 13 students that competed in the Prescott Valley ZOMBIE RUN event at Mountain Valley Park. This was a fun event where participants can run as humans or zombies. A 1.5 mile trek around the park is the course and along that course are zombies who will try and steal your life flags- runners and zombies received a cool zombie run t-shirt for entering the race. All proceeds raised are used to send Bradshaw Mountain High School (BMHS) delegates to RYLA, Rotarys Youth Leadership Awards Camp that is held at Camp Pine Rock, Prescott.

2008 Prescott Valley Days Parade

Shinpu-ren students decided to really go all out on this years Happy 30th Birthday Prescott Valley Day’s Parade. The students started the work on the 2008 Prescott Valley Days Parade float 6 weeks ahead of the deadline. Numerous hours were spent wrapping boxes, twisting thousands of little tissue paper flowers, painting and gilding the fantastic 16-foot tall birthday cake float.

The many students and a handful of moms painstakingly tended to every detail, from the hand painted plates and cups to the individually hand painted slices of cake. Student’s hand wrapped bottle caps into pieces of foil for candies and made tissue paper flowers by the dozens. There was even a hand made piñata of the letters P.V. hanging in the front of the float. The last count on glue sticks used for the project was 160 extra long sticks. As the float rolled out the doors of the dojo Shihan Alex and Marranda Walker put on their clown suits and their 3ft. stilts to walk the parade route.

Many students were dressed up as presents and three more as clowns to hand out candy. Some of the bigger students formed a drill line to perform kicking drills along the parade route. All of their hard work paid off on the day of the parade though when the students and school came away with the FIRST place prize for the youth division.

This was a really fun and successful project for the students and the school. The best part though was when they got to tear it down a few days later. Ribbons and tissue paper were flying everywhere, and in a matter of 30 minutes it was gone.

2008 Halloween Party

This year’s party in Prescott Valley was a blast! We held the Halloween party outdoors since the weather was so nice. Everyone brought lots of delicious food for the pot luck to share.

The whole parking lot was decorated with fun things, skeletons, spider webs, black cats, and more, and this year we even had a bonfire. Students played games and demolished a huge homemade pumpkin piñata made by the dojo mom’s.

A fun, and safe evening was had by all.

2009 HALLOWEEN LOCK-IN AT ANTELOPE LANES

Halloween all nighter lock-in party at Antelope Lanes. Shinpu-Ren Family Karate hosted a Halloween All Night Bowling Alley Lock-In Party for kid’s ages 7-20 yrs of age.

The evening started at 11:00PM and didn’t end until 7:00AM the next morning.

There were Tournaments and Contests of all kinds including: Pool Tournaments, Karaoke, Costume Contests, Arm Wrestling, Bowling, Push up’s, Disgustingly Gross Pie eating contests and of course Guitar Hero.

Participants played multitudes of games throughout the night for prizes of all kinds.

All of the contests and tournaments had great Prizes to be won.

In fact there were over 100 door prizes for the event generously donated by local business. The party room of the bowling center was decorated in an early-haunted amphitheater design with a skeleton rock band on one side of the room and a giant eyeball surrounded by flaming ruins on the other wall. A giant fluorescent monster with huge teeth and glowing eyeballs frighteningly consumed the guitar hero television.

Cobwebs and spiders were everywhere and a 20-foot fluorescent snake loomed over the bowling lanes. This event was held for a two fold reason, first to provide the older kids in the Prescott / Prescott Valley a safe way to spend Halloween night having fun and cutting loose, and second it was a fundraiser for the Dojo Competition team. The proceeds of which are to help to try and send a team to the 2010 World Karate Championships.

The last word at the door the next morning—That was freakin’ awesome Thanks

2010 Flyin' High Turkey Drive Fundraiser

2010 Bowl-a-Thon Fundraiser

Shinpu-Ren students changed it up a bit this year to raise money so they could contribute to the Flyin' High Turkey Drive. Class discussions brought to light the tough economic situations of many friends and families across the country and here in Prescott Valley. Twenty two of the schools students age 4- 55 participated in a Bowl-A-Thon held at Antelope lanes in order to raise money for the cause. After a great deal of shopping and thanks to the helpful friends at Fry's, two days later students pulled into the Fry's parking lot in Prescott Valley with their gifts to the community. The students this year donated 200 turkeys, 200 boxes of stuffing, 200 bags of potatoes, 200 cans of vegetables, 100 cans of cranberry sauce, 100 packets of gravy and last but not least a cashiers check for $200.00.

The energy and effort of the students and their families this year was tremendous and as their instructors we are very proud of them..

2011 Christmas Party

This years Christmas party was so much fun. The entire dojo was decked out in Christmas lights and Japanese lanterns. The giant garage door served as a 20 ft. tall Christmas tree adorned with gingerbread men wearing their little karate uniforms, belts and all as gifts for every student. Parents and family brought in loads of wonderful food to share. Entertainment included a giant piñata, numerous games and contests. Awards this year were given out to 8 individuals that have represented themselves and the dojo in the most exemplary manner.

Thank you to all of the families that attended, and Thank You for all of the lovely Sensei Christmas Gifts and Cards. Here’s to a spectacular New Year 2012.

2011 Reach For The Stars

Soroptimist International Day of fun and inspiration for girls "Reach for the Stars" was held at Chapel Rock Camp. Instructors from Shinpu-Ren participated in teaching the girls some simple self defense strategies. This was a really fun experience for instructors as each new set of girls was rotated in every 15 minutes. Some were a bit shy at first but it didn't take them long to catch on and learn a few moves.

2012 Demo Tim's Toyota Center

June 16th Prescott Valley Days Exhibition Hall "Tim's Toyota Center" had a full house of Karate Students from ages 4 and up giving the public a taste of all of the many things they learn at Shinpu-Ren. This demo was designed almost entirely by the students. It was run similar to a 3 ring performance with students showing something different in each arena. Defense against armed assailants, weapons and forms demonstrations, ground fighting and Chambarra, were just a few of the areas displayed. 30 min later 7 students performed a group brick breaking as the finale.

2012 Team Up to Clean Up

Community Responsibility was a great lesson learned for students that participated in the Prescott Valley Team up to clean up event.

Shinpu-Ren Students worked a very large area of Prescott Valley on this day. Cleaning up large amounts of trash from the Circle K area around Hwy 69 and Prescott East Hwy, down both sides of Prescott East Hwy, Down both sides of 5th st, and both sides of 2nd street all the way to Glassford road. Amazingly while the students were picking up trash a truck went by and taunted them throwing all of their ashtray contents all over the road. It's a good thing they drove off quickly because if the kids had gotten hold of them-Yikes-they were so angry, and then so resolute about personal responsibility and taking care of the community in which they live. This was a great lesson for all. The day was finished up over at the Entertainment District with pizza and prizes for the participants.

2012 Dojo Sleepover

Students had a wild night of games, contests, popcorn, super screen movies and crazy fun. The annual Dojo Sleepover was held for the students that stepped up to the plate and participated in the annual Bowl-a-Thon to raise money for the Flyin' High Turkey Drive.

Through out the night there were contests of strength, endurance, strategy and skill. Judging by the noise level at time it could be said the kids had a great time! Movies projected onto the ceiling gave students the feeling of being at an open air drive in theater while they watched Jackie Chan, Jet Lee, and others through the night. Instructors and parents served as chaperons through the night. All of this was followed up by a big breakfast spread for all to enjoy in the morning.

2012 Flyin' High Turkey Drive Fundraiser

As we looked upon the abundance of gifts provided by the friends and families and business’s who sponsored our students for this event, we couldn’t help by feel a sense of awe. Students as young as four years old were sponsored for their annual Bowl-a-thon in order to accomplish their goal. Learning to give back to their community that supports them frequently throughout the year is a requirement for students of Shinpu-Ren. This event is a perfect way for them to have the experience of working together toward a common goal in which they receive above all the benefit of giving to others. On Monday November 19th students loaded up the cars with their food gifts and with their families delivered to the Flyin’ High Turkey Drive, 250 count each, potatoes, gravy, green beans, cranberries, corn, stuffing, assorted vegetables and broth; 1,836 packages in all, followed by 72 turkeys and a check for $100.00. The Mighty Mites, who are the smallest of the Dojo students, actually raised the most this year, and they were quite excited when it was explained to them how many families they helped to provide a Thanksgiving meal for.

2013 Reach for the Stars

April 27 - Reach for The Stars is sponsored by The Soroptomist International of Prescott. It is a day of empowerment for young women. The focus is on Self esteem building, perceptual distortions, teamwork, and loving and appreciating their bodies. The young women learn that bullies behave the way they do because of their own low self image. Participants learn that dreams can and do come true. ShinPu -Ren volunteers to help teach some self defense to the young women that attend.

Flyin' High Turkey Drive 2013

November 25 - Dojo students raised enough money with their 8K Hike for the Yavapai food bank to provide 330 Thanksgiving canned goods, 30 turkeys and a cashiers check for $1,000.00 Not bad for a bunch of kids! Learning about civic duty and giving back to their community is an important part of their training. As a reward they all got to participate in a Dojo overnight sleepover that was to say the least a BLAST!

Dojo Summer Fun Camps June 2013

Shinpu-Ren began its Dojo Summer Fun Camps this year and it is off to a great start. Offered only to tuition-ed students and Parks and Rec Students, this pilot program will set the pace for future camps to come. Every day begins and ends with Martial Arts. Field trips to movies, hiking, swimming and exploring are only a few of the activities.

Visits to local sites and parks, outdoor adventures to rivers and mountains, kids stay busy all day long followed by an hour and a half Karate Class. Dojo Day Camp is not day care ! It is adventure, new experiences, learning opportunities and challenges around every corner.

Join us next year and try it out for yourself, the kids will have fun and stay busy all summer long.

2013 Dojo Sleepover

2013 Dojo Sleepover was quite a success! there were 25 in attendance not including the adults! We rumbled, we tumbled we danced, we ate popcorn watched movies and just blew the roof off the dojo for hours! Students were just to fun to watch while they learned line dances and played at YOU KNOW SUMO?! along with Shihans cool obstacle course for parkour! Then all night long we watched movies on the ceiling and just kick'd it and relaxed! This event is also a treat for the students that help with raising the funds for the Flyin' high turkey drive.

Veterans Administration Demo July 13

Students performed 2 separate Demonstrations at the VA in Prescott. As a salute to our Veterans, 20+ students and instructors engaged in two action packed demonstrations at 10:00 in the theater and again at noon inside the hospital. All of the folks that attended had a great time especially watching the Mighty Mights. Afterward all of the students went around the room shaking hands with and thanking every Vet for their service.

2008 Create a Tree Holiday Tree Display event at the Civic Center in Prescott Valley

Shinpu-Ren entered the Create a Tree- Holiday Tree Display event at the Civic Center in Prescott Valley. This was the first time they have entered this event. The students got together and built a large paper Mache tree base / trunk. After this part was completed they took the branches from an old artificial Christmas tree and fashioned them into branches for a very oversized bonsai style tree. All of the photo decorations were handmade by the students. Sparkly pipe cleaners and Popsicle sticks made wonderful photo frames.

The tree had old sparring gear, belt rank colored ribbons, small trophies and medals, and hand made karate ginger bread men. The trunk was tied with real belts and the tree topper was a stuffed eagle. The tree was named “The Shinpu-Ren Tree of Champions” in honor of all of the students who attend the school. Happily the tree was selected as the favorite and won the Peoples Choice award, which really made the students happy.

The students also put on an impromptu demo for the visitors in the Civic Center, the evening of the big Prescott Valley Electric Parade.

2008 Christmas Banquet

Annual Dojo Christmas Banquet and Awards Ceremony. Shinpu-Ren celebrated the holidays with the annual Christmas Banquet and Awards Ceremony. There were 13 awards given out this year to students and one to Sensei Todd. Awards ranged from Student of the year to most improved and more. This year also Hanshi Gary and Shihan Lori celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary by renewing their wedding vows before the entire Dojo. A great time was had by all especially after the formalities, when students played many fun holiday games and relay races. There were also 2 big piñatas for the students to demolish. The food, which was supplied by all, was truly a banquet. This party was a terrific way to end 2008.

2009 Car Wash Fundraiser to benefit Prescott Valley Food Bank Flyin’ High Turkey Drive

This years car wash efforts to raise money to purchase turkeys for the annual turkey drive were even more successful than last year! Students turned out on two separate Saturdays to clean up the cars of Prescott Valley.

When all was said and done we were able to donate 100 Jenny O Turkeys for the Thanksgiving Turkey Drive.

Thanks’ to the co-operation of Fry’s Food Stores managers the purchasing process was much easier this year also. This is a favorite event for the students of Shinpu-Ren Family Karate. It gives the students a means to give back to their community, and to work together for a common good. Students learn how giving of themselves for the sake of others can be a most gratifying endeavor.

2010 Kamikaze KICK-A-THON

USKA Nationals fundraiser March 19, 2010

Shinpu-Ren students held a Kick-A-Thon in order to sponsor the Schools Nationals team. The twist however was that the school would donate 10% of the proceeds that they raised to the Prescott Valley Food Bank. This brought everyone together to help make the fundraiser a success.

The school really pulled together and we had a great turnout of students from 4yrs old and up. The goal was 1000 kicks, and not just any kicks there were 20 different types of kicks performed. The event was held out in front of the dojo, as was a dojo family yard sale.

After the Kick-A-Thon the students enjoyed food and drinks and a bounce castle, which was provided by a very generous dojo family for the kids to enjoy.

On May 21, the students piled into the dojo battle wagon and delivered $250.00 worth of groceries to the National Bank of Arizona for the Prescott Valley Food Bank’s food drive.

2011 Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser

This years Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser was a great success. We served 103 dinners total. Students worked as waiters and seated and served as guests arrived. Nationals team members performed their Katas for the audience, door prizes were given out throughout the event. A raffle was held which helped to bump up the proceeds for the competition team. One for the Dojo mom's generously donated a hand knit afghan for the raffle. A really great family event with wonderful support from families and friends.

2011 Create a Tree display at the Prescott Valley Library

2011 is the second year that the school has entered in the Create a tree event. The name of this years display was “A Black Belt is just a white belt who never gave up”.

The tree itself represented all five of the Shinpu-Ren belt ranks, White, Orange, Purple, Green, Brown and Black. The lower more abundant branches represented the white belts, or beginners. There are always plenty of beginners in any martial arts systems, these are the novice’s who try Karate for one reason or another but who have not yet necessarily developed the commitment to continue through all of the ranks.

As the tree pyramids towards the top each represented belt rank color became smaller, indicating how the number of students reduce in proportion to the level of commitment necessary to climb the ranks to Black Belt. The smallest and highest part of the tree was black, thus showing that only the few who persevere and commit themselves to “The Way” make it all the way to the top-Black Belt.

Each branch of the tree was decorated with hand made snowflake ornaments adorned with photos of all of the current Shinpu-Ren students and many past students at their best. No two snowflakes are the same, and no two Karate students or Karate journeys are the same. The base of the tree was covered by small floor mats to cushion the fall of any snowflakes that might fall, just like the ones that serve to protect the students in their training.

2012 Reach for the Stars

Hosted by Soroptimist International of Prescott, Hanshi James morris and assistant Stephanie teach some basic self defense. Reach for the Stars is a signature program of Soroptimist International that helps promote self esteem for middle school girls ages 11 - 14. Shinpu-Ren has participated in teaching the girls a bit of Self Defense the last couple of years when they have their event. The Activities are geared to be a fun,educational opportunity for participants to do their best and encourage them to live their dreams.

11th Annual YMCA Girls in Sports Day

Dare to Dream Big was the motto for this years Girls in Sports Day. Three awesome SPRFK students assisted the Sensei with the all day event. Mackenzie, Dani and Makenzee were great helpers and Uki during each of the classes. This event is hosted by the YMCA to inspire young girls to develop an interest in a number of different sports. Instructors from all around Prescott for Soccer, Yoga, Cheer, Gymnastics and of course KARATE come in and instruct in their particular specialty.

Every hour groups of 15+ girls would rotate in for one hour of training in numerous aspects of self defense, anti bully techniques and personal awareness. Every group participated with great enthusiasm and seemed to have a really good time, everyone received T-shirts, caps, and backpacks stuffed with goodies. This was a good opportunity for the Dojo girls to work on their teaching skills.

Halloween Monster Bash 2012

Ninjas, Goblins and Spooks OH MY!! The Halloween party this year had a great turn out! From a tiny little rabbit to a giant Sumo man there were wonderful costumes everywhere you turned. Students had their pictures taken with the peanuts waiting for the great pumpkin and the giant man eating pumpkin.

They Trick-or-Treated the haunted houses, played pumpkin bowling, bobbing for donuts, web weaving, created their own amazing caramel chocolate dipped apples, identified monster parts at the Monster Morgue and ran through the haunted tunnel while being attacked by silly string toting boogey men. Families brought in pot luck and we had mountains of goodies to eat.

The Highlight of the event was when the winning class for the food drive was announced and each student from that class got to PIE the Sensei of their choice. After the costume contests and games and food everyone gradually filtered out into the night to finish up their Trick-or-Treating adventures.

2012 Bowl-a Thon Fundraiser

25 Students showed up at Antelope Lanes to participate in the annual Bowl-a-Thon. Theses students had spent the last few weeks raising sponsorships that would be donated 100% to the Yavapai Food Bank Flyin’ High Turkey Drive. This fundraising event is our student’s way of giving something back to their community. Occasionally through the year students go out seeking support for their major competitions. Thus it is so very important that these students and their peers seek to help out persons less fortunate in their community.

This particular event has built a great camaraderie among students, they even compete with each other to try and give the most they can. They bowl have pizza and a great time while working together for a common goal. This year they got a head start on the food drive by competing with all of their classes to bring in the most canned goods. The winners had the pleasure of getting to PIE the Sensei of their choice at the Halloween party. Three of the Sensei were repeatedly Pied, much to the delight of the Mighty Mites-the class that won.

2013 Team Up To Clean Up

May 4 - 20 Students, parents and instructors showed up to help Clean Up Prescott Valley. Team Up to Clean Up is sponsored by The Prescott Valley Chamber Of Commerce and others to help remove the trash and debris cluttering the roadways and open fields around town. ShinPu –Ren considers this to be a valuable community Service, and we make it a point to turn out a great team of participants to help in this endeavor.

2013 Dojo Christmas Banquet and Awards Party

This years Christmas Party was the best yet! Thank you to the VA for allowing us to use your facility, we were in the theater and had access to all of the great benefits it offered. Also Thank You to all of the volunteers who helped set up and tear down, you guys are awesome! This year we were able to set up a giant projection screen filled with pics from the past year, what a delight to see how everyone has changed and how many great times we have enjoyed together.

Also this year we were able to honor the volunteers in the dojo who give SO very much of their time and energy with custom embroidered hoodies and framed Thank You's. Another really special part of the party included live music from a new friend who entertained us with his beautiful piano playing all evening.

The room was filled with music and conversation and laughter, what more could you want? Well how about a visit from Santa?! What a treat, the smallest ones there were just thrilled to have Santa come to their party and spend time with them, a few even had some good conversations with him about what they could give during this season instead of what they wanted to get.

The evening capped off with the traditional brick breaking, many students broke their past records as did even Sensei Alex. What a wonderful evening! We sincerely look forward to the coming New Year with all of our friends and families!

2013 February Sweetheart Spaghetti Dinner

This year the Annual kick-A-Thon turned out to be more of a community event rather than a competition fundraiser. Students worked for weeks to secure as many pledges as they could. Fortune had smiled upon the Competition Team this year and they were able to return 65% of the funds raised back into the community. Word had spread of a local family in need, students and parents were very pleased to be able to donate a much larger sum than the usual 10% since only a small portion of the Kick-A-Thon money was needed to cover all of the competitors. This year we used a different version of our usual event.

Students decorated their own kick boards and each team had fifteen seconds to try and get as many kicks as possible completed. They were all given two try's to get their personal best. After everyone finished, all of the participants had a great time enjoying all of the amenities that Freedom Station had to offer including pizza and drinks. Again a number of the codes of Bushido have come into play and students , instructors and parents have all benefited from the joy of giving back to their community.

2013 Haunted Halloween Blowout

This years party was a bit on the chilly side, but the decorations and all the games were just freaky and awesome. Parents came out early in the week to set up the haunted house, the grave yard candy dig, the mad scientist lab, the swamp challenge and many more fun games and activities! Welcome guests from Germany served as our costume contest judges and the prizes this year were really cool. Inside the Haunted house was a screeching witch and a caged skeleton along with rats and fog and snakes and such.

Cupcake eating contests and bloody worm filled donut eating contests along with surieken balloon games and the chocolate fountain were some of the favorites. All sorts of wonderful costumes came out to enjoy the evening and candy and prizes flowed like water.

A big thank you to the volunteers who worked so hard to make this such a cool event!

November 2013 - 8K Hike

This Fundraiser for Flyin' High Turkey Drive was a great time for everyone. We had to postpone our date since we got a bunch of snow and freezing rain the weekend we had it planned- figures for weeks before the event nothing but clear sky's and sunshine! Everyone who attended completed the hike although a couple of the smallest ones had to hitch a piggy back ride for the last stretch. Brave little souls trekked on as long as they could, this was a 5 mile hike around Watson Lake in November after all. Many beautiful scenic sites were to be found and lunch was a welcome rest break. At the end of the hike Sensei Alex showed some of the kids a great trick with the cat tails, I think I still have fluff covering my coat. Tremendous spirit and energy for the whole trip, and the parents that came with us for back up were just as much fun to have along as the kids. All the effort goes to a good cause, The Yavapai Food Bank Thanksgiving Turkey Drive. This Dojo has much to be thankful for!