This past weekend was pretty incredible, as we attended not one but two events. We've had busy weekends before, but not with two tournaments on the same weekend. Lots of driving, sure, but also lots of new friends and fans. Tournaments continue to be our best opportunity to interact with our community and share our vision.
2015 Elm City Karate Challenge
Saturday found us in Waterville, Maine at the Elm City Karate Challenge. This was the final open event on the SMART circuit and it was a double point event. There was a good turnout and a lot of familiar faces, but also quite a few new people. SMART is clearly doing a great job at getting competitors out to the events. Thank you to Renshi Craig Sargent for having us.
2015 Capital District Taekwondo Tournament
Sunday was a drive in the opposite direction as we were in Saratoga Springs, NY for the Capital District Taekwondo Tournament. This was the 10th year for the event but our first in attendance. Lots of new faces here but I was personally surprised at how many people already knew about us. I guess word is spreading, and that's a great thing. Thank you to everyone that came to talk to us.
Competition at both events was great, but there were few adult competitors at either. Everyone had a good time and the atmosphere was very positive. The Sunday event might benefit from a larger space or more bleachers, but I did hear that there were far more competitors than expected. Congratulations to Master Adam Grogin & company for pulling off such a feat and thank you for having us.
Pushup participation was a bit low across both days, but we probably hold some of the blame for that on Saturday. We were kept very busy with sales and there were at least a few people that wanted to participate in the challenge but didn't get a chance to before they had to leave. Our apologies to those folks and we hope to give you another chance in the future. The standings have been updated and you can check them out here.
We had our second trial of the Martial Arts Skills Clash on Sunday. A huge thank you to the participants and volunteers, as well as the tournament hosts for allowing us to try it. We learned a bit more about what works and doesn't work, and we're expecting to have our final trial next month. Look for big things from this in 2016.
Some people have been asking about our biggest sellers - wondering what it is that other people are enjoying most from whistlekick. On the sparring gear side, it's still the boots. Over on the apparel side, lately it's the sweatpants. We keep getting feedback that people don't want to take them off!
We've got a couple events next month, the SMART Championship in Maine and the annual kids-only Kidament in Johnson, VT. The SMART event is limited to those individuals that qualify, and they'll be notified shortly so they can prepare. The Kidament is a fun event that is open to any child. If you've never been, the atmosphere is very different and I'd like to personally encouarge you to attend.
That's a long writeup, but with two events there was a lot to say. I hope to see some of you before the end of the year (or next, check events here), but if not, we'll be releasing information about our Black Friday sale soon, so stay tuned!
Train hard, smile & have a great day!
jeremy
Founder
aka "whistleprez"