This past Saturday we were at the 2015 Spring Open Championship hosted by Dunlavey's Black Belt Academy at Johnson State College in Johnson, VT. I've been attending this tournament for years, originally to support the martial artists from my dojang that were participating, and now for the second time with whistlekick. 

It's always a great day, and one of the larger tournaments in northern VT.  One of my favorite things about this event is that the children's grand championship awards aren't trophies - they're bicycles. The looks on the faces of the kids are priceless, and I'd love to encourage other promoters to consider giving away awards that are more functional than decorative. I remember years ago the Tao Open in Augusta, Maine gave away wall clocks. Last I looked, my Mother still had one on her wall, ticking away.

The pushup contest got heated towards the end, which made it a lot of fun for everyone else. A contingent from Villari's Studio of Self Defense in Barre, VT was all over it, and we had the most participation in the adult women's division we've seen. Thank you, ladies!

The podcast is almost here!

April 20th is launch day for the podcast, whistlekick Martial Arts Radio. We have a lot of work left to do this week, and we're still booking guests for after the launch. Please help us out by joining the launch team on Facebook or just spreading the word to your martial artist friends. We've worked hard on this and we believe strongly that it will be well received.

Our next event is this Saturday - the Pioneer Valley Nationals at Pioneer Valley High School in Northfield, Massachusetts. You can get more information on the event here.

That's it for now. Spring is upon us and I couldn't be happier. It was 70 degrees in Vermont yesterday! Be well & train hard.

Jeremy
Founder