Future Black Belt Workouts

[Steve Allison]

Fellow Black Belts and Instructors,

I would like to thank everyone who attended the August black belt workout. If you were not able to attend, you missed a good workout AND you missed the last black belt workout I will be running, at least for the foreseeable future. The original goal for these workouts was to give each other (our fellow black belts and instructors) a monthly opportunity to train on OUR material. For many of us, this is a rare privilege, due to running our own clubs/school and not having an instructor (or higher rank black belt) nearby with whom to train. However, over the past few years, attendance has decreased to the point where I must consider whether the workouts are worth holding.

It seems futile to organize and hold workouts if few (or zero) black belts/instructors show up.  Each year, I schedule the dates for the entire year's worth of workouts and promote them to black belts/instructors throughout our region. Each month, I reserve space for the workouts and commit time/energy to hold the workouts. This last year, I even recruited various instructors to host the workouts at their schools in an effort to increase participation. And even with that added "localization", attendance keeps decreasing. So, at this point, the black belt workouts are on hold/canceled until further notice.

It has been my pleasure to train with each of you, and I look forward to continuing to train with you at regional workouts and events. If anyone has ideas on how to bolster interest/attendance, I am open to input. Also, if anyone wants to hold a workout for your students at your school, I am open to planning/scheduling workouts of that sort.

Thanks,

Steve