Promar Karate
190 Mitchell Ave S N4W2B3 Listowel, ON, Canada

Need help figuring out how to set up for karate on zoom? We can help! Tonight at 6:30pm and tomorrow at 7:30pm we will be having a quick "How to Zoom" class to assist parents and caregivers who aren't feeling confident about zooming. The link has gone out via email. ... Didn't get our email First check your promotions, junk, and spam folders. If it's not there, send us a message and we will give you the link!

As martial artists we are lucky that karate can be practiced anywhere! We'll be shifting to online classes in the New Year ONLINE SCHEDULE - beginning January 4th, 2021 Tuesday... 5:30pm - Kinderkicks 6:00pm - White belts to yellow stripe 6:40pm - Yellow belt to green belt 7:20pm - Blue belt to brown with black stripes* 8:00pm - Brown with black stripes* to Black belts *Brown belt with black stripes who are working on Kitsune are to come at 7:20pm and those working Bassai Dai or Empi are to come at 8:00pm Wednesday 6:30pm - Weapons Class Thursday 6:00pm - Kinderkicks 6:40pm - White belt to yellow stripe 7:20pm - Yellow belt to green belt 8:00pm - Blue belts and up Zoom links for the week will be sent out on Monday or Tuesday morning!

Hi Crew!!! I just watched Scott Adkins Side Kick Tutorial on You Tube. It was great. Check it out and watch some of the details he puts into the side-kick. If you get half of what he says you will be better. Train hard everyone!!!

Hi guys, we are shifting our Tavistock classes to Zoom tonight due to the snowy weather. We have moments where it looks like it might be okay and moments where it looks nasty so we are going to take the cautious approach and Zoom it. An email has been sent out with the class links. If you don't see it please check your spam/junk folder first, then contact us. Kinder-kicks and Novice kids will be at 6pm. ... Intermediate and Advanced will be at 7pm. See more

Hi P.K. Crew! Exciting news...the Canada Kicks ratings for our November Virtual Tournament are now on Uventex. Go to Rankings, scroll to Canada Kicks, then find your division and check your standings and points. If you missed the first tournament in the series you can join our next one on February 5th, 2021. The Canada Kicks flyer is on Uventex with all the info.

As we shift into the orange level, all students and spectators entering the dojo are required to fill out a screening form upon arrival. Students under 18 will need a parent or guardian to fill out the form for them. We will have forms ready at the door, or you can print one off at home before class and bring it in (we sent out a copy with our newsletter). If you have any questions please let us know :-)

Hey P.K. Crew! We just completed the Krane Virtual Finals karate tournament. Promar Karate finished first in medals out of 27 clubs participating Shihan won his kata and weapons divisions and went on to win Kata Grands and Weapon's Grands. Sensei Becky Schweitzer from Promar Karate also won her divisions and her Kata Grands. That's the last big tournament of this season but January is coming fast with another season of Virtual Competition. We will be hosting our own event, Canada Kicks, February 5th! Get training and get your videos ready.

As Ontario has shifted our region into Yellow (Protect) we are making some adjustments to our protocols. Recreation now requires 3m of space between participants and a limit of 10 people to a room. We are making the required adjustments. At this time everyone is able to stay in their classes BUT we will need to limit spectators in some of our classes. In LISTOWEL we will having spectator sign-up sheets available for parents/guardians AND we are looking at adding another Kin...derkick class on Friday at 5:30pm. We would need 3 students to switch to this class to make it a go! Please email or message Shihan if you're interested as it will be first-come first-serve. In TAVISTOCK we will have two spectator seats available in the room, one seat on the landing near the entranceway, and two seats on the lower landing. We know this is an adjustment, but we're glad that we're still able to train in person :-)

Congrats to Shihan for being the Grand Champion in 50+ Weapons at the NASKA World Virtual Tour :-D

Hi P.K. Crew, we just finished scoring all the Canada Kicks divisions. Our first Virtual Tournament!! We had competitors from Canada, the USA, the Ukraine, Mexico and Trinidad. Everyone competed hard and did a great job. In ring one, one of the judges scores were added twice. We double checked and this did not affect the outcome at all, it just looks odd. Uventex is going to fix that for us. Award certificates will be e-mailed to everyone in a couple of days. Our next... Canada Kicks event in this series is February 5th. We will have the same divisions and are adding creative/musical forms and weapons for coloured belts. We are also adding Black Belt Grand Championships in Junior and Adult Black Belt divisions. My daughter, Sensei Tamara and I want to thank all the competitors, coaches, Sensei Becky Schwietzer and the people at Uventex for all their hard work and support that made this event possible.

STUDENT CHALLENGE: This weekend we challenge our PK Crew to do five 1 minute rounds of shadow fighting. You can split it up over the weekend, or do all five rounds one after another (making sure to take a 30 second-2 minute break in between). Comment DONE when you/your child(ren) have completed the challenge! What is shadow fighting?... Shadow fighting is when you use striking or blocking techniques in the air in a way that mimics fighting or sparring. It's a great way to get your heart rate up before a match, to work on your skills on your own, and to practice new combinations. Shadow boxing is when you're focusing on hand or elbow techniques, and shadow kicking is when you're working with knees and kicking techniques.

WHY should we practice breathing with purpose as martial artists? Breathe with me for a moment. Slow inhale: Notice how the breath travels into your body Slow exhale: Release your shoulders down away from your ears and notice if you're clenching your jaw. ... Repeat this 3 times. Now how are you feeling? Likely a little more calm or grounded than you were 30 seconds ago. In martial arts we use the breath in many ways. We breath out as we strike to increase striking power We allow our breath to help us move into our stretches We use our breath to stay grounded as we shift stances in our katas These are all great reasons, but the most important one is... *drumroll* To teach ourselves to be calm and to achieve a sense of calm quickly! Martial arts is associated with fighting and striking, but most martial artists are AMAZING at staying calm in stressful situations and keeping a level head. Learning how to use your breath to keep yourself calm will help when you're frustrated at school or work, help you navigate stressful social situations, and allow you to think clearly in emergency situations. This week we'd like to encourage all of our students and parents to take 3 slow steady breaths every morning when you get out of bed, and next week let us know if it made your day a little easier.

Shihan had a busy weekend. He took part in the Karate Ratings Association of New England (Krane) virtual karate tournament and after winning his divisions he took The Grand Championships in Weapons and Forms!!! Shihan also participated in a competition kicking seminar taught by Jeff Doss of West Virginia. Jeff is a multi-time World Champion and one of the best kickers around. It was tiring but well worth the effort and Shihan learned things that will take his kicks to the next level. Anyone who doesn't think Zoom is a great way to learn martial arts should try one of these seminars. The seminar was well presented and it was just like being there in person with Mr. Doss!!!

Hey PK Crew! We had a great start to group classes this week in Tavistock and Listowel - our covid plan seems to be working well People are spaced appropriately, masks are masking and Shihan is disinfecting like crazy. We worked on kicks and sparring combos this week. Next week we will start with kata. Shihan was really impressed with how hard everyone, beginners and veterans alike, worked and how well behaved they were... Many of our classes are near capacity, so if you're interested in joining us, please let us know :-)

On Saturday, September 5th, Shihan won two virtual world titles at the WKC Virtual World Championships. WKC couldn't hold their live Championships this year due to the pandemic so like many karate circuits, went virtual. Shihan took firsts in 35 plus Creative and Traditional Weapons. This brings Shihan's world championship total to eight titles. This was his fourth World Title in Trad Weapons and his second in Creative Weapons. What a great way to start the karate season!... Promar Karate will be running a virtual tournament this fall. Shihan is pumped to get the new season started - winning a big event like the WKC World's is a fun way to start

Happy Friday! One of the best skills that karate can give you (especially this year) is managing stress and anxiety. We do this by learning how to control breath with our strikes, hitting the bag, and practicing body control when we do katas and drills. This year we've kept out cool and rolled with the punches as we get the dojo ready for a safe return to classes. We're thankful that we've continued to have great support from our Promar Karate families. Many of our classes... are full or only have 1 or 2 spots left in them! If you've been on the fence but are interested please reach out to us and we will find a way for you to continue your karate training, whether it is private lessons, group classes, or exclusively zoom online classes :-)

We're counting down the days (12 more left) to the beginning of our Karate season! Our fall schedule begins on Tuesday, September 8th. As our class sizes are limited to make sure we meet physical distancing requirements, please contact us to reserve your spot as soon as possible. In Listowel, our Orange to Black Belt classes at 7:20pm on Monday and Wednesday are FULL. We still have limited spots for our higher belts at 7:20pm on Thursday, and 8pm Monday/Thursday.

Shihan took July off to relax and renew after the big adjustments that the pandemic brought... of course for him that means training, and competing in online karate tournaments. In the last 6 weeks Shihan has participated in 6 virtual tournaments. In each division you submit a video that includes what you're competing in (weapons, kata, sparring drills) and an introduction. Shihan has competed in virtual tournaments hosted in Canada, the US, and Africa, with many first place...s in traditional and creative weapons as well as open forms! With competitors from all over the world, it's great to see that covid can't stop karate!

We're excited to be back to teaching in-person! You can check out our Safe Dojo protocols >>>>> https://promarkarate.ca/safedojo-1

We might not be able to help you find your keys, but we can make sure you leave the house with martial arts abilities! We're currently in the process of making sure we have everything we need to make returning to karate in the dojo safe for our students. We'll be locking in our fall schedule and will be continuing to have zoom classes alongside our in-person classes in the new season. We should be releasing our schedule next week, so keep an eye out!

2020 has been quite the year so far, and we are incredibly grateful that we have been able to continue working with students this year. We couldn't have done that without YOU! Thank you so much for adapting with us as we made the switch to online training. We are so proud of the effort that our students (and Promar parents) have made to keep coming out to class. ... We hope everyone enjoys their summer break, and look forward to seeing you in the dojo in August and September

This week we're practicing weapons in class! Our Kinderkicks are invited to bring their clubs, and our older students to bring a staff (or stick/broom handle) and we will do weapons at home. Please be sure to have some space to practice. If you don't have the room to swing a use a short stick - many a martial artist has used their ingenuity to create a practice weapon