The 4th Degree has scheduled a belt test for October 7 for junior and adult students who have either met or expect to meet their class attendance and performance requirements by that date.

Junior students are reminded that both August and September Powerful Word projects will need to be completed and turned in before the test.

Good luck to all potential test candidates!

This month our Powerful Word chats will center on the concept of self-reliance. Dr. Robyn Silverman, child development specialist has this to say about teaching your child to become more self-reliant,

"Building self-reliance takes a partnership between the child,the parent, and other important adults in the child’s life. Let’s face it; it’s often easier, quicker, and more skillfully done if we do it for the child. But when we allow him to accomplish a developmentally appropriate task on his own, he gains confidence and learns that he can do it by himself."

For more valuable information on self-reliance, be sure to check out our Powerful Word bulletin board for September and the complete Parent's Perch article on our student website.

The 4th Degree Martial Arts was proud to receive an unexpected surprise visit from Ernie Reyes Jr., son of the legendary creator of the West Coast Demo Team, Ernie Reyes, Sr. The father and son team starred together in Surf Ninjas (1993) and Ernie Jr. has had a successful career as an American actor, martial artist, action choreographer, director, producer, filmmaker, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer.

In addition to his Sidekicks TV series role in the late 80s, some of you may remember Mr. Reyes from his numerous movie roles including Red Sonja, The Last Dragon, Rush Hour 2, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II, The Secret of the Ooze (1991) as Keno just to name a few. He also performed utility stunts motion capture for Avatar (2009) and was a stunt double in Alice and Wonderland (2010).

Mr. Reyes holds a 4th Dan (Degree) Black Belt in Tae-Kwon Do under his father Ernie Reyes Sr. and has also trained and competed in Muay Thai.

Mr. Fauth and Mr. Reyes originally met in1982 when the Sr. and Jr. Reyes team was conducting an Australian martial arts tour. Mr. Reyes was in his teens then.

Everyone who attended our Saturday class got a chance to meet Mr. Reyes and chat with him or pose for photos. Some even got his autograph on their belts. Hold on to those belts guys! They are special keepsakes.

We thoroughly enjoyed our 2 week Summer break just letting the body and mind chill out (indoors of course). Prayed for rain the whole time but no such luck. It's great to be back teaching after recharging the batteries. Our kids got better and TALLER in just the 2 weeks that we were off! Amazing how that happens.

We're finishing up the month of August by focusing on our Back to Basics kicking drills and talking about the Powerful Word of the Month - Teamwork. Last Tuesday's class we featured a teamwork game called "Building Bridges". We even brought in our Lil Dragons to participate with the Jr. students and it was great seeing excited teamwork in action.

September's Powerful Word will be Self-Reliance. Which begs the question - on a scale of 1 to 5, how self-reliant are you overall?

The 4th Degree will be closed for it annual Summer break from August 1 through August 14. Classes will resume the week of August 15.

Students can make up missed classes either before the break or after the break. Can't believe how quickly the summer has flown by!

A belt test has been scheduled for Friday, July 29 starting at 6:30 PM.

Regardless of the plan you're on, all test candidates are invited to come in for extra classes over the next 2 weeks. This is our gift to you so that you can be super prepared for this test.

Looking forward to seeing you all achieve your next belt rank goal!

We're looking forward to our first Night Warrior Fun Camp scheduled for Friday, July 8 from 6:00 to 10:30 pm.
Check out the flyer posted online.

Anyone can attend this camp. You don't have to be a registered student at The 4th Degree. This is an great way to get acquainted with the school and students in what promises to be a fun packed night.

Parents needing additional information on the camp can call Miss El at 512-300-7866.

This year we honored local teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week from May 2 - 7, 2011.
As part of our comprehensive character education program, Powerful Words
Character Development. Our students started inviting their school teachers
to visit The 4th Degree during the month of April to personally thank them for their
support. It was perfect timing since the Powerful Word of the Month for April was “respect” and
saying thank you was certainly one of the important parts of showing respect!

The 4th Degree honored four area teachers during National Teacher Appreciation Week, May 2-7
for the great work they do in promoting the value of education and in helping all children become
better students. We are so glad that three of these ladies were able to attend classes and watch
their respective students in action. Mrs. Norma Saenz (Jack Burgess), Mrs. Liz Lanfried (Javi Cavazos)
and Mrs. Kincaide (Vic Puthankattil) attended classes and were presented with a certificate of
appreciation and a rose by their students. Mrs. Mary Malone (William Burgess) was also honored
though she was not able to attend due to a scheduling conflict.

We plan to make this an annual event to show our area teachers how much we appreciate
their efforts to deliver a quality education to our young students.

Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy.
Albert Einstein

The school will be closed tonight but will reopen tomorrow night for classes as usual.

Stay home and stay warm!