River of Tradition Rocks the 2013 Upland Lemon Festival

Upland, CA, May 12, 2013 --(PR.com)-- River of Tradition was represented at the 2013 Upland Lemon Festival this April, an annual event that draws a large attendance from residents throughout the Inland Empire. Students holding ranks from yellow belt to senior brown demonstrated the key principles of Kyokumaru karate through marching drills, katas, and a number of broken boards. Though a handful of adult students participated, the forty-five minute demonstration was powered by the dojo’s youngest students. This gave the demo an evolutionary theme and provided all onlooking parents with a comprehensive look at what they could expect if they enrolled their children with ROT.

After students ran through a collection of kicks, blocks, and strikes, Yeu Kei Ng represented the adult classes and showcased the efficacy of some of Kyokumaru’s self-defense techniques. She showed the audience how wrist grabs, hair pulls, and choke holds against could be turned into advantages for as she fended off her attackers and gave them each a couple of tosses to some mats laid over the stage. And in so doing she demonstrated just how intimidating a short and friendly mother of two can be with practice and dedication to the art of Karate.

Dylan Cobos and Hope Segura also demonstrated some self-defense work as they put together a routine that lasted roughly 90 seconds which Sensei Michael dubbed an “iPod Generation’s version of Kyokumaru Karate.” They combined elements of kata along with rehearsed kumite that gave the audience a brief but totalizing look at what effective practice and technique looks like from two awesome purple belt students.

What highlighted the presentation though was a complete testing for her solid blue belt by Abby Sanchez. Not even seven years old but possibly the most relaxed person on stage, she gave everyone watching an excellent look at what ROT belt testings involve. And then with the help of William Chang, the two sparred each other and were almost visible underneath all of their protective gear. Afterwards Abby was awarded her next belt, capping perfectly a complete demo that began with the most basic drills and ended with the advancement of a student in rank.

The demo captured the essence not only of the physical techniques learned by students at ROT, but the style in which they are taught. Sensei Michael briefly introduced the topic of the “Tao of being human” to the audience and explored the importance of teaching children that being good people is essential to teaching them how to learn and use the martial arts. Not lost in the flashier elements of board breaking and hip throws are the foundations of the confidence and presence required to effectively achieve the right results. It also took confidence for all the students to demonstrate the curriculum they have learned so far to rows of onlooking audience members, the familiar and unfamiliar alike. Clearly the ethos behind the Tao of being human is flowing dynamically even in ROT’s youngest karateka.

For nearly a decade, the River of Tradition has served the Inland Empire by providing the highest quality instruction in both classical and eclectic martial arts. Through the blending of ancient wisdom and tradition with our current understanding of exercise physiology and bio-mechanics River of Tradition has created programs that are safe, invigorating and productive for students of all ages.

Sean Pravica has worked as a PR Consultant, journalist, and content writer. His past work has included representing a public school district, writing about local events for small press newspapers, and writing blog entries about a variety of consumer topics. He is currently a student at River of Tradition.

For more information, visit www.riveroftradition.com.