Ben Aldridge's International Black Belt Studio

Day 1 of our Summer Training Camp!

G**o Chad Bailey began with a great warm up to start the day, then moved into basic contradas extensions and showed us how we can apply them to a handful of our Kenpo techniques. We practiced a handful of stick levers put into a flow drill as well, and talked about the value of flow drills to build sensitivity, position recognition, and aid memorization

Kyoshi Jason May followed up with Japanese Jiu Jitsu starting with a great clinch drill to use as a starting point for the remainder of the stand up portion before he moved into the ground portion worked transitions and lock flows.

After great conversation during lunch, Renshi Matt Ansari kicked things off with a deep topic, intention and its importance in the martial arts. He followed up with a great combination and some follow up options with varying strikes and methods of control based on context.

Grand Master Bruce Chiu closed up a great day of training with some Modern Arnis left vs right Tapi Tapi (though if you know Bruce, he didn't know what they were called) and showed us different methods of each drill, as well as doing what he does best: analyze each session of the day and show the commonalities and help us connect the proverbial dots.

Last, but not least, Senpai Garrett Gross as the Uke of the Day. I've often found that the people most often selected as Uke turn out to be some of the best martial artists. He is always here supporting our students, often getting hit or getting twisted up. Uke is the person who receives, and there is much to learn at the hand of such great people as I have the great fortune to be able to host.

Heads up to our students!

***TRAFFIC ALERT***

The railroad crossing on Exchange St. in the Village of Alden will be closed to traffic Tuesday at approximately 7:00 a.m. as Norfolk Southern performs maintenance. The work is expected to last through Friday. Please follow the posted detours.

IT'S ALMOST HERE!! Our Second Annual Summer Training Camp is August 24th and 25th! G**o Chad Bailey, Kyoshi Jason May, Renshi Matt Ansari, and Grand Master Bruce Chiu will be joining us. Weapons, empty hand, grappling, and a bunch of other great material as well! Open to anyone who would like to join us, age 13 and up. Check out the link and please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

sparkpages.io

Coming up in a couple weeks Kyoshi Jason May and Senior Professor Jason Arnold will be here!

Adult Students:
https://sparkpages.io/?i=_jHcb

Youth Students:
https://sparkpages.io/?i=_Mgdb

sparkpages.io

Another excellent seminar this weekend from Kyoshi Jason May and Senpai Garrett Gross! The focus was Nan Sho Jiu Jitsu. With the kids, we worked ukemi, how to fall properly if pushed to the ground. We covered some ground mobility and how to get back up on our feet and still be able to protect ourselves. We did the same drills with the adults and expanded upon that even more. We "pressure tested" the adults on their curriculum by having them practice their favorite Kenpo techniques but introducing variables like an extra grab or head control from the opponent. From there we worked multiple attacker scenarios using everything we had done so far in a more live environment and active opponents. It was great to see everyone working hard and smiling, and we are always lucky when Mr. May and Mr. Gross are able to travel here from Colorado. Good news though, they will be back in April and they'll be bringing more friends!!

We will be closed for regular classes tonight due to the weather. Stay safe and we'll see you soon! Check your emails for more information!

Yes we are open for classes tonight!

Looks like I've got some work ahead of me!

We will be closed tonight 1-9-24 due to the weather. Stay safe and we'll see you soon!

Apologize for the late notice; but the school is closed tonight (11/27) due to deteriorating weather conditions.

Hey everyone, it's getting colder out. Check to see if your coat is part of our growing lost and found collection!

This weekend's Black Belt promotions: 1 Black Belt and 2 Junior Black Belts! All of these students embody the Black Belt attitude!

An excellent day today with 4 Black Belt promotions!

Just a reminder, we are closed tonight in observance of the Federal holiday. As the weather has gotten warmer, we will also be going back to full uniforms starting this week. See you tomorrow!!

Sensei Ben

Just a reminder, we will not have regular classes tomorrow morning. We'll be training with GM Doreen DiRienzo at MSD Kenpo Karate!

Here's the link, check it out!

https://sparkpages.io/cart/2/?i=_h9W&c=&ocu=

We've had a few students ask about the next tournament, here it is!

https://form.jotform.com/222346061197050

Our Invitational Tournament is scheduled for Saturday, October 7th. This year, our Tournament will be held, once again, at St. Andrew's Country Day School in Kenmore, NY.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone there and to watching all of the competitors push themselves to the next level on their martial arts journey.

Registration is now officially OPEN! Please, contact Master Biesik right away with any questions or concerns.

ASAH!!!

Some great pictures

Jason Arnold, Bram Frank, Chad Bailey, Jason May and myself.

A great day on the mats! Youth and adult tournament prep seminars complete. Got a lot of work done to set ourselves up for success.

Something I talked about with my adult students is one of the reasons why I love martial arts. It helps me be in the here and now, to be wholly present in what I'm doing. In a tournament there's noise, other participants, all kinds of distractions. But so many people struggle with being in the moment in daily life. Your phone is buzzing with some pointless social media notification, you're thinking about what you have to do when you get home, thinking about what's happening tomorrow. A lot of things that aren't part of the present moment. Martial arts is my meditation. If you haven't tried it, I can't suggest it enough. Maybe it'll change your life too.

If you haven't seen it yet, check out our new sign!

We will be outside for classes tonight!

It's cooled down a bit, so we'll be having classes outside tonight!

For our adult students: Here are links to get signed up for some of our upcoming events!

Progressive Arnis: https://sparkpages.io/?i=_ZyW
These events are from 11:30 - 1:30 on July 15th and 29th.

Summer Camp: https://sparkpages.io/?i=_IhW
Our big event August 12th and 13th with GM Bram Frank, G**o Chad Bailey, Kyoshi Jason May, Senior Professor Jason Arnold, and your host, Sensei Ben Aldridge.

As usual, feel free to reach out with any questions.

2023 I.B.B.S. Summer Camp Ben Aldridge's International Black Belt Studio is hosting it's first ever Summer Training Camp! Training is Saturday the 12th from 8:00 am to 4:30, and Sunday the 13th from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm. Tickets for the full weekend of training are $200, Saturday only are $130, Sunday only is $90.

We will be OUTSIDE tonight for classes!

Extremely honored to be able to hang this in the Dojo!

Classes will be OUTSIDE tonight, please bring water and proper footwear.

We will be OUTSIDE again tonight. As a base guideline, if it's still in the 60's by 8:00 pm (when our classes end) we will most likely be outside.