Hurricane Sandy Update

On behalf of Sensei Norman and myself, we first of all hope that you and your families are all OK and weathering the storm after effects.  This is a difficult time for everyone and it will take some time for life to get "back to normal" for us all.  I was at the dojo yesterday morning and the good news is there was no damage from the storm.  However there is no power or heat the dojo. ConEd reports indicate it may take several days until power is restored in Westchester for areas without power.

Given this reality and the exceptional circumstances we are all facing, we have decided to remain closed for the balance of this week.  Regular classes will resume Monday, November 5th.  We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time. Next week classes will be open to everyone so please feel free to come as many days as you are able to.  Our schedule is below this post on the right hand side menu of our website.  Sensei Norman will keep everyone updated next week and will make every effort possible to allow for as much training as his schedule permits.

Thank you again for your support during this difficult period for our community.  We will all get through it together and be stronger as a result of it.  Best wishes to you and your families.

Best Wishes Senpai Miguel

On behalf of Sensei Norman and myself, we would like to take the opportunity to express our gratitude to Senpai Miguel Novoa for his contributions to the dojo over the past year. Miguel has accepted a new position with the NYC Department of Corrections. This is a position he applied for many months ago and he had to go through a rigorous process before he was finally accepted.

Senpai Miguel Novoa is a lifelong student of Sensei. He began his karate training in 1991 and has been a teacher assisting Sensei Smith since 2000. Senpai is a veteran of the US Army and has served his country with tours in Japan and Iraq. As a sergeant of the Army he lead many convoy missions and supervised critical maintenance procedures to various military vehicles. He also used his knowledge of martial arts to train members of his unit.

Throughout my martial arts experience, I have found it rare to train with someone who is an exceptional martial artist, and exceptional teacher and an exceptional person at the same time. Miguel is all three and it has been an honor to train with him. Being the person he is, I have no doubt he will be successful in anything he does.

Finally, if you happen to be reading this while locked-up on Rikers Island, I suggest you do what this guy tells you to do.

We Are In The News Yet Again

I am a bit late on this story but am happy to say that Way of Life Shotokan Karate was in the news yet again recently.  The Larchmont Daily was kind enough to do a short article on one of our students who was with us at the Village of Mamaroneck Board of Trustees meeting at the end of January.  We were at the meeting to do a short demonstration for the Board members, and to discuss the benefits of karate training for kids and adults.  Click here to read the full article.

We Are In The News Again

We are pleased to have a new article written about us in the Sound & Town yesterday about our dojo.  We are proud to be part of the vibrant local diverse communities of southern Westchester County.  This is an interview conducted last week with Sensei Norman Smith and myself. The article discusses some of our insights and experiences in starting up a new karate school in the middle of a recession.  We also had another article written about us back in June in the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Patch.

Mamaroneck Shares Update

We are proud to have participated for the first time in the 2011 Mamaroneck Shares event.  A special thank you to both the event organizers and to our student/parent volunteers.  We raised over $150.00 for the associated charities through our raffle for several free month long memberships at our dojo with all proceeds going to Mamaroneck Shares.  We look forward to participating again next year, and thank you for your support if you attended the event and stopped by our booth.  Here are some of the photos that were taken over the 4 nights.

Mamaroneck Shares Event

Way of Life Shotokan Karate is committed to giving back to the local community in which we operate and live.  We are proud to announce that we will be participating in the Mamaroneck Shares charity event July 14th, 28th, August 18th and September 9th.   This event sees the main street of Mamaroneck closed each night from 7-11PM and has local businesses offering events to raise monies for local charities including Pediatric Cancer Foundation, Mamaroneck Emergency Medical Service, At Home on the Sound and keep aBreast, in support of Susan G Komen Race for the Cure.

Open House June 11th at New Mamaroneck Location

Only 2 weeks before we open the doors at our new Mamaroneck, Westchester County, NY location on June 1st serving the local communities of Mamaroneck, Larchmont, Harrison, Rye, Scarsdale, White Plains and New Rochelle.

We cordially invite you to our grand opening event on Saturday June 11th from 1-5PM that is open to the public.  

New Karate School Open in Mamaroneck

We are pleased to announce the opening of our Mamaroneck, Westchester County NY location today. We are proud to be part of the vibrant local diverse communities of Larchmont, Mamaroneck, Harrison, Rye, Scarsdale, White Plains and New Rochelle. We are looking forward to offering shotokan karate to kids, adults and families for many years to come in our new karate school location.

Please find attached an article that was posted today in the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Patch. This is an interview conducted last week with Sensei Norman Smith and myself.