PMA Family,
Happy New Year’s Eve! I’ve been soaking up the Winter Break time with my 3 boys (9, 6, and 3 years old now). Christmas is always amazing but the magic of Christmas for these ages is just so much fun to be a part of.
We also took a quick trip up to Chicago during that crazy cold weather and spent some time with our great Brazilian friends - the Costas!
Now it’s time to reflect on the past year and get ready for the new one!
Here are some of the things that jump out to me from this past year -
Start of the Year: 2022 started off with PMA instructor, Maggie Fox, earning her blue belt (I gave her mine), competition training ramping up for the spring season and competing in two tournaments, and a new group of instructor candidates (our biggest yet) starting their training!
Summer: Last summer was incredible! We had a big group test in June, with two new Black Belt candidates being chosen, Austin and Eli Fox. Then in July, we had a FILKENJUTSU Black Belt Test and added three new PMA Black Belts - Alex Torres, Richard Sances, and Sam Fox! We went right from there into the annual PMA Oak RIdge Summer Camp, the Annual PMA Competition Team Games, and our first summer camp at PMA Knoxville (Jedi Training Camp!).
Fall: In the fall, we had three instructor candidates pass their Instructor Test to become certified PMA instructors - Sempai Jessy Heidle, Sempai Miles Jackson, and Sempai Maggie Fox! We also took our competition team to two more tournaments, and our Kids and Teens took home first place at a submission only tournament in Cookeville.
End of Year: From Halloween on is always such a whirlwind at PMA with the Halloween Party, PMA Fall Hike, Annual Holiday Sale, Thanksgiving Break (and video!), Turkey Roll, Harry Potter night, end-of-year belt test, Annual Holiday Party, and Spirit Week all happening back to back. But we love every second of it!
And here we are on the last day of 2022 with so much to reflect on from a great year at PMA. I didn’t even mention all of the self-defense seminars, well deserved promotions, and all of the great things that happen every single day on our blue mats. So here’s a video to recap some more of it if you haven’t seen it yet (we play it first at the annual holiday party).
Here were our Top 10 songs played at PMA this past year in case you need some music for your workouts this week:
Don’t Let Me Down (feat. Daya) [Illenium Remix] - The Chainsmokers
Zero - Imagine Dragons
The Last Goodbye (feat. Betty LaVette) - ODESZA
Harder Better Faster Stronger - Daft Punk
Finale (feat. Nicholas Petricca) - Madeon
Feel Good - Syn Cole
Tick Tick Boom (feat. BygTwo3) - Sage the Gemini
Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
Feel This Moment (feat. Christina Aguilera) - Pitbull
Summer - Calvin Harris
I have some BIG plans for 2023 so keep your eyes peeled, and I’ll see you all back on the mat on Monday, January 2nd when normal classes resume! Happy New Year! I’m off to celebrate my 13th wedding anniversary with b. ❤️
David Corrigan