School Get-Togethers

[KenpoTess]

Does your school (studio,dojo etc.) have get-togethers during the year? Or is it just training?
Just curious as we hold an annual Summer or Fall BBQ and always a Christmas party, and parents, relatives, significant others come and we always have a good time~!

~Tess

 

[7starmantis]

That sounds like alot of fun, we have a few "get togethers" but its mostly spent doing kung fu. We have an annual birthday celebration for my sigung (teachers teacher) and all of our 8 schools come from around the country and we all do forms and chi sau most of the night, oh yeah and lots of eating!! Thats the kung fu way! It would be cool to do a BBQ or cookout for just our school and the surrounding areas, I may have to suggest that now.

7sm

 

[theletch1]

The school that I'm with now only gets together after a seminar with my the top instructors and then that's not mandatory. My last school had get together after get together and they eventually became "mandatory". If you didn't show up then you caught hell in class for the next week or so. There are a couple of folks that I train with that I'd just as soon not have to deal with outside of class and after the fiasco of getting to know my last instructor on a personal basis I'm really apprehensive about getting to know my current instructor too well.

 

[Ping898]

My first school would have a get together like at least once every three months min. We'd have Halloween party with costumes, a campout every August, ice skating gathering at a local rink, fund raising walk for cancer every April or May, and few other gatherings here and there.

My new school, says they do stuff, just haven't been there long enough to see any yet.

 

[KenpoTess]

I think it all depends on different factors Jeff, The school I trained in down in Florida.. I would of rather not been sociable with my instructor.. outside of class he was a total Jerk and made very innappropriate moves towards me and the other females (Seig dealt with it~! ) We don't demand anyone to show up, though we do ask for people to let us know if they are not able to, just like we ask them to call if they can't make it to class (with our numbers of students it's only out of courtesy so we can plan accordingly). We are a small school and everyone socializes outside of the studio atmosphere, which makes for socializing inside much more fun

~Tess

 

[Blindside]

Our school gets together for a yearly party, typically in the summer somewhere around the anniversery of the opening of the school (30 years this July!). BBQ, football, and baseball are the usual events, though horseshoes was big this last year. The event is open to all students and their families.

Our school is split into two locations and it helps to let students from one school meet students from the other. I highly recommend it for any school, it is important to build that sense of family.

My instructor hosts a yearly Christmas party for all of the instructors and their families. Informal, casual, relaxed and fun, again something I think is important.

Lamont

 

[c2kenpo]

Does your school (studio,dojo etc.) have get-togethers during the year? Or is it just training?
Just curious as we hold an annual Summer or Fall BBQ and always a Christmas party, and parents, relatives, significant others come and we always have a good time~!

~Tess

Love the art Tess!!

We have 2 gatherings each year along with community events and parades and things. Once they are done PIZZA PARTY!!!
Fun for parents, students , kids everyone all around.

David Gunzburg

 

[Jade Tigress]

I don't know if my school has any get togethers or not. Haven't been there long enough yet. But I think it's great idea. Maybe an annual BBQ or something where family and friends could attend. I don't think any social event should be mandatory though.

 

[Tony]

We have a christmas meal and a meal after gradings but I prefer not to go to them because to be honest I only go to train! My instructor is a cool guy and I know going out with him would be really cool but I've kind of got used to the teacher, student role and I think seeing him in a different role would confuse me! In my class some people are thinking of going to the pub afterwards bu thats about it.
I know from a friend of mine who has been doing Taekwondo he regularly goes to the pub with his fellow students aftre their classes and has ven made some friends.

 

[OULobo]

Every club I've been in has had some type of gathering. One had a big Christmas party for adults and a Halloween party for the kids. Another had an annual picnic. Another would have various gatherings at someones house to watch whatever fight was on PPV. There is one that has a demo night and invites all the relatives, friends and associates to the school to see what all the students do. Then there is a big filipino smorgousboard put out for dinner. I don't think I have ever had a bad time at one. Hell, the last one is where I proposed to my fiance.

 

[TigerWoman]

Our school has a "Christmas" potluck party held usually in January. While more people in theory would be able to go then, it usually just brings in the new people. The master likes to ask detailed biblical questions in return for quarters or small prizes during most of the time. Not much fun and not much socializing.

We used to go bowling once a month together. And then there were "drum parties" , picnics, bible studies, birthday parties, religious movie get-togethers. They all seemed to center around the master as some sort of father figure. If he wasn't there, the "party" dissolved. They didn't feel right to me early on and I stopped going. It almost felt cult-like with the women. It was a little too much togetherness and later, I was right- it led to numerous problems. So now he just has the Christmas party. It would have been nice socially to have a picnic/barbeque in the summer since I have alot of friends now in our school but most of us remember the "problems" from before. :shrug:

 

[Bujingodai]

Our school has many get togethers. Sometimes a movie night where we try and find the worst Ninja movie out there. We do BBQ and regular parties. We also have a 100 acre training facility so we camp regularly.

We are big on cross training so we travel to different places in US and Canada and meet up with other styles, great time always comes out of that.

Besides that we always have a Christmas party.

Our dojo's are very family orientated.

 

[Ceicei]

In the summers, we have weekly BBQs/picnics at the school or a nearby park so students and their family members/friends may socialize. We also have quite a few demos/parades that the school participates in, so after these events wherever they are, we gather for popsicles and drinks. Nothing real fancy, just some fun getting to know each other better.

- Ceicei

 

[MichiganTKD]

Our school has not had get-togethers, but it is something I have been thinking about for several years. One of my students has offered to let us use his apartment complex and tennis courts for a barbeque-swim party, which I think would be a lot of fun. We would probably end up combining grilling, swimming, and special practice.
I would also like to start going on a once-a-year field trip. The trick is raising money so noone feels left out. Aside from the fact of having to keep track of everyone.
The Instructors get together every two months after testing to socialize and discuss Tae Kwon Do. However, each Instructor tends to do their own things with their classes. I know several Instructors who hold weekend camps for their students covering various aspects of Tae Kwon Do, complete with camping, recreation, and guest Instructors.