PROGRESSIVE MARTIAL ARTS MAY 2015

SIFU’S CORNER Here we are, almost mid-year and I can’t believe it! Where did the first

4 months go? I guess time flies when you are having fun so this must be a good sign!

Last month was another spectacular month at the school. We’re seeing a lot of new students coming in and the energy at the school is at an all time high. With summer quickly approaching, I’m noticing how students are getting more serious about their training and getting fit.

April saw a bunch of competitions for our students and coaches. Both Coach Eddie Cummings and Coach James Guccione competed last month as did some of our BJJ students. Congratulations to them all for their hard work and sportsmanship. Win or lose, they all competed in high fashion and represented themselves, their coaches and PMA at their best.

April also marked our 9th annual Kick-A-Thon for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. On Friday, April 24th, we hosted an awesome fundraising event that raised over $2000 for this wonderful cause. Please read more inside.

So, to the exciting news……

Enclosed in this newsletter is the NEW SCHEDULE for our ADULT PROGRAM. It’s about time for a change in the adult program and after careful consideration and thought, we have made these alterations to better the program and make some classes more accessible to all. Included in this newsletter is an explanation of all the changes. But if you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to ask any of the staff as they can assist you.

THE NEW ADULT SCHEDULE WILL TAKE EFFECT ON MAY 11th.

Finally, May is Mother’s Month and I encourage you all to take this time to show your appreciation to all the mothers or mother figures in your life. While this should be a daily practice, use this month to really show how much you are grateful for who they are!

And just as a reminder, we will be CLOSED for Memorial Day Weekend from Saturday, May 23rd to Monday, May 25th. Classes will resume on Tuesday, May 26th.

Also, Save the Date for the Erik Paulson Workshop taking place on June 6 and 7.

THE STRAIGHT BLAST For the Students, Friends, and Families of

Progressive Martial Arts

Inside this Issue:Sifu’s Corner 1

Erik Paulson @PMA 2

Updated Schedule 2

Student SpotlightEric Liu 3

Upcoming Events 4

YOUTH INSERT

Students of the Month:Daniel LoPresti 1

Powerful Words: Teamwork 2

St. Jude Kick-a-thonReview 2

175-25 Horace Harding ExpresswayQueens, New York 11365

Ph: 718.461.0700 www.ProgressiveMartialArts.com

REVISED ADULT SCHEDULE BEGINS MAY 11th! Details Inside..

ERIK PAULSON MMA / STX KICKBOXING WORKSHOP

JUNE 6th & 7th

REGISTER TODAY!

PROGRESSIVE MARTIAL ARTS MAY 2015

PAGE � 2

SENSEI ERIK PAULSON COMING TO PMA JUNE 6 - 7 Sensei Erik Paulson’s martial arts journey began in 1974, in Judo. From there, he went on to train in the disciplines of Freestyle and Greco-Roman Wrestling, Boxing, Jeet Kune Do, Filipino Martial Arts (Kali/Eskrima/Arnis), Shoot Wrestling, and Brazilian JiuJitsu. Erik is world renown for his grappling, and is considered a leading authority in MMA.

Erik is the founder of CSW (Combat Submission Wrestling) and STX Kickboxing (Savate-Thai Crosstraining). Besides Heading CSW Training Center in Fullerton Ca., Erik does seminars worldwide and has been noted as one of the top coaches among UFC athletes. Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity.

• Saturday June 6th - CSW (Sub-Grappling) • Sunday June 7th - STX Kickboxing

Early Bird Pricing Ends May 30th

Starting May 11, changes to the Adult Schedule will be taking place. An updated schedule is included in this newsletter.

The Foundations Schedule has been adjusted in the following way:

• Classes have been extended to an hour long.• BJJ Foundations has been added to the program.• Students can choose to train in either Striking or BJJ or both.• Students can also add Kali to their program.

Current Foundation students are enrolled in the striking program alone. Those wishing to switch out to BJJ or add BJJ and/or Kali must schedule a meeting to make these changes.

The Kickboxing 101 class now will be called STX kickboxing 201. This will now be a more challenging program as the foundations program will also now be a more intensive program of higher difficulty and longer time.

We are reintroducing a public Sayoc Kali Program. It was one of the most sought out systems by the special forces and Sifu Nick Sacoulas is one of most highest rank instructors in the system and in the NY Metropolitan area. Those interested in adding this program  must schedule a meeting with the front.

All these adjustments have been made in order to make a more efficient training schedule for all the students. Those with any questions are welcome to ask Sifu Nick or Kathy Sacoulas. We will be happy to address any concerns you might have.

UPDATED SCHEDULE BEGINS MAY 11TH

PROGRESSIVE MARTIAL ARTS MAY 2015

PAGE � 3

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: ERIC LIU It’s those quiet ones you have to watch out for…..that’s what they say. Well, if that’s the case, then you really have to watch out for Eric Liu. Quiet and unassuming, you would never know the power behind this guy.

Currently part of the striking and grappling Combat Ath le te Program, Er ic t ra ins consistently each week, if not everyday at PMA. A blue belt in the BJJ program under Professor Brandon Bennett, Eric also regularly competes in grappling competitions as well.

Eric started training in Wushu at the age of 16 and did that for about three years. “It’s just one of those things that I felt I needed to do. “, he says. He was first exposed to martial arts through movies when he was a child. “Being first generation American in my family, Jackie Chan and Jet Li were the two names that bridged the generation gap in my family. We would watch their movies, both American and Chinese, as a family.”

About a year and half ago, Eric signed on to be a student at PMA. He attended high school at Francis Lewis so he would wait for the bus outside of PMA and it was the first place he thought of when he wanted to start doing martial arts again. Since his start at PMA, Eric has seen his fitness reach a different level. “I am able to utilize my whole body and I feel mentally stronger, which helps in different parts of my life.” He goes on to say, “I really enjoy training at PMA because it has such a friendly environment. The staff and fellow students are all very helpful in helping me achieve my fullest potential.”

Eric’s goals in training are to simply continue to learn and become better. Using his training partners as motivators, he often watches others in their training achieve certain levels and he makes it his goal to get to their level. “I am fueled by my eagerness to become better. I have always been challenged due to my size and that means I have to work harder. There is also so much more I have to learn, and I don’t want to miss the opportunity.” he says.

Outside of PMA, Eric is currently a Junior at Baruch College and studying Business Administration. He also enjoys watching and playing sports and just being active.

Jimmy LalanEdgar PhillipsNicholas TrochezGeorge Morinia-BlockerIsac LeeKyung Hoon KimHemanth ParanjiPatrick LewisJade SorrozaSierra SorrozaElias SorrozaDior WrightNajay EdwardsEternity BlakeNicholas Aldridge

Joshua ZhirzhanJairus DavisSharlene CaamanoBrandon LovoBilly SorrozaChris SantiagoEddie DiazSamarra OrtizAlden NgJavion HalvertoShannon CrichlowJulian AlbanNatalia AlbanMonica AlbanTimothy Branch

Danyal SaudJoseph WitowskiTristan JacksonAnthony MederoJack AlbanRosalia AlbanAyyub KhanAbbas KhanAbaan KhanSidney CaliceMichael LordanJoseph BelloJoel BelloD’Angelo PenaEden Benhamo

Skylah HassangAntonio CordobaFelix CordobaZakir ChoudhuryMariam MiahShammi ChoudhurySamantha ChristianFrancisco BritezPatrick WallaceGlendaliz PenaChristopher SimonelliInigo PeraltaDavid MarkowskiEmmanuel Arevalo

MAY Calendar➡ May 1: Explorer/Lil Dragon/Lil Warrior/Lil Warrior BBC Testing➡ May10: Mother’s Day➡ May11: NEW ADULT SCHEDULE BEGINS!➡ May 23-25: SCHOOL CLOSED (Memorial Day Weekend)➡ May 30: Warrior Testing

Welcome New Students

MAY Birthdays5/2: Tristan Jackson5/3: Kelly Prosper5/4: Peter Pagoulatos5/4: Derek Wilson5/5: Andy Jiang5/5: Megan Schaefer5/7: Monica Alban5/8: Sajed Hasan5/8: Jensen Hong5/8: Philip Li5/10: Christopher Carlucci

5/11: Demetri Gatanas5/12: Richard Segarra5/13: Adam Malul5/13: Nicoletta Venetis5/14: Ari Bazigos5/14: Cory Yuen5/15: Ivan Choi5/15: Javion Halbert5/15: Joseph Rivera5/16: Mariam Miah5/16: Gabriel Pereyra

5/16: Arlo Starace5/18: Nick Charalambous5/20: Divine Chu-Zambrano5/20: Paul Paisley5/21: Ari Boudourakis5/22: John Pingol5/22: Eunice Son5/24: Ryan Forte5/24: Marco Ghiozzi5/24: Philip Wang5/25: Ayyub Khan

5/25: Armand Surban5/26: Ayden Dancy5/26: William Elliott5/26: Christopher Gray5/26: Marcel Hernandez5/26: Brian O’Reilly5/28: Kris Marie Loague5/30: Hemanth Paranji

REVISED ADULT SCHEDULE BEGINS MAY 11th!

Thank You…Nathan Begim for referring Emanuel Mastov

Anthony Simonelli for referring Christopher SimonelliEric Rolon for referring Francisco Britez

Shane Telfer for referring Tristan JacksonDerek Gao for referring Alden Ng

Steve Lujan for referring Eddie DiazJoe Gold for referring Brandon Lovo

Welcome Back!Andres Goldenberg