ZenQuest recently opened another round of it’s sponsorship program for it’s fight team and got some amazing results.  As you may know, Team ZenQuest has experienced some amazing success in the past few years, and become the premier fight team in the Berkshires.  Sponsoring ‘Team-Z’ is a great way to support the fighters and gym in their endeavors...AND get some recognition or advertising in the process. 
This was the fourth and most successful round of sponsorships offered.  In this round we’ve set a record for the number of sponsors acquired at ten.  A big reason for the success of this round is that the Team Z fighters secured several of the sponsors.  Round 4 Team Z sponsors are as follows:

Silver Level
Lineflax & Roving
Jedd L. Hall Attorney at Law
Anonymous X 2
 
Gold Level 
Victory Force Options Training
Baba Louie’s
Alander Construction
Clayson Creative
Anonymous
 
Platinum Level 
A-List Luxury Car Service
 
All sponsorship donations are used to cover expenses incurred by the fighters and coaching staff including training, gym time, licensing, travel, meals, supplies and equipment. 
In addition to the pride and satisfaction associated with helping Team ZenQuest in pursuing it’s goals, sponsors are recognized in several ways. These include a team banner which is proudly displayed at each event that the fight team participates in, at demos, and other special events.  Sponsors also appear on the front page of our website, on our social media platforms, and here in ZenQuest’s newsletter.  Lastly, sponsors appear on "Walkout" style T-shirts worn by the fighters, coaches, and supporters.  These are worn for competitive events, for interviews, demos, and special appearances.
Since becoming Team Z, we’ve amassed a winning record of 11-6 with several of those fights for amateur titles.  We’ve picked up no less than three regional amateur titles including the lightweight belt for ‘Reality Fighting’, New England’s biggest MMA promotion.  The team also competes in other combat sports events like Jiu-jitsu tournaments and Kickboxing bouts.  We currently have several new fighters preparing to make their debuts soon!
We’ll be taking orders for new team ‘walk-out’ style shirts until March 15th.  These high-quality, custom shirts can be used for running, training, or other activities…or just casually as a t-shirt.  Pre-ordered these are $27, with a regular cost of $30.  An example of a previous ‘walk-out’ shirt is shown to the right.
To pre-order walkout shirts visit the front desk or contact us via phone at 413-637-0656, message or email.  Huge thanks to all of the sponsors and fighters for the success of round four!

Martial Artists tend to be a hardy bunch.  However, with heightened concerns about illnesses recently we all need to use common sense to minimize risks in the gym.  This includes:
 
·   Keeping uniforms, clothing, personal gear, etc. clean
·   Keeping yourself clean, wash hands regularly, use hand sanitizer
·   Keeping hair and nails trimmed and clean
·   Use tissues, cough or sneeze into arm
·   Refrain from unhealthy habits like placing belt in mouth, biting nails, etc.
·   Remain home if sick until well again
 
These are all rules already in place at ZenQuest and just common sense courtesies for training in the Dojo.  We appreciate your kindness and consideration of others in following them.

It's BACK!  ZenQuest has started another round of it’s ever popular ‘Referral Rewards’ program.  This means that students will earn a $50 gift certificate for each new student they bring to enroll at ZenQuest.  Then, both you and the new student will be placed into a drawing for an additional $50 Gift Certificate at the end of the round.  This round began on February 20th and will end on May 31st.  There is no limit to the number of referrals that can be made.
Congratulations to Ayden Jezak for winning our last drawing on February 1st! 

On Saturday, March 14th, Tilo ‘Tenacious’ Jackson will make his long-awaited debut in MMA.  Tilo will be facing newcomer Jake Russo of the Golden Falcon Gym in West Haven, Connecticutt.  Russo is primarily a striker with strong Muay Thai experience, while Jackson has solid Muay Thai and Jiu-jitsu under his belt. 
The Lightweight bout will take place at the AMMO Fight League’s St’ Patrick’s Day Battle in Springfield, Massachusetts.  Tickets are available at ZenQuest with prices at $40, $50 and $80 levels.  In addition to Tilo’s match, there is a full card of fights to see at this exciting event. 
Also, ZenQuest’s Jamie Brown will be making her debut in a Muay Thai kickboxing match on Saturday, April 18th.  She’ll be facing Sydney Austin from 8 Limbs Muay Thai in Coventry, Rhode Island in her own debut.  This will be an exciting bout at 135 pounds as both ladies are planning on making a statement in their first matches. Tickets for this will be available soon.
Join us in supporting Tilo and Jamie!

You may have noticed that we recently rearranged the front desk area.  This was done for better efficiency and usage of the space.  In addition we’ve added a beverage and snack cooler!  This will be stocked with healthy beverages like Gatorade, Muscle Milk, and water… and nutritious snacks like protein bars.  We’ll be adding more choices in the future so, please take full advantage of this new addition to the gym. 

​Sensei Joe Gilbert will be running a clinic on Uechi-Ryu Karate at ZenQuest on Saturday March 21st.  Sensei Joe started training at the Okinawan Karate School (the original name for ZenQuest) back in 1973.  He has trained and taught consistently since then and has a longstanding dojo in Bennington, Vermont.  Sensei Joe has visited Okinawa several times including in 2007 when he joined Senseis Connie and Mark on one of their trips (see photo.) On that trip Sensei Joe was promoted to 8th Dan or 8th Degree Black Belt Master of the traditional Okinawan style.
This clinic will be from 10:00 AM to 11:25 AM.  This is open to all ranked students ages 12 years old and up.  There is no charge for the event, but donations to the ZenQuest fight team are welcome.  Please join us!
 

Senseis Connie and Mark recently went back to school!  They were invited to run some gym classes and introduce grades K through 6 to the martial arts back on December 5th and 13th.  Each class started with some Karate and Kickboxing fundamentals like stance, guard, blocking and striking.  The kids then did some target drills where they punched and kicked targets, and blocked attacks with ‘pool noodles’.  The classes finished with some escape strategies taken from Jiu-jitsu.  Over the two days over 350 kids participated in the classes, and all had a blast!  The classes went off without a hitch thanks to the professionalism and structure set by Lee PE teachers Jennifer and Julia.
Senseis Connie and Mark are scheduled to run similar classes at Richmond Consolidated Elementary School, and visiting Lee Elementary again soon for their ‘Screen Free Week.’
 

Silvio Moraes was at ZenQuest for a seminar on Saturday, January 25.  As usual, the 2-Stripe Black Belt under Jiu-jitsu wizard Demian Maia provided an incredible learning experience in the three hour hands-on clinic he provided.  Professor or instructor Moraes covered many strategies and principles for the single-leg takedown, passing the guard, half-guard, and ’side-control’ position. 

After demonstrating a move, Professor Silvio typically checked to see if anyone had any questions or concerns about the technique by asking if there was “any doubt.”  However, in seeing the effect that the move usually had on the person receiving the move, there wasn’t. 

​Huge thanks to Professor Silvio for making the journey from Brazil to be with us and share his knowledge.  Thanks, too, to everyone who joined us for the training.

Let’s face it, New Years resolutions have become cliché and an endless source of jokes.  The ‘New Year, New You’ mantra has left many people discouraged about any attempt at resolutions.  Most of the time the people who do try to make a fresh start with promises to themselves end up watching them fade away a few weeks into the new year.  However, with a little tweak in mindset, we can be more successful with improvements in our lives.
The first step in making lasting ‘quality-of-life’ improvements is to look at what we can improve in our lives.  We need to pick things that we have control over and are realistic to make work.  Thinking long term is the key.  We should think about slow steady improvements, and avoid quick-fixes that will likely result in rebounding back to what we had before...or worse.  Choosing unrealistic goals that are just too difficult to get to will likely wind up in the trash-heap of our personal failures.  The Japanese have a saying of ‘Kaizen’ or ‘gradual improvement.’  This is the concept of making gradual improvements every day.  This is how we should approach any resolutions we have for ourselves.
Once we have some realistic goals in mind the next step is to put them into practice.  If it is a fitness goal, we need to look at the calendar and choose the times in the week that we will do our workouts.  This can be especially challenging with heavy or varying schedules, but it is important and it can be done.  If it’s a goal related to eating or weight loss, we need to think about making smart food choices, limiting our portions, and eliminating opportunities to cheat.  If it’s quitting bad habits, we need to put a plan in place and set a date where that is finished.  Whatever the goal is, we need to make it happen because it won’t happen on it’s own.   
Endless delay will kill any goal, so we need to start our plan NOW.  Don’t say to yourself things like “I’ll start that on Monday” or some other time in the future.  To be successful, we need to implement our plan right now.  Delaying our plan for some point in the future is probably the most common way to sabotage any progress before we ever get started.  Often times, that future point never comes and we just continue with a pattern of delay and procrastination. 
Getting support from friends and family in making your goals work is SUPER important.  The people close to us should realize that having a healthier, more fit, happier you will also benefit them and everyone else around you.  Things like coordinating schedules, setting aside resources, and emotional encouragement are huge in making things happen.  Unfortunately, creating a culture of healthy support around yourself sometimes means minimizing time with unsupportive people, and even cutting toxic people out of your life.  
What could be more important to improving the quality of our lives?  In addition to any fitness or health goals we may have, we should also make a commitment to being calmer, more focused, and happier in our lives.  Some simple adjustments that can help a lot are things like getting more sleep, eating healthy, and being more optimistic.  It pays to appreciate all of the good things in our lives while improving the things that could be better.  Regular meditation and mindful exercise can help tremendously in thinking more positively and adopting a more optimistic point-of-view.  Another tip is to view EVERYTHING in your life as an opportunity to practice staying calm and focused under pressure.
So, make a plan and STICK TO IT.  Live in the moment and don’t procrastinate or delay actions that will improve the quality of your life and the lives around you.  Seek support from family and friends...and don’t forget to support them in return.
Have a healthy and happy New Year! 

ZenQuest recently had a visit from George Chaplin of Pennsylvania.  Sensei George was recently promoted to 8th Dan in Uechi-Ryu Karate after training for over 40 years.  Originally from London, England, he lived in Okinawa for 18 months in his younger days.  While there he trained with many of the greats including Master Kanei Uechi, and Sensei Connie’s and Mark’s teachers Shigeru Takamiyagi and Toshio Higa. 
In addition to his experience in Karate, Sensei George has also practiced Soto Zen for over 40 years.  Soto Zen utilizes ‘single minded’ meditation for the purpose of leading a calmer and more mindful life. 
Sensei Chaplin spoke about the mental aspects of training in Uechi-Ryu and provided some tips on technique, too.  He also shared some stories of his travels for the group.
Thanks to Sensei George for dropping in and thanks to everyone who adjusted their schedules to attend!