​ZenQuest has been voted the ‘Best Martial Arts Academy’ in the Berkshires AGAIN!  This is the fifth year in a row for ZenQuest going back to 2017.  We believe that this is simply the result of doing everything possible to provide the best martial arts programs, instruction, facility and training environment possible. 
This distinction is awarded by the area’s premier news agency, the Berkshire Eagle, and is based solely on voting by it’s readers.  This makes the award even better and we are humbly proud.  It’s nice to know that our students and community appreciate what we do, and we will continue to do our best to make things even better going forward in every program that we offer. 
This award would not be possible without the dedication and support of our students, families and parent organizations.  To them we say Arigato, Khupum, Obrigado, and THANK YOU!
 

​ZenQuest’s new Law Enforcement for Jiu-Jitsu program has 10-23’d…or arrived!  On Monday, October 18th a group of over twenty officers attended the first ‘LEJJ’ class.  Sixteen of those are from the Pittsfield Police Department, including Pittsfield Chief Mike Wynn.  The balance of the group are from other local agencies, including one New York State Trooper. 
Chief Wynn and the Pittsfield Police Department recently made an agreement with ZenQuest to kick off the program.  The training includes positioning, escape and restraint strategies from Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. The idea is to reduce risks in such situations for both officers and the people that they restrain when the need arises.
At the time of this newsletter there has already been an instance where one of the officers has used some of the strategies covered in the first two weeks of the LEJJ classes to safely neutralize a subject’s aggression and restrain them until additional officers arrived at the scene.
 For years Chief Wynn and other officers would have discussions with Senseis Connie and Mark about the benefits of Jiu-jitsu training for Law Enforcement Officers.  After training for some time, it was obvious to them that Jiu-jitsu training is tremendously beneficial to anyone whose job requires them to engage with people physically at times.  Aside from being better equipped with strategies to safely deal with physical aggression, this training gives officers the ability to ‘scramble’ or move intelligently and maintain control of chaotic situations.  Being able to control these situations better also tends to reduce stress levels for officers, which makes them calmer and less likely to wind up in escalated confrontations.   
      Getting a program like this started was difficult in the past due to general skepticism and the resulting lack of funding.  However, in recent years several Law Enforcement agencies have had great success with similar programs.  There is now documented proof that this training helps to reduce injuries for both officers and the people that they have to engage with.  There is also proof that it actually reduces the need for officers to use the tools on their belts such as a baton, pepper spray, taser or firearm.    
At present one class per week is specifically for officer training, and the participants are encouraged to attend additional classes at ZenQuest.  A second class is already being considered with the success of the program so far, and new developments in funding.  Thanks to all of the officers for their interest, and special thanks to Chief Wynn for his part in launching the LEJJ program.  
 

​Now that we’re settling into the fall and winter season we’ve made some adjustments to our class schedule based on the needs of our students and programs.  At this time the following adjustments will be made:
 
·    The Monday evening adult Jiu-jitsu class at 5:15 PM is now designated to Law Enforcement Jiu-jitsu training.  The 7:00 PM adult jiu-jitsu class will still be available to all.
·    Our early 9:15 AM Saturday morning Muay Thai class has been converted back to a ’Tigers’ children’s karate class (at 9:00 AM) to accommodate an increase in this program.  As another consequence of this our 9:00 AM ‘Pythons’ children’s Jiu-jitsu class is moved back to 9:15 AM in the back training room.  The later Saturday Muay Thai class at 11:45 is still available. 
·    Lastly, we have returned to our pre-pandemic practice of providing some ’No-Gi’ Jiu-jitsu classes.  For now, this means that our Monday 7:00 PM and Friday 10:30 AM classes have now returned to ’No-Gi.’

These adjustments all took effect the 1st of November.  Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.  Happy training!