About the Author: March 2008 Paul Mills Las Vegas International Kenpo Camp Recap
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It’s great to be back from the camp and I’m still trying to process all the information! It was an exciting time with so much knowledge and insight being freely disseminated by the senior black belts in our association.
Mr. Mills did four seminars all of which were inspiring and educational as usual. At 61, I still think he’s faster and hits harder than when I met him in the early 1990’s. He made a lot of good comments and ideas regarding velocity which we will bring back to the studio and integrate into our training.
All of the instructors did a phenomenal job relaying the concepts, principles, and theories in the AKKI. We covered everything from Yellow belt on up… from stand up to ground… joint locks to weapons… forms to techniques… Kenpo freestyle to spontaneous drills… it was all there!
Thank you to those that came to my seminars on Centerline, Wedging, and Intercepting as well as Reflexive Response Training Drills using the AKKI’s internalization patterns. Special thanks to Mr. Gough, Mr. Thomsen, and Mr. Leonard for helping me out by attacking me so well!
The colored belt test on Friday had four of our students testing and passing for their next belt levels:
- Josh (Green Belt)
- Jessica T. (Purple Belt)
- Nate (Orange Belt)
- Jessica J. (Yellow Belt)
Congratulations to those that tested! Thanks to Mr. Padigimus for pushing everyone in the technique lines during the colored belt test to perform at their maximum action potential!
The black belt test was amazing. I loved that the test group did basics then went right into techniques then forms/sets instead of doing the sets and forms first. This kicked the energy level and intensity WAAAAYYY up! Read more about the black belt promotions here.
I think this sums it up:
“Everyone who got to see Mr. Wheaton’s (students) could see he has set the bar very high in his school. All your guys put on an excellent test. Your energy and motion were a 10. Always good to see the next wave coming up it motivates us Senior to keep training hard to stay ahead of you. Congrats!”– John Herman, 6th Degree Black Belt, AKKI S. Nevada rep.
Thank you Mr. Herman and to all the AMAS students who attended and helped make this a great camp.
The September 2008 Kenpo camp will be in our back yard in Mr. Mills home town of Evanston, WY. This should take place the fourth weekend of September and will post the date when it is officially made available.
Help me in congratulating all those colored belts that tested by leaving a comment below!
Congrats to Josh, Jessica, Nate, and Jessica!! You guys all looked awesome out there!
Comment by Cheryl — 4/3/2008 @
Congratulations on all the new belts. Keep up the good work.
Comment by Joe — 4/3/2008 @
Congrats to all who tested. You all did a great job and represented our school well. Your focus and intensity was recognized by other students and helped bring excitement to the test. Keep up the hard work!! For those who were unable to attend, start planning now for September! Evanston is only an hour and a half away and you wont want to miss it..
Comment by Shawn Gough — 4/4/2008 @
Congrats to all, and what a great compliment from Mr. Herman, it says a lot about Mr. Wheaton, and a lot about our school.
Comment by George — 4/4/2008 @
Congratulations to Josh, Jessica, Nate and Jessica. I remember Mr. Herman from Vegas Camps some time ago and can only echo that which George already said. A compliment from Mr. Herman is a STRONG compliment indeed!
We have a great group which is reflective of a great leader! Keep up the good work, keep practicing and take a moment (publicly or privately) to thank Mr. Mills and Mr. Wheaton for sharing their knowledge.
Comment by Rachael Robinson — 4/5/2008 @
Thank you to everyone for your support. It was a great experience to test at Camp! I was also grateful to be testing with my fellow Arrowhead Kenpo students. It sure helps calm the nerves when you’re with familiar faces.
Comment by Jessica T — 4/10/2008 @