AIKI Academy of Self Defense - Connecticut Martial Arts and Fitness

Aiki Academy hosted it's first 2 day kettlebell certification course on Thursday September 26th and Friday September 27th. Congratulations to Andy Washeim, CPT from Redding, CT and Joseph Ferrari, CPT from Somers, NY who passed both the physical and written exam and are now certified in Kettlebells through our New England Kettlebell Association, LLC.

Aiki Academy is hosting two kettlebell workshops in October for personal trainers and business owners. Participants can choose one session either on Friday 10/3/08 from 11:00 - 12:30 pm or Saturday 10/11/08 from 2:00 - 3:30. We will review all the major kettlebell lifts and how to teach proper form and technique. Kettlebells are one of the fastest growing strength and conditioning tools available for anyone who wants to improve their overall body image or improve their strength and endurance. The non-refundable cost is $49 per person and is due upon registration. All participants must register before the workshop by calling Dennis Hill at 203-484-2020.

In July 2008, the World Jujutsu Federation officially promoted Dennis Hill, Chief Instructor at Aiki Academy of Self Defense, LLC to 6th degree Black Belt and bestowed him with the title of “Shihan” by the Federation (Shihan is a title that translates to Master Teacher).

Dennis has been a life time student of martial arts and it is truly his passion to teach and continue his martial arts studies. In his thirty-five (35) years in martial arts, he has spent much of his time studying many martial art disciplines including Japanese Jujutsu systems. If it were not for Japanese Jujutsu, many of the modern martial arts that we teach (i.e., Russian Sambo, Kodokan Judo and Combat Hapkido) would never have come into existence since they, along with many other martial arts, are strongly based in Japanese Jujutsu.

Dennis is honored with this recognition and looks forward to Aiki Academy's continued growth and ability to serve its students.

Aiki Academy is now affiliated with Best Way Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu / American Top Team Connecticut which is located in Danbury. Dennis is being privately trained by Luigi Mondelli, Master Black Belt / MMA Team Manager. Luigi has a very impressive BJJ background as follows:

2008 Panamerican Champion
2007 Panamerican Champion
2006 Panamerican Champion
2004 Panamerican Champion
2002 World Champion
2004 North American Champion
2003 North American Champion
2001 2nd National / Brazil
1999 Rio de Janeiro State Champion

With over 15 years of practice, Luigi is a certified black belt with many titles and a lot of experience training amateur and professional fighters.

Aiki Academy will begin to introduce BJJ classes to the curriculum in the near future.

Pictured: Ryan Murphy, Nicolas Crotta, Mary-Kate Hall, Seve Burgos, Andy Kendrick.

Our Youth NAGA Team did exceptionally well at the regional NAGA New England tournament held in Massachusetts on Saturday 6/28/08. Below are the results for each child in their respective division. Congratulations to everyone who competed. We are very proud of you all. Thank you to all the parents and members who attended the event to support our school. Thank you to Paul Bergevin and Mike Hannon for helping to coach our team at the event.

Seve Burgos	Champion
Tyler Burzenski	Silver
Nicolas Crotta	Champion
Mary Kate Hall*	Bronze
Andy Kendrick	Champion
Ryan Murphy	Champion
Jessie Pelosi	Champion (2 divisions)
Nico Sommo	Silver

On Saturday 9/20/08 from 2 pm to 4 pm Aiki Academy will be hosting a viewing, free of charge, of The Safe Side videos Stranger Safety and Internet Safety. These videos were created by John Walsh, host of America's Most Wanted and Julie Clark, founder of the Baby Einstein Company. Safe Side Superchick and her friends Buddy and Fang lead viewers on a laugh-out-loud journey into the world of being smart, cool and safe. Parents are encouraged to watch the videos with their children in order to reinforce the lessons learned. A guaranteed great time. Popcorn will be served and comfortable attire should be worn. The viewing will be held on a large flat screen TV at Balance 4 Optimal Health Wellness Center, located next door to Aiki Academy. The viewing is open to the public. Please call Dennis at 484-2020 to register. The videos will be run back to back and are appropriate for kids ages 4 and older. The Internet Safety video is recommended for children ages 6 and older.

Awareness is an important factor in keeping your kids safe. family watchdog is a free online service that keeps track of registered sex offenders.

Thank you for voting us as one of the best martial art schools six years in a row! Also, thank you for voting Dennis Hill as one of the best personal trainers!

Congratulations to all who competed on 4/6/08 at the NAGA World Championship Tournament in NJ. We sent a small team of five, coached by Paul, and once again are amazed at our talented students. Our entire team received medals!!! The following people placed in the tournament in their respective divisions:

NAGA New England II will be held on 6/28/08 in RI. A team of fighters representing our school will be attending this tournament.

Aiki Academy is accepting Summer Camp registration for all Aiki members now and starting on 4/15/08 for the community. Below is a listing of the sessions.

Martial Art Focus	Date	Time	Cost
Sambo	6/17 - 6/20	9 am - 12 pm	$160
Wrestling Guest Instructor Joseph Vigdorchik	6/23 - 6/27	9 am - 12 pm	$200
Judo Guest Instructor Master Sid Kelly	6/30 - 7/3	9 am - 12 pm	$160
Wrestling Guest Instructor Joseph Vigdorchik	7/7 - 7/11	9 am - 12 pm	$200
Sambo	7/14 - 7/18	9 am - 12 pm	$200
Judo Guest Instructor Master Sid Kelly	7/21 - 7/25	9 am - 12 pm	$200

Classes are limited to 10 students per session. A minimum half payment is due upon registration with payment in full by 5/15/08. To register, please call Dennis at 484-2020. Or complete a registration form and mail to Aiki Academy of Self Defense, LLC, 5 Foxon Rd., Suite 10, North Branford, CT 06471.

Congratulations to all who competed in the New England Grappling Championship sponsored by NAGA in RI on 3/8/08. We sent a small team of five, coached by Paul, and we are very proud of everyone's effort! The following people placed in the tournament in their respective divisions:

All NAGA events are part of the nationwide ranking system entitled RANKED. Their goal is to determine who the best grapplers in the country are for various age, gender and skill levels. NAGA NEW ENGLAND was nationally Ranked.

We have the honor of announcing that Master Sid Kelly will begin to teach classes at Aiki Academy in April 2008. The class will be held two Sundays out of the month from 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. The focus of the class is Judo and is open to Aiki students. Sid is the highest ranking Dan in our area with an 8th Dan Judo rank and a 6th Dan Ju-Jitsu rank. He has studied, trained and taught Judo for 50 years. He is a two times world masters gold medalist (1999 - 2003) and a one time world masters bronze medalist (2002). Sid was a British international player from 1965 - 1967 and coached an under 21 European Champion Gold Medalist. Sid was the captain of the NHC team, winning the British area championships. He is a certified USJA coach, certified USJA Rank examiner and certified USJA Kata coach. He is the author of 4 books and has produced several videos related to Waki-Gatame and Judo Promotion. For more information, please contact Dennis Hill at 484-2020.

Members of Aiki Academy can now enjoy a 10% discount on all orders placed online through Century Direct. Simply click here Century Direct or on the shopping icon on our webpages and place your order online. To receive the 10% discount, you must enter our discount code upon checkout. The code will be mailed to all members in the next few days. If you would like to place an order prior to receiving your letter, simply call us at 484-2020 and we will give you the coupon code to use. Shopping is tax free and the items will conveniently be delivered to your home.

Please note we will continue to sell the following items at our school directly: school shirts, Otomix shoes, Discipline shoes, Sambo shoes, Clinch shorts for children and Kurtkas.

If you have any questions regarding our online store, please contact Dennis Hill at 484-2020.

Saturday April 26, 2008 Aiki Academy of Self Defense, LLC will be hosting its second MMA/BJJ seminar with Kenny Florian. More information coming soon. Kenny will be fighting another Bostonian, Joe Lauzon, on Spike TV on April 2nd during Ultimate Fight Night 13.

Please call 203-484-2020 to register. Please note: early registration suggested. This seminar was sold out last year and we had a waiting list.

A new feature within the Photo section of our website is a link under the Kenny Florian seminar which goes directly to photographer Inger Schoelkopf's website. Inger is one of our members and has been our unofficial photographer for over a year. Many of her pictures can be seen throughout our website.

Within Inger's site is a collection of over 200 photos she took the day of the seminar. Inger placed the photos in an album for viewing and is also offering the pictures for sale if an attendee of the seminar would like a picture of themself or Kenny. The purpose of this site is to offer high qualtiy photos of the event to participants at a very reasonable price. There is no obligation to purchase the photos. Aiki Academy and Inger thought this would be a value added serivce to our members in case they forgot their camera or wanted a picture as a reminder of the day.

Our second school tournament was held on Saturday June 16, 2007. The skill level of all the participants was amazing. A big congratulations to all who participated and a big congratulations to Tori Ramada who won the UWC belt. Honorable mention to CJ Korn who fought hard and displayed awesome technique. It was wonderful to see all the participants applying the skills they learned from their instruction and displaying great sportsmanship as well.

The Ultimate Warrior Challenge I for Juniors went very well. A big congratulations to all who participated and a big applause to Jayme Toro who won the UWC belt. Honorable mention to Andy Kendrick who fought his heart out throughout the event and especially in the championship bout. We will offer more weight classes and will have multiple belts to be won. The winner of this tournament will compete in a Super Warrior Challenge with Jayme Toro (date to be determined).

Aiki Academy has become a licensed retailer of the bodybugg™, an innovative calorie management system by Apex Fitness Group™. While traditional weight loss programs focus on tedious calorie counting, bodybugg™ accurately tracks calorie expenditure automatically, providing a real-time view of actual calorie consumption.

bodybugg™ is not another pedometer. It is the most accurate device on the market today for measuring calorie expenditure outside of a clinical setting. It consists of a small armband that uses multiple sensors to determine calorie burn at all times and in all activities, and works in conjunction with a web-based program. While other calorie estimation devices such as pedometers and heart rate monitors rely on a single sensor, bodybugg™ uses multiple sensors that can measure calorie expenditure whether the wearer is sitting, sleeping, jogging, walking, etc.

The user also has the option to track what he or she eats (calorie intake) by logging food through an intuitive 18,000-item menu, which includes many fast food and brand name grocery products. With this information, the user can determine his or her calorie needs, and can then make food and activity choices that create a calorie deficit for weight loss, or meet their calorie needs to maintain a healthy weight.

The bodybugg™ program also features a comprehensive menu-planning function. The system creates a suggested menu based on the users likes and dislikes. Customized workout regimens and supplement recommendations are also available on the bodybugg™ website.

“With bodybugg™,” says Neal Spruce, Apex founder and CEO, “people have the ability to view actual food intake (calories in) and energy output (calories out), putting them in complete control of their weight loss results.”

For further information, contact Dennis Hill at 484-2020, visit the Apex website at www.apexfitness.com, or visit the bodybugg™ website at www.bodybugg.com.