Beach Training - August 14, 2010
Cedrik vs. Justine (Belt Fight)
Our annual Beach Training took place at Corona Del Mar. The FULL REPORT
on our Beach Training (including100 + photos) can be found
HEREThe Return of Linda Tsai - July 24, 2010
Linda Tsai (AMK member '94-'95) returns to our school
. Today’s class was a very special day for the AMK. We are celebrating the return of Red/Black Belt Linda Tsai, after an absence of 16 years. Linda was not only one of our more energetic and dedicated students, she is also one the few who is experienced in all aspects of our curriculum, including the full Women’s Self-Defense Program. We are thrilled to have her rejoining us. As an extra surprise, she is also a high school classmate of Ebony Harvey, Gabe’s mom. Welcome Home Linda!
2nd Quarter Testing Results - June 24, 2010
We gave out our 2nd Quarter Testing results on Saturday, June 24. You can read up on the full results
HERE2nd Quarter Testing - June 19, 2010 
Gabriel leads the class
We
had our 2nd Quarter Testing take place on Saturday, June 19. The FULL REPORT
on our 2nd Quarter Testing (including100 + photos) can be found
HEREThey're Back! - May 15, 2010
Nathan & Elmier return to class (Master Amsell, Nathan, Maria, Matt, Elmier, Lisa SBN)
Nathan & Elmier returned to class on Saturday, May 15. Matt played a key part in getting them to return by inviting them to his birthday party last month. In addition, they attended Matt's belated birthday party on Thursday, May 13. Matt continues to be our official AMK Ambassador and always puts out the good word for us. Master Amsell & Lisa SBN also met up with Nathan & Elmier's mother on Friday, May 14 to discuss their return. On Saturday, Nathan & Elmier jumped right in and barely missed a beat. We expect the level of everyone in the class will continue to elevate with the addition of senior ranks. Welcome home Nathan & Elmier! Photo Gallery can be found
HEREMatt's Birthday - April 17, 2010
Nathan throws Matt for his birthday
Matt's Birthday Throw and Party. You can read up about it and the photo gallery can be found
HERE
Riley SBN is promoted to 2nd Dan
We gave out our 1st Quarter Testing results on Saturday, March 27. You can read up on the full results
HERE1st Quarter Testing (Black Belt Testing) - March 20, 2010 
Riley SBN's Break
We had a Black Belt test take place on Saturday, March 20. The FULL REPORT on our 1st Quarter Testing (including100 + photos) can be found
HERETet Party - February 27, 2010 
I would just like to take a moment to thank you and your family members for joining us to celebrate the Vietnamese/Chinese New Year. We had a great turn out, and there was great food and interactions. I want to give a special thanks to Michelle and Ava for all the hard working in decorating and preparing a Vietnamese feast, and I also want to thank everyone who brought food, treats and drinks. All the young people who joined in were well mannered and lots of fun to have there. Even our dog, Zoe, had a great time.
I know that the weather was not the best yesterday, so that even increases the value of your participation more. I hope that you had your fill of the many great treats and maybe even were able to take some home with you. Here’s wishing everyone the best of luck in the new year, and I hope that we have many more times to meet up again causally in festive occasions.
PHOTOSBest regards and chúc mừng năm mới / Gung Hee Fat Choy,
Riley J. Sullivan SBN - February 18, 2010 
Riley SBN's 1st Brick Break
Riley SBN will be testing for his 2nd Dan at our 1st Quarter Testing on Saturday, March 20. In 2008 we implemented a new "pipeline" that all Black Belt Candidates (Red/Black) and Black Belts (1st Dan & up) had to follow. The reason for implementing the Pipeline was due to several Black Belt Candidates and Black Belts in the past not having a sense of direction, not taking an initiative of leadership (teacher), taking the test casually, and so on. To avoid that in the future, the Pipeline was created to give each Black Belt & Black Belt Candidate a clear direction to follow before reaching Black Belt and the Path that starts after obtaining the level of Black Belt. One item that is requested from Black Belts, but not Black Belt Candidates is to submit a "Consideration for Rank Advancement." In essence, they had to tell us why we should consider testing them for the next level of Black Belt. Recently, we received Riley SBN's "Consideration for Rank Advancement" and I think it conveys an important message that is worth sharing with everyone. -LSA
Consideration for Rank Advancement To 2nd Dan
I am honored to be considered for rank advancement to 2nd Dan.
I feel I have come a long way on my Martial Arts path this past year, maybe farther than in all the preceding years combined! I have a new-found enlightenment for which I feel inwardly energized and outwardly excited to share. I recognize and accept the fact that my “WIIFM” is evolving from one that is more focused on my own personal physical/technical growth to one that includes a focus on teaching and philosophical growth. I now realize that when all the pieces come together, the result is a mutual benefit for everyone involved.
I have been a member in good standing and vehemently believe in the direction and philosophy of the AMK. I will pass along these tenents by continuing along the path set forth by those whom have gone before me, by extending a hand to those who also believe in the path and want to walk beside me for a while. I finally believe I can help others by being an example to follow and I will attempt to earn their respect each and every day.
I have demonstrated continued growth in leadership, teaching and increased mental toughness. My mental backsliding is becoming less severe, but, has also helped me realize the great strides I have made. I have been re-reading all the e-mails that my instructors, mentors and family have sent me over the past year. I am now beginning to accept the fact that I have made personal strides in my life’s path. Others can see it; it’s about time I opened my eyes to the facts.
I have ventured out of my cave of self-limitation and have seen the light, and, the possibilities are endless. I will fight the temptation to seek the comfort of the cave, and will strive towards no limitations.
I will continue to dedicate myself to be able to earn my place in the AMK Martial Arts family.
Class - January 23, 2010
Elmier practices a new stretch
Our 1st Class of 2010 took place on January 9 and we also celebrated Nathan's Birthday. Photo Gallery can be found
HERE
Jasmine reenacts her 1st Day
Our 1st Class of 2010 took place on January 9 and we also celebrated Nathan's Birthday. Photo Gallery can be found
HERE
Elmier throws Nathan for his Birthday
Our 1st Class of 2010 took place on January 9 and we also celebrated Nathan's Birthday. Photo Gallery can be found
HERE
2009 Year in Review cover
During our Xmas Party on December 12, 2009 a video was shown that reviewed the year of 2009. I starting working on this video on October 18 and finished the last edit on December 9. I inserted covers, labels, and inserts on December 10. I burned copies of the DVD from December 10-December 11.
When I made this video, I had several goals in mind. 1. To convey the difference in feeling and music than the 2008 video. 2. Try to do something I've never done before in a video. 3. Tie in the whole year with a common theme 4. To introduce our current students to how much we do in one year before they started. Above all, this video emphasizes the concept of perseverance which became a reoccurring theme throughout the entire year whether it be our school in general, test boards, or outside visiting instructors.
I am often asked about the time I put into this video. It normally consists of 2 complete phases. This year it consisted of 3 complete phases. The first phase was to collect photos, color correct all photos, and crop every photo to fit into a TV screen size. That process takes no less than 50 hours. I cannot "batch" the photos since not all of them require the same crop or color correcting. I have to do them individually. The second phase was to put each photo in chronological order (by month), add music, add transitions, add motion zooms, render, preview, make it viewable on TV, and make the DVD cover and inserts. That process also took no less than 75 hours. The third NEW phase was to add in video. Since I have never tried to put in video before I wasn't sure how well it would come out. I used videos taken from Flip Camera, Samsung camcorder (that records to HC SD), Nikon Coolpix point-and-shoot camera, and 2 different cell phone cameras. Needless to say, there were some conversion problems as well. After our 4th Qtr. testing (with time now working against me), I had only 2 minutes left to completely finish the video and I was hoping to have it done quickly. When I tried to put in the new video from testing, my program kept crashing. I could not get it to restart. I ended up losing the entire video I made up to that point. Fortunately, due to Auto-Save, I was able to use a previous version and go from there. I finally figured out a way to make the video work and after 21 hours, I finished my 1 minute and 42 seconds worth of video. The final stats are: 547 photos, 95 videos, and the longest video ever made (22 minutes and 39 seconds).
Every project I take on, I do with complete and total dedication. But this one was different. I pushed the envelope on this one to really emphasize the feeling of perseverance. I think it was only appropriate that I had major difficulty while trying to do something different with this video. From losing it to the videos not working out as planned, this one was the hardest one I've ever had to make. I had to persevere while making it. I could not just take out the videos because that was an extremely important part of this video. It became more than perseverance shown with what's in the video. It became perseverance while
making it as well. Not only has our school came so far this year from last year, but for me to go from only doing photos to doing videos was a big step for me.
I felt obligated to do this one right because every aspect of this video (from making it to what's in it) shows "how far we've come" and how much more we can do. It shows that as martial artists we must never give up. We keep trying. We "fall down 7 time and get up 8 times." That was my driving force behind this video and I hope you can enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it.
