Hey all!

First, I want to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has supported me in my martial arts journey over the past 3 years! It has been an amazing experience; while it has been one of the biggest physical and mental challenges of my life, the benefits have been SO worth it.

For me, this is more than just taking martial arts classes, it is a commitment to bettering my whole life and well-being. This also provides me the opportunity to help become a better teacher and help other people and the community in my everyday life. As a martial artist, I take this very seriously. The difference that I (and others) have seen in the past few years is all the proof I need that keeping martial arts as a very important part of my life is beneficial for me.

Now that I am a First Degree Black Belt I want to continue this journey and move forward with learning how to use these skills at a higher level and work towards my Second Degree Black Belt. Coming up in mid-January, I have the opportunity to participate in the MLT (Master Level Teaching training. Participating in these lessons will help me to further my understanding of Traditional Martial Arts and learn new moves. These movements are more personalized and take a deeper approach to skills I have along with learning new ones. As you can imagine, the cost of this level of training is an investment which is why I have not participated for more than 2 years. Following my last trainings, and a lot of hard work, I won my silver medal after fine tuning two forms at a much deeper level and I am ready to take the next step, learning an additional form which will support me in continuing to deepen my understanding of Traditional Martial Arts. It is going to be hard work but I feel I am ready for the challenge!

With all of this in mind, I have set a goal of raising $1000 to help cover the cost of the 10 month long program. If we can reach this goal by mid-January, that would be incredible. If not, I will leave it open in an attempt to reach that goal when they return again in April which will give me time to raise and add to the cost myself.

I genuinely appreciate the generosity and support that I continue to receive from everyone. I thank you, whole heartedly, for helping reach my goal to continue my martial arts journey.

Thank you all so much.

Shaun