Creating Community Through Training—Rhianna Cole

A message my studio always lives by; we are one big karate family. And it’s true, but it doesn’t just happen in one day, especially for newer students.This it starts from day one. When they first walk into the studio for the first class we welcome them in with smiling faces and throughout the whole process of them earning their white belt to them testing for black belt we are encouraging and patient. Whenever a new student earns their white we have a special ceremony in front of the whole class and make it a huge deal. Since it’s one of the hardest belts to earn; taking that step and performing in front of everyone. In that ceremony we always say,"We already have a step by process for you to earn your black belt, you just have to keep coming and we will help you to get there.” The instructors here believe in the students more than they do in themselves sometimes. We always see potential and want to make the students better than they ever thought they were capable of. 

Now all of this during class and training time is great however creating a family like atmosphere doesn’t just come from training time, it comes from off the mat as well. We hold various events throughout the year for the students and families to come together outside of the studio. Christmas parties, trunk or treats, summer parties, anniversary parties and more. We also use these events for students to earn volunteer hours for their black belt, since this is one of the requirements. One of our most popular events, twice a year, Dojo Dash. This is our version of DoorDash; we rotate different foods and gather donations from families to make the food and the students testing for black belt deliver the food straight to their homes. The money collected from this goes to everyone who delivered the food that’s testing for their black belt. 

Another example of this is tournaments/events in my region (Florida and Georgia). Twice a year the region holds an event to bring everyone together either in competition or a clinic. They also hold a dinner afterwards; since we typically only visit our regional family 2-3 times a year this is a great way to catch up and come together outside of training time. 

It’s possible to make connections and build relationships during training time; when you take that extra step and go the second mile and spend time off the mat, those connections will become even stronger and long lasting. I’ve been so lucky to meet such talented individuals from across the world, I may only see them a handful of times a year, but the quality of time spent with them takes over the quantity of time.

—Rhianna Cole