By Wendy Diaz, Contributing WriterAqabah Karate at Dar-us-Salaam hosted its second open house on Friday, March 12, 2010. The doors opened to the eager crowd at 4pm and offered spectators a chance to sit on the red mats of the karate studio located in the basement level of Al Huda School. The visitors and parents of Aqabah students were welcomed by Instructors Muhib Rahman and Hernan Guadalupe and were provided with pamphlets highlighting the benefits of enrolling. Aqabah Karate students were pleased to have an opportunity to display their talents and share their experiences with prospective students and parents.
The open house consisted of several sessions with presentations divided by age group and gender. The “Tiny Tigers” of Aqabah, who start from ages 5 to 7, were the first to showcase their abilities with some pad work and sparring demonstrations. Both the girls and the boys participated separately as proud parents looked on. Next, “Young Warrior” boys, ages 8-12 wowed the audience doing a jump and roll sequence in which they leaped over instructor, Muhib Rahman and rolled into a standing position on padded mats. They also showed some grappling techniques which are also incorporated into the Aqabah Karate curriculum. The Young Warrior girls impressed spectators performing one of their many forms, a series of movements, stances, punches, and kicks.
At the start of each session, Muhib Rahman and Hernan Guadalupe spoke about the many benefits of participating in martial arts and why Aqabah Karate is the best choice for both children and adults. Both spoke about their own experiences in the field and how they chose to incorporate this art into their Islamic way of life. After a brief introduction, the men’s exhibit began with self defense techniques and a grappling challenge for members of the audience. Four volunteers were given the opportunity to grapple with Hernan Guadalupe in order to submit him, all of which failed, proving to the audience that they need to enroll and learn valuable techniques of self defense in order to have better control in hostile situations.
Doors were closed to men after 6:30pm to allow the adult female students of Aqabah access to the mats for their presentation. Female instructor, Amanda Pereira, led the women while they performed two of their forms and also self defense techniques. Although the audience was captivated by their display, they were most impressed after seeing what a typical round of calisthenic exercises for the adult female class looked like. Amanda Pereira also participated in the demos, performing one of her black belt advanced forms, and she addressed questions from the sisters, who were the biggest turnout of the evening.
Each of the sessions was followed by an open question and answer session with the audience in which more specific information was presented to those interested in the program. The open house was a huge success, as more students enrolled in Aqabah Karate and more are likely to give it a try.
To see pictures from our open house please visit our picture gallery.
