Six Years of TMAFC

June 5th of this year marked the sixth year anniversary of TMAFC. I remember the post years of trying to get the school started. I can't tell you how many people told me I couldn't do it. Just as many said I wouldn't. Even more said I shouldn't. But it was my dream. At the time I was in a wave and I had every intention of riding it. I had no clue how I was going to do it, but I knew in my very bones I was going to do it!

6 years is not that long compared to like Sifu who celebrated 25 years June 1. But in my small amount of time running my school, SO MUCH has changed, and all good things! It's at a point now where there's been such an accumulation to exactly what it's meant to be can grow and stand strong and tall.

In this sixth year alone so much has been accomplished. July of last year I began the HaganaH FIGHT program. The students who started are still with it and I've enjoyed so much teaching it. In January of this past year I held my first FIGHT test and 5 of them became yellow belts. This July will be a year since the program started and I have five ready for orange belt and another five ready for yellow belt. I also had my mentor Master DeJesus come to the school twice to hold Muay Thai seminars for these guys, which I have learned so much with along side my students. I also got certified in Blade Warrior with Mike Lee Kanarek and held a seminar for it at my school which brought some nice new flavor to my students.

But the HaganaH program's biggest highlight was the weekend of the anniversary when Mike Lee Kanarek himself came to TMAFC to hold the MA.K.O Seminar on June 4! I would have never have thought he would ever come to my own school! What an honor and what a huge highlight! I hope that each year he continues to come the anniversary weekend of TMAFC. He did mention he was coming back next year! That's a good sign!

My students with MLK at MAKO at TMAFC

Also in year six my very first pure bred Black Belts, Danielle and Samantha Niblock received their first Degree Black belts under me, and my four junior boys William Stiehl, Theodoris Costa, Tomasz Sadowy, and Anthony Guallpa received their Black Belts in March. It was also the first time Master Balon was on the panel for any of my testings which was so great! The school's belt testing cycles have been growing and doing great and at a point we have to split the tests up a little bit due to the range of ranks!

In January three of my students and two inherited Black Belts got certified by me to being instructors at my school. My students Nicole Vidal, Heather Marte, and Thomas Cubby have been tremendous support, and a great help to the school in every way shape and form. But I have also been blessed with the presence of Miss Ann Marie Cooper who has been helping teach the Saturday classes at the school and Mr. Guillermo Colon-Green who has helped with the competition team for the school. I couldn't do half the things I need without these guys and am eternally grateful and blessed.

The TMAFC NEW junior Black Belts!

Mr. Colon, Miss Cooper, and the two FIRST pure bred 1st Dans!

In February, I also held my first in school tournament at TMAFC. Three schools other than my own participated. For a first time event, I was VERY happy how it went. Master Balon was a HUGE help and support behind the scenes on the day of! I couldn't have done it without his help. It's also something I wanted to do for so long and he's encouraged me to do for so long that I FINALLY was able to do it! It was not only successfully done, but also so much fun to do and share!

Another "something I always wanted to do" was to get NEW MATS for the school! My dearest friend Jessie and I took the drive down to Philly with a rented truck and we got the new mats, picked up the old ones, and put the new ones down, which the very next day I help my first Officials Clinic for AAU New Jersey! Also in the year at the school that I was able to physically do to the school besides our newest mats was to install my old mirrors onto the walls, have the healing room for Qigong sessions and Raindrops made, as well as a built in office to work in, and the new added proshop!

But I think one of the grandest highlights we had at TMAFC was definitely in April when we had Grandmaster Katherine Wieczerza come for a magical weekend up from Nashville, Tennessee to Saddle Brook, New Jersey! We had classes and did everything you can imagine that just brought motivation, inspirations, and positive Qi to everyone who got to meet her. My parents and friends got to spend time with her, we got to do Goju Shorei cane, the parents of the school participated and were inspired just by watching her. That was a really amazing thing, and again I hope to have her every year (if not MORE) to NJ as well!

Master Kathy at TMAFC!

Six years.....we did SO much in this past year alone! So much has changed since that first day, but I wouldn't change a thing to the journey that brought us all right here. It's been a blessing every step of the way and I am so grateful I get to do what I do every day, share it with the people who get to live in my world of the Trento-verse, and I am EXTREMELY AWARE I have had a lot of help along the way. We never do anything truly great alone in this world. I bring in the 7th year with a big event that is personal to me: my veyr own 5th Degree Black Belt test. Master Balon will be testing me at my very own school. I am grateful, excited, nervous, but most of all proud of all that has happened. I am so happy where we are and not a day goes by I don't say "Thank You" for it all.... (BOWS)

Yours in service,

MASTER A TRENTO