Blackbelt Week Events 2025

Mark your calendars! This year, Blackbelt Week will feature classes every day of the week for adults and a host of special events for kids in every division. This is your chance to train with blackbelts, attend special seminars, and meet new blackbelts.

Blackbelt Week has become a tradition at the dojo, and grown every year: the first year that it was featured, all the events fit on one single-page sign. This year, the schedule spreads out over three full pages!

There are more than a dozen special events featured over the week – a detailed schedule is below, but first a few highlights:

Otsukimi お月見: The Autumn Moon Festival

The Autumn Moon Festival occurs on Monday, October 6th this year, which puts it right in the middle of Blackbelt Week.

The holiday celebrates the importance of family gathering, celebrating the coming Autumn and the bounty and beauty of nature, and generally serves as a social occasion to bring communities together.

In modern times, many dojo celebrate Otsukimi お月見 as a fun way to bring the entire dojo community (kizuna) together.

The dojo will have mooncakes available all day as a special treat!

Teens Division: Special Wednesday Tameshiwari Seminar

The dojo will present a Teen Tameshiwari Seminar on Wednesday, October 8, 2025 at 5PM. Teens will have the opportunity to learn about Tameshiwari ("breaking") and be able to practice on competition teen boards. (There is no fee to attend the seminar; materials have generously been donated by blackbelts).

This class is open to all Teen kids, and blackbelts are invited to act as assistant instructors.

Mentor Division: Special Wednesday Combined Class

Kids in the Mentor Division will train with their Teen peers as part of the Tameshiwari Seminar on Wednesday, October 8, 2025 at 5PM.. This class is open to all Mentor Division kids, and blackbelts are invited to act as assistant instructors. Materials have also been generously donated by the dojo blackbelts.

Adult Division: Additional Classes

All adult students will have additional classes during the week, including special blackbelt-only classes and a special Self-Defense/Bunkai class for all Adults, seminars on competition kata and competition kumite, and a special presentation on Kata as Meditation during the regularly-schedule Mediation Class on Wednesday, October 8th, at 8PM.

Blackbelts will also be present in greater number at regular General Classes during the week so take advantage of all the opportunities you'll have to train with them!

Special Bonus for All Kids

On Saturday (October 11) there will be a special 10:30AM class for all three divisions (Juniors, Youth, and Teens) that will be taught by different blackbelts (including some brand-new shodans!) – so kids will also be able to participate in the excitement of Blackbelt week as well.

Plan to spend the week training hard!