Villari's Martial Arts Center of Shrewsbury, MA
What's Happening at VShrews this Fall
by VShrews on 10/16/17Fall is in full swing and we're happy to welcome a new bunch of students to our dojo family! Thank you, new friends, for choosing Villari's of Shrewsbury and THANK YOU to our champions for referring your friends to us!
Many thanks as well to our students and families for the well wishes and baby gifts we received. We appreciate not only your generosity but how joyfully you celebrate our major life events with us not as customers but as friends and family. We feel so fortunate to have such wonderful people in our lives!
It will still be a while before Mrs. Fraioli is back but Master Fraioli is available for questions and payments and high-fives and chatting about sporting-type things. Lo Fry may make an appearance soon but EL Fry needs to build up some immunity before she ventures out into the world.
As for upcoming goings on, we have a few:
Halloween Day is Saturday Oct 28! Wear your costumes to class for spooky games and creepy kiais with a TREAT at the end of class!
VShrews will be closed, however, for actual Halloween on Oct 31. Since our only Child class that day is at prime trick-or-treating time, we decided to just cancel it. This decision was made not only to give you no distraction from your revelry but also because this is the first year that Lo Fry will be trick-or-treating and both Mrs. and Master Fry want to go along! Makeup classes are, as always, available.
November is our annual Holiday Merchandise Sale, the most popular month for Sparring Gear sales because... it's 20% off! That goes for uniforms and Century catalog orders as well. But get those orders in before December or we can't guarantee you'll get your gear before Winter Break.
Also in November is the annual Villari's Tournament which... we are still trying to figure out the details of at the moment. Keep an eye out for a flyer in the lobby as soon as ... well, we get any information ourselves.
Toward the end of November is Thanksgiving break, wherein VShrews will be closed from Wednesday Nov 22 through Saturday Nov 25. We open again on Monday Nov 27.
In December, VShrews will opt out of the biannual Regional Black Belt test in order to gather our forces for a June test showing. Possibly our biggest group yet! Get ready for hardcore training starting in January, BBCs! Woofry's got plans for a BBC club. Ask if you're interested!
And closing out the year, we've got Winter Break which...we'll announce the dates of as soon as we decide when they start. You'll see it here and in the lobby.
It's going to be a grrrrrreat fall, VShrewers! Keep practicing and going to class! Because now that Baby Fry has arrived, ranks tests are on their way!!!!
VShrews Summer Just Flew Right By
by VShrews on 08/30/17Whooooosh!
That's the sound of Summer flying right by us. We hardly noticed how quickly it was going until our students started going back to school this week!
Whoa, what? You started yesterday?! How did THAT happen?
But now that we know, we wish you all the best of luck in your new school year and we wish your parents all the patience and understanding they'll need to get you back on a school-year schedule.
And here are your announcements!
VShrews will be closed both Saturday Sept 2 and Monday Sept 4 for Labor Day Weekend.
Which means that Thursday Aug 31 is the last day for freezepops and t-shirts and Tuesday Sept 5 is the first day for FULL UNIFORMS in every class!!
The Cancer Walk at UMass Medical School is Sunday Sept 24 this year and while VShrews will not be walking or collecting for it this year, we still encourage our students and families to learn more about it. You can create a team, find a team, or donate to a team to help out: https://www.umassmed.edu/cancerwalk/
Keep in mind that this September, we're expecting a brand new Fraioli and that means Master Fry and Woofry may not always be available to take credit card payments. Please consider paying your late September/October tuition by check or plan ahead by using your card anytime you see a Fry in the office.
And OF COURSE, we will notify our VShrews family as soon as we can once the new Baby Fry arrives!!!!
That's all for now! Happy First Day of School week!
Congratulations VShrewers!
by VShrews on 06/09/17This past weekend, VShrews was proud and excited to send 7 first degree Brown Belts off to the Regional Black Belt test to earn their first degree Black Belts. All 7 students not only passed their test, but learned a little something about themselves, their fellow students, and apparently metallurgy?
Judan spoke about tempering, a metal heating technique applied to create toughness and elasticity by decreasing hardness and rigidity. Things that bend are less likely to break, he argued, and that's what gives a martial artist their strength. As Bruce Lee said, "Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind."
But it's not just our bodies that need that kind of flexibility. Our minds often need to bend as well.
Having listened in on some of the answers given to the Master Board on Saturday, I was happy to learn that the lessons we teach at VShrews really have been absorbed over the years. When we talk about how and why a technique works, how to assess one's own abilities and weaknesses accurately, what it takes to achieve one's goals, and even what kind of people we strive to be, our students are listening and learning and becoming exactly what we've been hoping for: the very best version of who they already are.
One of our students even said she liked her karate school because we accept her for who she is but push her to be what she wants to be. That's the kind of answer that makes us proud not only of our students but of ourselves. We're training black belts, yes, but in an environment that values all sorts of people for who they are, not for what we'd want them to be. There is value in diversity and our students prove that over and over again.
In order to create that kind of environment, we've needed to bend. We've needed to consider who our students were as individuals and what they needed in order to achieve their goals. We've even had to accept that not all of our students have the same goals. Some of us are on the path to Black Belt and above from the moment we begin our training. Others are looking for something within themselves that a strip of fabric can't provide. And while we, as instructors, can stand before a class as role-models of what hard work and consistent effort can provide, we cannot expect that every student wants or needs to follow our path.
So we continue to be proud and accepting of all of our students, regardless of rank or goal or achievement because joining us in any capacity is an opportunity for everyone involved to learn and grow and to be of some service to others.
We are so very proud of our new Black Belts. But we're so proud of the rest of our students as well. Whether you are with us for two months or a decade, we're honored and grateful to be part of your journey!
To see pictures of our new Black Belts in action, visit our Facebook photo album, 2017 June Black Belt Test.
To see pictures of our every day hero students, scroll through our Facebook feed where we update with new class pics every Monday.
Starting to Almost Feel Like Spring
by VShrews on 05/24/17Well, VShrewers, it's finally starting to feel like spring (sometimes) so we're starting to think about our Summer t-shirts!
In an unprecedented twist of fate, we actually received our t-shirt order SUPER early so we're thinking about maybe moving up the start of t-shirt and freezepop time. Now, we haven't actually gotten the freezepops yet, so don't expect your summer treat to start next week but it's entirely possible that Summer at VShrews will start sooner than Summer-feeling weather does. Keep an eye out for a new flyer in the lobby soon!
We're also closing for Memorial Day both Saturday and Monday, May 27 and 29, so make sure you're making up your classes.
If you're a BBC (and you know who you are) the Black Belt test is just a week and a half away. Make sure you're practicing at home and coming to classes because Your Time Has Almost Come and we can't wait to hand you that new belt!!!
Don't forget to make up any missed classes from early spring before the expire and talk to us if you're going on an extended vacation this summer so we can adjust your account!
Happy sorta sometimes Spring, VShrewers! The school year is almost over and freezepops await youuuuuuuu!
VShrews is closed on April Fool's for Snow? Yeah, we are.
by VShrews on 04/01/17Well, this is just ridiculous. But yes, it snowed and iced on April 1st and we're closing because of it. Well, because of the ice. The snow's not that bad but the ice? That stuff is treacherous.
No joke, VShrewers, we will be closed today, Saturday April 1 2017 due to inclement weather.
No worries, though. Forecast calls for Spring-like weather again tomorrow, so maybe some of this mess will melt!
Stay safe, stay warm! We'll see you soon!
