Activities outside dojo

[blackwatch]

Does anyone have any ideas for parent/student club bonding outside of the dojo eg:Picnics,awards banquets,dances etc.

[patusai]

Yes. I am not sure if the instructor still does it but about 10 years ago he did. Kinda like a family thing

[congai]

we have parties for all the students and their familiest to come to. There's one around Christmas time in the dojang, which is mainly for the students. Certain students are awarded for their dedication or attendance. The other one is near the end of summer at a park where the whole family can come out and eat bbq. All of the students as well as their siblings can participate in the games that we have. It's a lot of fun, especially with the jump house and water balloons... ;]

[sweetpea0525]

We have several activities, they help not only parents to bond with students but students to bond with each other.

We host an annual picnic at the end of summer, food drives, and fundraising sleepovers. They all been successful and create more of a family-oriented atmosphere.

[nanfeishen]

One of the venues i teach at, is a Martial arts school, and what they do is hold in house weekend camps every 6 - 8 weeks alternating junior camp and senior camps, go off to the mountains or seaside, camp and enjoy a weekend of training, then each end of year they hold a dinner at some restaurant which is a bit more formal, and that is open to wives and partners. This has become a tradition in the school , and the spirit and attendance to both the camps and dinner is phenominal, 80 to 90 % of the school attends in each category.

[Fairfax_Uechi]

Does anyone have any ideas for parent/student club bonding outside of the dojo eg:Picnics,awards banquets,dances etc.

Where are you located. In any major city and most mid sized ones there are sporting events, movies, and bowling. Other standbys are picnics, charitable events, etc.

Our dojo plans events several times a year. When we plan we decide what we'll do for the next year. So if we plan twice a year, we do it for the year, then we do it about six months later and for the next year with some overlap. We get folks to sponsor events that they want to get involved with and think that students, parents, friends etc would participate in. Anything can be suggested, and anyone can sponsor. The only thing is that the sponsor must be involved. Some events involve the whole dojo. Others are small groups. But it builds friendships and folks enjoy getting together outside of the dojo.

[Whitefeather]

Potlucs work swellishly.

Knock yourself out (hehe, martial arts forum, knock out, hehe, ohhh nevermind, that was stupid),

David

[ramymensa]

We used to go to the clubs and have a soda together, maybe some movies, parties. As long as people feel nice together they'll start planning their time together too

[Sohan]

We have celebrated the dojo's anniversary, sensei's birthday, and we have a holiday party each year. The adults also meet at a local craft brewery for drinks and appetizers at least once a month. We also have a few of us who get together to run the Peachtree Road Race each July 4th.

We try to make as many excuses as possible for meeting out of the dojo. It really creates a bonding experience for everyone.

Respectfully,

Sohan

[Aodhan]

Awards picnics, bowling nights, we've even gone to the local rock climbing gym.

What you'll notice, though, is that unless their kid is up for an award, or they already come to everything the school does, a small percentage will actually show up.

Doesn't mean you shouldn't do it though.

Aodhan.

P.S. Oh, and "fair" type events, especially with a water balloon fight where the kids get to pelt the instructors and each other. They love that.