This page has been setup to provide information about the Rockville Dojo relocation and any temporary arrangements for classes. Please check it often as we will be updating it with new information regularly.

September 1st, 2009: Phoenix Bethesda Location IMPORTANT NOTICE: Osu! Everyone, We have resecured a permit for our dojo. It includes every Tuesday and Thursday from now until the end of March except for the following dates: September 14, October 14, November 2 and 9 ( these dates Wyngate is not available) November 25 (Thanksgiving) December 23, 28 and 30 (Christmas holiday). Times remain the same. If it is not too cold we will likely train at KenGar November 2 to be sure we have at least 7 classes per month. I do try to keep the cost to students at $15 per class on average. We have a great dojo community going! We should all be proud! Osu! Shihan Cathy Wyngate Elementary School 9300 Wadsworth Dr, Bethesda, MD 20817 Classes will be held in the All Purpose Room at the school Chief Instructor: Shihandai Cathy Melanson, 5th dan, Senior Vice Chairman of the Phoenix Karatedo Association Days: Every Tuesday and Thursday. Times: Kids class 6-6:45 // Adults: Immediately following 6:50 - 8pm Cost: Kids (12 and under): $100 per month (family discounts available) Adults: $100 per month (starting in June 2009) Payment Program: We will be using Paysimple.com as the method of payment. Upon registration you will be asked to fill out a form which will allow for monthly charges to either your checking account or credit card. This should be easier for everyone. If this is not possible please discuss it with me. The payment program will begin when you enroll and you will be billed either the 5th or the 15th of the month. **Please be prepared to do a little paperwork on the first night! Any questions? Contact Shihandai at cathymelanson@msn.com

July 31st, 2009: We have been notified by Mongomery County that August will have a bit of a gap because of the school not renting in the 2 weeks before school begins. We will be holding classes in Gen Gar park again for those 2 weeks for kids and adults at the same times. Students will also have the option of training at Sempai Segiy's dojo in Gaithersburg. As a reult of the inconvenience I am only charging half. I await the permit for the regular space for the week begining September first. We will have class until August 13th at Wyngate and the permits begin to be issued on August 15th. Thanks for the support and patience

Feb 24th, 2009: OSU! Announcing the New Location for Phoenix Karate Classes Wyngate Elementary School 9300 Wadsworth Dr, Bethesda, MD 20817 Classes will be held in the All Purpose Room at the school Chief Instructor: Shihandai Cathy Melanson, 5th dan, Senior Vice Chairman of the Phoenix Karatedo Association Days: Every Tuesday and Thursday starting March 17th. The space is reserved through August 11th and will hopefully renew it for the fall. It will not include the following dates: April 7, April 9, (school Spring break) May 28th, July 9, July 14, July 16 (karate camp week). Times: Kids class 6-6:45 // Adults: Immediately following 6:50 - 8pm Cost: Kids (12 and under): $100 per month (family discounts available) Adults: $100 per month (starting in June 2009) Payment Program: We will be using Paysimple.com as the method of payment. Upon registration you will be asked to fill out a form which will allow for monthly charges to either your checking account or credit card. This should be easier for everyone. If this is not possible please discuss it with me. The payment program will begin in April and you will be billed either the 5th or the 15th of the month. I will ask for the March fee to be paid upfront (Cash or check). It will be at 50% of the monthly rate. **Please be prepared to do a little paperwork on the first night! Any questions? Contact Shihandai at cathymelanson@msn.com

Jan 29th, 2009: Closing Down We will be moving things out of the dojo space starting at 9am this Saturday (1/31/09). We will continue until we are done, possibly until Sunday. Shihandai Cathy continues to make progress in local spaces we can use to teach classes in the interim. OSU!

Jan 27th, 2009: Dear Friends, It is with the deepest regret that I must inform you that we will not be able to move forward with opening the Rockville dojo at its new location. Sempai Jason and I have tried our best, but misinformation and the rigid bureaucracy of the county have thwarted our best-laid plans. Shihandai Cathy is still seeking a space for us to have class a few times a week, and in the meantime AU classes are still being held Mondays and Thursdays at 8:30 p for our adult students. Sempai Nick teaches kids' classes in downtown Bethesda. All those who paid us for their first month of classes will be reimbursed, with our apologies. Please don't hesitate to write me if there are specific concerns that you have. I hope you will all join me in looking forward to a future in which we will have a training space again, and hopefully soon! OSU, Sempai Erika

Nov 14th, 2008: Interruption in Classes Unfortunatey, we have run into additional problems with the County Department of Permitting. Classes are suspended until further notice. We will keep you informed as soon as we can start up again. We apologise deeply for the delay and hope to be up and running again soon! OSU, Sempai Erika

Oct 25th, 2008: Moving-in Weekend Please join us at the new Rockville location starting at 8am today (Saturday) and going late into the afternoon (possibly evening). We will be doing final cleanup on the newly built dojo space, and moving in our mats and equipment from storage.

Oct 17th, 2008: Demolition Weekend Demolition, building changing rooms, and painting will be taking place this weekend. We will start at 9 am both Saturday and Sunday (the 18th and 19th). We will work until at least 5 pm each day, but may go later than this. Please come help for as long as you are able. Remember, this is a construction area, so no kids! If you can bring drills, shovels, pickaxes, brooms, or other tools, that would be great too! Please email me if you have any questions. Sempai Erika

Oct 12th, 2008: WE HAVE OUR NEW ROCKVILLE LOCATION SECURED!!! Our new location is right around the corner from the old one, at 5534 Wilkins Court, Rockville, MD 20852. We will be renovating the location over the next couple of weeks and hope to begin classes again in the last week of October. Below is the tentative renovation schedule, if you would like to assist with the effort (we would really welcome everyone's support!). Times and any changes to this schedule will be announced here as they become available. October 18-19th: Demolition of existing walls/flooring in the space October 19th (and possibly continuing through the 24th): Building new dressing rooms and painting the walls October 25th: Moving day! Getting our stored equipment into the new dojo October 26th: Setting everything into place and putting on the finishing touches Hope everyone is as excited about this as I am! OSU, Sempai Erika

Oct 6th, 2008: Time change for the class at Ken-Gar Park: Shihandai Cathy's class on the Ken-Gar Park will now start at 5:45pm to catch more sunlight.

Oct 2nd, 2008: Attention Phoenix students: Don't be disheartened! We continue to pursue many leads in regard to a new location. Something will come up soon. We are thankful to all of you who are continuing your training whether at AU, the Ken Gar park classes, the Hombu or in Frederick. For those of you training on your own keep it up! Feel free to contact us with concerns or questions or just to say hi! Shihandai Cathy

Sep 4th, 2008: Great class at Ken Gar! We will continue to train there every Wednesday at 6pm. Everyone including children are welcome. Bring water and look for the people dressed in dogi! Class is dependant on weather: rain = no class. Osu!

Sep 3rd, 2008: Training Options Here are some training options for Rockville Dojo kohai and yudansha: American University, Washington, DC - Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:30pm to 9:30pm - please see below message from Sensei Brad; you must contact Sensei before atending these classes (adults only) Green Valley YMCA, Frederick, MD - Tuesdays and Thursdays, youth class: 6:45pm-7:30pm, adult class: 7:45pm-8:30pm - Please contact Sensei Chris Thomas for more information (cell: 301.748.3909) Hombu at Mount St Mary's University - Saturday, 11:00am - Please contact Kancho Soller or Sempai Paul Zhgilov to confirm class schedule or if you have nany questions.

Aug 30th, 2008: Class on Wednesday, September 3rd Barring any bad weather Shihandai Cathy will hold class at 6pm next Wednesday at Ken-Gar Park in Kensington on Beach Drive.

Sep 2nd, 2008: AU Training and Demo Information OSU Everybody, To my Rockville folks- we have no time to waste! Let's keep training hard. Here's what's going down at the American University dojo: TUESDAY, SEPT. 2: 11am-1pm free demo on the quad. *This got rained out last week, so if you can make it to the event, that'd be fantastic. Forecasters predict a hot and sunny day... perfect for outdoor kumite, kata and tamashiwari. We'll be tabling from 11-12 and 12:15-1, but at NOON we'll be doing all the demo stuff. TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS 8:30-9:30pm is the AU Class meeting time. The official program starts this week and it would be glorious if we had yudansha and upper kohai as mentors to the new students. Please note that we do not yet have a contract with American University to bring non-AU affiliates into the fitness center. This means that I have to know of your plans to attend in advance. Email me if you believe you'll be coming on Tuesday or Thursday of this week. I will update you if/when we have worked out an official agreement with AU. DIRECTIONS: Below, I have attached a campus map with important captions. (Clearly I am 7 years old, as evidenced by my arts and crafts skills). The "Visitor Lot" is where you should park on campus between 8am and 5pm. If you are attending the DEMO, park here... the fee is about $1.50/hr and there are two main pay stations in the lot. If you are coming to class, your best bet is to follow the blue captions/arrows and park in the garage, which is free after 5pm. Just follow the arrows on the map- you'll go under a tunnel, after which you'll do a hairpin turn to the right and find the garage main entrance. After parking, take the stairwell/elevator to the 1st floor of the Sports Center, and head out to the main lobby. You will know if you're in the right place if you can see a bunch of windows overlooking the pool. MEET IN FRONT OF THOSE WINDOWS and we can all come in together. There are locker rooms, but I recommend you bring a lock to secure your valuables. I have an academic class that meets until 8pm, so I'll be able to escort you in immediately after that. Hopefully if we land a contract with AU, you'll just need to come in with your ID. MORE DIRECTIONS: From Rockville Pike / Wisconsin Ave (MD-355), head south. You will go through Bethesda and Friendship Heights, and cross the DC border. Keep going South until you see the Tenleytown Metro. Two lights after the metro stop is Nebraska Ave... take a right onto Nebraska and head West. Follow Nebraska until you reach the traffic circle. At that point you're on the campus map and can either head toward the visitor lot or the parking garage, depending on which event you're attending. The campus address for AU is 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW Washington, DC 20016. Please plug in your own directions or ask me if you have any logistical concerns. Sorry about the huge email- I hope you can come join us for a fun demo and/or classes this week. Remember, please RSVP to me by email or phone (301-461-0481) if you're coming. Let's keep training hard and show a new generation of kohai at AU how we do things. OSU, Sensei Brad