It's been awhile since my last post. My academy has seen an extremely busy summer and fall and we are looking forward to a great holiday season and an even better 2013! We just completed our Rener Gracie Seminar Series at my academy which was a huge success. We had great support from our local students as well as students coming in from outside of South Carolina. I enjoyed meeting all of our out of town guests and look forward to staying connected with our new friends. As usual with Rener teaching, he covered very practical and effective techniques with precision and detail. Everyone enjoyed the seminars and the "Renergy" was definitely present. I appreciate him taking the time to come out to my academy and I look forward to seeing him again soon.

Me, Benjamin & Rener Gracie - December, 2012

We conducted two adult seminar sessions and a bullyproof session in the afternoon.  I appreciate all the help I received from my assistants and of those students who brought in fruit, water and especially Lisa's world famous spring rolls.

Rener Gracie Seminar - Lexington, SC 2012

All our self-defense programs are doing well.  Our youth and adult Nihon Goshin Aikido classes are well attended and students are progressing nicely.  We will be adjusting some of our classes for January, 2013 to accommodate the growth of our student body and the demand for additional training.  The Little Samurai classes are doing great and the kids are keeping me on my toes!  Our Youth Gracie Jiu-Jitsu classes are growing every month and our Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Combatives classes are as busy as ever.  We will be hitting the Master Cycle Classes (blue-belt curriculum) hard starting January, 2013.  I want to congratulate all our students who made their Gracie Blue-Belts in 2012 and welcome each of you and many others to the Master Cycle!

Lastly, our Women's Self-Defense classes will be going into full gear. I will be conducting our bi-annual Free Women's Self-Defense Workshop on Saturday, December 8, 2012. We will be rolling out our 10-week, women-only group class that will address the most common attacks a female would face. Please see our website or Facebook page for class schedule and details.

I hope everyone enjoys the holidays and has a great 2013!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

See you on the mats.

Sensei John Carter
www.cartersacademy.com
www.graciesc.com
www.facebook.com/cartersacademy
senseicarter@gmail.com
803.546.6079