2014 Student of the Year!

Last night on Dec 15th at our All Class Christmas Party we announced the 2014 Student of the Year:

Raissa Karlsen!! Congratulations – we’2014Raissacopyre so proud of you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also announced were the following awards:

Shihan Award – Gregg Chastain

Sensei Awards – Ian Melhorn, Noah Renk, Timothy Hurley, Kyle Frazier

Congratulations everyone!!

2014groupcopy

20 Years at Bethel!

Bethel20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today is a special day – it’s the 20th anniversary of our first class at Bethel Lutheran Church in Brush Prairie! To mark the occasion I wrote a small article about the ministry, had a nice plaque made and presented them both to Pastor Ron Zschoche at Bethel this morning. The article and a few photos are below!

BethelPlaque

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

****************

“For those of you not aware, Whole Armor Martial Arts is a Christian martial arts school that rents the gym at Bethel several times a week for classes. The amazing thing is that as I write this on Monday December 1st, 2014 – it’s the 20th anniversary of our very first class at Bethel!

In 1994 the gym looked quite different. The floors were bare cement and there was nothing on the walls but some sheetrock and plywood. The upstairs had not been put in yet so it was quite a different environment from the nicely finished room you have today.

But even though it wasn’t the prettiest place to look at that very first day, the wonderful thing is that ministry happened! We trained in our physical skills as we still do at every class, and more importantly we also opened our Bibles and studied God’s Word just like we do at every class today 20 years later, teaching students to “become strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.” And ya know what? God has blessed that in ways I cant even begin to describe. You would absolutely be amazed at the stories I could tell! And I also have to tell you that God is still working powerfully to draw people to Himself as we continue to point people to Christ at every class. Lives really do change and people leave that gym different folks than when they came in, and they impact their families, their schools, their jobs and so much more as we all learn to trust God and live for Him in every area of our lives.

And it doesn’t stop here in our community either. We’ve had students share their faith and skills all over the world, we’ve supported missionaries and seen God use what we do in martial arts ministry further than we ever could have imagined.

So let me thank you, our friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ at Bethel, we are so blessed to partner with you in ministry. And ya know, I hope that we’ve only just begun to see the amazing things that God is going to do!

God bless you!

Ron Hagelganz – Whole Armor Martial Arts”

*******************

Here’s two photos from our first Exam in the gym at Bethel, this was December 1994

12-1994exam 12-1994exam1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a photo from our Exam last month – my, a lot has changed in 20 years!  🙂

2014Exam

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank the Lord for His amazing work and the blessing of partnering with Bethel in ministry through Christian martial arts!

You can visit Bethel’s FB page here.

 

Promotion Exam 11/20/14

11-20-14

 

 

 

 

Congratulations to the following students who earned their new ranks – we’re very proud of you!

Cody Sibley – 1
Ethan Bowers – 3
Tiffany Miller – 3
Noah Renk – 3
Jonathan Patterson – 3
Max Gossman – 4
Zachariah Weber – 4
Duncan Colson – 5
Johnathan Melhorn – 5
Halen Merrell – 5
Brian Millett – 6
Alyssa Elliot – 6
Jacob Jenkins – 6
Sean O’Banion – 6
Nick Millett – 7
Micah Kent – 7
Mason Cunningham – 7
Kevin Raj – 8
Matthew Peterson – 8
Natalie Hayes – 9
Jesse Oliver – 9
Ashley – Furiya – 9
Samantha Gossman – 9
Susy Noelck – 9

Promotion Exam 11/14/17

11-17-14

 

 

 

 

Congratulations to the follow students who earned new ranks last night! We’re very proud of each one!!

Manon Dunham – 2
Pete Muller – 5
Jim Lingeman – 6
Kyle Frazier – 6
Jason Kerr – 7
Grant Clark – 7
Kyla Muller – 8
Sydney Muller – 8
Lucas Bollman – 8
Hudson Wallace – 8
Jace Muller – 8
Taylor Lingemen – 9
Gracie Clark – 9
Bryan Bollman – 9
Brian Bechtold – 9
Sarah Barnes – 9
Mark Forstrom – 9
Amy Forstrom – 9
Drew Forstrom – 9
Alex Forstrom – 9

Mighty River Classic tournament!

Once a year we put on our “tournament hats” and compete in the Mighty River Classic tournament hosted by Sifu Rick Cropper and his school. This year we were blessed to have 5 of our Black Belts asked to serve as designated Center Referees, a position of great responsibility and honor. Sensei’s Andrew Colson, Tim Merriam, Mike Zumstein, Tammi Neblock and Tom Ruhe all spent their day working hard to make the tournament safe and run very smoothly. (and they did a terrific job too!) You can see some photos posted on our Facebook page here. And here’s one I just couldn’t resist posting  🙂

01

New Black Belts!!

 

8-1-14BB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s right – last night on 8/1/14 Chuck Kerr and Janey Hume passed their Exam for Shodan – 1st Degree Black Belt!! Congratulations – we’re all very proud of your accomplishment!

Congratulations again!

8-1-14web

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations to the following students who tested last night on 8/1/14 and earned their new ranks!

Olivia O’Dell – 1
Timothy Hurley – 2
David Owings – 3
Joshua Potts – 6
Jacob Jenkins – 7
Kyle Frazier – 7
Sean O’Banion – 7
Matthew Peterson – 9
Grant Clark – 9

Great job everyone!!!

Congratulations Thursday Exam!

7-31-14web

 

 

 

 

 

The following students passed their Exam for new rank on 7/21/14

Ian Melhorn – 2
Jonathan Miller – 2
Elisabeth LaFayette – 3
Roger Lanier – 4
Aaron Pesacreta – 4
Aaron Spatz – 5
Jesse Noelck – 5
Alyssa Elliot – 7
Peter vonderLuft – 7
Greta vonderLuft – 7
Mason Cunningham – 8
Micah Kent – 8
Kyle Armstrong – 9
Drew Armstrong – 9
Jacob Sparks – 9

Well done everyone!! Congratulations!!

Stay tuned….  still much more to come!

Congratulations!

7-28-14web

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’re excited to announce that the following students passed their Exam for new ranks on 7/28/14:

Jim Wilkins-Luton – 2
Trey Wilkins-Luton – 2
Raissa Karlsen – 2
Andrew Carson – 2
Gregg Chastain – 3
Ryan Owings – 3
Emily Zumstein – 5
Madeleine Olson – 7
Kyla Muller – 9
Sydney Muller – 9

Congratulations!!

Stay tuned- much more to come……

Whole Armor Martial Arts Ministry at Liberty Bible Church

Liberty1 We had a great evening of martial arts ministry at Liberty Bible Church tonight for their SLYM youth group! Sensei’s Colson, Merriam, Ruhe, Schober and Quarto did a terrific job demonstrating several levels of kata, breaking a bunch of stuff, and sharing personal testimonies. We also talked about how important it is to have God’s Word at the center of many areas of our lives, and the importance of being able to escape both physically, and taking the way of escape that God promises us in 1 Cor. 10:13. Several students responded at the invitation and it was an amazing opportunity to watch God work in their lives!

Liberty2  Liberty3  Liberty4