Fourth Annual Maritial Arts Day to be held

SIKESTON -- On Saturday, thousands of martial art schools across the United States will celebrate the Fourth Annual Martial Arts Day.

Participating schools will be hosting open houses, demonstrations, exhibitions, free classes and charitable fundraisers.

National Martial Arts Day is being organized by the National Association of Professional Martial Artists, Martial Arts Professional Magazine and the Project Action Foundation.

Gov. Matt Blunt has joined governors across the country in issuing proclamations giving NMAD official recognition while mayors and other public officials will attend events and festivities in their communities.

The purpose of NMAD is to recognize millions of Americans who currently participate in the martial arts and to promote the benefits of martial arts training.

The goal is to increase the number of people participating in martial arts. It is important to note that taekwondo (from Korea) and judo (from Japan) are official Olympic sports. In addition to being recognized by governors across the United States with proclamations, last year's National Martial Arts Day received recognition from President George Bush and James Scherr, chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Hundreds of martial art schools will also participate in Project Action's nationwide World Record Kick-A-Thon during which they will attempt to break the world record of 8.3 million kicks thrown in one hour while raising money to help disadvantaged children in their communities.

Among the local martial art schools hosting National Martial Arts Day events is Olympic Style Tae Kwon Do, MO located at 5045 Davis Blvd., which will participate in the Kick-A-Thon even scheduled from noon till 1 p.m. that day.

For more information on the event contact Jason Lynch, 3rd degree black belt, at 573-380-9918.