Fear Knot, Inc.
Our History
TIMELINE
July 28 - lease signed for Elizabethtown school.
August - Booth at E-town Fair.
September 9 - First night of classes: 4 children & 6 adults.
September 30 - 29 students enrolled at end of first month.
November 10 – First belt advancement test. Nineteen students receive their orange belts.
December 19
– First annual Christmas Party is held at the school. About 60
students and family members attend. Frankie Davis & Derrick Getz win
6-legged crawl.
1999
March – Began aerobic kickboxing program which evolved into Cardio Karate by July.
April – Demo at Elizabethtown College 100 Year Anniversary.
May – Breakathon for Cystic Fibrosis - More than $1300 was raised by our students!!
July – "Arts on the Square" Demo with great community reception. Added Tuesday evenings to class schedule - children’s classes divided into older and younger age groups.
August – E-town Fair. In our first year performing, the students show forms, sparring and board and block breaking in demos.
September – First Anniversary Picnic. Kids win the Parents vs. Children softball game. No serious injuries sustained in the parents/instructors touch-football game. Enrollment reaches 63 students. Rebecca Glen is hired for office management.
November – Added lunchtime Cardio Karate Classes.
December 4 – Breast Cancer Fundraiser held with sister school, Harrisburg Institute. Master Fox is driven over by a truck (on purpose!). Sabumnim Keith breaks 8 blocks. Students from both schools participated in the demo.
December 18 – Second Annual Christmas Party held at E-town Rec. Center. More than 120 attend. Stephen Glen & Zack Lokey win 6-legged crawl, then defeat their mothers in a heated challenge race.
December
– Increased classes to 6 days per week. Enrollment now more than 100
students.
2000
January – Tai Chi classes begin.
April – web site is born.
May 20 – Pennsylvania State Taekwondo Championships. Stephen Glen earns silver medal in sparring.
May 27 - First Annual Skating Party held at Doc's. Attended by 76 students and their families. No broken bones sustained.
June 9 -12 – NAPMA Convention in Clearwater, Florida. An entire weekend of great martial arts speakers, demos, ideas and education, and the chance to mingle with martial artists from all over the world!
June 17 – Pennsylvania Governor's Cup Tournament, City Island, Harrisburg, Pa.
August - E-town Fair. For our 2nd annual demo, the students again show forms, sparring and board and block breaking in demos.
September 2 – Breath of Nature Tournament at Kipona on City Island, Harrisburg, Pa. It was stifling hot!
September 9 – Second Anniversary Picnic. Attended by 86 students and families. Parents defeat the children 15 - 14 in the softball challenge. Sabumnim Mountz's team edges out Sabumnim Wilkes' team 14 - 7 in the adult's football game. Once again, there were no serious injuries among the adults.
December 16
- Third Annual Christmas Party held
at East High Elementary School. The party was attended by 137 students and
family members. The FEAR KNOT Martial
Arts Demonstration Team made its first
public appearance and Santa also paid a visit.
2001
January 1 - The school hires its first full-time employee. The Cardio Karate program's name is changed to Fitness Kickboxing and the program is now offered through G.E.A.R.S.
February - After School Program begins.
March 24 - Second Annual Skating Party at Doc's. One-hundred forty attend.
April - School's name changed to FEAR KNOT Martial Arts to more reflect the diversity of programs offered.
May - First public appearance by the FEAR KNOT Martial Arts Demonstration Team at the Mt. Joy Carnival. Three performances held. Most got the grass stains out of the knees.
May 19 - Stephen Glen becomes the school's first blackbelt..
June 23 - First EZDefense Workshop held.
June - Kid's College at Penn State University Harrisburg. Seventeen 8 & 9 year olds attend first week and earn their 9th Gup ranking. Classes also held for 3 other age groups.
July - Taekwondo curriculum change begins. Self-defense materials are re-vamped to reflect more realistic attacks and situations and are easier to learn, remember and execute. Forms are switched to the official World Taekwondo Federation "Taegueks".
July 21 - Benjamin Goss, Ken Rodgers and Joshua Wilkes promoted to blackbelt.
July 27 - 29 - 2001 NAPMA Convention in Clearwater, Florida. Another weekend of great martial arts speakers, demos, ideas and education! Had dinner with Jhoon Rhee. Came back with more great ideas to improve the school.
August - E-town Fair. In our 3rd annual demonstration the school's demo team performs, Sabumnim Mountz has patio blocks broken on him while laying on a bed of nails and Sabumnim Wilkes builds a bon fire and breaks 12 blocks in front of more than 400 spectators.
September - Little Ninjas Program begins for 4 - 6 year olds along with the first Ultimate Bodyshaping Course.
September 8 - Third Anniversary Picnic. Attended by more than 70 students and their families. Children defeat the parents 13 - 12 in the softball challenge. The adult's football game was cancelled due to a lack of healthy bodies over 21 years old. Once again, there were no serious injuries among the adults.
October 20 - Sabumnim Wilkes earns 4th Dan and attains the rank of Master. Head Assistant Instructor, Sabumnim Mountz is also promoted to 3rd Dan.
November 17 - First UBC session ends. Terie King leads the way by losing 22 pounds and 6% body fat.
December 8 - Brian Schoenberger and Annette Tieney are promoted to blackbelt.
December 15
- Fourth Annual Christmas Party at East High Elementary. More
than 80 attend the party. Santa made another appearance.
2002
January 5 - Thirty-one students begin training in the January UBC session. Our largest group yet!
January 16 - Classes begin for Elizabethtown College students enrolled in the first semester of Taekwondo and Fitness Kickboxing offered as a Physical Education credit.
January - The school enrolls 69 new students. Most of the new students are in Fitness Kickboxing and The Ultimate Bodyshaping Course. 9:00 pm kickboxing classes are added to the schedule. The momentum carries into February.
February 9 - Thirty more students enroll in the February UBC session bringing the total to 61 enrolled in the program.
March 16 - Forty-two students begin the march UBC session. Our largest group yet!
March 30 - Third Annual Skating Party at Doc's. One-hundred thirty attend. Leila Fleisher, Shawn Fready, Danny Tierney and Anthony Vera win limbo contest
April 1 - School more than doubles in size since January first. Active enrollment now at 254 students.
July 13 - Sabumnin Ken Rodgers is promoted to 2nd Dan. Will Lockard, Adam McDonough, Luke Powell, Andrew Rudi, Colin Schoenberger and Jen Wertz are promoted to blackbelt.
August 17 - New training floor installed! And there was much rejoicing!
August 19 - 24 - E-town Fair. Fourth year of demonstrations. Fitness Kickboxing/UBC, Little Ninjas and Taekwondo demo teams performed the last night of the fair. The Ninjas were too cute, the Kickboxers looked great and several martial arts students uniforms turned a nice shade of gray after it had rained earlier in the evening. No major injuries were reported when the blackbelts tried to find out whether they were stronger than 500 pounds of patio blocks.
September 14 - Fourth Anniversary Picnic. Attended by more than 120 students and their families. In the softball challenge, the children defeat the parents (again) 6 - 5 in a pitcher's duel. The adult's football game was another nail biter with Sabumnim Ross' team knocking down a pass in the end zone on the last play to prevail over Master Wilkes' team by a score of 14 - 7. Once again, there were no serious injuries among the adults.
November - Master Wilkes and Denise attend the first NAPMA Canada Conference in London, Ontario, Canada. Attended by 150 martial artists, the conference is well received and, as usual, Master Wilkes comes home with many new ideas to shake things up. At the Conference, NAPMA Founder and President, John Graden asks Master Wilkes to be a guest speaker at the NAPMA World Conference in Orlando, Florida next August.
November 16 - Sabumnin Brian Schoenberger is promoted to 2nd Dan. Taylor Kirsch and Anthony Vera are promoted to blackbelt.
December - Master Wilkes' article on how the school doubled in size at the beginning of 2002 is published in NAPMA NOW, a publication of the National Association of Professional Martial Artists. NAPMA NOW goes out to more than 2,000 martial arts schools in 7 countries. NAPMA also uses Master Wilkes in a promotional ad in MAPRO magazine with a world-wide circulation of more than 20,000.
December 14
- Fifth Annual Christmas Party at East High Elementary. More
than 140 attend the party. Santa made another appearance.
2003
February -
Fear Knot Martial Arts Has First Grand Champion - Nine-year-old
Derek Olson of
March 15 - Fourth Annual Skating Party at Doc's. Two-hundred ten show up for the party. This year's limbo grand prize winner is Cain Aldinger. As always at our events, there were no major injuries among the adults.
May 10 - Kayla Ballard and Owen Bradley are promoted to blackbelt.
July - Master Wilkes and Sabumnim Kayla conduct 3rd annual Penn State Kid's College. Eleven Kids, 8 - 11 years old, get their first taste of the martial arts. Only minor injuries were reported.
August 25 - 30 - E-town Fair. In our 5th annual demonstration, the Fitness Kickboxing/UBC, Little Ninjas and Taekwondo students performed. The Ninjas were great, the Kickboxers looked spectacular and several martial arts students were the hit of the evening. No major injuries were reported among the blackbelts.
September 1 - Joshua Wilkes is promoted to 2nd Dan.
September 20 - Fifth Anniversary Picnic. Due to the untimely arrival of Hurricane Isabel, the event was cancelled. The adults will have to wait until next year to turn their losing streak around. The adults will also have to wait to see who survives the annual football game. Remember, there's always next year.
September 23 - World Taekwondo Federation 1st Dan certification is awarded to Master Wilkes. The "Kukkiwon" certification means that master Wilkes' rank will be honored world-wide.
March 10 - Eighth Annual Skating Party at Doc's. More than 170 atte
October - Let the remodeling begin! Remodeling of school begins. Office and changing stalls replace men's and women's dressing rooms. Rear entrance painted. More to come in 2004. Thanks to Brian LeGrand and Michael Wanner for contributing a major part to the effort! Thanks to everyone for putting up with the mess.
October - Karate Kidz Program begins. Similar to the Little Ninjas Program, Karate Kidz is specifically structured to challenge 7 - 9 year old students and teach to their level of physical, emotional and psychological development.
November 8 - Adam McDonough is promoted to 2nd Dan. Andrew Reed earns his blackbelt.
December 20
- Sixth Annual Christmas Party at East High Elementary. More
than 90 attend the party. Santa showed up again. Everyone had lots of
fun!
2004
January - Fear Knot Martial Arts implements the block system of teaching the youth and adult students.
February - Fear Knot Martial Arts implements the Little Ninjas Prep Course. The prep course is a developmental program specifically designed for the needs of children 3 and 4 years old.
March 20 - Fifth Annual Skating Party at Doc's. More than 140 show up for the party. This year's limbo grand prize winner is Eleanor Hornung. Once again, there were no major injuries among the adults.
April 24 - Michael Banwell, Jonathan Boozer and Derek Olson are promoted to blackbelt.
June - Location chosen for Middletown school. Lease signed in Late June.
July 17 - Adam Johnson and Nathan Pakowsky were promoted to blackbelt.
August 2nd - Middletown school opens with 21 students attending 3 different classes during first 2 days., This is FEAR KNOT's 2nd school
August 23 - 28 - E-town Fair. The 6th annual demo. Everyone had a great time. The students showed well. The show was fun and flashy. Again, there were no injuries among the performers.
September - Annual picnic canceled due to the effects of Hurricane Ivan. This is the second year in a row that a hurricane has affected the picnic.
November - Began classes on location at the Goddard School, a developmental daycare center for 3 - 6 year olds. Will run Little Ninjas and Little Ninjas Prep Course.
December 20
- Seventh Annual Christmas Party at East High Elementary. Actually it
was held at the Elizabethtown school as someone forgot to open East High for
us. More
than 120 attended the party. Santa managed to find us (He knows everything). Everyone
still had lots of
fun!
2005
March 19 - Sixth Annual Skating Party at Doc's. Lots of fun and not too many wipeouts. As always, there were no major injuries among the adults.
June - Master Wilkes named as self defense instructor at Harrisburg Area Community College Lancaster Campus.
July 16 - Nathan Pakosky is promoted to 2nd Dan. Emily Hornung, Timothy Yasi and Matthew Wilson are promoted to blackbelt.
August - Began classes on location at Stepping Stone Day Care Center. Will run Little Ninjas and Little Ninjas Prep Course.
August 22 - 27 - E-town Fair. Our 7th annual demonstration. Lots of things being broken, not any body parts though.
October 22 - Franklin Menges, III is promoted to 2nd Dan. Andy Snyder is promoted to blackbelt.
December 20
- Eighth Annual Christmas Party at East High Elementary. Yes, someone
let us in this year. More
than 150 attend the party. Santa knew where we were again. As always,
everyone had lots of fun
2006
March 11 - Seventh Annual Skating Party at Doc's. Nearly 200 show up for the party. This year's limbo grand prize winners are Hailey Nelson, Ian Meier and Kenya Littles. Once again, there were no major injuries among the adults.
June 8 - Signed lease for third school in Lancaster, PA
June 29 - Matthew Lakey and Levi Varner are promoted to Blackbelt.
July 31 - First night of classes at Lancaster school. This is FEAR KNOT's 3rd school.
August 21 - 26 - E-town Fair. Our 8th annual demonstration. Everyone thought the Ninjas were "so cute". The rest of the students did a great job. They had even more fun than the previous year. Next year we'll crank it up another notch.
November 11 - Former Student John McCurdy awarded honorary blackbelt posthumously. John died in an accident at the New Jersey gymnastics school where he had been an instructor for the past year. One of our first students, John had advanced to brown belt before moving to the Philadelphia area.
December 16
- Ninth Annual Christmas Party at East High Elementary. More
than 250 attend this year's party. We're going to need a bigger room next
year! Santa showed up as usual. As always,
everyone had lots of fun
2007
January - Junior Blackbelt Program is implemented. This change is made to reflect the learning and emotional differences between younger children and teens/adults in our martial arts programs.
March 5 - World Taekwondo Federation 1st Dan certification is awarded to Sabumnims Matthew Lakey, Matthew Wilson, Franklin Menges, III and Andy Snyder. Master Wilkes is awarded 3rd Dan certification. The "Kukkiwon" certification means that their rank will be honored world-wide.
March 10 - Eighth Annual Skating Party at Doc's. More than 170 attend this year's roller fest. The limbo grand prize winner this year is Tanner Cahall. In following our safety practices, there were no major injuries among the adults. Everyone had a great time!
April 28 - Hailey Nelson and Tommy Miele are promoted to Junior Blackbelt. They are the first youth students promoted to junior blackbelt since the program was implemented in January. Many more to follow!
June 2 - 3 - Team FEAR KNOT plays in a 24 hour golf marathon to raise money for the first tee. The First Tee is an initiative of the World Golf Foundation dedicated to providing young people of all backgrounds an opportunity to develop, through golf and character education, life-enhancing values such as honesty, integrity and sportsmanship. The intent is to offer opportunities for improvement in the quality of life and create a platform where children can increase their potential for success. The Golf-A-Thon raised money for underprivileged children so that they can participate in the program. Thanks to Joshua McCoy, Rich Graybill and Ed Rineer for their efforts. Master Wilkes also played. He completed the entire 24 hours playing 108 holes. Team FEAR KNOT scored a total of 39 under par to place second in the event.
July 28 - Julianna Wanner, Michael Shank and Grant Brubaker are promoted to Junior Blackbelt. They had a blast (really, it was a tough test)!
August - E-town Fair. Our 9th annual demonstration. A lightning storm upstaged our show. A storm blew in during the demo and we had to take a break while the lightning moved through.
September - Our 1st annual bowling party. More than 130 bowlers filled Clearview Lanes in Elizabethtown. More than 130 attended the party.
October 27 - Kirstyn Pawuk, Joey Betz and Eugene Louer are promoted to Junior Blackbelt. Sabumnim Matt Lakey earned his 2nd Dan.
December 15
- Tenth Annual Christmas Party at East High Elementary. More
than 215 attend this year's party. Santa was there as usual. Master
Wilkes recited his annual Christmas tale: 'Twas The night Before Testing.
Always great food! We all had lots of fun!
2008
February 8 - Cathy Richardson and Tyler Benkowitsch are promoted to 1st Dan.
March 9 - Ninth Annual Skating Party at Doc's. Nearly 200 attend this year's roller fest. In following our safety practices, again, there were no major injuries among the adults. As always, everyone had a great time!
April 26 - Andy Snyder earns his 2nd Dan. Kelsey Ulrich is promoted to 1st Dan.
June - FEAR KNOT changes its vision by implementing Blackbelt Club and Leadership Program. The focus will be on developing not just blackbelts, but leaders in our community through its leadership program. Both programs begin June 2nd in our Lancaster school with 3 Karate Kidz and 1 TKD student already enrolled in the Leadership Program.
April 26 - Kelsey Ulrich is promoted to 1st Dan.
July 26 - Brian Dombroski is promoted to 1st Dan. Noah Reeser earns his Junior Blackbelt.
August - FEAR KNOT students participate in the 10th annual Elizabethtown Fair. More than 60 students performed in the demonstration the last night of the fair. It was 'mazin!
September - Our 2nd annual bowling party. We filled Clearview lanes again. More than 130 attended the party. In the battle for high game, Master Wilkes took the title with a 193. Sabumnim Franklin injured his rolling arm during the contest. This was the first injury of any kind at a FEAR KNOT event.
October 25 - Sabumnim Tim Yasi is promoted to 2nd Dan. Tyler Reichert is promoted to 1st Dan
December 13
- Eleventh Annual Christmas Party at East High Elementary. More
than 200 attend this year's party. Despite a pre-Christmas injury, Santa was there as usual. The
first annual talent show brought out some personalities.
Always great food! Lots of pictures and lots of fun
2009
January 31 - Tyler Benkowitsch, Michael Hermesky, Yvonne Lucchese and Cathy Richardson earn their Second Dan. Chelsea Nasatka and Stephanie Wells earn their First Dan. Garrett Deyle and Moriah Nickel earn their junior blackbelt.
March 7 - Our 1st annual spring bowling party. We filled Clearview lanes again. About 150 attended the party. Strikes and gutter balls all over the place.
April 25 - Jordan Richardson earns her Junior Blackbelt.
May 12 - Classes begin at Mechanicsburg school. Mechanicsburg is FEAR KNOT's 4th school.
July 25 - Kody Biddle, Sarah Mazur, Jensen McConnell and Cindy Price earn their junior blackbelt. Kody, Jensen and Sarah are the first junior blackbelts at our Lancaster school.
July 25 - Nicholas Dorozynski, Tommie Miele and Kirstin Pawuk earn their first degree blackbelt. Eleven-year-old Kirstin is the first FEAR KNOT student to have moved up through FEAR KNOT's Little Ninjas Prep Course, Little Ninjas and Karate Kidz programs, Youth Self Defense, earn her junior blackbelt then blackbelt. She enrolled at FEAR KNOT in Elizabethtown when she was 3 years old. Nicholas is our Lancaster school's first blackbelt .
July 25 - Gregory Spotts and Franklin Menges earn their 3rd Dan. Both are FEAR KNOT's first third degree blackbelts.
July 30 - Classes begin at Lititz school. Lititz is FEAR KNOT's 5th location.
August - The Elizabethtown Fair demonstration was cancelled due to lots of rain the 2 days before the show. Cleaning the uniforms would have been a major undertaking if the students would have performed in the wet grass and mud.
October 3rd - Our 3rd annual fall bowling party. More than 100 attended the party. As usual, there were no major injuries.
October 24 - Hayli Akakpo-Martin and Chase Clements earn their junior blackbelt. Both students moved up through FEAR KNOT's Little Ninjas Prep Course, Little Ninjas, Karate Kidz and Youth Self Defense programs.
2010
January 30 - Tanner Cahall, Kayla Graybill, Brody Johnston and Sophie McConnell earn their junior blackbelt. Tanner holds the distinction of having moved up through FEAR KNOT's Little Ninjas Prep Course, Little Ninjas, Karate Kidz and Youth Self Defense programs.
January 30 - Elizabeth Conroy earns her blackbelt at the age of 55. That makes Liz the oldest FEAR KNOT student promoted to that rank. You go girl!
April 24 - Betsy and Thompson McConnell earn their blackbelt. They are the first couple to make the journey together. Abigail, Samantha and William Schlageter (siblings) earn their junior blackbelts.
July 31 - Jess Graybill, Douglas Suereth and Moriah Nickel earn their first dan. Tyler Eckert and William Webb become junior blackbelts.
August - The Elizabethtown Fair demonstration once again. Lots of fun and a big crowd. Lots of patio blocks were broken. No one was seriously hurt during the demonstration.
October 31 - Jordyn Richardson earns her blackbelt. Gabriel Wisniewski and Justin Yohn earn their junior blackbelts. Justin has been with fear knot through enrolling in the Pre-ninjas program when he was 3 years old.
December - Fear Knot students collect more than 130 toys for Toys for Tots.