May 2026 Newsletter
NewsletterMay 2026•By Master Mark O’Connor
Respect • Commit • Persevere • Succeed!
The Traveling Dojo News
The Place Where Our Students & The Community Meet!
May, 2026 – Issue #4
Hi Everyone! Welcome to our latest issue of The Traveling Dojo News!
We have committed to donating a percentage of our income each year to a charitable organization that aligns with our core values. Each issue of our newsletter will start with this call to action to help us in supporting our selected organization(s). This year we are supporting The Alliance Against Seclusion & Restraint (AASR). Please consider joining us in supporting AASR!
In This Issue
- Welcome Aboard Scott!
- Belt Promotion Testing & Summer BBQ
- Website Re-Launch Success!
- Update On Our Search For Space
- Women-Only Self-Defense
- Dojo In The Community
- Our Locations
Welcome Aboard Scott!
Scott Bramell – Assistant Instructor
Please join us in welcoming Scott Bramell as an Assistant Instructor! Scott will be primarily supporting our youth and adult fitness community programs at The Casey Community Center in Gaithersburg but you can also expect to see him around Damascus while we get him ramped up. Scott’s awesome attitude and great personality are going to be a great addition. WELCOME SCOTT!
Scott is a black belt with 7 years of training at Kicks Karate. Scott loves playing Pokemon Go and enjoys watching Jackie Chan movies. Ask him to do his favorite Jackie Chan move when you see him!
Belt Promotion Testing & Summer BBQ
May 18, 2026
Promotion Test Dry Run
Damascus Location
On May 18th we will hold a promotion test dry run during our regularly scheduled Monday 5pm class. We want to give students testing in June the greatest opportunity for success. If you are planning to be considered for testing please take advantage of this opportunity and become familiar with the format. Even if you are not testing, we will still be training so please make sure to join us!
June 13, 2026 @ 2 PM
The Casey Community Center
801 S. Frederick Ave., Gaithersburg
Peachtree Room (2nd floor)
Invitations to test will go out to eligible students at the end of May.
Assistant Instructors must arrive at The Casey Community Center by 1:30pm to help setup. All students testing must arrive no later than 2pm. Lineups will begin at 2:05pm and testing will begin promptly at 2:15pm. All others should arrive and be settled by 2:10pm.
This is a closed event due to available seating, however all students and their families are encouraged to attend even if you are not testing. It’s a great way to show support for your fellow students!
Summer BBQ
Immediately Following Promotion Testing
Master Mark’s Home
Gaithersburg
This invitation extends to all students and their families, whether you attend the promotion testing or not.
We’ll have the usual summer fare (burgers, dogs, salad, chips, sides) and beverages. Please let Master Mark know if you have any food restrictions so we can be sure to accommodate everyone. We’ll have corn hole, ladder ball and giant Jenga!
Please RSVP to Master Mark by June 1st
to let us know if you are attending the BBQ!
Website Re-Launch Success!
Our website has a new look and feel and we’re very excited about it! The layout and organization is much improved, with a lot more additions:
- Featured photos of our students (more to come!).
- Listings of all our community programs with registration links.
- Listings of the events we will be attending.
- And the addition of a STUDENT PORTAL! Our full curriculum is available on our website with instructional videos, as well as a General Announcements section for students only.
Accounts have been created for all students. Simply reset your password using the e-mail address on file to activate your account and get access to all of our training resources! Click on Reset Password Now! button below to complete your account activation.
Special thanks to Web Mobile Imagefor their help with graphic design and implementation, and to Brian Clay Photography for snapping some great photos of our students.
Update On Our Search For Space
We have been working hard to add more training days in our Damascus location and exploring various options. We are unfortunately limited by the availability that our landlord has offered, so we are looking around the Damascus area for another space that will give us more days and times to train.
We have met with several property management companies already and are hopeful we can find space that meets our needs, but most of all that gives our students more training options!
We won’t make a move without first checking in with our Damascus students. Hopefully we’ll have more updates next month.
Women-Only Self-Defense
The Spring session of our women-only self-defense program at Casey Community Center is off to a great start! Everyone is having a lot of fun. This season is a 9-week program so there’s still plenty of time to get in on the action!
Register For Women’s Self-Defense
Dojo In The Community
The city of Gaithersburg has been awesome in supporting our programs at Casey Community Center. They are allowing us to store equipment there for our classes so we’ve added two heavy bags, some pads and blockers at this location. We are now even more prepared for action!
The Spring session of our small group martial arts program at Casey Community Center has started with another 7 weeks left. There are a couple spots open so there is still time to join the fun! Register below.
Our Locations
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We hold weekly classes at 10017 Locust Drive in Damascus and weekly classes at the Casey Community Center in Gaithersburg. We also provide private & small group lessons in-home, at Master Mark’s home dojo or your place of work. Have a small group (10 or less) and want us to Come To You? Contact us and we will work with you to make it happen!
Already have a belt rank in Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do or Uchudo? No problem, we will accept your current rank and train you for your black belt!
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