Note: The following is a news release from Saucon Valley Karate Academy.
Members of more than 60 martial arts studios including Hellertown’s Saucon Valley Karate Academy competed at a multi-state championship held at Kalahari Resorts & Convention Center in the Poconos Oct. 26-28.
Owned and operated by Master Philip J. Geiter, Saucon Valley Karate Academy was awarded the 2018 Dojang of the Year for Region 8 of the World Tang Soo Association.
The school had 40 competitors in the championship who collectively took home more
50 medals.
Saucon Valley Karate Academy students with Master Philip Geiter competing at Kalahari Resort in the Poconos last month.
The championship is a traditional event for members conducted annually for the past 35 years by Region 8 of the World Tang Soo Do Association. Region 8 includes studios in eastern and central Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and northern Virginia.
The competition drew more than 700 participants from Region 8 and beyond this year, and both World Tang Soo Do Grandmaster Robert Beaudoin and Grandmaster William Strong were in attendance.
Master Geiter holds the International rank of Master, 4th degree, in Tang Soo Do, a traditional form of Korean martial arts. He founded Saucon Valley Karate Academy in 2013, and with determination, persistence, positive word-of-mouth and community support has steadily increased enrollment there to 150 students and growing.
The studio is active in community events and local charities. The studio participates in Relay for Life, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fundraisers, Hellertown-Lower Saucon Community Day and the Saucon Valley Spirit Parade.
Master Geiter voluntarily teaches karate and self-defense classes and promotes anti-bullying campaigns in local elementary schools. For the past four years, Saucon Valley Karate Academy has also conducted on-field demonstrations at the Lehigh Valley IronPigs’ Martial Arts Night.
At the school, Master Geiter has held women’s self-defense classes and taught a local Girl Scout troop karate and self-defense techniques to help them earn their fitness badges.
This year he has run multiple week-long camps for Youths as well as a Tigers and Dragon (preschool-aged) camp. He has also established a Junior Instructor’s class, which trains advanced kids to help in teaching less experienced students.
This program benefits all students by promoting self-confidence and leadership abilities in the junior instructors and by allowing the newer students to see how focusing and working hard allows them to progress in their training.
Saucon Valley Karate Academy is located at 46 W. Water St., Hellertown, Pa. For more information about them, visit their website, or their Facebook page, or call 610-748-1575.
