Talk about putting your best foot forward!
Students at the Kokoro Karate and Fitness Center were roundhouse kicking for a cause on Nov. 19 as they participated in a special Kick-A-Thon at their Avenue N dojo.
And the kickers went all out — with one spry student kicking more than 1,000 times within 12 minutes.
Kick-A-Thon organizer Jamie Esopo said that students raised $6,000 for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital during the day-long event.
“This was our first time doing this, but St. Jude Children’s Hospital is a great place,” Esopo said. “It costs more than $2 million to run a hospital each day, so they need all the help they can get.”
Kick-A-Thon sponsors either donated a set amount of money, or pledged an amount of money for each kick a particular student made before the buzzer sounded.
Ricardo Louis, a student instructor, didn’t get a chance to participate, but said that he could have matched the 1,000 kicks.
“It would have been fun to do it,” said Louis, a black belt. “It’s a way we could learn something and then put what we learned to a good cause. I hope we have more events like this.”
Keep kicking, Ricardo — you’ll get your chance.
Reach reporter Thomas Tracy at ttracy@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-2525.
