Self Defense, Service, Safety

This week, I was inspired to create "Flu Prevention Is Self Defense" cards to help prevent and/or reduce the spread of germs in what's expected to be a difficult cold and flu season. This morning, I shared the cards with my network of like-minded martial artists around the country, and as of this writing, the information is being spread (ironically like virus, no?) through martial arts schools in Washington, South Carolina, Indiana, Illinois, Texas, and Washington, D.C. We'll be using these cards during mat chats in our Little Dragons classes at our dojo, and also in the enrichment classes that I teach in the Boston Public School System. Please contact me if you'd like the artwork to make a set of cards!

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This past weekend, a bunch of my students and I planted 180 daffodil bulbs in the public green space just outside the dojo. We've kind of adopted the area, which used to be a wasteland of weeds, broken glass, and spare tires. Back in the spring, we held a service project to clean the area up, and with help from local agencies, we managed to plant about 15 new donated trees. Alas, the flowers we contributed and planted that day were stolen from the site within 24 hours, so hopefully the bulbs we planted last weekend will still be there for a glorious debut in the spring!


Also, I'm reminding folks to be safe this Halloween by referring then to my list of links to Halloween Safety Tips!

Busy, busy, busy!

Things have been busy at the dojo, and my students have been organizing and participating in community service projects faster than I can track them: By the end of this month, we'll have completed a canned food drive, a walk to benefit the lymphoma society for cancer research, a "vision walk" against blindness, a gardening an bulb planting beautification project, and a "Caps for Kids" knitting project. Phew!It's amazing that we manage to get in any martial arts training at all!

This week, I'm starting to use my new anti-smoking self-defense cards in my kids classes. And, I'm also posting them on the dojo community board to catch the attention of my adult students that smoke.

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. THINK OF YOUR HEALTH! THINK OF THE EXAMPLE YOU'RE SETTING! I DARE YOU TO QUIT!

I Don't Need More Coffee; I Need More Sleep!

Between work and the dojo, I'm plain-old worn out this week. Caffeine no longer has any effect on me, it seems, and I could really use a nap! I'm teaching classes this weekend, but the Columbus Day holiday and some quality time with family will surely recharge my batteries.

Friday morning classes with the fourth graders at the local elementary school are going well: I'm incorporating the "Peace is More Important Than Punches" cards and some other materials into the lessons. Today, for example, I gave a 30 minute lecture on the subject of RESPECT. About 20 minutes in, one of the children piped up, "When are we going to do some karate?" My response: "Hey, you might not have known it, but we ARE doing karate!" That one got a good laugh!

Finished up my Anger Management Educator certification training this week, too. Looking for ways to incorporate that material into the curriculum! Physically, I've fallen behind on my workouts a bit, but this week, I don't think I could have fit it in with a shoe horn. I'll get back on that horse next week.

We've got a cool community service project coming up: planting daffodil bulbs in the greenspace outside the dojo.

We're Just Getting Started

This past weekend was our dojo's 6th anniversary: It was exactly six years ago that I first taught karate classes in the dingy basement gymnasium at one of the local high schools. We've come a long way over the years. We've held our classes in a number of places (even outdoors when we didn't have a place to work out), and while many people have come and gone, our membership has grown. And it gives me great satisfaction to know that some of the students who were there in those early days are still active members of our dojo. It's been one hell of a ride, and I'm grateful for it.

I can't help but feel, though, that for all the fun that we've had, and despite all of the good that we've accomplished as an organization, that our dojo is still very much in its infancy. I know that I have much, MUCH more to learn and give as an instructor, and I know that my students have only shown HINTS of their true potential as karate students and as martial artists committed to changing the world.

Just imagine what we could do and who we might become — as individuals and as a collective group — with just a little more focus and effort!