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!

TokBox - Free Video Chat and Video Messaging

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!

Keeping Busy, Always More to Learn

It's been an interesting week. I've been doing even more martial arts writing, and so I've become a writer for Examiner.com. Please check out my first short article here. (You can sign up to be notified whenever I publish a new article!) I welcome your comments, feedback, and suggestions for future pieces.

I've jumped into my Anger Management Educator certification course, and I'm exploring opportunities to give MADDCAP diabetes awareness and prevention presentations at local schools.

My training has been going very well, both in the dojo (Shinkendo sword training!) and on my own with Clubbells and challenging bodyweight exercises. My diet has been improving, too, although I'm definitely not getting adequate sleep and recovery time. I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend!

And this week, I surprised even myself this week by picking up a book that has nothing to do with the martial arts: I'm currently reading Javatrekker: Dispatches from the World of Fair Trade Coffee. Who knew that coffee and coffee production was so interconnected with politics, ecology, and global culture? Well, I didn't! Color me ignorant, I guess — But the first few pages have REALLY opened my eyes. There's always more to learn, appreciate, and grow from!

Some Bullet Points for the Week:

• At the dojo tomorrow night, we'll be holding our very first Black Belt ceremony at the dojo for three of our adult students who have reached the rank of Shodan. The ceremony will consist of a brief demonstration, followed by belt and certificate presentations. I'm very much looking forward to the event!
  
  
• Personally, I've been training hard in the mornings: While out walking the dog, I've been getting in lots of calisthenics, ab training, and weight work -- all before my first cup of coffee. I'm enjoying the solo training, and I hope to keep up the discipline when the weather turns cold.
  
  
• I've been taking a weekly Shinkendo class with some of my students, fulfilling a long-standing goal of mine to learn more about the Japanese sword.
  
  
• I also signed up this week to gain certification as an Anger Management Educator. I hope to offer anger management classes at the dojo and in the community, and I plan to incorporate some of the lessons about emotional awareness into our dojo curriculum.

A Walk to Remember, and Other Good Things

On Sunday, September 27, members of Boston's Emerald Necklace Martial Arts will participate in the 2009 Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk, the nation's largest event to raise awareness and funds to fight Alzheimer's disease. The team of karate students will be led by Sierra Koral, a Yellow Belt member of the dojo, who is collecting donations and walking in memory of her father Bill Kenney, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and passed away in 2003. To date, Koral has raised nearly $1,000 for the walk, far surpassing her original goal to collect $500.

The students at Emerald Necklace Martial Arts are required to organize and lead community service projects as part of their Black Belt training, and the dojo often sponsors several projects simultaneously: Ayisha Knight-Shaw, an Orange Belt student at the dojo, is currently running a Fall food drive to benefit the Greater Boston Food Bank. In less than two weeks, Knight-Shaw has raised enough money to provide nearly 400 meals to people in need. Donations of non-perishable food items are currently being accepted at the dojo, which is located at 95 Everett Street in Allston.

For more information about these projects or to learn more about Emerald Necklace Martial Arts, please contact Sensei Jason Gould at 617-202-3856 or visit the dojo's website, www.karateinboston.com.