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February is teen dating violence awareness month

February is teen dating violence awareness month

Teen dating violence is defined by the CDC as the physical, sexual, psychological or emotional violence within a dating relationship, including stalking. It can occur in person or electronically and might occur between a current or former dating partner. According to the annual report in fall of 2015 from http://www.endabusewi.org, 81% of parents don’t think dating violence is an issue for their…

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Trigger Alert! What would you do?

Trigger Alert! What would you do?

The title of this blog says it all…this is your trigger alert. If you have been in an abusive relationship, proceed with caution.

Imagine yourself as a young mother. You’ve worked all day, taken care of the house and the baby. You are exhausted. Your significant other is out with friends. You made dinner, but it was getting cold so you put it away in the refrigerator and went to bed. You are…

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What's all the yelling about?

What’s all the yelling about?

If you ever visit a martial arts class or a tournament, you will hear some yelling.

HIYA! What the heck was that?

That is what we call a kiai. Some Korean martial arts call it a kihap. From Shoshin Nagamini’s book, “The Essence of Okinawan Karate-do”, kiai literally means spirit convergence or energy concentration. It is using sound to bring forth the maximum force that can be exerted.…

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Shameless self promotion

A little more than a year ago, I decided I wanted to write a book. The thing was, I wasn’t sure yet what I wanted to write about. There are so many things I love about what I do and everything it involves. My biggest passions are studying the katas and finding ways to apply the movements and working with people to teach them to defend themselves, especially from a female’s point of view. I was…

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"I'm scared I won't remember!"

“I’m scared I won’t remember!”

dojo family pictures

From time to time I run into former students or their parents and the conversation turns to when the student or their child was in karate. Last summer I ran into a student at an event. He was having such a great time, you could tell he was missing the dojo.  I overheard another participant at the event ask him if he wanted to go back to karate.  I heard him say that he…

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just a little holiday reminder...

just a little holiday reminder…

The holiday season is considered by most to be a happy time filled with traditions, family and friends.  There are holiday parties, family gatherings and generally an air of good cheer.  However, this can be a really hard time for those in or trying to leave a domestic abuse situation.  Partners that are trying to dominate and control the other make it difficult for that person to see or even…

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A little personal space please.

A little personal space please.

One of my students came to me with a problem this week.  She told me there is a girl in her school that hugs her all the time and she doesn’t want her to. She did ask the girl to stop and she didn’t so she told an adult and a teacher, but she is worried about what to do if the girl still doesn’t stop.  She knows this is not the kind of situation that calls for physical self-defense, but she knows…

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A little etiquette

When you think about martial arts, most of us think about discipline and courtesy as well as the physical aspect of the practice. If you visit a class, you will see people bowing to each other and their instructor, ordered lines by rank and students working in unison, or in small groups on techniques. With all this going on, courtesy is important. Some examples of the way our students show…

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The fight is on...

The fight is on…

This is Tori. Tori is smiling because she just learned how to throw her training partner, who is no longer in the picture. Tori is adorable, with a great smile and loves learning bunkai. Tori is a fighter and a survivor…a cancer survivor. Tori’s formidable foe is Wilm’s Tumour (named after Dr. Max Wilms) or nephroblastoma.

Wilm’s tumor affects children under the age of 5 and is the most common…

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lessons from Dick and Jane

lessons from Dick and Jane

I know I will be dating myself yet again, but way back when I was in kindergarten or first grade, we read the book series about Dick and Jane written by William S. Gray and Zerna Sharp.  The books were used from the 1930s to the 1990s in reading classes across the U.S. The beginning books were very simplistic with 1 – 3 word sentences.  What I remember most about these books was that the words…

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September Spotlight

Yes, I am a day behind on the September spotlight student. Last month just seemed to fly by and now we are into October!

Meet Jadon.  Jadon is in our 6:30 class in the Cambridge dojo. Jadon currently holds the rank of novice 9th kyu and is working really hard towards his novice 8th kyu requirements.  Jadon always comes to karate with a great attitude; ready to work and with a smile.  He surprised…

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Getting back into your karate routine

Getting back into your karate routine

I love September.  It always feels like a time of renewal to me; more so than New Year’s Day.  I know that may seem odd, since fall is just around the corner, but it’s the start of a new school year and football season and with summer coming to an end, it seems like a good time to restart and re-energize daily life.  Maybe you’ve been slacking off on your workouts with all the summer activities…

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August Spotlight Student

AJ is our spotlight student for the month of August! Audriana, known as AJ to everyone, is 8 years old and going into the 3rd grade. She attends karate classes in the Fort Atkinson dojo and recently earned the rank of 3rd kyu, which is a HUGE achievement for someone her age. She has worked really hard for her rank, attending regular classes twice a week, weapons class, private lessons twice a…

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Kintsugi

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with a special lacquer dusted with precious metal, usually gold. Instead of throwing away a beautiful piece of pottery, they celebrate it’s history by emphasizing it’s fractures and faults and find beauty in it. The legend dates back to the 15th century when Ashikage Toshimasa sent a cracked tea bowl back to China for repairs.  When it was…

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So much to do, so little time!

So much to do, so little time!

Karate classes are different everywhere you go.  In our programs through the Parks and Recreation programs of Jefferson and Fort Atkinson and the CAP program in Cambridge, our class times generally range from 30 – 45 minutes twice a week.  These time frames usually work out great, especially for the younger kids. As an instructor though, I sometimes find it challenging.  There’s so much…

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July spotlight

This month, our spotlight is on 2 brothers in the Jefferson dojo.  Meet Drew and Cole. These guys have been with me in the Jefferson dojo since it started almost 3 years ago.  They have grown so much in that time!

Drew is 13 and in the 8th grade.  He currently holds the rank of 6th kyu and is working hard to earn his purple belt. Drew is great about trying to help out his fellow classmates and…

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Talking doesn't cook the rice

Talking doesn’t cook the rice

I remember when my daughter was a karate student under Sensei Brad Wells, as well as myself and my 2 sons, he would say specifically to my daughter and her friends “talking doesn’t cook the rice”.  I’m sure this ancient Chinese proverb came to mind most likely because that was a lot of what they did…talk. He wanted them to stop talking and take action. Those girls grew to love that saying. I…

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