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from the April, 2009 issue of Kiai!
Celebrating Kyoshi Sarah Ludden:
Recipient
of 2009 Cook County Unsung Heroines Award
by Pamela M. Robert, Ph.D.
Kyoshi
(master teacher) Sarah Ludden, a fifth degree black belt in the World
Seido Karate organization and in Kajukenbo Kung Fu, is the co-executive
director (with Nancy Lanoue) of Thousand Waves Martial Arts and
Self-Defense Center (TW). TW, a Chicago based not-for-profit
organization promotes personal safety and nonviolent conflict
resolution, while fostering healthy minds and bodies through violence
prevention, self-defense and traditional martial arts programs for
adults and children of all ages. By design, TW is a community created
and sustained by the collaborative efforts of teachers, staff, and
student volunteers, working together to make karate accessible to
anyone with a sincere desire for personal transformation.
Still, TW bears the distinctive imprint of Ms. Ludden’s visionary
leadership and pedagogical style, as well as her lived commitment to
peace, violence prevention, and justice.
Since coming to TW in 1991, Ms. Ludden’s visionary leadership has
impacted the lives of many and contributed to the long term viability
of the organization itself. She immediately put her energy
and deeply felt desire to work with children behind the existing
Thousand Waves Children’s Program which took off – not just in numbers
but in spirit. Children now make up 60 percent of TW membership. In
2004, Ms. Ludden founded and launched Camp Kokoro (heart and mind), a
summer camp for children 6-14. Now in its sixth year, it annually
provides intensive Seido karate training alongside recreational,
cultural, and performance opportunities to over 75 children.
Teens, under the guidance of professional black belt instructors, many
of whom began training at TW at the age of 6, serve as Counselors in
Training (CITs) at Camp Kokoro. This intergenerational team,
under Ms. Ludden’s guidance, pays forward to the campers the
leadership, bullying prevention, and non-violent conflict resolution
skills they learned at TW. Camp Kokoro’s unique structure,
not only prepares the next generation of Seido teachers to carry TW’s
mission into the future, it produces young leader-activists eager to
serve their communities. Ms. Ludden also co-ordinates the TW
Scholarship Fund which, over the past 18 years, provided over $100,000
in direct tuition assistance and, on average, makes martial arts and
self-defense training accessible to 25 or more TW students each
month. Direct contributions and TW fundraising events,
including the Punch and Kick-A-Thon, Spirit Challenge, and Art with
Heart, all bearing the imprint of Ms. Ludden’s choreography skills,
finance the TW Scholarship Fund.
As a head instructor at TW, Ms. Ludden models an inspiring blend of
artistry, power, grace, presence, creativity and humility.
Her pedagogical style, honed over 27 years of practice, reflects a deep
commitment to empowering students, honoring diverse learning styles and
celebrating difference. Ms. Ludden plays a key role in
maintaining the open and welcoming environment at TW, particularly for
survivors of violence, LGBTQ folks, and people who don’t fit the mold
of a stereotypical athlete. She is also a resource for many
training members and their families, guiding them on such matters as
conflict resolution within relationships, families, schools, and
communities. Ms. Ludden regularly teaches for the Association
of Women Martial Arts Instructors and is a regular participant in and
workshop leader for National Women Martial Artists Federation and the
Pacific Association of Women Martial Artists.
As a life-long activist, Ms. Ludden lives by an enduring commitment to ending violence and promoting peace and justice. Her ideals shape TW programming, including its public discussion series, “Making Peace: Meditations of Activism,” and inspire many TW members to become citizen-activists in Chicago and beyond. Whether she is marching in the Gay Pride Parade, a Take Back the Night Rally, or delivering donations to the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa (an AIDS activist group), Kyoshi Ludden’s actions speak powerfully of her lifelong commitment to working for peace, violence prevention, and justice both in Chicago and around the globe.