from the July, 2012 issue of Kiai!

Teens Lead the Way at TW

By Jun Shihan Nancy Lanoue
Co-Executive Director

Most dojos have a slew of young kid members and a smattering of adults, but hardly any teens. Yes, high school is a busy and stressful time, but let’s face it, a big reason teens don’t join or stay in karate is because it’s just not cool for girls to be “strong in body” or boys to be “kind in heart.” Or for any self-respecting teen to “give 100% effort” or to “take responsibility for his/ her actions,” as our code of ethics calls us to do. Yet over 50 teens express their unity with these values every day through their active participation in all facets of our Thousand Waves community. And their numbers are growing.

In 1997, we promoted Jonathon Blumenthal, our first child member, to junior shodan. Since then, 69 kids have followed in his footsteps and received the coveted junior black belt. This takes a minimum of 4-5 years of steady training. 34 have gone on to adult shodan, which takes at least two more years. Eight have made it to nidan, another three years. Three are sandan, an additional 4 years. And Triston Alvarez, who started when he was 10, made it all the way to yondan, and earned his living here as a professional karate instructor for several years.

I hear and read negative comments about teens from adults almost every day. In hopes of dispelling some pernicious myths about this age group, I want to share with Kiai readers the many ways teens at Thousand Waves are contributing to our community and having a profoundly positive impact on members both younger and older than themselves.

Myth # 1: Teens are self-centered and care only about themselves.
Fact: Teens care about the mission-driven work of Thousand Waves and enthusiastically support our non-profit organization’s projects as volunteers, fundraisers, and even as donors of their own personal money.

Supporting Evidence: When we invited teens to participate in Spirit Challenge, they stepped up to the plate. 24 of 57 eligible teens registered. 19 of them raised $200 or more, and 7 teens were top fundraisers, bringing in over $1,000 each. Much of the credit for this success goes to Senpai Saul Friedman and Raphaël Laden-Guindon who coordinated the recruitment and rewarding of teen fundraisers.

Four TW teens volunteer several hours of their time each Sunday afternoon to teach in our Adapted Seido Karate program for kids with disabilities. Senpai TJ Nakano, Jacob and Raphaël Laden-Guindon and Jake Baumstark have been doing this for several years. Knowing kids at her school who could benefit from such a program, Senpai Gabby Afable made the arrangements to bring us in to lead a special workshop for kids with disabilities at Whitney Young. TJ Nakano, who is in a theater company that pairs up adults and kids with and without physical disabilities, helped create a wonderful play about our Five Fingers of Self-Defense program and how it can help both those targeted by bullies and the bullies themselves.

Several teens have given Thousand Waves a generous donation from their own savings in celebration of a bar/bat mitzvah or other significant occasion in their life. One example is Senpai Sophie Reese-Wirpsa, who recently asked relatives and family friends who wished to acknowledge her promotion to black belt to forego a gift and make a donation to support Thousand Waves instead.

Myth # 2: Teens lack initiative and follow-through, and only like to hang out with each other.
Fact: When they want something (like a job or a chance to perform), and we set clear expectations and consequences for failing to meet them, teens can and do accomplish whatever we require of them, even if it involves planning, communicating by email, and getting up early! And they successfully connect and collaborate with people of all ages, from the youngest juniors to the most elder seniors.

Supporting Evidence: Our 2012 Camp Kokoro was staffed entirely by Jun Shihan Sarah, Senpai Jordan and Brandon Garcia (both college students), and 10 high school student senpais. To get a position as a camp staffer, each of these busy high schoolers had to keep up a steady training schedule and volunteer as a teaching assistant in one kids’ class per week throughout the previous school year.

Believe it or not, they all got themselves here for work every day for a month by 8 am. And they kept 40 kids safe and happy in karate classes and at the lakefront, zoo and water park through the biggest heat wave Chicago has ever known. To top it off, many of them came back to the dojo in the evening to train. On the last day of camp, the father of a 9 year old camper told me privately that when he was a child, teens were a group he had feared and stayed clear of. He was surprised and moved by the affectionate mentoring and camaraderie his son got from his teen counselors at Camp Kokoro.

One reason the teens perform so well at camp – in addition to Jun Shihan Sarah’s skillful guidance of course – is because their knowledge of how to work with kids has seeped into them by osmosis from many years of being on the receiving end of our teaching methods.  11 of the 12 counselors were once campers themselves, starting in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th grade. Senpai Jordan Garcia, who at 22 was the oldest staffer, began working at camp in 2005 as a freshman in high school, and has returned every year since then, taking on more and more responsibilities each year.

Another realm where TW teens exceeded my highest hopes and expectations was in their athletic accomplishments at Spirit Challenge. Six of the 14 Sogo Champions we honored for taking on every challenge for which they were eligible were teens. Likewise, the top two Soul Survivor teams were teen-driven, and the Art with Heart performance featured teens in multiple inspiring displays of martial prowess, including a very touching piece created by a group of teens and our most senior-in-age adult black belts. And Maggie Scholle wowed us all by coming in 2nd in her age group in the Race Against Hate 5K Race.

These are just a few examples from many I could have chosen of how teens are setting positive waves in motion at Thousand Waves. So the next time you’re tempted to fall for a stereotype about their abilities or attitudes, think again. I guarantee you, they can think more deeply, act more generously, and do way more than you think they can.