Letter from Our Executive Director

Dear Thousand Waves Community,

It has been a busy few months since our last newsletter. Back in August, a group of us headed to New York for Zenshin, World Seido Karate’s 50th Anniversary Celebration. The back to school season always keeps our families busy, and we enjoy seeing students returning from summer breaks. This year has been especially exciting as we’ve re-started our Little Kicks program for 4-5 year olds! Finally, October brings black belt testing, a time to acknowledge the dedication and hard work of our most committed students.

Zenshin, Seido’s 50th Anniversary Celebration, was a memorable 5-day event held in Westchester, New York August 7–11. About 15 Thousand Waves members made the trip—we were among the approximately 500 karateka who participated in some portion of the events. We kicked off on Friday morning with a huge outdoor workout at the notable Kensico Dam. The Westchester County Center in White Plains housed the bulk of the activities: welcome dinner, tournament, performances, and special workshops. Tuesday morning’s sunrise meditation/beach training at Glen Island was also a highlight.

With so many people from overseas present, Kaicho and Nidaime held a special promotion for students grading to fifth dan and up the day before the anniversary festivities began. Thousand Waves was well-represented, with now Jun Shihan Tom West, Kyoshi Aileen Geary, and myself participating. Other students from Brazil and Australia rounded out our group of 10. It was a memorable, meaningful experience to test during such an auspicious week for World Seido Karate.

Here at our own dojo, we are extremely excited to have brought back our Little Kicks Program for four and five-year olds! We had to cut the program due to a lack of teachers several years ago, but since Sensei Lucia’s return as our Director of Children’s programs we have been slowly building our capacity to serve this group again. Little Kicks classes now meet Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 4:15.

Rounding out this busy season, it was a joy to travel to New York in support of Senpai Kumiko Muro and Senpai Quentin Tuggle, who tested for Sandan and Nidan respectively on October 2. They really excelled in a unique, private testing opportunity. Back here in Chicago, we were thrilled to see Sarah Pierce shine in her solo test for Junior Shodan run by Sensei Lucia. Congrats to all three students for their dedication and hard work.

Thanks for being a part of our community.

Kyoshi Ryan
Executive Director

Briefly, how did you come to train at Thousand Waves?

Four years ago, I was looking for a physical practice with structure and repetition. I had no idea what I was in for.

What is one thing you’d like to change about the world?

That our group decision-making would be guided by abolition geographer Ruth Wilson Gilmore’s concept: “Where life is precious, life is precious.”

What is one thing you do well?

Stay curious and interested in learning.

What is one thing you do not do so well?

Remember what I learn, especially names and dates.

Who from history do you admire, and why?

In living history, local duo Damon A. Williams and Daniel Kisslinger—and their lineage of mentors like Grace Lee and James Boggs—whose AirGo podcast “reshapes culture for the more liberatory and creative.”

Other than Chicago, where have you most enjoyed spending time?

Buenos Aires, Argentina became a second home. Most enjoyable is also moderately challenging desert/mountain hikes with people I love.

What quotation have you found inspiring or interesting?

“Always you must leave a man one escape before death.” Advice pertinent to my Irish temper, given by one of John Steinbeck’s characters in East of Eden.

What foods do you like best?

All manner of vegan delights: pad kee mao, pumpkin blondies, golden kiwis… (Hello to fellow TW vegan Hara, currently in Greece!)

What are your musical favorites?

In lieu of favorites, please accept some frequent listens: Christine and the Queens, Ella Fitzgerald, Astor Piazzolla, Fiona Apple, Fatoumata Diawara, Doechii, Massive Attack, Allison Russell, Cleo Soul, Bonny Light Horseman, Meshell Ndegeocello… I love the soundtrack of college radio stations and Vocalo.

What talent would you most like to have?

Discernment.

“Thousand Waves Member Spotlight: Ten Questions for…” is a regular feature of Kiai! The next person to answer Ten Questions: Jun Shihan Wai

What’s up with Empowerment Self-Defense at Thousand Waves?

by Patricia Broughton, ESD Coordinator

Empowerment Self-Defense is baked into the DNA of Thousand Waves. Our founder, Shuseki Shihan Nancy Lanoue, was already a leader in the women’s self-defense movement when she started Thousand Waves in 1985. Our name alone – Thousand Waves Martial Arts and Self-Defense Center NFP – attests to the weight of our commitment to self-defense as an empowerment and healing practice. Similarly, Empowerment Self-Defense – the form of self-defense championed by Thousand Waves, is embedded in our mission statement: We foster fitness, healing, empowerment and peacemaking.

I want to take this opportunity to share with you the state of ESD at TW, and to invite you to lend your time and talent (and treasure if you like!) to the ESD program.

We’ve had a busy year with outreach programs. We’re on track to meet or surpass the number of outreach programs completed in 2025 (28), with 22 programs completed as of October 12 and six additional programs scheduled for the remainder of the year. Our 2026 outreach programming has been quite diverse:

Our in-house public programming, geared toward individuals rather than groups, has been somewhat less successful, with fewer participants in our three- and 12-hour workshops and courses than in 2025. We cancelled our first two 12-hour workshops for lack of registrants.

Many of our outreach programs resulted from connections fostered by Thousand Waves students. Earlier this month, Senpai Willa Marie O’Donnell and I conducted a workshop for residents of a domestic violence safe house where Willa interned this summer. Senpai Aaron Alberg arranged for Thousand Waves to host a two-hour workshop at Chime, his employer. A conversation SS Nancy Lanoue had with the owners of Broadway Bikes resulted in a three-hour workshop focused on de-escalation for customer-facing staff at small businesses in Uptown. Cari Hulings, a member of the TW ESD team, organized a group of her 12-year-old daughter’s friends for a private workshop; she and I led a concurrent conversation with the parents of those girls. Thank you to all the TW members who spread the word about our ESD programming!

Looking ahead to 2027, we’re determined to find ways to better market our in-house programs. We strongly believe ESD is a core skill everyone needs – now we just have to convince folks of that! If you’re interested in the marketing aspect of ESD, let me know.

We also are exploring ways in which we can lend our voice to the national and global conversations about interrupting and eliminating gender-based violence, intimate partner violence and domestic violence. That strategy will include both a newsletter and enhanced social media postings. If you’re interested in the communications aspects of ESD – in particular helping with the newsletter – let me know.

We’re also planning to increase our outreach programming, and for that we need additional instructors, particularly those who have flexibility to assist during the day. We’ll be starting a new teacher training cohort soon, so if you’re interested in exploring what it would mean to assist with teaching ESD, let me know.

For me, Empowerment Self-Defense is one of the most gratifying embodiments of my martial arts practice. It’s a concrete way that I advance fitness, healing, empowerment and peacemaking. If you'd like to be part of the TW ESD team, please reach out to me. Osu!

Upcoming Events and Useful Links

Printable 2026 Events calendar

Printable 2026 Class Schedule

Thousand Waves 2026 Annual Meeting Volunteer Interest Indicator

2026 Member Meeting Slideshow