February 2011

In This Issue

Feature Articles

Upcoming Events

Health and Wellness

Member News

Feature Articles

The Journey to Black Belt:
What You as a Parent Can Do to Help your Child Reach the Top

By Jun Shihan Nancy Lanoue
Co-Executive Director

It truly takes a village – and 4 to 7 years – to transform a young, awkward attention-challenged beginner karate student into a poised, confident, self-disciplined black belt leader. Several things have to happen for the journey to even get started. A child must have a spark of interest, someone must be able to bring them to the dojo, and the teachers must succeed in somehow making the hard work of learning a complex art seem fun and interesting. After that, our Seido ranking system kicks in, planting and nurturing the seed of commitment and its connection to achieving personal goals…

Is Karate for Self-Defense?

By Senpai Ryan Libel
Director of Operations

“Ready stance is for beginners; later, one stands in natural stance.” – Gichin Funakoshi Sensei

“The more skills and choices an individual defender has, the more responsibility they have to solve whatever problem arises with minimum harm to the aggressor.” – Jun Shihan Nancy Lanoue

Read Ryan’s take on these ideas.

Upcoming Events

February

March

April

See more events here.

Health and Wellness

Holiday Health Project: Goal Setting & Progress

By Michele Curley, 4th Kyu
Board Member

The Holiday Health Project was a six-week challenge that encouraged Thousand Waves members to take a look at their health and set goals in three areas: nutrition, exercise and stress management. During the informative introductory session led by Jun Shihan Nancy and Senpai Sarah Kranz, we were given basic guidelines and possible ideas.

Baseline measurements were available for those who wanted to set goals related to weight, BMI, % Hydration, % Body Fat, Lean Body Mass and size of arms, waist, abs, hips and waist-to-hip ratio. We then sat down and discussed ways to approach our goals. We could make S.M.A.R.T. goals: goals that were Sensible, Measurable, Attainable, goals that you can take Responsibility for and which have a set Time. Another approach was to look our goals every week and revise them as needed.

I decided to set small goals in each area. Read more about Michele's experience here.

Member News

New Members Social: FREE Tea and Sake Tasting

Are you new to Thousand Waves and wondering what else this terrific organization has to offer besides karate and fitness classes? Have you been training at TW for a while and still don’t really know what goes on beyond the training floor? Here’s your chance to get informed, ask some questions, get some culture, socialize and have some more fun!

TW announces a series of quarterly New Members Socials. These events are open to all ranks, but are specifically geared toward new members and those who want to gain a better understanding of the programs offered at TW. These informal gatherings will consist of presentations, socializing and different cultural fare for each.

The first New Members Social—a potluck tea and sake tasting—is Friday, March 4th at 7:00 pm. You can attend the 5:30 white belt class and stick around afterwards for the social. Bring your favorite tea and/or sake to share along with a light snack. Share what you know about sake or tea, and let us know what makes your choice special.

The social will begin in the downstairs training area, where representatives of key TW programs will give short presentations and be available to answer your questions. Afterwards, we will move upstairs to the main training area to enjoy our tea and sake and to socialize.

Please sign up for the March 4th social at the front desk or RSVP via email or Facebook. Some ideas for future socials are the Japanese tea ceremony, taiko drumming, bonsai and calligraphy. Watch for email and Facebook updates on these and other upcoming events at TW.

If you have any questions about this event or ideas for future New Members Socials, email Board Members Carolyn Master, 1st Kyu or Sophie Michals, 1st Kyu at info@thousandwaves.org.

Congratulations to Recent Promotees

Pearls from Promotion Essays

“Because Kaicho actively wants to bring forward the ideas of the karate traditions of the past in the same way that Funakoshi honored his masters and wanted to perpetuate their ethics of karate, there is a sense of a continuity of ideas being passed down from generation to generation that reaches all the way to the present.” – Janet Lefly, 2nd Kyu

“In my own karate training I would argue that I have benefited more mentally and spiritually than physically.” – Todd Scales, 2nd Kyu

“My dad always said, ‘How do you get to Carnegie Hall? You practice!’ I followed that advice, and never gave up.” – Halle Gold, 6th Kyu

“A good partnership is when both of you can come out of the situation having learned something.” – Shelby Donahue, 2nd Kyu

“One who does not believe they are powerful will have trouble being powerful.” – Dean Radcliffe, 8th Kyu

“I also attended Kagami Biraki. That was intense. It was a good day to reflect on what karate has meant to me in this short time, to appreciate what it will mean to me in the future, and to appreciate how committed my senpais are. The energy in the room was something I’ve experienced only a couple of other times in my life.” – Meg Evans, 8th Kyu

“I get the feeling that ‘Chinese hand art’ put people off from learning the art, but by making it ‘empty’ it became more accessible to the people of Japan. It also turned karate into a way of living as opposed to something purely physical.” – Danielle Wash, 4th Kyu

“Zen is famous for its cantankerous attitude to foundational inquiries…” – Sophia Newman, 5th Kyu

“And in conclusion, I want to thank all of the members of the Thousand Waves community who donate their time to [ASK]: Senpai Rebecca, Senpai Max, and all of the other teachers who teach in the ASK program have been wonderful.” – Joseph Loughin, 7th Kyu

Juniors who tested on 1-22-2011
Aidan Black – 5th Kyu
Aiden Hartman – 8th Kyu
Andre Nandi – 5th Kyu
Armand Raichandani – 7th Kyu
Charlie Brennan – 5th Kyu
Danny Horowitz – 7th Kyu
Ella Richards – 8th Kyu
Jack Moran – 8th Kyu
Joe Karnick – 8th Kyu
Keeli Ryan – 6th Kyu
Marcus McDermott – 6th Kyu
Max Lazarre – 8th Kyu
Noah Ross – 8th Kyu
Piper Evans – 8th Kyu
Sevilla Cartagena – 8th Kyu
Sonia Anderson – 8th Kyu
Sophia Steck – 5th Kyu
Stella Ljung – 4th Kyu
Zachary Bezirgan – 8th Kyu

Youth who tested on 1-22-2011
Ainslie Evans – 8th Kyu
Ben Hartman – 7th Kyu
Ben Rachlis – 2nd Kyu
Brody Schwartz – 8th Kyu
Clare Hardiman – 5th Kyu
Gabriel Moreno – 4th Kyu
Gianna Trimarco – 2nd Kyu
Hannah Pross – 7th Kyu
Isaiah Meadows – 5th Kyu
Jack Herlihy – 5th Kyu
Joshua Bustos, ASK – 5th Kyu
Keaton Schwartz – 8th Kyu
Larissa Cerda – 8th Kyu
Laura Katunas – 8th Kyu
Liam Dahlborn – 5th Kyu
Miles Kenny – 8th Kyu
Ryan DeSantis – 8th Kyu
Sophie Reese-Wirpsa – 1st Kyu
Will Grove – 8th Kyu
Yiorgos Takoudis, ASK – 6th Kyu

Teens who tested on 1-22-2011
Alex Garcia, ASK – 7th Kyu
Daniela Pasturczak – 8th Kyu
Hannah Rachlis – 2nd Kyu
Mariana Pasturczak – 8th Kyu

Adults who tested on 1-19-2011
Annie Gregory – 2nd Kyu
Carolyn Master – 1st Kyu
Dan Keats – 8th Kyu
Danielle Wash – 4th Kyu
Dean Radcliffe – 7th Kyu
Debra Swan – 5th Kyu
Elizabeth Savoie – 6th Kyu
Halle Gold – 6th Kyu
Janet Lefley – 2nd Kyu
Joseph Lunghia, ASK – 8th Kyu
Kate Nadolski – 6th Kyu
Meg Evans – 8th Kyu
Nicolette Green – 8th Kyu
Shelby Donahue – 2nd Kyu
Sophia Newman – 5th Kyu
Tiffany Armitage – 7th Kyu
Todd Scales  – 2nd Kyu