February 2012

In This Issue

Not Just For Parents

Health & Wellness

Violence Prevention

Upcoming Events

Member News

Community Outreach

Not Just For Parents

First Children's Self-Defense Day a Success

By Jun Shihan Nancy Lanoue
Co-Executive Director

The kids' uniforms weren't damp with sweat but their minds worked overtime, pondering their rights and responsibilities with others, and learning how the big ideas we were discussing could apply to their own young lives. 70 kids age five to 12, and over 10 parents participated in TW's recent Self-Defense Day on February 15th, making the kick-off event a big success.

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The aim of this special programming is to educate TW members about the nature of everyday conflict and serious violence that children experience, and provide tools to help kids protect themselves and intervene safely to help others who are targeted. Five Self-Defense Days will be offered in 2012 in Junior and Youth classes. Parents are invited and encouraged to participate. Each class will include age-appropriate discussion and practice of verbal and physical skills from our acclaimed Five Fingers of Self-Defense curriculum.

Read more about the first workshop.

Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

Are you a teen? Are you a parent of a teen? Are you concerned that one in three teens experiences abuse in a dating relationship, and that only a third of those who do ever tell anyone about it? If so, your concern is especially relevant this month.

photoThree years ago, Congress declared February Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. At Thousand Waves, we concur that more attention needs to be directed towards solving this widespread problem. For our part, we teach tools for ending unhealthy intimate relationships and building respectful, healthy ones in all our Violence Prevention and Self-Defense Programs. We frame it around a dating person's rights and responsibilities, and make sure our students are aware of the "red flags" of abuse. But perhaps you, your daughter, or your son have not yet had a chance to attend our programs.

Or perhaps you have, but now you want to learn more about teen dating violence. One good website to educate yourself and the young women and men in your lives is the National Resource Center for Teen Dating Violence Awareness. It covers a wide range of topics, such as how to recognize dating abuse, and special subjects for LGBTQ populations and racial minorities.

Of course, Thousand Waves is also a great resource and we are offering a 12-hour Self-Defense Course for teen & adult women this spring. The Course runs four consecutive Tuesdays beginning April 10. Cost is $140, $125 if you register by 3/20/12. Scholarship assistance is available and so are gift certificates. Thank you for raising your own and others' teen dating violence awareness!

Health & Wellness

Food, Wellness, and Stress – The Intimate Connections

By Kate Webster
Manager of Violence Prevention Programs

photoI used to work in an office where one of my colleagues created a dehydrated food museum of discarded and dried up food items people found. One day she had us guess how old a Twinkie was (a highly processed sponge pastry with a cream filling), and, while we all said it was only a few weeks old, it was in fact 10 years old and hadn't aged or molded at all. Scary for sure. This experience reminded me of Michael Pollen's book on Food Rules where he offers sensible nutritional tips to eat real food with no long list of unpronounceable ingredients—such as those found in the Twinkie. And, while many of us are well aware of the unhealthy side effects of eating highly processed foods how much do we really know about how what we eat connects with our overall wellness to impact our daily levels of stress?

Read more here.

Violence Prevention

Thousand Waves in RedEye

photoThe RedEye, a Chicago commuter newspaper, recently featured Thousand Waves and our violence prevention and self-defense perspective in their article titled "The Mugging Dilemma." The article reported on debates about whether one should fight or flee in the face of a violent confrontation. In our interview, Kate Webster, our Director of Violence Prevention Programs, highlights how our programs empower individuals with a range of prevention and self-defense tools to allow them to make the decision for themselves, starting with the most peaceful options available.

Enjoy seeing our and others' perspectives along with great photos of Kate and Ryan Libel, our Director of Operations.

Upcoming Events

February

March

April

Member News

Profile of a Thousand Waves Leader: Senpai Katherine Nichols

photoBy Jun Shihan Nancy Lanoue
Co-Executive Director

Many Kiai! readers know Senpai Katherine from training alongside her or watching her loving and skillful teaching of their kids in the Junior and Youth Seido programs. To celebrate her upcoming promotion to 4th degree black belt (Sensei rank), I asked her to share her thoughts with our community about her evolution as a martial artist and teacher.

I hope you enjoy her thoughtful responses to my questions, and are inspired to follow in her path of dedicated and disciplined training.

Recent Rank Promotions

photoJuniors
Aidan Sadovi – 6th Kyu
Aiden Choslovsky – 6th Kyu
Alex Kramerich – 6th Kyu
Alex Savkovic – 8th Kyu
Anan Bauman – 6th Kyu
Aryan Sharda – 8th Kyu
Brock Richards – 5th Kyu
Caroline Hart – 8th Kyu
Dylan Wang – 8th Kyu
Ella Bruks – 4th Kyu
Ella Majeski – 7th Kyu
Ethan Balakumar – 5th Kyu
Ethan Balson – 8th Kyu
Francesca Sadovi – 8th Kyu
Jack Boyle – 6th Kyu
Joey Caruso – 7th Kyu
Jonah Sarno – 8th Kyu
Julian Lopez – 8th Kyu
Justin Goldberg – 8th Kyu
Kumiko Muro – 7th Kyu
Liliana Schommer – 8th Kyu
Lukas Maksin – 7th Kyu
Massimo Franco – 8th Kyu
Max Ponder-Freeman – 8th Kyu
Mia Lindgren – 8th Kyu
Michael Goodall – 7th Kyu
Nicholas Omiotek – 5th Kyu
Noah Ross – 5th Kyu
Owen Balakumar – 5th Kyu
Shadein Rahman – 7th Kyu
Stanley Xiheng Zhu – 8th Kyu
Sui Yee Tam – 5th Kyu
Victor Dorojan – 6th Kyu
Zachary Bezirgan – 5th Kyu

photoYouth
Anjali Chandel – 7th Kyu
Connor Armstrong – 8th Kyu
Dharma Seda Gonzalez – 5th Kyu
Dyson Smith – 6th Kyu
Franklin Brady – 6th Kyu
George McCoy – 3rd Kyu
Jack Savoie – 3rd Kyu
Jaxon Cooper – 6th Kyu
Joshua Arias – 3rd Kyu
Leigh Lindgren – 8th Kyu
Liam Dahlborn – 4th Kyu
Michael Youngblood – 3rd Kyu
Nicole Davis – 7th Kyu
Roi Norber – 1st Kyu
Shael Murthy – 6th Kyu
Stella Ljung – 2nd Kyu
Takato Muro – 7th Kyu

Teens
photoDaniela Pasturczak – 6th Kyu
Sam Daly – 3rd Kyu

Adults
Annie Gregory – 1st Kyu
Autumn Fox – 5th Kyu
Daphne Scott – 6th Kyu
Eric Castrejon – 7th Kyu
Farhana Becker – 8th Kyu
Henziel Jusino – 6th Kyu
Jeffrey Gore – 2nd Kyu
Jene? Garretson – 7th Kyu
Michael Gameng – 8th Kyu
Sandy Markiewicz – 7th Kyu
Shelby Donahue – 1st Kyu
Todd Scales – 1st Kyu

Community Outreach

ASK Program Receives First Grant of 2012

Thousand Waves' Adapted Seido Karate Program received a $7,500 grant from the Colonel Stanley R. McNeil Foundation, one of Bank of America's managed philanthropic funds. The Foundation has varied philanthropic interests, one of which is supporting physical education activities for under-resourced children and for youth with disabilities. Our ASK Program serves youth with disabilities helping them build physical fitness, set verbal boundaries, de-escalate situations of conflict, develop self-worth, make healthy choices, and connect with adult and peer allies – all tools which decrease their risk of being victimized by abuse or assault.

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The Thousand Waves community warmly thanks the Colonel Stanley R. McNeil Foundation for their support.

New Partners! Community Partner Spotlight

Community Partners are local businesses that share Thousand Waves' commitment to creating a more peaceful and healthy world. In exchange for their financial support, Community Partners gain exposure among Thousand Waves' large community of supporters. Thousand Waves is pleased to welcome its latest Community Partners. Readers, please support them when you're in the market for services they provide.

logoAthletiCo provides physical therapy, occupational therapy, work rehabilitation, and fitness services throughout Illinois, Milwaukee, and Northwest Indiana. Specializing in individualized care, AthletiCo provides a wide range of rehabilitation, fitness, and outreach services. Below are the three locations closest to Thousand Waves.

1644 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-252-2300
1323 W. Diversey Pkwy., 773-549-2520
4080 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-545-1153
www.athletico.comlogo

IMPACT Chicago provides women and girls with opportunities to learn and practice violence prevention, assessment, verbal boundary setting, and physical self-defense skills in simulated scenarios with a padded attacker. IMPACT offers a variety of programs year round, including one at Thousand Waves on April 29th.

4770 N. Lincoln Ave. #6, 773-561-9000
www.impactchicago.org

logoNative Foods is a vegan restaurantdesigned to meet the needs of today's discriminating, health-conscious diners looking for great-tasting food for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.

Lakeview - 1023 W. Belmont Ave., 773-549-4904
The Loop - 218 S. Clark St., 312-332-6332
Wicker Park - 1484 North Milwaukee Ave., 773-489-8480
www.nativefoods.com