July 2012

In This Issue

Not Just For Parents

Violence Prevention

Message from Board Chair

Member News

Upcoming Events

Not Just For Parents

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.

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.  Read more about our outstanding teens here.

Violence Prevention

A Conversation with Sherialyn Byrdsong

By Senpai Ryan Libel
Director of Operations

2012 marked the second year that over 50 members of the Thousand Waves community participated in the Ricky Byrdsong Memorial Race Against Hate, put on annually by the YWCA Evanston/North Shore.  The race carries forward the legacy of Ricky Byrdsong, an inspirational figure most known for coaching the Northwestern Wildcats Basketball team for many years, and for his book, Coaching Your Kids in the Game of Life.  His tragic death at the hands of white supremacists during a 1999 killing spree was a profound loss.  During both Races in which I’ve participated, it was extremely inspirational for me personally to hear Sherialyn Byrdsong, Ricky’s wife, address the Race participants.  In thinking about a way to highlight Thousand Waves’ participation in this great event, I hatched a plan to interview Sherialyn, who now lives in Atlanta. The following is from a telephone conversation she graciously agreed to have with me on 7/10/2012.  

A Teaser – The Things They Carried

By Senpai Ryan Libel
Director of Operations

War stories tend to disgust me.  Lionizing perpetrators of death and destruction for the benefit of those who sat it out is not something I believe we need any more of; we have been there, read it, bought it, filmed it, and gone back for more ad nauseum.  I also think war stories feed our problematic concept of the hero-warrior, an everyman at work in a simplistic black and white world, a world where “right” and “wrong” are clear, where individuals seem to have choices to make about their roles, and where it’s always possible to do the right thing.  When I was an English major, of course I tossed around the question of whether it’s even possible to write an anti-war war story, with Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five being a main data point.  I still haven’t decided on an answer to that question, but if Vonnegut’s book is one possible answer, I’ve now read another – Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried.  

In the book, O’Brien graphically depicts many of the horrors of the Vietnam War, from digging through a mucky latrine for parts of a fallen comrade to all the psychological horrors that such unimaginable scenes impart to their players.  If the book is about the war and one character’s experience of coming (or not) to terms with his part in it, it’s also about the act of storytelling and its inherent complexities; it’s about the fact that “you can’t even tell a true war story,” while it tries to do exactly that.  The novel wrestles with truth in a self-aware way that is only possible in our post-post-modern world, a world that is perhaps slowly becoming incapable of rubber-stamping soldiers as heroes.

As our country and the broader world remain mired in armed conflicts and notions of truth in political discourse remain ever-elusive, I hope you’ll consider reading The Things They Carried, around which  Sensei Martha Thompson, Senpai Pamela Robert, Tony Laden, and I are preparing a book discussion as a Thousand Waves Meditations on Activism program scheduled for the night of October 3 (click here for flyer).  Pick up a copy of the book here at Thousand Waves, your favorite bookstore, or download it to your Kindle, and look for more information in the weeks to come.  We see great potential for a robust, insightful discussion about the book through the lens of our nonviolent practice of a martial art - as a start, consider that karate means “empty hand,” but what things do we carry?

Message from Board Chair

Spirit Challenge – A Note of Gratitude

By Annie Gregory
Chair, Thousand Waves Board of Directors

On behalf of the Thousand Waves Board of Directors, I would like to thank those of you who raised funds in the 2012 Spirit Challenge. Thanks to you we raised $74,000, well over our $70,000 goal!

A total of 131 of you participated and we had an incredible 14 Sogo champions this year, the most ever! In addition, 32 of you participated in 5 or more events. Over the course of the week, I was inspired not only by your performances, endurance, and participation in the exciting events so thoughtfully put on by our directors, staff, and volunteers, but by the way the community came together in the end to surpass our fundraising goal.

I would particularly like to commend the teen members for their strong involvement in Spirit Challenge this year. Largely due to the leadership efforts of Saul Friedman and Raphaël Laden-Guidon, and the teen reward party they coordinated, 24 out of 57 teens registered, 19 raised $200 or more, and 7 raised $1,000. Way to go!

As a nonprofit organization, these funds are so critical to our mission, allowing us to provide scholarship assistance, run the ASK program, and conduct violence prevention programs for other nonprofits. Again, thank you all so much for your participation. I continue to be inspired by your efforts and humbled by the generosity of the Thousand Waves community.

Member News

Spirit Challenge Survivor Stories

Collected and Edited by Jun Shihan Nancy Lanoue
Co-Executive Director

I recently asked several Spirit Challenge 2012 participants to share their reflections with Kiai! readers. Be forewarned – after reading these accounts, you just may find yourself signing up for ALL the challenges next year!

Karate Boot Camp
By Chris Lamitie, then Adv. White Belt, now Blue Belt

It was an advertisement for Spirit Challenge that drew my interest and sparked the idea to join Thousand Waves.  I participated in the Karate Boot Camp and found it to be one of the most difficult and rewarding athletic events in my life.  I have ridden a cycling "century," 100 miles around Tucson Arizona in a single day.  I have run half marathons and the Chicago Marathon as well. The Karate Boot camp left me as empty and yet raised me up as high as those other events.  I was taken to my limits and asked to dig deeper to find a little more, and I found it.  The following day I was exhausted and sore, but happy because I knew I had risen to the challenge and passed it. Through it all I earned the first of many future blisters working out and am proud to have taken part.

Read more inspiring accounts here.

Promotion Pearls – Nidan and Sandan testing group, June, 2012

I like the person I am in the dojo better than the person I am just about anywhere else in the world.  I’m more present, I more readily face my fears, I try to give 100% effort, I’m more compassionate with myself and others, and I am more open to the individual standing across from me.  I’m trying to bring who I am in the doojo into every part of my life, and I attribute much of my current state of mind to that effort.
– Senpai Pat Kane, Sandan

My training has been one big experience of zanshin.  I love the beauty of our effort, I love that we train hard, I especially love that we train together.  The sum of all our energies is what has enriched my life so much, and it is this lingering energy that I hope to carry out into the world.
– Senpai Kim Osgood, Sandan

One focus that I have had for this phase of my life is becoming more open and compassionate.  I think that teaching encourages this naturally, for I have many opportunities to meet people of different backgrounds and abilities.  My goal is to make a genuine connection with each person; as a result, my respect for the diversity of life experience grows each year.
– Senpai Joy Williamson, Sandan

The first time I learned that keeping my dojo life and my “real” life separate was not only impossible but a really bad idea was when I was diagnosed with asthma.
– Senpai Ben Samuels-Kalow, Nidan

I had gotten so used to letting my martial art take a backseat to all the emotional drama of this family issue and my sense of loss.  And guess what I’m finding out? It’s my life at the dojo that makes the rest of my life manageable!
– Senpai Jim Winfrey, Sandan

Congratulations to Recent Promotees

Senior Black Belts

Sandan – 3rd Degree Black Belt
Pat Kane
Jim Winfrey
Joy Williamson
Kim Osgood

Nidan – 2nd Degree Black Belt
Ryan Libel
Ben Samuels-Kalow

Junior Black Belts

Junior Nidan
TJ Nakano
Sophia Trimarco

Junior Shodan
Sophie Ljung
Kole Deighan
Sophie Reese-Wirpsa
Michael Marling
Adam Flam

Junior Color Belts
Aleks Milic – 7th Kyu
Alex Savkovic –6th Kyu
Andres Pesch – 8th Kyu
Brock Richards – 4th Kyu
Caroline Hart – 7th Kyu
Daisy Coleman – 5th Kyu
Dylan Wang – 6th Kyu
Ella Majeski – 6th Kyu
Ethan Balakumar – 4th Kyu
Francesca Sadovi – 7th Kyu
Jack Sullivan – 8th Kyu
John Henry Brown – 8th Kyu
Josie Martorana – 5th Kyu
Julian Lopez  – 7th Kyu
Kumiko Muro – 6th Kyu
Leneke (Lenny) Knapp – 8th Kyu
Lili Sukenic – 8th Kyu
Lillian Baumstark – 6th Kyu
Liliana Schommer – 6th Kyu
Massimo Franco – 7th Kyu
Michael Fogarty – 6th Kyu
Nadia Becker – 7th Kyu
Nate Savoie – 5th Kyu
Noah Ross – 4th Kyu
Owen Balakumar – 4th Kyu
Owen Brown – 8th Kyu
Sammy McDermott – 8th Kyu
Sevilla Cartagena – 5th Kyu
Stuart Nicholas – 5th Kyu
Willa Marie O'Donnell – 5 Kyu
William Barney – 5 Kyu
Zachary Bezirgan – 4th Kyu

Youth Color Belts
Aiden Grant – 2nd Kyu
Alex McBride – 7th Kyu
Anna Byrne – 4th Kyu
Anna Questel – 2nd Kyu
Ben McBride – 7th Kyu
Bryce Wolf – 2nd Kyu
Caroline Bedell – 8th Kyu
Charles Laszuk – 2nd Kyu
Declan Toomey – 6th Kyu
Elisa Fogarty – 6th Kyu
Elle Aronson – 8th Kyu
Gabrielle Wolf – 2nd Kyu
Isabella Cartagena – 3rd Kyu
Jake Hubert – 6th Kyu
Jean Jankowski – Advanced Orange Belt (ASK)
Johnny Hollowed – 1st Kyu
Julian O`Hern – 8th Kyu
Kamille Hamilton – 4th Kyu
Kimo Smith – 5th Kyu
Konstantin Schillhorn – 7th Kyu
Lavinia Schillhorn – 7th Kyu
Layne Norris – 8th Kyu
Leigh Lindgren – 7th Kyu
Lillian McCloskey – 7th Kyu
Molly Jones – 7th Kyu
Sara Causevic – 7th Kyu
Sarah Day – 4th Kyu
Shael Murthy – 5th Kyu
Takato Muro – 6th Kyu
Zion Pope – 8th Kyu

Teen Color Belts
Dharma Seda Gonzalez – 4th Kyu
Katherine (KJ) Hogenson – 1st Kyu
Olivia Perris – 5th Kyu
Payton Shearn – 3rd Kyu

Adult Color Belts
April Ljung – 6th Kyu
Elyssa Ronda – 8th Kyu
Erin Epperson – 4th Kyu
Farhana Becker – 7th Kyu
Halle Gold – 3rd Kyu
Henziel Jusino – 5th Kyu
Jane Kollmer – 7th Kyu
Kenji Muro – 7th Kyu
Maribel Melendez – 5th Kyu (ASK)
Michele Curley – 2nd Kyu
Milton Graham – 8th Kyu
Nikki Green – 3rd Kyu
Pat Shaw – 8th Kyu
Patrick Coicou – 4th Kyu
Sandy Markiewicz – 6th Kyu

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