September 2012

In This Issue

Features

Upcoming Events

Member News

Features

Upcoming Junior Black Belt Test Largest Ever

By Jun Shihan Nancy Lanoue
Co-Executive Director

On Saturday October 6th, 11 youth and teen members will proudly take their place in Thousand Waves history by earning their prized junior black belts in a rigorous 4-hour public test and ceremony. They will be joining an elite group of 69 other children who have come before them in reaching this milestone.

Of the thousands of kids who have passed through our doors in the 22 years we have had a children's Seido Karate program, many study only a few months; some stay a few years. Fewer than five percent have the capacity for sustained hard work, the passion for learning, the willingness to make sacrifices AND the strong support of their family needed to reach black belt.

Read more about the Junior Black Belt Path.

The Art and Craft of Teaching: Nurturing a Growth Mindset

By Jun Shihan Sarah Ludden
Co-Executive Director

Our teaching training class this month was taught by a guest instructor, Erica Eichleay, field coach with the Inner-City Teaching Corps of the Alain Locke Initiative, which supports beginning teachers who are working hard to close the achievement gap in urban schools. Erica is also the mom and wife of TW students Jake and Mark Hubert! We were honored to be taught by a professional in the field of teacher education and to learn some cutting edge teaching techniques. It was a rich and stimulating 90 minutes, and the good news is we are on the right track!

Learn more about how TW teachers keep learning how to teach.

"That's so Gay" – Learning to Speak up Against Microaggressions

By Kate Webster
Director of Violence Prevention Programs

That's so gay! You're so retarded! It's so lame! He's so ghetto! Are these comments forms of violence? At Thousand Waves we contend that these negative slights and insults are insidious forms of violence that if left unaddressed, can become dangerous. Self-defense and Violence Prevention professionals have begun using the term "microaggression" to describe brief and commonplace verbal insults, regardless of intention, that communicate hostile or derogatory opinions of someone's race, gender, sexual orientation, size, religious affiliation, or ability. Given the nature of this form of violence, how should a self-defense program address it?

Read more about dealing with microagressions.

Thousand Waves Peacemakers Talk Race in Academia

By Senpai Ryan Libel
Director of Operations

Earlier in the year a blog administered by the Chronicle of Higher Education called all African American Studies departments on the carpet, and it did so specifically by attacking the in-progress dissertation research of Thousand Waves' training member Keeanga Taylor and two of her colleagues—La TaSha Levy and Ruth Hayes, all PhD candidates at Northwestern University. The three responded with a measured rebuttal of the critique which, along with a groundswell of support from the blogosphere and some national media attention, resulted in the dismissal of the blogger. The Chronicle of Higher Education also apologized, and says it learned a lesson about blogging standards and accountability.

On Wednesday, September 5th at Thousand Waves we got together for a Meditations on Activism event to talk about what happened and to present Keeanga, La TaSha, and Ruth with a Thousand Waves Peacemaker award. The awards were presented for the courage to confront a baseless attack, the successful, peaceful resolution of the conflict, and for the scholars' research pursuits themselves, which we believe will ultimately contribute to a greater understanding of the lives and struggles of African Americans. Please join us in congratulating Keeanga, La TaSha, and Ruth for their scholarship and their courage.

Plum Blossom Society – Many Reasons to Celebrate, Many Ways to Give

By Ellen Gibbon
Board Member and Fundraising Committee member

Every year the Thousand Waves community celebrates the many personal accomplishments of its members, and many members reciprocate by marking those occasions with monetary gifts back to the organization.  Think of all of the times you’ve donated to Thousand Waves throughout the years – to celebrate Jun Shihan Sarah’s promotion via the 2012 spring scholarship campaign, to cheer on your daughter/son’s Punch & Kick-a-Thon efforts, to help your friend meet his/her Spirit Challenge goal, to honor your own promotion test, to celebrate the holiday season with an end-of-year gift.  We all give to organizations that are close to our hearts on occasions that are worth celebrating.  No gift is too small, and many small gifts add up – quickly. We are proud to honor those loyal donors who give $1,000 or more cumulatively during the calendar year through Thousand Wave’s new Plum Blossom Society.

Upcoming Events

Time for Punch & Kick-a-Thon 2012!

by Senpai Ryan Libel
Director of Operations

Fall at Thousand Waves means it’s time for our kids – and an increasing number of brave parents – to gear up for an exciting day of punching and kicking – 500 punches and 500 kicks for our Juniors, and 1000 of each for our Youth.  

Giving it our best is what challenges like Punch & Kick-a-Thon are all about, and at Thousand Waves our dedicated staff and volunteers give it our best all year long.  From our scholarship program, to Violence Prevention programming for community based organizations, to our Adapted Seido Karate program, all are possible only with the funds raised through the amazing efforts of our dedicated members. 

We invite you to come out and watch the event and some great demos by our Teen black belts and the Adapted Seido Karate crew on November 3 at the Drucker Center.  You can also participate by making a donation – this year our fundraising goal for Punch & Kick-a-Thon is $35,000 – or by volunteering in service of the event.  We hope you’ll be a part of Punch & Kick-a-Thon; it’s an inspiration to watch our kids step up to keep Thousand Waves’ mission-driven work going strong!

In addition to helping Thousand Waves’ mission, kids who raise at least $200 (or families who raise at least $250) are invited to a reward party on November 10 at the dojo. Juniors are treated to a Carnival party, featuring games & prizes, pizza and dessert. Youth are invited to a Sleepover party featuring pizza & dessert, games and movies on a big screen. The pictures accompanying this story were taken at last year's reward parties - we hope you'll be able to join us this year!

September through December

September

October

November

December

Member News

Photo Essay: Shihans' 60th Birthday Party, Beach Training, Dojo Babies,
Shifu/Sensei Kore Grate Workshop

View photographs of recent events at Thousand Waves.

Honbu Beach Training

By Michele Curley
Thousand Waves Board Member & Brown Belt

"You're going to Beach training?" "Osu, Kaicho!"

And so I went – even though before arriving in NYC to meet up with my visiting Italians I hadn’t realized that I would indeed be there for beach training—with Kaicho! Kaicho himself and Sensei Kitty ensured that color belts like me would have carpool rides to Rockaway Beach on the Atlantic Ocean side of Queens early on Sunday morning, Aug. 2. 

When we arrived, the black belts were relaxing in the sun after their sunrise meditation and vigorous water workout.  Our training started around 9am. There were probably around 150 of us divided into 4 long lines. Each line got its chance to train waist-deep in the ocean as Kaicho whistled his count and we punched, blocked, kicked and laughed while struggling to keep our footing in the warm, wonderful Atlantic waves. After basics, Kaicho had us break into around 10-12 groups, each led by a senior black belt. Sensei Maya led us in more punching and kicking and then some basic self-defenses – all in the water.  The culminating event was a tug of war competition similar to those that have been held at Gasshuku summer camps.  The winning team of each contest won a watermelon for their team.  Even though my team did not prevail, we all got watermelon at the end!  After snacking, a few of us took advantage of the amazing weather and warm water and went for a swim.

When I planned my trip to NYC, my first visit that would mainly be for tourism purposes, I never imagined I would be lucky enough to experience beach training with Kaicho and Nidaime and so many wonderful Honbu members.  I am so grateful for the warm hospitality that enabled me to join them not only for beach training and the opportunity to meet others who love Seido karate as much as me – but also for the opportunity to body surf in the Atlantic! Osu!

Promotion Pearls – Shodan Testing Group, April 2012

Ava Polzin
The strength I've observed and learned at Thousand Waves is as much about the courage to be honest and authentic as it is about the physical aspects of karate. As a teenager navigating the various landmines... that make up my days, I have not wavered in being true to myself, something I attribute to a strong foundation and personal integrity that is supported constantly by my role models, mentors and peers at the dojo. Through all of these senpai, I am learning too, the grace of even imperfect technique, as we all go about the never-ending process of polishing.

Lucia Frisancho
Nothing I did was working out. Except for karate. Through all of this, my karate remained the same. I still trained and improved... It again helped me see that I could be successful, and I could pick things up again. The third [Karateka Code of Ethics] is "A karateka maintains non-quitting spirit and gives 100% effort in all situations." We were taught that the code of ethics applies not only to our karate, but to the rest of our lives, too. I knew that as a karateka, I couldn't let all these disappointments get me down. There is a saying, "If you fall off the horse seven times, you get back on eight" I had to get back on the horse an eighth time.

Raphael Laden-Guindon
Thousand Waves has helped me see when change was necessary, when I really did have to stand up for myself, but mostly... it gave me happiness, and taught me, that for me happiness was being with people who loved me, who challenged me, who supported me, who were there for me and allowed me to be who I am. ... It's so hard to say goodbye, especially when it is something nice and familiar, even when it is clearly the right choice. Thousand Waves hasn't taught me good ways to say goodbye, it has helped me see and feel when parting was necessary. Along with saying goodbye, Thousand Waves has taught me to say hello.

Mary Wei
Every sparring class is a different experience. I have come to realize that I am actually fighting myself, each time. With every match, with every blow, my instinct, self-doubt and fear were my constant companions. Part of my responsibility for this essay is to discuss how karate has helped me grow. I wish I could say that now as I enter into preparation for my shodan test that I am cured of this fear. Instead what I've realized is that there are great days and bad days and everything in between. I am working on seeing these internal challenges as my constant companions and accepting them as such. Sparring is mostly fun and always hard. Its greatest value has been what I've learned about myself, like holding a mirror inside.

Rick Toboz
Seido karate is a deeply complex martial art, and everything included in the curriculum is there for a reason. I also want to get as much out of my training time as I can. Recently I have been working on being more present and focused, no matter what the exercise is. When confronted with something I'm not immediately interested in, I look for what it is trying to teach, or what its practical application is. I also try to look at it from a different perspective – perhaps it would be more physically challenging if I had better form, or perhaps it contains movements that could be nicely incorporated into a sparring combination. These strategies have helped me uncover some of the hidden depths of our curriculum.

Congratulations to July 2012 Promotees

Junior Color Belts

To 4th Kyu Green Belt,
Graduating to Youth Program
Nicholas Omiotek
Thomas Hollowed		 To 5th Kyu
Advanced Yellow Belt
Gabby Kramerich
Grace Monago
Michael Goodall
Shadein Rahman
Victor Dorojan		 To 7th Kyu
Advanced Blue Belt
Justin Goldberg
Kealani Mayernik		 To 8th Kyu
Blue Belt
Alexander Omiotek
Caroline Bryan
Gabrielle Van Fleet
Jackson Humphrey
James Mitchell
Joe Toney
Larke Johnson
Lydia Missey
Nathan Kendall
Sarah Matthews
Sebastian Parissi-Elsey

Youth Color Belts

To 1st Kyu
Advanced Brown Belt
Stella Ljung		 To 2nd Kyu
Brown Belt
Aaron Alberg
Charlie Mazzeo
Isaiah Meadows
Joshua Baumstark
Julian Meadows
Michael Youngblood		 To 3rd Kyu
Advanced Green Belt
Ella Bruks
Everton Levy

To 4th Kyu
Green Belt
Tommy Scholle
Zak Shearn
To 5th Kyu
Advanced Yellow Belt
Alex Boyle
Piper Evans		 To 6th Kyu
Yellow Belt
Max Ponder-Freeman
Molly Jones		 To 7th Kyu
Advanced Blue Belt
Amber Mayernik
Evan Birks		 To 8th Kyu
Blue Belt
Arnav Bhattacharjee
Frederick Hilgart
Luke Hilgart
Roma Bhattacharjee
Sage Torrisi
Zoe Jordan-Baker

Teen Color Belts

To 1st Kyu
Advanced Brown Belt
Taylor Turner		 To 4th Kyu
Green Belt
Maggie Scholle		 To 5th Kyu
Advanced Yellow Belt
Emerson Toomey
Larissa Cerda

To 7th Kyu
Advanced Blue Belt
Lucy Cummins

Adult Color Belts

To 3rd Kyu
Advanced Green Belt
Debra Swan		 To 4th Kyu
Green Belt
Autumn Fox
Ellen Gibbon		 To 5th Kyu
Advanced Yellow Belt
Dan Keats

To 6th Kyu
Yellow Belt
Jeneé Garretson
Kenji Muro
Patrick Willlingham
To 7th Kyu
Advanced Blue Belt
Fotis (Frankie) Trakos		 To 8th Kyu
Blue Belt
Bruce Catt
Cherish Keller
Christopher Lamitie