October 2013

In This Issue

Not Just for Parents

Violence Prevention Beat Report

Dojo Couture

Member News

Not Just for Parents

Punching and Kicking and… Social Emotional Education?

By Sei Shihan Nancy Lanoue

Twice recently I've come across news reports that have reinforced my long held conviction that karate, as we teach it at Thousand Waves, helps kids in ways that go far beyond improved physical fitness. The first was a September 15th New York Times Magazine piece by Jennifer Kahn about the new focus in educational theory on social-emotional learning. The story reported on a number of studies which have shown that "non-cognitive skills – attributes like self-restraint, persistence and self-awareness – might actually be better measures of a person's life trajectory than standard academic measures."

Read Sei Shihan Nancy's take on karate and social-emotional learning.

It’s Punch & Kick-a-Thon Time!

Building Kids’ Compassion and Advocacy Skills through Fundraising

Every year in the fall we ask our kids and parents to support the not-for-profit mission of Thousand Waves by soliciting pledges and/or making donations in conjunction with participating in the Punch & Kick-a-Thon.  The event is a big group karate workout we’ll be holding on November 2 at the Drucker Center.  While Thousand Waves obviously realizes great benefits from the fundraiser in terms of helping us deliver our programming to many who would otherwise not get it, we also think it greatly benefits the kids.  As we strive toward a fundraising goal of $35,000 this year, take a minute to think about the ways the event helps to reinforce what your kids are learning on the training floor.

Our karate code of ethics includes “Love,” and the idea that “A karateka is skilled in body and kind in heart.”  What could be kinder than raising money to help others?  “Non-Quitting Spirit” is another part of the code.  As kids work toward their fundraising goals, they can persevere and rise to the challenge of meeting them.  On the day of the Punch & Kick-a-Thon they will engage with their non-quitting spirits for sure – 1000 punches and kicks is no small number!

Thanks for helping your kids get into the spirit, and parents, thanks for considering taking on the challenge yourselves!  The workout is a lot of fun and you can feel great about the fact that your participation helps us get our programming out to as many people as we can.

The Punch & Kick-a-Thon website has all the information you need about the event, and it also makes registration and fundraising easy. Thanks again for your support!

SAVE THE DATES
November 2 – Punch & Kick-a-Thon workouts
November 8 – Top Fundraisers Dinner Party for $750+ fundraisers/donors
November 9 – Carnival and Sleepover Parties for $200+ fundraisers/donors

Violence Prevention Beat Report

Keeping Kids Safe – Recent Focus on Youth Outreach

By Senpai Ryan Libel
Director of Operations

Whether it’s the independence of walking to school or the excitement of burgeoning interpersonal relationships, back-to-school time is a great time to focus on kids’ safety.  While many readers will be well aware of the usefulness of our ongoing karate program for developing the self-confidence and self-control kids need to keep themselves safe, it may be news that we also do a lot of community outreach work for kids who don’t take classes regularly at Thousand Waves.

Read more about TW’s recent and upcoming violence-prevention programs for kids.

SAVE THE DATE
November 23 – Say What You Mean: Conflict Resolution at Home, Work and Beyond. Click here for info

Thousand Waves Seeks Partner Schools

By Senpai Ryan Libel
Director of Operations

It’s hard to watch a newscast or see a local paper that doesn’t make us all aware of the need for violence prevention programs for our city’s youth.  As a major part of our not-for-profit mission, our violence prevention team is constantly looking for ways we can help make Chicago safer, and our newest program is aimed at helping Chicago Public School kids make positive, peaceful choices as they deal with situations of conflict in their lives. 

The program is called PeaceWorks: Voices over Violence.  It’s a multi-session curricular module that we hope to deliver to five groups of students in the 2013-2014 school year.  Thanks to the fundraising and generosity of the Thousand Waves community, we are making PeaceWorks available free of charge to Chicago Public Schools that can allow us to serve their 6th-9th graders during the regular school day, when experience shows us we are able to elicit good student attendance and participation in our programs.  With the help of TW partner organization Communities in Schools of Chicago and another existing connection with Uplift Community High School, we are excited to be finalizing plans with two groups already.

Our hope is that by making you aware of this great programmatic opportunity, some of you might be able to help connect us with good partner schools.  Going forward, we hope to deploy this pilot program more widely, for which we will be soliciting grant funding from appropriate sources.  If you have any ideas or connections with schools that you think would be a good fit for PeaceWorks — or for any of our violence prevention programming — please contact Kate Webster, Director of Violence Prevention Programs, at kwebster@thousandwaves.org.  Let’s keep working together to do all we can to make our city as peaceful as it can be.

SAVE THE DATE
November 23 – Say What You Mean: Conflict Resolution at Home, Work and Beyond. Click here for info.

Dojo Couture

Dojo Couture: Pre-order your Embroidered Performance Jacket!

By Senpai Yesica Barrera,
Visual Communications Manager

New for Fall/Winter!  Black performance jacket attractively embroidered on the left chest area to show your proud support of Thousand Waves Seido Karate!

$75 – Click here to pre-order yours by November 1.  Available for pickup/shipping on or around November 15. Sizing samples available at Thousand Waves. This would make a wonderful holiday gift for your favorite karateka!

Member News

Junior Black Belt Photos & Pearls from Their Essays

Click here for highlights from the junior black belt test, accompanied by pearls from the promotion essays.

Congratulations to our September 2013 Promotees

See who advanced
in rank:

Junior Color Belts
Youth & Teen Color Belts
Adult Color Belts
Junior Black Belts