February 2014

In This Issue

Taking the Wide View

Action Items

Not Just for Parents

Violence Prevention Field Notes

Events of Note

Taking the Wide View

State of the Organization


Strong spirit heats up the dojo during Kids' Kagami Biraki
in January, 2014.
by Senpai Ryan Libel
Director of Operations and 2nd Degree Black Belt

Since Thousand Waves incorporated as a not-for-profit in 2002, we have taken the New Year’s martial arts tradition of Kagami Biraki to hold a membership meeting to report out to our training members on the work, successes, and challenges of our organization.  We thought we would use this, our first Kiai! issue of the year, to also report out to our many dedicated supporters who are not training members.  We hope this State of the Organization report allows you to see your support in action.

Read Thousand Waves’ State of the Organization report here.

The 2013 Plum Blossom Society

Thousand Waves sincerely thanks all of our donors for making 2013 a tremendous success.  The Thousand Waves Plum Blossom Society is one way we thank donors whose cumulative annual contributions equal $1,000 or more. 

Click here for the 2013 listing – an incredible 41 households!

Thousand Waves Board: Who are they? What do they do?

A Closer Look at the Thousand Waves Board of Directors

By Jane Kollmer
Green Belt and New TW Board Member

Many of you are familiar with our co-executive directors, Sei Shihan Nancy Lanoue and Jun Shihan Sarah Ludden, but did you know that Thousand Waves is governed by a board of directors?


The Thousand Waves board of directors takes a photo break during their monthly meeting. Front, left to right: Pamela Robert, Todd Scales, Nancy Lanoue (co-executive director), Julie Palles, Shelley Fried (treasurer), Annie Gregory (chair), Ellen Gibbon, Michele Curley, Jane Kollmer, Ryan Libel (director of operations), Arturo Jauregui, Matt Birnholz (secretary). Back: Deirdra Baumstark, Sarah Ludden (co-executive director), Hope Robinson, Mary Wei, Lauren Schwendimann, Mike Mazzeo. Not pictured: Edward Flam.

This group of 16 people plays a vital role in ensuring that Thousand Waves, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, meets continued success by carrying out short- and long-term planning. Under the leadership of its chair, Annie Gregory, the board meets monthly along with the executive directors and director of operations, Ryan Libel, to review financial and business reports, as well as guide the strategy aligned with Thousand Waves’ vision. Many of the individuals serving terms on the board are students or parents of students, and they become involved with the board as a way to give back to the community that has enriched their lives. New board members are nominated and elected by the board to serve a term of three years.

Read on to learn more about TW’s board of directors.

Action Items

PeaceWorks Planning Progress Report: Sign Up Now!

By Sei Shihan Nancy Lanoue
Executive Director and 6th Degree Black Belt

I wish so much I could tell you the names of the amazing teachers we have selected to teach at the 2014 PeaceWorks Conference, but unfortunately I can’t until March 1st when the NWMAF board will give final approval to the program we are proposing and the contracts with the trainers are signed. In the meantime though, let me entice you with these tidbits.

Read on for the details, then sign up here.

The Early Bird Discounted Registration period will end on March 15th!

Invitation to Texas: Sun Dragon Anniversary Celebration

Thousand Waves’ sister school in Austin, Texas invites us all to celebrate their 25th anniversary with a training weekend March 28-30, 2014. They’ll have classes to choose from in styles ranging from our own Seido Karate to Kajukenbo, Judo, and Qigong taught by master instructors from all over the country, including Sei Shihan Nancy and Jun Shihan Sarah. This training weekend is open to all genders and ages 6 and up. Whether you are a white belt or have been training for decades, you’ll have a great time! There will be classes for a variety of ages and experience levels. And Sun Dragon students would love to host you if you would like to stay with an old friend, or make a new one. For details, go to sundragon.org.

Don't Miss Camp Kokoro!


Campers at Camp Kokoro 2013 with one of the counselors, Senpai Adam (rear).

There are still openings in our popular summer day camp – Camp Kokoro 2014!  The children in your world will love spending two weeks at Thousand Waves with our tremendous crew of black belt instructors and junior black belt counselors.  Camp includes lots of karate, daily excursions to the beach and a field trip to Mystic Waters Water Park, in addition to lots of fun, games, and time to develop friendships. Session 1 runs June 30 – July 11.  Session 2 runs July 21 – August 1.  

For more information check out this brochure.

Not Just for Parents

Bridging the Gap: The TW Teen Program


Senpai Ana
by Senpai Ana Gore
Junior 1st Degree Black Belt

Many martial arts schools have a robust children’s program, and also possibly a large contingent of adult students. But as the teen years approach, it is common for kids’ interests to shift away from karate just at the age when they could most benefit from it, leaving an age gap in the dojo student body. At Thousand Waves, the Teen program gives kids a way to bridge the gap between the Youth program and the Adult program. Read on as one of our teens gives her perspective on the Thousand Waves Teen program.

We all know that when you reach about 13 your life becomes much busier. You rush around from place to place trying to get everything done. Some teens go directly from one after-school activity to another. One of my afternoons often consists of the following schedule: 

3:30-4:45  Book club
4:50-5:25  Homework, part 1
5:45-6:45  Karate
6:50-7:15  Homework, part 2
7:15-8:00  Dinner

Many of my friends have similar schedules, often with even more activities. This is also difficult when you are a karateka (as many of you may know).  Karate requires a regular training schedule, strict discipline, and training both in and out of the dojo because more than anything else, it’s a way of life. Some people even end up quitting because they just don’t have the time. Although sad, it is often reasonable considering how busy their schedules have become. These issues are mainly due to homework, and I’ve never had this much homework until going to middle school. And we all know, it’s only going to get worse...


Teens performed in Art With Heart, during Spirit Challenge in June, 2013.

Read on...

Focus on: Teaching Assistants


Senpai Tabitha helps a student with
his basic self-defenses.
By Tabitha Balakumar
Brown Belt

There are many working parts to a school: curriculum, facilities, equipment, location, etc. And then there are the teachers. Teachers make up the heart and soul of a school. A school can have the best location and top-of-the-line facilities and equipment, but, without a great teacher to bring it all together, all of those material things are worthless. Likewise, a school can have a decent location and so-so equipment, and a great teacher can bring those average things together to create something fabulous.

I think everyone who has trained at Thousand Waves can agree that we have amazing teachers. We also have teacher assistants, people who donate their time and efforts to assist the teachers in the kids’ classes. With the weather being so cold, more kids are showing up to train each afternoon because they can’t go outside to play. Sometimes there are so many students that an assistant is necessary.

Read more about the teaching assistants.

Violence Prevention Field Notes

Valentine's Day at Whitney Young

By Senpai Ryan Libel
Director of Operations and 2nd Degree Black Belt

So much of what we read focuses on the negative aspects of life in the Chicago Public Schools.  But most teachers I know, including our TW Violence Prevention team, generally see CPS kids as bright, engaged, and hopeful in an environment where resources are less abundant than good intentions.  On Valentine’s Day, our team was proud to head out to Whitney Young Magnet in University Village to serve two consecutive big groups of seniors with our Five Fingers of Self-Defense program as part of their “Focus on Me” day.  During the Q&A, one young man demonstrated that he heard our message about what’s worth fighting for loud and clear, “For me, I think, if someone wants to steal my money, I don’t think that’s worth getting into a fight over.”  We too, generally think that in instances of property crime, it’s often safest to treat it as an unpleasant business negotiation, privileging safety over property, and certainly over ego, a big factor that can cause problematic situations to escalate.  We knew our program had resonated with the students when one of them came up at the end and gave us all Valentines – adorable little to/from heart-type things with a homemade cookie attached.  Thousand Waves is proud to be a strong partner to Chicago Public Schools!

Events of Note

Meditation, Meditation, and More Meditation!


Lively group discussions, such as occurred during December 2013's program, are common at the Monthly Meditation Programs.

We throw the word “meditation” around a lot at Thousand Waves.  Occasionally, some confusion emerges, and we totally understand why.  So let’s disambiguate:

Weekly Meditation Programs – every Wednesday night at 7:45 we lead a walking/seated meditation session that wraps up by 8:30.  Everyone is welcome, whether you train with us or not.  Beginner meditators are especially welcome!

Monthly Meditation Programs – the first Wednesday night of every month, from 7:45-9:00, we hold our regular meditation session followed by a special discussion, facilitated by a rotating cast of Thousand Waves senior students.  Our next program – on Wed, March 5 – will be about the contradictions inherent in practicing a martial art for peacemaking, and it will be facilitated by Senpai Amy Jones.  Please click here for a flyer that details our upcoming 2014 programs; each is guided by a pair of words that, on the surface, might seem contradictory. Come join the conversation!  Monthly meditation programs are free and open to the public, so bring a friend!

Meditations on Activism – a periodic series that focuses on ways our practice and the values we try to embody at Thousand Waves can be enacted in the broader world.  Conversations range from book discussions, to issues-based discussions, to film screenings.  This year we have two planned programs on the topic of being Allies, facilitated by Martha Thompson, Pamela Robert, Nancy Lanoue and Ryan Libel. The first is March 1 from 4-5:30.  Please click here for a flyer. All programs are free and open to the public; they are a great way to introduce Thousand Waves to non-members.

You Feel So Mortal – Author Reading/Talk with Peggy Shinner


Peggy Shinner, author of
You Feel So Mortal.

Thousand Waves is proud to be hosting a book release/reading/party for Chicago-based writer and Thousand Waves alum Peggy Shinner on Saturday, April 12 from 4:00-5:30 pm. 

Feet, bras, autopsies, hair. You Feel So Mortal is a collection of essays about the body. It looks at the author’s own body, female and Jewish; her parents, the bodies she came from; the collective body, with all the social and political forces it brings to bear. 

Author Christine Sneed offers praise: “You Feel So Mortal is a book I found nearly impossible to put down, and when I was forced to do so, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Shinner’s warm and funny voice, along with her immense, enquiring, humane intelligence make the essays in this book – which concern identity, mortality, romantic and filial love, gender – a surpassing intellectual gem that entertains and engages readers with every single word. I adored this book.”

ASK Graduate Featured on Television

Maribel Melendez, a graduate of our Adapted Seido Karate program, continues to volunteer in the ASK program regularly.  Earlier this month, Living Healthy Chicago profiled Maribel. Check out what she has to say about her active lifestyle!

Pearls from Promotion Essays

By Color Belts Who Advanced in Rank on February 1, 2014
with photos taken during the oral portion of their test.

Advanced Brown Belt

Arturo Jauregui
Most conflicts can be resolved without violence. Conflict usually arises from misunderstandings between individuals. I have been on both ends of mistakes in my sparring encounters at the dojo. … Each time a mistake caused by unnecessary physical force has occurred I have found a way to engage in dialog with my fellow karateka involved in the particular incident. Together we discuss the incident, acknowledge our mistake, and emphasize no harm was intended. It is the ensuing mutual respect between my counterpart and I that allows us to move forward without any reservations.

Brown Belts

The brown belt essay assignment included reading the autobiography of Gichin Funakoshi Sensei and finding its reflections in our Seido karate practice.

Read excerpts from yellow through brown belt essays here.

Congratulations to January & February 2014 Promotees

See who advanced
in rank:

Junior Color Belts
Youth & Teen Color Belts
Adult Color Belts