October 2014

In This Issue

Not Just for Parents

Making Waves

Fitness Features

Funding Features

Promotions

Not Just for Parents

It’s Punch & Kick-a-Thon Time!


Last year, some parents did 1,000 kicks and punches
right alongside their kids.
By Senpai Jordan Garcia
3rd Degree Black Belt and Staff Instructor

It’s that time of year when the leaves are falling, the air is crisp and we know that summer is over. While autumn symbolizes many things to many people, here at Thousand Waves it means it’s Punch & Kick-a-Thon time!

Every year at this time, we ask our kids and their parents to help us foster our non-profit mission by challenging themselves and participating in our annual kids' fundraising event, Punch & Kick-a-thon. The money raised allows Thousand Waves to provide our pro­gramming to people and organizations who would not otherwise receive it. This event allows our young karate students to get a chance to show their “non-quitting spirit” both in and out of training.

The Punch & Kick-a-Thon will be held on Saturday, November 15 at the Drucker Center. Little Kicks will be doing 200 kicks and 200 punches, Juniors will be doing 500 kicks and 500 punches, and Youth will be doing 1,000 kicks and 1,000 punches! Parents, how about signing up to do all those punches and kicks with your kids?

While the physical challenge is an obvious feat of the “non-quitting spirit” part of our karate code of ethics, it is what happens before the event that might be a new challenge to many. With a total fundraising goal of $35,000 for this year’s Punch & Kick-a-thon, the kids will need to muster up their “non-quitting spirit” and persevere to reach their fundraising goals.

What could be more rewarding than setting goals and reaching them for a good cause?

Click here to register for Punch & Kick-a-Thon.

Thoughts on Camp Kokoro 2014

By Jun Shihan Sarah Ludden
6th Degree Black Belt and TW Co-Executive Director

Camp Kokoro 2014  – another wonderful Thousand Waves summer camp!  I look forward each year to Camp Kokoro, summer days spent with our students both inside and outside the dojo, having a great time, and expanding our understanding of what it means to be a multi-generational martial arts community.  I’ve enjoyed moving into “grandmother” status – the next generation is, truthfully, running the show. 


Camp Kokoro campers and staff celebrate after the camp tournament.

Senpai Jordan Garcia, third degree black belt, 24 years old, a student of mine since she was a small child, now works with me to design the programming, supervise the staff, oversee karate instruction and afternoon play time, and keep the peace on the bus each afternoon.  Working with her are high school and college-age black belts, also students of mine since they were young children.  I, of course, keep an eye on everything and everyone, arrange for bus transportation, reserve our days at Mystic Waters Water Park, buy endless quantities of fruit and crackers, and pay the bills, etc., etc. But the day to day camp is brought to you by this next generation of dedicated, loving, energetic and talented young people.

Read on…

Making Waves

Thousand Waves Completes Strategic Plan:
A Letter from TW Board Chair, Annie Gregory

By Senpai Annie Gregory
1st Degree Black Belt and TW Board Chair

 
Dear Friends of Thousand Waves,

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I’m pleased to announce that we have approved a Strategic Plan that will take the organization through 2016.

Read more about the Strategic Plan, including a summary.

Violence Prevention Program Update

By Senpai Amy Jones
2nd Degree Black Belt and Violence Prevention & Self-Defense Program Manager

Many Kiai! readers know by now that I’m the incoming Program Manager for Violence Prevention and Self-Defense here at Thousand Waves.   I’ve been training at Thousand Waves for a little over a year, having landed from Austin in the summer of 2013.  I started training at Sun Dragon (Thousand Waves’ sister school) in 2001, and earned my 2nd degree black belt in Seido Karate in 2010. I started teaching self-defense in 2005.  In 2008, I decided to find a way to make violence prevention my life’s work. 

Needless to say, I’m ecstatic to be in this position at Thousand Waves, and I’m excited to report what we’ve been up to!

Thousand Waves Hires Two Full-Time Employees

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


Senpai Jordan Garcia
As a strong not-for-profit organization, Thousand Waves operates under the governance of our volunteer board of directors and the leadership of senior staff.  Over the past year, we’ve been doing a lot of strategic thinking about our mission and service delivery, and we’ve also had some shifts in staffing that left us with some gaps in key program areas, including our Children’s Programs and our Violence Prevention/Self-Defense Program.

Our children’s karate program continues to be our largest program, and cultivating quality instructors and leaders in the program who can take us far into the future is an ongoing need for our organization.  In order to address this need, we are pleased to have brought Senpai Jordan Garcia up to full-time status.  Senpai Jordan coordinates our Little Kicks program, and she’s also been instrumental in developing and running new programs for us, including our No-School Day Camps as well as our Parents’ Nights Off.  She’s also the primary administrator for Camp Kokoro, our popular summer day camp.  In addition to being fun opportunities to further their karate training, these auxiliary programs serve an important community-building function for our kids.  Thanks to Senpai Jordan for her continued strong commitment to Thousand Waves.


Senpai Amy Jones
I’m also pleased to report that Senpai Amy Jones has joined Thousand Waves as our full time Manager of Violence Prevention and Self-Defense Programs.  She has written a self-introduction along with a programming update for this issue of Kiai!, so I won’t duplicate that information here.   We are very excited to be working with Amy. You'll be hearing a lot more from her in the coming months and years, as we lay out a vision for our Violence Prevention program that builds on our strong record of service delivery in the community. We're thrilled that she's on board. 

Please join me in thanking Senpai Jordan and Senpai Amy for their dedication to Thousand Waves.  And, as always, we remain eminently grateful for your continued financial support of our not-for-profit mission. Your contributions are the only way we can sustain robust service delivery in the realm of community Violence Prevention.  They’re also a big part of what makes our children’s programming unique.  As regular Kiai! readers know, our scholarship program distributes over $30,000 annually in order to keep all of our programs accessible to all.  Thank you.

Team TW Travels to New York for Seido Anniversary Tournament

Every year Seido Honbu (headquarters) hosts a tournament in New York City to celebrate the anniversary of Seido Karate and to raise money for local charities. This year’s tournament, on October 18, marks Seido’s 38th anniversary. It is an occasion for Seido karate students from all over the world to share their best martial art and spend time with each other, always a priority for Kaicho (the founder of Seido). This year’s Thousand Waves team includes Jun Shihan Sarah, Sensei Wai, and Senpais Gigi, Annie, Lauren and Michele. They plan to connect with Thousand Waves alumni who now live in New York, including Senpais Danielle, Ben, Julian and Ari. Please join us in sending best wishes and congratulations to all the competitors!

Fitness Features

Are You Up to the Challenge?

By Senpai Barry Moltz
1st Degree Black Belt

One of the many things that I have always loved about Thousand Waves is that Sei Shihan Nancy and Jun Shihan Sarah get me to do things I never thought were physically or mentally possible. They have helped me meet challenges I did not believe I could achieve. These included earning my black belt, breaking boards, jumping over stacked mats and sparring with someone over six feet tall.


Tabitha and Senpai Barry celebrate completion of the Fit in50 Challenge.

Being a problem solver, I have simultaneously loved and feared challenges all my life. I am excited about every new one, but also fear failing miserably at it. On the surface, most big challenges seem overwhelming. How could I ever get my black belt? How could I write a 250-page book? How could I run a marathon? Raise a family? I learned to meet all these challenges by breaking them down into very small steps so they don’t seem so overwhelming. To get my black belt, I focused on each class. For the books I wrote, I created an outline then wrote one hour a day. In 1984, when I ran the Chicago Marathon, I built up from running a single mile. When my children were young, well, I took one day at a time.

Click for details of Senpai Barry’s approach to meeting challenges.

How I Did 50 Classes in 30 Days – Without Injury!


Tabitha's chart, showing her progress toward
50 classes in one month, was displayed for
all to see.

By Tabitha Balakumar
Brown Belt

This past Spirit Challenge, a generous Thousand Waves black belt, Senpai Barry Moltz, wasn’t able to participate. So, he decided to do a fundraiser of his own: the Fit in 50 Challenge. He offered to donate $1,000 to the dojo if someone could complete the challenge of taking 50 classes in 30 days. I volunteered, and took exactly 50 classes during the month of September, 2014. Many people have asked me how I managed this, and the answer isn't really simple. So, if you’d like to know, read on.

First and foremost, I was determined not to injure myself.
Before even beginning this challenge, I made my health and safety the utmost priority. At the beginning of each class, I kept a tiny piece of awareness for myself so I could listen to what my body was telling me. When it said it had had enough, I modified the exercise. I ended up making it through all thirty days without one injury. No strained, pulled, or overworked muscles, no tweaked knees, messed up shoulders, nothing. Awareness is a huge factor in keeping your body safe and healthy, and it manifests in ways other than listening. Such as…

Click for more on how Tabitha made it through the Fit in 50 Challenge.




Senpai Alan challenges HIIT It students
with a hard but safe workout.
HIIT It Fitness Program Launch

We’re thrilled to report the launch of our newest program, HIIT It Fitness, a whole-body conditioning program that builds on fitness industry best practices of High Intensity Interval Training.  Our three class types – Cardio, Circuit, and Kickboxing – minimize boredom and maximize outcomes.  The head instructor for HIIT It Fitness is Senpai Alan Miller, who brings his experience as a US Marine and his 20 years of Seido Karate training at Thousand Waves into classes that push students through the hardest parts of their workouts while never losing sight of their individual needs.

Click here for a program flyer, and sign up for your free trial class today!

Funding Features

Donate Your Car!


If you have a car you want to sell for charity, we have
a guy! Dan will make sure TW gets all the proceeds.
By Senpai Michele Curley
1st Degree Black Belt and TW Board Member

Do you have an “older” car that you are looking to replace? Why not consider selling it and donating the proceeds to Thousand Waves. I just did and the process was painless and even, dare I say, fun!

Senpai Pat Broughton’s brother, Dan, loves to sell used cars. It’s not his job – it’s one of his hobbies. Senpai Pat, who co-chairs the Fundraising Committee with Ellen Gibbon, told us at a meeting that her brother had helped Senpai Amy sell her car and that a portion of the proceeds was donated to charity. Pat floated the idea of starting a car-selling campaign in which Dan would help to sell the car (taking no fee for himself) with the understanding that at least half of the selling price would be donated to Thousand Waves. Serendipitously, I was just about to look for a new car and was interested in selling my 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid. So I said I would do it!

Click for more details on converting your car to a cash donation for TW.

TW Receives Grant from Motorola Mobility Foundation

Thousand Waves is pleased to announce the receipt of a $1,000 grant from Motorola Mobility Foundation.  The gift was solicited by TW board member and Senpai Lauren Schwendimann, who works for Motorola.  It was presented to Thousand Waves in conjunction with Spirit Challenge, our annual fundraiser for our adult and teen members.  This year’s event was our best ever. When all was said and done, we raised over $90,000 in support of all of our not-for-profit programs, including our Violence Prevention, Adapted Seido Karate, and Scholarship programs.  Thanks to Motorola and to Senpai Lauren for this generous contribution.  Please don’t hesitate to speak with Senpai Ryan Libel, TW’s Director of Operations, for assistance in soliciting a gift from an organ­ization with which you are affiliated!

Promotions

Two New Black Belts at Thousand Waves: Photos and Essay Excerpts

On Saturday, September 27, 2014 Denise Zaccardi and Natalie Kendall tested for first degree black belt at Thousand Waves. The community gathered to challenge and appreciate them as they showed their martial art.  As part of the requirements of their test, Senpai Natalie and Senpai Denise wrote about the role of Seido Karate in their lives. Excerpts from their essays are presented here, along with photos from their test.

Congratulations to July through October 2014 Promotees

See who advanced in rank:

Junior Color Belts July 2014
Junior Color Belts September 2014
Youth & Teen Color Belts July 2014
Youth & Teen Color Belts September 2014
Adult Color Belts August 2014
Adult Color Belts October 2014
Adult Black Belts