Notes From the NWMAF Chair by Cathy Chapaty, chair My mom loved helping others. Whether it was taking bingo cards to the table of a senior citizen using a walker or emergency babysitting a neighbor’s grandchild, she always tried to pitch in to help others. She was also an introvert. She loathed the spot- light. She just quietly did her thing. I get my service work mentality from her. This month, I’m asking all National Women’s Martial Arts Federation (NWMAF) members to think about how they might pitch in to help sustain and grow the organization—and then do it. You don’t have to be an extrovert to help. There’s plenty to do for those who want and need to stay in the back and quietly do their thing. How can you help? Next January, the NWMAF will be fielding applications for two new board positions: Youth Coordinator and Healing Arts Director. And next spring, we’ll be holding elections for several open Board positions. Right now, the NWMAF needs new members for its Election Committee. (Big thanks for Dr. Amelia Jones for her hard work in the past on this committee!) I encour- age anyone who cares deeply about fair and impartial elections for our leadership positions to step forward and serve. It’s an important task, and the spotlight is on others. Could you pitch in to help us choose stellar people to lead us into 2019 and beyond? Natalie DeMaioribus, our Events Coordinator, needs help plan- ning and implementing camps in 2019 and 2020. When it comes to camp, all Board members pitch in, but right now, Natalie could use help delegating the million tiny pre-camp tasks required to pull off a successful and fun event. Is this for you? Send her an email at [email protected]. Talk about the organization to your friends and martial arts colleagues and share our posts on social media. The more members we have, the more robust our financial bottom line will be—and that will ultimately help us broaden our reach for regional training opportunities and keep our annual camp regis- tration fees as low as possible. Do you have an idea regarding how to improve a current camp feature or an idea for a new one? Let’s hear it! And then do you NWMAF Fall Update November 2018 News for Our Members, Friends, and Supporters “Empowering women and girls to achieve personal and collective strength, safety and well being through martial arts, healing arts and self-defense education” continued on next page
Transcript
Notes From the NWMAF Chairby Cathy Chapaty, chair
My mom loved helping others. Whether it was taking bingo cards to the table of a senior citizen using a walker or emergency babysitting a neighbor’s grandchild, she always tried to pitch in to help others. She was also an introvert. She loathed the spot-light. She just quietly did her thing.
I get my service work mentality from her.
This month, I’m asking all National Women’s Martial Arts Federation (NWMAF) members to think about how they might pitch in to help sustain and grow the organization—and then do it. You don’t have to be an extrovert to help. There’s plenty to do for those who want and need to stay in the back and quietly do their thing.
How can you help?
Next January, the NWMAF will be fielding applications for two new board positions: Youth Coordinator and Healing Arts Director. And next spring, we’ll be holding elections for several open Board positions. Right now, the NWMAF needs new members for its Election Committee. (Big thanks for Dr. Amelia Jones for her hard work in the past on this committee!) I encour-age anyone who cares deeply about fair and impartial elections for our leadership positions to step forward and serve. It’s an important task, and the spotlight is on others. Could you pitch in to help us choose stellar people to lead us into 2019 and beyond?
Natalie DeMaioribus, our Events Coordinator, needs help plan-ning and implementing camps in 2019 and 2020. When it comes to camp, all Board members pitch in, but right now, Natalie could use help delegating the million tiny pre-camp tasks required to pull off a successful and fun event. Is this for you? Send her an email at [email protected].
Talk about the organization to your friends and martial arts colleagues and share our posts on social media. The more members we have, the more robust our financial bottom line will be—and that will ultimately help us broaden our reach for regional training opportunities and keep our annual camp regis-tration fees as low as possible.
Do you have an idea regarding how to improve a current camp feature or an idea for a new one? Let’s hear it! And then do you
NWMAF Fall Update November 2018News for Our Members, Friends, and Supporters
“Empowering women and girls to achieve personal and collective strength, safety and well being through martial arts, healing arts and self-defense education”
continued on next page
want to help create a pathway toward that improvement? You don’t have to do it alone. None of us do anything in this organiza-tion alone. It really does take a village.
Share this particular article with potential members in your life. (I’ve set a personal goal of 50 new members by camp in 2019. Since last month, at least two of my colleagues have joined. Forty-eight more to go!)
Service work is really that simple. Oftentimes, you don’t have to step up for a two-year term like Board members. Sometimes it’s a one-off task. But that one task will take an item off an already large plate of a Board or committee member, and that will help these hard-working leaders remain sane and serene—and help the organization run more smoothly.
So let’s get creative about how we serve. Shoot me an email at [email protected] or reach out to any Board member and let’s get started!
Meet the BoardErin Epperson: Development Coordinator(Serving 2016–2019)Primary Practice: Seido Karate/Empowerment Self-DefenseHome: Chicago, IllinoisPreferred pronouns: they/their/theirs
Erin Epperson joined the NWMAF in 2014. They are currently a second-degree black belt in Seido karate, studying under Sei Shihan Nancy Lanoue and Jun Shihan Sarah Ludden. Erin has taught kids’ karate since 2014, and as an NWMAF-certified Self-Defense Instructor, they have taught Empowerment Self-Defense since 2012.
Erin is the Development and Community Programming manager at Thousand Waves Martial Arts and Self-Defense Center, NFP in Chicago, where they also teach Empowerment Self-Defense and Seido karate. Epperson organizes Thousand Waves’ annual fundraiser and is in charge of community programming, teen engagement, and volunteer management.
Erin earned their Ph.D. in South Asian Languages and Civilizations in 2017 with a focus on Indian and Tibetan Buddhism. In addition to their martial practice and teaching, Erin practices and teaches Samatha meditation, a practice that has roots in Indian and Thai Buddhism. They teach a weekly Samatha class as part of the Samatha Trust on the North Side of Chicago, and use meditation techniques to help karate and self-defense students enhance their emotional regulation skills.
Do you have an idea for raising money for the scholarship, archives, or general operating funds? Have questions about merchandise availability and suggestions for new merchandise? Please send to [email protected].
Camp NewsSave the Date!by Natalie DeMaioribus, NWMAF event planner
We are working with North Central College in Naperville, Illinois to finalize our plans for Special Training 2019. Please plan on joining us next summer from July 17-21 !
Stay tuned for trainer applications, registration, and more, coming soon!
Special Training 2014 “Peace Works”
Teaching the Teacher: Sharing our KnowledgeAssociation of Women Martial Arts Instructors Conference February 22-24, 2019 at the Bay Club Hotel & Marina, San Diego, CAThe premier annual event of our sister organization, the Association of Women Martial Arts Instructors is a conference focused on the needs of instructors and school owners, promoting excellence and high ethical standards. Attendees enjoy a variety of lecture, discussion, and “moving classroom” experiences, taught by women highly skilled in such areas as curriculum development; business, sales, and marketing; pedagogy; and more – not to mention a wide range of physical arts.
To attend the conference, register online at www.awmai.org.
Self-Defense In Actionby Darla Bolon, NWMAF board member at large for self-defense
A fundamental component of any women’s self-defense program is the sharing of self-defense stories. The majority of stories of assaults on women reported in the media involve mostly completed rapes and homicides. The way many of these stories get reported not only supports myths but it sends a dangerous message to women: if you are ever confronted with a threatening situation, there is little you can do about it. Those of us who train in and teach self-defense know that the options are limitless for responding to assault.
Research (Bureau of Justice Statistics) in this area shows that at least 80% of the time women respond in ways that result in avoiding the assault altogether or intervening with strategies that prevent the escalation or completion of the assault. These are everyday women and girls, often with little or no formal self-defense training. Students are usually surprised by this statistic yet hopeful that maybe the odds aren’t insurmountable. This crucial information can be an additional tool in their acquisition of self-defense skills.
One student wrote, “I never realized that the power of voice could work well in life-threatening situations. The stories you read and the statistics you shared about women yelling and making noise, as well as the success rates, really gave me a new perspective on my own ability to protect myself.”
The stories that can be shared involve people setting boundaries and defending themselves in creative and inspiring ways. They are not necessarily the most amazing and astounding accounts of physically fighting back (although these can also be shared) but of people who resist in other ways. This provides students with other options for responding to threatening and uncomfortable situations.
I’ve included a couple of stories here. Feel free to share them.
A 30-year old woman was running along a bike path on a Saturday morning in May. She was stopped at gunpoint by a man on a BMX bicycle who said, “Stop. I just want to talk to you.” The woman reported, “I stopped as soon as I saw the gun and screamed and started demanding, ‘What do you want? What do you want’ ” Having never considered a situation like this, she said she couldn’t think of anything else to yell. At one point the assailant told her to “Shut up!” a command which she ignored as she kept yelling “What do you want?” He took off when it became obvious that she wasn’t cooperating with his demands. “Apparently, the ruckus scared him away,” she said. “The lesson is, just scream your head off.” (Suburban News, May 2005)
The next two stories illustrate ways to set boundaries in everyday, common situations:
“I took your self-defense class last winter and I got to use
something from class last night on Halloween. There was a guy that I had been dancing with for a while at the bar, which was all fine for a while. He left for a little bit then reappeared next to me and tried to make out with me. I wasn’t having any of that so I leaned back and pushed his face away from me. He tried again and I did the same gesture, got into my angry voice and told him “No, don’t touch me!” and “Get away from me!” several times. He backed off and I walked away. A little later he tried to dance with me again but I told him, “No, go away.” Thanks for teaching us to use our loud voices and intense looks!”
“I have also been able to use the boundary setting aspect of self-defense when I go to parties with my friends. At frat parties, there is rarely much room to move around, and it is nearly impos-sible not to bump into people. I have made sure though to apply boundary setting techniques, like putting my hands out and politely asking people to give me some space, whenever drunk people shove me or are being too touchy. I now feel like I am better equipped to handle unpredictable people and situations by being direct and firm when I want people to leave me alone.”
Have News and Information to Share with the NWMAF Community?We welcome your submissions of news, opinion pieces, fiction, or other writing related to our practices of martial arts, healing arts, and self-defense. We also accept art and comics! Our editorial board reserves the right to edit for space or content considerations. The deadline for the December 2018 issue is December 16, and will be every six weeks in 2019. Send contributions to [email protected]
Special Training 2014 “Peace Works” demo.
School Spotlight: Thousand Waves Martial Arts & Self-Defense Centerby Katherine Nichols
This is the first of what we hope will be a regular feature in the NWMAF newsletter: a spotlight on a martial arts school attended by one or many NWMAF members. We begin this series with my school, Thousand Waves. If you would like your school to be spotlighted in a future issue, please send answers to the following questions to me at [email protected].
What is the name of your school, and where is it located? Thousand Waves Martial Arts & Self-Defense Center, located in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago at 1220 W. Belmont.
What style(s) of martial art is/are taught at your school? Seido Karate.
Tell us something about your school’s martial art(s).Seido karate is a relatively new system, created in 1976. Prior to that time, our grandmaster, Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura had been affiliated with the Kyokushinkai karate organization. Therefore, Seido shares many kata with Kyokushinkai and also with Goju karate, which Kaicho studied as a child.
Does your school teach other programs besides martial arts?We also have a busy Empowerment Self-Defense program, plus Sei Shihan teaches yoga on Sundays.
Who is/are the teacher(s) at your school?Our head instructors are Sei Shihan Nancy Lanoue and Jun Shihan Sarah Ludden. Starting January 2019 Sensei Alan Miller will be our new head instructor, and the Shihans will reduce their teaching schedule. In addition, 12 other instructors are on staff.
When did your school begin? Who are its founders?Thousand Waves began in 1984 when Nancy Lanoue moved to Chicago from New York with her partner Jeannette Pappas.
Tell us a story of your school’s evolution from its early days to its present incarnation.Lanoue and Pappas started the Women’s Gym, a feminist health club that offered training in Seido karate and was the forerunner of Thousand Waves. Pappas died in 1989, and in 1991, Sarah Ludden moved to Chicago and joined Thousand Waves leadership. In 1995, Thousand Waves began offering mixed gender programming, so that men and women, boys and girls could train together, and heal from violence as allies. In 2001, it incorporated as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit. Today under the leadership of executive director Ryan Libel, Thousand Waves continues to expand its karate and empow-erment self-defense programs, reaching many more adults and children both within the school and in the greater Chicago area.
Seido Karate at Thousand Waves.
Does your school have a mission statement? Tell us about your school’s goals or vision.Our mission statement: “Thousand Waves Martial Arts & Self-Defense Center, NFP fosters fitness, healing, empowerment and peacemaking by promoting healthy minds and bodies through violence prevention, self-defense and traditional martial arts programs for adults and children of all ages. Our members apply the skills they learn at Thousand Waves to transform their lives at home, school, work, and in public spaces. This creates a powerful community spirit of civility, self-worth, and compassion in action. Through partnerships with schools, other non-profits, businesses and government agencies, we also bring the tools of violence prevention and personal empowerment to diverse communities. We encourage everyone’s participation regardless of racial or ethnic background, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, or fitness level.”
How many students attend your school, and who are they?Thousand Waves has about 400 members of all genders, of whom about 250 are between the ages of four and fifteen.
Share a unique or interesting fact about your school.Thousand Waves has promoted 185 adult students to Black Belt, and 148 children to Junior Black Belt.
Does your school have a logo or mascot? Tell us about it.We don’t have a mascot, but we do have a logo. It was created by Ann Tyler, in the mid-1990s. The Thousand Waves logo (top) is distinct from the plum blossom insignia of Seido Karate, of which TW is a branch school.
What is an interesting tradition you have at your school?Beach Training! This is an annual summer tradition throughout Seido karate. In Chicago, we gather on the beach of Lake Michigan for sunrise meditation, followed by a couple hours of karate classes, followed by a picnic.
Does your school have a website?Yes, it’s www.thousandwaves.org.
Walking meditation on the beach of Lake Michigan during Beach Training.
NWMAF ClassifiedsMember wants to assist self-defense instructor trainingMy name is Carrie Slack and I’m a National Women’s Martial Arts Federation (NWMAF)-certified Empowerment Self Defense (ESD) instructor. I’ve been teaching self-defense since 1998 in rural, northwestern California—primarily at a community college. I’m also a social worker and teach social work at Humboldt State University.
I’m exploring different ways that I might train self-defense instructors, and am looking for an organization that will be training new self-defense instructors during the summer of 2019. I’d like to volunteer to assist.
Because I work for a university on an academic calendar, I’m avail-able May 15–August 15 to travel and assist a training team. I’d do this in exchange for the experience of training instructors. I’d be completely independent in terms of my housing, food, and living needs.
What could I do to assist you?• Make copies, filing, etc.• Proofread curricula• Haul pads, clean mats, make coffee• Update or create PowerPoints with your content• Research content• Hold pads for striking• Provide feedback and support to trainees• Facilitate discussion in break out groups• Teach content
For questions or to discuss this offer, reach me at [email protected].
