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News
- Check out this article on Karate...
Karate has hold on kids
Recreation schedules reflect sport's increasing popularity
By George Hunter, and Mike Murphy / The Detroit News
DEARBORN -- Move over soccer moms. Karate moms are taking
over.
Parents who used to recoil at the sight of karate punches, chops and
kicks -- images once associated with street fighting and violence --
now see the activity as an educational path to self-confidence and
discipline for their children. They also see the world as a more
dangerous place, and they want their children to be prepared.
That's a major reason why the number of martial arts students ages
14 and younger has quadrupled in the past decade, according to the
U.S.A. Karate Federation, based in Ohio.
In Northville this month, Huron Valley Girl Scouts -- a group
overseeing troops in western Wayne and Washtenaw -- sent some
600 Brownies and Junior Scouts aged 5-12 through karate training
as the organization begins to emphasize self-defense for girls.
From Dearborn to Canton Township to Troy, cities are retooling
recreation programs to include karate classes for kids. The sport has
become one of the top extracurricular activities for children in Metro
Detroit, experts say.
That popularity has increased nationwide since the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks. In the two months since, about 50,000 kids have enrolled in
karate classes nationwide, said Ned Muffley, general manager of
Maryland-based Educational Funding Co., which provides business
consulting to more than 1,000 karate schools worldwide.
"The increase has been incredible," Muffley said. "The number of
children enrolling in martial arts classes has been on the rise for years
- -- but in the past few months, we've seen a big spike in enrollments."
Richard Morrissey, owner of the Academy of Martial Arts in
Dearborn, where he teaches Tae Kwon Do to 130 students, said
when he started training in 1973, few children studied the martial arts.
"Now that's totally changed: 80 percent of my students are children,
and only 20 percent are adults," said Morrissey, a fourth-degree black
belt.
In the last 10 years, the number of karate students younger than age
14 nationwide has jumped about 400 percent to nearly 2 million, said
George Anderson, president of the U.S.A. Karate Federation.
"Parents like the self-discipline aspects of karate," Anderson said.
"They also like to feel that their kids can defend themselves."
Gaining confidence
A study last year by the Illinois Institute of Technology found that
youths aged 7-18 who took karate dramatically increased their
"perceived competence" in social and cognitive skills.
Dominic Garofalo, a 10-year-old Taylor resident who recently
earned his junior black belt, has been attending karate classes at the
Academy of Martial Arts since age 4. He said the lessons even have
helped him in classes at St. Alphonsus Elementary School in Dearborn.
"The big thing they teach is self-discipline, and to respect other
people," Garofalo said. "They also teach us that if a bully comes up
to us, fighting should be the last resort. First, we should walk away.
And if that doesn't work, then we have to defend ourselves."
The Huron Valley Girl Scouts who trained in karate learned to
defend themselves against would-be attackers by screaming, hitting
and running, in that order.
"Kids are out in the community doing more things; they have to grow
up a little faster, and you want to make sure they're prepared," said
Julie Ann Banister, owner of White Lake Township-based Elite Law
Enforcement Training Engineers, which taught the Girl Scout class.
"Molestation, abduction -- these are the things" we have to deal with.
Canton resident Natalie Anderson-Theisen attended the Girl Scout
class with her 10-year-old daughter, Kari. It "teaches kids how to
recognize dangerous situations," Anderson-Theisen said. "And they
have fun practicing."
Church on board
Even religious organizations are getting in on the karate craze. In
Troy, Faith Lutheran Church runs a program called Shield of Faith,
which integrates Christian teachings with the martial arts.
"We approach karate from a Christian philosophy," said Shield of
Faith instructor Dedee Wyss. "We believe Christians have the right to
defend themselves. Also, we believe that God created our bodies,
and we're just learning ways to use them for exercise, discipline and
self-defense, in case an encounter should happen."
Shield of Faith has 30 students, a mix of adults and children. "But
we're going to do a class exclusively for children," Wyss said. "There's
a high demand."
The focus of the martial arts has changed dramatically over 30 years,
Morrissey said.
"It isn't about making tough guys any more," Morrissey said. "It's
about making better children. Martial arts is totally about kids
nowadays, and anybody who runs a school knows it."
***
Lessons in discipline
Cost: Classes usually range from $40 to $150 a month. Some
schools also charge for belt tests, usually about $20-$50.
Schedule: Most schools hold three classes a week; some are less
frequent
Schools: Classes are run through private schools and city recreation
programs. Check with your local community for information.
Attire: Martial arts students usually are required to wear a karate
uniform, known as a gi.
What to look for: Parents looking to enroll their children in martial
arts classes must do research because there is no certification process
for teachers and no groups that accredit schools. Experts say parents
should look for schools that not only teach physical skills, but also
teach things such as respect and discipline. Also, parents should talk
to parents with youngsters in different schools.
- Here's another article quoting Hanshi Anderson...
AMERICA'S ORDEAL
Long Islanders Get Serious on Self-Defense
After Sept. 11, more sign up for classes
By Ann Givens
STAFF WRITER
October 28, 2001
There's lots for Alice Peters to do before she leaves for her business
trip next month. She's got to buy a plane ticket, reserve a hotel
room ... oh yes, and learn to fight off an attacker.
In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, Peters, 42, of Hicksville,
has gotten serious about learning self-defense moves at Shin's Tae
Kwon Do Center in Hicksville. While she's taken martial arts before,
she's looking at it for the first time as a way to protect her life, not
her waistline.
"The idea of my plane crashing terrified me," Peters said. "Now at
least I know that if someone tried to hijack it, I could defend myself."
Peters is not alone. Across Long Island, self-defense schools have
seen a rise in attendance since the attack on the Twin Towers,
particularly among people who say they want to defend themselves
in this new, more dangerous era.
Some are doing it for practical reasons: They literally want to ward
off potential enemies. Others seek something more like inner peace:
While they realize they will probably never meet a terrorist face-to-
face, knowing martial arts makes them feel less vulnerable.
"Everyone is worried, and they're trying to regain their confidence,"
said George Anderson, president of the Akron, Ohio-based USA
Karate Federation. "Martial arts is a way for them to empower themselves."
Anderson said nationally, attendance in karate and tae kwon do
schools has risen about 15 percent since last month, a number he
says is still rising.
"We started noticing that more people were coming in the day after
the attacks," said Tom Lovarco, who owns the American Black Belt
Academy in Massapequa Park. "After what happened, people want
some personal security."
Like many martial arts school owners, Lovarco said he's not sure
exactly how many of his new students signed up because of the
terrorist attacks, especially since September is always a time for new
students. But he said he's gotten 128 new members in the past six
weeks - about 30 more than last September - and many have
mentioned that it was the attacks that motivated them.
"People in my neighborhood have been asking me how they can get
involved in martial arts," said Bernard Yonk, 50, of Holliswood,
Queens, who has been studying for many years at R.K. Gould Tae
Kwon Do Institute in Long Beach. "September 11 caused a lot of
insecurity. If people can defend themselves, then they'll feel more secure."
Several instructors said some of their new members include pilots
and flight attendants.
Lucille Liquori, who teaches kickboxing at the American Black Belt
Academy, said one flight attendant she knows asked her for a quick-
and-dirty self-defense lesson. In particular, she wanted to learn front
and back kicks that she could use in the airplane's aisles.
"She said, 'I'm not going back up until I can kill someone with my
hands,'" said Liquori, 45, who lives in Massapequa. The woman has
come to class every day since then.
Experts stress that the martial arts are about defense, not offense.
Some say the idea that their skills will actually save them in the war
against terrorism is ludicrous. "I'm afraid of bombs and anthrax.
How's a self-defense class going to help me with that?" Liquori
asks.
Others say their students probably won't ever have to beat someone
up, but add that the "emotional self-defense" skills they learn in their
classes are probably more important anyway.
Even children, usually at their parents' suggestion, have begun
attending self-defense classes at an unusual rate.
"I know that some parents have said they're glad their children are
involved in martial arts, especially now, because of the possible
future that their kids may have to grow up in," said Richard Gould,
who owns R.K. Gould Tae Kwon Do Institute. Gould said he
doesn't survey his students about why they come to his school, so
it's tough to say how many of his new students were prompted by
the terrorist attacks.
But James Sheehy, of Long Beach, said the Trade Center attacks
was part of his decision to enroll his son Maurice, 9, in karate this
fall.
"It trains you to be self-confident," said Sheehy, who took karate
himself years ago. "I know that if my son or I were on a plane and
someone tried to take it over, we'd say, 'No way.' A box cutter
isn't going to be good enough with us."
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