Beginner's Mind students to walk against child abuse

Walk A Mile In Their Shoes is the walk against child abuse that members of Phi Beta Lambda are organizing and operating to help raise awareness of and put a stop to child abuse in the Walla Walla community. This is the second annual Walk A Mile In Their Shoes and we look forward to having a memorable day in beautiful Pioneer Park with the organizations that have put this together.

The walk will occur on March 27, 2010, at Pioneer Park from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. This is a family event including field day activities for the children and a free lunch as long as supplies last. There will be music, special speakers, and information to educate and raise the community’s awareness about child abuse prevention. The walk will be of the perimeter of Pioneer Park, which is 1.34 miles, once at 11:00 a.m. and a second time at 2:00 p.m.

The Walk A Mile committee has asked Beginner's Mind School to assist in the safety duties of this event again and our students and friends will again come down and provide for the walkers. We will be posted along the perimeter of the park and will assist in directing the flow of the walk as well as ensuring the safety of the walkers near the streets. When you see a Beginner's Mind student, say "hi" and give them a big 'high five' as all of these individuals are volunteering for a great cause, just like you!

Our martial arts family is planning for a great day in the park with you and your family so won't you come and participate in support of this worthy cause.

IFYCA Seminar - January 31

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Walla Walla's The Little Dojo will be hosting a free seminar on advanced stick and foot work at the Beginner's Mind School on January 31st from 9am to noon.

This three hour course will focus on advanced elements of Eskrima including stick on stick, empty sticks, and magnetic sticks to enhance Eskrima work and technical skill of using sticks for art and combat.

Additionally, Master Instructor Steve Smith will be covering advanced leg technique and footwork to incorporate into your Eskrima training or to utilize without sticks to increase balance, kicking skill, and controlling situations.

The Little Dojo is hosting this free seminar, which is open to the public, in order to raise funds and awareness of the tragedy in Haiti and all donations offered at the seminar will go directly to assisting in the relief of Haiti during their time of need.

Directions to the Beginner's Mind School can be located HERE. We look forward to seeing you on January 31st at 9am!

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Arts in the park

One of the great things about warm seasons is that, a school can take their training into outdoor environments without catching cold. It is exactly this that the Beginner's Mind crew did today!

The youth class turned the playground equipment from Tietan Park (in Walla Walla) into a junior Ninja Warrior obstacle course and ran a few rounds, modifying the course after each child has gotten their chance to succeed.

Though, this exercise seemed like a great thing, the adult class opted for challenges of their own as they worked punching and kicking drills while strengthening balance. Moving from mitt and resistance drills to escrima stickwork, the crew began their foray into Earth Six and then transitioned to some defense / combat work. Today was also sparring day, but rather than looking like a fight club in the park, BMD decided to flag spar, which was so successful, a pair of spectators eagerly jumped in for their own fun matches.

Thanks to all attendees and we look forward to training in the park more in the future!

Student challenges

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We often blog about the things that our school, Beginner's Mind Dojo, contribute to the Walla Walla community. This blog, we opt to actually discuss our martial arts activities, for a change.

In our adult class, we continue to burn the calories that will help bring our students the physique that they are after. Moving on to the arts, we spent time integrating weapon work into some of the school's forms, experimenting with weapons as well as gaining personal ownership of each kata.

Stepping from katas to Escrima, the class continue exploring the realm of stick fighting.

Relay For Life

The Beginner's Mind Dojo spent time this weekend assisting Valley Residential Services at their tent and along the Borleske track through Friday night walking to raise awareness for the cause of fighting cancer.

Many local businesses were present, including Wal-Mart, Hair Raisers, and Gilbert Auto. The Borleske track met many shoes through the course of a 24 hour period and saw people from all walks of life supporting the cause with walkers making anywhere from one lap to ten hours of laps to show their dedication and care, including friends and families of passsed loved ones and cancer survivors like Rick Morgan, who just recently finished his final round of chemo-therapy a few months back.


Also at the Relay for Life was a dunking booth, a mini-fair and a lengthy slip-n-slide to occupy the children (and a couple of the adults), there was live music and an auction, which all helped keep spirits high and maintain a positive environment for an otherwise painful subject.

Walla Walla Author Speaks to College

Joe Cooke, award winning author of Elysen, The Broken Leg Book, Shadow of the Raven, and the recently released Thorsen’s Law will be speaking at Walla Walla Community College on Creative Entrepreneurship as well as discussing the pros and cons of paving your own path in life.

Creative Entreprenuerism

Hosted by: Phi Beta Lambda/FBLA, Walla Walla Community College
Date: Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
Time: 8:30 - 9:20 am with post event discussion until 10:00 am
Location: WWCC Campus, Health and Science Building. Room 1732
Walla Walla, WA
Phone: 509 - 520 - 1005
E-mail: joecookecpa@yahoo.com

“Self-employment, the pros and cons - questions and comments welcome (e-mail them ahead of time, please) - now open to the general public!
Also, I will have copies of my new novel THORSEN’S LAW available, and I will, of course, sign them for you, if you wish.” –Joe Cooke

This will be a one hour seminar and it is FREE and open to the public so it is a win-win situation for all that might be interested in attending!

ATTENTION PARENTS - Local Kidnapping Issue

The Beginner's Mind School just received a mass phone call from the Walla Walla police department that explains a predator in a white car is trying to pick up children walking home. If you have children in the WW area (including surrounding towns) BE AWARE of this situation! He is trying to lure them into his car with candy and gifts and has also tried to convince them that a parent requested he pick the children up.

This has caused mixed feelings of concern and anger.
I feel like I am pretty good at seeing the world through the eyes of others, but no matter how many times I try stepping into the shoes of someone like this to understand why they do it, I just don't get it. I can't even come close to getting it.

Whatever the thoughts are behind this deranged person, let's all work together to keep our children protected and informed! The first way to be certain your children learn is to explain the situation to them. Additionally, reassure them that they will NEVER get into trouble for NOT getting into a car with someone that claims mommy or daddy sent them!

Beyond that, here are some websites for you parents to visit in order to help you understand how to protect the one's you love the most!

Website #1

Website #2

Website #3
This site has additional links to organizations that deal in child abduction prevention.

Martial arts is a great defense for a child but it SHOULD NOT BE THE FIRST DEFENSE!

If you have any information on this problem, contact the local police department.

Walla Walla Police Department
15 N 3rd Ave
Walla Walla, WA 99362
(509) 527-4434

College Place Police Department
625 S College Ave
College Place, WA 99324
(800) 433-3243

My First Day of Teaching

I came across this old note that I wrote on what was possibly my first real teaching experience in the martial arts world. Experiences such as this are my motivation.

Each class brings out my weakness which promptly streams from every pore and rolls to the mat and, even though I'm pushed differently and diligently every night, I feel the desire to continue training after class has ended, which is always too soon. I gain a thirty minute cool down while my youngest girl gets on the mat and explodes with a brilliance that most could only hope to witness, much less, become.
During my daughter's class, a young and lonely student of the class following my girl's asked if I would be watching him perform in his class just like I watch my own daughter in her own. I could tell he desperately wanted to connect with someone and there was no one to support him so I offered my attention. Fate wove through this event as our Master Instructor approached me and asked if I would be willing to teach this young man's class.
Immediately, I began questioning my own ability and my confidence was taking blow after blow from the villainous monster known as doubt but we worked through it together and I gladly accepted the offer.
I was no longer the student and was now a teacher, even if only for thirty minutes. It was at that moment of realization that the wash of responsibility drenched me and my alertness level had been heightened to the stratosphere.
The next half hour, I worked very closely with this young man. We built strength and precision. I challenged him physically and he challenged me spiritually. We pushed through techniques and forms. My mind constantly traveled to memories of substitute teachers in middle school through the comparisons and my leniency level was challenged. This intelligent young man was emotionally checking boundaries and testing personality weaknesses to encourage the physical ease of his training and I knew that, as an initiate instructor, I would be a failure if I allowed this to happen but if I was forceful and stern that I would lose my first pupil forever. I was holding the future in my hands, not just mine but this boy's devotion as well. What was I to do? I took a chance and searched for closer connection to this child by digging for his interests that might motivate him to excel of his own accord so we took a moment and talked.
Once we built a solid relationship, our class motored on with freight train intensity and we no longer needed to struggle for control which encouraged his full support and even offered up some genuine smiles through the class from more than just the two of us but also the bystanders that I suddenly realized were very interested in our progress. By the end of the class, I felt confident that he took some valuable lessons home with him and I could tell that he no longer felt that sense of isolation that filled him before class. He got what he was after, the chance to show his skill to an interested peer and to feel accomplished in a field he enjoyed but has not gotten much support in.
We all left the school and his glow was possibly the brightest today. I was proud of him and told him as much as I thanked him for teaching me today in what has been my most valuable lesson thus far.
Experiences like this are the exact reason I pursued a future in teaching and my school, Beginner's Mind Dojo, would not even exist without the valuable experiences I learned from this young man..

Beginner's Mind Spring Bike Ride

The instructors and students of the Beginner's Mind dojo gathered on Sunday morning at the dojo with bicycles and picnic supplies and headed out into the warmth of the Sunday morning.

The ride was kept at a casual pace so that the half of youth students that attended were very comfortable and well taken care of throughout the trip. In order to avoid large amounts of traffic, Mrs. Conley led the large group of cyclists primarily through back streets as our traveling band of merry martial artists enjoyed the sun and conversation while casually working toward our destination at Rook's Park, just outside of Walla Walla.

Traveling from the West end of town to the East, one does not appreciate the incline until it is experienced on a bicycle but the climb was enough that we stopped once for the sake of our youngest student as she caught her breath at Pioneer Middle School. After continuing our trek, we wound our way to the bike path that runs along Mill Creek and followed it the rest of the way, enjoying the sounds and sights of the water as it rushed in the opposite direction in the creek beside us.

Once at the park, the first thought on everyone's mind was the glorious idea of food! We packed out our sandwich gear and side dishes and the gang showed their diversity as each sandwich was compiled just a little bit differently. This was probably the least vocal part of our trip as every person was so completely enamored with their lunch, but that still didn't stop the discussions or joking that stayed high through the entire excursion!

After everyone got their fill, games quickly followed, such as frisbee, horsehoes, and especially a modified game of badminton which saw friendly jibing, broken rackets, and more than one tackle! The hours passed by far too quickly and before anyone was ready, it was suddenly time to go.

The one thing all of the attendees were thankful for was the downhill ride all the way back to the dojo, which afforded the relaxation and ability to tour through some of Walla Walla's historic homes.

Belt Testing

Congratulations go out to the following students of Beginner's Mind for their excellence in skill and technique as well as their perseverance and dedication through their belt test in the fields of katas, self defense, kickboxing, and other areas:

John Humble, graduating to Green Belt!
Kevin Kmineck, graduating to Yellow Belt!
Paul Partida, graduating to Green Belt!
Rose Sarmiento, graduating to Green Belt!

Honorable mention goes to Jesse for his first test and great aptitude!

Walk Against Child Abuse

Walk A Mile In Their Shoes
This event is happening THIS Sunday and the The Beginner's Mind Dojo is showing our support and assistance by providing students, instructors, family, and friends as crossing guards for this event. If you would like to assist and be a volunteer crossing guard, please contact Mr. Conley at mrconley@beginnersmindschool.com so we can get some prepatory work gathered up.e.

THE INFO:
Walk a Mile in Their Shoes, walk against child abuse.
Sunday, April 26th, 1-4 pm.
Meeting at the courthouse.
The walk itself begins at 1:10 and will cover a single mile (in a circular route, beginning and ending at the courthouse).
Walk A Mile In Their Shoes

VOLUNTEERING:
Meet at 12:45 pm near front steps of the courthouse for coordination.
As crossing guards, your time required at the event will only be as long as people are walking. Mr. Conley plans on staying afterward in order to enjoy the day and perhaps help with cleanup.