Self Defense Seminar for women

"You didn't just teach me how to protect myself, you gave me permission to protect myself."

-Marylin

On Saturday, September 26th, Mrs. Conley will be presenting Self Defense for Women at the Beginner's Mind Dojo at 10am.

This two and a half hour course will cover a solid range of defense from easy to apply techniques to verbal development skills and most importantly, victim prevention. Through the course of this seminar women of any age or body type will develop protective physical skills, confidence building mental skills, and new friendships!

Take the time to get to know the friendly and light-hearted instructors and get assistance with finding our school at the Beginner's Mind Dojo website: www.beginnersmindschool.com

We look forward to meeting you and want you to know that, at the Beginner's Mind, you don't only learn self-defense, you develop confidence!

Martial Arts Bike Ride

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The second Beginner's Mind dojo bike ride of this year will begin on Saturday morning, June 20. As with the other bike ride, this one is a free event.

School attendees, friends, and family will meet at The Beginner's Mind Dojo by 10 am. The ride will be round trip with no stops scheduled and will be roughly twelve miles. Click here for a map of the route or check the map below.

After putting away bikes, those interested in grabbing lunch will head over to Jefferson Park (next to Hasting's) to enjoy a potluck where everyone brings their favorite dish (or whatever is convenient)!

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

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.

To any parents out there concerned about your children and martial arts

Through online study and internet research, Mr. Conley came across this fantastic youtube video composed by Tom Callos from www.ultimateblackbelttest.com and would like to share it with you.



These are things within the Beginner's Mind Dojo that we strongly resonate with, not just as instructors, but as parents.

Thank you Mr. Callos for your insight and wisdom.