Street Boxing Seminar

Beginner's Mind School welcomes Master Instructor Steve Smith on May 5th as he provides a night of demonstration and instruction on Street Boxing. This exciting seminar on a different style of boxing will be open to the public from 6pm to 8pm with an incredibly valuable entry of $25 per person!

This seminar will provide knowledge and skill to any person whether you are trained in the arts or not and will charge you with a great sense of accomplishment!

STREET BOXING SEMINAR

Hosted by: Master Instructor Steve Smith
Located at: Beginner's Mind Dojo, alley entrance behind 217 W. Chestnut st.
Date: May 5, 2010
Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Entry Fee: $25

No extra gear is required to attend but plenty of hydration and safety padding is recommended.

Child Abuse Prevention

Walla Walla's "A Mile In Their Shoes" event was a beautiful success and many people from all around the area came to spend a day in the park with their fellow neighbors and enjoy some great live music provided by the band Grey Wolf as well as partake in two different mile-long walks around the very lush Pioneer Park.

Some of the public discussion came from three different speakers from three different sides of the child abuse issue, including the fourth generation Walla Wallan, retired LAPD officer, Lawyer, counter-terrorism investigator and candidate for Walla Walla Sheriff, mister John Turner.

Among the organizations that were present and assisting were the Children's Home Society, Phi Beta Lambda, and the Linus Project. Everyone from the Beginner's Mind School was more than willing to assist as safety crew for this phenomenal event and all was handled expertly!

Our thanks go out to all of those involved as well as the coordinators of this important event! We were proud and honored to be a part of this community event!

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.

Beginner's Mind in March

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The Beginner's Mind Dojo is looking forward to warmer weather, returning students, and using martial arts to make a difference!

We would like to welcome back two of our founding students, John and Rose! The first night of March enjoyed a very full class and the smiles on all of the faces were just a little bigger with your return.

Watch for the Beginner's Mind students and staff as we step in to assist Phi Beta Lamkbda for the second year as assistants to the walk against child abuse, "A Mile In Their Shoes". We encourage you to show your support for the awareness of child abuse and its prevention by coming out on March 27, 2010 to Pioneer Park in Walla Walla. Walk with us and enjoy some great activities!

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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Martial Arts Mentality

When asked about the value of martial arts, instructors across the globe are quick to explain the great fighting skill as well as physical and health benefits that a person will develop through

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training. The practitioner is usually ready and willing to demonstrate some sort of evidence that this is true, from an intense form, to an impressive series of flying kicks, some board breaking, or even defense against group attacks.

Sometimes, for whatever reason, this does not fully satisfy a person's curiosity which prompts the instructor or practitioner to discuss the mental benefits one gains from the arts such as discipline, honor, courage, and kindness. The fact that the arts enhance these inner abilities is a bit more challenging as no amount of push-ups will prove a person's integrity. These are the skills that are used every day when the martial artist is interacting with the rest of the world. If the practitioner has been really studying his art, it will show through his interactions with the people around him, the respect and courtesy he gives to others, friend and stranger alike. But how do you convey this to the curious? The best way to start is to share a real story, like the one I just recently witnessed:

I have a student in my school that has been training with us for nearly a year now. He is a bright young man with solid plans of becoming a police officer once he is done with high school. He loves challenges and is always incredibly positive. Recently, he has been handling very difficult times in his life and has missed some classes. While in class, he has updated the group and explained that he has spent some time with doctors and has endured increasing back pains. As time progressed, it looked for this student as though he was going to have to undergo surgery to replace some lower disks of his spine. As the instructor, I wanted to help this young man continue with the arts he has such a passion for and I modified each workout to accommodate his needs and discussed with him things that might improve his situation, including recommending vitamins to help strengthen him on the inside.
The true inner warrior showed himself in a fellow student, a gifted martial artist with a natural inclination toward the arts and a desire to be the best of the best. This student quietly listened to every update and was also interested in learning the alternate training to help support his fellow classmate. Two days ago, I got a text message from the quiet student asking if he could visit me at my home, to which I agreed. When he arrived, he was carrying a small box. He didn't say much but wanted me to see to it that his fellow student received this box of men's health vitamins. He knew that his friend was focusing on the medical bills and felt that if he could contribute in some way, his training partner would be better taken care of.
He knew he wasn't a doctor and couldn't help in that capacity so he figured out a way to help and he did so without requesting compensation or recognition. He did it simply because he cared.

This is a living example of what kinds of inner abilities are enhanced with martial arts and the incredible thing about this aspect of the arts is that people can excel in these abilities from the very first day into the arts. I am fortunate that I know these two and every student at the Beginner's Mind Dojo. They are all great martial artists, physically and internally and each one of them inspires me to be a better person every day.

Image by Tom Gill (lapstrake) via Flickr

Best of the Best

On Saturday, December 5th at 4p.m., Beginner's Mind School will be hosting movie night in the dojo! The movie selection is one that has played an important part of building Mr. C's moral compass and is a great film about the importance of teamwork and getting along with others.
Current students, new students, IFYCA members from other schools, and the general public are welcome to attend and enjoy the movie with good company. Bring some munchies and some beverages or just bring your love for martial arts and film and we will see you this Saturday!