Teaching tae kwon do to inner-city kids.
So, cool new opportunity:
I found out through the grapevine about a really cool organization here in NYC that lets black-belted instructors teach young inner-city kids. It's all volunteer, but the general gist is to channel the kids' energy and time into something that makes them feel good about themselves, teaches them discipline, how to think for themselves, and how to take some pride in who they are and where they come from. Occasionally people ask, why the hell are you giving an inner-city kid a weapon? But really one of the principles behind tae kwon do, and indeed all martial arts, is appropriate control, discretion, and use of one's ability to cause harm. Apparently this approach works really well with inner-city kids, a lot of whom come from broken homes and a sense of hopelessness or inability to move beyond their predetermined futures. Martial arts gives them confidence, teaches them to respect boundaries, and gives them enough belief in themselves that they often start seeing a lot of personal/academic/physical improvement.
I went to see the sensei in charge of the program this morning, and after he literally wiped the floor with my pathetic ass in a sparring session (he is, I think, third or fourth dan) he told me he'd love to have me work as a senpai (junior instructor/mentor) with the organization. I'm so excited about it. I really love kids, and the idea of being able to help out some kids who could use it, and who need some stability and a grounding figure in their lives, really makes me happy. It starts next week - I think I'll be working with late elementary-school kids (5th/6th graders).
I love being able to use what I'm good at to help people. ^^
....now I'm going to go back to icing my entire body, which is rapidly turning black and blue thanks to the sparring session this morning. Moreover, I think I sprained an ankle.
And I really don't even mind that much. ^^
I found out through the grapevine about a really cool organization here in NYC that lets black-belted instructors teach young inner-city kids. It's all volunteer, but the general gist is to channel the kids' energy and time into something that makes them feel good about themselves, teaches them discipline, how to think for themselves, and how to take some pride in who they are and where they come from. Occasionally people ask, why the hell are you giving an inner-city kid a weapon? But really one of the principles behind tae kwon do, and indeed all martial arts, is appropriate control, discretion, and use of one's ability to cause harm. Apparently this approach works really well with inner-city kids, a lot of whom come from broken homes and a sense of hopelessness or inability to move beyond their predetermined futures. Martial arts gives them confidence, teaches them to respect boundaries, and gives them enough belief in themselves that they often start seeing a lot of personal/academic/physical improvement.
I went to see the sensei in charge of the program this morning, and after he literally wiped the floor with my pathetic ass in a sparring session (he is, I think, third or fourth dan) he told me he'd love to have me work as a senpai (junior instructor/mentor) with the organization. I'm so excited about it. I really love kids, and the idea of being able to help out some kids who could use it, and who need some stability and a grounding figure in their lives, really makes me happy. It starts next week - I think I'll be working with late elementary-school kids (5th/6th graders).
I love being able to use what I'm good at to help people. ^^
....now I'm going to go back to icing my entire body, which is rapidly turning black and blue thanks to the sparring session this morning. Moreover, I think I sprained an ankle.
And I really don't even mind that much. ^^