NWMAF Winter Update - February-March 2018 - Wild ...
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NWMAF Winter Update –
February-March 2018
News for Our Members, Friends, and Supporters
“Empowering women and girls to achieve personal and collective
strength, safety and well being through martial arts, healing arts and
self-defense education”
Notes from the NWMAF Chair – It’s Time to Step Up . . . to the Board of Directors
Susan “George” Schorn, NWMAF Chair
Dear NWMAF Members,
As noted elsewhere in this newsletter, the Board of Directors has proposed revisions to our Bylaws.
These revisions now go before the Membership for comment prior to a Board vote. In undertaking this
work, the Board and Bylaws Committee have invested substantial effort into building formal structures
to carry the NWMAF forward into the next decade and beyond. And where is the NWMAF headed?
That is up to you.
Four Board of Directors positions will be vacant as of this August: Chair, Secretary, Events
Coordinator, and Self Defense Coordinator. You can nominate yourself, or another member, by
emailing nominations@nwmaf.org. Descriptions of each position are contained in our current Bylaws
(https://nwmaf.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Bylaws/NWMAF%20Bylaws_REV11_2012.pdf),
and the current Board members are happy to answer any and all questions about their duties—you
can find their contact information at https://nwmaf.wildapricot.org/contact.
Our Bylaws call for Board nominations to close on February 15. As of this writing, our Elections
Committee Chair, Amelia Jones, had not received any nominations for the open Board positions.
Faced with the choice of bending the Bylaws, or simply acknowledging that there will be no NWMAF
Board next year, the current Board has voted to extend the nominations deadline until March 31st this
year.
The NWMAF is a member organization. We rely on members to fill the leadership positions on the
Board of Directors, which come up every two years, staggered across the different seats. Without a
Board, there will be no Special Training Camp next year. Without a Board, there is no NWMAF.
For decades, the NWMAF has relied on a small handful of its members to carry the work of the Board
forward, an arrangement that was not optimal for them nor for the membership as a whole. This must
change, or the NWMAF will not survive.
I'd like you to think back to the most amazing moment you've had in camp—a time that touched your
heart, moved you forward as an artist, made you understand yourself better, or helped you see
another person in a new and better way. I want you to understand that you have the power to give
that moment to someone else. And I want you to consider that without leadership, the NWMAF
cannot give that moment to anyone else, ever.
Whatever the length of your involvement with the NWMAF, and whatever the stage of your training, I
urge you to step up and run for a Board position. You do not need experience. The majority of current
Board members are serving their first terms. Outgoing members will be on hand to help the new
members take up their duties smoothly. So please take a moment to review the open Board positions,
and decide which role you would like to fill in this community—and also, which of your fellow martial
artists you feel should be contributing to our leadership.
Between now and March 31st, the ultimate fate of the NWMAF will be decided. Please look back on
your memories, and then think about our future. And then make those nominations!
NOTICE TO MEMBERS: Proposed NWMAF Bylaws Revisions
Susan (George) Schorn, Chair
As noted in the previous newsletter, the Board of Directors and the Bylaws Committee, headed by our
Treasurer Karen Brown, have conducted an exhaustive review of our organizational bylaws. This
work has now concluded, and the proposed revisions to our bylaws are available for member
consideration and comment on our website: [insert link here]. The recommended changes take into
account feedback from our member survey as well as the advice and guidance of Bylaws Committee
members Jaye Spiro, Sue Ferrari, Lisa Scheff, Yudit Sidikman, and Kerry Kilburn.
Our current bylaws provide for change as follows:
Article X. Process of Amendment
10.01 These Bylaws may be altered, amended, or repealed and new Bylaws may be adopted,
provided that the following steps are taken:
• The proposed amendment is presented to the Board of Directors in writing;
• All Directors are given notice of the upcoming bylaws vote in the meeting notification;
• The proposed amendment is presented to the membership in the newsletter and/or on the
website no less than thirty (30) days in advance of the vote to amend;
• Three-quarters of all Board Members present or in absentia vote in favor of adopting the
proposed amendment.
Accordingly, the Board anticipates voting on these revisions during our April conference call meeting,
which will be scheduled in mid-March. If the amount and nature of the feedback received indicates
the need for additional discussion, we will move the voting date to May. Between now and April, we
are urging every active NWMAF member to read the proposed changes and send feedback to
the Board. I hope you will all feel free to communicate with me directly, at chair@nwmaf.org, but you
may also contact any other Board member at their email address listed on our website:
https://nwmaf.wildapricot.org/contact.
Below is a summary of what I consider the most important changes under consideration:
Defining our mission and members
Our members have spoken clearly in our recent survey and in feedback gathered at past camps: our
mission seeks to change the world in ways that benefit all people, not just women. And our
organization will not survive if it does not embrace current understandings of gender and
marginalization. Changes are therefore proposed to our Bylaws' Mission (2.01), Purpose (3.01), and
Membership (4.01) descriptions, and in other sections of the bylaws where gender is mentioned
explicitly or implicitly.
Similarly, under Article III, Section C, Support, and Change, the following addition is proposed:
NWMAF shall actively foster a diverse membership, recognizing that our organization was born from the experience of marginalization, and that our continued growth and development depends on our willingness to extend the fellowship from which we have benefited to others who are likewise marginalized. Proposed changes to our Membership definition would create a new category of non-voting Ally Members. This membership category would allow allies to add their financial support to our organization. Sons or male partners of regular voting members, for example, could join as Allies to strengthen our organization financially and further our mission. Wording changes are also proposed throughout the Bylaws to more explicitly recognize all three branches of our arts: martial arts, healing arts, and self defense. Reshaping the Board of Directors Two new Board positions are proposed: Healing Arts Coordinator, to more fully represent this integral element of our arts on the Board, and Youth Coordinator, to ensure an active voice and presence for young people throughout the NWMAF. Suggested changes to the number of votes needed for Board approval would simplify the process of determining vote outcomes if and when the number of Board members changes. The revisions under consideration would also standardize the names of the different Board positions throughout the Bylaws. The proposed revisions call for the recognition of an "Executive Board," consisting of the Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, and Development Coordinator (Fundraiser). This structure would allow the key financial and reporting Board members to meet and address any routine functions with pressing deadlines (accounting, taxes, etc.) if the full Board is not available. Meetings of the Executive Board would be subject to the same timely notice requirements as all other Board meetings. Additional proposed changes related to the Board center on bringing our communications policies surrounding elections up to date. Currently, our Bylaws do not acknowledge the existence of email, which has become the most important means of communication among members. Separating Bylaws from Policies At present, the Bylaws contain an exhaustive list of all our Awards processes. These processes are already listed on our web page under Organization Policies; there is no need for them to be part of the Bylaws proper. Therefore the suggested revisions would list the awards in the Bylaws, but excise the redundant process descriptions. The Power of our younger members Lotus Peace Arts and Valley Women’s Martial Arts, Easthampton, MA At Valley Women’s Martial Arts, Power Girls Karate & Self Defense movement arts classes focus on what is fun, empowering, and creatively inspiring for girls and teens. The techniques, forms, and principles are primarily from Shuri-ryu Okinawan Karate: beautiful and graceful ancient art of the empty hand. In all aspects of the curriculum, students are encouraged to discover and share more about their own and others' special gifts and strengths. While deepening and expanding confidence, self-esteem, and social justice awareness, the creative expression of that growth is clearly evident in the following poems that we are proud to share.
POWER
Personality is power, and also intelligence.
On the earth power builds.
Water flows its way past stones and sticks, like the snake.
Earth is art, earth is what we live on.
Respect is how people get to trust our power.
by Isabelle Lion's Mane, age 12
Valley Women's Martial Arts Power Girl
POWER IS
Breathing in the air.
Starting as my crane,
moving freely like a river
wherever I choose.
The tiger in me ready to pounce,
or the volcano in me ready to explode,
the dragon opens its wings,
the fire bursting out.
As I go back to my crane,
all the power that I made
building up and releasing itself,
the power is still inside me,
from my center and in my heart,
running through my soul.
by Alexandria Fantastica, age 13
Valley Women's Martial Arts Power Girl
Special Training 2018 - A Time for Growing
Wendy Lathrop, NWMAF Secretary
This summer’s camp at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois continues the NWMAF tradition of
skill sharing and empowerment, inspiration and bridge-building. Unexpected moments of discovery
and self-discovery are what makes camp special. No matter how long or briefly we have been
involved with our practices, a new viewpoint, a new insight, or a new understanding can spark new
vitality in our usual routines. And the people we meet can become life-long friends as well!
NWMAF is working on building a team of trainers and instructors in martial arts, healing arts, and self
defense to offer something for everyone. Besides the popular Young Martial Artists (YMA) program,
there will be classes for advanced practitioners. The opportunity to try something new is also achance to expand your skills in your own art. The fluidly controlled movements of internal arts like tai chi can create power in external arts like karate and kung fu. At the same time, experiencing external arts may spark increased impact in applying the fighting aspects of internal arts. I attended my first camp in 1983, not knowing anyone and not knowing about any style other than my own. It was a difficult decision for me to do this, since being shy makes it harder for me to meet and connect with people. But there was so much to experience! It was my first exposure to such accomplished women in martial arts, as I came from an almost all-male school. Wow, all that skill, women who were both technically adept and masterfully clear in teaching techniques. Mat arts, weaponry, discussion groups – lots of things I had never experienced before. I came home vowing that this was a place I would continue to be forever. Who could ever learn it all? And who could ever pass up such an opportunity to absorb the knowledge and strength of the experience? Since that first camp, I have missed only two. I return home after each camp inspired to work harder, to include practices that allow me to continue practicing even with an older body, to keep my mind open to new information, and to be confident enough to share my own knowledge. My wish is for everyone who attends camp to have a similar uplifting experience, and NWMAF is working hard to make that a reality. Watch for camp registration announcements, coming soon. If you are only able to attend one day of camp, we invite you to attend Super Saturday. Registration for this all-day training opportunity includes lunch, dinner, and a ticket to the evening's bazaar and skills demonstration. Super Saturday includes a choice of all gender classes where teens and adults of all genders including men and male-identified people are invited to join our training. We invite you to be part of the team to make this camp a stellar event! Whether you are interested in helping trainers, organizing the Saturday night skills demonstration, moving equipment, greeting registrants checking in for camp, or a host of other possible tasks that make every camp a special event, our Events Coordinator, Nikki Smith, would love to hear from you at events@nwmaf.org. Self Defense is not about eliminating risk Amy Jones, NWMAF Certified Self Defense Instructor, 3rd Degree Black Belt Seido, 1st Degree Black Belt Kyokushin Karate Violence Prevention and Self Defense Program Manager for Thousand Waves Martial Arts and Self-Defense Center, NFP, Chicago, IL (reprinted from Thousand Waves’ newsletter and blog by permission) When we talk about our approach to self-defense, one of the ways we explain it is to say that we don’t give people a bunch of rules to follow. Today I’m going to unpack that idea a little bit. First of all, if I were to give you a rule, the chances of it being applicable to your life are pretty small. For example, one of the “rules” that well-meaning people will often tell you is to be careful getting into your car – make sure there’s nobody lurking in the back seat, or under the car. I don’t know about you, but I don’t currently own a car. So that’s a rule that’s useless to me.
If I did own a car, I could look underneath it and in the back seats every single time I got into it, and the chances are fairly high that there would literally never be anyone there. The risk is very low. And that gets me to the second reason we don’t bother with rules.* The rule-givers are trying to sell you on the idea that if you just follow all of their rules, you’ll eliminate all risk of being a victim of violence. That’s a very compelling idea, one that plenty of folks are eager to embrace. It’s a pretty easy sell, in other words. But here’s the thing: it’s not actually possible to eliminate all risk from your life. If you follow all of the rules that the well-meaning rulemakers give you, you’ll find your movements more and more constrained – never going outside after dark, never going to new places, never meeting new people. And you may STILL find yourself a victim of violence. Most of these rules end up being about strangers – and of course, most violence is perpetrated by people known to the victim. Life is risk, and risks are part of what make life exciting. In a very literal sense, risks are growth opportunities. So instead of giving people rules and an illusion of safety, we help people learn to realistically assess and decide for themselves what risks are worth taking. We give them accurate information about the realities of violence (for example, that violence from strangers is relatively rare). We give them tools to move through their worlds with confidence, which both makes it less likely that they’ll be targeted, and enables them to be more aware of their own internal signals that something might be wrong. And we talk about ways they can mitigate the risks they choose to take. One of the criticisms of self-defense training is that it can be victim-blaming. As empowerment self- defense instructors, we work pretty hard to make it clear that we’re not about blaming anyone but the perpetrator of violence for their behavior. When you think about self-defense as mindfully choosing the risks you take, it becomes more clear that we’re talking about ways you can enhance your safety without putting the responsibility on the defender for someone else’s actions. One of the workshops we’ve started teaching this year is Self-Defense and Bystander Intervention. We’ve always taught intervention as part of our self-defense curriculum, but this workshop expands on the content and focuses on it more explicitly than our ‘standard’ empowerment self-defense workshops. One of the repercussions of the decision to intervene in a potentially violent situation is that it elevates one’s own risk. It’s not our place to tell anyone whether they should intervene in a situation they’re witnessing, but it’s our hope that at least some folks will weigh that risk and decide that it’s worth it, at least some of the time. *We do have one rule, and even it is more a strong encouragement rather than a rule. Here it is: Don’t go to a second, more private location with someone who you know means you harm. Statistically, your situation will not be improved – the new location will be more isolated, less familiar to you, and more familiar to your assailant. If you’re going to choose a moment to fight, the moment right after someone says, “Come with me” is a really good choice. “Research on Effects of Traditional Chinese Exercise on Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)” a review by Wendy Lathrop (Seven Mountains Spirit Fist Kung Fu, Yang Tai Chi) Practitioners of tai chi, qi gong, and other internal Chinese arts have long testified as to the health benefits of these activities. I personally can attest to the effect of tai chi and qi gong in my recovery and healing from several extreme accidents that threatened to permanently sideline me from martial arts and rob me of my flexibility. But the Western world wants hard scientific proof through controlled experiments before conceding credit to the health and healing powers of such practices.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I will admit to a pre-disposition to believe that all martial arts practices, whether internal or external, provide some emotional and mental health benefits. But my own defiance and disproving of medical prognoses for a limited lifestyle are not enough to prove the general truth and applicability of my experience to the general public. Rather than such anecdotes, it is repeatability of outcomes in large controlled experiments that will show that I am not an outlier. Increasing interest by the general population is leading to formal examination of possible health benefits of certain activities. The practices under review here are referred to in the article as “traditional Chinese arts”, described as a “system of gentle, self-healing exercise designed to train the functional integrity of and enhance the vitality of the energy called Qi.” The article describes a statistical analytical review of existing research literature published between 2010 and 2014. Due to the generally small sample sizes in such experiments, few could stand alone to prove the significance of their findings, but extracting data from similar randomized, controlled experiments permitted a “meta-analysis” to combine the results from the pooled data sets. (Meta-analysis is a statistical process by which the results from multiple scientific studies are combined, sometimes revealing patterns of results or sources of disagreements among results that can lead to greater understanding than a single study would provide.) The question posed by the researchers in the article we are discussing was what effect, if any, practice of “traditional Chinese exercise” would have on individuals suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The investigation specifically probed mobility (the ability of patients to complete a 6-minute walk) and lung function, and secondarily evaluated any effects on quality of life. Spoiler alert: the meta-analysis showed statistically significant improvement in lung function, decrease in fatigue, and decrease in shortness of breath, but not necessarily improved emotions. The advantages of this kind of exercise include that it requires no special equipment and no particular kind of workout or training space. This translates to a more readily accessible form of exercise for people with COPD, especially for those with transportation problems or those living outside of urban areas. The full article is available on line at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5010221/ The list of references includes 47 research reports, some of which are freely available in full to the public, some of which are available as abstracts, and some of which are available only through subscription. Seeking a Web Guru! Susan “George” Schorn, NWMAF Chair Websites, email, and online payment systems make running a member organization much easier and more efficient than in the "old days." By far the majority of NWMAF business is now conducted electronically, and the Internet will be an important component of our organization's future growth. The Board of Directors is looking for a web guru who can, for a modest but regular fee, handle monthly updates to our website (via Wild Apricot) and camp registration and scheduling. The web guru would work closely with the Camp Planning Committee on all technical issues related to camp. We estimate the non-camp work will require 5-10 hours per month. Camp-related tasks could take something closer to 20 hours per month, and much of that would necessarily consist of short bursts of troubleshooting. We can't pay as much as we'd like to for this work; as you all know, the NWMAF runs on extremely tight financial margins, and relies heavily on volunteer labor. But at this time we can offer a qualified
person $300 per quarter, plus free camp registration in 2018, in exchange for the work. And of course you would have the satisfaction of knowing you were helping the NWMAF communicate with its membership and the rest of the world If you are interested, please contact the Chair, Susan "George" Schorn, at chair.nwmaf.org. And please spread the word! The NWMAF Advice Column Carmel Drewes, NWMAF Membership Director Carrie wrote asking: “Do you teach lethal techniques in a basic self defense class? Why or why not? If yes, what kind of context do you provide?” I consulted with Amy Jones, NWMAF Director of Self Defense for this reply. Both Amy and I have been teaching Empowerment Self Defense for over a decade and have attended numerous trainings and professional development seminars for self defense professionals. Here are our thoughts: First, it’s important to remember (and reiterate to students) the goal of self defense: to do just what is necessary to make a problematic situation stop enough that you can get yourself away from it. This will, of course, entail very different things depending on where a situation falls on the spectrum of “annoying and disrespectful” to “life-threatening”. It is our obligation to teach students to recognize that spectrum and teach them skills to be able to calibrate their own reactions. Neither of us teach techniques specifically intended to be lethal, we've never said "this is how to kill someone", but we do teach techniques that could be lethal. It seems that the only way we could justify never teaching students techniques that are strong enough they could be lethal would be if we were certain our students would never find themselves in situations where their own lives and bodies were at risk. Unfortunately, we all know that we cannot make that guarantee. Nor can we guarantee that help or safety will be easily and quickly accessible. We do have a responsibility to talk with students about types of strikes (and targets on the body) that could be lethal and discuss with them the level of harm that they are willing to do to another person. This is a very individualized decision and one that we cannot make for our students. What we can do is provide them an opportunity to think about and talk about this issue, an opportunity which they may not have ever had in the past. Deliberating on this issue in advance of any situation where they are using force against an attacker decreases the likelihood that they will second-guess themselves during or after an attack. When we are using only our own bodies to fight back, strikes to the throat, head, and neck are the ones with the greatest potential to be lethal. The likelihood of lethality increases whenever we add in a weapon, whether that is an object around us that is weaponized by our use (e.g. slamming someone in the head with a rock) or a traditional weapon (e.g. gun or knife) that we are carrying for the purposes of self-protection. This too warrants conversation with any students who are considering the pros and cons of carrying a weapon for self-defense. Reiterating each person’s responsibility to calibrate their defensive response to the level of the threat they face, as well as reconciling their own individual feelings about the level of harm they are willing to cause to another person, can help students make informed decisions about carrying a weapon. All of these conversations and training must be presented in developmentally appropriate ways, varying by age and accounting for differences with students who have cognitive or intellectual disabilities. Additionally, since students may have challenges with self-regulation, impulse-control, or anger management, we must be sure to incorporate skills for self-calming and de-escalation in our workshops. Acknowledging the complexities of personal safety, with its many individual and situational variables, is one of the things that distinguishes Empowerment Self Defense from other
systems that have more of a “one size fit all” approach. It means that answers to questions like,
“Should we teach lethal strikes?” aren’t a quick “Yes” or “No”. But that’s what allows us to be dynamic
and adaptable to the real complexities of people’s lives.
Are you looking for advice? Ask NWMAF! Email members@nwmaf.org Serious and humorous
advice requests welcome, anonymous submissions accepted.
Upcoming training opportunities
June 7-10, 2018 - Hakko Densho Ryu West Coast Gasshuku, Placerville, CA
http://www.hakkodenshoryu.com/mainpages/gasshuku.html
July 19-22,2018 – NWMAF, Special Training Camp and Self-Defense Instructors’ Conference,
North Central College, Naperville IL. http://www.nwmaf.org
August 17-20, 2018 – PAWMA, Camp Loma Mar, Loma Mar, CA http://www.pawma.org
Have news and information to share with the NWMAF community?
We welcome your submissions of news, opinion pieces, fiction, or other writing related to our
practices of martial arts, healing arts, and self-defense. We also accept art and comics. Our editorial
board reserves the right to edit for space or content considerations. Send contributions for the next
issue to secretary@nwmaf.org by April 1, 2018.
Due date Publication date
April 1, 2018 Week of April 8, 2018
May 13, 2018 Week of May 20, 2018
June 24, 2018 Week of July 1, 2018
August 5, 2018 Week of August 12, 2018
A Note on Contributions
Views expressed in articles and material from members are those of the author(s), and do not
necessarily reflect official policies or positions of NWMAF.
At the end of this issue, we include a flyer about camp that can be printed out and posted on social
media to promote camp. Please share this information! It’s an easy way to introduce new women to
NWMAF and to share our experiences at camp. If you would like a separate PDF version, please
email your request to: secretary@nwmaf.orgYou can also read
