Giving Back
In ancient times, true martial artists were seen as the moral pillars of society. (After all, East Asian martial arts were created by Shaolin Buddhist monks!) Exemplary in character and demonstrating fantastic physical prowess, martial artists were the people you called upon when officials were corrupt or invaders have intruded your ryokan or ruffians kept trashing your dumpling stand.
And during times of war, female samurai – onna bugeisha - were as shrewd and as fierce as their male counterparts.
Nowadays – and certainly in the Western world – the challenges we face are quite different. Modern onna bugeisha are standing in an unusual battlefield. Our sense of zanshin - awareness of everything around us at all times – is practised not only in terms of our physical safety, but recognising the many imbalances in our world. It is a world where we are only just realising the importance of living in harmony with others and the environment after an age of heavy industrialisation; a world where children who are born in certain countries are often suppressed and stripped of opportunities – particularly if they are girls.
Goju Ryu Kakurin-Kan Karate-do has several virtues that all students aspire to, the second oath being:
“Train your mind and body to make positive contributions to family, community and cultivate your moral sense.”
This oath in particular strikes a chord with Sensei Sheryn: she is passionate about living consciously, and has an innate sense of social and environmental responsibility. Sensei Sheryn encourages her students to, as best they can, find their cause and make decisions that benefit others as well as themselves.
One of her own causes – and one that matches so perfectly with the spirit of Girl Instinct – is Plan International’s Because I Am A Girl campaign. BIAAG works hard at the grassroots level to promote the rights of girls in developing nations so they have access to fundamental healthcare, education and safety; to help them overcome poverty so that families aren’t forced into nightmarish decisions of human trafficking or forcing their daughters to be child brides.
Girl Instinct and Kid Instinct proudly donates 10% of all term fees to Because I Am A Girl, to assist them in transforming power relations so that girls everywhere learn, lead, decide and thrive.
So every time you, as the modern onna bugeisha, put on your uniform; every time you perform kata or bunkai, you can feel good knowing that you’re not only empowering yourself – you’re empowering girls everywhere.
Giving back. Just another way Tanden Martial Arts is so very special.
