THE MARTIAL ARTS – A+ FOR SUCCESS
By Shihan William Rivera
MartialForce.Com
Edited by Lydia Alicea
Throughout the country, the Martial Arts have been incorporated into the curriculum of many elementary and secondary schools. As an alternative to gym (physical education) or as an after-school program, the popularity of the Martial Arts has grown.
Hello and welcome to Martialforce.com. My name is William Rivera a Yudansha and student of Eddie Morales Shihan.
The following article and interview is one of several I will be doing on the integration of the martial arts in our school system and after school programs. To some, it will be a testimonial to the success of the programs, to others it will bring to light the effects that the martial arts can have on empowering and enhancing the lives of our youth.
What most would consider to be greatness and powerful about the martial arts is usually exemplified by the benefits derived by it’s practitioners. This is apparent in the inclusion of the martial arts as part of a schools curriculum or part of an after school program. Parents and teachers concerned in further supplementing children’s education, and providing an activity of interest that will be a positive influence on their lives, have found the martial arts to be a great enhancement in student’s abilities.
“When student’s abilities are enhanced, there is a direct change in school performance”
Kayo
On the East Coast, alone the success of these programs has been so overwhelming that the availability of qualified and quality instructors is not enough to appropriately fill the need. In New York City alone, instructors such as Bonnie Baker, Nicole Russo, Pedro Pena, and Kow Loon (Kayo) Ong, (to name only a few), have taken their many years of training and teaching, and successfully created programs that have responded to that need. These instructors and their programs are in constant demand and are sought after by the New York City school system.
Over the following months, we will be highlighting some of these programs and learning why they work. This first article introduces Kow Loon (Kayo) Ong a Master of Goju Ryu and Chairman of Chi-I-Do. (An in-depth article on Master Ong will be in an upcoming issue. Martial artist will enjoy reading about Master Ong, his unpretentious candor about the martial arts the Goju style and his adherence to logic and facts are a breath of fresh air in a world of egos).
Kayo (as Master Ong prefers to be called), provides the instruction for the martial arts programs at various public schools in New York City. His innovative approach to teaching martial arts is impressive to many, except to him. The reason why is as Kayo states, he teaches a system that has been tested, researched, and proven successful with a foundation laid down over a century ago.
Master Kayo Demonstrating Technique
I was given the opportunity to observe the martial arts classes at three of the schools where Kayo teaches.
The School of The Future where his students range from grades 6 to 12, PS 130 (Hernando DeSoto School) students range from Pre.K. to 5th, and The High School for Leadership and Public Service which also includes, students from the High School of Economics and Finance with a class range from 9th to 12th grade?
M.Force: How long have you been teaching Karate in the public school system?
Kayo: “I have been providing Karate instruction as part of the public school system’s after school programs for over six years.”
M.Force: “Why has there been such a rise in the demand for the martial arts in after school programs?
Kayo: “You know what? The demand has been around for some time. You are hearing more about the success of martial arts training, especially here in the United States. The media has recognized the success of these programs, and allowed for more coverage. Take this article, you not asking me what style of martial arts are better? Is Karate better than Kung-Fu? You are not asking me about political affiliations in the martial Arts. You are asking more about karate and our youth. This what the media, parents and educators are more concerned about. They are seeing the successes, removing the politics and pettiness, and saying let us go back to what is tried and proven.
It has been known and written about extensively that there is a positive correlation between marital arts training and improvement in one’s skills and abilities.”
M.Force: You are saying that this is time proven and been around for a while. Can you elaborate?
Kayo: “Taking karate as an example. Many years ago, Masters such as Anko Itosu, Higaonna Kanryo, Chojun Miyagi, and Seikichi Toguchi, recognized the benefits that children derived from karate training. With that in mind, they researched and developed teaching methods that could be incorporated into an educational setting. In Okinawa, the success of these teaching methods was recognized and later integrated and became a core component within their school curriculum. Various forms of martial arts have become more mainstreamed and are part of fitness and exercise programs, rehabilitation, and senior citizens recreation programs. They are becoming more and more acceptable.”
MASTER KAYO INTERVIEW CONTINUED-CLICK HERE