A Garden of Trees

If it’s possible to be both a logger and a tree-hugger, I am a little of both. I look at trees and I see board feet, cordwood, and BTUs. I walk among them and feel peace, awe, and a sense of connection to the earth. I sit by my fireplace in the wintertime, and explain to my children that the trees have stored the sun’s energy, and when we burn them, we bring a little bit of last summer’s sunshine into an otherwise cold, dark house.

In truth, I’m a poor excuse for a logger, and nor do I actually hug the trees. But my small woodlot has a management plan that I need to adhere to, or face a higher property tax rate. I could pay a professional to do the work, but I’ve chosen to do it myself – with the help of a good friend who has done some logging. We spend long, cold hours doing hard, dangerous work, and we couldn’t enjoy it more.

Forestry is long-term gardening. We are currently harvesting a crop that took 50 + years to grow –planted long ago by another gardener. The firewood thinning that I do annually is called “crop-tree release”, and is in a sense, weeding. The short-term result is the firewood I burn, but the long-term results will be a healthier stand of Sugar Maple, Red Oak, and Yellow Birch. 

We’ve owned the property for 15 years, and I’m not sure when it occurred to me, but I will not live to harvest much of that crop. Nor will I likely walk among the mature stand of towering, majestic trees that I envision, and am working so hard to grow.

When I began teaching martial arts for a living, I often said that I was doing so to avoid having to get a “real job”. The typical martial arts student of that era was an 18 to 24-year-old male, and it was a tough, macho, ego-driven environment. If I could have looked ahead and seen myself today – surrounded by young children, telling stories, tying belts, running a business – I might have had second thoughts. It has turned into a very real job, but one that I will love to do, for as long as I can.

As teachers, we plant seeds and foster growth. Whether our growing season is an academic quarter or a number of years, we have a limited time to accomplish our goals, and help our students reach theirs. If we see it as merely a job, we miss the simple joys of gardening. When we remember that our influence may be life-long, we can overlook the temporary setbacks and struggles of our workday.

My wife and I are blessed with two children, ages 16 and 8 at the time of this writing. The final phrase of that sentence almost takes my breath away – it jolts me with a reminder of the fleeting and transitory nature of parenthood. They won’t be 16 and 8 for long. This gardening is long-term as well, but seems to speed past faster than a Vermont growing season. We do our best, make our mistakes, hold on to the moments, and plan for the future.

We do most of the things we do either for love or by necessity. When we are truly blessed, the two converge. Sometimes when we are doing our best work, we work with a vision of a future we may never see. But that vision gives us strength, perspective, and hope. Further, it helps us appreciate the sacred nature of the present, fleeting moment, as well as the towering majesty of human potential.

David Quinlan, Owner and Lead Instructor

Bushintai-Do Programs and Martial Way Self-Defense Center

Milton, Vermont

Bushintai-Do.com

MiltonMartialArtsVT.com

info@MartialWayVT.com

Gratitude, Hope and Giving Thanks

When my son, Liam, was 3, I noticed that he was relatively strong for his weight. He “played” on the Chuck Norris Total Gym, pulling his own weight at the maximum setting. As he got older, and wasn’t captivated by team sports (he didn’t like the aggression of soccer), we enrolled him in a gymnastics program. He enjoyed it and stuck with it for about seven years. I remember so many of his milestones –from the first time he did a successful cartwheel up to his first “giant” (big 360-degree spin around the high bar). He became a successful competitor and would have continued with gymnastics if he hadn’t started playing football (so much for disliking aggression).

In addition, Liam was, and is, an exceptional martial arts student. I was so happy to have him in my classes, that it never occurred to me to want him to be good at it – that was a bonus. He has also become a skilled teacher, and helps me run the summer camps, as well as running his own class at the town recreation department summer camp. He’s a sophomore in high school, and if I’m lucky, I’ll have his help for a few more summers.

As gratifying as it has been to have Liam a part of the dojo, there was something different about watching him at gymnastics. Instead of working, I could sit and watch, and learn a little bit about something new. I got to know some of the other students and their parents. We went to watch a collegiate championship meet. Gymnastics was, and always will be, a part of my son’s childhood and our memories of it. I am grateful for those memories.

My daughter, Evi, is 8, and has been involved with gymnastics, dance, skiing, baseball, skating, and martial arts. I relish the opportunities to watch her play, practice, and perform. As she gets older, she’ll have to make choices as well. I hope she will stay (voluntarily) involved with martial arts, as I know how beneficial it can be, and she is a joy to have in my classes. But as for the other activities, I don’t care which she chooses. Whatever it is, I will be there watching, cheering, and enjoying the moments, before they become just memories.

This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to share and support my children’s interests. I am also grateful for the opportunity to work with your children. As a martial arts instructor, I have an opportunity to connect with a student for his or her entire childhood, and possibly into adulthood as well. I teach ages five and up (I have black belt instructors who are braver than I am, who handle the three and four-year-olds). I enjoy everything about teaching at every level. I am privileged to have a have an opportunity to have a positive impact on the lives of so many people. I am grateful for every student, in every class that I teach.

I get to spend every work day in an environment I love, with people of all ages who share a common passion for this activity. I don’t know how long I will be able to continue to train with my younger, stronger, more resilient students, but I am grateful for every success and every defeat, the exhilaration of feeling fit and capable, and the pain and frustration of injuries and failure. I am grateful for my critics and my supporters, and for the martial arts, and all of the triumphs and challenges they have provided me.

I am grateful for the instructors and staff who have not only learned my system of teaching, but have added their own individual improvements to the program. Together, we are constantly developing and improving our martial arts, and the ways we teach them.

I hope your experience with martial arts, as a parent, student, teacher, or all of the above, is rewarding and memorable. I hope parents find time to watch their children's classes. I hope the children will choose martial arts as their main focus as they get older. If they move on to other activities, I hope they will take the lessons learned at the "dojo" and apply them throughout their lives. I hope we all can have the vision and the presence to recognize that what we have here is temporary, and that it should be enjoyed to the fullest while it is here.

David Quinlan, Founder and Lead Instructor

Bushintai-Do Programs and Martial Way Self-Defense Center

Milton, Vermont

Honey, I Pumped the Kids Up!

Child-Centered Physical Activity, Part 2

The importance of physical activity for children is well-documented. The question is, what kind of activity is recommended? In a previous article, we discussed the unsuitability of jogging, or other aerobic exercises, for pre-pubescent children. In this article, we’ll discuss another staple of the fitness industry – weight training – and whether or not kids should participate.

For many, the image of kids pumping iron might seem alarming. In fact, it’s not just an image, but a perception and a conventional wisdom, that pre-pubescent children should not lift weights. There have been reports that heavy lifting could damage the growth plates in young bones. There are still some who think kids can’t benefit from weight training because they typically don’t experience muscle growth as a result. And there is the danger of weightlifting-related injuries. 

Pushups are an effective form of strength-building.

It should be mentioned that we can substitute the term “resistance training” for “weightlifting”. Weights are only one way to improve neuro-muscular strength. Many body-weight exercises, such as pushups or squats, can be effective for strength-building, without the use of weights or resistance machines. Exercise bands, and suspension trainers (straps, rings, or pull-up bars) are other means to create resistance to movement.

The idea of bone growth-plate damage, and “stunted growth” caused by weightlifting, has been proven, in several studies, to be a misconception. It was largely based on one study of concentration camp survivors, and another of child-labor performers, who had been forced to perform hard labor. They had excessive workloads and inadequate sleep, and poor nutrition, and may have suffered bone damage as a result. Current research shows that children who regularly practice resistance training are likely to have healthier, stronger bones.

It is true that pre-pubescent children lack the hormones that will enable muscle growth in response to resistance exercises. However, they can make significant gains in strength, through neurological adaptation. With regular resistance training sessions, the child’s neuro-motor system will get more efficient in the practiced movements, thus functional strength will increase. Studies have shown that this improved neuro-motor function will stay with a child into puberty and adulthood.

Body-weight exercises build strength.

As for the fear that children will injure themselves using weights, this is a potential danger. However, if this is seen as a reason to keep kids from lifting weights, it would also follow that they shouldn’t ride bicycles, play team sports, go swimming, or ride in an automobile. The key is appropriate training and supervision. On the contrary, children who regularly practice resistance training may be less likely to injure themselves participating in other sports, as strength is considered a preventive factor for children’s sports injuries.

Resistance training, whether using weights, bands, tubing, suspension, body-weight, or other reasonable means, is likely to build healthier, stronger children, and ultimately healthier, stronger adults. Start pumping those kids up!

David Quinlan, Founder and Lead Instructor

Bushintai-Do Programs and Martial Way Self-Defense Center

Milton, Vermont

Resources

1. American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement. Strength, Weight and Power Lifting, and Body Building by Children and Adolescents. Pediatrics. 1990; 5: 801-803.
2. Fleck, S.J., Kraemer, W. J. Strength Training for Young Athletes. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1993.
3. Faigenbaum, A.D. Strength training for children and adolescents. Clinical Sports Medicine. 2000; 4: 593-619.
4. Guy, J.A., Micheli, L.J. Strength training for children and adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. 2000; 1: 29-36.
5. Heinonen, A., Sievanen, H., Kannus, P., Oja, P., Pasanen, M., Vuori, I. High-impact exercise and bones of growing girls: a 9-month controlled trial. Osteoporosis International. 2000; 12: 1010-1017.
6. Payne, V.G., Morrow, J.R., Johnson, L., and Dalton, S.N. Resistance training in children and youth: a meta-analysis. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. 1997; 1: 80-88.
7. Tsuzuku, S., Ikegami, Y., and Yabe, K. Effects of high-intensity resistance training on bone mineral density in young male powerlifters. Calcified Tissue International. 1998; 4: 283-286.
8. Witzke, K.A., Snow, C.M. Effects of plyometric jump training on bone mass in adolescent girls. Medical Science and Sports Exercise. 2000; 6: 1051-1057.

Don't Take Your Kids Jogging (or to Classical Symphony Concerts)

Child-Centered Physical Activity, Part 1

I learned an important lesson about children’s fitness at a performance of classical music. It was during the annual Lake Champlain Mozart  Festival, and my wife and I and another couple were attending a concert at Memorial Auditorium. This was during the parenting phase in which we still had only one young child, and hadn’t given up completely on grown-up recreation. My son was six, and our friends’ daughter was five, and we brought them along.

Naturally, the kids quickly became restless, and I, sharing their appreciation for the intricacies of Mozart, volunteered to take them for a walk. It was a pleasant evening and we went outside. The front entrance has a lot of stairs, and a big marble ramp with a handrail. It was a perfect playground, and other erstwhile concert-going children were already taking advantage of it. They ran up the stairs, slid down the ramp, ran up the ramp and down the stairs, and occasionally hung or swung from the handrail. It was an excellent functional training circuit, and I watched in appreciation. I considered the ways in which the adult athletes I worked might benefit from this workout.

Bushintai-Do was designed for
children and young teens.

As time passed, I noticed a pattern of exertion that did not fit the concept of this as a circuit for my adult clientele, primarily combat sport athletes. The kids put in some vigorous activity, but did not sustain it for more than a few minutes at a time. They would charge through the circuit, laughing and talking, and then flop down for a rest. Then it was back to the circuit for a few more frenzied minutes, and back down for a rest.

Since I also work with child athletes, I made a mental note to structure their workouts more along the lines of this “run and stop” pattern. I thought it would be more enjoyable for them. What I later found out was that it is not only more fun, but more natural and beneficial for them.

As parents, coaches, and mentors, we try to help children benefit from our knowledge and experience. We want them to learn, as we did, the value of hard work, determination, and the ability to delay short-term gratification in the interest of long-term success. As athletes (I include recreational athletes and other fitness enthusiasts), we know that if we persist through hard workouts on a regular basis, our bodies will adapt to the stresses we put on them, and we will become stronger and have better endurance .

Not so with prepubescent children. Research has shown that, given an exercise program that would yield significant improvements in aerobic capacity in adults, children will not make similar gains. Their transition from anaerobic to aerobic energy production is not as efficient as it is in adults. They can be forced to run for 20 minutes three times per week, but will most likely only develop a distaste for running, and exercise in general. It will be all pain and no gain.

According to Paul R. Stricker, MD, FAAP, in Aerobic Capacity and Training Ability from www.HealthyChildren.org, “Hopefully this is clear. Read my lips—there is no need for elaborate, excessive, and exhaustive training programs for children and pre-pubertal athletes. This does not suit their needs or interests.”

The benefits of exercise for children, and the national crisis in juvenile fitness, are well-documented. If we want to serve this population, it is vital that we consider their specific physiological needs. We need to learn how to teach the lessons of determination, persistence, and hard work, in child-appropriate ways.

David Quinlan, Founder and Lead Instructor

Bushintai-Do Programs and Martial Way Self-Defense Center

Milton, Vermont

The Exercise Crisis

The Case for 60 Minutes of School-Based Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity

School-based Bushintai-Do for all ages.

We begin our lives on a dramatic upward trajectory of physical development and activity. As infants, we wiggle, kick, and grasp. We progress to lifting our heads, and later, turning over unassisted. Eventually we crawl, then stand, stand, then walk--huge leaps in neuro-motor accomplishment. Our increased mobility as toddlers not only allows us to meet the physical demands of daily living, but also creates a platform for even geater neuro-motor accomplishments – running, riding a bike, swimming, jumping rope, throwing, climbing. Most of us master these skills as a normal part of childhood. At this point, a normal healthy child in an affluent peaceful society, has extensive opportunities for specialized motor skill development and moderate to vigorous physical activity. The greatest challenge they face is whether to choose team sports, dance, figure skating, gymnastics, snowboarding, martial arts, tennis, skiing, mountain biking, skateboarding, swimming, track and field, or any of the exciting possibilities that compete for the active child’s attention.

In previous generations, exercise was part of a child’s daily routine. The primary after school activity was “going out to play”. This included biking, hiking, running, swimming, tree climbing, hopscotch, jumping rope, capture the flag and other active games and pick-up team sports. It was unstructured, could be done nearly every day, and did not require being driven to practice. Today we know that this kind of active play develops the whole child. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that cognitive skills and motor skills develop through this dynamic interaction. Moderate to vigorous physical exercise affects the brain’s physiology and these physiological changes improve cognition, help prevent obesity, help treat depression, prevent many diseases, and lead to greater success – socially, emotionally, cognitively, and physically.

Classroom-based exercise stations.

In spite of what may seem like many opportunities for physical activity and despite the well-documented benefits of exercise, according to The President’s council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, only one-third of American children are active on a daily basis. And of those who play team sports, only 25% of them get enough daily exercise. More concerning is that our children’s overall level of physical activity has decreased by 32% over the past 40 years, with the majority in need of more exercise. After school activities, PE classes, active transportation to and from school, and in-class physical activity are all needed to adequately meet the recommended 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity for our students. However, the Institute of Medicine reports that 48-69% of children and adolescents in the United States do not attend physical education classes in an average week. One potential high-impact solution is for schools to mandate a movement period during every school day. Second only to mandatory PE classes, in-class physical activity delivers the greatest amount and most consistent form of movement in a child’s day. Studies estimate that classroom-based activity will routinely add at least 20 minutes of the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity to a child’s day.

This would not be the first time American schools have taken the lead in confronting a serious health problem. Schools have been vaccinating children against illness for decades. School lunches, and more recently, breakfast programs, have helped fight malnutrition and food security issues among our children. The next big (and avoidable) health problem for our children is their lack of moderate to vigorous physical activity. As a result of this inactivity, children born today now have a life expectancy that is five years less than the previous generation. Schools need to take advantage of the opportunity they have, and make daily exercise mandatory for every student.

Exercise options for outdoor recess.

There will be opposition from those who say that valuable classroom time will be sacrificed. However, studies have shown that regular exercise--even if it means less classroom time--leads to academic gains. This is an opportunity to dramatically improve the lives of children and to prevent the eventual societal costs of the current exercise crisis. Our school system needs to once again take the lead in helping our children reach their physical, emotional, academic, and social potential.

David Quinlan, Founder and Lead Instructor

Nancy Keller, Education Coordinator

Bushintai-Do Programs

www.bushintai-do.com

Milton, Vermont

A Father's Day Message

Happy Father's Day

David Quinlan 

Starting when I was four years old, my brothers and I played baseball from the time the snow started to melt until it fell again. We played little league for six weeks each spring, but we also played whiffle ball, "backyard ball" (our own invention – a game in which the object was to hit three consecutive line drive outs), and hardball at the diamond we had set up in a hayfield. We strung chicken wire across some small saplings for a backstop, used seat cushions we found at the dump for bases, and eventually wore base-paths and an infield into the high grass, by the foot traffic of our endless games. The outfield remained in high grass, which slowed down some drives into the gap, but sometimes gave runners an extra base as outfielders dug for the ball.

My dad was our little league baseball coach for a few years. But long before that and long after those short summers, he supported my brothers' and my interest in the sport. He pitched to us, played catch with us, and never got mad about the windows we broke. We had a nine-panel window in our basement door, which happened to be dangerously close to home plate when we played in the backyard. I remember him calmly taking the door off the hinges and installing new panels, probably knowing they’d soon be knocked out by other foul tips, but he never complained.

As I watch my own son and daughter blazing like comets across the sky of my adult life, I marvel at their growth, I mourn the passing of their childhood, and I cling to its last moments. I watch in wonder as they become individuals – not just extensions of their mother and me – but unique individuals, on their way forward into their own separate lives. I celebrate their milestones – birthdays, accomplishments, personal bests- but I know that I could do without these moments. I'd be happy to stay where we are. I think I could stay calmly in the background, fixing the windows, for as long as they’d like to keep breaking them.

To my dad, and my children, Happy Fathers' Day!

David Quinlan, Founder and Lead Instructor

Bushintai-Do Programs

Milton, Vermont

Physical Activity for the Classroom: A Martial-Arts-Based Movement Program

Why Bushintai-Do Programs, Inc.

"Exercise enhances cognition, academic outcomes, and graduation rates, and it reduces behavioral problems.”

Eric Jensen, Author, Teaching with Poverty in Mind (2009)

“Just 15 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity during frequent regular classroom breaks has been shown to decrease body mass index (BMI) in students over a period of 2 years.”

Institute of Medicine, Educating the Student Body (2013)

“Principals are now learning about the relationship between brain activity and physical activity. In the past, where principals have said, ‘well, it’s a frill we can take out of the schools,’ they are now rethinking that and putting physical education and physical activity, in particular the physical activity breaks and recess, back into the schools.”

Dr. Jayne Greenberg, District Director,

Physical Education and Health Literacy, Miami-Dade County Public Schools;

Committee Member, Institute of Medicine’s Educating the Student Body

Current and emerging research confirms the relationship between physical activity, brain development, emotion control, obesity prevention and academic achievement, and schools can make a significant difference.

The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies concluded that when factors, such as parental involvement and socioeconomic status are controlled, active children had stronger academic performance, especially in reading and mathematics, than inactive children. The benefits of exercise during the school day, the IOM reported, outweigh the benefits from increasing class time for additional academic instruction (2013). The concern for educators is no longer if physical activity builds a student’s capacity for learning, but how to integrate more movement into the school day.

To meet this growing need for in-school physical activity, David Quinlan, a Vermont-based sports and fitness educator, professional martial artist and business owner, and long-time middle level educator, Nancy Keller, founded Bushintai-Do Programs, Inc., a project dedicated to the health and well-being of children and adolescents through physical activity. In January 2013, they launched their first movement-based program called Bushintai-Do for the Classroom as a way for students to meet the recommended 60-minutes of in-school physical activity each day, while also learning about perseverance, respect, and self-control. Bushintai-Do’s 25-minute movement lessons can be shortened or lengthened to fit the classroom schedule, used as structured recess or teacher advisory time, or integrated as shorter movement breaks throughout a student’s day. With the on-line Teacher’s Guide, educators can also connect the study of Bushintai-Do to the study of language arts, social studies, mathematics and science.

Bushintai-Do for the Classroom is more than a set of “brainbreak” videos. It is a moderate to vigorous exercise program designed for the classroom that also integrates the practice of coordinated and complex movements (e.g., contralateral) in a safe and school-appropropriate format. Research shows that technical movement, in particular, is the most beneficial to the development of attentional, sequencing and information processing skills, and it engages the brain and body in ways that normal exercises don’t. (Ratey, 2008; Jensen, 2009) In addition, Bushintai-Do for the Classroom provides a clear and powerful system of proficiency-based goals in the belt-ranking system that motivates students and develops a work ethic. Students learn how to set, achieve and meet goals, and this success translates into academic achievement and personal growth.

Why Bushintai-Do instead of other martial arts?

Bushintai-Do, "the Way of the Warrior in Mind and Body," is a martial art developed by Quinlan specifically for Vermont public schools. It is a synthesis of traditional Asian martial arts, but was designed without violent or dangerous techniques, so Vermont school children and adolescents could reap the physical and mental benefits of martial arts training without any of the potential risks.

Throughout the years of teaching martial arts to school-aged children in the greater Burlington, Vermont area, Quinlan saw the benefits traditional martial arts could provide them. Parents often reported that their children were more confident and well-behaved, and showed improved academic performance, sometimes after only months in his program.  He began to approach local public schools, hoping to bring the benefits of martial arts training to more children. After perceiving concerns on the part of school teachers and administrators about the safety of these disciplines, he developed the martial art, Bushintai-Do. Bushintai-Do draws from the purely defensive aspects of the traditional martial arts, and is a complete martial arts system in itself. It offers self-defense techniques, pre-arranged routines (forms), a comprehensive fitness program, a positive philosophical foundation, and the integration of mind and body development. Children and adolescents can experience the action and excitement of martial arts, but it is safe for all students to learn and practice.

Since Quinlan first developed Bushintai-Do in 2002, over 500 students in three different Vermont public schools have experienced the benefits of his martial arts training.  With a growing national need to counter childhood obesity trends, movement-based programs, like Bushintai-Do, are becoming a welcomed solution. What Quinlan noted many years ago when he first started teaching martial arts to children is now scientific fact: There is a strong positive correlation between cognitive development, obesity prevention, and physical activity. As John Medina, author of Brain Rules (2008) reminds us, “Cutting off physical exercise – the very activity most likely to promote cognitive performance – to do better on a test score is like trying to gain weight by starving yourself.”

What is the mission of Bushintai-Do Programs, Inc.? How can we help?

Educators David Quinlan and Nancy Keller have dedicated their entire adult lives to the well-being of children and adolescents. They have witnessed how active bodies make for healthy minds and believe that both the physical activity and philosophical foundation of Bushintai-Do for the Classroom can make a difference.

In over 25 years of working with children and adolescents, Quinlan and Keller have observed that when students don’t participate in physical activity, it usually means that they haven’t learned how to move. Rather than risk embarrassment, a child may elect to stand at the side and watch their classmates participate instead.  Some students have been stunted by a lack of success in traditional sports in which a culture of competitiveness may inhibit those who do not excel from an early age. Many students are less active simply because screen time has replaced the time for movement activities. Bushintai-Do for the Classroom was designed to help all students learn athletic and functional movement patterns and, as a result, develop the physical and mental confidence necessary for a life-long habit of physical fitness. 

While Bushintai-Do for the Classroom can benefit every child, it is not for every teacher. Studying a martial art requires discipline, focus, perseverance, and patience. Just as students need these qualities to succeed in the martial arts, in the classroom, and in life, educators will need to apply these qualities to their own implementation of this program. This is not a push-button program or a lightweight diversion for your students. It is for those educators who believe that students need purposeful (and fun) developmental instruction regarding movement, and for those who can also commit to learn Bushintai-Do alongside their students--all with our on-going support and encouragement. Those who do have found it a rewarding way to bond with their students, helping them achieve and exceed their goals academically, physically, socially, and emotionally.

Please contact David Quinlan at dave@bushintai-do.com to learn more about our classroom-based programs and how they could meet the needs of your students.

David Quinlan , Founder and Lead Instructor

Nancy Keller, Education Coordinator

Bushintai-Do Programs, Inc.

Milton, Vermont

www.bushintai-do.com

Through the Eyes of Middle School Students - Part III

Resilience, self-control, leadership, open mind, courage, knowledge, determination, mental strength, respect and heart. According to my middle school students, these are the qualities of a Bushintai-Do martial artist. These also became the titles of the chapters for our unpublished book, The Way of the Teenage Warrior. For an entire school year, my students read essays from current and former middle school students, students who, like themselves, had studied and written about Bushintai-Do. What follows is a sample of the essays or excerpt of essays my students thought represented the warrior quality of heart.

Chapter 10

Heart

I am a hard worker. Being a hard worker comes from my parents getting divorced and then living in a crappy trailer with hardly any money and clothes. I also didn’t have a very good school to attend. When I was little, I tried hard in school, but wasn’t learning anything. My mom finally decided to move to Vermont to be with family. Then we started doing well because my mom was able to get a good job, rent a house, and I started to learn at school. 

At the age of seven, I had to go out and chop wood for our fireplace, take out the trash, tend to the compost, shovel my long driveway, and mow the lawn. As I got older, I had to do more. However, I didn’t stop and complain because I had to do more. I just did my best. 

Then we moved, again, and I had to go to a new school. With the new school, I tried hard to fit in and it worked, but I didn’t like it. I’ve tried really hard to get good grades, but sixth and seventh grade were difficult because of my grades and the other students. However, I didn’t let it get in my way. I am doing my best for eighth grade year, and it seems to be working.

Doing my best at home will help my family when they come home from a long day of work. Doing my best at school will help me, too, because when I have a family, I don’t want them to have the same life I’ve had. Bushintai-Do has helped me with getting good grades, and trying to be more respectful to other people. Because have discussions about what it means to do your best, I remember to do my best in everything I do, even when I don’t want to. I have had to do my best throughout my life and Bushintai-Do has reinforced the purpose of doing my best. Doing my best is basically just being me. And being me will help me through life. 

John, age 14 

I wanted to be a great martial artist like Bruce Lee. He always had a wise thing to say. He once said, “To spend time is to pass it in a specific manner, but once passed, it is gone forever.” What Bruce Lee was saying was that if you don’t spend your time wisely enough, your life will waste away.

I have thought about this quote, and I figured it would be a great saying to live by. To waste your time is like wasting your existence. A wise person would see this, and not hesitate to do something to stop their life from being ruined. Perfect practice, a healthy diet, and time with friends are all people need to keep themselves happy. Perfect practice can be for anything, from exercise to studying. These are the things that Bruce Lee probably did. If he could do it, then anyone can do it.  

Will, age 13

One hot afternoon, my friend, Karen, and I were hanging out at my house. We felt like we were hungry, so we decided to make some toast with peanut butter and jelly. I thought it would be a better idea if she used one piece of bread and fold it over. She said, “No, I want to use one piece for peanut butter and one for jelly.” I laughed, and thought it would be funny to pick up her toast and throw it on the ground so that she couldn’t have any. 

Karen didn’t take it that way. 

We ended up fighting. We get mad over little things sometimes. Then she said something that I really didn’t like, and I told her to get out of my house, and she left. 

During the next few days that we weren’t talking, I felt lonely. I was bored and I was stuck in the TV. Three days later, she came over to my house and we talked it out. We talked about how we get in fights over some things that are so little and how we just need to get over them. 

I would say that our friendship is the warrior qualities of heart and resilience. Because we are dedicated to our friendship and we care about each other, our friendship symbolizes heart. Also, every time we have a fight, we have to overcome the problem and when we do, our friendship is smarter and stronger because of it. This is resilience.  

Desiree, age 13

Nancy Keller, Education Coordinator

Bushintai-Do Programs

Milton, Vermont

Teacher at Winooski Middle and High School

Winooski, Vermont