Oku Damashi Martial Arts: March 2012

Saturday, March 10, 2012

CMAC West Seminar with Sensei Chet Dixon and Sensei Jason Bassels

On Tuesday March 6th, 2012 Oku Damashi Martial Arts had the pleasure of having Sensei Chet Dixon and Sensei Jason Bassels out for an evening seminar filled with tons of information. Sensei Dixon went through a abundance of awesome things, like Aikido, Grand Master Wallace Platt's kata review, Kick defenses, Kake push hands, controls and defenses, and just a bunch of other cool stuff! Sensei Bassels took us through some stick(Arnis/Escrima) and knife drills that he learnt from the Philipines which was the ultimate! This seminar was phenominal and definately not one to be missed.......and on behalf of the CMAC~Oku Damashi Dojo I'd like to send a deep gratitude to both for such an outstanding, mind blowing seminar! It was amazing and we can't wait for the next one! Thank you so much for your time, dedication and support! Much respect to you both!

Karma Kids Update

Our Karma Kids have been working extremely hard putting together a play titled "A Day In the Life Of the Ocean", they have had full creative imput to this and want to send out a message to all that if our ecosystem in the ocean is disrupted then we all will have to suffer the consequences. The play will be at the dojo on Earth Day......time will be announced shortly. Also we have asked special permission from Senpai Duft to use her book "I Live In The Ocean" to inform everyone about Dolphin captivity, the kids will be doing an adaption to her book with a narrative to bring insight and informative information to all. This is an exciting time for the dojo and the Karma Kids so please make sure to come out and support them. I am extremely proud of all the Karma Kids (Gemma, Chloe F, Chloe S, Patrick, Catherine, Luke G, Kaleb, Luke E, Samantha, Ashleigh, Holly, Drew, Callyn, Talisa, Evan, Quinn, Kayla, Shaun, Tyson, Jeremy, Andrew, Skylar, Emma, Kyle and a special thanks to the biggest Karma Kid......Kelsey, thank you so much for all your time and help with the kids, I really appreciate it) who continue everyday to make a difference and help our community, earth and animals, they all have such wonderful energy and it's my pleasure to see them stand up and have a voice for what is right.

For those who are curious about participating in Karma Kids it is a great extracurricular activity, which is seperate from the Karate program, and it works to educate youth on the importance of community activism and pride! If you have inquiries regarding the Karma Kids, please check out our Karma Kids page or talk to Sensei.

PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION TO SAVE BC'S GREAT BEAR RAINFOREST

Save BC's Great Bear Rainforest from Enbridge10,0002,649 2,649 signers. Let's reach 10,000
Why this is importantBC's Great Bear Rainforest (the world's largest remaining coastal temperate rainforest) is under siege! Plans endorsed by Canada's Government are underway to build the Northern Gateway pipeline to pump crude, unrefined bitumen, from Alberta to Kitimat, on British Columbia's north coast. This pipeline would extend a distance of over 1100 kms. It would be built by Enbridge, a company that has been responsible for over 800 oil spills, since 1999. The proposed pipeline would cross many rivers, the Rocky Mountains and pristine wilderness. Much of this area is home to First Nations people. Oil tankers would collect and ship the raw crude to China (the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter).We can stop this irresponsible development- BC's First Nations have a constitutional right to be consulted-- and this hasn’t been met. Newly released documents reveal that the government knows that it cannot address the legitimate concerns of the aboriginal people from the area at risk and is attempting to silence them.Let Canada's government know that the voices of First Nations will never be silenced. Add your voice to the call to uphold the legal rights of the traditional custodians of the land and stop this reckless project from going ahead. It's not a matter of IF an oil spill would happen, but WHEN!An oil spill would have devastating effects on the region and its native species. One species at great risk is the Kermode or "Spirit" Bear, a genetically unique, white Black Bear possessing a recessive gene. With only approx. 400 of these bears left in the wild, they are rarer than China's Giant Pandas. In 1987, the Valhalla Wilderness Society started the Spirit Bear conservancy campaign and, along with many others including Simon Jackson's Spirit Bear Youth Coalition, were successful in 2006 in over 1/2 million acres of spirit bear habitat being protected from clearcut logging. Protection never would've happened without the full support of the Kitasso Xai'xais and Gitg'at First Nations. Now a larger threat looms for the Spirit Bear, which relies partly on the marine environment, including salmon. Giant oil tankers are planning to bring bitumen to Asia via the proposed Enbridge pipeline from Alberta's tar sands. Given the narrow marine channels, huge Pacific storms and the risk of Tsunamis in the Spirit Bear's homeland, an inevitable oil spill would devastate fragile marine ecosystems for many years to come, including salmon and other marine life that the bears depend on. Such a catastrophic spill would also destroy the traditional livelihoods of First Nations communities and others in the area, representing millions of dollars of loss annually. We can't afford to have another Exxon-Valdez like spill or any significant spill off the BC coast.Stephen Harper's Government has openly dismissed concerns of those opposed to the pipeline. We have a small window of time to influence the final decision during the review, so please sign the petition, which will be sent to decision makers regarding the pipeline hearings. Demand that the moratorium on tanker traffic off BC's coast remain in effect and that the destructive Northern Gateway pipeline should not be approved. We need to explore renewable energy sources and invest in a sustainable future for Canada and the world.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Stop_Enbridges_Northern_Gateway_pipeline/?ctQDUcb

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Saturday, March 10, 2012

CMAC West Seminar with Sensei Chet Dixon and Sensei Jason Bassels

Karma Kids Update