pawma news...pawma news • vol. 35 no. 4 • fall 2012 2 pacific association of women martial...

Mikayla with Shihan Keiko Fukuda at the opening night of PAWMA Camp 2012. Photo credit: Malaika Kambon.

PAWMA News Uniting and empowering a diverse community of

women and girls in the martial arts.

Vol. 35 No. 4 Fall 2012

Being the Youngest at Camp Mikayla

I was the youngest person at PAWMA. My name is Mikayla and I am 11 years old. I’ve been to PAWMA Camp twice – once when I was only one year old and the second time this summer. Being the youngest person at PAWMA Camp was fun, because everyone treated me with respect. I went to PAWMA because my Mom invited me. The camp was fun, challenging, inspiring, and enjoyable.

Master Terri’s class was super fun. We were doing Cuong Nhu. We were practicing a front snap kick and then a double punch followed by a BIG, loud "kai!" I thought, "Yippee! This is going to be fun, because I know how to do it." My kick snapped in and out really fast. I let my foot drop to the floor. I stepped out into a right forward stance with a double punch and a loud "kai!" I said, “This is fun!!”

Master Sue’s advanced kicking class was challenging. We did an impressive inner crescent jump kick. I was actually trying Tae Kwon Do on my own. I thought my Mom would’ve loved to come to this, because she’s a 4th degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do – but she was trying another class.

Sifu Michelle is a very inspiring person I met at PAWMA. She got a lifetime member award. Sifu Michelle accepted her award and raised it high above her head. Sifu Michelle smiled so brightly that it was like looking into the sun. If you ever meet Sifu Michelle Dwyer, you are lucky!

PAWMA News • Vol. 35 No. 4 • Fall 2012 2

Pacific Association of Women Martial Artists 2

Goeroe Louise Rafkin’s Poekoelan class was exciting. The class opened my mind and made me see animal movement in a whole different way. We had to act like a caged tiger, a vast snake, and an eager monkey. We learned monkey, tiger, ape, snake, and crane techniques. I felt great trying that type of martial art.

Now that I have learned a little bit about PAWMA Camp, I finally know what it is like. There are so many teachers and other styles for you to think about. You can do any style you want to try. If you were to ask to me about going to PAWMA, I would say, "You should surely go." I can’t wait to go again next year!

PS. I am now a purple belt!

The Meaning of PAWMA to a White Belt Rosie Rosenfeld

At the post PAWMA workout at the kwoon, I realized exactly what it meant to me. It took awhile. I made it through the workout in one piece and actually had a smile on my face. During the cool down session, my Sifu instructed us to walk around and meet the other participants. When we met one another, we were to exchange one word of what the weekend experience was like. Halfway through the exchanges and greetings, I felt a not-too-familiar lump in my throat. When Sifu stepped in front of me, I lost it and cried in her arms like a baby.

To be honest, I’m a lousy crier, but there was so much love and mutual respect in the room, that it overpowered my senses. This is the first time in my athletic experience that I have been around a bunch of women and there hasn’t been any jealousy, malice or hyper competitiveness. All weekend I felt looked after and cared for, not only by the members of my own kwoon, but by every participant there. Even when a black belt was choking the hell out of me or twisting my body in some other direction, I felt the love and respect.

I am in awe of these women, I deeply respect these women, I have love for these women. Thank you for this experience and I look forward to many more to come.

One Love, Rosie Rosenfeld White Belt Oakland Kajukenbo Camp 2012



Opening Night Photos from Camp 2012 Photos by Malaika Kambon

To see more photos from camp, visit http://peopleseye.photoshelter.com/gallery-collection/PAWMA-Spirit-of-the-Dragon/C0000QZLEyRn9dA0

http://peopleseye.photoshelter.com/gallery-collection/PAWMA-Spirit-of-the-Dragon/C0000QZLEyRn9dA0�




Sifu Michelle Dwyer, accepting her award with typical warmth and humility. Photo credit: Malaika Kambon.

Profile: Sifu Michelle Dwyer, Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree A Founding Mother of Pacific Association of Women in the Martial Arts.

Janet Seaforth

Sifu Michelle Dwyer was with PAWMA at its conception in the 1970s, when women rose up to take their power and learn to defend themselves. They had enough of being terrorized by rape and being battered. The statistics at the time reported that 1 out of 4 women were beaten by their husbands. And we often kept these abuses secret because of our shame and fear. Men were supposed to be our protectors not our abusers. We realized we were going to have to learn to protect ourselves. Rape crises centers and battered women's shelters sprang up across the country and women began pouring into the male dominated martial arts. It wasn't easy, but we would no longer be oppressed by violence, especially sexual violence. Many of us took a feminist vow to learn how to protect ourselves by taking a self defense class.

Betty Braver a brown belt from Sacramento joined with women martial artists of the San Francisco Bay Area to create a safe place for women to train and offer support to each other in the male-dominated martial arts. Women in the martial arts, was a new and daring concept. At the first camp, at beautiful Lake Vera in the sugar pines of the Sierras, we found freedom of expression and support for our various practices beyond our wildest dreams. Tears of joy rolled down our cheeks with the beautiful energy exchanged at those first camps. Women were learning to be strong and free. When Betty retired and handed the new baby over, Michelle and a handful of other women founders of PAWMA were there to keep that baby alive and well. Michelle has continued this commitment to PAWMA in her humble but strong way.



Michelle Dwyer (left) and Janet Seaforth practice a two-person sword form at Lake Vera, Nevada City, 1979. Photo courtesy of Janet Seaforth.

After studying with several Tai Chi Chuan teachers in Sonoma County, Michelle was lead to study with Jack Man Wong in San Francisco. There she studied Push Hands and also Northern Shaolin Kung Fu and finally Hsing I. She was the first white woman to learn all the ten Shaolin sets of Mr. Wong's school. She didn't miss a class; New Year's Eve, Christmas Eve, Mother's Day, three times a week. She was the only woman in the history of the school to learn all the fourteen basic Kung Fu sets.

Michelle Dwyer is completely dedicated to her art. She makes a modest living through her school, Silver Cloud Martial Arts School. She is disciplined, she practices every day. Her skill is awesome… still dong cartwheels with knives in both hands at sixty years old. She is modest but can be fierce. Her teachings are simple and direct. She is patient with her students and yet firm in being correct. She has taught hundreds of grateful students, qigong forms, Tai Chi Chuan, sword forms, staff and Hsing I. She admits that going to the PAWMA camps through the years has helped her be a better teacher just by sampling a lot of teachers at the women's camps.

A master of weapons, Michelle admits she has more weapons in her closet than clothes! She says "when you have a weapon, it makes you much more powerful. Especially as women we feel a lot stronger with a weapon in our hand. She is most famous for her Double Dragon Plum Blossom Sword Form, but she excels in many weapons besides sword and saber. She also teaches spear, which in the Northern Shaolin system is the king of weapons. She says it has the spirit of the dragon, in that it is multifaceted, elegant, and demanding. "You learn power from the spear, and focus and more precise movement." Michelle says, "The staff is the basis of the long weapons. Its power is in the arms, and that builds a good foundation and upper-body strength. In 1997 Michelle and Professor Coleen Gragen designed a fighting form with the staff. Michelle says she has a vision of T'ai Chi Chuan and martial arts becoming part of mainstream culture in Western countries. She thinks the martial arts are "a good tool or path for learning



about yourself, working on your weaknesses, and confronting your fears. If you're strong inside yourself and know yourself, then you can be more accepting of other people and different ways. Everybody else can do whatever they want, and you're fine. This is how I think martial arts can help individuals and the whole culture to become less aggressive- to know and love yourself is a first step to world peace." (Quote from an extensive interview with Michelle from 1995, published in 1998 SHARP SPEAR CRYSTAL MIRROR, Martial Arts in Women's Lives, Stephanie T. Hoppe, Park Street Press)

Michelle is a tireless teacher, spending many summers teaching in Europe and coming back in time for PAWMA camp and to help out where she could. For years she took the mats to camp in her truck, even though she is not a mat artist. "You do what it takes- You see the need and fill it." Her integrity shines throughout her life. She "walks her talk". She is a vegetarian. She is loyal. She is a disciplined practitioner. She promotes peaceful energy in all aspects of life. Michelle is now a grandmother of PAWMA. She raised it as a daughter and now a whole new generation of dedicated young women are continuing to keep women safe and free. And typical of great masters of martial arts, she is a fine artist. Painting in water colors and working from nature, she produces several lovely paintings a year. They are full of peaceful yet energetic qi, reflecting her own Tai Chi nature.

A profile of Michelle Dwyer must include that she is always ready to laugh.

“The nuns went to the river and washed their hearts with laughter.”



Sensei Leslie Lippard accepting her well-deserved award. Photo credit: Malaika Kambon.

Profile: Sensei Leslie Lippard, Martial Artist of the Year Allyson Appen

It takes a lot of energy from a small group of dedicated people to run the PAWMA organization and most of those members are real “doers” — able to take an idea or assignment and execute without much supervision. Leslie -Lippard, our 2012 Martial Artist of the Year is not only a long-term supporter and “doer” for PAWMA and its Board, but she is also a dedicated martial artist whose perseverance and discipline has earned her a Nidan in Shorin Ryu and a Shodan in Judo.

Leslie began her martial arts career in 1985 at the Karate Women Dojo in Los Angeles under Sensei Maria Doest. Karate Women was a very prominent school in PAWMA at the time and they were an inspiring presence at camp. After attending her first PAWMA camp in 1986, Leslie participated in demos benefitting the organization and along with Caryl Akamichi, created calendars highlighting women martial artists for two years as fundraisers for PAWMA.

In 1987, she began her first of four terms on the PAWMA Board of Directors. She has held the role of Treasurer, at-large member, and when not on the board, she served as a regional representative. Leslie was promoted Shodan in Shorin Ryu in 1988 and received her Nidan rank in 1991.

After moving to the Bay area in 1995, Leslie commenced judo training with Keiko Fukuda Shihan in San Francisco. After receiving her brown belt from Fukuda Shihan, Leslie took a break to become a mother.



In 1998 she had her first child, Nicolas, and thought it would be fun to coordinate the annual PAWMA training camp in 1999 while on maternity leave. Was that a little crazy or what? Those who have coordinated camp know that is a tremendous undertaking and this was before online registration was in place!

Along with administration and coordination of camp, Leslie has taught several classes at camp — a notable one was a kata comparison class where standard hard style forms were compared from system to system.

After the birth of her second child, Stella, Leslie started training in judo again, this time in the East Bay Judo Club, famous for producing Olympic-caliber competitors. Leslie was promoted to Shodan in May 2012.

We salute you Leslie for your long career in the martial arts and your dedication to supporting PAWMA.

PAWMA members can nominate those they feel are deserving of the Martial Artist of the Year award by sending a letter of explanation to [email protected] or PO Box 23157, Seattle WA 98102.

mailto:[email protected]�



Camp 2012 – Highlights in Pictures Photos by Malaika Kambon

To see more photos from camp, visit http://peopleseye.photoshelter.com/gallery-collection/PAWMA-Spirit-of-the-Dragon/C0000QZLEyRn9dA0





Survey Says ... 2012 Camp Survey Results We asked, you answered. Last summer PAWMA surveyed the membership and past camp participants to learn your opinions about what kind of camp you like and where you want it. We specifically asked about these styles of camp:

• Retreat-style: dormitory housing, shared bathroom/shower facilities, cafeteria meals, either in an outdoor setting or an urban/campus setting.

• Conference-style: participants are responsible for arranging their own housing and meals, classes held at a school or community center, in an urban setting.

A big thank you to everyone who took the survey. Your views help guide future decisions about PAWMA's annual training camp. Where do you want to have future camps?

Here's the list potential camp locations, in order of preference among survey respondents. The surprise write-in candidate was Hawaii (if flights are cheap enough).



How far would you travel to attend camp?

Over half of survey respondents put no limit on how far they would travel to attend PAWMA camp. The remaining recipients were nearly evenly split between traveling up to 500 miles/10-hour drive, up to 250 miles/5-hour drive, and under 100 miles/2-hour drive.

What kind of camp do you prefer?

Survey respondents preferred the retreat-style camp in an urban or campus setting, followed by retreat-style in an outdoor setting. This preference held whether camp was held close to home or farther away, with a slightly greater likelihood of attending if camp were held within a two-hour drive.



What's important to you?



What keeps you from coming to camp?

We know not everyone can make it to camp every year. Here's the most common reasons among the survey respondents. We will take these factors into consideration as much as we can when planning future camps.

Respondents shared other reasons in comments, such as not enough classes in their style, or that they were otherwise interested in. Timing of camp is always a challenge, as many people have conflicts with work or other events.



Who took the survey?

Approximately 38% of respondents had been to seven or more camps. About 20% of respondents had attended 4-6 camps. 36% had attended 1-3 camps. The remaining 6% hadn't attended camp, but we hope they will join us at a future camp.

A third of the respondents renew their membership every year, regardless of whether they attend camp. Nearly 23% renew when they can and 24% only renew in years they attend camp. 6% of respondents are lifetime members (Thank you! You are our stalwarts!) Almost 14% of respondents are not members.

Remember, if you are a current, paid-up member, you get email delivery of PAWMA News, a discount on camp, and the good feeling that comes with supporting women in martial arts.



Safe Training Space Editor’s Note: This is a reprint of a recent email message from the PAWMA Board President.

I send this email, which includes "Elements of a safe training space" and PAWMA's Mission and Vision Statements to remind PAWMA Members and PAWMA Camp event participants of the beliefs that are shared among the stakeholders of PAWMA. These values drive PAWMA's culture and priorities.

Those who come to share in martial arts training at PAWMA events expect to find the culture of openness that PAWMA professes to believe. Moreover, cultural, political and religious judgments, condemnations and confrontations do not allow a safe and supportive training space to exist. As a basic element of a safe training space, if a PAWMA member or PAWMA event participant would like to lodge a complaint that may be culturally, religiously or politically based, complaints should be submitted to a PAWMA Board Member; private participants should not be approached. Again, PAWMA strives to be respectful and inclusive of all cultures as is stated in PAWMA's Mission and Vision statements (restated below).

Elements of a safe training space PAWMA is a community where many women come together to share and support one another on their martial arts journey. Women should know they are training in a safe space. It may not always be easy or comfortable, but it should always be safe ground. What makes a space safe?

• Respect–honoring each person, even if her truth is different from your own. • Non-judgmental attitude–setting aside one’s personal bias or opinions. • Openness–willingness to allow an experience or another person to move us--change us

even.

When this way of “being” is present in a group, a safe space is created for others and for ourselves. This does not mean that everyone in the group needs to agree with one another, only that there is agreement to hold the intention of being safe for one another.

PAWMA's Mission Statement The Pacific Association of Women Martial Artists:

Brings together female martial artists of diverse styles, skills, ages, and cultures to train together and learn from each other in events throughout the Pacific region.

Promotes among female martial artists an environment of respect, appreciation, and learning of the variety of martial arts styles and skills.

Fosters friendship, connection, and peaceable coexistence in our lives and in our communities.



Mentors young martial artists and new martial arts teachers and school owners while recognizing and honoring our elders.

PAWMA's Vision Statement PAWMA inspires, informs, recharges and energizes, connects, validates, and supports female martial artists of all ages, cultures, and abilities; specifically:

We come together at our annual Camp, and other events held throughout the Pacific region, to share our joy in the martial arts, our stories, our challenges, and expand our skills and knowledge, and to recharge our energies for our work in the world.

We connect women and girls who are training in isolated or unsupported environments with a larger women’s martial arts community, supporting them to continue on their path.

We work to enhance the visibility and recognition of women’s contributions to the martial arts.

We support women who are martial arts teachers or school owners, providing networking opportunities and sharing practical information about business planning and marketing.

We refer and connect members with questions with those who can provide insight or who have skills with particular tasks.

We provide essential scholarships to women and girls in difficult circumstances who might otherwise not be able to train in their art.

We provide information to women and girls just discovering the martial arts, to assist them in finding a style, a school, or an instructor that fits their needs.

We offer women a vision of the possibilities available to them, and offer the world a view of the vast diversity of women martial artists.

PAWMA's Values

• Respect • Inclusion • Service • Integrity • Mindfulness • Practice

Thank you all for your continued participation in PAWMA events and thank you in advance for ensuring that PAWMA is a safe space for all of us. Rosanne Boudreau 2012 PAWMA Board President



Farewell But Not Goodbye Tracy Reith PAWMA Vice-president It has been my privilege to serve PAWMA as its vice-president, president, then vice-president again, over the last three years. This has been a particularly challenging chapter in PAWMA’s 35 year history, and it’s not over yet. I feel proud to have played a part in what I believe is a turning point for PAWMA as we redefine our organization for the future.

PAWMA has been a big part of my martial arts experience almost since I began training 16 years ago. At the urging of Sifu Patty O’Linger, long-time proponent of PAWMA and current board member, I attended my first PAWMA camp at Camp Elphinstone on Vancouver Island, B.C., in 1998. I fell in love with the experience then and haven’t missed a camp since.

For me personally, PAWMA has always provided a safe place for overcoming emotional challenges I’ve faced in my martial arts journey. I particularly recall the camp before my green belt test, when every other class resulted in an emotional breakdown. The support I felt from my PAWMA sisters gave me strength and helped me mature as a martial artist.

Although I am leaving the board at the end of my term in October, I will continue to actively support PAWMA on a practical level by managing the PAWMA.org web site and producing the newsletter under the direction of our newsletter editor, Jennifer Argle. I hope to see you all at next year’s camp.

From the Editor:

Thank you to those who contributed, assisted, and took the time to write an article for this

newsletter. If you are interested in writing an article for the upcoming newsletter, please email

Newsletter Editor at [email protected]. The next submission deadline is December 15,

2012.

mailto:[email protected]?subject=newsletter%20submission�

pawma news...pawma news • vol. 35 no. 4 • fall 2012 2 pacific association of women martial...

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