Name: Phillipe Ledoux
Elena Ledoux could see her 5-year-old son, Phillipe, turning into a couch potato. She looked for other kids in their downtown condo for him to play with, but they all seemed either too young or too old. She took him to the park in the hope of getting him active and involved with other kids, but, once again, the kids didn’t match up, and Phillipe begged to go home and watch cartoons.
As a single mother who has never been involved in athletics, Ledoux, an attorney, didn’t know where to turn. She had an additional disadvantage, as she was raised in Uzbekistan, where scholarship is valued far more than sports. In Hawai’i, where athleticism is emphasized, she felt like a fish out of water, unable to teach her little fish how to swim.
“Where I come from, it’s more important to be smart than fit, but in the U.S., it’s more important to be fit and athletic. I want Phillipe to maximize his opportunities in the future, and if that’s important, then that’s what he has to do. I want him to have choices,” Ledoux said. “If they get exposed to sports when they’re little, they’ll carry it through their entire lives.”
As soon as Phillipe’s pediatrician gave him the go-ahead to begin an exercise program, Ledoux took him to the nearby Nu’uanu YMCA, where she enrolled him in swimming. He enjoyed swimming, but it wasn’t something he got excited about.
But while leaving the pool one day, Phillipe spotted other kids about his age in starched white karate uniforms, with patches on their sleeves. He wanted to join them. Ledoux found out they were attending the Karate Kids program, a weekly beginning-level class designed to use karate as a motivator for academic achievement, as well as help kids develop character, kindness and consideration for others.
It clicked. Phillipe became involved and enthralled with karate, and immediately learned to respect, and seek to emulate, his karate master, James Kerr.
As we caught up with Phillipe one Saturday morning before his karate class at the Nu’uanu YMCA, it was a challenge to get his attention. Shifting from one foot to the other, inching toward the classroom, all he wanted was to go to karate class. “Can’t I go now, Mom?” he asked eagerly.
“I like exercising, and they teach me tricks. Last week, they taught me how to fall. It’s really fun,” he said. OK. Interview over. The kid just wants to have fun.
“So can I go to class now, Mom? Please? Please? Please?”
Ledoux has been surprised at the health benefits of karate. Phillipe has not had a cold since he began classes. In addition, “he actually grew taller!” she said.
There have been psychological and disciplinary benefits as well, as she found that she could use karate as “leverage to get him motivated. If I want him to do something, I tell him, ‘Do you want to go to karate this week? Then you have to study,’ and he does.”
Kerr is not surprised. He said karate changed his life. “As a child, I was excruciatingly shy. I started martial arts at 14 and it was, literally, a passport to the world for me.”
Kerr said Phillipe is an energetic, curious child who “likes to do things and then talk about them. We’re working with him on patience and learning to wait his turn, and to share. He’s learning emotional self-control.”
The secret in getting young children active, Kerr says, is to find an activity that is interesting to them. A benefit of karate is that it’s a group-oriented activity. “It’s also something they can carry with them and do anytime, anywhere,” he said. “Sure, they get some physical activity, but the kids also get character development and time to focus on simply being better people. And, yes, martial arts will teach them to defend themselves (and) to be more respectful and confident.”
Kerr also gives a brief academic lesson during each class. The Saturday a reporter attended, the subject was history.
“Do you know who Ben Franklin was?” Kerr asked. Up piped an enthusiastic little girl: “The store!” she answered proudly. Oops. Not to worry. Kerr set the little one straight.
Name: Ed Hope
Ed Hope is a highly motivated student in the SMARTkarate Program and often rushes from work to make each class. This is certainly the opposite from how it was for him two months ago.
Ed’s daughter, Tyler, has been in the SMARTkarate Program for three years and although he and his wife, Lorna, would consistently bring Tyler to class, he never thought about joining. But, back in January things began to take a new twist for him.
One evening after class, Sensei Bobby asked him to consider joining. Ed smiled as excuses formed in his mind like fireworks. Weeks went by and the invitations continued. Ed considered himself “The Master of Excuses” and on a couple of occasions he confessed as much to Sensei Bobby. But this “Master of Excuses” had begun to seriously reconsider his health. He’d begun to often think about how he was no longer that young teenager growing up in a tough neighborhood, taking boxing as a youngster in order to defend himself. But Ed also wanted to join the classes and serve as encouragement for his daughter, Tyler.
Finally after about four months, after having had enough of procrastinating and his poor level of fitness, he joined.
On the first day of class, he weighted 324 pounds. The martial arts training challenged him both physically and mentally. The push-ups were painful, the crunches were brutal, and every technique was uncomfortable. Everything hurt, but Ed never gave up. He often came to class sore from the previous workout, but determined to persevere through another class.
After a few short weeks, he noticed that his push-ups were getting easier, his kicks were getting higher, and his punches were more powerful. For Ed, things were changing for the better and there was no stopping now.
After less than two months of training in SMARTkarate, Ed hopped on the scale again: 301 pounds. He lost of 23 pounds! And the weight loss was achieved without modifying his diet.
Ed is so excited. He says initially he was more interested in the physical fitness aspect, but he notices his martial arts techniques have improved a great deal. He also says that he has become stronger, more flexible, and his energy has increased. The SMARTkarate program has changed his life. Ed says he would like to sharpen his martial arts skills and continue to loose weight, get in really good shape, and be able to resume another one of his passions: scuba diving.
Name: Lorna Hope
For many years, Lorna Hope had wanted to take martial arts, but there had always seemed to be something standing in her way—too busy, too tired, not enough time, no support, etc…. Years of excuses and distractions had turned into complacency. But deep down inside there was still a faint desire to study martial arts.
Every week, for three years, Lorna had taken her daughter, Tyler, to the SMARTkarate classes, but she wasn’t able to break the shackles of complacency. As her daughter trained, she sometimes found herself imagining what it would feel like to kick, punch, and do shoulder rolls like her daughter and the other students in class. She knew she was wasting time dreaming about joining, but having no strength to do anything about it.
In January 2008, Sensei Bobby invited her to join the SMARTkarate classes. Lorna smiled, chuckled a little, and gave an noncommittal answer, “Uh…I don’t know…”
Lorna needed more than a casual invitation. Although she wanted to join, it was going to take a whole lot more to unglue her from the three-year seat. Nevertheless, week by week she began to pick away that glue; then, after about four months, she was free! She committed to the SMARTkarate program and never looked back.
After about two months of consistent training she says that she has gained confidence, strength, and flexibility. She also says that she feels happier and looks forward to coming to class. In addition, her energy level has risen to a new level. At family gatherings, all of her relatives notice the change in her body. Lorna notices that her body has transformed in a way that she never imagined. Every time she thinks about the muscle tone in her arms and legs, she smiles.
Lorna said that even though the physical training is difficult, she really likes it because it’s making a noticeable difference. Her martial arts techniques seem to improve weekly and her confidence during training is obvious. No more playing spectator for Lorna. She has found one of her passions, the martial arts, and, every week, 2 – 4 times per week, you’ll find her in the SMARTkarate classes, often early, and warming-up before class begins with a big smile full of enthusiasm.
