Time for a bit of “divergent thinking”…
Have you ever looked around and asked how you could possibly make a difference in our community? Really, when you look at the unemployment levels, poverty, and crime in our city it seems overwhelming. What people don’t realize is that many of our local Martial Arts schools are hubs for a type of thinking that can really make a difference. A good martial arts school teaches so much more than just “punching and kicking”, they teach respect, courtesy, leadership, and in some cases an even more important quality – Social Awareness.
While all martial arts schools in Indianapolis teach the arts of war, the original meaning of the term “martial art”, some go well beyond that set to ideas. For as long as man has made war there has been a desire inside of each of us to find peace instead. As the martial arts have evolved over the centuries this desire for peace and a “conquering of the inner-self” has created a new way of looking at the purpose of training. In schools like Indianapolis ATA Black Belt Academy in Oaklandon and Pilsung ATA Martial Arts in Greenwood a different kind of training is happening.
These and other schools in our city are teaching Empathy and building Social Awareness in their students. The Instructors in these schools are leading the student body to do community service projects. These community service projects are often what are known as “hands dirty” projects, where the student works hard and interacts directly with the people they are helping. When a person is directly serving another they begin to not only have sympathy for those they serve, but begin to build empathy. Service projects, such as going to help distribute food at the Lord’s Pantry at Anna’s House , help the students build an understanding of what those they are serving go through every day. They get to experience a range of emotions that help them “see with the eyes, hear with the ears, and feel with the heart of another.” This type of understanding, the development of empathy, goes so deep that many students are moved to continue helping or even seek out other ways they can help their community on their own time.
Don’t miss out on your opportunity to make a difference in our city! Find a good martial arts school and join them in their efforts to build a stronger community through Empathy and Social Awareness. This should be one of your questions as you visit and evaluate the schools around your home, make sure that the school encouragees and leads community service projects. Let the Instructors of your chosen school help you improve your way of life, your health, and your community. Learn what we mean when we say “Building a better community, one BLACK BELT at a time!”
Get Involved. Get Committed. Get Fit!
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