The rafters were rattling as 45 students and their family and friends gathered for the Board Break-A-Thon at LightSpeed Martial Arts Academy in Scotts Valley last week.
Owner/Master instructor Matt Salisbury and other instructors formed lines of participants across the gym according to thickness of the pine board they wanted to break, using their hand or foot.
At one end stood the 4-year-olds who chose a 1-inch board and then the lines progressed up to experienced martial arts students choosing 2-inch boards.
Salisbury, who received the 2014 Good Times “Best of Santa Cruz” award for martial arts instructor, says, “It makes young and old more confident because the board presents a challenge to overcome and a goal to reach. A lot of people think of martial arts as fighting, but it’s a discipline and a way of life. We teach values of perseverance, giving back to the community, and respect and connection to others.”
The Academy has formed a leadership team — a high level program for students who want to commit to learning skills and tools to become a leader. The instructors develop weekly classes and homework assignments to help them.
10-year-old Kayla Mee was asked to be on the leadership team by her instructor “because he thought I was ready and would be able to help other students. It was an honor to be asked. It made me feel special.”
The Vine Hill Elementary School student says her favorite part of martial arts is doing the high kicks.
“I would tell girls that it’s a really cool experience and you learn so many cool things, not just martial arts, but how to treat other people — be kind and have a good attitude,” she said.
“We do charity events to teach them about giving back and the importance of leading by example,” says Salisbury. In December the leadership team collected toys in a bin at the school and offered a bake sale for the local “Toys for Tots” chapter. With the proceeds from the bake sale, the young leaders-in-training raised enough money to purchase $40 each to buy toys. The project demonstrated the leadership skill of giving back.
In February Salisbury asked the team what they wanted to do with the proceeds from the upcoming “Break-A-Thon, and they unanimously said they wanted to give back to kids with cancer.
Salisbury remembered Kristin Cosner, whose two daughters started karate at age four with him. Unfortunately one of her daughters was diagnosed with pediatric cancer. She beat the cancer, but through the experience the family learned of the lack of funding for pediatric cancer research.
They formed the Team G Childhood Cancer Foundation, as a way to help and support other families who are going through similar situations.
Voted Scotts Valley’s Organization of the Year in 2014 by the Scotts Valley Chamber, Team G receives proceeds from several organizations, in addition to Light Speed.
“They sustains us and helps us with our goal,” Cosner said.
One of their projects is “Hope Totes” which was started two years ago.
“They are care packages sent to children’s hospitals with information to newly diagnosed patients and their families to start them on their journeys,” Cosner said. “Matt is entertaining and fun to watch with his students. He focuses their energy on learning team agility skills to help them grow and help their brains grow.”
So far the Break-a-Thon has raised approximately $1500 for Team G, but more pledges are still coming in, says Salisbury.
Follow Team G at http://teamgfoundation.org
Contact Light Speed at http://www.lightspeedmartialarts.com/index.php or 831-438-6068.
