|
||||
HALTing Anger
|
||||
 Five inner-city school kids chase around a tennis ball, kicking it from one end of the room to the other, trying to score a goal. Their laughter fills the room. The smallest boy, in full karate uniform, scores, and the others erupt in cheers. At 4:30 p.m., Simpson Huston, Tracy Hardman and Thomas Rucker enter the room. Dressed in martial arts robes and honorific black belts, they yell, “Line it up!” Instantly, the four boys and one girl scramble to get in line. “Fighting stances!” Huston commands. The children respond without a word, feet shoulder-width apart, right foot in front, guards to their faces. Another Kenpo lesson has begun. Kenpo, a form of martial arts designed to combat aggression, is part of Project HALT (Never be Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired), a Cleveland Clinic program that combines the martial arts with anger management to help kids battle their aggression in a positive way. Kenpo’s arsenal of self-defense techniques numbers in the hundreds and is the most practical available in martial arts training. Students arc tested on these techniques to develop their gross motor skills and teach them to react spontaneously.
|
“Kenpo is not
violent or aggressive. This program is more for anger management, drug
prevention, health and wellness, and addressing discipline problems in
school,” says Huston, a black belt who has been doing Kenpo for 15 years.
Huston works in the Behavioral Services Department at The Cleveland Clinic. Under the leadership of Gregory Collins, M.D., Huston started an adult program of Kenpo to help with pain management and to curb chemical dependency. The goal was to increase the self-esteem of adults who were having problems with anger and sobriety. The program received so much positive feedback that Huston wanted to start a similar program for children. At the same time, the Rev. Judith Vasile of the Euclid Avenue Congregational Church, located at East 96”’ Street and Euclid Avenue near The Cleveland Clinic, was looking to provide additional services and opportunities to support her congregation. She was particularly interested in programs that could benefit adolescents and children. “There was a lack of programs for young people, and I had a compelling concern to reach out to the youth in the community” she says. Parents she talked to were worried about their teens’ lack of respect for adults and authority. “Martial arts teaches that respect,” she says.
|
Huston and Rev.
Vasile collaborated on a new Project HALT program for kids, ages 8-14, who
live in the Hough com munity and the greater Cleveland area. Huston and
the other instructors spend 12 weeks working in the church basement
teaching the Kenpo forms necessary to reach yellow belt status. At the end
of the 12 weeks, students test for their yellow belts.
“There is a lot of material covered in each class. These kids have to go home, and, in addition to doing their homework and getting good grades, they have to practice their forms and be ready to move forward the next class,” Huston says. In addition to Kenpo, the kids learn to role play. Huston says it gives kids a chance to express themselves and to find out what they would do if approached with drugs and/or by gangs. “We focus on the five `S’ words: self-discipline, self-confidence, self-reliance, self- actualization and self-esteem,” he says. Rev. Vasile says it works. “Parents say the results are astounding-behavioral problems have been decreased, manifestation of anger, tirades and tantrums have gone down. The kids really respond positively to the teachings of the martial arts.” What’s next for Project HALT? Cleveland’s East Village Council CCBI (Cleveland Community Building Initiative) plans on supporting this martial arts initiative in 2002. The hope is to collaborate for Thursday night programs in addition to the Tuesday night classes. For more information on Project HALT, please call the Rev. Judith Vasile at 216/791-5200.
|
||