Sassy Senior Self-Defense Workshops
Our latest grant has been awarded to Karatedo Honma Dojo, a traditional Japanese karate school in the East Village, and their new "Sassy Senior Self-Defense Workshops." Building on the success of a series of three self-defense workshops they ran for seniors in their area, they will be running four more workshops in 2025 at their dojo, providing their students with practical self-defense skills, a sense of empowerment and accomplishment, and a community centered around traditional Japanese karate and culture.
"Senior citizens, and Asian seniors in particular, are a vulnerable subset of New Yorkers. The Stop AAPI Hate Coalition reported in 2022 one out of four (26.2%) harassment cases against Asian American adults 60 and older were physical assault. Our grandparents, aunties and uncles deserve to feel safe! We teach self defense. In our general classes we often talk about and practice decisive action that allows us to make a safe escape, but senior citizens do not have the option to run away. Our aim for this project is to tailor a series of workshops specifically for seniors that allows them to build confidence, situational awareness and practical self-defense knowledge. Our hope is that they will use the knowledge and exercise to remain as independent and sassy as their advanced years allow."
"Sassy seniors are essential to every community! In Japanese culture we revere our elders. Developing these workshops feels strongly in line with our values and addresses a need within our larger community. Adapting our highly specialized martial arts skill set and using our sensitivity to the needs of seniors, we are going to empower them. Our elders hold deep reserves of knowledge, wisdom, patience and humor. Empowering them in their golden years makes life more awesome for everyone they know and touch!"