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Scholarships and Assistance
Scholarships for our program
at the
Christian
Martial
Arts
Center are made available
to those who qualify for one of the following:
Short Term Scholarship
In some cases a
“Short Term” scholarship may be made available to a student experiencing
financial difficulty. These scholarships are not intended to exceed 90 days. In
order to qualify for this assistance the student must have:
A record of continuous participation in the program for over 6 months with
no absences other than those excused by the Instructor.
A satisfactory previous payment history.
Reciprocal and In-Kind Assistance
From time to time there are a limited number of slots available to someone who
can provide a service that would normally be an expense to CMAC.
In essence this would simply be a “trade of services.”
Examples: Custodial Services for the Dojang, Carpentry, Painting and
other Maintenance Services, Advertising, etc..
In order to qualify for this assistance, it must be a service needed by CMAC,
there must be a slot available (we limit the number of Reciprocal and In-Kind
slots) and the student must have:
1. An attitude that demonstrates the " Tenents of Taekwondo" and the "Tenents of Christianity."
2. A desire to excel and lead.
3. A commitment to the program.
All Reciprocal and In-Kind Assistance Applications must be recommended by the
Instructor and approved by the Board of Christian Martial Arts Ministries.
"Mentoring Through Martial Arts©”
Scholarships
Our Mentoring Project is more complex in its scope and is designed to benefit
individuals in unique and sometimes extreme circumstances.
The intention of Mentoring Through Martial Arts©,”
is
to provide positive role modeling by adult mentors and same age peer groups to
children who might stand to benefit from this program but for financial and/or
other reasons would not be able to participate.
Who would benefit?
Most every child could
benefit from our program. However,
our interest in this project is to try to help the child who might be having
problems as a result of:
* one or both parents not present in the home
* victimization by abuse, neglect, or bullying
* low self-esteem
* “acting out”
* being disrespectful
* lack of self-respect
* oppositional defiance
* lack of anger control
* poor concentration
* lack of motivation
* poor grades
We make no claims of being able to correct these emotional and behavioral
problems, nor do we claim to be behavioral specialists.
However, through experience, we do know that the self-confidence that can
be gained by having someone, often outside of the “institutional home” or
“school” environment, take an interest and show care, can make a tremendous
difference. That is our objective.
Why Martial Arts?
Some
martial arts programs, it seems, encourage “show off” behavior which in itself
can lead to problems. This is far
from our intentions at CMA. In
fact, the “Tenets of Taekwondo” discourages such behavior and encourages
the opposite.
These Tenets are: Courtesy,
Integrity, Self-control, Perseverance and Indomitable Spirit.
Courtesy
is displayed in classes when students are taught to help each other learn
techniques, help a partner up who has fallen, and respond with “Yes, Ma’am” or
“Yes, Sir” when asked a question.
Integrity is defined as having honesty and as doing the right thing…even
when no one is looking. Through
sparring (light contact kicking and punching) in protective gear, students learn
the Self-Control to not show anger when their opponent wins a match.
They are also firmly taught that their new skills are only to be used for
sport at the dojang or in a true case of self-defense.
The martial arts can not be mastered quickly, so students see the results
of Perseverance and as students advance through the ranks, they come to
realize the meaning of courage and Indomitable Spirit.
As we teach the “Tenets of Taekwondo,” we also teach and show the correlation
between these Tenets and the “Tenets of Christianity."
These Tenets are:
Goodness,
Knowledge, Self-control, Perseverance, Godliness, Brotherly Kindness and Love.
These are the characteristics that we wish to strengthen in all of our children,
especially those who exhibit the undesirable and inappropriate behaviors
mentioned earlier. We want to
instill in these young people the confidence found in self-restraint and the
power of being able to say “no” at the right time.
In fact, if we only make improvements in one or two of these areas it can have a
remarkable difference in the outcome of a child’s daily routine and life,
affecting peer relations, relations with authority figures, self-respect, and
perhaps even grades.
Our
goals include: respecting each student as a valued unique individual with
distinct interests and opinions; being sensitive to the students varying
abilities and learning styles; and providing students with the foundations for
learning with opportunities for choice, experimentation, creativity, and problem
solving.
We are not a counseling agency and it is not our
intention to offer “professional” counseling.
We are a martial arts center that provides an environment where a child
can feel safe and empowered. Our
staff and board of directors are comprised of people who have a wide range of
experience and training in working with children with special needs and behavior
problems. This gives us a unique
ability to be able to communicate and most often “just listen” when a child
wants or needs to talk. We respect
confidentiality. We will use any
information volunteered by School Administration, Teachers, Therapist,
Counselors, and Parents/Guardians but we will not pry into a child’s private
home life to gain information.
Our program is one that is based on physical training that demands and models a
particular kind of behavior and discipline.
In our classes we are able to observe behavior in a wide variety of situations
that may allow us to offer helpful information to counselors.
The vigorous exercise, races, and games can cause uncontrolled actions to
surface. This permits us to teach
the necessity of control by use of positive and negative reinforcement, natural
consequences, and peer pressure.
Sparring practice teaches healthy competition and anger control.
Aggression can safely be channeled into positive experiences of success.
Students go home tired, relaxed, and mentally stimulated.
Our Objective with “Mentoring Through Martial Arts ©”
is to be able to offer this program to as many children in need of it as
possible.
Our current capacity allows spaces for approximately 60 students.
We would like to allocate 25% of our spaces to our “Mentoring Through Martial
Arts©” Project. We are seeking
funding that will allow us to do this.
Through volunteers and donations from the private sector and our Board of
Directors, we conducted a “pilot program” over the last 12 months with students
referred to us by local school principles and counselors. We discovered an
incredible need and found that our program will work.
Who will we accept into the program?
Our Board of Directors would give consideration to
Applications for any child between the ages of 6 and 17, referred to us by a
School Counselor or Principle, Pastor, State or County Child Care Advocate or
Counselor. Any other child would be
considered provided they could obtain a referral from one of the above or
another credible source.
It would also be incumbent upon the referring agency/school/source to impress
upon the parent/guardian of the child the value of the opportunity and the
importance of regular attendance and participation.
In fact, it should be stated that upon two absences within one month the child
would be subject to termination from the program.
We would also rely upon the referring agency/school/source to work with us to
develop an appropriate rubric, workable within their “system or understanding”
as a method of measuring our success, level of improvement, or lack thereof.
We believe that we are
making a difference in a unique and rewarding way in the lives of our children
and youth. We hope that you will
agree and assist us in furthering this effort.
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