PAWMA News Uniting and empowering a diverse community of women and girls in the martial arts.

Vol. 35 No. 3 Summer 2012 PAWMA Camp 2012 August 3-5, 2012, Berkeley High School, Berkeley CA

Camp Info • Housing, Meals, and Transportation info • Teachers • Group Rebates Living Legend: Fukuda Keiko Shihan

Frances Christie

Shihan Keiko Fukuda, 10th , is one of the most important masters in the art of . Sensei Fukuda has dedicated her whole life to judo for over 77 years; from her first years in the Women’s Section of the Kodokan in the 1930s, invited to study there by Jigoro Kano who was the founder of judo, till the present day. Her grandfather, Hachinosuke Fukuda, was the first of the three Ju-Jitsu masters who taught Kano Shihan. Kano Shihan sent her out into the world to spread the teaching, tenets, and philosophy and Kodokan judo.

Fukuda Shihan’s accomplishments and awards are numerous. In 2011 she was granted 10th dan in judo by USA Judo and US Judo Federation, the first woman ever to be honored in this way. Fukuda Shihan first visited the US in 1953, and settled in in the 1960s to teach Judo at Mills College and eventually at her own dojo, Soko Joshi Judo Club in San Francisco, where she still teaches. Photo copyright Flying Carp Productions Fukuda Shihan demonstrated Ju No with Noritomi Sensei at the Olympics in Tokyo in 1964 and published a book in 1973, Born for the Mat: A Kodokan Kata Textbook for Women. She has also published a book studying the finer details of Ju No Kata. She has traveled to teach all over the world, and has held numerous positions in The United States on the local and national PAWMA News • Vol. 35 No. 1 • Winter 2012 2

Levels, such as Technical Advisor, Promotion Committee Chairperson, Board of Examiners Chairperson, Chief Advisor, and Head Kata Judge. Fukuda Shihan is the founder of the annual Joshi Judo Camp that for more than thirty years has brought together women from all over the United States. Over forty years ago she began the Kagami Biraki ceremony in San Francisco which is the annual New Year’s Celebration that mirrors that of the Kodokan. Fukuda Shihan is the founder of the Fukuda International Kata competition that reunites Judo family from all over the world every October. Over the years, she has taken her students to numerous teaching engagements and competitions nationally and internationally, including the USA Senior National Kata Championships, The World Master Athlete Championships that bring together competitors from numerous countries, and the first Pan American Judo Union Kata Championships in 2000, an historic event. All her efforts are intended to challenge and to nurture the spirits of her students and friends who love Judo. In numerous ceremonies celebrating her 88th birthday and her many accomplishments, San Francisco’s Mayor Willie Brown gave Fukuda Sensei a special award to commemorate the creation of a “Keiko Fukuda Day” as part of a festival of martial arts. It is no wonder that the Emperor of Japan recognized Fukuda Sensei as a National Living Treasure of Japan in 1990, honoring her with a Medal of Honor, The Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Rosette. Shihan Fukuda embodies her motto: Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful. Pat Harrington, judoka from Australia published a book about Shihan Fukuda: Bow from the Heart. Recently, Yuriko Gamo Romer debuted a film celebrating Shihan Fukuda’s many accomplishments and amazing life: Mrs. Judo: Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful. Single Class Registration Available for Opening Class with Shihan Keiko Fukuda

PAWMA is especially blessed and honored as it approaches the occasion of its 35th annual training camp. The opening class on Friday night, Aug 3, will be taught by a Living National Treasure of Japan and pioneer of women’s martial arts, "Mrs Judo" herself, Shihan Keiko Fukuda, 10th Dan.

We don’t want anyone to miss this unique opportunity to learn from the highest ranking woman in Judo. We are offering a special one-class registration for those who are unable to attend the full camp. Registration for Opening Class includes admission to the Saturday night martial arts demonstration. Click here for details and to register for opening class only.

The opening class with Fukuda Shihan is included in the full PAWMA camp. You do not need to register separately for Opening Class if you are coming for the full camp.

The Opening Class registration fee can apply toward full camp registration for anyone who later decides to attend the full camp.

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Fukuda Shihan will teach Ju No Kata, one of the seven official Kodokan Judo . Fukuda Shihan has devoted much of her life to intensive study of this kata, which exemplifies the principle of strength with gentleness.

Ju No Kata consists of 15 techniques of self-defense, performed very slowly with no throws or falls. Although it is very advanced, it is a beautiful kata and ideal for women. It can teach a lot about timing and the principles of tai sabaki, or repositioning, and all participants should be able to learn from this practice. Shihan Fukuda will be assisted by several of her black belt students, who are experienced practitioners of the kata. Two of them will demonstrate the kata, followed by a breakdown of each technique. Camp 2012

Jennifer Argle, Editor, PAWMA News

It is nearly time for PAWMA’s annual training camp and this year it promises to be quite an event. Over the nearly 35 years since PAWMA’s first camp the locations, accommodations, and classes offered have all changed however the spirit that drives us to gather, share, and inspire one another still remains strong. Also, the hallmark of our annual camp is the high level of instructors the board attracts and this year is no different. In addition to the other great instructors we have this year, we are honored and excited to have Shihan Keiko Fukuda teaching the opening Friday night class!

Recently, the newsletter has published several articles from women who organized and participated in some of the earlier camps to provide a better understanding of what sparked the idea to start PAWMA and what those early camps were like. This issue also includes a previously published article from Professor Coleen Gragen outlining her vision (in 1988) for PAWMA and women’s martial arts in general.

A lot has changed over the years and although there are more women training in martial arts now it’s still a very male-dominated art/sport, which brings to mind two of PAWMA’s vision statements:

We come together at our annual Camp, and other events held throughout the Pacific region, to share our joy in the martial arts, our stories, our challenges, and expand our skills and knowledge, and to recharge our energies for our work in the world.

We offer women a vision of the possibilities available to them, and offer the world a view of the vast diversity of women martial artists.

Both of these statements are at the heart of what PAWMA is all about. Our annual camps help inspire not just the women who attend but the men and women around us!

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However, PAWMA is at a crossroads today with more resources available for female martial artists of all styles to gather and train together. Twenty-four years after Professor Gragen’s article was published how do you see PAWMA growing in the future? A few weeks ago the PAWMA board sent out an email with a link to a survey to gather your thoughts. The deadline for the survey has passed. If you didn’t have a chance to respond I encourage you to contact the board via email or on Facebook with any ideas or suggestions you might have!

See you at camp! Notice of Annual Membership Meeting

Rosanne Boudreau, President

The annual membership meeting will be held on Sunday August 5 at 12:15pm in Berkeley High School’s Jacket Gym, during PAWMA camp. All current PAWMA members are invited and encouraged to attend. We will provide a box lunch to camp attendees so when you register for camp, be sure to note any dietary considerations you may have.

In accordance with article 4, section 8 of the PAWMA bylaws, this serves as notice of the annual meeting.

Working Agenda

1. Financial Report 2. Membership Report and Camp Attendance 3. Format, Location and Dates of Camps o Survey Results o Discussion 4. Setting a new Two-Year Plan: o Format, etc., of 2013 and 2014 PAWMA Camps

If you have a topic you want to bring before the membership at the annual meeting, please email Rosanne Boudreau [email protected].

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PAWMA News • Vol. 35 No. 1 • Winter 2012 5 Self-Defense Success in Grenada - Part 1: Nobody’s Buddy

Chantrelle Johanson

Editor’s note: This is a harrowing account of an incident that occurred several years ago in Grenada and underscores the importance of being aware of your surroundings and listening to your inner voice. Thursday afternoon I came home from the store to drop off groceries before heading back out to pick up my son from school at 3:00. I was inside for maybe 20 minutes and when I came out, the back tire on the car was completely flat. A man passing by on the street - let’s just call him Buddy - offered to help change the tire. My first red flag was that he insisted on helping, even after I said I could do it myself. But Grenada has an extremely sexist culture where most men likely believe a woman incapable of changing a tire alone so his behavior didn’t seem that odd. So we changed the tire together and he asked for a lift down the hill. This was also an extremely normal occurrence. Few people have cars there and all sorts of people hitchhike all over the place. Still, a part of me was suspicious. I mean, slashing a tire (yes, the tire - it turns out - was slashed) and then playing the Good Samaritan is a text-book ploy. The biggest lesson I have learned from this experience (other than, don’t give people lifts) is that my intuition doesn’t work well in Grenada. I lack the cultural fluency to read people. Almost EVERYONE here feels a bit dodgy to me. The whole culture is dodgy! So, the fact that this guy felt, perhaps, a bit off didn’t make him stand out from 75% of the other people I interact with on a daily basis. As a side note, according the U.S. State Department, Grenada has a negative GDP growth rate and, as of 2008, a 25 percent unemployment rate. In addition, this is a culture steeped in the legacy of a master/slave colonial paradigm and Old Testament values. Domestic violence is epidemic and everywhere you see examples of "might makes right" and "if I can, I will… whether or not I should." All of which make fertile grounds for a general state of dodginess. In any case, we started to drive down the hill and out of the neighborhood, onto the main road that connects Lance Aux Epines to the rest of the island. This road is fairly well travelled with cars and pedestrians and there are houses and businesses lining both sides. There is, however, one short section that is a bit more secluded where the buildings give way to maybe 25 yards of trees and scrub. It was in this section that Buddy leaned back from where he was sitting in the passenger seat and started feeling around the floor behind the driver’s seat. My immediate thought was that this is where I had left the tire iron. I asked him what he was doing and he said he dropped his cell phone. I pulled the car over and got out, opened the back door and, sure enough, there was his cell phone under the seat, just like he said. At this point, I was feeling conflicted and confused. On the one hand, it was weird that he dropped his phone like that, it was weird that he just happened to be walking by my house when I had a flat tire, and how the hell

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PAWMA News • Vol. 35 No. 1 • Winter 2012 6 did my tire get flat like that anyway? On the other hand, MOST EVERYONE in Grenada seems dodgy and weird to me and he had been telling the truth about the phone. Perhaps I was being paranoid? Still, I grabbed the tire iron and put it under the front seat where it was out of his reach. We were almost to the roundabout where I was going to drop him off anyway. I got back into the car and as I was strapping my seat belt, he told me to roll up the windows and turn off the car. My brain was slow to process this. He had a thick accent and I wasn’t even sure I’d heard him correctly. "What did you just say?" "Roll up the window." At this moment I tried to take a mental snapshot of his face for the eventual police report I could now see was inevitable. I’m not sure I would actually recognize him if I saw him again but I was at least able to give a good description of height, weight, facial features, age, and clothing. Unfortunately, his description matches about 20 percent of the island’s population and he really had no distinguishing features. Still, for those who are reading this in Grenada, he was… Average height Slim build Narrow face Close cropped hair Clean shaven Early 40s Dark skin Wearing a navy-blue shirt and light trousers Carrying a square blue or green shoulder bag that was approx. 20"x15"x3" - no external pockets And, get this, when we were still driving he said his name was "Allen." Maybe that’s really his name. So, he told me to roll up the window. "I am NOT rolling up my window. Get the hell out of my car." "Just roll it up." "GET OUT NOW!" And that’s when he pulled out a knife with his left hand and held it to my throat. Part 2 – Beyond Survival: page 9

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PAWMA News • Vol. 35 No. 1 • Winter 2012 7 Camp Rebates for Groups of Six or More

This year we are offering a special incentive Six people = $140 rebate to groups coming to PAWMA Camp 2012 - Spirit of the Dragon, Aug 3-5, Berkeley CA. Your organization or school can earn a rebate by registering six or more women for PAWMA Camp 2012. If six people from your school sign up, you receive a $140 rebate, which can be divided up as you wish, or used towards the registration of seventh person, for a 50% discount. If you form a ten-person group, your group will earn a $280 rebate, and could enable an eleventh person to come to camp for free! Start a sign-up list at your school today and start forming your groups! Registration fees increase July 2, so we encourage everyone to register early. Photo credit: Karma Yoakem This offer is available to current PAWMA 10 people = $280 rebate members only. If women in your school are not members or have allowed their membership to lapse, encourage them to join or renew at www.pawma.org. Basic membership is only $40/year. Members pay lower fees for camp registration, are eligible for scholarships (see www.pawma.org/workstudy for details), and receive PAWMA News by email. Instructions

1. Start a sign up list 2. When your list is complete, email to [email protected] o Name of your school or Photo credit: Karma Yoakem organization o List of names o Contact name and address for issuing rebate check 3. When everyone on your list has registered*, PAWMA will issue your rebate check

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Photo credit: Karma Yoakem PAWMA News • Vol. 35 No. 1 • Winter 2012 8

Requirements to receive your group rebate

 Each member of the group must be a current PAWMA member.  Each member of the group must register and pay for camp in full.  No other discounts (work-study, camp raffle winner, etc.) apply.

Remember, PAWMA Camp 2012 is coming early this year. The dates are August 3rd to 5th - so now is the time to start planning. Details and registration at www.pawma.org/news-and-events. *Camp registration fees do not include housing, meals, or transportation. Registration includes hosted membership lunch, Sun Aug 5, and commemorative t-shirt if registered before July 2. Registration fees increase July 2. The Importance of Building a National Women’s Martial Arts Movement

Professor Coleen Gragen

Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt of an article written by Professor Coleen Gragen in 1988. Twenty-four years later how do you see PAWMA growing in the future? A few weeks ago the PAWMA board sent out an email with a link to a survey to gather your thoughts. The deadline for the survey was June 17th. If you didn’t have a chance to respond I encourage you to contact the board via email or on Facebook with any ideas or suggestions you might have!

It’s important to me that there is a national movement of women martial artists. I’d like to explain why. I’ve been practicing and teaching the martial arts for fifteen years now. It’s my full time work. It’s taken me longer to prepare for my career that it does to become a doctor or lawyer. I would have received tenure a few years back were I in a school system. I have a list of professional credits and awards pages long. Yet my annual salary is about $8,000.00.

At a time when violence against women is a major social concern, my skills and those of others like me should be more valuable to my society that they appear to be. Instead of being pursued as a resource in the field by schools and government agencies, I have to battle every step of the way against demeaning images of women in the martial arts. I would like there to be an organization that would help win some of these battles.

At a time when women need new cultural forms to express the politics of mind, body, and spirit harmony that is at the heart of women’s liberation, women’s martial arts has barely been recognized as the cultural giant it could become. If given a chance we could develop a new kind of ballet, a new choreography for women that is whole and empowering. I need an organization that will advocate for me and others like me to have our work recognized and supported by such

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PAWMA News • Vol. 35 No. 1 • Winter 2012 9 bodies as the National Endowment of the Arts, to say nothing of the American Karate Association.

I believe that the growth of interest in the martial arts among women has significance beyond our wildest dreams - and we are responding to a collective inner voice that calls for a global awakening of latent female energy. I see the purpose of the national women’s martial arts movement as impacting society as a whole with the image of woman as strong self-reliant, and capably compassionate. We embody this image as women martial artists.

We need to organize, reach out to each other, work together and touch the world of our times.

About Professor Gragen

Professor Coleen Gragen was the founder and head instructor of Hand to Hand Kajukenbo Self Defense Center. She trained in the Martial Arts for over 25 years and held an 8th degree black belt and the title of "Professor" in Kajukenbo. She is recognized nationally and internationally for her martial arts and teaching skills and was regularly selected to teach at the National Women’s Martial Arts Federation (NWMAF) and the Pacific Association of Women Martial Artists (PAWMA) yearly training camps. Professor Gragen died on April 30, 2002, at the age of fifty years, after a 20-month long battle with cancer. Self-Defense Success in Grenada – Part 2: Beyond Survival

Chantrelle Johanson

The funny thing was, at that moment I experienced a strange sort of relief: the situation was now extremely clear and I didn’t have to wonder about it or make any more decisions. I felt a complete lack of emotion or really any higher brain function. I didn’t even think "oh, he has a knife." Instead, a gestalt feeling formed in my mind: dangerous, sharp. This was separate from any word or language and consumed my entire consciousness. I imagine this is how dogs and pre-verbal babies experience the world.

My next thoughts were roughly, "this stuff really happens. It’s happening to me. Now I will fight for my life." I didn’t just believe but KNEW that I was going to walk away from this. I didn’t know how badly I would be hurt or how long it would take - and I sensed that getting there was going to be the suckiest thing I’d ever have to do - but I had absolute sureness that there was only one possible outcome: survival.

So I hit the knife away. I didn’t actually make a conscious decision to do this. My body reacted without any direction or permission. One moment, I was looking at a short, black blade being held centimeters from my throat, the next my hands had come up between me and the blade and

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PAWMA News • Vol. 35 No. 1 • Winter 2012 10 shoved it away. It was at this point that I grabbed his throat. Buddy tried to push the knife back into my face while I held it out. I could hear him breathing hard and grunting. I must have brought a hand back because I remember pushing his arm away with two hands while the knife hovered inches from my face. I also remember thinking it was no good to be wrestling over a weapon with someone bigger and stronger. I reached out and hit the side of his face with the base of my left palm, twice, which backed him up against the car door and put him in a weaker position. I was still holding onto his knife arm with one hand and he had no leverage from that position.

I punched the gas pedal to the floor and started to drive the car across the road towards a telephone poll. My intention was to crash into it since I was belted in and he was not. Sadly, our car was so old and pathetic that it didn’t get up to much speed. Also, the power steering had gone out (again) and I couldn’t turn it hard enough with one hand to target the pole. So, I settled on driving into the ditch as a second best goal. The ditches in Grenada are huge, car-swallowing beasts. I took my hand off the wheel and just held down on the horn. Before we could get to the ditch, however, he leaned across me and turned off the ignition. I felt the engine die and the horn stop. I slammed on the brakes as hard as I could which shifted him forward onto the dash a bit (and off of me) and made a tremendous noise as the tires skidded on the pavement. I brought my knee up to try to put something between him and me and this was how I got cut on the inside of my foot.

When the car stopped, I turned on the ignition again but because it was in drive, the car wouldn’t start. Still this meant the horn worked again so I laid on the horn. He started to move and I punched him in the face and leaned my head out the window and started yelling at the top, bottom and middle of my lungs for help!

It was at this point that I met his eyes and could tell that, although he wasn’t yet out of my car, the fight was over and that all this man now wanted was to get the hell away from me as quickly as possible.

The road had been deserted for the 90 seconds (really? Not hours?) or so that all this had been going on but now people were starting to pass, slow down, and look. The 20 feet I had moved us down the road meant we were in the line of site of houses and I could see people coming out of their doors to see what was going on.

Buddy jumped out of the car and ran down the road, ducking up the first side road about 20 feet away. As soon as he left the car I fumbled in my bag for my camera but my hands were clumsy and I realized there was no way I was going to get it out in time to get a shot of him. I settled for getting out of my car and screaming obscenities after him before flagging down the first passing car and shouting (just like we practice in self-defense), "Help! That man just attacked me with a knife".

Within minutes a vigilante posse had formed. While I first screamed and cursed and kicked things and then cried and cried and cried on the side of the road, a small army of people drove

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PAWMA News • Vol. 35 No. 1 • Winter 2012 11 around Lance Aux Epines in an effort chase this guy down but he slipped into the bush and ran over the ridge into the next neighborhood. FORTY-FIVE MINUTES later, after I had already left to go file a report at the station, the police finally arrived on the scene. He was long gone.

A lot of people have asked me "what did he want." I can’t honestly say because he never asked for anything. My feeling was not that he simply wanted my wallet or purse but intended to hurt me. Why else have me roll up the tinted windows and turn off the car? And does it really matter? He held a knife to my throat and, whatever he may have ultimately hoped to gain, his immediate goal was to scare and intimidate me.

I came from the police station where I looked through several books of mug shots. There were a few photos that seemed similar to the guy but none that really resonated. But based on my description, the mug shots that were close, and that name "Allen", the officer working on this believed he knew the assailant. The days afterwards were up and down. I felt scared a lot of the time; angry at other times. Sometimes, I felt blissfully normal. Home alone, felt all kinds of happy about the bars on the windows and the triple locks on the front door - which is no freaking way to live. I just wanted to move on.

I gave myself a few weeks to psychologically repair and recover and then I started up a Women’s Self Defense classes in Grenada. I donated the proceeds to a women’s organization in Grenada that works to promote women’s rights. I can’t think of a better revenge than to change this man’s misogynistic culture right out from underneath him.

For those who’ve never taken a self-defense course, here’s all you need to know:

 You, yes you, can defend yourself.  Trust your instincts. Those red flags and dodgy feelings are usually correct. Don’t talk yourself out of what your gut is trying to tell you.  Use your voice - it is your most powerful weapon.  If you have to physically fight an attacker, go at it with everything you’ve got. Don’t hold back!  If you have to fight, keep hitting and hitting and hitting until the attacker is no longer a threat, you can escape, or help arrives.  Don’t worry about targeting or anything else. Just hit. And yell!  When it’s all over, tell someone about your experience. Telling is an important part of healing.

About the author: Chantrelle Johanson is a 3rd degree black belt in an Indonesian martial art called Poekoelan Tjimindie Tulen. She was head instructor at Fifth River Poekoelan in Seattle, Washington and has over 15 years experience teaching martial arts and self defense to women, children and men. Chantrelle completed a two year intensive teacher training and apprenticeship program focused specifically on women’s self defense. In addition to private workshops, she has taught self defense to hundreds of women and children through organizations such as the Girl Scouts of Western Washington, Seattle Central Community College, and Seattle Public Schools. She is currently living in Grenada, West Indies with her husband and son.

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Bring Your Raffle Items to Camp

Nikia Fenlin-Antioquia, Treasurer

Dear PAWMA members:

Camp is coming right up! Less than 2 months before we all head to Berkeley, California for an awesome weekend of training and community with fellow martial artists. Along with making travel arrangements and figuring out which classes to take (Have you checked out the list of teachers on pawma.org?) you should Photo credit: Karma Yoakem consider making a donation to the annual raffle. All proceeds go towards the PAWMA scholarship fund, making camp accessible for more women.

Please donate an item to make our raffle a success. A list of suggestions is included, but anything you would enjoy receiving as a gift or would like to purchase is appreciated.

 School paraphernalia (t-shirts, sweatshirts, bags)  Water bottles  Martial arts gear (sparring gear, weapons)  Martial arts DVDs/videos (documentaries, training entertainment)  Books  Photographs  Artwork  Jewelry  Accessories  Anything handcrafted Photo credit: Karma Yoakem  Gift certificates (please keep location/time frame in mind)  Work out clothes

…and so forth. Use your own preferences as a guide! If you have questions, would like to make a donation, or volunteer to sell raffle tickets please contact Nikia Fenlin-Antioquia at [email protected] / (425) 231-4999. Thank you, and please keep PAWMA’s raffle in mind! From the Editor: Thank you to those who contributed, assisted, and took the time to write an article for this newsletter. If you are interested in writing an article for the upcoming newsletter, please email Newsletter Editor at [email protected]. The next submission deadline is October 2, 2012.

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