Everything Self Defense Columbia, South Carolina

Thank you dad for your service in WWII! Thank you to all the brave men and women currently serving and those that served before! I will NEVER forget! Happy Memorial Day!   Sensei Chris Feldt Samurai Karate Studio Columbia, SC 29229 803-462-9425 samuraikaratestudio@gmail.com

I recently read an excellent book called the Last Child In The Woods , authored by Richard Louv.  It is a scholarly written book and discusses how we are raising a generation of children who spend little to no time in the woods, thus suffering from what Mr. Louv describes as a "nature deficit disorder" . Listen to this short video in which Mr. Louv shares his findings: I think back to my own youth, remembering the 1,000's of hours spent exploring in the woods, climbing trees, looking for insects, playing in streams, getting muddy and wet and getting lots of healthy exercise. Fast forward 30 years -- and today's kids spend nearly all of their time indoors -- some because of over-anxious parents worried their child will be abducted, and others, simply because children have video games, DVD movies, and that "drug with a plug" called the television.  We are raising a generation of "couch potatoes"! At Samurai Karate Studio , we have incorporated enviro

I have been doing some research trying to focus on eating a healthier selection of food and limit my intake of sugar.  For me, this has been a herculean task, as I have been drinking soda since college and admitedly, I am addicted to it. I also have been trying to limit my passion for fast food!  Another habit that started later in high school. When I was growing up, I hardly ever ate any fast food, and I think my mom did a pretty good job of giving us a variety of fruits and vegtables.  However, as the years went on, I developed some really bad eating habits. In doing my research, one of the interesting things I have come across is a paleo lifesty, which looks at how our ancestors historically ate and exercised and recommends a similar lifestyle and diet. I recently came across this chart, which really does a nice job of explaining the thought process behind the "paleo craze" There are many excellent books on paleo, I would recommend you start with The Paleo Solution . Enjoy

  The below document is a proposed anti-bullying statue that states can use to as a guideline for anti-bullying legislation.  It was provided by The Bully Project. ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE MODEL K-12 BULLYING PREVENTION STATUTE (A) Prohibited Activities: (1) Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying and Cyberbullying, prohibited: (a) No student shall be subjected to harassment, intimidation, bullying, or cyberbullying in any public educational institution, (i) During any education program or activity; or (ii) While in school, on school equipment or property, in school vehicles, on school buses, at designated school bus stops, at school-sponsored activities, at school-sanctioned events; or (iii) Through the use of data, telephone or computer software that is accessed through a computer, computer system, or computer network of any public educational institution. (b) As used in this Act, Kharassment, intimidation, bullying or cyberbullyingL means any written, verbal or physical act,

Bullying is a national tragedy! The facts are staggering and we know that bullying effects millions of kids each year! Do you have a bullying story you want to share? You are not alone! The creators of the Bully Movie, have created a website where you can share you bullying story in the hopes that others will have the courage to report their story as well. Click HERE to tell your story. If you or someone you know is a victim of bullying, please let me help!  Call me at 803-462-9425 and I will work with you one on one! Don't wait before it's too late!  We have lost far too many children to bullying this year alone!   Sensei Chris Feldt Samurai Karate Studio Columbia, SC 29229 803-462-9425 samuraikaratestudio@gmail.com

The Tyler Long family is a major focus of the new movie soon to be released called BULLY. It is a documentary about the tragic effects of bullying and examines why it is happening and what isn't being done to prevent it. Tyler Long was bullied so bad, he eventually took his own life. His family is telling his story so that hopefully their message will be heard and their son's death will not be in vain. Here is a quick link of the Long family interview on the Ellen show. http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/17232775/ellen-show-hosts-tyler-longs-family-for-bully-documentary?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=6867445 If you or someone you know is being bullied, I am here to help. As I child, I was a victim of bullying and I know what it feels like to be trapped. Please call me at 803-462-9425 immediately. Don't wait before it's too late! Sensei Chris Feldt Samurai Karate Studio Columbia, SC 29229 803-462-9425 samuraikaratestudio@gmail.com

By ABC News Nightline video platform video management video solutions video player   I can't wait to see this new movie! I think the world is finally starting to wake up to the idea that we ALL need to take responsibility to end bullying and keep our children safe while they are in school. Let me know what you think we you see the movie!   Sensei Chris Feldt Samurai Karate Studio Columbia, SC 29229 803-462-9425 samuraikaratestudio@gmail.com

By ABC News Nightline Millions of kids are relentlessly demeaned and physically attacked at school every day. Parents of victims and educators say that a change must take place and everyone can help. Below is a list of resources to help stop bullying and cyberbullying. For Everyone: The Bully Project, and 'Billy' Movie:  The documentary film that sparked a nationwide movement to stop bullying offers stories of those who were bullies and resources for parents, teachers, kids and communities for how to deal with and stop bullies on their website. "Bully," which follows the lives of five U.S. students who faced bullying on a daily basis at school, including two who commited suicide as a result, will be in theaters on March 30, 2012. Stop Bullying Now!:  A resource website sponsored by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services that addresses the warning signs of bullying, how to talk about bullies, how to report bullies and cyberbullying and offers a 24-hour help hotlin

As a member of the UBBT and the 100 , one of the things our team coach, mentor and friend, Tom Callos , has taught us, is that the martial art's means more than just kicking and punching.   Okay, I know what you are thinking! I practice karate and bujutsu with the intention of taking down my attacker in quick successive movements that will disable, possibly injure.  However, the reality is, we train, so that we NEVER have to use our martial arts. In this world where bullying has become common place, with young desparate children taking their lives out of fear and pain, I think the time is NOW to do something about it.       Think about it If we treated each other with kindness and respect, there would be less conflict! Yes? Imagine, our politicians in Washington, treating each other with civility, respect and yes, even kindness, our country would probably be in a better place. Yes? What if we all agreed to perform 3 acts of kindness a day.....that would be a 1,000 acts of kindne

As a master teacher, I am always looking for ways to improve myself, my school and those in my sphere of influence!  I follow several influential blogs that communicate healthy ways of living, leading a more spiritual way of life, or just how to be a better person.  One blog that I follow almost every day is ZEN HABITS! Here is an excellent article on parenting.   Enjoy! ‘… and she loved a boy very, very much– even more than she loved herself.’  ~Shel Silverstein, The Giving Tree Post written by  Leo Babauta . There is no such thing as stress-free parenting. A reader requested that I share my thoughts on stress-free parenting, as the father of six kids. And while I have learned a lot about being a dad, and finding joy in parenthood, I also know that stress-free parenting is a myth. Parents will always have stress: we not only have to deal with tantrums and scraped knees and refusing to eat anything you cook, but we worry about potential accidents, whether we are ruining our kids, wheth

I like all kinds of music, and you might even be surprised to hear that I even like Hip Hop. I must admit, I am selective with which artists I listen to, because often times the lyrics focus too much on sex, violence and drugs. But, there are some real GEMS out there. I recently came across this video from Karma Tube , of a song sung by Akala. Akala's lengthy hip-hop poem is somber and clear-eyed in its disappointment with race-relations, global politics, and contemporary culture. And yet it retains both hopefulness and an action-plan. "The only way you can change anything," he slams, "is to look in the mirror and find no enemy." Find No Enemy If you want to join a group of like minded individuals, who want to make a difference in their lives and the lives of others, please stop by our karate school and see what we are all about! Sensei Chris Feldt Samurai Karate Studio Columbia, SC  29229 803-462-9425 samuraikaratestudio@gmail.com

I am very excited about the release of a new documentary, called BULLY .  It has been in the works for several years and it is scheduled to be released March 30th.   The story tragically follows up a community where bullying appears to be rampant and one boy decided to take his own life because he had been bullied so much. This has been happening throughout our country the past couple of years, as school districts are trying to take action to protect our children. The reality is, the schools can only do so much.  Parents, family members, friends -- ALL of us need to take responsibility and get involved and help those children who are victims. Together we CAN defeat the bully. Watch the trailer below: During the past month, I have worked with one of my local elementary schools, where I taught 4th and 5th graders how to deal with bullies in a non violent way. It's not that hard.....we just need to take the time to teach our children to develop their own tools for dealing with a bul

At Samurai Karate Studio , we practice environmental self defense! For the record, I'm not some environmental "whacko".  I just believe we ALL have a responsibility to protect and conserve our planet's natural resources.  To me, this is just smart SELF DEFENSE. I realize the US economy and the world's, for that matter, is addicted to oil.  And we currently need oil to keep our country moving forward.  However, I believe we can develop our oil resources in a smart way, with less impact to the environment.  Of course, we need to be developing alternative fuel sources at the same time, so that eventually, we can become less dependent on oil. There is currently a lot of controversy about the tar sands of Canada.  I wanted to find out more about them. If you follow my work, you know I am a huge fan of TED, an online lecture series that covers a wide range of topics.  In the video below, you will meet  Garth Lenz, who is an award winning conservation photographer whose

I recently read an executive summary, from the Environmental Working Group, also known as EWG, which listed the top vegtables and fruits that were found to contain a lot of pesticides in them.   Modern farming relies on many pesticides in order to improve crop yields and protect the land from many harmful insects or diseases.  Unfortunately, the average consumer doesn't relize that many of the pesticides remain on the products, despite washing. While the tests typcially reveal trace amounts that are considered harmless, the concern is the long term impact of eating food with these chemical residues and how they can damage our bodies. EWG listed the top vegtables to avoid, or try to buy organic, and they also listed the products that typical have no or very little pesticide residue on them.  I have copied the graph and posted it below.   At Samurai Karate Studio , I include Diabetes awareness and healthy eating as part of our Black Belt training.  For some people this might seem str

From the Story of Stuff! We hear it every day from people who are concerned about what’s happening to the environment: “What can I do? I’m just one person!” What if you were just one 8-year-old boy? Cole Rasenberger didn’t let that stop him from taking on one of the world’s largest fast-food chains over its packaging. In this episode of The Good Stuff, Annie learns how Cole rallied other kids at his school to join him in challenging KFC. And Danna Smith of the Dogwood Alliance tells us about the threat to Southern coastal forests from wasteful fast-food packaging. Here is the the podcast....One Good Kid Think we can't impact the environment? All it takes is one person to make change! At Samurai Karate Studio, our students are asked to become environmental activists......as we believe self defense includes protecting and preserving our natural resources. This is just ONE of many extraordinary aspects of our karate curriculum.  Call us or drop by to find out more! Sensei Chris Feldt

As an actor, singer, writer, and composer, Daniel Beaty has worked throughout the world in a variety of styles ranging solo concerts to theatre to one-man plays to a gig at the White House. But here he is at a Def Jam Poetry contest, about a topic near and dear to his heart -- parenthood. Nothing short of a riveting, electrifying performance that had the entire crowd standing up by the end! Sensei Chris Feldt Samurai Karate Studio

There is a video that is going viral (see below) that is about an attempted abduction of a 7 year old girl named Britney Baxter. A man tried to take her in a Walmart store and she fought back and escaped. Bravo for you Ms. Baxter! You are one brave girl. This girl is very lucky. This story could have had a very different ending. Many parents are unsure how to address this topic with their children. After all, we don't want our children fearing everyone do we? At Samurai Karate Studio , I have taught stranger danger strategies to hundreds of kids and it is part of the curriculum at my karate school. The one constant I have learned over the years, is you need to discuss these strategies over and over with your child until it really SINKS in. The Definition of a Stranger I start off every stranger danger workshop with the definition of who a stranger is? A stranger is simply "someone we don't know". Often times, parents try to explain what a stranger

I completed a challenge course over the summer and received my 2 year certification in CPR and AED training. Honestly, this is a requirement of the University of South Carolina , as all professors teaching courses in the physical education program must be certified. However, I believe learning CPR is just good self defense, as you never know when you might need to use it. Consider some of the statistics I reviewed at the Women's Heart Foundation: Heart Attack Facts 1.5 million heart attacks occur in the United States each year with 500,000 deaths. More than 233,000 women die annually from cardiovascular disease. A heart attack occurs about every 20 seconds with a heart attack death about every minute. Sudden death is more common among women with heart attack. The National Registry of Myocardial Infarctions (New England Journal Med., 22Jul99) reports that women have a worse outcome than men after having a heart attack. Data showed that women under the age of 50 had twice the morta