Listen Up!
This is a piece by National Public Radio about our sister school, Studio Naga in Oakland, CA, first published in 2006 but still relevant today. We teach our students how to hit – and hit hard! And with that ability to protect oneself comes an imense responsibility to be a warrior of peace.
From NPR:
Today we are beginning a series of stories about all different kinds of students and teachers. Karate instructor Louise Rafkin describes the way that she teaches children to hit. Childhood is a violent time, Rafkin says, and her students learn how to control their innate violence.
As Rafkin talks with two of her young students, one describes the power struggles at his school.
Louise Rafkin runs Studio Naga in Oakland, Calif. She is the author of The Tiger’s Eye, the Bird’s Fist: A Beginner’s Guide to the Martial Arts.