The Museum’s Humanitarian Efforts

Confronting Asian Hate
As Asian Hate continues to escalate, we at the museum, recently hosted a special event to combat this problem. We conducted a huge gathering with every press outlet to discuss Asian Hate, to have a class on the situation, we provided tips on self-protection and gave out 1,000 free finger stun devices in case the need should arise if one gets attacked. We will be conducting more of these classes throughout this and next year. These classes are free and the stun devices and classes are also free.

Combating Bullying Event, Oct. 15, 2022
Bullying has become a huge problem in America. Especially because of the ease of social media, young kids are being picked on and worse, many injuries have occurred and even death. Bullying is reaching an all-time high and we need to find ways to address it. Here, at the Martial Arts History Museum, we are hosting a special Anti-Bullying workshop free to the public. Many big stars for children’s programs will be here, including Billy Blanks to discuss how to stop bullying and how to learn basic self-defense. This is a problem that will continue to escalate, especially for those who people pick on because they are different, we feel as a museum, we need to reach out.

New Employment Opportunities
Times are extremely difficult with covid, it’s even harder. But new technology is also taking a toll and in some cases, eliminating jobs altogether. For some, their trade is no longer required. So, in an effort to help provide an alternative, the museum continues to hold a variety of free classes for people to learn new skills. We have hosted 1) How to write a book, 2) Basic studio photography, 3) How to get into films, 4) How to post on Youtube for funds, 5) How to run a martial arts school, and more. We bring in experts in the field who give their time to help out those in need.

Providing Uniforms for those in need
Martial arts is a wonderful way to learn how to build self-confidence, protect oneself against bullies, and to become a better person. Some of us take martial arts for a lifetime and others for only a short while. We are asking you, who are no longer practicing or have outgrown your uniform, to first wash them, and donate them to the Martial Arts History Museum. We work with Valley Martial Arts Supply in North Hollywood to help distribute these to families who would like to take martial arts but cannot afford a uniform. Kids need our encouragement and having a uniform truly makes a difference. We have been doing this for quite some time and will continue our efforts in this area. Many thanks to Century Martial Arts for their help in providing a host of new uniforms as well.

Special Tours
We are not just a museum, it is the martial arts part of it that makes us better people. We teach to give back, we instruct to help and we encourage our students to pass on what they learned. We think it’s important to put those skills to work as we offer special, free tours to special large groups including those who are physically or mentally challenged. We also offer free tours to those senior center groups who notify us in advance.

Promotion of Artists / Writers
Art and writing play a significant role in the martial arts and the world as well. All too often, we have starving artists who struggle to find places to display their work for employment purposes or writers who have spent years writing a book to help their livelihood and have nowhere to showcase it. Here, at the Martial Arts History Museum, we provide a free platform for a book signing and art displays. This is a free event, the author or artists make all the funds and we let the public in free to enjoy their work. It’s important we support our artistry community and we do this quite often at the museum.

Women’s Empowerment
Michelle Manu is one of the leading authorities on women’s empowerment and self-protection. The creator of the SHE program, she has traveled across the world hosting numerous classes to improve women’s health, confidence, and self-defense. An expert in the Hawaiian art of Lua, she provides a real, yet simplistic approach to reaching your goals and preparing your life to live more confidently. This is a course that we host about once a year but with a new location, we will be able to host these on a more regular basis.

Diabetes and Health Issues
Through Eric the Trainer, one of the most popular and important figures in the Health & Fitness area, is scheduled to speak on improving one’s health, and combating type 2 diabetes and child obesity, which is becoming a huge issue. Eric, who changed his life through weight lifting and exercise, is a perfect example of how to not only become fit but how to live a better life in an effort to combat obesity and control diabetes.

CPR
Although we are unable to provide these free-of-charge, once a year we hold a class on basic CPR. These are important life issues that we need to address and learning CPR can save someone’s life. It is our hope we will acquire a grant to provide this course on a regular basis.

FREE Tai Chi DVDs for Senior Communities
Through the Keito Foundation, Chris Ford, Jim Towns, the museum has created two special Senior Tai Chi DVDs that we provide free of charge to the senior centers. Led by instructor and legendary pioneer Carrie Ogawa-Wong, we created and produced a number of Senior DVDs to keep our elderly mobile. This was a great project that we still continue to provide free to senior groups.

SELF AWARENESS
Life is hard and we have to combat it every day. Sometimes, if we just had a little help, a little direction, things can be a little easier. Here, at the Martial Arts History Museum, we will be providing a series of free classes on self-awareness, common sense things to do to avoid a harmful situation, how to protect yourself, and what not to do that may cause injury. We will offer a number of different lectures on “common sense” things that will help you live a better life and not go into a situation that may cause harm to yourself or others.

Future Humanitarian Efforts
We need to be a part of this community, and that is why we do all those amazing humanitarian efforts without any type of sponsorships or grants (although we have applied), we still host them without cost. It is our goal to acquire a new location that will be large enough to host special events, lectures, lessons, classes and so much more. Imagine if we could hold more classes on health issues, how to build confidence, and how we can make an impact and make a difference in the world. We are asking for your help in raising funds to acquire a new place so that we can continue to make a difference. Please consider making a donation.