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2 Monday, November 8,1993 Martial Arts On the Rise As Way to Work Out Benefits of Tae Kwon Do, Karate Go Beyond Physical, Attract Diverse Participants BYAMYL SEELEY FEATURES EDTTOR The small front room ofMaster Nicolas McDonald’s U.S. Tae Kwon Do Institute in Durham buzzes with activity. Children ranging in age from 6 to adolescence sit on the floor, talking to one another or listen ing to Walkmans. Some of the more ener getic boys chase each other around, prac ticing loose interpretations of tae kwon do motions. But in the classroom, students sit on the mats between the mirrored walls, anxiously waiting for their names to be called. It is an unusual group. Small children with tiny limbs squirm next to larger, more sedate adults. In the back of the classroom, proud parents, some with infants, rest on benches. It is exam day at Master McDonald’s. hnoulTMckiag McDonald himself presides over the exams. The large, balding man in his late 20s commands respect among his students, as he demonstrates what he wants them to do. Ann Marie Brown, who helps instruct some classes, said McDonald made the difference in the unique “feeling” of the school. “The student body really looks after each other,” she said. McDonald, who has been practicing tae kwon do since he was 10, said the instruc tor was the most important factor influenc ing a student's learning of martial arts. He uses positive correction, rather than criti cism, to help students learn. Pam Powell, an instructor at Allen’s ATA Taekwondo Center Inc. in Chapel Hill, also stressed the importance of a teacher’s style. “You’ve got to find the right student-instructor base.” Brown, whose husband and two chil dren also attend McDonald’s institute, said the master instructor took a personal inter est in the lives of his students. “What’s kept us here is having such a great instructor,” Brown said. “He offers a lot of moral support.” Fko| oa the Mental “We teach more than self-defense. We teach principles ...,” reads the brochure for McDonald’s institute. Many practitioners of the martial arts i' kix c ir ii: s o f sound kk i iki; mk n i i\ \i: s ri\ c; BfcL I ° -****—2.7 s I IRONICALLY, THE TIME TO STMT SAVING FOR RETIREMENT IS WHEN IT LOOKS LIKE YOU CAN LEAST AFFORD IT. Can’t afford to save for retirement? The truth is, you can’t afford not to. Not when you realize that your retirement can last 20 to 30 years or more. 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DTH FILE PHOTO Members of UNC's Carolina Martial Arts Club assist Mason Baldwin as he breaks through boards with a tae kwon do kick. Martial-arts organizations around the Triangle have increased in popularity and availability. say they provide as much benefit mentally as physically. The arts teach discipline, concentration and values. “All martial arts are really idealism,” McDonald said. “It’s idealism in action.” Eight-year-old Marina Pluta ofDurham has been practicing tae kwon do for 3 1 /2 years. Her slight frame, loose brown hair and delicate face belie the lessons she said she had learned from Master McDonald. “Usually I didn’t take control of my self,” Marina said. “It taught me not to be so greedy.” Everyone can gain something from en rolling in the martial arts, McDonald said. For people with a lot of energy, the arts teach focus and control. Shy people can build their self-esteem and confidence. The martial arts even have been known to help children with attention deficit dis orders, and a child with cerebral palsy attends McDonald’s classes as part of his therapy. Ann Marie Brown said the ability to concentrate came as much from the physi cal practice in class as the lectures and meditation-type exercises. “You find yourself forgetting every thing,” she said. Adam Lischer, who trains and assists with classes at Chapel Hill Tae Kwon Do Inc., said students also learned the prin ciples behind the arts from their peers. “People see ranking students and how they behave,” he said. Powell of Allen’s Taekwondo, who be gan tae kwon do after seeing her son prac Even if you're not counting the years to retirement, you can count on TIAA-CREF to help you build the future you deserve— with flexible retirement and tax-deferred annuity plans, a diverse portfolio of invest ment choices, and a record of personal service that spans 75 years. Over a million people in education and research put TIAA-CREF at the top of their list for retirement planning. Why not join them? Call today and learn how simple it is to build a secure tomorrow when you have time and TIAA-CREF working on your side. ARTS & FEATURES “(Martial-arts students) learn how to avoid situations. They become more sensitive to their environment.” JESSIE BOWEN Master instructor at Karate International in Durham tice, said the arts had affected her charac ter. “I feel more comfortable,” she said. “It built my self-confidence up.” Lischer said he became involved to chal lenge himself physically. “(But) it becomes more and more of a mental challenge rather than physical, ” he said. Jessie Bowen owns and serves as the master instructor at Karate International in Durham. As an only child, he needed confidence that he could defend himself in a threatening situation, Bowen said. “I turned my greatest fear into my pro fessional life,” he said. Like Bowen, many students of martial arts begin their involvement to feel safer. But students learn more than just how to defend themselves physically, Bowen said. “The first thing is prevention," he said. “They learn how to avoid situations. They become more sensitive to their environ ment.” Lischer said tae kwon do’s nonviolent philosophy encouraged mental defense over the physical. “You’re trying to do something hard rather than taking the easy way out,” he said. Joining In Most of the Triangle’s martial-arts schools report a diverse body of students, with men, women and children in equal proportions. Nicolas McDonald and Jessie Bowen’s schools are family-oriented and encourage families to enroll together. “No matter what category they fit in, martial arts is for them,” McDonald said. Children, who are easily enthralled by the high kicks and acrobatic moves de picted in movies, often want to learn the martial arts. “What they see on TV... all that stuff's for show, ” said Ann Marie Powell ofMas ter McDonald’s. But even without the Hollywood glam our, children enjoy learning the arts. “From the first class they took, they absolutely loved it,” Brown said ofher two children. Parents usually don’t mind their children’s interest because the martial arts promote positive values and exercise, in structors said. In fact, the children’s involvement often draws in the parents. Pam Powell said parents who wanted to participate might do so vicariously first through their chil dren. “They’re inhibited when they get older, ” she said. Brown, who began tae kwon do after her children had, said she and her husband joined for the physical benefits. “There’s a lot of exercise involved with it, so it’s very good for you,” Brown ex plained. Martial arts are one of the best ways to get aerobic exercise as well as relieve stress, McDonald said. Female students also have been joining increasingly to learn self-defense tech niques. Many martial arts schools offer one time sessions on self-defense, but longer courses also are popular. Adam Lischer said many women en rolled at Chapel Hill Tae Kwon Do be cause of the female instructors who could serve as role models. “I think women want to leam how to defend themselves,” he said. “They’re just getting tired of it.” For whatever reasons, the martial arts are drawing Triangle students by the hun dreds, establishing themselves as the way to keep mind and body fit. MCAT A FREE SEMINAR - Leam about the structure of the MCAT and about recent trends in MCAT testing. □rl Discover what medical ' — l school admission committees look for in their candidates. □ri Leam about the most ' —' comprehensive MCAT preparation offered in the Triangle or the Triad. OMOPOOCOCOB6BOBOBO>QOOOBBMOWOOOOOCOWOOOCOOOOOOOOMOBBOMBBCOBOBeOB Tuesday, November 9 7:30 p.m. Select Test Prep 306 West Franklin Street Call 929-PREP to register. 010 Select Test Prep EDUCATIONAL SERVICES, INC. LET US HELP YOU GET SELECTED! Jones Emphasizes Life In Performance, Lecture “I would train my children to be fierce and strong and incredibly competent. That is how I want my company to be,” Bill T. Jones said in a PBS documentary about his work. He has taught his company well. Saturday night in Memorial Hall, the Bill T. Jones/Amie Zane Dance Com pany proved its fierceness and strength to a zealous audience, who gave the dancers three curtain calls and a standing ovation. Friday after noon, Jones gave a lecture in the Student Union’s Great Hall that de scribed his cho- |WAYNETTE GLADDEN| Dance Review Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company reography and asked some very hard philo sophical questions. Jack Arnold, a former dancer with the Pilobolus Dance Company and now a dance instructor at UNC, said Jones was one of the few choreographers who still welcomed dialogue about his work. “It’s amazing that this stature of com pany is still doing grassroots lecture-dem onstrations,” Arnold said. “Jones is still interested in reaching out to the public. Dancing doesn’t have to be just pretty. It can be politically oriented, too.” Jones began his lecture saying, “There is too much talk in the world today. ” So he talks through his dance. Since 1988, when Jones’s partner and companion of 17 years, Amie Zane, died of AIDS, the main theme of Jones’ chore ography has been mortality and the “subtle hum of concern about death in the face of life.” Now Jones also is HIV-positive and dedicates his dance to shedding light on what it really means to be alive. His next comprehensive work with this theme, “Still/Here,” will debut in the United States next September. “I am part of the vanguard of young men who, at their time of really getting going, came to their decline,” Jones said. “AIDS is a guilty disease,” he empha sized. “There are innocent victims, but for the most part, the victims aren’t innocent. People struck by it are mostly homosexu als and drug users. How do we deal with these people who aren’t innocent? What is this epidemic teaching us? Is it similar to the Black Plague or World War II? “We could blame it on the ’6os, on LSD, on Woodstock or maybe on the re laxing of moral values. Perhaps I represent progress,” he said. Jones’s lecture was unsettling and thought-provoking. “I’m bred to be a fa ther and have 52 nieces and nephews,” he said. “But I’m a homosexual, and I’m not breeding.” He comes from a family of 12, and his parents were poor migrant workers. “My parents were potato pickers, but they wanted me to be a superstar,” he said. Now, Jones, who has his superstar sta tus, questions the meaning of life. He asks whether people really experience life richly or just go through the motions. “Our cul ture encourages us to go faster,” he said. One student raised his hand to chal lenge Jones’ philosophy of living life in the moment, not for it. “Do you really think that we should just live for the moment and not plan ahead?” the student asked. Jones replied, “I had to cut out the bullshit in my life. Are you really happy with your life? If you had a short time to live, would you change your life? Are you doing what you want to do, or what you’re supposed to do? “It’s good to plan ahead, but do you feel your tears? Do you feel your heart beat? When you fight with your girlfriend, do you really fight with her, or are you con stantly thinking ahead? The mastery of life is to really be there in the experience.” In the performance Saturday night, the audience experienced a slice oflife as Jones experiences it, no holds barred. Each piece had its own message and meaning and asked its own questions. The performance provoked an exchange of commentary and questions within the Campus Calendar MONDAY 11:50 a.m. The Lorelels will sing in the Pit. 2 p.m. University Career Services will present Job Hunt 101, basic information on how to use the UCS office for seniors and graduate students, in 210 Hanes Hall. 2:45p.m. UnlvenityCareerServices will present Job Hunt 102, resume writing workshop for seniors and graduate students, in 210 Hanes Hall. 3:15 p.m. University Career Services will present a workshop on resume writing for internships for underclassmen in 307 Hanes Hall. 4 p.m. Student Bicentennial Planning Commit tee will meet in Union 224. 6 p.m. UNC Toronto Exchange will hold a mandatory meeting in 317 Bingham Hall. Bring your SIOO check if you haven’t paid yet. N.C. Hlllel Mitzvah Corps will meet to make Challah covers for Jewish seniors. Bring $2 for pizza dinner. 6:30 p.m. The Physical Therapy School will mfvrrrrvrrrrfffvvvwwwwwm Had Mono Recently? If ijou hai/e had mononucleosis in the past month, i/ou maij hai/e dei/eloped antibodies to this disease. These antibodies can be used as controls for MONO TESTING. If i/ou qualify we will paij $50.00 for a PLASMA DONATION. Please call or come in for details Hours: Mon*Wed.*Fri. 10-4, Tu.*Th 10-6 SERA-TEC BIOLOGICALS 109% E. Franklin 5t.*942-0251 uJtjp Saily war HM audience. There were positive reactions and angry reactions, but there was defi nitely reaction. The first piece, “And the Maiden,” was a soulful solo to old slave hymns and gos pel music. In the beginning, the dancer, whose long, beautiful arms seemed to stretch from one side of the stage to the other, per formed very rigid elementary ballet combi nations center stage. The choreography greatly contrasted the slow, yearning hymns. As the piece progressed, the movement became more writhing, free and almost jazzy. The movement reflected the music, which also became more light and upbeat. By the end, with the song “Beulah Land,” the movement had lost all its stem ballet qualities and became a very joyful African kind of dance. The dancer performed em phatic preaching-like gestures demonstrat ing a new-found pride. Finally, the music stopped and the dancer walked to a skeleton suspended from upstage left. She bowed to it and reached inside to turn off a small, gleaming light in its ribs. This is the kind of symbolic choreogra phy Jones is famous for. Perhaps the dancer had shaken off the rigid movement sym bolic of slavery and finally defeated it in the end. Perhaps the skeleton represented death, which she confronts in the end. The audience decides. The third piece on the program pro voked the most reaction. “Another His tory of Collage” began with the spoken words, “Dreams Freud Dreamed or dreams Freud dreamed Freud dreamed.” Large light bulbs were suspended in a kind of umbrella from the top of the stage and an overweight, bald dancer stood in a black suit center stage. The words stopped and strange animal noises filled the audito rium. This surreal piece seemed to explore the unconscious mind, chaos and riot. All types of dancers filled the stage in bizarre cos tumes. They appeared to represent all the dif ferent kinds of people in society. Male dancers appeared in children’s dresses and dance belts (jock straps). Their movement was angered and em phatic. Perhaps the theme of this piece was how society interacts in an increasingly chaotic world. Near the end of the piece, the animal noises turned into sounds of real rioting. The overweight dancer slung another dancer over his back and flung her around in an airplane spin. The feeling was violent as she flailed her arms around hysterically. Finallythenoises died, and the dancers united on stage in a row, one hand resting on the shoulders in front of them. They hugged each other calmly. A striking element of this piece was nudity. Toward the end, one man danced completely nude and a woman danced topless. This added to the chaotic reality on stage. It was not gimmicky or tasteless. However, some members of the audi ence were offended. I counted 25 people who left. One lady exclaimed in a huff, “What a waste!” In most of the pieces, people in the audience seemed to shift in their seats uncomfortably. The pieces were heavy and addressed hard issues: homosexuality, AIDS, death and life. Besides one muffled sound cue and some sketchy timing in the second piece and the last piece, Jones brought these issues to the stage effectively and forced commentary about each piece and what they repre sented. “Nobody wants another artist with his heart on his sleeve,” Jones said in his lecture. “But if you touch one person or illuminate one area, then that is useful for human kind.” Jones achieved this in his performance and as demonstrated by one audience member’s exclaimation as he left the per formance, “Bill, you go!” present a lecture on how to get into PT school in 106 Fetzer Gym. 7 p.m. Students Organized for Farm Worker Awareness will meet in Union 205. 7:30 p.m. The Ballroom Dance Club will tango in the women’s gym. ITEMS OF INTEREST Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority will celebrate Founders' Week all week. Look for information about events on campus. For the Record Friday’s men's soccer photo misidentified the N.C. State player. No. 13 was fullback Matthias Berrang. The DTH regrets the error.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Nov. 8, 1993, edition 1
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