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Students at Holland College now have a reason to go to school at night and it doesn't involve books or assignments. Greg McKenna, an employee of the Holland College Assessment Office, is a qualified karate instructor, or "sensei", and gives karate lessons in the Charlottetown Centre gym. The main focus of McKenna's lessons is the classical form of the art. At the beginning of each class the students bow to photographs of great karate masters as a show of respect for those who have worked on and perfected the art in the past. "All of the martial arts focus a lot on respect," McKenna says, "Respect both for our lineage and for each other." As students go through a series of well-practiced movements, McKenna explains how students with different belt levels can participate in the same class. "We have a tendency to over-learn techniques," he says. "This gives the higher belts a more involved warm up and practice and the lower belts a time to actually learn the techniques." During the class, beginners are integrated along with the intermediate and higher levels for the warmup and most of the session. Later in the lesson the students split into groups, with some of the more advanced students actually instructing the beginners. "This works really well," McKenna says, "It's nice for the beginners to learn from other people and not just hear my voice all the time." McKenna feels karate can be very rewarding to people of all ages in that it provides excellent physical benefits. He emphasizes that it is especially helpful to students in that it teaches a lot of skills that relate to stress reduction. Since the movements involved with karate must be practiced and well-known, eventually the art becomes a form of moving meditation. "You can lose yourself in what you're doing," says McKenna. "The movements are very soothing and when you have mastered the breathing and muscle work, it helps calm and relax you." He has also noticed karate do a lot of good when he works with younger children. "The discipline component of the art really carries over into the lives of the children. Parents have commented on how much more focused their children are after taking lessons, like on their schoolwork and chores." McKenna admits he would like to have more college students join his evening classes. "I really feel it is beneficial for everyone. I would love to have more people join us." Prices for the classes are $30 for a month, or $25 per month for Holland College students. Classes are held in the Charlottetown Centre gym on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Anyone interested in attending can call Greg McKenna at 892-4658.
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