PAWMA 2009 ~ 32nd Annual Training Camp

A small caravan of ladies from The Academy of Kung Fu (and Jill Heaton of the Bushidokan Federation) as well as women of the Academy of Martial Arts traveled to the Stampfer Center in Olympia, WA this Labor Day weekend to participate in The Pacific Association of Women Martial Artists 32nd Annual Training Camp.

Every year the camp hosts girls and women of all ages and martial backgrounds-hard and soft, in a lovely camp venue in different locations along the West Coast of the United States. Venerable female instructors of all styles offer up classes of incredible quality, which always poses participants with the difficult challenge of having to choose between several terrific offerings in any given time slot…

“Should I take Taiji Sparring, Kyudo, or Sai Kata???”

“If you go to Melinda Johnson’s Empty Hand Defense Against Knife, I’ll go to Kapo: Healing Arts of Jujitsu with Yael Arnon, and we can debrief one another after, OK?”

For me the highlight involved having opportunity to attend a stick fighting class with Professor Barbara Bones, 8th Degree Black Belt in Kajukenbo, a contemporary of the founder of MoDuk Pai, Professor Frederic D. King (the two trained together under Sifu Richard Mainenti of the Gaylord Method [Kajukembo].

I was personally most challenged in running a small workshop centered on the camp theme, “Roots of Community, Seeds of Change.” The idea was to form an agenda that allowed participants to set a specific topic of discussion centered on the theme of “Community Outreach.”

A high point of every PAWMA camps revolves around the grand demontration, and being audience to such terrific artistry and choreography. This year Cheryl Teigen participated in a demonstration with classmates from the Basic Bo Staff class she took from Elaine Raber. Andrea Kennedy likewise got to show off new-found skills in an impromptu board-breaking exhibition under Seido Karate practitioner Kristen Kleinsasser.
Also, Tracy Reith was appointed to the PAWMA board of directors, and Carol Orange was our big raffle winner having netted a gorgeous kimono-style robe as prize. Our craft bazaar table raked in over $200.00 profit (to benefit the Lewis Elementary Kung Fu Club), all thanks to the marketing genius and sales-bilities of Michelle Johnson.
Sifu Patty O’Linger was again honored as PAWMA’s Martial Artist of The Year, and got to pass the torch to Debbie Leung of Chinese Healing & Movement Arts of Olympia, Washington. One of my most vivid memories of past camps involves attending an emotional Bo Staff form class with Debbie, which I am pleasantly reminded of each time I pick up a staff.

It is such an amazing gift to be able to attend such a grand variety of classes under some of the most accomplished female martial artists of our time. I am so grateful to Sifu O’Linger for having introduced me to PAWMA, and for all her support throughout camp. PAWMA Camp is a dynamic experience that always invokes strong memories in my training, and helps to widen one’s scope.