Determination Martial Arts
1360 Main Street East L8K 1B7 Hamilton, ON, Canada

A few new zoom class options available going forward (on top of the original line up!) We had a request for community chats to return, like we hosted last lockdown, so we're going to try them on a regular basis while lockdown continues. These chats are participant led; after going over the rules for safe community (no put downs, keeping people anonymous, respecting everyone's experience), each participant has an opportunity to talk about a big emotion or thought, and can ei...ther ask for community support, feedback, or to simply move to the next person. Staff will step in for misinformation, clarifications, or elaborations as needed. Everyone is welcome, but we suggst those under 7 are adult-accompanied We've also added 2 options for Inter-advs to tune up their skills in their own time slots Keep your suggestions, feedback and thoughts coming Still need the link to the google doc with all the zoom links? E-mail [email protected] Remember, everyone is welcome. No experience needed. No funds needed. Donations are welcome to [email protected], 541 - Eatery & Exchange, Keeping Six, or Barton Prisoner Solidarity Project

Content Note: Sexual Assault/Choking/Kink We know our community is spending increased time scrolling the internet (we sure are!), and with that, it becomes increasingly difficult to monitor the content that's being seen. Tik Tok has had a number of challenges in the past, but also has been a really wonderful resource for quick clips of joy, life advice, and activism. ...Continue reading

Planning! It’s one of the things we’re all working to adjust too, the lack of absolutes, to plan around. We’re as excited as you all to see those numbers coming down; keep up those masks, staying home, and keeping your distance when you cannot. ... However, numbers coming down, doesn’t tell us when guidelines are going to adjust just yet. We’ve had some questions about getting registrations going for re-opening. Here’s the plan 1. Once we know when the city will allow re-opening, we will meet with staff to assess their comfort level with whatever guidelines are in place. 2. Once staff are comfortable, we will give all families who had previously signed up for session 3 (which lockdown cancelled), 48 hours to confirm they’d still like their spot, with the new dates, or to pass it along. We will e mail and post on social media this information. 3. 48 hours later, any remaining spots will be offered to the general public 4. We start our next session! We are keeping tabs on March break and summer camp, and will release details as soon as we know their viability. In the meantime, We can’t wait to see everyone on zoom this week! Everyone welcome, e mail ([email protected]) for links

We are reminded again, through the courage of Nrinder Nann, Councillor Ward 3 Hamilton and her office, that our friends, neighbours, and community members face hate and discrimination on a regular basis in Hamilton. We are so encouraged by her resolve that fear culture is not the way forward, a message we work to impart on our students as well. We do not accept this, we are not unaware that this is the Hamilton that exists, but we are not willing to believe we cannot be bet...ter. Hate breeds in dark corners. It grows where there is no love. It thrives when compassion fails. It explodes when it is enabled and feels secure. We know these conversations are uncomfortable, but they are important. Both adults and children need to communicate about their beliefs and understanding, so we can correct misunderstandings, stereotypes, and fear before it takes hold. There are lots of wonderful resources, and if you have a favourite, we’d love to hear about it! Here’s some of the language we use in class, and online, to start conversations: 1. It seems like you’re having a big feeling. Do you know what it is? Can I help you identify it? Language empowers 2. I heard the way you just spoke to x. Those words were hurtful and we are not going to use them. Let’s figure out what you’re upset about together and we can find a helpful way to express what we need and apologize for what we said. Language matters 3. It sounds like you heard some information that isn’t true. Here’s what you said means, and here’s what’s actually happening. Encourage fact checking and unlearning 4. That’s a good question! Let’s go find out No one knows the answer to everything. Getting out of the habit of guessing, or filling in information to fit your narrative, keeps everyone safer Everyone needs more knowledge! If you or a community member needs self-defence refreshers (online can only do so much!) we are always happy to do a run through of our acquired knowledge. As soon as we’re back to in person with contact, we’ll return to our regular self defense workshops. https://www.cbc.ca//racist-threat-hamilton-city-council-1.

It’s back to the zoom life, at least until Jan 26th So as we wind down into holiday mode, we’re also gearing up for our next round of programming Let us know what you want to see!... Day time classes? Evening? Weekend ? Family? Mixed ages? Divided ages? Forms? Fitness? We’re happy to host as a bridge until we see you again , but we also recognize folks are inundated with screen requirements and want to make sure we’re meeting your changing needs! Comment here or send us a message at [email protected] Here’s to everyone staying safe, keeping warm, and knowing they are loved and cared about this season.

Just a little bit of our under 6 class today!

We know that particularly during lockdown, it’s hard to know what a healthy limit of media consumption is. We’re also missing a lot of the spaces where we could sit and chat about these things, to feel less overwhelmed and helpless. One key aspect to self-defence and security culture, key parts of martial arts, is to ensure we are keeping ourselves safe and healthy, so that we can check-in on others and grow the resilience together. We do this by ensuring the media we cons...ume is accurate, fact-checked, and that we share it with others in a trauma-Informed way (briefly - ensuring they’re in a place to also hear traumatic information, CONSENT is key!) Remember. You are not alone. There are resources to reach out to, and Ottawa Public Health is on top of the community outreach, with a great starting place here! https://twitter.com/ottawahealth/status/1346905540065169412

How fun is this! Grab a superhero, action figure, or doll and see if they can do all the moves of your form! Practice happens in so many ways; let’s see what you get up to ... Thanks Jay for the concept

As we enter week 3 of Zoom classes, we are thankful for the consistent attendees, and the new faces popping in each week. A reminder that classes are available at no cost, to anyone who’s interested. If you don’t have the link, please e mail us at [email protected] While we work through this lockdown, the city is bustling with community building efforts. ... We encourage you all to read all about the Just Recovery plan put forward by a number of community partners, found here, and reflect on how we keep community together for the long haul : https://justrecoveryhamilton.ca/what-is-a-just-recovery%3F

Let’s get crafting DMA! Instructor Eli’s family facilitates this incredible organization. This is their first run at mass Valentine’s cheer, and I know we can support them. PM Gifts for seniors for more information ... We are happy to be a drop point - please place the cards in a sealed ziplock, in our mailbox, so we can safely pass them along

Whatever you do, do it with your best focus and power!

One of the most fun, chaotic, community days at Determination has been our holiday drop in days. Open space for families to explore and play as they desire. Take it alllll out and enjoy! This year, is obviously different. ... I’m thankful for all the ways we’re finding to continue sharing energy, no matter what stage of the pandemic we find ourselves in. Quiet or loud, open or closed, we’re thankful for the years of community spirit Determination holds in these walls. And when we log into zoom on Monday, we’ll create new energy together and shake out those winter holiday feels! Bring it on 2021, we’re ready for you!

Well Folks, We almost made it to the end of session 2 and we are thankful for the time we had together in person! Effective Monday at 12:01 am (Sunday night) DMA is closed for in person classes until further notice. ... We are going to offer a variety of zoom Classes this Monday dec 21 as a send off to the holidays, an then will make a temporary zoom schedule for 2021. We will be on vacation dec 24-Jan 3 as planned, but look for pop up zoom days! All zoom links can be found here: https://docs.google.com//1O3Iu_rwgJGHW-b8_PTljys6yKbo/edit Everyone welcome. Please e mail us if you need the password again ([email protected])

Here we zoom, here we zoom again! (Starting January 4th) And as a result, all in person session 3 registration is PAUSED until further notice (we are unable to operate during this lockdown). Once we have a re-open date, we will confirm with families they're still interested in their pre-registration, and re-open the remaining spots. ... We're so glad that we are able to keep up our student's progress, and be a part of your lockdown routine. We understand that zoom isn't optimal for many families, for many reasons. We encourage you not to worry if your student isn't participating fully, if they prefer their screen off, or if they're simply watching. If they're happy to be there, we're happy to have them. There is NO pressure on our end for perfect practice, perfect conditions, or judgement on your space. We're all doing the best we can right now, and we are just glad you're taking the time to join us. All age groups are suggestions - attend where it fits best for you! Monday: 4:00pm - Under 7 year olds 4:45pm - 7+ 5:30pm - Forms 6:00pm - Fitness Kickboxing 6:30pm - Strengthen and Stretch Wednesdays 5:30pm - Under 7 6:15pm - 7+ 7:00 - Fitness Kickboxing Saturday 9:30 am - Fitness Kickboxing 10:15am - Under 7 11:00am - 7+ All old and Current members will have the link to all the classes in their inbox. Don’t see it, or not on our list? Send us an e mail at [email protected] and we’ll set you up. As always, please let us know if you have any questions or if we can help you with any aspect of this transition! With lots of love and optimism, Miss Emily

The weather might not have it on our minds, but we’re preparing for the increase of winter slips and falls by making sure our breakfalls are in top shape! Protect our head, reduce impact to our spine, and keep our core engaged, this class nailed it

It might not be the ending we expected to this season, but Determination Community, you took it in stride! We did 2, 12 hour days of belt evaluations and private lessons to ensure no one missed out on their time with the impending lockdown. We have a host of zoom classes tonight (check out the google doc and join us! Don’t see the doc? E mail us at [email protected] for links) ... And most exciting - our community has over 100 new ornaments at home and we raised $821.60 for our clients in lodging homes!!! (So much over our goal in fact that we reached out to one of our community partners for more folks who could benefit). Thank you for sharing your photos with us, we love to see them. Boots, pillows, sheets, video games, console system, curtains, coffee and clothing are boosting the baseline quality of life thanks to YOU! Welcome to lockdown round 2 Hamilton. Keep reaching out, keep engaging with community, keep on keeping on! Please remember this IS hard, we have no prior experience to draw on for this long haul, and it’s ok to not be ok. We understand, and we aren’t going anywhere. But please please please text or e mail us - Facebook/Instagram messenger are NOT reliable

Had a beautiful day on Ottawa street today catching up with an old friend (since grade 3!). Got to see Empire Make Space who’s radiant, calming personality always adds a boost to my day, pick up a special kit from @sticksandstonesfloral... and see @cannoncoffeeco and @easthamiltoncheeseco to round out the beauty There is so much amazing community around us, who have you been safely visiting?

We stand with all Sex Workers for the right to a violence free workplace. As Martial Artists, our art is about learning to protect ourselves and defend those who cannot protect themselves. We do that through building community connections and trust, and ensuring all abilities are valued. We believe that everyone should have access to the training needed to protect and defend themselves and offer self defense programming to vulnerable workers (outside of pandemic times...) t...o help make that happen We all have the right to feel safe in our work.

Working on body control with our 4-6s tonight - can they stop and start as soon as they’re asked? Stopping a preferred activity can be challenging but there are many situations where it’s crucial for safety, and so, we practice! In situations that are less imminent (like leaving for class, or getting ready for school, transition times, timers, visual schedules and goal setting) helps us improve our brain and body control. ... Happy session two everyone!

Happy December Determination, new and old! As we are all aware, the Covid conditions continue to eb and flow, and we can’t predict what January is going to look like. However, we also know that routine and plan setting is so important for mental health right now, and we all want to look forward to our next session of martial arts and fitness kickboxing! ... Therefore, we are going to proceed with registration for session 3, but with the understanding that we are NOT taking payments until the week of December 28th, so PLEASE don’t stress that you haven’t received an invoice. Completing your calendly registration is considered confirmation of registration. All the links to register can be found here: https://calendly.com/hamiltondma For full session information , please e-mail us at [email protected] and we'll happily send it over Have a beautiful week Miss Emily

And we’re ready to go again! The first set of orders have all been filled, so we’re opening up holiday ornaments round two; with a few more designs! If you missed the first post: ... One of the community connections we do pro-Bono each week at Determination is to pick up students residing in lodging homes, bring them to DMA for training and community, and advocate for their needs. Individuals who live in lodging homes face a number of barriers (including severe mental illness, intellectual disabilities, addiction) and as we witness every day, the government funding is entirely inadequate. While we continue to call on the different levels of government to increase their support for these individuals, there’s lots of small initiatives we can do! This year, we’ve made a number of martial arts and holiday ornaments. These are available at DMA by donation (suggested $5-$10) until the 24th. 100% of donations will go to the individuals we support to enhance their holiday season. Cash or e transfer to [email protected] (no password needed. Please note that it’s for ornaments). Looking for a different colour or design? We’ll see what we can do!

Happy November! We're so thrilled to see so many of you back in person. We have seen zoom attendance has been slowing down, but we're so glad for those of you who are staying in home, that you're still getting your training in. ... As always, zoom remains free and open to anyone - donations to 541 Barton, Prisoner Solidarity Network, or Determination are always welcome with a suggested $25/month Zoom times for November/December Mondays: 7:00pm Martial Arts 7:30Pm Fitness Kickboxing Saturday 11:30am Martial Arts If you're interested in more fitness kickboxing, we'll be adding more workouts to the youtube links noted in the spreadsheet. Anyone who wants to practice forms, they're also all listed on the google doc below. Zoom links here: https://docs.google.com//1O3Iu_rwgJGHW-b8_PTljys6yKb/edit Session two begins tomorrow and we're pumped! Any last minute registration can be complete here: https://calendly.com/hamiltondma or send us an e-mail! We have spaces: Monday 7-10 - 6:00pm - 2 spots Kung fu - 7:00pm - 2 spots Tuesday All ages - 11:00am - 2 spots 7-10 - 5:00pm - 1 spot All Forms - 6:00pm - 2 spots Wednesday 4-6 - 1:00pm - 3 spots All ages - 2:00pm - 3 spots 11+ - 7:00pm - 1 spot Saturday 7-10 - 11:00am - 2 spots As always, if finances are a barrier, please check in with us and we're happy to work with you! A special thanks to all our community partners who are helping us keep our inclusive and accessible programming alive! Check out East Hamilton Cheese Shop (https://www.facebook.com/easthamiltoncheeseco/) BeWare pottery (https://bewarepottery.ca) and Sticks and stones Floral (https://sticksandstonesfloral.com) A note on communication: We love feedback and conversation with students and their families! We can give brief feedback at pick up, but if you’d like to discuss in more detail, please arrange a time outside of class. If your child is having an challenge outside of class (bullying, mental health, family structure), we appreciate any context you can give us before class time so we can support them in class. A text (905 630 7041) or e-mail ([email protected]) works best, and please include if you would like us to discuss directly with your child, work related strategies into class, or simply know the information, where possible. Please avoid facebook messenger (as much as possible) as the new updates are glitching often and we’re finding messages go missing. For phone calls, we are all involved on the floor the majority of the day and phone calls are very challenging for us to respond to. Take care of yourself, take care of one another Miss Emily

*closing orders for now*. Wow! You all are in the holiday decorating spirit! We are closing orders for now so we can ensure we can get all the current orders done and will reopen once we have! Thanks for your enthusiasm! * One of the community connections we do pro-Bono each week at Determination is to pick up students residing in lodging homes, bring them to DMA for training and community, and advocate for their needs. Individuals who live in lodging homes face a number of ...barriers (including severe mental illness, intellectual disabilities, addiction) and as we witness every day, the government funding is entirely inadequate. While we continue to call on the different levels of government to increase their support for these individuals, there’s lots of small initiatives we can do! This year, we’ve made a number of martial arts and holiday ornaments. These are available at DMA by donation (suggested $5-$10) until the 24th. 100% of donations will go to the individuals we support to enhance their holiday season. Cash or e transfer to [email protected] (no password needed. Please note that it’s for ornaments). Looking for a different colour or design? We’ll see what we can do!

Little G joined the DMA community in 2018 and just moved into the big kids crew with her achievement of High White! Congratulations to the whole family, who all spend time in class each week, punching out stress and taking in confidence, self control, and fun!

Our new zip ups (Navy), hoodies (black), and t shirts (pink, navy, black) are in! We all know that what ever we put our minds to, we can do! I can, I will!