Community Karate-do for Whanganui
By Ben Blain
PledgeMe.Project
Community,
NZ $1,674 pledged
20 people pledged
Closed
NZ $1,600 minimum target
This campaign was successful and closed on 12/04/2021 at 4:00 PM.
Make a PledgeAbout
Community Karate-Do For Whanganui
Project 2021-03-16 12:17:42 +1300
Kia ora and haisai!
What is this karate project?
We are setting up an awesome and authentic Karate-do club for the community of Whanganui. Okinawan Karate-do is an excellent self-defense martial art that promotes self-respect and overall health. This club will have a special priority of promoting Karate-do for women in a safe learning environment.
What are we using the funds for?
The Dojo training space and qualified instructor are already sorted.Funds raised here will go towards making sure we have awesome equipment to help us train safely, and to make sure the price is accessible for members of our community. High-quality focus mitts and kick pads will be purchased at a discount from NZ Boxer, along with a new fully stocked first aid kit for the space. Any extra money raised will go towards running costs and promoting equity.
Who will the teacher be?
The head instructor of this club is Ben Blain. Ben has studied and practiced Karate worldwide for over 12 years. He holds two second degree black belts in Karate-do from Seishin Ryu Karate NZ, and Seishin-Kan Karate, Fukuoka, Japan (this is a Shorinji-Ryu style). Both of these qualifications are authentic and registered through the New Zealand Martial Arts Institute. He has trained within Japan, including a special month-long research trip to Okinawa (the birthplace of Karate) to study under the masters of the art. Ben is a 'fit and proper person' under New Zealand law and maintains excellent teaching and first aid skills.
When will the classes start, how much will they cost, and who can attend?
Weekly mixed classes will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday nights for teens and adults. Please note that there aren't plans to offer kids classes at this time. Fees will be $10 per week for students/low income earners, and $15 per week for everyone else. As a Social Enterprise all profits arising from this club will be re-invested to enhance the learning and opportunities of club members. The club will begin properly in April 2021.
How do I know this club is legitimate?
This club will be affiliated with Seishin Ryu Karate NZ, which has been delivering first-class non-profit Karate instruction in Aotearoa for over 50 years and was a founding member of the NZ Martial Arts Institute. This ensures that the curriculum and delivery will be to a world-class standard, and opens up some awesome opportunities for club members to continue training in other parts of the country.
How can I help?
Please make a pledge.
What do I get for my pledge?
A big thank you! and the establishment of an excellent Karate-do club for Whanganui if the target is reached.
-Stretch Goal: for every $200 raised beyond the target a scholarship will be created to help someone (or someones) access this club who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford it.
This sounds great, how do I sign up to learn Karate?
If you are based in Whanganui please contact Ben at: [email protected]
Thank you!
Comments
Updates 4
Final Big Thank You to all the Pledges! Community Karate-do Whanganui
07/05/2021 at 3:06 PM
This is the last update from this successful campaign and a final massive thanks to everyone who has supported!
Thanks to your generous support we now have an amazing new community Karate-do club in Whanganui!
We officially opened the doors this week and have had eight people come through and begin, or start again, on their martial-arts journey. That is an amazing start for our new dojo.
This community dojo (dojo means ‘place of the way’ in Japanese) was inspired by my own experience of martial-arts as medicine. Not just for the body; but the mind, emotions, and spirit too. When we practice karate together we learn not just self-defence, but self-control and self-respect. We don’t learn how to be violent, but we do learn how to control the violence around us. By practicing karate we build a safer and more peaceful world for everyone.
Thank you for allowing us to practice!
One of the goals of the fundraiser was to establish scholarships that enable worthy students to come and practice regardless of finances. With your support we have created three such scholarships that will be reserved to enable access to the dojo regardless of income. As the dojo grows we will also generate more scholarship opportunities for our students to practice locally, and eventually overseas.
It has long been a personal dream of mine to teach karate-do. My Mum dragged me to ‘Sensei Angie’s Kid’s Class’ when I was about 10 years old and I loved it. I was able to practice for only a year and a half before we moved away and I wasn’t able to continue again until I was 20, at the same family-run Seishin-Ryu Dojo in Auckland, NZ.
12 years later I am now able to fulfil this dream with your support. Once more, I thank you for helping to make this dream a reality for our community.
Yours sincerely,
Benjamin Blain
You need to pledge to see this update.
Last day update!
12/04/2021 at 11:37 AM
Amazing to have this campaign over the line, thank you so much everyone who has pledged. There are still a few extra pledges coming in so we might even reach the $1800 stretch goal. Super-happy that two scholarships have benn provided thus far to make these classes accessible to members of our community.
What an amazing first two days!
31/03/2021 at 4:29 PM
What an awesome response! Less than two days in and we are nearly a third of the way there, thank you everyone who has pledged so far.
Special shout-out to Shihan Alistair Thompsom, Sakura Kan Jiu Jitsu Wellington, for pledging a scholarship for a worthy student - I already have one in mind. Pledges like these will enable us to welcome-in students who wouldn't normally have access to self-defense martial arts training. FYI Shihan is a high-ranking teaching title in Japan that loosely translates to "Pointer of the way". Thank you Shihan Alistair.
Did I mention this is the official Karate club of the Kermadec Islands? Here is a pic of me in 2015 practicing in the Mapou Forest of Denham Bay, Raoul Island, a thousand kilometers from anywhere...
Pledgers 20
11/04/2021 at 8:20pm
"Well done Ben"
11/04/2021 at 8:05pm
09/04/2021 at 5:32pm
08/04/2021 at 7:05am
07/04/2021 at 8:54pm
"Ben-san - go forth and teacher. (get it? It's like that line, "go forth and conquer" but instead of conquer I swapped it out for teach-er.x"
05/04/2021 at 7:38pm
"Fantastic project Ben, you'd be an awesome Sensei! Sending love and positive vibes through the ether."
04/04/2021 at 2:33pm
03/04/2021 at 5:57pm
"Will enjoy seeing your dojo when we next come to Wanganui, Ben san."
01/04/2021 at 12:54pm
"Ben I am happy to support this great idea. "
01/04/2021 at 9:28am
"What a great thing to do for your community. Arab and I would like to donate a membership to someone that would benefit from it. Good luck!"
01/04/2021 at 9:11am
31/03/2021 at 7:22pm
31/03/2021 at 7:11pm
"Goku would approve of this, kia kaha!"
31/03/2021 at 4:13pm
"Butt-kicking for justice!"
30/03/2021 at 5:31pm
"Awesome!! This is great for the community :) "
30/03/2021 at 7:12am
"Go Ben!"
29/03/2021 at 11:11pm
"What a great idea Ben, best of luck!"
29/03/2021 at 10:53pm
"Kia kaha. Go for it Ben."
29/03/2021 at 10:48pm
"Please choose a worthy student for this pledge Osu "
29/03/2021 at 7:09pm
Followers
Followers of Community Karate-do for Whanganui
Community Karate-Do For Whanganui
Project 2021-03-16 12:17:42 +1300
Kia ora and haisai!
What is this karate project?
We are setting up an awesome and authentic Karate-do club for the community of Whanganui. Okinawan Karate-do is an excellent self-defense martial art that promotes self-respect and overall health. This club will have a special priority of promoting Karate-do for women in a safe learning environment.
What are we using the funds for?
The Dojo training space and qualified instructor are already sorted.Funds raised here will go towards making sure we have awesome equipment to help us train safely, and to make sure the price is accessible for members of our community. High-quality focus mitts and kick pads will be purchased at a discount from NZ Boxer, along with a new fully stocked first aid kit for the space. Any extra money raised will go towards running costs and promoting equity.
Who will the teacher be?
The head instructor of this club is Ben Blain. Ben has studied and practiced Karate worldwide for over 12 years. He holds two second degree black belts in Karate-do from Seishin Ryu Karate NZ, and Seishin-Kan Karate, Fukuoka, Japan (this is a Shorinji-Ryu style). Both of these qualifications are authentic and registered through the New Zealand Martial Arts Institute. He has trained within Japan, including a special month-long research trip to Okinawa (the birthplace of Karate) to study under the masters of the art. Ben is a 'fit and proper person' under New Zealand law and maintains excellent teaching and first aid skills.
When will the classes start, how much will they cost, and who can attend?
Weekly mixed classes will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday nights for teens and adults. Please note that there aren't plans to offer kids classes at this time. Fees will be $10 per week for students/low income earners, and $15 per week for everyone else. As a Social Enterprise all profits arising from this club will be re-invested to enhance the learning and opportunities of club members. The club will begin properly in April 2021.
How do I know this club is legitimate?
This club will be affiliated with Seishin Ryu Karate NZ, which has been delivering first-class non-profit Karate instruction in Aotearoa for over 50 years and was a founding member of the NZ Martial Arts Institute. This ensures that the curriculum and delivery will be to a world-class standard, and opens up some awesome opportunities for club members to continue training in other parts of the country.
How can I help?
Please make a pledge.
What do I get for my pledge?
A big thank you! and the establishment of an excellent Karate-do club for Whanganui if the target is reached.
-Stretch Goal: for every $200 raised beyond the target a scholarship will be created to help someone (or someones) access this club who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford it.
This sounds great, how do I sign up to learn Karate?
If you are based in Whanganui please contact Ben at: [email protected]
Thank you!
Comments
Final Big Thank You to all the Pledges! Community Karate-do Whanganui
07/05/2021 at 3:06 PM
This is the last update from this successful campaign and a final massive thanks to everyone who has supported!
Thanks to your generous support we now have an amazing new community Karate-do club in Whanganui!
We officially opened the doors this week and have had eight people come through and begin, or start again, on their martial-arts journey. That is an amazing start for our new dojo.
This community dojo (dojo means ‘place of the way’ in Japanese) was inspired by my own experience of martial-arts as medicine. Not just for the body; but the mind, emotions, and spirit too. When we practice karate together we learn not just self-defence, but self-control and self-respect. We don’t learn how to be violent, but we do learn how to control the violence around us. By practicing karate we build a safer and more peaceful world for everyone.
Thank you for allowing us to practice!
One of the goals of the fundraiser was to establish scholarships that enable worthy students to come and practice regardless of finances. With your support we have created three such scholarships that will be reserved to enable access to the dojo regardless of income. As the dojo grows we will also generate more scholarship opportunities for our students to practice locally, and eventually overseas.
It has long been a personal dream of mine to teach karate-do. My Mum dragged me to ‘Sensei Angie’s Kid’s Class’ when I was about 10 years old and I loved it. I was able to practice for only a year and a half before we moved away and I wasn’t able to continue again until I was 20, at the same family-run Seishin-Ryu Dojo in Auckland, NZ.
12 years later I am now able to fulfil this dream with your support. Once more, I thank you for helping to make this dream a reality for our community.
Yours sincerely,
Benjamin Blain
You need to pledge to see this update.
Last day update!
12/04/2021 at 11:37 AM
Amazing to have this campaign over the line, thank you so much everyone who has pledged. There are still a few extra pledges coming in so we might even reach the $1800 stretch goal. Super-happy that two scholarships have benn provided thus far to make these classes accessible to members of our community.
What an amazing first two days!
31/03/2021 at 4:29 PM
What an awesome response! Less than two days in and we are nearly a third of the way there, thank you everyone who has pledged so far.
Special shout-out to Shihan Alistair Thompsom, Sakura Kan Jiu Jitsu Wellington, for pledging a scholarship for a worthy student - I already have one in mind. Pledges like these will enable us to welcome-in students who wouldn't normally have access to self-defense martial arts training. FYI Shihan is a high-ranking teaching title in Japan that loosely translates to "Pointer of the way". Thank you Shihan Alistair.
Did I mention this is the official Karate club of the Kermadec Islands? Here is a pic of me in 2015 practicing in the Mapou Forest of Denham Bay, Raoul Island, a thousand kilometers from anywhere...
11/04/2021 at 8:20pm
"Well done Ben"
11/04/2021 at 8:05pm
09/04/2021 at 5:32pm
08/04/2021 at 7:05am
07/04/2021 at 8:54pm
"Ben-san - go forth and teacher. (get it? It's like that line, "go forth and conquer" but instead of conquer I swapped it out for teach-er.x"
05/04/2021 at 7:38pm
"Fantastic project Ben, you'd be an awesome Sensei! Sending love and positive vibes through the ether."
04/04/2021 at 2:33pm
03/04/2021 at 5:57pm
"Will enjoy seeing your dojo when we next come to Wanganui, Ben san."
01/04/2021 at 12:54pm
"Ben I am happy to support this great idea. "
01/04/2021 at 9:28am
"What a great thing to do for your community. Arab and I would like to donate a membership to someone that would benefit from it. Good luck!"
01/04/2021 at 9:11am
31/03/2021 at 7:22pm
31/03/2021 at 7:11pm
"Goku would approve of this, kia kaha!"
31/03/2021 at 4:13pm
"Butt-kicking for justice!"
30/03/2021 at 5:31pm
"Awesome!! This is great for the community :) "
30/03/2021 at 7:12am
"Go Ben!"
29/03/2021 at 11:11pm
"What a great idea Ben, best of luck!"
29/03/2021 at 10:53pm
"Kia kaha. Go for it Ben."
29/03/2021 at 10:48pm
"Please choose a worthy student for this pledge Osu "