HUSBAND & WIFE TEAM TAKE MARTIAL ARTS TO NEW HEIGHTS

By Marjorie J. Hurst

On December 11, 2004, Leo and Vanessa Williams hosted the 1^st Annual Awards Banquet for Leo’s Mind, Body and Spirit Martial Arts Institute (MBS). The banquet gave Leo an opportunity, not only to showcase the talents of about 40 of his students ranging in age from 3 to 90, but also to celebrate their personal growth and development.

Although Leo has been both a student and a teacher of the martial arts for about 30 years, the opening of his own school has allowed him to implement his own unique educational approach to the sport, which he has developed, in part, from studying with his current teacher and mentor, Larry Garron, a retired college professor with a Ph.D. in martial arts from Japan, and, in part, from listening to his wife, Vanessa, a second grade teacher at Freedman Elementary School in Springfield.

A college graduate with an undergraduate degree in economics and business and a graduate degree in business administration, Leo believes that education is the key to success in all walks of life and places a strong emphasis in his children’s program on incorporating education into his teaching of the martial arts. Both of his instructors, Thomas Belton and Craig Jackson, share this philosophy.

In addition to the physical benefit of learning increased coordination, balance and fitness, all of the children learn self-control, discipline, respect and confidence. The very young are also taught how to tell time and identify geometric angles and directions as they learn new moves. The older children learn how to use abstract thinking, plan strategies, set goals, understand rules and develop good character as they progress from belt to belt.

Because Leo recognizes that it is important to meet his students where they are in life and is committed to helping them develop the skills they need to be successful, he concentrates on personal growth and development for students all ages. He uses lesson plans and assessments to keep himself and his students on task. Although the adult program is geared to take one’s mind off the stresses and hassles of the outside world and offers the benefit of increased fitness, flexibility, self-defense and reduced stress, measuring and applauding personal and educational occurs on this level as well.

It is obvious from the titles of the awards that were given out at the banquet that Leo walks his talk. Students received awards were for “Diligent Participation and Outstanding Effort,” “Honorable Commitment,” “Continual Demonstration of Respect,” “Steadfast Perseverance,” “Superior Display of Teamwork,” “Exemplary Leadership,” “Commitment, Effort, and Continuous Inspiration,” and my personal favorite “Unwavering Acceptance and Demonstration of Responsibility.”

So if you are looking for an after-school activity where your child can learn geometry, physical science, anatomy, physics, kinesiology in addition to reaching new levels of physical fitness, experiencing increased self-confidence and learning how to defend him or herself, then contact Leo Williams at the Mind, Body and Spirit Martial Arts Institute located at 18 Maple Street, (413) 739-6596. And for all of us adults, if Ruth B. Loving at age 90 can become a student of Leo’s, we have no excuse! n