Anti-bullying and armbars might not be a natural connection but the first-ever Power of Martial Arts aims to bring the two together under one roof.
POMA, coming to the Abbotsford Tradex on Nov. 7 and 8, aims to bring awareness to the issue of bullying in Canada. The event offers seminars promoting all forms of martial arts and speakers to discuss the subject of anti-bullying.
UFC hall of famer Royce Gracie and Carol Todd, the mother of the late Amanda Todd, are two of the confirmed names for the event. Organizer Brigitte McKenzie said combining martial arts and anti-bullying is a natural partnership.
“I think when any person’s confidence is challenged by others that any information they can do to get more understanding is helpful,” she said.
McKenzie said response to the event has been overwhelming, with martial arts clubs from all across the province coming to Abbotsford.
“We’re going to have three martial arts rings,” she said. “And we’ve invited all the karate schools and jiu jitsu schools to have time on the mat to demonstrate their art forms.”
All forms of martial arts are scheduled to attend and perform. Demonstrations start at 10 a.m. on both days of the event.
Todd speaks at the conference on Nov. 7 at 2:30 p.m. and the topic is “Respect and Kindness.”
Gracie is set to talk about bullying and women in self defence before hosting a meet and greet on Nov. 7 at 5 p.m. Gracie then is heading up both children and adult martial arts seminars on Nov. 8th @10am.
McKenzie said having Todd and Gracie at the event makes a great fit.
“It’s perfect because the whole concept right from the get go was about martial arts contrasted with anti-bullying,” she said.
The goal is to attract 2,000 people to the festivities over the two days.
McKenzie added that she wants to make POMA an annual event and continue to make it grow.
“Gracie is [Canadian MMA fighter] one of Georges St-Pierre’s idol,” she said. “If I could afford to have GSP come I would. We’re working on an angle to appeal to him for next year or a future year.”
For more information on the event, visit powerofmartialarts.com.
Light Up the world in purple
Amanda’s Legacy with the support of the World Federation of Mental Health (WFMH) invite you to participate in the 3rd Annual “Light up the World in Purple” campaign to recognize the importance of mental health wellness and the destigmatization of the issues that surround mental illness.
Amanda Todd was a teen in British Columbia, Canada who after many years of bullying and cyber-abuse, lost her battle against her personal mental health issues almost two years ago on October 10th which has also happened to be ‘World Mental Health Day’ since 1992 (Wikipedia). The bullying and online harassment that Amanda endured were also contributing factors of her mental health.
Amanda’s Legacy is dedicated to supporting mental health awareness. Suggestions include lighting up structures (eg – buildings, fountains, bridges, etc) in cities/communities, wearing purple, creating purple activities and much more. Anything and everything will help increase awareness to this important issue.
It is in the hopes that you and your business, organization or school might be able to do something in PURPLE and would allow us to add your name to the growing list of supporters for this campaign. This event is being promoted both online and in the real world.
There are plans to post and share pictures on and after October 10, 2015 of all those who participated and shared their photos. This will hopefully be turned into a slide show and posted somewhere for viewing.
Carol Todd, Founder ~ Amanda Todd Legacy Society
