Professor Hillary Kaplowitz holds a Ph.D. in education, specializing in instructional design and technology. She is Senior Instructional Designer for Faculty Development at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). She is also Sensei of Pacific JuJitsu Kai, and has been teaching martial arts for the City of Santa Monica since 2000. Professor Kaplowitz began her training in 1977 in the youth program at the Santa Monica YMCA under Sensei Jim Nieto, where she also competed on the Judo team. She subsequently trained under many highly-ranked instructors, earning the title of Kyoshi in 2008, receiving a Shihan Kaidensho in 2013, and being awarded her Professorship from the American Judo & Jujitsu Federation (AJJF) in 2017. She is an instructor in the Danzan Ryu Seifukujitsu Institute massage program and has served various volunteer leadership positions in the AJJF. One of her interests is in the iron fan techniques of Danzan Ryu, and she has published a book on the subject, Tessenjutsu.

• Designing Drills to Develop Skills
  

In addition to practicing the specific techniques in our martial arts systems, we can use drills to help increase skill development. In this class, we will look at how isolating and practicing specific movements can be beneficial, different types and goals of drills, and ways to develop drills from movements in our own systems. Options for both solo and partner practice will be covered. There will be opportunities to share drills with each other and begin to develop new drills.

Dara Masi, Shihan started training in the martial arts in 1986. She is Doshu (system head) of Hakko Densho Ryu Martial Arts Federation. She lives in Northern California, where she is the Head Instructor of Suigetsu Dojo, built on 70 acres in a pine forest. Masi Shihan is a co-founder of the Association of Women Martial Arts Instructors and a member of the AWMAI Hall of Fame, recognizing 30+ years of training. She is the United States Delegate for FESECAM European Federation of Martial Artists. Masi Shihan was inducted into the Jujitsu America Black belt Hall of Fame in 2004 and in 2016 she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pacific Association of Women Martial Artists. She continues to teach and host seminars in Northern California, as well as presenting seminars around the country in Hakko Densho Ryu Jujutsu, Nishioryu Toho Iaido and Hojojutsu. 

• Navigating the Plateau

On the long road of our martial arts journey, we all experience highs and lows. There will be moments, often during promotions, when we feel like we are growing. At other times, there are challenges during which we may feel frustrated. I have found the most interesting time on my path to be when I am on the plateau. A plateau is defined as “a state of little or no change following a period of activity or progress.” I have found myself frustrated on the plateau and feeling stale and often see this in my students. However, over time, I have come to realize that the plateau is where the real training actually takes place and can be a place of peace, learning, and internal growth. We will discuss our experiences on the plateau, how deep growth can actually be realized while there, and how we can inspire our students during their struggle.

Jennie Trower is a skilled instructor, presenter and speaker with more than two decades of experience in martial arts, self-defense, and safety training and teaching. After personal and professional losses during the COVID-19 pandemic, Jennie pivoted within the safety space, earning a third college degree in Emergency Management, as well as multiple Disaster Management certificates through FEMA; and volunteering for ongoing disaster relief efforts with the American Red Cross. She brings the same balanced, accessible, effective and actionable approach to emergency planning, preparedness and response as she did previously to the field of self-defense. 

• Basic Emergency Preparedness: Affordable, Accessible and Actionable Strategies

From wildfires, hurricanes and floods to a global pandemic, mass casualty events and cyber-attacks, there’s no shortage of examples of disasters to learn from. This course will take an all-hazards approach to disaster/emergency planning, presenting accessible, affordable and actionable tools and strategies to help people, families and entire communities become better prepared and more resilient. We will investigate and discuss the following:

• How are self-defense/martial arts and emergency preparedness similar?

• What groups of people suffer the greatest effects from disasters, statistically and historically?

• What hazards/threats should we prepare for?

• Why is it important to prepare – on an individual, community or even national/global level?

• How do we prepare to stay? How do we prepare to evacuate?

• How do we plan for our pets? Folks with special needs?

Plus, we’ll do a self-inventory of things we already know/do to stay safe and better prepared, as well as learn about tons of free online resources to make a plan, build a kit, and increase our collective resiliency. This course will be taught from a perspective that seeks to mitigate the fear so many people experience around these issues, and transform it into action and confidence.

Shihan Diane Wallander’s love for martial arts covers the training, the discipline, the striving towards perfection, and the life enriching connections with fellow martial artists. Diane has practiced and taught martial arts with one goal in mind; to train and prepare as many students as possible in an effort to combat the stain of sexual assault in our world. She holds a degree in Biology and Masters and Doctorate degrees from Northwestern University in Anthropology. Her research in primate behavior focused on understanding the development of behavior, and linking patterns in signals of aggressive, play, parental and feeding behavior. It is the unique combination of her expertise in practical, effective self-defense skills, paired with a deep understanding of behavioral signals, that allow Shihan Diane to teach her students a self-defense program rooted in reality-based scenarios of sexual assault.

• Teaching Martial Arts to Special Needs Students

Students with special needs deserve instructors and curricula that recognize, understand and integrate accommodations that are vital to these students' learning and success. Much of the focus in special education has been in the classroom, however--not so much in the area of physical education. This session will focus on best practices for teaching martial arts to neurodivergent students, such as those diagnosed with ADHD, ADD, & ASD.