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Lakeview Martial Arts Center With Feminist Roots Celebrates 30 Years

By Mina Bloom | February 2, 2015 5:19am
  Martial arts and self-defense classes can be transformative for victims of violence, said the founder of Thousand Waves. 
Martial Arts Center Celebrates 30 Years
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LAKEVIEW — On a recent afternoon, karate students wearing white robes practice a series of blocks, punches and elbow locks in a Lakeview studio.

The half dozen students each wear different colored belts to indicate their skill level. The youngest student is 24 and the oldest is 68; five of them are women and one is a man.

When Nancy Lanoue started the Lakeview martial arts and self-defense center, Thousand Waves, 1220 W. Belmont Ave., 30 years ago she intended it only for women. 

"We envisioned it as a gym for women so they could relate to their bodies better," Lanoue said. "It didn't matter what you looked like, you were accepted for who you were. It was about empowerment."

Lanoue opened Women's Gym, also on Belmont Avenue, with co-founder Jeannette Pappas in 1985. But when Pappas died from pancreatic cancer in 1989, Lanoue decided to move her business a few doors down and rename it Thousand Waves. In 1995, she opened up classes to men.

Lanoue said the center's classes can be transformative for victims of violence as well as those who are simply looking to become physically and emotionally stronger.

"Now we're competing with yoga studios and gyms on every street corner now and the economy scale of a lot of those places is such that they can charge a lot less than we can," she admitted.

So what sets Thousand Waves apart?

"We go out of our way to create an inclusive and welcoming environment," she said. 

Today, the center has about 400 training members, including children and men. They offer about eight classes per day for students ranging in age and skill level. Though there are many different karate styles taught around the world  program manager Amy L. E. Jones compared it to "different dialects of the same language" — Thousand Waves teaches Seido karate, which is a Japanese martial art founded in 1976.

Seido means "sincere way" in Japanese, and the karate program aims to build character in addition to physical strength, Jones said. 

After a recent adult karate class, Mariana Von Wald said she started practicing karate at Thousand Waves two-and-a-half years ago, when she moved into an apartment across the street. Now she takes classes two times a week.

"When you stay at home with your kids, you lose some confidence," said Von Wald, who worked as a graphic designer before she became a stay-at-home mom and painter. 

Thousand Waves "has given me confidence on the streets," she said of the karate classes. "I could get away from someone now."

She added: "I didn't feel like I could I could stand up for myself. But it was mental. You can speak out and have a voice."

Plus, she said she now belongs to a "very supportive" community, an opinion shared by every student DNAinfo Chicago interviewed.

That's important because women who are victims of violence sign up for classes seeking support, Lanoue said.

"For most survivors [of traumatic or sexual violence], the method of coping is you survive by encapsulating it, and you don't let it affect your soul,"  she said. "You keep it in a box."

"Different things trigger you, and you're back in the assault situation. Martial arts is an act of courage and intense bravery [where] you're willing to do an activity that's going to be triggering." 

According to 24-year-old student Sam Boyer, a lot of women who have experienced violence come to Thousand Waves to heal. The West Town native has been practicing karate at the Lakeview studio since he was 8 years old.

The center also offers children's self-defense classes. Student Hilary Becker, 49, has two children enrolled in classes. Though they're only 8 and 9 years old, she hopes her daughter will be able to defend herself when she eventually goes off to college.

"In the event that other person doesn't hear 'no,' I'd like her to at least physically make that message clear," said Becker, who also takes classes at the center.

Lanoue said while she herself was not a victim of violence, the center has "a long history" of healing women who have experienced traumatic events.

She recalls one woman who was molested by her father and decided to practice martial arts at the center. The woman went on to write a martial arts resource book that Thousand Waves still uses to this day.

"It was so moving and sweet," Lanoue said of the woman's willingness to give back.

To celebrate 30 years, the martial arts and self-defense center is hosting a conversation with Nancy Lanoue and Sarah Ludden about the feminist roots of the studio. The free event will be held from 7:45-9:30 p.m. Wednesday at the studio, 1220 W. Belmont Ave. 

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