On December 28th I had the opportunity to be a sponsor for a wonderful event hosted by Sensei Arthur Hearns and the staff at The Hands of Life Martial Arts Academy in Garwood, NJ. The class, “Women’s Self Defense Seminar” was held at the Academy’s state of the art facility and close to 50 women came out to learn and socialize. The class taught the women basic skills and tips to protect themselves in the event of an attack, and the Hands of Life staff made the serious topic a fun and interactive session. The women were taught defensive stances, deflection tools, and methods to protect their bodies and avoid harm. The evening was topped off by refreshments and great door prizes donated by local businesses (including ME!) such as Lynn Langone from Mind, Body, Spirit Massage, Josh from Rosie’s Wine Bar, Jason White from the Benvenuti Deli, Lockey Maisonneuve from Lockey’s Backyard Boot camp, Anna Murphy from Arbonne, Cheryl Mulligan at Calm Approach Massage, The Ferraro Family from Anna’s Ristorante, and Jennifer & Claudia from Cuts & Curls By Claudia.

The Hands of Life Martial Arts Academy offers many programs that are fun and exciting ways for children and adults of all ages to learn karate and develop skills that will last a lifetime. The physical side of karate develops reaction time, reflexes, hand-eye coordination, agility, stress relief, strength and flexibility. More importantly, they offer an actual character-building curriculum that puts an emphasis on character building life skills such as, focus, discipline, self-control, self-esteem, self-confidence, respect, teamwork, perseverance and honesty. The benefits of these programs are easily apparent for children and adults alike. In addition to martial arts the Academy offers fitness classes and women’s self defense classes. Families can also enjoy fun events such as “Parent’s Night Out”, movie nights, family game nights and board breaking seminars.

The Hands of Life Martial Arts Academy, which was established in 2005, has just finished building its new, state of the art, beautiful and spacious facility. The address is 508 North Avenue across from Shop Rite in Garwood NJ, right next to the Coffee Beanery and Rosie’s’ Wine Bar. ( 908-232-1311) There is plenty of free parking available with a convenient entrance from the parking lot.

Visit their website to learn more: http://www.handsoflifemartialarts.com/index.cfm?page=1