MIMA Blog

Living Heros #4
Sabina Leveque

Sabina is kind, persistent, smart, and artsy. I very much hope to someday be very much like her. Sabina was born in Ann Arbor, MI on January 16, 2008. I was right there in the waiting room with my Grandma as she came into the world. By the time she was eight months old, we had moved to Mercer Island. She immeiatley took a liking to art. At school, at home, in the car, she was always doing art. Her pictures plastered the walls of our home, and my parents work. She sta

Living hero #1
By Ansel Leveque
On Dixie Noble

My grandma Dixie Noble, is a kind, intellegent, persistient woman. She grew up in a less fortunate family. The family had less money, and her father was very hard on her. Dixie Noble grew up in a small town in Texas called Maybank, with one brother and three sisters. She started out not liking school very much, because she had teachers that demanded a lot of things from her and she was very overwhelmed at the time. Overcoming that, she left for colla

Living hero #1
By Ansel Leveque
On Dixie Noble

My grandma Dixie Noble, is a kind, intellegent, persistient woman. She grew up in a less fortunate family. The family had less money, and her father was very hard on her. Dixie Noble grew up in a small town in Texas called Maybank, with one brother and three sisters. She started out not liking school very much, because she had teachers that demanded a lot of things from her and she was very overwhelmed at the time. Overcoming that, she left for collage

Living hero #1
By Ansel Leveque
On Dixie Noble

My grandma Dixie Noble, is a kind, intellegent, persistient woman. She grew up in a less fortunate family. The family had less money, and her father was very hard on her. Dixie Noble grew up in a small town in Texas called Maybank, with one brother and three sisters. She started out not liking school very much, because she had teachers that demanded a lot of things from her and she was very overwhelmed at the time. Overcoming that, she left for collage

Ansel Leveque
Living Heros #2
J.C. Leveque

My dad is a great leader, inspiring doctor, and amazing at biking. He is also persitent, hard-working, and smart. My dad went to school in Washington, D.C., and was very good at it. He graduated collage only to go back to school a few years later to get his medical degree. During this time, he married my mom, Thellea, and moved to Michigan. He did a lot of schoolwork and a lot of school. He started out being an average Neroseurgon, but he immidiatley got g

Living Heros #3
Ansel Leveque
Mom

My Mom is very hardworking, intelligent, peaceful, and loving. She was born in California. She loved school from her first day. It might have been hard for her at times, but she pulled through. Her Mom, my Grandma, was very loving to her, and also very smart. There might have been times when she and her mom fought, but they always made up. Her mom got divorced from her Dad when she was three years old. She went to collage at Amherst along with my Dad. She first s

 Thanksgiving and Veteran's Day are coming up this month which means it time to start thinking about the things that we are grateful for.   Every year we challenge you to think about some of the things that you are thankful for.  Here is the research behind gratefulness, as well as our challenge to you.  We will be working on our Gratitude Challenge with the kids during our Veteran's Day Camp on Friday, November 10th. Adults and Teens we encourage you to do a gratitude challenge, as well.  

Posi

Our kids are working so hard in our camps.  Not only do they do 3-4 formal martial arts classes per day, but they are also making daily trips to one of our amazing parks on Mercer Island.  They are playing active games, sports, and moving around most of the day.  This kind of activity burns a ton of calories-- plus kids grow so much during the summer, it's sometimes hard to keep up with their caloric needs.  As, parents you want to keep your kids healthy, so I found this link via Cooking Light f

Register or find out more:    CLICK HERE  or call 206  230-9050

MeLisa Turcott Strongheart is a Master Instructor and owner at Mercer Island Martial Arts.  She is a 6th Dan, and in the process of testing for her 7th Dan Master Instructor.  She also holds a Master’s Degree in Psychology, Mental Health Counseling.   She brings these two areas of specialization to her work with families, children, teens, and in designing curriculum.   

Master Strongheart emphasizes and has taught thousands of

Persistence:  finish what you start.   Persevere!   Such an important trait to develop.   Here is the worksheet to get kids going with how it works.

PersevereCharachterLessonMIMA.pdf

MeLisa Turcott Strongheart is a Master Instructor and owner at Mercer Island Martial Arts.  She is a 6th Dan, and in the process of testing for her 7th Dan Master Instructor.  She also holds a Master’s Degree in Psychology, Mental Health Counseling.   She brings these two areas of specialization to her work with fa

I find the motivation to come to class on any given day comes primarily from seeking greater discipline and control. So when I feel tired and might want to surf the web at home instead of coming in, there’s a reminder that getting up will lead to more long term benefits, including being able to get up easier the next time. Being able to know exactly where my limits are and how to train at full effort are skills I’ve learned in the dojo, and have aided me in life outside as well. Apart from perso

    Being a black belt has shown to me the difference between teaching and leading. When I first received the rank, the responsibilities of being a black belt seemed immense. I had this impression that as a leader in the group, I needed to know every form and every kick by heart. It took months of observing my senior black belts to understand that they too were still learning, and still had moments of difficulty. Being a black belt did mean that I had to step up and be a leader, one who solved p

My leadership project was done in conjunction with my volunteer effort with the local chapter of the Red Cross. I have been a Red Cross volunteer for almost five years and work in the DST group. This is the group which manages the IT and communication for the Red Cross. As one of the more technical members of the team, I was asked to lead an effort for building out a new communication system for the King/Snohomish county area. The DST leadership had put together a grant proposal two years ago fo

1)  Dr. Anthony Azakie - When I was born, I had a heart defect called “Transposition of the Great Arteries” or TGA.  I was a blue baby and that I didn’t have enough oxygen.  When the doctor found out, they had to take me to the Children’s Hospital in San Francisco, California when I was 3 days old and Dr. Azakie was my pediatric surgeon who did an open heart surgery when I was 6 days old.  He saved my life and that’s why he’s one of my living hero.
 
2)  Nilda Rublica - My mom is always there for

1. What are my goals upon having reached black belt for my future training and learning?

My goals are to learn the new forms and techniques for my belt level.  To continue improving on what I already have learned and continue learning new techniques.  To get stronger through practice.  Practice kicking higher, stronger and quicker.  Practice my punches to be quicker and harder.  Practice my blocks to be quicker and more accurate.

 2.  What kind of black belt will I be?

I will be an inspiring black bel

What I have achieved in life related to what I have learned in dojang?

When I first started Martial Arts, I had ailments that have affected the left side of my body, since I started working out and stretching, I find that I feel so much better, the pain is not as intense, I feel fantastic and motivated and excited to come and work out.  In addition to the physical triumph, I am in a unique situation where I work out and I also teach.  By getting to work with students, each day presents new goals

One thing that I have told people time and time again during sparring or in class is to ‘just breathe’ and relax. This will be a story of how I had to take my own advice.

I guess, I will start the story with this; over the past few weeks, I have been talking to someone who brought back some memories of what I have personally went through with over the past two years and how I finally reached a point in my life of just being happy. I will preface this story by saying that I live a pretty good life

My Black Belt Goals

When I pass my test, my black belt goals are:

1.      Work hard on my technique, become more accurate and precise

2.      Learn more about the traditions of Tae Kwon Do so I can be more respectful to the sport

3.      Focus on getting my speed up, especially when it comes to spinning kicks

4.      Work harder to get better on my left side

5.      Be able to remember all the forms