THE CROSSING WEEKLY

Picture this – take a practice of self-defense, punches, kicks, blocks…add some exercise and physical development…throw in some moral character education and philosophy… and now, dunk it!  BAPTIZE IT in The Gospel of Jesus Christ!  That’s how The School of Warrior Arts (SOWA) came into existence!

With passionate vision, SOWA hit the scene in the fall of 2014 as a ministry to The Crossing Life family and surrounding communities.  While it began through offering a “dojo” (a place to practice “the way” of martial art), the purpose has always been to become an extended campus housing all the arts, academics, prayer and healing, fitness and nutrition …all Jesus-centered and unto empowering the whole being – body, soul, spirit!

As a dojo, SOWA does not exist solely to teach self-defense; rather, we use the dojo as a creative context for discipleship.  “Self defense” in this context takes on more than just defending our physical bodies against attack.  Even embedded in SOWA’s logo, “the dojo” takes on a layered meaning as students do not enter to merely practice the way of a traditional martial arts, but rather to practice The Way of the True Master and Sensei, Jesus Christ. 

Every dojo has a creed and will talk around the “virtues of a black belt.”  For SOWA students, our creed expanded to include “I intend to honor God in all that I am and do, and I commit my practice to be pleasing in the Lord’s sight.”  And our black belt virtues are none other than The Fruits of The Spirit.  We teach these on the mats and talk about where they can be practiced off the mats in life via what we call “mat chats”, character application emails, (and coming soon) “Bushido Bytes”, our first official podcast, and hopes of “Bushido Books” being published in the coming year as well!

SOWA has just celebrated 7 years of forging a Christ-centered program, and has recently added music lessons and dance classes.  SOWA is also a forerunner of a faith-based program in the prestigious traditional martial art association, the Uechi Ryu Butokukai based out of Atkinson NH. Under the head instruction of Josiah Armstrong (4th degree black belt), SOWA has promoted one Nidan (adult 2nd degree BB), six Shodan (teen/adult 1st degree BBs), and two Level 1 Jr. black belts!  This is a great accomplishment as it takes a minimum of 3 1/2 to 5 years to reach a Shodan/Level 1 rank; (These Jr. black belts are 10 and 11 years old!!!  That’s incredible!)

Over the past 2 years, in the midst of world wide adversity, SOWA has prevailed and triumphed!  The staff, students, and families of SOWA, learning to be grounded in their Faith, have proved stronger than opposing forces by becoming those who live with G.R.I.T. – Grace, Resilience, Innovation, and Truth (more on that to come! Hint, hint).

Need a fresh kick in the pants?  We can do that!  Seriously though, being a student of a martial art, especially an art that has been washed by and infused with The Gospel, can be an incredible “restart” in many ways.   We’d love to see you on the mats!  Check out SOWA’s web page for detailed information on classes and the opportunity for a 4-week trial.  You can also reach out to Josiah Armstrong or Susan Michelson for more information.