Students at Onchamina-hos Elementary School in Saddle Lake are being offered some unique opportunities aimed at helping children develop into strong, productive members of the community.
Jason Zorthian has had six professional mixed martial arts fights in his career. Five of those fights were with Maximum Fighting Championship (MFC) out of Edmonton. Zorthian, a welterweight, holds a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and one of his career highlights includes getting submission of the night at MFC 12.
Zorthian spent a week in Saddle Lake teaching students basic Jiu-Jitsu during regular gym classes. Students were obviously eager to hit the mats and learn from Zorthian.
Jiu-Jitsu, according to Zorthian, translates to mean “the gentle way.” The fighter, turned trainer and now youth advocate, originally became interested in martial arts after hearing stories about great battles that weren’t fought as wars, but instead decided by two warriors.
Stories are told about the Cree and Blackfoot coming to peaceful resolutions by putting their two strongest warriors against each other in wrestling matches, rather than risking numerous lives in wars, explains Zorthian, who is a Thunderchild band member.
Learning martial arts is a good way to teach youth important life skills.
“A lot of youth are having problems with discipline and structure,” says Zorthian.
Also, martial arts can be used to prevent bullying. Martial arts give children skills that will deter bullies, but it also works in the opposite way for children who act as bullies. Children are taught that they need to be responsible with the skills they’ve learnt and not use them in a negative way.
“It’s like (giving them) a power,” says Zorthian. “All humans inherently want to be good.”
The physical fitness aspect of martial arts is also important. Last week, physical education teacher Trevor Cardinal noticed that children who didn’t normally thrive in gym class were doing very well with what Zorthian was teaching.
Zorthian also has experience at home teaching his own children about martial arts. His nine-year-old and 11-year-old sons are “some of my best students,” and even his three-year-old daughter is eager to learn.
A long time ago, children took part in wrestling and lacrosse as a form of “warrior preparation,” says Zorthian. Elders could see how children were developing.
“It was very important for the coming of manhood.”
But Zorthian’s visit isn’t the only thing going on at Onchaminahos School. On March 6, children also received a special visit from Red Sky, a theatre and dance group from Toronto. Performers entertained children with a production about a young girl who heard a crying mountain.
The story carried a strong environmental message about listening to mother nature.
Funding for these types of events, which are related to the curriculum, comes from Enbridge. The programs are all aimed at turning children into leaders. Many of the students finished a legends unit in January, which relates to the Red Sky presentation, says Candice Houle, a Grade 4 teacher at Onchaminahos.
Teachers also look for activities that “reemphasize our roots,” says Houle.
Other activities that are part of the leadership program include culinary teachings and outdoor education, says Cardinal, adding, teachers are working at reviving traditions as a way to enrich the students’ lives.
