DUBUQUE, IA - to appreciate and spend time with your mom and it’s around the corner. Along with many other mothers and daughters; Bobbi Earles and her family has found a unique way of bonding by breaking boards.
“Any time you can spend with your children is a bonus,” says Earles and they find their extra time in the studio at Springer’s Martial Arts Academy.
Master Ben Springer sees many families who join their school create a closer unity amongst their home, “Karate is something that any mother or daughter, dad or son, can develop a close bond during their training. We offer classes where parents can train with their children.”
These class times has made the school family oriented making the classes a large influence on these growing relationships.
For Emma Earles that’s her favorite part about karate she says, “I like how I can be with my mom and my dad and my sister and we can all do a sport as a family.”
The Earles family is only one amongst many mother daughter teams that attend Springer’s academy. Anita Arensdorf and her daughter Angelina have seen the impact this time has left on their relationship. Angelina claimed, “It seems we’ve been making cookies more than we usually do.”
Bobbi Earles mentions that even during those mother-daughter fights, this sport can help take out their frustrations. She says, “During those teenage years where mothers and daughters do a lot of fighting, you can actual do it in the martial arts studio and have a lot of fun with it.”
For these karate moms, the enrollment of their daughters in martial arts brings a comfort to their hearts. “As young females it will be a wonderful thing for them to have in their arsenals as they grow older, so it really brings comfort to me, in a mother’s point of view,” explained Earles.
Arensdorf feels the same, “Although I know she’ll never be completely invulnerable karate has given her the opportunity to not be completely defenseless and as a mom, that feeling is great.”
“I think it’s important in this day and age for women to learn how to defend themselves and not be an object,” states Master Springer as he explains the importance of developing skills that can protect oneself.
It was at age seven when Arensdorf’s daughter, Angelina proved to her that even though a person may be stronger than her daughter, she is far from powerless.
“As her mom I didn’t think she would. I was a lot bigger than her but she grabbed my arm hand and put me to the floor and my hand hurt for three weeks,” said Anita Arensdorf as she told her favorite memory with her daughter.
Both Earles and Arensdorf agree that this experience has been completely worth all the hard work. They’ve seen their family and themselves grow more confident in who they are as individuals and as a family.
Felicia can be contacted at Felicia.Carner@loras.edu
