Enter the Tiger

By Jimin Kim

No one takes Lilli Dolan’s crayons anymore.

Martial arts has given the once shy second grader the confidence to stand up for herself, and for others, in her class.

“‘Give me that crayon,’ she would give it to them. ‘Let me have this,’ and they would just take it from her. That’s not the case anymore,” said Mai Dolan, Lilli’s mother, as she watched her daughter grappling on the mat at Tiger Schulmann’s Mixed Martial Arts (TSMMA) on Sunrise Highway in Rockville Centre.

But it’s not just the children that reap the rewards of practicing martial arts. Mai Dolan also trains at TSMMA, which has given her newfound confidence and an outlet for her energy.

“I don’t like ‘ladies’ workouts,” Mai said. “Women-only gyms, that’s not for me. I need something a little bit more aggressive and this is great, it’s perfect.”

Joshu Jobin George is the owner and head instructor of TSMMA in Rockville Centre. “Joshu,” like “sensei,” is a title which means teacher. George, 23, is no stranger to the benefits of practicing martial arts; he's been with TSMMA since he was 10 years old.

“The biggest thing is the confidence martial

arts gives you,” said George. “It gives you a belief that you can protect yourself. Ninety-nine percent of the time when you know self-defense it gives you that extra little edge that most of the time you don’t even have to use it. So in the 13 years I have been practicing martial arts I’ve never had to use it on anyone.”

When George first joined TSMMA in sixth grade, he had problems with his weight and was picked on in school. As a joshu, he seeks to positively impact his students’ lives, like how his sensei mentored him when he was growing up in Hicksville.

“I had a student from Rockville Centre and she had gotten bullied so much to the point that she left her school,” George said. “Her friends from grade school were bullying her, teasing her because she was a little smarter, a little more intelligent.

“I knew that I had to really hit home with her because if I didn’t then she would be in a much worse place,” he continued. “She would have been one of those kids on TV committing suicide. I knew I needed to really work with her and I did. Now, two years later, she’s doing amazing. She’s competing in tournaments, she’s grappling, she’s kickboxing, she is one of my best students right now.”

George earned his first-degree black belt when he was 12, and has worn the same one ever since. The faded belt shows its age, but also George’s history in martial arts. He was wearing it when he became the head of the TSMMA school two years ago.

Even with his bachelor’s degree in Childhood Education from LIU Post, he couldn’t deny that being the head instructor came with its fair share of challenges.

“The most challenging thing about kids is focus,” said George. “So many kids come in with energy. The fact is that there are so many distracting factors. But I know that through time, they will learn how to focus with my discipline atmosphere, through my discipline talks, everything I go through in the class.”

When mentoring children who have been diagnosed with conditions such as ADHD, George prefers a more natural approach. He requests parents to take their kids off medication when participating in his classes.

“I’d rather work with a kid when they’re not on medication,” George said. “But when I work with the real person with all of that energy and they learn to calm that energy, soon enough they don’t need to be on medication anymore.”

The “discipline atmosphere” was evident when after a 45-minute session of striking drills and sparring, the young students lined up for class dismissal. George read off each student’s name, and as they were called they took a knee. When all of the students were kneeling, the entire class got up and said, “osu” (pronounced “oose”), a martial arts phrase that signaled the end of the class.

In came another group of students for grappling practice. It was a special day for Francesca Delman, 10, who after joining TSMMA in January was just promoted to the grappling program. Her commitment to martial arts has helped her do better in school.

“In math, I kind of don’t get it because I don’t focus very well and now I’m getting it a lot better,” Francesca said.

Ashley Gallagher’s 7-year-old son, Eric, has been with TSMMA for more than two years. After her husband’s death, Gallagher enrolled her son in the program to provide him with discipline and to honor his father, who loved martial arts.

“It’s fun. You get to learn new things,” said Eric, wearing his black ear guards as he got ready to grapple on the mat. Then, he kicked the air demonstrating his favorite technique — the front snap kick.

Later in the evening, Robert McNab arrived for the beginner adult kickboxing class to unwind after a long day of work. But for him, kickboxing is more than just a recreational activity.

“I’m diabetic,” McNab said as he reached into his locker. “I find this is an excellent way to burn calories and use up the glucose. I hate running with a passion. The only way you’ll get me to run is if you have a gun to my head. This is a great alternative.”

George is a realist, aware that not all of his students will make martial arts their whole life as he did. Yet, he believes his students will carry the lessons through the rest of their lives.

“I would love every kid to be here for the rest of their life,” he said. “Even if they don’t make it a career like I did, they have enough experience that as they go from college and then to the real world, they take the values of martial arts: the politeness, the humility, the respect. So, if they do it up until college that’s great because now when they hit a plateau in life they know never to give up. We call that ‘non-quitting spirit.’”

#tigerschulmanns #tsmma #joshujobingeorge #rockvillecentre #mixedmartialarts #kickboxing #boxing #muaythai #karate #brazilianjiujitsu #grappling #wrestling #discipline #education #children #bullying #antibullying #selfdefense