Pack 305 Cub Scouts Schooled in Soo Bahk Do
Cub Scouts from Pack 305 and Boy Scout Den Chiefs from Troop 305 learned the fundamentals of Soo Bahk Do, one of the traditional martial arts, at a Pack Meeting on Friday, February 16, 2018, in Hedges Hall of St. Stephen's Church in Kearny. Leading the hour-long class was Sa Bom Nim Denise Mullin, Chief Instructor from the Hwang Karate Studio in Harrison. Assisting Master Mullin was her husband, Joseph Menendez, another instructor, and a number of their student and adult leaders, including one Cub Scout, Aryan Saxena, and his mother, Shipra Nigam.
Soo Bahk Do is a traditional martial art that focuses on discipline, respect, and self-defense. The Scouts learned how to perform controlled kicks and punches and to defend themselves. After practicing for several rounds with instructors holding padded mats, the Scouts sat in a circle to watch a demonstration by the student leaders. They stunned the Scouts by breaking wooden boards with their hands and feet..
Ethan Palacios of Cub Scout Pack 305 in Kearny practices a controlled kick as part of the lesson provided by Hwang Karate Studio of Harrison at Hedges Hall in St. Stephen's Church
The discipline required of students of Hwang Karate Studio parallels the values embodied in the Scout Law. Scouts learn to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. Through a series of controlled movements, the Scouts learned new skills to improve confidence, endurance, and focus while having fun at the same time.