Karate Kids

For many parents with children diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), many believe their only answer is medication.  What parents don’t realize is that there could be an alternative to treat the illness.  One mother of five, Adrienne Graves, sent Local 4 an e-mail, wanting us to do a story on her children’s karate teacher.  Adrienne’s 10 year old son, Jordan, was diagnosed with ADHD in kindergarten and since then, she’s been looking for another answer, besides a pill. 

She found her answer in karate instructor Jim Myers.  Myers has been a karate teacher for the past 25 years and gives lessons to children in both Brighton and Howell.  All of his 137 students learn karate forms, focus, concentration, and discipline.  Myers also sits them down at the end of every class and asks them questions.  In order for a child to do a belt test, Myers must see the student’s grade card.  Myers says he gets great results from his students and can tell a difference in a child’s behavior after just a few lessons. 

Adrienne told me that within the past year, she’s seen an improvement in Jordan’s grades, in his confidence, and his focus.  She credits Mr. Myers for his work with her son.

To learn more about Mr. Myers and his karate kids, please check out his website at  http://www.mykaratekids.com/.

Let’s Dance

There is a buzz in the air in Ann Arbor one day before the Wolverines face Iowa in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.   Before practice today, Michigan senior guard David Merritt said it best, “People usually remember, what you’ve done for them lately.”  This time of year, that is so true.  Michigan finished the regular season on a high note with a 67-64 win at Minnesota on Saturday and that left the Wolverines with an overall record of 19-12, but they have not a punched ticket into the NCAA Tournament, yet.  Some people in the media are saying that the Wolverines need to beat the Hawkeyes tomorrow in order to assure themselves a bid.  Others say they are already in, but no one really knows for sure.  There is an easy fix for that, win.  Keep winning.  Show the NCAA Selection Committee that you deserve to be one of the 65 and that all the work you have put in during the offseason matters.  All the blood, sweat, tears, and time you have suffered through will mean something when your school’s name pops up on the telelvsion screen on Selection Sunday.  In an instant, all of your effort pays off.  

Michigan’s last trip to the big dance came back in 1998 and since then, players have come and gone, coaches have been fired, and fans have moaned.  It has not been easy to watch every basketball season come and go and only get as far as the NIT.  This time of year, everyone wants an invitation to the Big Dance, not the jr. high mixer.

It Is Hard To Let Go

On Saturday morning, four football players boarded a 21 foot boat and set off on, what sounded like, a routine deep-sea fishing trip.  By early evening, the boat overturned, the four men clung to the top of the boat for dear life, and eventually three of them let go.  One man hung on and survived.  The other three have yet to be found.  After scouring 24,000 square feet of water, Tuesday night around 6:30, the U.S. Coast Guard called off the search for the three missing football players in the Gulf of Mexico.  How 24 year old Nick Schuyler survived the wind and the waves,  is nothing short of a miracle.  I cannot imagine watching your three friends let go of life and drift off into the water.  The fact that Schuyler did survive and was able to shed some light on what went on in those rough waters is amazing.  If the three others are never found, at least Schuyler’s account of the events that took place will give the families of the victims some closure.  Today in Allen Park, at the Lions Practice Facility, Team President Tom Lewand still held out hope for a miracle.  Special Teams Coordinator Stan Kwan seemed in shock that one of his best players went missing and could possibly be lost forever.  It makes me want to let the people closest to me know how much they mean to me, because this story just confirms that life can be taken away before we are ready to let go.

-Katrina Hancock-