Richmond martial arts school breaks boards for charity

A Richmond martial arts school was the top fundraising school in its sphere in Canada last year.

Richmond Martial Arts (RMA), on Hammersmith Way in south Richmond, raised the most funds, $1,683, out of all the participants in the Martial Arts for Justice (MAJ) movement.

MAJ plans to help 500 genocide survivors in Rwanda become empowered and overcome their trauma by providing enhanced resilience training.

RMA owner Johnny Ahmed has been part of the MAJ movement since the beginning in 2013.

Master Dean Siminoff, founder and president of MAJ, said “instructors like Johnny Ahmed are an inspiration to their students showing them that through their martial arts they can directly have an effect to build a better world and prevent violence.”

RMA was one of many schools competing in a virtual fundraising board breaking competition to raise money for MAJ.

Other schools from around Vancouver, Nelson and Castlegar and as far away as Whitehorse also participated.

This was the first Zoom event of this kind that featured special guests, martial arts celebrities and even Richmond mayor Malcolm Brodie.

“The pandemic and the lockdowns are taking their toll everywhere. (In) areas with high rates of poverty, studies unfortunately show that the effects lockdowns increase the harm of post-traumatic stress disorder and domestic violence, especially gender-based violence, increases,” said Siminoff, president of Martial Arts for Justice.

“Covid this past year caused a big delay in our work…our plans have adjusted but our work and its importance hasn’t.”

Although the Breaking Boards Breaking Chains campaign is focused on mobilizing martial arts schools across Canada, anyone who cares about fighting gender violence and trauma can donate or get involved. To donate, visit www.martialartsforjustice.org