Richmond martial arts students break boards for charity

Richmond Martial Arts hosted its annual fundraiser today for the first time in two years, and it was a resounding success.

The goal for this year’s Break A Thon at Lansdowne Centre was to “help stop violence against women and children.”

Students collected pledges for each board they break during the public display, and 100 per cent of the proceeds are sent directly to Martial Arts for Justice.

“Martial arts is about helping the world, and we can’t really do much when it comes to high level threats. So we can do something like this when we teach the children, ‘Look, we’re making a difference through our martial arts!’” explained Johnny Ahmed, the owner of Richmond Martial Arts.

The event also teaches students that they can help the world by using their minds in addition to their strength, and show that we are stronger as a community, Ahmed added.

Eight-year-old Jordana Zinger was all smiles after breaking around 20 boards with her hands and feet, even though her hand hurt from doing a side chop.

“I feel happy about it,” said Zinger, who started learning martial arts for self-defence and wanted to break boards to stop violence against women and children around the world.

This summer will mark Zinger’s third year of learning martial arts, and today was her second time joining the Break A Thon.

Over 30 kids participated in the event, breaking around 200 boards. These superheroes also got to pose for photos with the Richmond Martial Arts eagle mascot and Spider-Man.

The event has raised over $3,000 so far, and those interested in donating to the cause can visit the donation link for the event.