Kids Kicking Cancer is an organization devoted to helping children overcome the pain of cancer. It was founded in 1999 by Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg, a black belt in the martial arts and the former rabbi of congregation Young Israel of Southfield, Michigan. The goal of the organization is to teach children to cope with cancer through martial arts and spiritual training.
After a two-year break, their annual golf outing is back [1] At the golf outing there is a silent auction.
Kids Kicking Cancer partners with existing local hospitals in different communities to provide individual and group instruction, in the martial arts for children with serious acute and chronic illness – including cancer and sickle cell disease. As a way of making patients feel heroic, they are given martial arts uniforms to wear during treatment. During weekly class sessions, children are taught stretching, breathing exercises, guided imagery and meditation, as well as traditional karate moves. The breathing and guided imagery and meditation techniques have proved to be very effective in reducing a child's anxiety, pain, and discomfort during difficult clinic and hospital procedures. [2]
In March 2012, Goldberg was featured in People magazine in their "Heroes Among Us" feature. [3] In August 2013, Kids Kicking Cancer was featured on Good Morning America. [4] In 2014 Rabbi Goldberg was nominated for the CNN heroes program and as of October 2014 he was a top 10 finalist.
Participating hospitals can be found in California, New York, Florida, Michigan, Ontario, Israel, Italy, and South Africa.
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preservation of a nation's intangible cultural heritage.
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state.
The Rabbinical Assembly (RA) is the international association of Conservative rabbis. The RA was founded in 1901 to shape the ideology, programs, and practices of the Conservative movement. It publishes prayerbooks and books of Jewish interest, and oversees the work of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards for the Conservative movement. It organizes conferences and coordinates the Joint Placement Commission of the Conservative movement. Members of the RA serve as rabbis, educators, community workers and military and hospital chaplains around the world.
Mind–body interventions (MBI) or mind-body training (MBT) are health and fitness interventions that are intended to work on a physical and mental level such as yoga, tai chi, and Pilates.
Mindfulness is the cognitive skill, usually developed through meditation, of sustaining meta-attention of the contents of one's own mind in the present moment. Mindfulness derives from sati, a significant element of Hindu and Buddhist traditions, and is based on Zen, Vipassanā, and Tibetan meditation techniques. Though definitions and techniques of mindfulness are wide-ranging, Buddhist traditions describe what constitutes mindfulness, such as how perceptions of the past, present and future arise and cease as momentary sense-impressions and mental phenomena. Individuals who have contributed to the popularity of mindfulness in the modern Western context include Thích Nhất Hạnh, Joseph Goldstein, Herbert Benson, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and Richard J. Davidson.
The elderly martial arts master is a mentor/teacher stock character in fiction, especially Wuxia, Chanbara, and other martial arts films. Typically an East Asian male, he is a near-invincible master of the martial arts, despite being advanced in age and presumably having a decrease in physical strength. Often he possesses the rank of sensei and is referred to as such by his student. The elderly master most often teaches either generic kung fu or an exotic style specific to the fictional period. During the films, the master often becomes close with his students, with the master becoming a guardian figure to the trainees, who are, in turn, looked upon as the master's children. Usually, when the master is captured or killed, or an iconic portrait of the deceased master has been desecrated by some villains, the students will take it upon themselves to rescue or avenge their master.
Jacob Shmuel Boteach, known as Shmuley Boteach, is an American rabbi, author, and media host.
Maxwell Trowbridge Gail Jr. is an American actor who has starred on stage, and in television and film roles. He is best known for his role as Detective Stan "Wojo" Wojciehowicz on the sitcom Barney Miller (1975–1982), which earned him two consecutive Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series nominations. Gail also won the 2019 and 2021 Daytime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Mike Corbin on the soap opera General Hospital.
Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto was a Japanese mixed martial artist and kickboxer who competed in the bantamweight division of the UFC. He quickly gained popularity in the Shooto organization due to his aggressive, well-rounded style and controversial persona. He moved on to K-1 Hero's, where he became the K-1 Hero's 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament Champion in December, 2005 after defeating Genki Sudo via a controversial TKO due to punches.
The City Congregation for Humanistic Judaism is a Humanistic Jewish congregation and synagogue at 30 West 26th Street in the NoMad neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. It is the first Humanistic congregation in New York City to be led by a Humanistic rabbi.
Rafael Halperin was an Austrian-born Israeli Orthodox rabbi, businessman, athlete, professional wrestler, and bodybuilder.
As of 2023, there have been twenty recorded deaths resulting from sanctioned mixed martial arts contests and nine from unregulated bouts, none however in the largest MMA promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship. A 2006 study suggests that the risk of injury in general in MMA is comparable to that in professional boxing. For professional boxing matches, the Manuel Velazquez Boxing Fatality Collection lists 923 deaths during the 118-year period of 1890–2008.
Choi Kwang Do is a martial art developed by Choi Kwang-jo. The style relies more on flexibility and fluidity of movement as opposed to the more rigid lines of some other martial arts. To achieve this it employs yoga-based stretching to develop the flexibility of practitioners.
Qigong, is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation said to be useful for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial arts training. With roots in Chinese medicine, philosophy, and martial arts, qigong is traditionally viewed by the Chinese and throughout Asia as a practice to cultivate and balance the mythical life-force qi.
Chai Lifeline is a chesed organization founded in 1987 by Rabbi Simcha Scholar to help families with "children battling a deadly disease."
Susan Kaiser Greenland is an American author and teacher of mindfulness and meditation, practicing a state of present-moment awareness to develop overall attentiveness and social/emotional skills. Susan played a foundational role in making mindfulness practices developmentally appropriate for young people, and with her first book The Mindful Child she helped pioneer activity-based mindfulness. This technique is now practiced in American schools throughout the country to help children learn how to reduce and alleviate their stress levels.
The Indiana University Dance Marathon, commonly known as IU Dance Marathon or IUDM, is a 36-hour dance marathon that takes place every November at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, United States with the purpose of raising both funding and awareness for pediatric care. In 1991, student Jill Stewart started IU Dance Marathon in honor of her friend, Ryan White, who died from AIDS the year before. Since then, IUDM has raised over $50 million for Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, IN, including most recently $3,233,968.23 during the 2022 marathon. The 2023 Indiana University Dance Marathon will take place November 10th through November 12th.
Jagadguru Kripaluji Yog (JKYog) is a spiritual and charitable non-profit organization in United States. It was founded by Swami Mukundananda, a senior disciple of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj. JKYog works for physical, mental, spiritual wellness through a holistic system of Yog that includes Bhakti yoga, meditation, and spirituality. The organization also supports health care for the underprivileged and education for rural youth.
Ashley Shandrel Luther, better known as Elly Mayday, was a Canadian plus-size model and advocate for women's health. She was known for battling ovarian cancer throughout her modeling career, and was often photographed with surgical scars and a bald head from chemotherapy.
James R. Downing is an American clinical executive. He is the president and chief executive officer of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.