LaGrange Girl Scout troop takes on Korean martial arts
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on October 18, 2017 5:50 AM
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Girl Scout Elizabeth Hernandez-Alviso and Vivian Brosseau, a first-degree black belt and Navy veteran who runs the academy with her husband, Eddie Brosseau
A local martial arts studio recently stepped up to teach a Girl Scout troop a lesson in self-defense, then donated its fee to two local charities.
The class was part of an anti-bullying effort Troop 4186 is working on, said co-leader Tracy Ginn.
"We just felt like it was something that was important for the girls to learn about because of what we're seeing, so it was more driven by a need we were seeing with bullying among young people," Ginn said.
Troop 4186, based in LaGrange, is considered a "Rainbow troop," she said, because it is comprised of all ages, from 5 to 15.
Ginn became familiar with the Korean Martial Arts Academy, which opened a studio on Ash Street in January, when her 5-year-old son, Laith, got involved in its Little Tigers program.
There are all sorts of badges and patches the Girl Scouts can earn, and the prevalent topic of handling bullying seemed worthwhile. When Ginn saw in one of the studio's newsletters that it offered self-defense classes, it prompted a call to Eddie Brosseau and his wife, Vivian, proprietors of KMMA.
"I asked him and he structured the class for our group," Ginn said. "Originally he didn't ask about a fee, but I know he charges.
"When I later asked about it, his wife came back and said, 'How about $5 per girl and then we'll take the money and donate it to the charity of your choice.'"
Ginn and the Brosseaus came up with two recipients of the proceeds -- the Soup Kitchen in Goldsboro and a ministry at First Missionary Baptist Church in LaGrange, where the troop now meets. FLOK works with schools and sends home food items on the weekends to students in need.
"I told them about FLOK, For the Love of Kids, ministry because the church, when we got too big for the church we were in before, First Missionary gave us a place to meet," Ginn said. "We doubled in size in the last year."
There are currently close to 40 girls in the troop, she said. Thirty-two participated in the self-defense class.
"They loved it," she said. "I have not doing something quite this big for our troop.
"It was a little intimidating going into this, for my leaders and these girls. We were wondering how it would go and the different ages."
Brosseau and his staff had the Scouts break up into different groups and practice techniques. The message about bullying and best ways to react was also handled well, Ginn said.
"They just did a great job of keeping their attention and you could see they (the girls) were learning a lot, too," she said. "They were up and active the whole time learning new things.
"He said he was not teaching them how to start a fight but how to defend themselves. You could see that for some of them it was the first time someone was addressing it."
Brosseau, or "Master Eddie" as most call him, customized the lesson for his audience, involving students around the same age as the Scouts to help with the demonstration.
"The main things that I taught them was how to escape if somebody grabs you by the wrist," he said. "Basically, the idea is how can a little girl, 7, 8, 9 years old, escape, almost 'Stranger Danger' things but a step above."
Brosseau, a black belt holder, began his own martial arts studies while serving in the Air Force in 1983. In addition to his studio, he also works in the maintenance department at Cliffs of the Neuse.
While he enjoys imparting the traditional martial arts training to his regular students, he admitted the Girl Scout class was "actually more fun" in some ways.
"With the other girls doing it, they're less afraid -- they see some girl that they didn't think could do something like that, escape," he said. Being in a position to encourage empowerment and a bit of self-confidence was its own reward, he said.
So giving away the money was a no-brainer, he said.
In the midst of launching a business and just trying to grow the school, Brosseau said one of the best ways to do that is by helping the community.
"Sometimes you've got to give back," he said. "I personally like to give to the Soup Kitchen and the Girl Scouts, they're a good cause themselves. I believe it was $160 that we raised -- $80 to their church and $80 to the Soup Kitchen.
"I'm the lucky one. I got the opportunity to work with some pretty fine young kids."