We work hard & have fun! Kicks4kids Jaime Chesney Pittsburgh

 “Some woman wants me to teach her kid to fight, so he can protect himself. That’s a good idea. It isn’t often that a mother will want to have her son trained in the manly art of self-defense. I know that when I was a kid my mom always sent me out of the house with the order, ‘No fighting, ye hear? I don’t want to have some neighbor yammering at my door about her son getting a black eye from you.’

“Well it wasn’t always easy to obey my mother. I was not the kind of boy who went around looking for trouble. But I was ready for it if it came, and I would like to see all kids ready for it if the occasion demands the use of fists.

“I don’t have the time to set up a school for kids. But if enough mothers wanted to see their boys trained, somebody would find the time for pay.” --Fritzie Zivic
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FRITZIE ZIVIC learned how to fight because he had to. Lawrenceville was a tough neighborhood back in his day.

So was Garfield. As such, HARRY GREB learned how to use his fists as a youngster too. Survival was the name of the game. The clipping on the left shows that the lessons he learned served him well even after he became a world champion boxer, set upon by muggers and thieves.
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Generations have come and gone, but many of those neighborhoods are still dangerous places to walk through for those who aren't prepared for what may come if confronted by the violent and the desperate. Ask Northside Irish lass JAIME CHESNEY.

Like Greb and Zivic, she learned how to fight out of necessity. She was viciously assaulted when still a teenager by a band of thugs, an experience that led to her learning how to defend herself and later, become an accomplished Muay Thai kickboxer and martial artist.

She has written about it and kindly allowed me to reproduce this excerpt:
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"My Blood Was on the Streets, on the corner of Brighton Road and Goe Avenue.

"There were five, but only three participated; punching, pulling hair and kicking. Two were big, tall men, that stood as lookouts. One took her high heels off to hit me in the face with. I had no choice but to fall into the fetal position for any protection, as they continued their beating. It seemed like ages of punishment, finally stopped by a sweet older woman that pulled over in her sedan.

"I was merely on my way home from work. A sixteen year old girl should be able to walk home after working as a cashier at the local grocery store on a summer evening. Should be, but when growing up in the North Side, not even Catholic school can save you."

"This incident caused me to be afraid to leave my house for weeks.When I see kids today living in fear I think of how it feels, how I felt. Our children need the tools necessary to be confident in their abilities to defend themselves."
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Jaime's realization was life-altering in many ways, not only for herself but for the many kids she has taught self-defense to in the ensuing years. In addition to teaching her two young daughters how to fight, she runs a program called "Kicks 4 Kids" at Top Tier Mixed Martial Arts in Pittsburgh. And, in the tradition of so many other successful sluggers in her city's past, she does so free of charge.

"It's my way of giving back," she says, "Many parents have reached out to tell me their child’s story of being bullied. One lost their child to suicide recently, because of this epidemic. I couldn’t imagine. My girls are 15 and 9, and both have experienced being bullied in school.

"Let’s make sure we teach our kids how to handle these situations. To be thick-skinned to verbal bullying, yet know to ask for help. To be well equipped to handle any assault. No child should live in fear and feel powerless."

Amen, Ms. Chesney.

--Douglas Cavanaugh