Volunteer Highlight — DJ Lura

Volunteer: DJ Lura

Site: Fargo, ND - Atonement

Meet DJ Lura!

DJ is our Co-Director at our Fargo, ND - Atonement BIO Girls site. Thank you, DJ, for your time, energy, and effort in making a positive impact on girls in the community!

Fun fact: DJ is our first-ever male volunteer. He is leading our first-ever self-defense pilot program. Yes — it’s exactly as cool as it sounds. Instead of running, this site’s non-competitive physical activity is self-defense.

“The martial arts are not concerned with brute force to knock opponents down, nor with lethal weapons that lead the world to destruction. The true martial arts... guard the peace of the world, and produce and bring to maturity everything that is naturally good. Therefore, martial training is not training that has as its primary purpose the defeating of others, but the practice of God’s love within ourselves.” 

-Gichin Funakoshi (founder of Japanese Karate).

DJ is wonderful to work with and it is so fun to see his passion for martial arts and kids come together to help facilitate a BIO Girls program in a completely new way!

DJ took the time to educate our team on the five values of self-defense. By learning self-defense, the goal is life protection for ourselves and for others, so that we may overcome not only outward dangers by others to harm us, but inward dangers that would lead us to harm others. Therefore, these five values are emphasized when training together:

1. Character: through training, we seek to develop a good moral character that values life by overcoming fear of harm and indifference toward others.

2. Honesty: through training, we discover our strengths and weaknesses, and the point of training is to better ourselves by being true to who we are and what we can accomplish.

3. Effort: through training, we discover that intelligence and physical ability have limits that can be overcome and enhanced through perseverance. Giving our best efforts in practice is what gives us improvement in daily life.

4. Respect: through training, we learn respect for ourselves and for others. All are made in the image of God and deserve dignity.

5. Honor: through training, we overcome the fear of danger and develop a sense of gratitude for life. Self-defense is not just about defeating an opponent, but peace with ourselves; thereby allowing us to endure all of life’s trials with love for God and neighbor.

Side note: Us BIO Girls staff and a few of our kiddos got to do a trial of one of the sessions back in March. Even Angie Zoomed-in to join us from Iowa. We. Had. A. Blast.

DJ —

The BIO Girls team, the participants you have made an impact on, and the Fargo community sincerely thank you.

TAKE ACTION.

Ready to get involved?

Apply to Lead a Program or Apply to Volunteer as a Mentor

Need more information?

Register for our next Virtual Lunch and Learn on October 27th to get a program overview and Q&A.