Life-long dedication to martial arts
If you have ever participated in martial arts, you’ll know that this practice is more than a sport, it is a way of life. Michelle Maizis, an eighth-degree blackbelt, is a true example of this.
“I started practicing martial arts when I was a little kid,” said Maizis. “I did a trial program at the local Y, and while I wasn’t initially convinced, I stuck with it as some other friends joined in and an excellent new instructor started teaching. I quickly fell in love with the art and 30 years later, I am as passionate as ever.”
Practicing Chinese Kempo Karate, Maizis runs her Martial Arts Academy out of four locations: Creemore, Stayner, Collingwood and Thornbury. While centred naturally on physical training, martial arts philosophy also revolves around principles such as respect, discipline, and mindfulness; the practice involves mental and spiritual development, not just strength and cardio training.
Maizis continued training through elementary, junior high and high school, practicing, refining and competing. She went to school during the day, had a part-time job and otherwise, “5 p.m., six days a week, I trained. As much as I could, I trained and I competed. I was completely hooked.”
When her math teacher informed her “you can’t just do martial arts forever, you need to find something real to do,” Maizis responded with two simple words. “Why not?”
Sixteen years after first stepping onto the mat at the age of seven, after thousands of hours training and competing and instructing kids and teens at schools in Barrie, someone in her circle asked when she would be opening her own school in the Clearview area. Maizis was 23 at the time, and responded again with the same two words. “Why not?”
Her first school opened in 1996 in a rented space at the community centre across from Sunnidale Corners. Two years later, she moved to a full-time location on the main street of Stayner. She opened in her current location on Airport Road just north of Cashtown Corners in 2011. Thornbury followed a few years later. Maizis teaches all of the classes across her four locations (as well as offering virtual classes) while balancing a healthy home life. As she jokes, “I can kick and I can cook.”
Regardless of location, Maizis strives to re-create the training environment that got her hooked as a child: a space that is welcoming, inclusive and encouraging of both martial arts skills as well as personal growth. Her community is based on a family type of dojo and her participants are of all ages (currently ranging from three to 79). Her classes are less about the belts, and more about the art itself; learning and expanding knowledge, self-esteem, confidence and healthy disciplines, both physically and mentally, so that the elements of the art spill over into every aspect of a participant’s life.
“Whether I am working with adults who need to burn off stress; people looking for alternative exercise and strength routines; seniors striving for balance, movement and flexibility; or kids looking to learn a new sport, my objective is to give people the opportunity to leave their regular life at the door and do something for themselves that makes them feel strong, capable and confident.”
For more information on Maizis Martial Arts Academy’s range of classes and schedule, check out www.maizismartialarts.com or follow @ maizismartialarts.
Janet Logan is a Creemore resident with a background in business development and entrepreneurship.
