Written by: Kaylee Liu, FCSN Voices Youth Reporter
Graphics by: Casey Feng, FCSN Voices Graphic Artist

Guardian Art workshops at The Praxeum ignited collaboration and engagement, connecting the special needs community to an underrepresented culture. The Praxeum, an indigenous parkour and martial arts organization based in San Jose, hosted a special needs workshop on June 15 following the success of a similar workshop held on January 27. Guardian Saga Support, The Praxeum’s affiliated nonprofit, worked closely with The Praxeum and FCSN to organize these workshops.

Founded in 2021, Guardian Saga Support is dedicated to promoting Guardian Art, a Native American fighting art focused on teamwork and coordination. The nonprofit partners with other organizations to host workshops at The Praxeum, aiming to aid underprivileged youth. Guardian Saga Support provides a way for The Praxeum to reach out to members of underserved communities who might otherwise face barriers like cost, schedules, and curriculums.

As the co-founder of Guardian Saga Support and a long-time FCSN volunteer, Isaac He helped bring The Praxeum to the special needs community. Through his experiences as the FCSN Voices Co-Team Lead and a Special Needs Tutoring Program Coordinator, Isaac saw all the various programs and classes volunteers organized and was inspired to apply Guardian Art, an art form he had extensive knowledge of, to the special needs community due to the training’s emphasis on collaboration and fine movements. Isaac communicated regularly with both FCSN and The Praxeum, acting as the bridge between the nonprofit and the gym to coordinate workshop logistics and connect The Praxeum to the special needs community. He worked closely with former FCSN Voices Advisor Helen Chou and FCSN Directors Kelly Ko and Linmei Chiao, who helped spread workshop information to the community through channels like the weekly newsletter.

The January workshop served as a testing point, where new parents were introduced to the concept of Guardian Art and could experience its teachings firsthand. This iteration mostly served as a viability test, to introduce Guardian Art in a form where special needs individuals could learn effectively.

The second workshop welcomed about 20 to 25 participants compared to the first workshop’s six. A greater number of students in the second workshop led to much more engagement and collaboration. A few returning students also used their prior experience to help others. “I was really astounded by how they took up leading roles within the second workshop, being able to stand out and help their peers around,” Isaac said.

Isaac hopes that the workshops at The Praxeum were an enjoyable experience and had a positive impact. “During the workshops, a lot of the kids began to open up a lot more, work together, and do some things that they wouldn’t have previously. … Even within this one-hour workshop, they were able to make great progress [in] just being able to confront their fears and get across these barriers,” Isaac said. “I hope that a lot of kids took a lot out of it, and that it was a fun opportunity for everyone [involved].”

With several parents expressing interest after the workshops, Guardian Saga Support hopes to organize a recurring class in the future. Isaac also encourages other volunteers to pursue similar collaborations with third-party organizations. “[A lot of parents] do want more diversity in the activities that they can offer their children, so if volunteers would be able to try and take this initiative, try and reach out to other organizations, then that would just increase the opportunities we have for the special needs community so much more,” he said.