The Eaglands

Our Kindness Pledge

With only two weeks until Do It For Dolly Day, I wanted to share Dolly’s Dream Kindness Pledge which I received in my box from Bairnsdale Horse Centre last week.

"G’day Legend.

Across Australia, thousands of kids and families are impacted by bullying every single day. By wearing our merch, fundraising for us, reppin’ our brand or partnering with us, you are helping give a voice to those who’ve been silenced by bullying and pledging to:

#BeKind, always.

Small acts of kindness can change someon’es day, or even their life!

Speak Even If Your Voice Shakes.

Use your voice, platform, and influence to make kindness the norm in homes, schools, workplaces and communities across Australia.

If you’re wearing our blue, you’re reppin’ the Dolly’s Dream crew.

Show kindness and carry yourself in a way that honours what Dolly’s Dream stands for."

And with this - I wanted to sincerely thank all of our family and friends especially those who have supported us by donating to our fundraising page, for taking the time to let me explain what Dolly’s Dream stands for and for sharing their stories of how bullying has affected their children. We really appreciate the support!

How Martial Arts Has Helped Us Heal

I was going to write about why we decided to be a part of Do It For Dolly Day but I didn’t want to look to the past and instead, I wanted to write about how Kando Knox Martial Arts has helped us heal.

After an extremely distressing confrontation at school one afternoon, my family found ourselves cowering in the principal’s office for our own safety. It was too unsafe for us to walk home and we lived right next door to the school. I remember looking at my children, watching them cry and wondering how on earth did we get here.

I went to bed that night and as I was doomscrolling, I came across a sponsored post from Kando Knox Martial Arts. I don’t remember exactly what it said but I sent a message that night and received a call from Jade the very next day. I explained what had been happening and the extent of my son’s bullying. She was so understanding and suggested that we bring my son into the dojo so that he could complete a four-week trial.  My son was really nervous but the entire team was extremely welcoming and around 2 weeks later, my daughter decided to join too.

It’s been 3 years now and my children are at the dojo several times a week as they train to achieve their ultimate goal – to earn their brown belt by the end of the year. I have also stepped on the mats to learn self-defence (albeit not as regularly as I want to) and learnt to work through my anxiousness when faced with confronting situations. With their women’s self-defence classes, I have been able to remind myself that I don’t have to be afraid and I can learn to control my fear with the correct techniques.

I have also watched my children grow from being timid and shy to confident and strong thanks to role models such as Sensei Andy and his team of hard-working Sempais who all lead with such integrity.

We’re very lucky to be a part of the Kando Knox Martial Arts family and as I always say, we found our silver lining on Facebook that night.

We are so appreciative of the donation made by the dojo and are very thankful to all the friendships we’ve made - we would be completely lost without those chats before, during and after class!   

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