Martial arts extravaganza in Lake Clarke Shores

Paying it forward.

That's how In-Nae TaeKwonDo studio owner, Bridget Hammond, lives her life.

In early 2014, after reading Susan Spencer-Wendel's memoir, Until I Say Goodbye, Bridget felt compelled to help Susan who was diagnosed with ALS. Bridget sent a text to Susan: "I'd like to help by walking your dog. I am not a crazy woman, I live in Lake Clarke Shores."

And then she explained how when she was immobile from breast cancer surgery, she came to depend on the kindness of friends. They drove her kids to school and one came weekday mornings to walk her six-month-old Irish setter, Murphy.

Bridget Hammond greets guests at her martial
arts studio, In-Nae TaeKwonDo.

From dog-walking, she talked about her martial arts studio and Susan's son Aubrey, then 12, signed up for a course at the Lake Clarke Shores studio. Bridget held a Break-A-Thon last March to raise money for the SpenWen team. In the summer, she did the Ice Bucket Challenge in the parking lot outside her studio to raise money for ALS.

Bridget is still counting the donations from Sunday's martial arts extravaganza, held to raise money for the SpenWen team in the 2015 Walk to Defeat ALS on March 21. Sunday's event started with Meditation/Tai Chi, then Nunchucks, SkillzFit Fitness Kickboxing and ended softly with Yoga.

Scenes from Sunday

SpenWen team members await the start of the martial arts
extravaganza. They are (left to right): Pamela Olah-Brennan,
her wife Kerri Olah Brennan, Susan's husband John Wendel and son,
Aubrey, with Bill Betts, Tai Chi instructor, photo-bombing.

Tai Chi instructor, Bill Betts, first led the group through seated meditation.

Then he showed some simple moves and had participants counting in Chinese.

Nunchucks next

Bridget demonstrates how to walk and use nunchucks at the same time.

                                          The lesson apparently paid off for these two women.

Kickboxing really a workout

Instructor Lauren Ralph led attendees through a warm-up and then an obstacle course where the group was divided in half so that they could keep moving.

John Wendel, husband of the late Susan Spencer-Wendel, does leg stretches
during the warm-up.

                                         John leads his half of the class on the ladder part
                                                      of the obstacle course.

                                          John and Susan's son, Aubrey, shows his agility
                                          in the ladder portion. Aubrey wears white pants and
                                          a dark T-shirt. His dad, wearing the red T-shirt and
                                           facing the mirror, practices sparring.

Instructor Lauren (center) demonstrates foot placement to the woman on the left.

Yoga and namaste

Instructor Shannon Alviar led the participants through yoga poses. 

For the extravaganza and all you do for the SpenWen team and for the Wendel family, I nominate Bridget for Super Hero status!!! Arigatou gozaimasu, Bridget.

And now, for my numbers

I had my best walking day last week on Saturday, March 7, 2015 when I walked:

Steps: 10,667

Miles: 5.3