Spotlight on Stow and Kent
Blue Wolf Martial Arts
by Halena Sepulveda and photos provided by Blue Wolf Martial Arts
Wolf Pack
A new karate dojo teaches students about martial arts and community.
David Cameron loves teaching karate as much as he loves practicing it. He began taking lessons at age 6, was helping teach taekwondo in a local karate school by age 13 and began studying Kobudo, a weapons art, by age 15.
The black belt spent several years traveling nationally and internationally to compete while training and teaching alongside masters. After the pandemic started, he stopped teaching and began working as a trainer at Revolution Fitness and Therapy in Stow, but his former students said they wanted to keep learning from him. So in May 2021, the 22-year-old opened his own dojo, Blue Wolf Martial Arts. He specializes in teaching Isshinryu karate and Ryukyu Kobudo, which both originated in Okinawa, Japan. Some students are enrolled to learn self-defense, while others train for competitions.
“The way I like to describe the martial arts that we teach is kind of like a Swiss Army knife,” Cameron says. “You get exposed to all the different tools you can use.”
Isshinryu translates to “the one-heart way” and focuses on hand-to-hand combat, self-defense with traditional weapons and the development of one’s character. The Ryukyu Kobudo classes focus on weapons arts using weapons such as the bo staff and nunchakus. “I tell the kids it’s basically the Ninja Turtle weapons but more,” Cameron says.
Classes for both styles consist of 10 ranks of belts. Each belt has different katas, which are series of movements or forms. Students also learn kihon, the basics of the style, and kumite, a form of sparring.
Cameron encourages students to use the sport to stay healthy and develop the discipline needed to persevere. “Through the different challenges it presents physically, mentally, emotionally, it challenges you to be the fittest you can be,” he says, “to keep pushing and keep trying to get through things.”
In addition to karate, Cameron hopes to teach his students about what he calls the wolf pack mentality, which inspired Blue Wolf’s name and logo. He wanted a symbol that would represent the people he’s built connections with throughout his martial arts journey, who are a second home to him. “You become a really tight-knit group,” he says. Blue also represents honesty, trust and loyalty, he says, and he works those values into lessons. “Building strong people to stand up for what’s right … is what I wanted to get out of it,” Cameron says.
Teamwork is a big aspect of the wolf pack mentality, so he encourages students to use their knowledge to invest in other students and create a community. “The mission of the school … is teaching students how to become the best versions of themselves,” he says, “and then helping others to do the same.”
4964 Darrow Road, Stow, bluewolfmartialarts.com
————————————————————————————
Portage Parks
by Marcus Anderson and photos provided by Portage Park District
Serenity Now
A new county park offers a calming retreat.
Mindfulness is about embracing the moment and the world around you — and the new Trail Lake Park in Streetsboro offers that serenity.
The 222-acre park invites you in with hiking trails, a 30-acre lake, an accessible paddle sports launch and plenty of other activities, no matter your age or abilities.
The land has a rich past, as it was the site of the Mahoning Trail established by indigenous people and a historic Cleveland-to-Pittsburgh railroad line, which transported ice from Twin Lakes and, according to some, transported former President Abraham Lincoln. It also neighbors the 16-acre Ohio Department of Natural Resources-protected Herrick Fen Nature Preserve featuring rare tamarack coniferous trees. Trail Lake Park debuted in November 2020, and its opening weekend drew about 5,000 guests excited to explore the peaceful, scenic environment.
“As you pull into the parking lot, you’ll be amazed at the gorgeous park surrounding you,” says public engagement manager Andrea Metzler. She shares what you can discover at Trail Lake Park.
Meditative Break
Take a moment for yourself on the Americans with Disabilities Act accessible Osprey Loop trail featuring a mindfulness walk. Visit stations along the 1.62-mile asphalt path that guide you through activities like listening to nature sounds, tracing tree outlines with your gaze and breathing deeply while passing the lake, meadows and pollinator areas.
“Folks that teach mindfulness will tell you to look at the lake, smell the air, see, hear the birds,” Metzler says. “We spend a lot of our programming time thinking about how to connect people closer to nature to benefit their physical and mental health.”
Nature Reel
See more diverse habitats on the 1.48-mile Kingfisher Way trail. The natural path meanders through wetlands, mixed woodlands and meadows, and merges with Osprey Loop to circle the lake.
“If you want to get into nature a bit more, deep dive into the woodsy area and check out some more grasshoppers, moths and butterflies,” she says, “that might be the trail for you.”
Watch for wildlife, including deer, herons and a bald eagle.
“As you walk up to the trailhead, you will be greeted with a beautiful lake, which is often visited by wildlife and even a bald eagle,” Metzler says. “They’re a wonderful sight, and it makes you feel really special.”
Lake Breeze
We all relax in different ways, and the park provides several options, including running, biking, picnicking and fishing. If you choose to settle in with your fishing rod at the accessible fishing dock, know there’s a deep history. Outdoorsman Bill Gressard created the lake as a fish hatchery that sold to businesses and restaurants. He invented the Trail Lake Torpedo fishing lure. “People are still using it,” Metzler says, adding the park has an original one on display.
The fun continues as the seasons change. During the winter, hike and cross-country ski. Once it gets warm again, Metzler recommends kayaking and canoeing. “Those are always calming,” she says.
The accessible kayak and canoe launch has a bench that allows you to scoot down into the boat, rollers that make it easier to get onto the water and handles to hold onto when you enter and exit. It can be helpful for people with a disability or injury, beginners or anyone who just needs extra assistance, like Metzler’s dad, who has sought the help of a stranger to exit his teetering kayak.
“It’s as simple as stability,” she says, “comfort and ease of getting in and out of the water.”
————————————————————————————
Walking Trail Story
by Halena Sepulveda and photo provided by Julie Kenworthy
Foot Prints
Uncover Kent’s past on a new walking tour.
We stroll by historical buildings and art without a second thought. But each place holds a story.
Discover Kent’s stories on a walking tour that showcases public art or on the newest, the History of Industry in Kent, Ohio walking tour, which offers a look at the early industries that shaped Kent beginning in the 1800s. Use a link on Main Street Kent’s website to embark on the tours virtually or to follow walking instructions to downtown stops and read about them.
“We have a rich history,” says Julie Kenworthy, director of Kent Historical Society & Museum and a designer of the tour developed with Main Street Kent. “Take in the sights, whether it be art or history, and learn more about our city.”
The industrial tour features 10 historical downtown stops. Here is a sneak peek at a few.
“Father of Kent”
Throughout the tour, Zenas Kent, who purchased much of the land along the Cuyahoga River, is credited for developing the first bank in the 1850s and several of the first mills in the town originally known as Franklin Mills.
Zenas was nicknamed the “Father of Kent.” But when it became the city of Kent in 1867, it was named after his son, Marvin Kent, who is celebrated for bringing railroads there in the 1850s.
“Prior to the 1850s, Kent was struggling,” Kenworthy says. “It provided so many jobs and economic activity that he was really credited with saving the town.”
Read more about it at stop one, which is nearby the Franklin Avenue post office and the former site of the railroad shops during the late 1800s through the 1930s.
Train Crossing
Stop six expands on Kent’s early success due to Marvin’s collaboration with the railroad industry. “We became a train town,” Kenworthy says. “You’ve got the train depot, the railroad tracks and all the history that went with that.”
Kent’s original depot consisted of only a boxcar that later became a small building. In 1875, the depot was remodeled into a two-floor Tuscan Revival building with a restaurant, a reading room for railroad workers and sleeping quarters. It was later renovated into Treno Ristorante that has since closed.
Milling Around
Known to locals as the Silk Mill, the building at stop three opened in 1879. There is irony in its name.
“No silk was ever made in it,” Kenworthy says, explaining that the silkworms at the mill could not survive Ohio’s cold winters.
Instead, it was first a wool mill powered by a water raceway from a dam and later housed different businesses, from a dress factory to a furniture factory. Now there are apartments, offices and a mural depicting businesses that existed there, inspiring pride.
“The more you learn about your community, the more you want to be a part of supporting it,” Kenworthy says. “The history of the city is a big part of that.”