Stan Koehler
Co-founder · Senior teacher
Carries the Zen lineage and the conviction that meditation belongs to everyone — no robes required. (Bio to be confirmed.)
Peace on the Street began with a simple discovery: young people would come first for the martial arts — and through them, could be introduced to meditation. Two decades later, that bridge is still our whole method.
We use Zen meditation, Zen martial arts, and conflict-resolution training to reduce conflict and violence among young people in East Harlem — and to grow them into leaders.
This is applied Zen: practice stripped down to what's useful under real pressure. Freedom, focus, and the ability to stop before you react. Peace through strength — paz via fuerza.
Teaching meditation and psychic self-defense inside Rikers planted the idea: bring this work to the young people of the inner city before they ever reach a cell.
Peace on the Street is founded. Youth arrive for martial arts — "nice with your hands" — and stay to discover meditation.
A residential cohort takes root — the beginning of a community that would return, decade after decade, as students became teachers.
Conflict-resolution and police-contact workshops, sesshin retreats, reentry support, and alliances across the Zen and martial-arts worlds — sustained by funders and the neighborhood alike.
Draft timeline — confirm exact dates and milestones with Stan & Richard before launch.
Carries the Zen lineage and the conviction that meditation belongs to everyone — no robes required. (Bio to be confirmed.)
Brings the martial-arts foundation and the neighborhood trust that lets the work reach the young people who need it. (Bio to be confirmed.)
Placeholder figures — confirm before launch.
Whether you give, volunteer, or take a seat on the cushion, there's a place for you in this work.
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