Last Week's Message

From an anonymous author:

• I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.

What does this mean? Well, regardless of what your religious beliefs are, we only have one shot at living the current life we have now. Why not make it a good life? Why not do good for ourselves, our families and mankind in general?

"Fellow creature" can be taken to mean our fellow human beings. We can also apply that meaning to the creatures that share this Earth space with us. This does not mean you should be a Vegan and only eat vegetable and fruit foods. But we can respect the animals around us and not be cruel and mean to them. Caring for a pet can teach us much about ourselves and assists in learning patience and understanding.

Do things that are meaningful and lasting. Even if only small in nature, flowers given to a friend or family member "just because" can leave a memory that will be cherished and remembered fondly.

As it relates to our training, assisting our fellow students in advancing by challenging them with a good punch and/or good resistance will help them become better at their self-defense. This does not mean to punch with the intent to maim or destroy our partner. We want that partner to come back and 'play' with us. Creating meaningful threats and giving active resistance allows our techniques to be tested and verified. There is a fine line between a "meaningful threat" and a destructive technique. For example, a strong kick to the back of the thigh is sufficient to let our partner know they didn't defend properly. If we perform a strong kick with full force directly at the side or front of the knee, we will hurt that partner and take them out of training for a good long while (if they ever fully recover that is). Meaningful threat doesn't mean to maim, but to challenge and help our training partner grow.

Calling up a classmate for additional training builds comraderie and relationships. Questions can be answered when going through the movements, techniques and applications revealed in the classroom. Remember that Martial Arts is an eternal journey that never ends with "the perfect technique". "There is no such thing as a perfect technique, only perfect applications for the situation at hand".

Consider what I have just said that in life, we might only get one chance to do something right. Take the time to practice thousands of times so that if a dangerous situation presents itself, when you execute the appropriate technique it will be...perfect.

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We are going over fighting at both schools this week with a smattering of the following: 3 punch combination, lunch punch combination, elbow series, and kata for all and weapons with the senior ranks.

Osu.

Saturday YMCA Kid's Health

I want to say thank you to the Bradshaw family and Robert for coming out to support our demonstration at the YMCA Kid's Health program at the Downtown YMCA. Hopefully, this will lead to bigger and better things for our class.

I am feeling much better and can go over the things I failed to cover last week. This week we will cover:

-Kihon-geri (basic kicks) for all
-Fukyugata Ich for all and Nidan for the Green belts

Saturday the 19th Sensei Nieves will not be hosting an adult class. He was invited to assist another instructor with his belt test and he graciously accepted. It is a rare opportunity and a true honor for another instructor to ask one to assist in evaluating students progress.

We have purchased a Cabinet for the St. Paul's class. We hope to store much of our kicking and punching pads at St. Paul's so it is easier to carry back and forth. We hope to also store some of our handouts and forms in that cabinet.

Remember that we are planning another fund raiser in June. Details are to follow soon.

See you in class this week!

Osu.

Regrets & Goals - March 09, 2008

Regrets are defined as:
repent: feel remorse for; feel sorry for; feel sad about the loss or absence of
decline formally or politely; sorrow: sadness associated with some wrong done or some disappointment

Everyone has something they wish they didn't do (or done differently) in the past or wish they had done. It is better not to live according to those regrets. Otherwise, one holds him/herself back from growing. If someone did you wrong years ago, don't regret knowing that person. Learn the lesson and try to move past it. If you long for someone you have not seen in a long time, do not dwell on their absence, but rather the good they gave to you and how they helped shape some of your happier moments. If you feel sad because you didn't follow a path before, see if still available. They say: "it's never too late" and that is true of most things in life. Find out if it's worth doing and then GO FOR IT!

Goals are defined as: an objective (which is a broad aim or desired outcome) made specific in terms of time and degree

When we set a goal, we should remember that there are steps to achieving a goal. We should become aware of just what it will take to achieve what we set for ourselves. And just because the road is long does not mean it isn't worth it. Everything that is worth anything requires effort to keep or maintain.

Last night I used the example of one's desire to be an astronaut. First you must study in High School and graduate with a good education. Then one must get into a college that will give you the required science and math education along with the record of challenging individuals and producing well-developed minds. From there one would either go to the Air Force, Navy or Flight School (Airline?) to earn their flight training certification. In other cases, one becomes a well known scientist with a specialty in a specific area. Upon earning the correct accolades and accreditation, one then applies for the NASA Astronaut program.

As you can see the path is long, and not without trial. If you have a setback (i.e.-fail Organic Biology), is life over? No. You can try again. That doesn't mean you don't try your best to do it right the first time. What if you break your leg during the Astonaut program training? Is it over? No, you must take time to heal then restart the program. Certainly these are both obstacles that can present themselves but can be overcome if one desires to do so.

Do not become so anxious about your goals that they become an obsession to you. Sometimes, you have to take a break to either (re)examine your path or just to recharge. My own karate training is a good example of this. I personally want to learn so much that I become anxious and wish to learn as much as I can. By hurrying, I lose important basic or even middle steps steps along the way. I had to slow myself down and realize that there is always time to do the things I would like to do.

Do not allow yourself to be or get discouraged regarding your goals. Remember, many others have gone before you attempting to achieve the very same goals. You simply have to match desire with work ethic and then do the actual work necessary to achieve your goal.

Saying I want to do that without actually making it happen is just words. Words are meaningless without action. Talk less, do more.

Osu.

April

My apologies as I have not made time to post.

I have seen some definite progress in many of the students in class. Master Chase and I both have commented how many of you have stepped up during the tournament and whose training is starting to take off. Some are ready for advancement to green belt. Those individuals will be watched closely. Those names will not be listed here so as not to give any false sense of motivation and to not give others the sense they should give up training hard.

All students should be giving their all to their training. Remember, every day is a test.

This week we will be going over Kata with Onoko being our prime area of study. Newer students and students who are not ready for Onoko will be reviewing Taikyoku Shodan & Fukyugata Ich.

Green belts will be shown the first parts of Fukyugata Ni.

Osu.