Rubber bands

Have you ever really considered what a rubber band is?  A rubber band is really just a piece of rubber that doesn't do anything and is completely useless until you actually take it and you stretch it around to secure something.

Depending on the size the band it can also be difficult to stretch it to its fullest extent. A smaller rubber band is much easier to stretch then a big thick rubber band and the same is true with humans.
Often children are seen as very flexible they are always stretching themselves to learn something new and are always in a learning state much like a brand-new rubber band. An older rubber band, however, perhaps one that maybe is been out in the sun a little bit or it's been sitting in the drawer is so hard to stretch effectively.  In fact, the longer it sits without stretching the harder it is for it to stretch when the time comes. 

 

Most adults fall into that second category.  Because adults tend to fall into a pattern where they rarely have to learn something new or challenge and improve themselves adults typically don't stretch and push themselves to new experiences. Instead they stick with what is comfortable because it is easy.  

But what if you took that same large rubber band and you kept on stretching a little bit all the time. What if every day you stretch it just a little bit so that it doesn't crust up and lose its elasticity? If you could move that rubber band and stretch it, every day, a little bit it will stretch for a much longer time than that one that sits in a very lax state forever.  Keeping those rubber bands moving help some to stay useful for a longer time.

We tend to get very easily settled into the most comfortable state a relaxed state from don't have to do too much more than what we want but if you stretch and you move and you continually doing it you'll never hit that point where it becomes too difficult to try something new or to be good at what you're currently doing so my encouragement to you is this get out and try some new experiences take a new class do an adult education class. Don't let yourself become too warm and too stiff to truly grow yourself more.

How old is too young?

I am always surprised by how often I get asked the question: "Is my son/daughter too young for martial arts?"  In my school we have our Little Tigers Program which starts at age three so usually my answer to that question is absolutely not!

The students in this picture all started at an age younger than five, and while not all of them have made it to Black Belt yet, each one of them took a valuable experience home with them that has helped them in their life.  One of them in this picture is actually a 2nd degree now and has won several national championships.

But when that student started with martial arts, he could not focus, stand still and was extremely wobbly on his kicks and stances.  No he is an excellent student, a great competitor and even more important a great overall person.  So when is the best time to start?  The earlier you get in the more you get out!

The value of martial arts is not always apparent in what you see now.  The height of the kick or the technical demonstration of a technique is only the shallowest level of what a student receives from training.  The deeper levels show them how to not give up, how to stand tall with confidence, and the self respect to go for the best in life.

Get started today!

Welcome back

There are few things in this life that make me happier than when someone I have not seen in a while gives me a call just to catch up or if I run into an old friend I have not seen in a long time.  Especially if when I see them they have a big smile on their face that matches mine, because they are just so happy.  The reason that is because when that happens I know that that is a person on whom I made an impact.

What is even better is when it is an old student who has not been around in a while coming back in and saying that they want to start up classes again.  Because they are someone who first came, or whose family first came, to have them learn martial arts from us.  This is not a person who I grew up with, or have spent long amounts of time with outside class, so when they come back it means that I and the members of the school must have done something to make an impact on their lives.  In fact, almost any former member I run into seems to always be happy to see me or to visit the school which leads me to the conclusion that the time that students spend here leaves a lasting imprint.

Sometimes I forget that very simple but powerful quote from Dr Suess:

“To the world you may be one person; but to one person you may be the world.”

Times like this remind me that what we build here is not just respect, confidence, and physical skill, but also a community and sense of belonging.  This is a place where students can be who they are and families can connect to make friendships that lasts long past black belt.

A Story of Patience and Free Pizza

So I arrived in Newark late at night to register for my seminar. Tons of people and a staff that is trying to keep everyone in order and happy. It could have been so easy to be frustrated and angry, but Taekwondo has taught me to be patient.  So there I am literally the last person on line but keeping a big smile on my face and being polite and courteous to the event staff when one of them offers to move me up in line so I can get in before registration closes.  Would he have done  that if I was rude and angry?

After collecting my things I went out to get something to eat and of course all the people who had also registered for the event had the same idea. Cut to one pizzeria that was woefully unprepared for a huge rush on a Wednesday night and you have a chef and waitress who are dealing with annoyed customers and, to be honest, a very disgruntled manager.   Once again I know how I would want to be treated and how to show respect to others, so I told the waitress to not worry and take her time (again being the last one on line and having been told to please wait while she ran orders). The chef seeing my patience offers me an entire brick oven pizza at no charge.

It's amazing how much patience and a smile can change people's perception. Training martial arts has given me a patience and humility that helps me make the world a bit nicer. It's a learned skill that I believed has served me well in my life and I hope I can pass along to the next generation of martial artists.

A beginning

A beginning...

Writing is something I have always enjoyed doing.  When I was 4 years old I wrote a short story with characters from Winnie the Pooh (my mother still has it squared away somewhere), when I was 6 I was able to use my parents' typewriter to make a short story, and at 23 I wrote my first novel which as of right now is in a rewrite in an attempt to be published.

All of these works had one thing in common...none were about me.  Writing about myself and what I do has always been a challenge, however, through teaching TKD I have found that my life experiences and activities can help my students who are going through difficult times in their own life.  If I can help one student through my own experiences than this blog was well worth the effort.

So here is my first bit of wisdom...challenge yourself to do things that you don't normally like to do.  In my case writing a blog about myself and my experiences is very difficult, but I am still writing.

If you hit a difficult topic or activity...a kick, a form, sparring, or weapons make it a challenge to yourself to do it instead of giving up.

I hope this is a good start to a productive blog.