Our belief is that martial arts helps people develop better habits for life. The positive habits students develop in the dojang always has a direct influence on life outside the dojang. Today’s message focuses on five simple habits that can help any student achieve greatness in their Martial Arts training:
- Attendance/Commitment: Consistent class attendance and the commitment to practice and improve your skills and abilities. When a student gets in the habit of 2-3 classes per week plus at home practice, you’ll soon begin to see steady progress and growth in your journey to Black Belt Excellence. In life, you don’t get very far with a half hearted effort. Big goals are achieved through committed effort and persistence to achieve greatness.
- Spirit & Energy: When you develop the habit of expressing your eagerness and giving your best energy and effort, you’ll soon develop a powerful Black Belt Spirit. Soon you will learn that the more energy you give, the more energy you have to give. The non-quitting spirit you develop will carry over to all other areas of your life.
- Basics & Knowledge: Strong basics and fundamental skills are vital to developing confidence in your skills and abilities as a Black Belt Leader & Champion. No matter what style of Martial Arts I have studied and learned, it’s always about starting with a strong foundation.The habit of paying attention to detail can have a powerful impact everywhere.
- Fitness – Fitness – Fitness: Healthy and fit people have healthy and fit habits. A balanced fitness program should encompass three keys: flexibility, strength and endurance. Martial arts training is a very well rounded form of fitness and it has so many examples of living, breathing models of excellence to follow. A high level of health and fitness, gives you more energy for everything you do.
- Martial Arts Manners & Dojang Protocol: Polite greetings, positive responses and courteous behavior, are habits everyone enjoys and benefits. No matter where I go or how many people I meet, the nicest and most respectful are always martial arts trained. The world would be a much better place if everyone practiced and expressed respect for each other, the way we do in the dojang. The best way to influence is by your example. Be a model of excellence in respect and perseverance.
Habits we Train…are Habits we Gain!
14 students from Cambridge Tang Soo Do attended the Atlantic-Pacific Tang Soo Do Federation’s New England Regional Championships which was held on Saturday October 11, 2008 in Meriden, CT. Our latest champions are:
| Mr. Duva | 1st place in Forms |
| Dr. Meetze | 2nd place in Weapons, 2nd place in Forms, 3rd place in Sparring, 3rd place in Breaking |
| Mr. Khodko | 3rd place in Weapons, 3rd place in Forms, 3rd place in Sparring, 1st place in Breaking |
| Angelika Fretzen | 3rd place in Weapons, 3rd place in Forms, 2nd place in Sparring |
| Richard Heppner | 1st place in Forms, 1st place in Sparing, 1st place in Breaking |
| Daniel Maibor | 1st place in Weapons, 1st place in Forms, 1st place in Sparring, 2nd place in Breaking |
| Tony Messina | 3rd place in Forms, 1st place in Sparring, 3rd place in Breaking |
| Kevin Palmer | 2nd place in Forms, 3rd place in Sparring |
| James Kim | 2nd place in Forms, 2nd place in Sparring |
| Luke Schlatter | 2nd place in Forms, 3rd place in Sparring |
Congratulations to all of you!
Tang Soo!
8 students were selected to take part in Cambridge Tang Soo Do’s Fall 2008 testing cycle. Congratulations goes out to the following students:
| Daniel Maibor | 1st Gup |
| Jason Green | 4th Gup |
| Anthony Messina | 5th Gup |
| Kevin Palmer | 6th Gup |
| Isabel Kunkle | 7th Gup |
| Mike Vemula | 7th Gup |
| James Kim | 8 th Gup |
| Jeff Haggar | 9th Gup |
| Luke Schlatter | 9th Gup |
| Kaliyah Catwell | 9th Gup |
| Katarina Klacko | 9th Gup |
We would also like to welcome the following new students:
| Jeff Haggar |
| Eric Tollefson |
Many studies on human potential have stated that most of us are performing at only a fraction of our true potential. If this is accurate, it means that we all have tremendous opportunity to tap into our potential and enjoy even greater levels of success and achievement. Champions are always seeking to improve themselves: their skills, abilities and overall level of physical and mental conditioning.
There are many ways we can get better. Athletically, we could set a goal to improve our flexibility, strength and cardiovascular conditioning. How do we accomplish this? The possibilities are endless. Bag work, pad work, partner drills, sparring, roadwork, swimming, elliptical, biking and the list goes on and on. Once you’ve set the goal and have clarity, it is easy to find the ways to make it happen. The key for most people, is to maximize the time you are currently dedicating to each area. In essence, work to get more bang-for-your-buck. You don’t always have to put more time in, but most people could put more into their time. Simply by increasing the focus and the intensity, you will find ways to improve without sacrificing time from other areas. As the old saying goes, “It’s not more time but more intensity.”
Now, there certainly are some people that need to do both. They need to dedicate more time and increase the intensity as well. This is true with their athletic development, mental growth, career and financial growth. By learning to better maximize your training time, you will find that it has a positive and powerful impact on other areas as well. Self improvement has a tendency to spread to all areas of progress, growth and change. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. If you begin to go into a downward spiral in one area, it can have a negative impact on other areas as well.
Here are a couple suggestions for ways you can achieve multiple benefits and better maximize the results you achieve:
- First, seek ways to stack benefits. If you are going for a run, try listening to something inspirational at the same time. Or, in my case, often I train with members of a team which allows you to push each other and strengthens the bonds of mutual respect between you.
- Second, pick up the pace. Increase your intensity. Try a little harder, give a better effort. Really work to give your best, so that you can get the best results. This is advice that can be applied to your training and your professional life as well.
When you start to apply the MAXIMIZE principle, you will instantly begin to see ways you can apply it to every area of life. Have fun and enjoy the results you achieve.