News

As the year draws to an end, it is a good time to reflect on all of our accomplishments and personal victories. We have had many this year and it is in no small part due to all our collective efforts:

• We welcomed 11 new students
• We promoted 1 Pal-Dan, 1 Chil-Dan, 1 Yuk-Dan, 1 O-Dan, 1 E-Dan & 1 Cho-Dan
• We trained 2 Regional Champions

I am very grateful for everybody’s contribution and support as we continue to build Cambridge Tang Soo Do.

1. Martial arts is a way of life. A true martial artist does not train to become the ultimate warrior, the world’s most physically fit specimen, or the greatest sage of all mankind. A true martial artist trains to be a better person.
2. Traditional martial arts places no emphasis on competitions, record breaking or championships. Traditional martial arts  focuses on the ultimate aim of self-perfection.
3. A true martial artist does not limit his training to the kwoon or dojo. A true martial artist trains every minute of his existence.
4. Ask yourself the following question every time you train: How would I feel about my school if everyone trained as I train? This query has nothing to do with your skill level. It refers to the amount of effort you put into your workout.
5. Always devote 100% of your heart, mind and body during training. Negligence in any of these categories is a serious impediment and will limit growth in your art.
6. When striving for excellence, complacency is not an option.
7. What comes out of your training depends on what goes in.

For most people involved in the Martial Arts, it becomes an active and healthy lifestyle, and a powerful personal self development program. Many of us like to train hard year round, and push ourselves to higher levels of skill, conditioning and achievement, in and out of the dojang. It’s part of being a successful achiever.

We will all have times that we are at a peak, mentally, physically and emotionally, especially after we achieve a big goal, like a rank promotion. Or, when we are just feeling really great and making strong gains in our progress. Everyone would like to be able to be at this peak level all the time.

However, for most people, there will be some occasional bumps in the road, challenges and obstacles that knock us off track. There may even be times that it even feels like you are sliding backwards. These are known as the Peaks, Valleys & Plateaus of training cycles. Injuries, distractions or other setbacks may occur that will create temporary stalls in your in progress. The sooner you understand this process, the faster you will get back into a positive, progressive direction, mentally, physically and emotionally.

Plateaus can also be used as a short term, temporary resting spot. It may be a maintenance training period or even a planned and well deserved recharge.

Peaks – Valleys – Plateaus are natural processes that everyone experiences. The goal is to create as many peak cycle periods as possible and plan out your rest and maintenance periods.  Good habits, a positive mindset and proper planning will allow you to minimize the setbacks that can cause the valleys of despair and discouragement.

Maximize the Peaks – Minimize the Valleys!

It’s been said many times that attitude determines your altitude in life. To be the best Black Belt leader & champion you are capable of becoming, you must constantly condition your attitude and emotions to remain positive and optimistic. The effort and energy you give to this area will strengthen your performance, on and off the mat. 

A great Train-your-Brain reminder is to liken your daily outlook and attitude, to your physical fitness, conditioning and flexibility. The effort and energy you give, determines what you get. You need to condition yourself daily, or you may find yourself slipping backwards. If you don’t actively fill your mind with positives thoughts and ideas, it is easy to become negative. Why is that? Watch the news, listen to the radio, most of the TV and movies we all watch are filled with negatives and very few positives. If you absorb negative content, it’s easy to become negative. Before you know it, you develop a negative attitude and your mind becomes filled with negatives: fear, doubt, worry, envy, anger and many other negative thoughts and feelings about yourself and others. 

How successful do you think you will become in anything, if you’re loaded with all those negatives? Not very! A positive attitude and mindset creates an energy force that inspires and motivates people to take positive actions and creates positive results. It helps to create an uplifting emotion that will enhance your learning and promotes a positive, progressive energy for life.

Stinkin’ Thinkin’ and ”Hardening of the Attitudes” are dangerous diseases that can kill desire and dampen enthusiasm. If left untreated, they will lead to a downward spiral in your life and can do great damage to your health, wealth and happiness. It can have huge impact on your relationships, ones that were once pretty good, can go down the tubes quickly. Positive thoughts lead to positive feelings and emotions, which leads you to take positive actions, which leads to positive results. If you want to see better results, it would do you good to give yourself a Check-up from the Neck up.

Decide today that you are going to be a positive person that is making a positive difference in peoples lives. Read and study positive and inspirational material everyday, hang around positive people and talk about positive things. Soon your entire life will be moving in a much more positive direction. It’s a lot of fun and you’ll be a lot more fun to be around. No matter how positive you already are, I’m sure you would agree that your optimism is frequently put to the test.

Let’s team up and spread the good stuff to all the people that we can influence!