It has long been a custom in the Martial Arts, that upon entering the dojang, students remove their shoes and place them in the shoe rack. Part of this custom is for hygiene and cleanliness. A clean dojang and well kept dojang is certainly better than a dirty one.
Even better is a philosophy called the Shoerack Theory. Students remove their shoes and place them in the shoerack for a more purposeful reason. They are also placing all of life’s challenges and any stressful thoughts or negative issues from their day, in their shoes before entering the mat. This allows you to give yourself fully to your training. Mentally, physically and emotionally, then after a great class, you will be able to better deal with any of the challenges placed in your shoes before class. Sometimes, you actually may find they’ve disappeared all together. Meaning that after a great workout and practice session, you have relieved yourself of all the stress you had before your class and/or relieved yourself from any negativity.
Martial Arts training is proven to be an outstanding way to relieve stress and cleanse your mind, body and spirit of any negativity. If you practice this philosophy every time you enter the dojang, you will find yourself in a better mood and you will also enjoy greater benefit from your Martial Arts training. This philosophy can also be applied to walking into your own home: mentally, leaving all stress and challenges in your shoes upon entering so you can enjoy quality time with your family and loved ones.
One way you can maximize the benefits of your Martial Arts training is to practice and apply the philosophies you learn in class to your everyday life outside the dojang.
On October 10, 2009, the Atlantic-Pacific Tang Soo Do Federation held its 4th Regional Championships in Southbury, Connecticut. 15 students from Cambridge Tang Soo Do entered the competition. Congratulations to our latest champions:
| Kristan Meetze | 1st in Weapons, 1st in Forms, 1st in Sparring & 1st in Breaking |
| Noelle Drewicz | 3rd in Weapons |
| Kurt Grelak | 3rd in Forms |
| Daniel Maibor | 2nd in Weapons, 1st in Forms, 2nd in Sparring & 1st in Breaking |
| Tony Messina | 2nd in Weapons, 1st in Forms, 3rd in Sparring & 2nd in Breaking |
| Leonard James | 1st in Forms, 1st in Sparring & 1st in Breaking |
| Ebe Janchivdorj | 3rd in Forms, 2nd in Sparring & 2nd in Breaking |
| Luke Schattler | 1st in Sparring & 3rd in Breaking |
| Finnegan Paquette | 2nd in Forms, 2nd in Sparring & 1nd in Breaking |
| Alex South | 1st in Forms, 3rd in Sparring & 1st in Breaking |
A special congratulations goes out to Kristan Meetze for becoming the Regional Female Cup winner.
Tang Soo!
Have you ever lost control of your emotions and done something, said something or acted in a way you later regretted? The answer for almost everyone would be “Yes!” Anger brings out a very negative and ugly side of just about everyone. Most people agree that positive emotions and attitudes are far more productive than negative emotions. Anger is your enemy…because it can cause serious damage. It can cause serious damage to your relationships. To your own health and well being, to your overall happiness and joy in life. It can also do serious damage to your professional image and appearance. WHY? Because it is UGLY!
You must not allow this dangerous negative emotion to take control. Avoidance, prevention and preparation are always the best defense against any powerful and dangerous enemy. Whenever possible, avoid the people, situations and things that make you angry and negative. You can minimize or eliminate almost any negative emotion from your life, by laughing more, keeping a good sense of humor and focusing on your positive emotions. Smile more, laugh more, keep yourself healthy and be physically active everyday. Focus on happy thoughts, listen to great music, think about all the things that make you feel good and bring joy to your life. Hit a heavy bag, do some pad training or go for run to clear your head and rid yourself of any stress and tension from your day. Do as many positive things as possible that brings out your best emotional side. It’s rare that you will be angry and negative when you are feeling great about yourself and your mind is filled with happy thoughts.
Magnify the positive…shrink the negative! Learn to spot your emotional patterns, positive and negative. Train yourself to focus on your positive emotions and try to magnify them. The ultimate level of emotional mastery is when you choose in advance the emotions that best serve you and others…no matter what obstacles you encounter. Anger is your Enemy! It’s an enemy that can be defeated, provided you stay strong and condition yourself daily to score a victory over this dangerous opponent.
If you want to lead a great life, you have to take great actions. The best way to prepare yourself to take great actions, is to practice having a great attitude. Say “YES” everyday to prepare yourself for Victory (Pilsung) and most importantly DO step out of your comfort zone! Imagine every time you entered the Dojang, you said “YES” to stepping out of your comfort zone and giving your absolute best! Every time you step on the mat…you said “YES” I will demonstrate performance level! Every time you finished class…you said “YES” I gave my best today! You’d soon develop a habit that leads to becoming a highly conditioned Black Belt Leader & Champion.
Habits we Train are Habits we Gain! Anything you do repeatedly becomes habit. Good or bad. Black Belt Leaders & Champions know that they must train their brain every day. This is why you must condition your attitude everyday for making it a great day. Stated differently, you always get what you focus on. Think how much better you would be at everything you do, if you trained yourself to have a great attitude toward life and learning…every day! Practice being more respectful, you become more respected. Practice looking for the good in others, you begin to attract more of what you look for. You also get more people looking at the good in you! Practice smiling more and you will see more people smiling back. Remember, to receive…you must give first.
Here are some Black Belt Attitude Tips for daily development of a positive attitude:
- Wake up every day and say “YES” today is a great day!
- Be the first to offer praise and compliment.
- Always look for the good in yourself and others.
- Think of what you DO want in life, not what you DON’T!
- Always be happy and grateful for what you DO have.
- Take massive action and revel in your accomplishments and those of others.