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 8 new students and 1 transfer students
• 36 students attended the Black Belt Camp
• 36 students competed at the New England Championships
• We welcomed 4 new Cho-Dans into the Black Belt family
• We promoted 9 students to a new Dan rank
• We took home the Regional Women (7^th time),
  Men (9^th time) and demo team (1st time) cups

I am very grateful for everybody’s contribution and
support as we continue to build Cambridge Tang Soo Do. As a TEAM, we were able
to accomplish some great things. The old saying (TEAM), “together, everyone
achieves more”, is surely true in this case. I look forward to more of the same
in 2020.

The “Warrior” understands that the more they know the more
they know they don’t know. Simply put, there is always more to learn. The best
way to learn is to start with the right mindset. This encompasses the six
fundamental learning principles of Tang Soo Do but starts with humility or what
we call Kyum Son.

You must first empty your cup before you are
able to fully learn. This requires humility and or at least the ability to
suspend the ego long enough to look and listen with the intent to learn. My
first instructor told us that to learn, “we must be like a sponge”. That is, we
must be able to absorb a lot and then be ready to soak up more after we have
rested. There will always be more to learn if you are open to it. To be open,
you must first empty your cup. There is a great story about this very topic in Joe
Hyam’s classic, Zen in the Martial Arts, in which he relates a story of
a potential student seeking knowledge and instruction from a famous martial
arts teacher and Zen Master. The potential student introduced himself and his
many accomplishments while the Zen Master listened intently and poured a cup of
tea for the visitor. As the potential student continued to talk, the Zen Master
continued to pour tea until it was flowing over the top of the cup and all over
the table and the potential student’s lap. The potential student exclaimed,
“what are you doing, you are spilling the tea all over the place.” Upon hearing
this, the Zen Master stopped pouring and said, “just as this cup is full and
can’t hold anymore tea, you are full of yourself and can’t learn what I have to
share”.

Hang around any
successful achiever and you will soon realize why they are so successful. They
always strive to get better. Study the best in sports or athletic competition,
study the best in business, art, leadership, or any endeavor: you’ll quickly
see that they are always striving to get better. The best must always get
better.

Anyone that has made it to the top of their field, is
likely to be highly ambitious and driven for success and achievement. You will
also note that they are focused on others success as much as they are focused
on their own success. They are not likely to be satisfied with being second
best or accepting mediocrity in their life. They also are very focused on
helping others to improve and get the best out of themselves. This philosophy
is not about ego but rather about what the Japanese call “Kaizen”. In the West
this is often referred to as “can’t” or constant and never ending improvement.

One of your goals should be to get better every day. Whether
it is your martial arts training, your school’s progress, or your
relationships, it is always best to live by the principle that the, “biggest
room in the world, is the room for improvement.” As the saying goes, “Goals we
set are goals we get”. Take action everyday to make yourself smarter, stronger,
and more effective. Work on improving your overall health & fitness and you
will simultaneously improve all the relationships in your life. If you want to
be the best, and I am assuming you do, strive to improve yourself everyday in
every way. Every class, become and better student of the Martial Arts. Every
day become a better student of life. As I have said many times before, you must
first be a great student and or follower before you can be a great leader. Use
peak performance prompts to remind yourself of your goal.

One of the ways to
accomplish this is to follow the 8 Paths to Enlightenment. This is sometimes
also referred to as the 8 Paths of Success. That is,

1. The
   Right Understanding
2. The
   Right Thoughts
3. The
   Right Words
4. The
   Right Actions
5. The
   Right Livelihood
6. The Right
   Effort
7. The
   Right Mindfulness
8. The
   Right Concentration

Black Belt Leaders and Champions follow the above
philosophy and strategy to improve everything they do.

1. Treat class, and your every opportunity to practice, as a gift, as a special time for you.
2. Listen to every correction given. Try to implement it, even if it wasn’t given to you.
3. Take a correction to the nth degree. Your teacher can always pull you back.
4. If you don’t understand the correction, ask.
5. A class is a lab. Experiment continually. Never do it the same way twice.
6. Step out of your comfort zone
7. Work with what you have. Celebrate your gifts, while working your damnest to overcome any shortcomings.
8. Believe that pushing through and learning something in that weird, boring or super-challenging class will pay off.
9. There will always be bad days. Do not be defined by them.
10. Push yourself. Hard. But acknowledge when you have done all you can, at least for the time being. Sometimes the epiphany, the breakthrough, comes later.
11. Immediate gratification is rare. When it happens it is the result of years of training. The fun and the joy are in the struggle.
12. It is never too early to gain a firm grasp on somatic concepts. If you wait too long to develop this beautiful mind, your body might be an unwilling partner.
13. Did I say to treat every chance to practice as a gift?