Spirit
Attendance
“Enthusiasm is the electricity of life. How do you get it?
You act enthusiastic until you make it a habit.”
Attendance is the canary in your coal mine. Great people became great by keeping it healthy.
The more you come to class the better you get. The better you get, the more you can't wait to come to class.
Unfortunately, it works the other way around, as well...
"Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway." - John Wayne
We all did it. Tried to convince Mom that we were at Death's door the morning our unfinished book report was due at school. (Ever try putting a penny in your sock to raise your temperature?)
The dojo experience is no different, except for this: We call our dojo the 'Mistake Place'. We expect that students will fall down on the job - so we can teach them why it's better not to. Besides, everyday courage is a beautiful thing.
Involvement
Showing up is good. 'Being there' is better.
Involvement, of course, is what's required. But the word involvement has baggage. It brings on thoughts of costs like: obligation, awkwardness, effort, etc.
A related, and better word is Investment. With investments you get returns!
Be invested in your class and it's interesting, exciting, fun - productive. You know you're invested when a class runs long, you're surprised it's over so soon, and you wish you could stay for another hour.
Be invested in your training and it'll affect your whole world - for the better. You'll be glad you're invested when you turn to your training to help deal calmly with a fouled up airline reservation or when you're trying to survive changing a flat tire in the rain. (Oh, yes, and blocking punches to the nose.)
When it comes to dojo activites, being invested works the same way with one exception. Yet, we don't expect everyone to take center stage.
There are many ways for people take part in the things we do. Some donate cooking. Some take photos. Some watch and listen. And some people really are the life of the party. Surely, all are a part of the group, but more importantly, all are part of the group's great day.
Involvement, of course, is what's required. But the word involvement has baggage. It brings on thoughts of costs like: obligation, awkwardness, effort, etc.
A related, and better word is Investment. With investments you get returns!
Be invested in your class and it's interesting, exciting, fun - productive. You know you're invested when a class runs long, you're surprised it's over so soon, and you wish you could stay for another hour.
Be invested in your training and it'll affect your whole world - for the better. You'll be glad you're invested when you turn to your training to help deal calmly with a fouled up airline reservation or when you're trying to survive changing a flat tire in the rain. (Oh, yes, and blocking punches to the nose.)
When it comes to dojo activites, being invested works the same way with one exception. Yet, we don't expect everyone to take center stage.
There are many ways for people take part in the things we do. Some donate cooking. Some take photos. Some watch and listen. And some people really are the life of the party. Surely, all are a part of the group, but more importantly, all are part of the group's great day.
Perfection Practice
Perfection Practice isn't a catch phrase, it's a system.
Neurological research describes how practice drives skill from the front of your mind into what is usually referred to as 'muscle memory'.
In other words, practice doesn't necessarily make perfect, but it does make permanent. For perfection, you need a method. We made one.
To master karate, you need to perform technique flawlessly, yes, but also unconciously. That's the first step.
Neurological research describes how practice drives skill from the front of your mind into what is usually referred to as 'muscle memory'.
In other words, practice doesn't necessarily make perfect, but it does make permanent. For perfection, you need a method. We made one.
To master karate, you need to perform technique flawlessly, yes, but also unconciously. That's the first step.
Zhuangzi and Landing a Jet in the Hudson River
In 2009, when 'Sully' Sullenberger ditched Flight 1549 in the Hudson River, he saved the lives of 155 people. He also, at that moment, had absolutely nothing on his mind. They all would likely have died if he did.
Serious martial artists know why.
The second step in practice gets a little... esoteric.
Now that you have a perfect block internalized, you need to connect it to the punch heading for your nose. Not as easy as it sounds. Things, like thinking, get in the way.
What you need is a state of mind that allows a perfect block to react directly to one of an infinite number of variations of punches to the nose - and in real time to boot!
To do that, you'll need to master concepts with names like Mind of No Mind, Mind Like the Moon, and Mind Like Water.
An ancient Chinese book, the Zhuangzi, helps. It doesn't tell you how to accomplish those feats, but it does tell you ways to know when you do!
If this sounds like a lot of effort, remember, your nose is involved!
Serious martial artists know why.
The second step in practice gets a little... esoteric.
Now that you have a perfect block internalized, you need to connect it to the punch heading for your nose. Not as easy as it sounds. Things, like thinking, get in the way.
What you need is a state of mind that allows a perfect block to react directly to one of an infinite number of variations of punches to the nose - and in real time to boot!
To do that, you'll need to master concepts with names like Mind of No Mind, Mind Like the Moon, and Mind Like Water.
An ancient Chinese book, the Zhuangzi, helps. It doesn't tell you how to accomplish those feats, but it does tell you ways to know when you do!
If this sounds like a lot of effort, remember, your nose is involved!
Body Mechanics
In practical styles, like ours, karate techniques are actually very simple. It's usually just students who make it difficult for themselves. Let yourself go and it comes pretty quickly.
"Let yourself go." That's the trick - and a part of the lesson.
But there's more to technique than learning moves. Physics matters.
In karate, learning is never about just one thing. We teach you a really simple stance and you're immediately confronted with the fact that doing something and doing it right are different matters - which is why you keep getting knocked off balance.
Little things count! Like knowing to keep the lugnuts in your pocket while you change a tire. Remembering to do it is even more important!
In mastering all these 'simple' techniques, you will encounter doubt, humility, challenge, courage, frustration, self-confidence, victory...
In this way, from your very first lesson, you begin developing all aspects of the weapon, and the instrument, that is you.
And that, in the long run, is a lot more interesting than roundhouse kicks.
Soul Connection
Here's the secret (or the elephant in the room):
Mastering technique is the beginning, not the end of the journey.
The whole 'body, mind, spirit' concept is a real thng. Karate starts with doing, moves on to understanding, ends with feeling.
Explaining how that works takes more room than we have here. We can say that the first time you 'do' something that amazes even yourself - that is a game changer!
Mastering technique is the beginning, not the end of the journey.
The whole 'body, mind, spirit' concept is a real thng. Karate starts with doing, moves on to understanding, ends with feeling.
Explaining how that works takes more room than we have here. We can say that the first time you 'do' something that amazes even yourself - that is a game changer!
Why People Choose Us
Don't entirely trust website testimonials? Neither do we.
Instead, we encourage people to talk with our members - students and parents.
(Of course they'll like us - they're still here! The more important question is what do they like about us.)