Category: News & Info

What Angela Taught Me by Dennis Schaefer

This week is our second week of summer camp here at the Asian Arts Center, and it’s a hot one. We decided to take our daily hike in the woods this morning to avoid the heat of the afternoon. So we headed to a new park that we hadn’t hiked yet, one with a lot of hills.
One of our campers is a girl named Angela. She has been at the Asian Arts Center for awhile now and has worked her way to 2ndGup; that’s two steps below Black Belt. Angela has some challenges that the other campers don’t have. Of course, we all have our challenges. But she has a lot to teach if you pay attention.
For example; this morning as we were hiking up and down the hills and through the woods, most of the other campers hurried ahead, anxious to be first, chattering about everything except the cool green forest surrounding us. Angela assumed her usual position at the back of the group, taking her time. As I brought up the back of the pack to watch for any stragglers, the rest of the group rushed ahead, out of sight around a bend. Suddenly the woods were quiet. I heard a woodpecker and the gurgle of the creek flowing close by.
I suddenly realized why Angela always dropped back. Well, of course, some of it had to do with her stubborn insistence on setting her own pace. But I also liked to imagine that she had other reasons. My conversation with her was necessarily simple but pleasant.
I thought about my realization at some point in my life that everyone had something to teach me, even if it was their uncluttered view of life. Angela was not complaining unless someone tried to push her along at their pace. She was enjoying the woods in her own way. While the other campers seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere, anywhere other than the place they were, Angela was mindful and taking her time; being where she was.
Taekwondo, and Angela, have taught me to be where I am, to have “Choshim”, a “beginners mind”. To never think that anyone is not smart enough, or successful enough, or wise enough, or old enough to teach me, even if it is done just by watching. There is always a lesson. Sometimes I have to drop back from the noisy crowd, pushing ahead, striving for whatever lies ahead.
Sometimes the lesson is to just enjoy being in the cool, shady woods.
Dennis Schaefer is an Instructor at the Asian Arts Center Taekwondo School in Dayton, Ohio. www.aacdayton.com


Old is New Again by Dennis Schaefer

Master Matt Pasquinilli and I were evaluating our adult Taekwondo program and one of the issues we discussed was how to integrate modern wants and needs into the traditional martial arts study. Matt noted that “in the old days” when he started, there were mostly teen and adult males and they trained for multiple hours on multiple days of the week. It was a huge commitment of time and effort to get to the Black Belt level and that had been the tradition from the beginning.
The time and commitment required to maintain a strictly traditional program would preclude a lot of potential adult students these days. There is so much focus on multi-tasking, on finding the quickest, most convenient way, on the staggering number of options for exercise and fitness. Our mission is to find the balance between maintaining the integrity of tradition and acknowledging the realities of everyday contemporary life.
From the traditional side come the history, culture and mystique of the martial arts. Martial arts were originally developed for practical reasons: resisting oppression, defense of property and family, making the most of whatever was available. There was honor among the practitioners and the sacrifice it took to become a Master was seen as a necessary initiation. For the serious martial artist those traditions, in some form, should and do remain.
Now to the present day. We compete with work time, family time and leisure time to find reasons for adult students to start their martial arts journey. The benefits we offer are self-defense skills, the confidence and knowledge that come with being physically, mentally, and emotionally fit, and the satisfaction that comes with accomplishing goals that are sometimes difficult to pursue in our modern culture. Who couldn’t use some boxing skills; some additional self-esteem and a wicked round house kick to deal with the crush of modern existence?
Martial arts are a link with the rich tradition of the past, but they are also a way to find a new path, one you perhaps had not considered.
Dennis Schaefer is an Instructor at the Asian Arts Center Taekwondo School in Dayton, Ohio. www.aac.com


The school in the south

the past couple of weeks have been filled with paint, screws, mats, pictures, mirrors and the usual sweat and tears.  Waking up at 7:30 everyday and staying till 9 almost every other night is hard work but the school looks great and honestly I’m working really hard to make this dream come true with a bang.  I’m a little worried for the future because I don’t know what lies ahead but I hope that it will be fantastic and long lasting.  For the first time in a while I’m sailing in unknown waters and as exhilarating as it is, the waters are going to be a little rough to deal with, however I need to hold on tight and yell to the skies to bring it on.

Alex Tienda 3rd Dan at the Asian Arts Center


Pilseung (Victory) by Dennis Schaefer

Last August I blogged about wanting to lose enough poundage to fight in a weight class lower than “unlimited”, any weight class lower than unlimited. Well, I am happy to report that I tipped the scales at 175 the other day, down from 200, and am entered to spar in the 2012 USTA National Championships in July.
In what might be my last national tournament- I turn 61 in September and most of the competitors close to my age are now on to golf or Tai Chi- I will not face any 6’5”, 300 pound gorillas. I wanted to go out with at least a chance of winning. And even though I might still face some 51 year-old youngsters, I have greatly improved my odds for gold.
How do you lose 25 pounds in a year? More importantly, how do you continue to set and achieve goals with each of life’s transitions; keep “Choshim”, a Beginners Mind? Because, in my first attempt to seriously lose weight in my life, I could not have done it without a compelling goal.
In my blog a year ago I observed, somewhat glibly, that losing weight was based on a simple equation: burn more calories than you consume. But I quickly found that it was not that simple. It was a daily effort involving a great deal of discipline, both in exercising more and avoiding a lot of the foods that I love. Research told me that I should also mix it up: eat different foods at different times of the day and change some well established habits.
Once again my martial arts training has provided both the goal and the framework to achieve it. “Innae”(patience), looking at the long term benefit, working toward a distant destination with lesser amounts of immediate gratification; “GeungGi”(persistence); “Geukki”(discipline); “JungShinTongIl”(concentration of the mind, body spirit and emotions); and, finally,”YongSa” (forgiveness). It has not been easy for me or others.
I have felt a bit guilty at times, trying so hard not to eat when so many others in the world don’t have enough. But I am growing stronger in my ability to make a difference, to be an example of how to continue to make the most of the life I have been given.
Dennis Schaefer is an Instructor at the Asian arts center taekwondo School in Dayton, Ohio. www.aacdayton.com


Old Age-New Brain by Dennis Schaefer

I was shocked to learn that my brain has not stopped growing…
For decades I, along with researchers, believed that as we age individual neurons in our brain started dying off, that the loss was permanent and that the brain couldn’t make new nerve cells to replace the dead ones. We seniors seemed doomed to an eventual life of confused doddering, senility or, at the very least, forgetting the grandchildren’s names.
Recently, researchers announced that they had succeeded in stimulating the human brain into growing new brain cells by putting subjects on a three month aerobic workout regimen. Other experts have discovered that vigorous and complex exercises can stimulate older brain cells to form dense, interconnected webs that make the brain run faster and more efficiently. So it seems that we can not only build capacity in some parts of the brain but also improve the overall operation.
In his book “Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain,” John J. Ratey, MD, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, explained the basic science in layman’s terms. Every time a muscle contracts and releases it sends out chemicals, including a protein called IGF-1 that travels through the bloodstream and into the brain. There it stimulates the production of several chemicals, including one called brain- derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, that fuels almost all of the activities that lead to higher thought. Ratey calls it, “miracle grow for the brain.”
Until recently it was thought that, although people maintain relatively constant levels of BDNF through adult years, individual neurons gradually die off. The accepted conclusion was that no new nerve cells were manufactured to replace the old; lost and gone forever. A recent study, published in the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reaches a different conclusion. After the three month aerobic workout regime, all the participants showed new neuron growth. The supposition was that it was BDNF at work, transforming stem cells into full-grown functional neurons.
Further observation showed that that new neurons created appeared in only one part of the brain, the area that controls learning and memory, the hippocampus. That region helps the brain match names to faces- one of the first skills to suffer as we age. The area has also proven to be especially responsive to BDNF’s effects, apparently restoring it to a healthier, more youthful state. “It’s not just a matter of slowing down the aging process,” says Arthur Kramer, a psychologist at the University of Illinois. “It’s a matter of reversing it.”
Although it is thought that new neurons can’t grow throughout the rest of the brain, there are other proven secondary benefits to the brain and neurological system from a good exercise session. Exercise increases blood volume and new capillaries which, in turn, lessens inflammation in the brain and the occurrence of mini-strokes says neuroscientist Kristine Yaffe. John Ratey also notes that levels of neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine are elevated after a workout. “So having a workout will help with focus, calming down, impulsivity- its like taking a little bit of Prozac and a little bit of Ritalin.”
UCLA neuroscientist Fernando Gomez-Pinilla points out that humans have evolved to thrive on physical activity. Without regular exercise, “our brains aren’t doing what they are supposed to do.” Some early research suggests that people who exercise frequently tend to develop Alzheimer’s less often and, if so, later in life. Other research shows that one of Alzheimer’s first targets is the hippocampus, the main beneficiary of vigorous exercise and the resultant BDNF.
The best news of all is that age is not a factor in this equation. As long as we continue to exercise, we reap the benefits of more and better operating brain cells. The mind-body connection is a fascinating subject. Its never too late to learn that lesson.


The Complete Martial Artist by Dennis Schaefer

At this time of the year at the Asian Arts Center we start anticipating summer camps, vacations and a lot of hard, sweaty workouts. Some of our students take breaks at various times during the summer, some take the whole summer off. We remind ourselves and our students that there are always opportunities to practice what we have learned, even if we are not in class.
Focus and paying attention to what is going on around us is essential in school, at home and particularly during vacation when we are outside at the beach, a cookout or in our own backyard, in order to protect ourselves from danger or accidents. Our training for adult and young students alike helps us to maintain that habit.
Summer gives us an opportunity to do some cross training with baseball, swimming and many other physical activities. Balance, coordination and discipline that we practice as martial artists helps us in these activities. Core strengthening that we practice with planks in class can also be accomplished by pushing a lawnmower.
We don’t need a classroom to stretch, practice Mooshim or show respect to ourselves and others by continuing the good work and habits we exercise in the dojang. That is truly the sign of a complete martial artist.
Dennis Schaefer is an Instructor at the Asian Arts Center Taekwondo School in Dayton, Ohio. www.aacdayton.com