Master Pasquinilli will continue to hold tryouts in class for twelve remaining spots in the first session of Hyper Pro Training, this week and next.
The Asian Arts Center Taekwondo School is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, Dayton martial arts school.
Here at the Asian Arts Center every new student receives a refrigerator magnet with our 10 home rules. I explain to student and, if appropriate, the parents that learning and following these rules is an essential part of becoming a martial artist. A typical comment from parents is “these sound like the rules we try to follow at our house.” That is music to my ears.
Those ten rules are as follows:
1. Obey your parents
2. Cooperate with brothers and sisters
3. Keep your room neat and clean
4. Keep your body, hair and teeth clean
5. Eat and sleep properly
6. Do not interrupt conversations
7. Complete homework before TV or play
8. Respect teachers and elders
9. Be truthful and honest
10. Finish what you start
These rules communicate the fact that it is not enough to do a good job in Taekwondo class. The student also has to do a good job at home, school and in the community. Learning to focus and pay attention to what is going on around you, knowing the rules and doing your work is our definition of “integrity” and essential requirements for being a true martial artist.
Dennis Schaefer is an Instructor at the Asian Arts Center Taekwondo School in Kettering, Ohio. www.aacdayton.com
Master Matt was out this past week and he won’t be back until the end of next week. As a result Dennis has taken up the role of Matt and leaving me with a little more responsibility as the head of the school, at least that’s the way I like to think about it. Even though I think everyone’s doing a great job, however, I found myself getting off track a little and not meaning to. My classes are running smoothly but I mistakenly added in some drills that were not routine and thus tweaked the dynamic. Once I found out what I did, I immediately went back to the original structure. The main reason I found out what I did was because Luckily, I had Dennis to push me back on track but it made me think that if I could get off track just a little and not realize it here at this school, then running a school on my own will have to take a ton of focus to stay on track. Focus that I hope I will learn as I go through it with Master Matt or Dennis.
Alex Tienda, third Dan at the Asian Arts Center
What is the most difficult thing about competing in a tournament? There are so many reasons why I enjoy competing that it is difficult to come up with an answer. But I imagine it is more a question of perspective.
Competing against myself and others is sometimes nothing more than the reward I give myself for all of the hard work and training. There is a brother/sisterhood that develops in training. The competition there is pushing yourself to the limit; delaying gratification and imagining how those extra 100 kicks are going to save you in the last round. The difficult part is not having enough time to train the way I would like to or being patient with myself when I am trying to work out a new strategy or combination and its not clicking yet.
The butterflies I get in my stomach start the morning of the tournament and are flying full speed just before I enter the ring. Some people would say that is a difficult thing about competing. But to me it is one of the main reasons I compete. Those butterflies tell me that I am about to do something extraordinary, something way outside my comfort zone, something that is going to test me and all I have worked for.
Some would say that losing a fight or taking a particularly powerful kick to the breadbasket are difficulties that competitors face. To me, they are a reason to come back next time. Because for every disappointing performance and bad day in the ring there is an equal chance that the next time everything will come together and make it all worthwhile. That’s what I work for.
I am going to Guatemala this weekend and will stay for two weeks to teach children at Los Patojos. I will update this blog with pictures and more information during my trip. You can support this martial arts mission work by buying AAC logo popcorn and Cheryl’s Cookies at our front desk or make a donation. The Asian Arts Center Taekwondo School is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and your donations are tax deductible.
Thanks!
Master Matt Pasquinilli
www.aacdayton.com
www.pasquinilli.com
See Debbie or Angel at the front desk to buy your shirt and support the Asian Arts Center Taekwondo School in style!
Back in the old days of running, there was a saying that described the last 2 weeks of training before a marathon. By that time in your training cycle, you were as conditioned as you were going to be for the race. Any further intense training you did at that point would only make you tired at race time and your performance would actually suffer. “The hay was in the barn.”
Many runners, including yours truly, would be nervous and insecure about the miles done up until that last two weeks. “Did I do enough long runs?” “Should I do one more speed workout at the track?” The temptation was great to add one more training day, right up to the night before the race. But the wise veterans would once again remind me that I should be tapering my training, that any more intense miles would be detrimental to my race performance. That if I trained properly, “the hay was in the barn.”
Flash forward to the present. Now I am training for tournament sparring. There is conditioning, technique and strategic preparation. Those same old voices haunt me when I am approaching tournament time. “Maybe I should do one more intense 1,000 kick day.” “I didn’t properly prepare my strategy.” It is only the voice of insecurity, of doubting my preparation and abilities.
But now I also hear the voice of experience. I know I have to taper and that the fruit of all that hard work and sweat is not going to disappear in the last few days before the tournament while I rest and finish putting a fine edge on my fight plan.
The lesson is, if I prepare properly, do all the work I know I need to and stay honest with my training requirements, when fight time comes, the “hay in the barn” will fuel my best effort.
Dennis Schaefer is an Instructor at the Asian Arts Center Taekwondo School in Dayton, Ohio. www.aacdayton.com
This past week Master Matt and I have been practicing intensely on martial arts. We are just four months away from opening the new school and I am so close to reaching my dream that I can touch it. I know that these intense workouts are just the beginning of an endless string of exhausting nights and sore mornings, but it will make me so proud to say that I run my own branch at the age of 23.
Alex Tienda 3rd Dan at the Asian Arts Center
We are on a quest to improve our martial arts programs here at the Asian Arts Center Taekwondo School in Centerville, and Kettering, Ohio. Our instructors learn Taekwondo first, but then start on a broad course of other martial arts techniques likes ninjitsu, bojitsu, kobudo, judo, aikido, bjj, kali, silat, escrima, western boxing, muay thai, kickboxing, etc… Our instructors live in many communities around the Miami Valley, such as Beavercreek, Oakwood, Centerville, Kettering, Maimisburg, etc..
As a child my parents always told me to never give up on anything you do in life, no matter how hard or how boring it was, you must always persevere. I did that through three years of college knowing that if I quit I would never forgive myself. Night after night I studied till three in the morning sometimes I didn’t sleep and just studied through the night. I was a mess everytime I came into class. My hair spread out like Einstein’s, I had large bags underneath my eyes, and my clothes looked like someone had bundled them up and threw them in a pile in the corner. Obviously, on the days I didn’t sleep through the night, the moment class started I was sleeping like a log. This is the time when everyone says that they pushed through it and got their degree and lived happily ever after thanks to their perseverence, well in my case that is a bunch of crap and nothing happy happened to me after those long nights except a few sundays that I sleeped right through to catch up on my sleep only to loose it again the next day. And of course at the end of the quarter I had nothing to show for it but bad grades and a string of endless conversations with my parents over how I’m not trying hard enough. Now I’m not saying perseverence is a bad thing, because the drive someone has can and will lead them to success IF, and I do mean if, they have passion for it. Now I am working full time at the Asian Arts Center and within a year of working there, I am almost ready to start a new branch in Centerville. For a whole year I persevered through countless reports, days of teaching that seemed like they would never end, and lastly at the end of the day a chance to better myself in martial arts with a hard workout. I will persevere because of my passion for it. my drive is fueled by my I love of teaching and trainning and that is why I will succeed, that is why I will never fail and never give up.
Posted by Alex Tienda, Third Dan at the Asian Arts Center