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.aacdayton.com

the next step

I go to sparring classes almost every saturday and most of the time I fight the same people each time.  Eventually, when you fight someone long enough you grow accustomed to their style. We know each other, we laugh and joke with one another and shoot the moon after a great class. Now my next step is to see how others fight and how they move and kick. What I’m excited about is how different they will be.   It’s just like when I was doing Brazilian Jujitsu and  I also fought the same people each time.  I learned how they moved and how to counter them so I could win.  That changed when my teacher brought some people of higher rank that trained with him back in Cincinnati. I had never been beaten so badly in my life. The worst was when I was tapped out within thirty seconds of the match. However, that is not to say that I could never rise to the challenge.  With every match I figured out what to do the next time they tried to fight me.  Of course, I can’t  say that I would win the next round but I did grow smarter-or dumber with every choke- either way I learned something different.  While I learned that lesson three years ago I can still apply it to the situation now.  I will use that lesson to overcome the fears of that unknown opponent that I will soon face and learn from the fight. Win or loose, I will take that terrifying next step

Alex Tienda Third Dan at the Asian Arts Center

Review Your Progress

This week I have taken some time to reflect on the progress I have made in my goals. At the AAC, we have come up with a success formula.  This success formula has been a big help in reaching my goals but also a big confidence booster.  “Review your progress”  can be one of the most important things to remember in the success formula.  The action of reviewing your progress lets you see what you’ve accomplished and how far you’ve come in your training.  Remembering the positive accomplishements and how much strength and growth I’ve gained inspires me to continue and feel good about myself.  Lately I have been making a lot of progress physically.  Before I came in to the martial arts, I had poor posture and as a result I experienced back issues and inflexibility.  By applying the success formula, I have been able to take steps to reach my goal, ask the right questions and, of course, see the results of my progress.  My posture has greatly improved because of my commitement to my goal, working towards it, asking the right questions and getting help.  Now I am able to see the progress I have made and I feel much more confident as a martial artist and my back sure feels a lot better!

The specifics

I train everyday and night- sometimes I swear that I train during my sleep- and I thought that I knew almost everything.  Then today when I came in early to train with Master Matt I found I don’t know enough to even come close to him, obviously. The words Cho Shim, which means beginners mind, kicked me in the face hard today.  I found that it wasn’t the numbers of kicks I did, although that does help, but it was the specifics of the kicks that I had to work on.  Turning my hips correctly, making sure that I didn’t take a step before I kick, and, of course, keeping my hands up.  It is the specifics that I have to concentrate on  because the specifics are what will increase my speed, accuracy and power. Just like doing math homework, reading, or writing you have to look at the specifics of the problem first in order to do well.

Alex Tienda 3rd Dan at the Asian Arts Center

The Color and Shape

This week has been a very energetic one.  With the weather being slightly warmer and the newly painted classrooms, I’ve noticed my own energy and the energy of the students kicking it up a few notches.  We’ve made it a goal to shape up the school as well as shaping up ourselves physically and mentally.  I enjoy working at a place that has a professional, practical and effective approach to things.  I’ve really enjoyed seeing the progress of the students these past 6 months.  Many have been progressing from the beginner level to the intermediate and advanced level classes. There have been many belt color changes and students getting in shape!  With all the other students progressing we have a lot more openings in the beginning level classes for new students to come in.  I look forward to seeing more students who are willing to start training and growing with us!

Post by Kellen

Passions

I have two passions in my life.  Taekwondo and everything else.  Today Master Matt was saying that we should blog about our passions, things we love to do.  Yes, taekwondo is my passion and, in many ways, it is my life. However, life is my passion.  Music, history, science, sports; everything from running a marathon to watching tv alone in my house is my passion.  I do what I love in my lfie because there’s just no time for the boring or the mundane.  I choose doing taekwondo as my job because it is my passion.  If there was a job for running I would do that.  Living is my passion and having many passions is truly living.

Alex Tienda 3rd Dan at the Asian Arts Center Dayton Ohio

Staying Healthy This Winter

There are a lot of germs and viruses being passed around at this time of the year. Children are in school and everyone is spending more time indoors so coughs, colds and flu have more opportunities to spread. I have a number of common sense rules that I follow to stay well.
1. Follow Home rule #5, “eat and sleep properly,” every day.
2. Wash your hands often during the day and especially before eating.
3. Drink plenty of fluids
4. Cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing
5. Try to keep some humidity in the air, either with a humidifier or vaporizer
6. Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables
7. Stay away from crowds as much as possible
8. Keep your hands away from your nose, mouth and eyes as much as possible
9. Keep a positive frame of mind
10. If you do get sick, take care of yourself, don’t try to tough it out
There’s no guarantee that practicing any or all of these steps will keep you well. But I am convinced that they will make your sick days few and far between.
Dennis Schaefer is an Instructor at the Asian Arts Taekwondo School in Dayton, Ohio.
www.aacdayton.com

Health lifestyle changes are being used by many parents as first-line ADHD treatment

(NaturalNews) A new study conducted at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center found that parents are relying more and more on natural therapies and healthy lifestyle options to improve their child’s attention and behavior. The research results were published in the January issue of the medical journal Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies.

Parents prefer natural therapies

Statistics reveal that each year, up to 10 percent of school-age children are diagnosed with ADHD. Under guidance from pediatricians, parents are increasingly interested in making correct dietary and lifestyle choices for their children.

“Many parents are reluctant to put their children on medication for ADHD, and instead want to first try healthy lifestyle options to help promote optimal focus and attention,” explained professor of public health sciences Kathy Kemper, who led the study. Dr. Kemper also clarified that the aim of her research was to determine what parents are interested in learning about from an integrative pediatrician when they seek alternative treatments for ADHD. Integrative pediatrics is a holistic practice that focuses on reaffirming the importance of a positive doctor-patient relationship, while incorporating complementary and alternative medicine techniques to achieve optimal health and healing.

For this study, the science team looked at intake forms, physician reports and laboratory studies for no fewer than 75 patients who had sought the counsel of an integrative pediatrician over the course of 18 months. Eighty-seven percent of patients were referred by their doctors, while the rest were referred by specialists. Thirty-one percent of the involved parents stated that they were concerned about ADHD, but only 13 percent of the children were taking medication. According to their findings, many of the children with ADHD often suffer from other types of ailments for which they receive treatment from medical specialists. However, those same specialists avoid recommending ADHD medication.

Doctors don’t always recommend medication as a first choice

Dr Kemper is confident that her research results point to an emerging trend among both parents and doctors, where focus is shifted from medication to lifestyle improvements. On the one hand, parents walk into the pediatrician’s office with questions on how diet, exercise, stress management and sleep can help improve their child’s health. On the other hand, doctor recommendations are sometimes centered on health improvement information and whole-foods diets.

Dr. Kemper advises parents that, “if your child has trouble concentrating in his mid-morning math class, be sure he eats a really good breakfast, or try having him go to bed an hour earlier to see if that helps. If your child can’t sit still to do homework when he gets home from school, have him go outside to shoot some hoops and then try doing homework. I recommend using low-risk, healthy lifestyle approaches first before resorting to medication.”

A list of board-certified integrative pediatricians can be found on the American Academy of Pediatrics’ website.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120124134425.htm

http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/some_alternative_approaches_attention-deficit_hyperactivity_disorder_000030_10.htm

http://www.ncld.org/ld-basics/related-issues/adhd/attention-deficit-hyperactiviity-disorder

About the author:
Raw Michelle is a natural health blogger and researcher, sharing her passions with others, using the Internet as her medium. She discusses topics in a straight forward way in hopes to help people from all walks of life achieve optimal health and well-being. She has authored and published hundreds of articles on topics such as the raw food diet and green living in general. In 2010, Michelle created RawFoodHealthWatch.com, to share with people her approach to the raw food diet and detoxification.

Dennis Schaefer is an Instructor at the asian arts center taekwondo School in Dayton, Ohio www.aacdayton.com

The parents night out

Last Friday was the parents night out. It was a night of fun games, pizza, and of course taekwondo. Honestly, writing that sentence down on this computer is gives me a weird feeling in my stomach. Games, pizza and Taekwondo might not go well with each other in your head, but judging from how fantastic the night went I think it will come up again in the future. Out of all the parent’s night outs, this one was most definetly the best. The kids had fun, the instructors had fun, and I know that the parents had a blast for the night as well. Hope that we will do another one soon.
Alex Tienda 3rd dan at the AAC

Taking it to the Next Level by Dennis Schaefer

Sometimes I am confused or frustrated by apparent contradictions in life: bad things happen to good people; things just don’t work out like I planned; people I am kind or generous to don’t reciprocate. I work hard to stay healthy, eat good food, get plenty of sleep and exercise, but I still get sick. Expectations will fool me every time. But that is no excuse for resignation or failure to act.
I can plan my life but I cannot plan the results. I try, I fail, I try again, I fail better. Many wise people have said it: “If at first you don’t succeed, try try again”; “Nothing ventured, nothing gained”; “If you’re not making mistakes you’re not living.” But what does all of this mean for me, a Taekwondo student? A martial artist?
The fear I have is the fear of not being able to do the form as quickly as other students; that I will look clumsy; that the board won’t break. Some adult students are very self-conscious when they start. They think they should be perfect. They are embarrassed. Some are so embarrassed that they quit after a few classes. Some are too embarrassed to try at all. After all, by the time I am an adult I should be able to learn things faster than a child, shouldn’t I?
When I started there were no adult classes. I had class with children and in some promotion tests I was the only adult. I had to practice Gheum Sahn (modesty) and practice ChoShim (beginner’s mind). And mostly, I had to get over myself. I had to take it to the next level.
I have discovered that I am better at some aspects of martial arts than I am at others. I celebrate what comes easy and work harder on those things that don’t. At 60 years of age there are probably more things in Taekwondo that fall into the latter category. Even though harder work doesn’t always yield the results I expect I am thankful for the ability to try. And I learn from all students, young and old.
For me, taking it to the next level means a lifetime of learning, the willingness to try with no guarantee of the results I desire, the appreciation of the opportunity to give it a shot.
And the courage to look like a beginner.
Dennis Schaefer is an instructor at the Asian Arts Center Taekwondo School in Dayton, Ohio. www.aacdayton.com