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
Martial Artists are all about making good habits and reaching goals. Taking consistant action is the only way to make a habit and is a part of reaching one’s goal. Changing habits from good to bad or even just getting used to a new habit can become a challenge. However it is not hard to figure out the solution, which would be to remain persistant and never give up! Accepting the challenge and working with persistance promotes growth mentally. If an individual is able to have a mindset for consistancy, the possibilities of self improvement, accomplishment and therefore self-confidence could be endless!
Posted by Kellen Brown
A few months ago I blogged about wanting to lose weight before my next tournament so I wouldn’t have to fight in the unlimited class. My goal was, and is, to get my weight from 200 pounds down to 174 by July 4th. I am happy to report that I am progressing, slowly but surely and am under 190 for the first time in years. But I have had to examine, and change, some behaviors along the way.
I realize that the whole weight loss thing boils down to a simple equation; you have to burn more calories than you consume. But when you are working out virtually 6 days a week and imagine that you are not really eating that much, the equation seems to fail in the face of a static weight. After a few weeks of just a little less food I was at a wall. Doing the same things would no longer work.
Sometimes a small change is needed in my Taekwondo training. Choshim (beginner’s mind) tells me that I will never be at a point where I stop growing, where it will suddenly become unnecessary to make any further changes.
I have been sparring competitively for many years but there are always tweaks to my technique and training. Research tells me that changes in exercise time and nature will help to break through the weight loss wall. It also tells me that changes in when and what I eat will also help to maintain the success. I am discovering that calories represented by different food sources are not always equal when it comes to weight loss potential.
At the risk of becoming obsessed with weight and diet, I continue to tweak my weight loss program as well as my training. Stay tuned.
Even though we practice Hoshinseool, our one-step self defense drills, as one part of our training regimen, everything we do in Taekwondo is for the purpose of self defense.
The ability to focus and pay attention to our surroundings is one of the first skills we learn. When you are focused, you make eye contact with people which can help you judge their intentions and also lets them know that you are strong and confident. Awareness of your surroundings alerts you to any potential danger nearby.
Deep breathing when stressed is another skill we work on as beginners. That habit keeps our brain oxygenated and gives us a second to gather our wits and decide on the proper plan of action. Stress comes in many forms and deep breathing helps us deal with them all.
Poomse (forms) are patterns of kicks, punches, blocks and footwork- a culmination of skills to harden self-defense and sparring. Forms also develop balance, power and coordination which helps us at all times, especially when we are threatened with physical attack.
Kyorugi (sparring) is the technique of practicing fighting skills with a partner. That gives you a sense of timing and distance and a realistic experience of facing someone who is trying to attack you. You learn how to defend and, if necessary, to counter-attack.
Kukupa (breaking) is the breaking of wooden boards or cement bricks with kick and punches. It helps build muscle, coordination, speed and power. Overcoming the fear and anxiety that you might feel when breaking helps you to build courage and become more self-confident.
We also learn in Taekwondo that there are many forms of self-defense. Knowing and following the rules, staying focused and getting our work done helps us to be successful in work, school and everyday life. In turn those practices help us to defend against bad grades, bad attitudes and bad people.
Using our voice to ask for help or to tell others to stop behavior that is annoying or threatening to us is a form of self-defense that can often prevent physical threat or violence. We practice good nutrition, life habits and respect our bodies to defend against bad health.
Last but not least, Do (The Way) is our way of living our life in harmony. By practicing the physical training and understanding the concepts of Taekwondo, life feels more balanced, the ultimate result and benefit of self-defense training.
Dennis Schaefer is an Instructor at the Asian Arts Center Taekwondo School in Dayton, Ohio. www.aacdayton.com
Something that I have enjoyed and that has always been a part of my life is art. There are many different forms of art and Im glad to have my profession to be one of those forms. The Martial arts in itself has a lot of different approaches to art. Whether it is expressing the physical form with the practice and demonstrations of the Tae Kwon Do Form movements (poomse), or the art of skills learned etc. Im also glad to know that our school emphasizes being “Renaissance Martial artists”. As Martial artists we not only apreciate our own training but different art expressions such as fine arts, music, dance, cuisine etc. Also, appreciating things in nature and the natural beauty of the world. As artist we see the beauty in the world and then we we are inspired to make more of it!
Posted by Kellen Brown