10 Acts of Kindness Help my dad move his office Helping make dinner, and set the table Helping my sister drop off lunches at the mustard seed school Respecting people in the dojo and outside of it Doing the dishes Helping my friends when they need help with homework Help the environment by recycling Helping set up for Holiday Parties …
Karate-Do: My Way of Life by Gichin Funakoshi
Master Gichin Funakoshi wrote Karate-Do: My Way of Life. His book is required reading for adult yellow belts, and rightly so as Master Funakoshi records his time in history. The narrative details how karate impacted him personally from a young age, how he brought karate-do to Japan from Okinawa, and his experiences along the way. To me, the most poignant …
Becoming a martial artists… by accident
You may or may not know about a program called Ride To Walk. The organization is dear to my heart. Located in Lincoln off of Hwy 193, it is a nonprofit organization which enables children, teens and young adults with nuerological disabilities to participate in equine assisted therapy. In easy terms, children with autism, cerebral palsy and deep brain injuries …
Video: Calling a Bully a Bully
Every office has one – loud, rude, egotistical, two-faced, and sometimes even dangerous. Left to their own devices, an office bully can turn your livelihood into a living nightmare. Carrie Clark, co-founder of the California Healthy Workplace Advocates, who promotes anti-bullying policy throughout the country, defines what qualifies as bullying and how to stand up to a growing problem that …
Give Power and Passion to your Goals
Go to any corporate training program, seminar, or meeting and the topic of goal setting and time management is likely to be of primary concern. Goal setting is also a major part of your martial arts training as well. People that don’t set goals are less likely to achieve success in their lives. I can’t tell you how many martial …
Listening
One of my first jobs was as a painter. The owner of the paint crew told me something that changed how I look at things. He said, “The most precious thing you can give anyone is your time.” I didn’t get it at first. My flippant thought was, *Well, I’m here.* Being physically in a place does not mean you …
Mushin: A New Way of Thinking
A while back, Mr. Oliver challenged us to keep our mushin in circumstances we normally lose it. I have long been of the opinion that commuting is not for me. I just don’t like driving. There are any number of ligitmate and ridiculously silly reasons… pollution, car accidents, road rage, discourtesy, the shining blindness off of silver cars, … You …
What Adults can Learn from Kids
This young lady is inspiring. Every adult here should watch this. If you are a parent, share this with your child. Kids are capable of amazing things despite their age. I encourage our Karate kids to think big when it comes to their community projects and this is why. Kids can change the world. http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/adora_svitak.html
The Last Straw…Or is it?
I was intrigued by the verbal judo assignment to identify what makes me angry and to give it a name, know it and own it. Others that know me may think differently but I think it takes a lot to get me angry. It takes more than someone cutting me off on the freeway or a cranky co-worker to impact …
Verbal Judo
Our school is integrating an exciting program called Verbal Judo into our classes. It’s a set of tactical communications lessons that goes hand-in-hand with our existing martial arts curriculum. The goal of Verbal Judo is to redirect negative behavior and reduce conflict through verbal communication. Originally,we taught this methods police officers in the area. The methods are applicable, however, to …