_The other day a mother called me inquiring about lessons for her son. She asked me the question, “Why should I enroll my son at YOUR school?” That is a very good question and I believe that everyone asks him/herself some form of that question before beginning the martial arts. However, I had never had anyone ask me so directly before, so I was a bit surprised. I explained that I felt the real strengths of our dojo (martial arts school) were the carefully organized curriculum and lesson plans, designed to help the students learn and grow as efficiently as possible, while ensuring that the student is always learning something new, and the experienced instructor staff. We have recently brought on several new instructors, and all of them have had a huge positive impact on our school and we are very excited to have them here. Sempai Nan, Mr. Tucker, and Mr. Casey are all talented martial artists and dynamic and effective instructors.

However, I’ve been thinking a lot about that question (“Why should I enroll my son?”) since then, and I think I would give a slightly different answer now. I believe there are many, many reasons why people of all ages should study martial arts. Training to kick a bag or block an attack at a precise time has profound effects on the students’ ability to focus. Learning how to defend one’s self and even how to fall properly can save a person from serious harm. As students make progress through the ranks, they learn the value of goal-setting, and they start to realize that with hard work, dreams that once seemed impossible become very realistic goals.

_There are many reasons to study the martial arts, and if I listed all of them this blog entry would be as long as War and Peace.
Nevertheless, if I had to give just one reason why someone should study at our school, it would be this:

When we ask the students to partner up, and a student is having trouble finding a group to work with, either because they are new to the class, arrived late, or simply can’t find any more people without partners, several students will always go up to them and say something like, “We would like for you to work with us.”

When I have children, I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather have them than at a place where everyone understands the meanings of teamwork, respect, and compassion. I think that kind of attitude is rare to see at any age, but amongst our youth students I find it particularly moving.

When evaluating a martial arts school, I think there is a real tendency to want to judge said school based on the instructors. Do the instructors care about their students? Are they capable martial artists, and perhaps more importantly, can they effectively pass those benefits on to their students?

However, I think an equally important question to ask when evaluating a martial arts school should be: What are the other students like? What are their attitudes toward their classmates?

In that regard, it’s very easy to see why so many people start and continue to train at Maryland Martial Arts: We have amazing students. If you don’t believe me, watch closely the next time we ask the students to partner up.


~Ossu

_First of all, I want to congratulate Dr. Dan on achieving his Black Belt last week. Black Belt is one of the biggest goals in the martial arts, and I am very proud to say that the standard for achieving Black Belt at our school is extremely high, which he demonstrated at his test. Dr. Dan is one of our first adult students to reach Black Belt (as our dojo has been opened for almost 4 years), proving that it is never too late to master new skills. We were all very impressed by his performance, and we are all extremely proud of his achievement.

Speaking of achievement, this week we talked about goal setting in class. We discussed how sharing our goals with a friend or mentor can help us to see those goals through, rather than letting them become like many people's New Years Resolutions. Our students have been writing their goals down and placing them in the goal box for the instructors to read. This will allow us help our students achieve those goals this year. So far, the goals that I have read have been inspirational. Many students have set a goal of earning their next belts, and one day their Black Belts. We also have many students determined to earn one of the oh-so-hard to earn patches, such as the sparring, kicking, kata, or full split patch, among others.

We also discussed how a big goal like Black Belt can seem daunting at first, so it helps to remember that Black Belts such as Dr. Dan did not earn their Black Belt overnight. All he did was get a little bit better every class. Each step forward is so small that it cannot be discerned. This makes it hard to stay motivated at times but it also means anyone can do it! This is also why we award stripes for each technique that the student has learned- it gives us a tangible sign of our progress.

If you have ever had a relative who lives out of town remark, "My, how you've grown!" after not seeing you for a while, you know what I'm talking about. You didn't notice your growth, because it was very gradual, but the inches do add up.

The Japanese word which roughly translates as constant and never-ending improvement is Kaizen. This year, I challenge all of our students to be fully committed to Kaizen. All we ask is that you try to improve a little bit each week. Obviously putting forth your best effort each class is a must. A few minutes of practice at home each day can make a big difference. If you currently do not practice at home, imagine if you started with 10 minutes a day...That's over 60 hours per year! Would that make a difference? You bet it would!

Let me now also compliment/brag about something I've seen our students do lately that is becoming more and more the norm. When it is the last class of the evening, many of our students stick around for extra sparring, bagwork, kata practice etc. I've literally seen and heard parents telling their children that they really have to go, 15 minutes after the class has ended.

I'm thrilled with this for 2 reasons.
1) It has always been my personal challenge to try to make the dojo a fun place to be, where the kids will run up the steps to get to, rather than having to be dragged to by their parents.
2) It is taking our students to even higher levels of excellence in their training. In a day and age when many kids are addicted to the TV or video games, our students are "addicted" to the martial arts!

Finally, I would like to leave you with a commitment on the end of the instructors. Just as we have challenged you to fully commit to Kaizen in your training and everyday lives, we too will commit to constantly improving our school and classes.

You have probably noticed many of the new improvements around the school, but you can rest assured that this year's classes will really blow last year's away!

Ossu!