I started my training in the Adult class at Maryland Martial Arts in 2008 and it has taken me down this amazing journey of self awareness and self discipline. I have noticed that Martial Arts has encompassed my entire life. I am not only a Martial Artist, but I am a portrait artist too. My portraits are called "Pointed Portraits" are done one dot at a time using a style called Pointillism. You might be asking yourself, "how does this relate to martial arts?" Well, it's pretty simple. Focus, Confidence and Discipline. 

Let me explain further:
Focus - Believe it or not, anyone can draw a portrait, with enough focus. Think about your Kata as a portrait. It takes many steps to get to the end of the Kata, and you don't learn it all at once. The entire Kata consists of many intricate pieces and you must focus on each one individually until it forms a larger piece. Portraits work the same way, especially Pointed Portraits. With practice and focus, your portraits will get better and better, just like mine did. The same goes for Martial Arts.

Confidence - As I said before, anyone can draw a portrait, but most people say, "Oh no, I am horrible at drawing." Well, you're not. Think about something you are great at. Were you always great at that or did you have to work at it to become great? Did you learn to walk before you were crawling? The truth is, I was embarrassed of my portraits at first. I didn't think they were good enough to show anyone else, but after practice, practice, practice, everyone wants one of my portraits. The more you work hard at something, the more confident you will become. This is something that I've always known, but now I truly feel it. Martial Arts has greatly improved my confidence and it shows through my portraits.

Discipline - Discipline is not something that comes naturally to all, but don't worry, as your focus and confidence builds, so does your self-discipline. Just look at our black belt students! When it comes to pointed portraits, discipline is extremely important. First of all, how could I do anything if I wasn't healthy?  If I was unhealthy, then I wouldn't be able to do the things that I love doing including portraits. I was pretty healthy when I first started Martial Arts, but I'm even more healthy now, and Martial Arts is what gave me that kick to improve my health. As for portraits - they are a long process. Some of my portraits take over 100 hours!!! I must have discipline to finish each and every one.

So what's the point? The point is, Martial Arts isn't just about punching and kicking. Both Kids and Adults alike learn many important life lessons training at Maryland Martial Arts. It doesn't matter if you're 5 years old or 50 years old. Training at Maryland Martial Arts will improve your life as it has mine. 

How has Maryland Martial Arts helped you? Please comment below! 

~ Sempai Greg

_ Wow! Saturday’s ceremony was one of our biggest and best belt promotions ever! It is great to see so many students working hard and making so much progress. The outstanding techniques, sparring, and board breaking reflected the focus and dedication that our students have put into their training.

We started using more challenging boards for the board breaking portion of the test, in an effort to challenge our students even more. I am extremely proud to write that even though many of the breaks required numerous attempts, all of the students that broke boards were ultimately successful in doing so, never giving up until their goal had been achieved. These students were completely undeterred if the board didn’t break on the first 5 tries, realizing that each kick or strike had the potential to be the one.

It really is amazing to see what our youth students have accomplished at such a young age. Two of Maryland Martial Arts’ first youth Black Belts achieved progress stars towards their 2nd degree Black Belts. We have been very fortunate that so many of our first students worked so hard to develop their skills to such a high level, which has set the bar extremely high for all the new students coming in, and those new students seem more than up to the challenge. No matter how advanced they become, the senior students maintain and attitude of modesty and respect, always willing to help others reach the next level.

If our students were just a wonderful group of kind and compassionate people (as we discussed in last week’s blog) that would be pretty great. However, make no mistake about it, our students possess some serious skills. Watching two students spar, giving 100% effort to gaining an advantageous position, yet with no animosity towards their partner, (on the contrary) pushing their partners to reach the next level, is really something special to watch.

I consider myself extremely fortunate to be a part of such a great martial arts family.

Several of our adult students were also promoted to their next levels, and their techniques were equally impressive. It was hilarious and fun to listen to the youth students call out techniques and tips while our talented adult students demonstrated some stellar sparring. Our adult program has grown rapidly over the past several months, showing that any age is a great age to begin martial arts.

Finally, I want to give a big congrats to Sensei Ines on earning her Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Blue belt. As you know, Sensei Ines has already achieved Black Belt levels in Kung Fu and San Shou. To be able to start over as a white belt, in an art that she decided would complement the skills she already possessed, reflects a deep understanding of the martial arts and humility that makes her such a great instructor. A blue belt takes a long time to earn in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, and, in my opinion, reflects a level of skill and training that is actually higher than Black Belt in most other styles of martial arts. She has worked extremely hard in preparation for her Blue Belt test, all while studying hard during her final semester of law school. We are all very proud of you, Sensei Ines!

-Ossu!

_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

_Dear students and parents,
 
Our topic for last week's mat chats was the first part of the student creed.  Student creed number one is a promise on the part of the student to always take care of their body and mind, living a healthy "Black Belt" lifestyle. 
 
Our students gave many examples of what they felt were important components of a healthy lifestyle, such as proper diet, exercise, and reading.  We also heard many great ideas regarding things that might prevent us from achieving our full potential.  Students mentioned that things such as television, video games, and junk food, while not necessarily bad, can be harmful if they are not kept in check.  The word addiction came up on more than one occasion.  Several students offered numbers and limits regarding appropriate amounts of time for TV watching and video game playing.  I don't know if there is a precise amount that is OK or too much, but I do think it can be beneficial for parents and children to sit down and discuss certain guidelines when it comes to these activities. 
 

_The focus of our mat chats was not really on whether TV and video games directly harm our minds, since I believe that topic is open to much debate.  Rather, we discussed how problems arise when over-indulgence in such activities prevents us from devoting appropriate time to activities such as homework, reading, family time, and martial arts training.  A good question to ask might be, "Is this getting in the way of something more important?" Or "If I weren't playing this game, what would I be doing?" 
 
Of course, a certain amount of relaxation and recreation is an important part of the the Black Belt lifestyle.  A Black Belt may certainly play video games, but rather than playing for 2 hours and then attempting to get their homework done, they might finish their homework, practice their martial arts techniques, and then enjoy a video game for a while, then read a book before bed.
 
Oftentimes, all of this is much easier said than done, since our actions are guided more by what we feel like doing than what we think we SHOULD do.  Addictions to games and junk food can be extremely hard to break.  Most people have probably struggled with some sort of addiction in their lifetime, and some can be extremely serious, so I think that it is extremely important that we teach our younger students how to deal with these situations now.  Today it is junk food, tomorrow it might be alcohol. 
 
When thinking of breaking unhealthy addictions, the words of the famous theologian Erasmus come to mind: "A nail is driven out by another nail."  In other words, rather than simply trying to break an unhealthy habit in our or our children's lifestyles, we can help to cultivate good habits.  We can replace a harmful addiction with a positive "addiction."  Perhaps a child who won't stop playing video games would put the controller down if they discovered the joy of playing the piano.  Maybe a youngster who watches 4 hours of TV a day now would, if given a taste of the martial arts, choose to practice martial arts each day, and read martial arts books instead of watching so much TV. 
 
I've never heard a parent complain that their child reads too much, or practices the violin too much, or is too passionate about the martial arts.  I've heard people preach, "Everything in moderation," but to me, I think that is great advice if a person's goal is to lead a mediocre life.
 
This same strategy can be used for developing healthy eating habits.  I know former chocolate addicts that now crave vegetables.  How can we help our children to make these changes?  The answer is simple- martial arts. 
 
In this day and age, many people place great importance on their progress or performance in a certain video game.  One of the great things about the martial arts are that they help to culitvate a focus on one's progress on an actual important skill ("in real life," so to speak).  With our stripe-system, students have a tangible sign of their progress each and every class.  This, coupled, with the feeling of progress as their techniques improve, explains why so many students stick with the martial arts, achieving advanced levels such as Brown and Black Belt.  Speaking of which I am very excited that right now we have a large number of Red and Dark Brown Belts, that are already showing Black Belt excellence in their techniques and behavior.  Many of our up and coming belts have also shown great enthusiasm and progress, and we look forward to watching them achieve their Black Belts one day as well.

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!

The first thing I'd like to do is thank all of the students and their families who have helped to make Maryland Martial Arts the dojo that it is today. Thank You! We've received tons of compliments about the updates we've made in the latter half of 2011 to prepare for 2012, and we won't stop in 2012. We'd also like to welcome Sempai Greg and Sempai Nan to the Maryland Martial Arts team. They have been amazing in helping our students get the most out of their karate training. You can read their bio's here.

Some of the great changes we've made include:

• The 3 Tatami System to help organize the curriculum and student requirements as well as sparring. 
• Karate Viewing Area for the parents to get a close up view of the karate class.
• Mat Chat to talk about important topics and give the students a chance to speak.
• And of course, the new website, including the new Student Zone.

Thank you all for your dedication, and keep a look out for new Maryland Martial Arts blog posts! Feel free to click "Like" below and share our blog posts with your Facebook friends!

~Osss