Saturday, February 2, 2008

how to become A Great Martial Artist Become A Great Martial Artist

A Great Martial Artist Become A Great Martial Artist
If you want to be a great martial artist, you must always work towards one primary objective: “Strive to be a better martial arts person and
practitioner tomorrow than you are today.”
As a martial arts student, you learn that you attain your black
belt not only by progressing through the ranking system while developing good physical skills, but also by developing good character. A martial artist must have both attributes to be great. When you focus on
being a better person and practitioner tomorrow than you are today, you remind yourself that there is always room for improvement.
Like any other goal you set for yourself, you must have a plan of action to help you achieve your goals. It is then up to you to live by your plan and make any necessary adjustments to allow you to stick to it. We have created a sample “Plan of Action” for you to follow in your quest to be a great martial artist. Write each of these points down on a piece of paper and tape it to your bathroom mirror (or other location where you will see it every morning). This will give you an opportunity to review your plan each day, helping you to remain focused on being the best martial artist you can be.
2
“I Will Become A Black Belt” “I Will Become A Black Belt”

When doing push-ups, think the words “Black Belt” every time you push up. The same goes for sit-ups and other exercises. You must learn to say this phrase to yourself and believe it. The fact is that you will become a black belt if you want it bad enough.
Today’s black belts comprise the most diverse group of practitioners in the history of the arts. Brawny, tough guy fighters no longer dominate the black belt ranks. Instead, the new majority consists of moms, dads, athletes, businessmen, college students and children of all ages. This goes to show that as long as you believe in yourself and are willing to work hard there’s nothing you can’t accomplish. Realizing this is the first major step in becoming a black belt. It’s the “Black Belt” attitude. It lies within you and once it’s found, the sky will be the limit on what you can accomplish. Also, never sell yourself short or think that earning a black belt is not within your reach.
When you watch black belts execute powerful or advanced techniques try to envision yourself doing the same. But always remember, those black belts were once beginners too. The difference is that they made black belt one of their main goals in life and stuck by it. That was the first critical decision that resulted in their success. Through the years, they kept telling themselves,

“I will become a black belt.”
You, too, must do the same. Your true potential will never shine through until you fully believe in yourself and what you are capable of doing. Until you realize that you will be a black belt someday, your training will probably lack direction. More than that, it will be almost impossible to stay focused since you haven’t given yourself anything to focus on. No matter what you’re shooting for, it’s quite difficult to aim at a target that simply doesn’t exist. So first find your target, next take aim and then fire! In this case, your target is black belt and you will become one.
In the 1960’s, under the communist government of Mao Tse Tung, China’s “Cultural Revolution” banned all martial arts practice. Many arts were eventually lost forever, while other masters fled to Hong Kong, bringing their various Kung Fu styles with them. There, a motion picture studio run by the Shaw Brothers began the arduous task of documenting many of these rare and obscure styles on celluloid. Shaw Brothers grew to become the largest (and richest) movie studio in Hong Kong, fi lming over 400 movies. These movies were immensely popular not only throughout Asia, but also in America, where they were shown in theaters and on TV.


A Goal Reminder
The following guidelines can help you set effective goals:
Be Positive. State your goals positively:
‘Execute this technique well’ is a much better goal than ‘don’t mess up again.’
Be Specific. Set a measurable goal. By assigning deadlines and amounts regarding your goals, you’ll have a clearer vision of the exact goal to be achieved.
Break it Down. Setting priorities helps you not to become overwhelmed by too many goals, and helps you to remain focused on the most important ones.
Write it Down. The very act of committing your goal to paper increases your chances of achieving it.

Boosting Your Child’s Self Esteem
One of the most important aspects of personal growth is developing a healthy Self-concept. What we think of ourselves, and the way we decide how to value ourselves, makes more difference than almost any other factor in determining what we do with our lives.
Parents have the awesome responsibility and privilege of guiding their children to develop a healthy sense of self. Following are some guidelines to help in that task.
PRAISE
Everybody needs praise, but not all praise is equal. To be effective, praise must be genuine: “I like the way you are remembering your assignments,” rather than, “Wow! You’re so smart you’ll soon leave all the other kids behind.” The most effective praise may be directed toward the child’s weakest areas:
“I know it’s hard for you to keep your room clean, so I’m really proud of the job you’ve done this week.” By letting her know you notice her efforts in these tough areas, you bolster her confidence.
CRITICISM
Help your child develop the “emotional shrug” to handle criticism. Learning to distinguish between justified and unjustified criticism is a big first step. Then the child can learn to respond to justified criticism by agreeing and thanking the person. He can also learn to respond politely to unjustified criticism and let it “roll off his shoulders.”
TEASING AND INSULTS
These are really the same as unjustified descriptivism, and the “emotional shrug” is appropriate. Empathize with your child and help her learn to respond kindly and with pride to such behavior.
REJECTION
It’s tough to be overlooked for an honor, not invited to a party, cut from the team, or turned down for a date.
Through patience and empathy help your child to affirm his worth despite disappointments. Teach him to work on being his best self, developing
positive relationships, and emphasizing his strengths.
Help your child understand that she will not be the best in everything, and some people will not like her, but that she is a good person and is important to you and to God.
APPEARANCE
Encourage your child to learn to like his appearance even if he isn’t a “hunk” or she isn’t “Miss America.” Teach good grooming and help him learn how far a smile can go toward making a person attractive. If she really is overweight or underweight help her to work toward healthy eating and activities to normalize the weight, but don’t push.
MISTAKES
No one can be perfect, so help your child learn how to handle mistakes and failures. Tell him about your own failures and how you got past them. Teach your child to set reasonable goals and work toward achieving them, but not to be dismayed when she comes up a bit short. Show her Tong Bi Quan-Mandarin-a martial art that mimics the actions of the long arms of an ape. that giving your best effort is more important than succeeding.
SPIRITUAL RESOURCES FOR SELF-ESTEEM
Your child is a person of worth because God created him as a person of worth--and that’s true of you, too.
Sometimes we teach children, “God loves you when you are kind . . . or do your homework well . . . or mind your parents” . . . or whatever else we want them to do. We should be teaching them, “God loves you!” Period, exclamation mark, and definitely no question mark!
The very best source of a healthy self-esteem, for your child, and for you, is knowing you are accepted and loved by God. Then, on the basis of his acceptance and love, you can accept yourself and free yourself to be all you can be.

By Joseph Galea

No comments: