NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER
Excellence is more than doing well, or being good. It is a comprehensive and significant refinement of how we manage performance.
FAMILY NIGHT AT AMERICAN KARATE
Starting in November we will have Family Night for all the students that have parents or siblings taking classes at American Karate. This class will be once a month on the third Thursday from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm. This is not a cancellation of the Intermediate class. They will just be joined by students who share a family plan.
Mr. Williams
EXHIBITION AT SUNSHINE MEADOWS
American Karate students have been invited to do an exhibition for the residents at Sunshine Meadows in Buhler on Friday November 13th. I would like the Youth Intermediate Class to assist me. For those that can attend we will meet there about 5:45 pm to perform at 6:00 pm. Afterwards feel free to stay for a few minutes to visit with the residents.
Mr. Williams
WOMEN’S SELF DEFENSE
We had our annual Women’s Self Defense Workshop in support of Domestic Violence month on Saturday, October 24th from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm. We had fifteen participants who hung in for the majority of the workshop. The ladies worked on various attacks from the front, rear and on the ground. They also did drills which included attacks while trying to enter a vehicle. Mr. Williams discussed personal weapons such as items in their purse, pepper spray and firearms. The class ended with an intense testimony from Mrs. Williams and the black belt coaches sharing their views on martial arts training and victimization.
HOLIDAY GIFTS FROM CENTURY MARTIAL ARTS
The new Century Martial Arts Holiday Catalogs are in. There are a lot of new gift items this year. Pick up a catalog the next time you are at the Dojo. There will be some specials on sparring gear and some other items. We will be taking pre-paid orders now through December 15th. There are special order forms in the catalogs. Extra copies will also be available. Shop the catalog and bring your order to the dojo. We will be placing orders on November 15th, 30th and December 15th. Any items that will take special engraving will need to be ordered in plenty of time to get here by Christmas.
WHAT HAVE WE DONE TO OUR YOUTH?
There was a time when you competed at a martial arts event there were only three places. Then we added a fourth place and participation ribbons or medals. Now when our youth participate they know that they are going to get something. They have come to expect it. I am a 31 year veteran of the Department of Corrections and a 44 year veteran of the martial arts. As I look at the type of offender that we are now incarcerating and as I visit with my peers in corrections and the martial arts as well as educators and coaches, we are all seeing a common theme. Kids today expect to be given everything with little or no work or effort in what they are doing. They have become self entitled. Before sport karate and martial athletes we were competitors and martial artists. We competed and did our best. Our best was 1st, 2nd or 3rd, anything else took us back to the laboratory (Dojo) and analyze what we did wrong and how we were going to fix it. No 4th, no runner up, no participation awards. Those of us that would be instructors are responsible for teaching martial arts with competition being a part of that. Competition should be a means to an end not an end to a means. We should be teaching our students discipline, respect, honor, integrity, how to be responsible. We should be teaching them that the difference between winning and losing is the one that makes the least mistakes or puts forth the most effort. I have to wonder “What have we done to our youth?” With the world the way it is and our youth the way they are, we as martial arts instructors should be trying to instill life skills as well as physical skills in our students. Reinforcing that sometimes you when, sometimes you lose but there should be no other places for those that come up short. We are not doing our youth any favors especially when parents bring us children that they want us to help with their personal issues and setbacks.
Mr. Williams
