Don't Live On Auto Pilot!!

 Don't live on auto pilot!
As a society we all have such busy schedules; we can almost do some tasks in our sleep! But I urge you to pay attention to every aspect of your life and everything you do! Martial arts has taught me to be aware of all I say and do and how that effects others. I pay more attention to what is important like the people in my life and the things I have now.

 The most important thing in your life is what you are giving your time to. You will need to figure out what that is and for some it may be easy but for others more difficult. Above all you need to be honest with yourself and truly look at your time and where you spend it. Once you find out where you are spending your time, you may be surprised; it may not be what you believe is the most important to you. Then make adjustments, have a plan and follow it. This will help you stay on track and not go back to bad habits. Really decide to make these changes and don't give up. You've gotten into some bad habits of ignoring people or things that really need your time. You see we don't intentionally not follow our dreams or not pay attention to what is important we just fall into habits, there's that auto pilot again!. We just don't realize how much our desire for the newest in technology or the biggest house or the fanciest car affects how much time and money we must give these things to keep them.

When your eyes are open your begin to see where you can change. Once you stop listening to the media "gotta have it" and the commercials "gotta buy it" you will get back to basics of what is important in life. Just because your friend just got a brand new car or the newest in hand held technology or the best new video game console doesn't mean you should get one too. Maybe you are married or have a girlfriend or boyfriend or kids; maybe none of that you are a single person with friends. When was the last time you spent time with them. And that means real time, not watching tv or going to the movies. But having a conversation or doing something like a walk or something fun like skating or bowling or a karate class. Martial arts class helps me to not only learn cool moves but self discipline, respect and sagacity; plus I get to see a whole new side to my family and how we treat each other and others. These activities really help to connect with the people in your life and not the items or stuff you possess. Plus you will break out of the auto pilot and spark your creativity as you find new things to do and subjects to talk about. Plus you will get to know yourself in a whole new way!!

Written by Instructor PattiAnn Rivera

Wisdom and Sagacity

Sagacity is the acuteness of mental discernment and soundness of judgement. Another definition is the quality of being sagacious, or shrewd. As for wisdom it has many definitions the easy one is scholarly knowledge or learning. Another is knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgement as to action. Wisdom has been listed as one of the cardinal virtues. The ancient Greeks and Romans considered this very important to almost a godly status. To Plato and Socrates, philosophy was a literal love of wisdom. Aristotle defined wisdom as the understanding of why things are a certain way. For me in the Martial Arts world wisdom and sagacity is the act of using good judgement to everything and all aspects of my life. Martial Arts teaches self discipline which develops the process of good judgement to see things to be right or wrong. Not so much the laws or rules of right or wrong but the perception of what we feel is right and wrong. Martial Arts teaches us to value all life to think before killing any living thing. Those things can be as big as a 100 foot oak or to the ant that has built its home at the base of the oak. From the smallest amoeba, to a person, or an elephant all life is precious and has a place in the environmental chain of the world.

The understanding of if I do or treat someone this way is that the way I want some one to treat me. As parents we hope that we instill in our children good values. Along with those good values the proper judgement to follow and use those values.

Back in history Martial arts was used by the monks to defend themselves, monks the guys who believed in preserving life above all else. So put it in the here and now Martial Arts shows you not only how to be a physical weapon but through the teaching of sagacity you use the greatest weapon of all your mind. Learning how to kick and punch is the easy part, learning when and where to use or not use it is the awesomeness of being sagacious.

Intense Workout Lawrenceville GA

Intense Workout Lawrenceville, GA

Mixing up routines in kickboxing class is great

Ever get bored of your workout? Do you find yourself doing the same exercises often and not getting the results you want? The awesome thing about kickboxing is the diversity of movements in every routine. The key is to focus on different muscle groups in your body to get that full workout you need to look and feel great. It is so important to change things up when you exercise, not only to make sure you get a well rounded workout but also to have some fun and keep things interesting!

Spending too much time on your core or too much time working the same muscle groups gets tiring and your body doesn't have the chance to develop evenly. Shake it up and change it up-all the time!

The awesome part of our workouts here is that your body never get used to the same ole' workouts or plateaus... Your body keeps getting new exercises and never gets used to the same routine. This is what provides the awesome results that we garantee! Each class students burn an average of 800 calories! This is unheard of! Even students who have been taking classes for months still continue to see surprising positive results!

Another great part of our program is that we offer meal and nutrition guides, to help you maximize your results... Happy training, and good luck finding those results you haven't been able to find anywhere else :)

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"Awareness" defense for the ages.

The definition of  aware is the knowing of something that exists. Another definition is feeling or noticing something, such as sound, or a sensation also known as a feeling. The one definition of aware is understanding a lot about what is happening in the world or what is around you. Amazing how technology is today the smart phones, the smart T.V.'s, GPS with video players in the cars and who knows what looms on the horizon. With all this awesome tech we now find quite a few people on the roads driving sending text messages as opposed to driving their car. Kids on their smart phone or tablets communicating without physical interaction at home. Many people walking the streets focused in on their own world of messaging, internet Google searches, or just phone conversation totally oblivious to their surroundings. Lately due to the usage of the smart phones and tech people have been injured more so and even died via car accidents and so on, not saying that technology is bad or the smart phones are the reason for this. There is a saying, "do not blame the machine blame the operator."  It used to be around Christmas time and holiday shopping that the bad seeds came out. Now this new blindness has made many people targets for thieves, muggers, and others with very bad intentions.There is a new game or maybe an old one but has more light shed on it where people unaware of their surroundings get punched or beaten. Through Martial Arts we are taught to focus and be aware of our surroundings. This awareness is a great defense from being attacked. It's not something that will stop the attackers but it gives you a presence not to look like a victim. You are not an open invitation for the bad seeds to plant themselves in your area. Martial arts gives you the ability to focus and walk with a purpose but not blind to your environment. You are not walking blindly into the street but have a direction and people looking to victimize you sees this and are aware themselves that you are not a victim or an easy target. This awareness is an awesome defense against bullying in schools. They to look to victimize the person with their heads down, not the ones with their heads held high aware of their surroundings walking with a purpose. Learning to be focused and aware helps with your self confidence another defense against the bullies in the world. What bully wants to go against a confident individual when most bullies are not confident themselves. Bullies seek out the less confident individuals to boost their low self esteem by picking on a weaker individual. Don't focus on your techno gadget and keep your head up and be aware.

Be Cooperative Between Brother and Sister.

Be cooperative between brother and sister sounds like the standard sibling rivalry with a parent saying please work it out. That would be the obvious straight forward look at this statement, and all be it  as a parent of a boy and a girl this means that I would love to see them never fight or argue. Always have the help each other attitude twenty-four/seven, three hundred sixty-five days a year. Deep down inside they love one another and would do anything for each other to help and protect their brother or sister. That is what brothers and sisters do for each other. Shouldn't that be the same for all then, aren't we all brothers and sisters on this planet, "Mother Earth." In Martial Arts that is the point of view taught, to respect all life and everyone around you. To treat all as brothers and sisters. Martial Arts helps to reinforce that human bond to treat others as you want to be treated. Martial artists are like a family within your family willing to help protect and watch over each other.  Martial Arts has been referred to as a brotherhood  a group with same interests and goals. Choe's HapKiDo students develop feelings of friendship, support, and understanding between each other.
Students encourage each other to their best in class, the Instructors encourage healthy competition just like brothers and sisters at home. This is carried on throughout all the aspects of the students life at home school, or at their job. 
 

 The definition of cooperation: an act or instance of working or acting together for a common purpose or benefit; joint action. Is that not what we want in this world for our children, friends, and family to live in a cooperative society. This does not come from wishful thinking its an effort made by all, and Martial Arts encourages this behavior on and off the floor, changing society one black belt at a time.

Completion of self culture what it means to me.

Completion of self culture:

The definition of completion: the act or process of completing or the state of being completed; conclusion.  So it’s finality, being settled, the end for some, for others it’s making something whole.

Self: under the medical thought process it is the union of elements: such as body, emotions, thoughts, and sensations. Another definition is a person or thing referred to with respect to complete individuality. In some philosophy self refers to essential qualities that constitute a person’s uniqueness or essential being.  I could put down the psychological (ego) definition of self or the religious thoughts of what self is but those views vary widely from a studying stand point to a belief or faith.

With the word culture I am not getting in to the science or biological side the whole bacteria or tissue cells. Culture has a dictionary meaning of the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively, also the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.

Now that we got the definitions out of the way let’s look at what Completion of Self Culture means to me and martial arts. Like the definitions the obvious answer could be the act of making one whole to feel complete with the world around you.  Learning the respect, discipline, and self esteem are all pieces to the grand puzzle of self. Having all the pieces added to the puzzle makes one appreciate life and the people that are in your life. People today have so much going on from work to family obligations that they may feel something missing or feel like they are missing out. To do something for one self is not selfish unless it is harmful to others martial arts is not harmful to others’. Martial Arts teaches self defense something you may see as harmful to others but we are taught to preserve life including your own.  Today’s society is a fast food techno wonder of instant communication with no face to face physical contact. Our children text and hardly speak to friends or family, a new culture lacking a cultural value. Martial arts brings people together with a common goal of reaching your potential and beyond. The feeling of doing martial arts and going up through the ranks is you not a team where a person misses a block and the defense gets through.  The accomplishment and perseverance follows you all your life in whatever and where ever you go. Martial arts makes you self aware and gives you the tools to make any goal that  you set your mind to, you are not left wanting  bringing you back to completion of self culture.

Its one Month in to 2014 what are you doing?

Its one Month in to 2014 what are you doing?

It’s been a month into the New Year and do you know statistically 64 percent of Americans have already giving up on their news years resolution. With only 8 percent of the people even succeeding at their goals you might think why should I even try? Well that answer is YES. Look at why you are setting goals for yourself in the first place and you recognize that there is an issue and you want a better healthier outcome. So you question yourself how do I stay on track. This should be your motto for the year 2014. “A Healthier Body equals a Healthier You!” I think we go about it in the wrong ways. Saying I want to lose weight this year because it’s my High School Reunion. Or I want to lose weight to fit into a smaller jean or dress size. This year should be about the whole picture not just bits and pieces of it. You should be asking what I want out of the next twenty, thirty, forty or fifty years. You should be saying I want a healthier lifestyle. How do I get started you ask? Well first and for most is exercise. Get out there and get moving. It doesn’t matter your fitness level the key is to just start. I know exactly how hard that is. When you look at the tv and think I could never do that. Well YOUR wrong. Get up and try, Start with walking work your way up. Many people go to the gym and work out for a while but then soon give up because well there is no structure, and no support.  When I found kickboxing over a year ago, I was a little scared but let me tell you, Kickboxing in flowery branch gives you not only the support but friends that care outside of class as well as in class.  Kickboxing has become a network of support and friendship; it gives you the drive to succeed. To prove the instructors you can push yourself further and further. Try it you will see. However exercise along will not change your body if you still keeps up with bad habits. People often ask me if I have to give up my favorite foods.  With my determination I have found ways to have my favorite foods but in a healthy way. Using things such as flaxseed oil, almond flour, and honey to sweeten things instead of processed sugar means you can still eat things you like but with a twist. Try almond flour brownies. You can even make a great tasting pizza out of shredded cauliflower. Do little changes at a time to your eating habits and eliminating things that are not good for you when you do that your body will respond in a positive way. With exercise and nutrient you can turn back into a healthier person that with exercises can extend your life. Remember with kickboxing you can gain the strength and stamina to succeed at anything.

Kristi Green

Kickboxing instructor Flowery Branch

Martial Arts begins and ends with respect.

Martial Arts begins and ends with respect.

Our society has gotten away from the old ways like saying "Yes Sir." And "Yes Ma'am." But we shouldn't even call it the "old ways" it should just be called the proper way!

Martial Arts has many good qualities but respect is the most important. It can be associated with every aspect.

HapKiDo in particular is a disciplined military martial art. We have discipline for the straight line, respect to all especially higher ranking belts and self improvement; you can find respect in everything for instance to say Yes Sir is to respect the instructor and all instructors. Standing in a straight line and paying attention shows respect to the instructor by doing as they ask. It shows respect to other students by showing you will not be disruptive in class so they can learn and it also demonstrates respect to one self showing the commitment you made to do well in class.
Everything else is secondary to respect! If you do not have respect nothing is right.
How many times have you heard or said yourself "oh who cares!"
That is the most disrespectful thing you can say to yourself and for others to hear because if you "don't care" about anything it will start to show in all parts if your life.
For instance you will not strive to be or do your best. You probably not be punctual or you may become unkempt. 

It is most important for you to care about all aspects of life from the small stuff to the big stuff. If we let the little things go by then the snowball effect is started. In the old days and even today a good foundation for a strong home is built brick by brick.  We cannot expect our home to stand the rough weather or the test of time if our foundation is not a solid one free of gaps. Martial Arts helps build a good foundation for the individual or fill in the gaps in our foundation so we can go through the storms of life.  Respect is the corner stone of that foundation.