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.

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.

Charity

Have you ever been in a situation where you could have used the help from a friend? Most of us have, and that’s why at Flowery Branch Karate, we strive to create a family environment that promotes giving back to our community, friends and family!

Every year Flowery Branch Karate and other Choe's HapKiDo Schools make a point to reach out to the community, and set an example of the importance of charity and giving back! We have raised thousands of dollars each year to donate to the cure of Breast Cancer. With the help of our students, we donate hundreds of pounds of  food each year for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

The most important lessons that we teach our students is to serve the Community! Flowery Branch Karate wants to do its part to make the world a better place! With the holidays coming soon, what better time to instill charitable and giving thoughts into our students.

Martial Arts is more than just learning physical Self- Defense techniques. It is about developing students into happy, confident, and self assured members of society, who have the courage and conviction to stand up for what is right! What better way to be a steadfast person then to feel like you helped to make someone’s life better. These are the types of  lessons that we teach our students here at Flowery Branch Karate.

We not only want to encourage our students, but instead we would like to encourage everyone to live a life of charity and giving! What better way to feel true pride in the person that you are. What better way to set an example for your family. What better way to motivate your child or children to understand the importance of charity and giving.

If you would like to know more about our community service and charity programs, or if you would like to participate or contribute in any of them, then please do not hesitate to contact us! We are excited to have the type of impact that we have on our community, and are thankful to anyone who would like to help us make that impact even stronger.

www.braseltonmartialarts.com

www.ilovemartialartsgeorgia.com

www.choeshapkido.com

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Halloween Safety

Safety Tip from Flowery Branch Karate!

Halloween can be one of the most exciting holidays of the year! Unfortunately there are some safety issues that should be addressed with all parents and children who are going trick or treating!

One of the most important factors in a safe Halloween experience is the mindfulness of the parents or supervising adult! There are three main factors to focus on: Always maintaining sight of the child, Being aware of any suspicious adults around the houses that your child is at, and checking the candy to be sure that it is safe for the children!

On Halloween there are a lot of dark costumes, and it may be easy to mix up your child with someone else who has a similar costume, so in order to keep a close eye on your child it may be a great Idea to get a bright and unique costume, so that it will be easy to tell your child from the rest. Also if you are with a group of children (or even with one) it may be safest to walk your Child to the door of each house, instead of supervising from the car.

Another important tip, is to be aware of any adults, especially ones that look out of place, near where your child/children are trick-or-treating. Abductions happen all the time, and unfortunately this is a huge reason why many parent try to avoid Halloween! But there are some great Ideas to avoid many of the dangers of Halloween!

Lastly for the parents it is very important for the kid’s safety to check all of the candy to be sure that the packaging has not been tampered with.  Any opened or tampered candy should be thrown away. Look for any tears, small openings, or damaged wrappers.

The most important factor in a child’s safe Halloween experience is the child! When a child knows and understands safety awareness and stranger danger Techniques, then they will have a much better chance of avoiding Halloween dangers!

At Flowery Branch Karate, we offer many awesome programs that keep kids safe all year long, including Halloween! Children’s safety is our priority! Flowery Branch Karate offers many classes and courses including Children’s Self Defense, Stranger Danger, and Safety awareness Classes! We Also have fun Halloween activities including Trunk or Treat and Halloween parties, where parents know that their children will be safe! If you have any questions about our courses, programs, or parties offered at Flowery Branch Karate, then please visit our website for more Information:

www.brasseltonmartialarts.com

A students perspective of "Why I Like HapKiDo"

A while back I asked students to give me 50 reasons why they liked HapKiDo and I put the list of one student up for everyone to see. The students came up with all 50 with no problem a lot of them was same thing over and over. You may think this as a bad sign but to me it means that what they are learning is important to them as students and or as parents of students. One of many reasons that stood out was the "Respect". Not only is the respect shown from student to student and to instructors but the respect given back from student to student.  Many students mentioned learning how to kick different ways and punch. Another popular reason was self defense, some say that doing the techniques made them feel good about themselves. Others liked self  defense because it made them feel safer in this community, something that helps in schools not to be bullied. Holding your head up showing confidence is a great bully buster, no one likes to go after the self confident one they go after the timid person who keeps their head low hoping not to be seen. Another very popular reason was making and meeting new friends. The feeling of community and family fell into this category and that too helps with the confidence and respect leading to anti-bully situations.

50 Things I like about HapKiDo.

I asked a student to give me 50 things they liked about HapKiDo within 10 minutes they came back with this list that I would like to share:

1. meet new people
2. make a lot of friends
3. learn how to react in dangerous situations
   
4. learn how to defend myself
5. receive self confidence
6. learn to be healthier
7. others have confidence in me 
8. receive belts that look and feel cool
9. become more agile
10. become more flexible
11. become stronger
12. become faster
13. receive good life lessons
14. receive great philosophical advice
15. receive responsiblities
16. learn respect for my elders
17. receive respect from others
18. others believe in my abilities
19. I now believe in my abilities
    
20. it helped improve my school work
21. giving me a sense of responsibility
22. I like the games in class
23. I like the activity in class
24. I like how it made me a better person overall
25. it taught me how to treat others better
26. it improved my everyday life
27. it affected my view of the world
28. it opened up a whole world for me
29. I like weapons class
30. I like sparring class
31. I like kids class
32. I like family class
33. I like demo class
34. I like junior instructor class
35. I like black belt class
36. I like how I get to learn a whole different language
    
37. I like grappling class
38. I like earning trophies from tournaments
39. I like breaking boards
40. I liked the skiing trip where I learned how to snowboard
41. I like how we got to treavel out of state
42. I like the tournaments/competing
43. watching black belt tests
44. I like to watch all belts tests
45. I like to black belt spar
46. I like to watch black belt sparing
47. I like to free style spar
48. I like to watch free style sparing
49. I like to learn pressure points
50. I like to go the tournament and black belt dinner

www.braseltonmartialarts.com

www.ilovemartialartsgeorgia.com
www.choeshapkido.com
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Choe's HapKiDo Braselton Improves Grades

 One of the first things that students learn at Choe's HapKiDo in Flowery Branch is how to stand at attention. Students learn that standing still this way shows the instructor that they are focused and ready to learn! Learning how to stand this way helps students develop the habit when their school teacher or even their parents are talking!

Students not only learn how to stand and sit in order to focus but they also learn how to focus. Often children are expected to focus but are never explained how to do so. Students must focus their minds, their eyes and their body! It is important in and outside of karate that students learn how to focus these three things.

Focusing also includes ignoring distractions. As we all know, this is a difficult skill to develop. At Braselton Karate Instructors help students train so that they develop the ability to ignore distractions! This is a great skill to have when students are in school!!

These Braselton Instructors help children not only with their focus, but also with their self-confidence. It is important that students feel as though they can accomplish their goals! Without this assurance, they are less likely to try difficult situations due to the fear of failure! At this Flowerly Branch Karate School they push their students to give it their all, but they also applaud effort and give encouragement when necessary!! Student's are more likely to do well when they believe in the themselves! Braselton Martial Arts does a great job in instilling this self-confidence in all of their students.


Not only do Choe's HapkiDo Instructors help students improve their grades, they encourage it! They have a super star program, where students receive stars for books that they read and getting good grades at school! The students with the most super stars at each of the belt test receives a gold metal!!



Choe's HapKiDo Karate of Flowery Branch
7380 Spout Springs Rd
Flowery Branch, Braselton, Buford, Hamilton Mill 30542
(770) 967-1700

www.braseltonmartialarts.com

www.ilovemartialartsgeorgia.com
www.choeshapkido.com
www.facebook.com/karateflowerybranchkickboxingbraselton