The study of martial arts is a path of personal growth, encompassing body, mind and spirit.

To achieve the true goal of martial arts you must train your mind as well as your body.


Bring Your Practice Into Your Daily Life
Your physical training gets you in shape, and teaches you specific skills for self-defense. But, most people don’t often have to physically defend themselves.


How can this training
be helpful in everyday situations?

Think about the confrontations you sometimes face with friends, family, or co-workers. Most of these incidents are small and probably not physical in nature, but you feel attacked–emotionally, mentally and verbally.
Unfortunately, the childhood saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” is the farthest thing from the truth. Unless you have discipline over your mind and are able to control your reactions, you can become upset, frustrated, angry, and even enraged by what appears to be other people’s words or actions.

Be a master over your actions rather than a prisoner of your reactions.

The In and Yo (Balance of two primal opposing but complementary forces found in all things in the universe) of Practice
The path of martial arts is one of personal growth and self-discovery. What is the student’s responsibility in the learning process? You will be learning new techniques and interesting concepts. Each class will be challenging, but fun.

Many students say that studying martial arts is one of the most exciting things they have ever done. Most of our students have wanted to study martial arts for a long time, but, for whatever reason, have put it off.
Having mixed feelings of excitement and frustration in the beginning of your practice is normal. You might even feel uncoordinated and clumsy. Within the first couple of months, through regular practice, you will gain greater command of your body and begin executing techniques much better. This cycle of excitement and frustration will continue throughout your practice. The cycles change as your understanding, techniques, and attitude transform.
The key is to remain enthusiastic. See each frustration as an indication of what you need to practice. Having an open communication with your teacher is vital. Their guidance and the nurturing environment of the school, will keep you on track, focused, and moving towards your highest potential.

Who is Responsible for the Learning Process?
People have different ideas of the true meaning of a student/teacher relationship. Basically, in the West, the student’s only duty is to show up. That is about it. The teacher bears most of the responsibility in the learning process, with little accountability on the student. The teacher searches for ways to effectively communicate, motivating and teaching the student, even if the student is not trying very hard. Should the student not succeed, the belief is that the teacher failed-he should work harder to teach. So, he repeatedly tries varying methods, until the student, despite his insincere attitude, eventually gets it. This method is not always effective, and rarely does a student internalize the real essence of the teaching. Only by direct personal experience do we really understand anything. We must have our own investment in the learning process.

An ancient Chinese proverb says that when the student is ready the teacher will appear. Once the light of inspiration begins to glow in the heart of a pupil, the influence of a great teacher expands infinitely. Historically in Asia, a martial arts instructor’s status was similar to that of the clergy or great philosophy masters. They were recognized as very wise individuals and were highly respected in the community.

The Value of Concentration and Discipline Traditionally in Asia, not everyone was allowed to study martial arts. Great masters would accept only students who could prove they were motivated and willing to meet high expectations. The students held most of the responsibility for the learning process. Teachers were usually serious and rather gruff, demonstrating techniques silently, or with very few words. The students had to concentrate hard to follow and learn each technique, and as a result, awareness and sensitivity increased. Students worked very hard to keep their mind under control, because teachers did not repeat for wandering minds. In this environment, new students were almost sure to miss something, simply because their understanding had not evolved enough to grasp the complicated concepts. Classes were never adjusted for beginning students. As you can imagine, many people became frustrated and quit their practice. For those who continued, their beginner’s wisdom expanded slowly through trial and error and they moved down the path of growth and realization.
This model of teaching seems rather brutal, but some aspects are effective. Self-discovery is a very powerful way to learn. By exerting great effort to grasp the knowledge for yourself, you absorb the lesson completely, making it a part of your very being. You are not just mimicking or memorizing something that you will forget in a few months. You’ve discovered it on your own and it is important to you. When the teacher just spouts forth the information, repeating again and again, students really don’t have to listen carefully, and probably won’t comprehend how the lesson affects their life.

The student/teacher relationship that we employ is somewhere in between these two examples. The learning process should be a partnership. The instructor’s job is to help students grow and learn. The students’ job is to work as hard as possible to absorb the lesson. The instructor motivates and explains concepts and techniques, but the student must exert maximum effort by paying close attention, concentrating in every moment. In class, if your mind begins to wander, banish those random thoughts, and bring attention back to the class. You will learn quicker and will increase your concentration in the process.
There in lies the In and Yo (Balance) of Practice............

Everyone should learn the excitement of self-discovery.
A great teacher points the way down a path, but does not necessarily walk hand in hand with his student on the entire journey. Sometimes, an instructor might even set up obstacles in the path, instigating change and re-evaluation on the students’ part. He forces students to go around, over or through. After all, by facing challenges and dealing with change, we all develop a stronger will, and greater character.

Being Safe on the Internet
Guidelines for Kids' Online Usage

These guidelines for children's online usage are common sense rules, incorporating existing teachings about strangers, telephone etiquette, and television viewing.
1) Know what your kids are doing online. Supervise your children's computer activities, just as you do their television time
2) Never give out personal information online, such as a home phone number, address, last name, name of school, passwords, or credit card info. Your kids would not give their address to a stranger on the phone, nor should they divulge it online.
3) Be cautious of online chat rooms. Allow them only with your supervision. Chat rooms are the cyber equivalent of CB radio. Users can "type" to each other in real-time, and messages are viewed by everyone in the chat room. Private chat rooms are also available. The problem is, as a famous New Yorker cartoon put it, "on the Internet no one knows you're a dog" or a child or an adult masquerading as a child.
4) Teach your children to come to you if anything ever makes them feel uncomfortable, such as inappropriate questions or an invitation to a private chat room. Do not respond to offensive email. 5) Never allow your children to meet "face-to-face" someone they've "met' online.
6) Limit online time as you would television viewing.
7) Use parental control software as appropriate. Parents routinely lock up household chemicals to protect their toddlers and the Internet can also be selectively locked. Today there are several software products to keep kids out of adult Internet sites.

SO TELL YOUR KIDS.....

The Internet is a great place for learning new things, making friends and being entertained. But remember, even if you feel you are in the safety of your own room in your house, you must be extremely careful. After all, when you're chatting online, you are talking to strangers, and you must maintain some distance and not give away too much information about yourself. There have been some cases of adults pretending to be teenagers, making children meet them in dangerous situations. You can never be sure that Tom, who says he is 14, isn’t Steve, who is 40.
Always practice the following:

• Don’t give out your real name.
• Don’t give anyone your address and phone number.
• Never tell anyone which school you go to.
• If you want to meet someone from a chat room, always have an adult, such as one of your parents with you.
• Talk to your parents or guardians if you feel uncomfortable with someone online.

- Does the person want you to keep your chats a secret?
- Does the person tell you something and ask you not to tell anyone else?
- Does the person want to meet you in private?
- Does the person send you pictures that make you uncomfortable or ask you for your pictures taken in a way that would make you uncomfortable?

If any of these things happen, tell one of your parents or another adult immediately.

In his quest to spread the Art of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, Helio Gracie fought challenge matches on such a regular basis that he couldn't afford to feel sick or fatigued. To help Helio and the other brothers maintain a consitent level of health and overall well being, Carlos Gracie, a self taught nutritionist, developed a food combination diet that would eventually become known as the Gracie Diet.

The various food combinations may seem unfamiliar to you at first but with enough practice they will become second nature (like Gracie Jiu-Jitsu). From time to time in issues of E-news, we hope to give you a simple but very important tip that we feel you should focus on your nutritional health.
These tips are simple enough to be implemented by almost anyone with reasonable discipline. Stay focused and you will soon be on the fast track to better health and ultimately better martial arts.
Carlos Gracie died in 1994 at the age of 92 because of a heart disorder he had since birth. All other organs were functioning normally. It was the ultimate proof of the success of his method, which is followed everyday by his youger brother Grand Master Helio Gracie who is 93 years old and still teaches Gracie Jiu-Jitsu !! This month's Gracie Diet tips:

• Drink lots of water
• Start each day with a full 12oz glass of water as soon as you get out of bed
• Never combine Wheat or Rice or Potato with one another. Don't eat Bread or Pasta if you are having Rice or Potato with your meal.

We’d like to remind everyone
that this Friday ---02 FEB 2007
We will be holding our next belt exam.
Please review the testing schedule, exam roster, and upcoming events to see how it may affect you by visiting our website
@ http://www.americanblackbelt.org/ABBA.html and clicking on the “Student Corner” icon.

This month’s password is --- focus.

Every student may not be assigned to test during each belt exam day. As students advance through the ranks the tests get further apart, because there is more material to learn at each belt rank. Many things impact a student’s readiness to test;
class attendance,
personal practice,
and individual learning rate.
Don’t be discouraged if you or your child isn’t scheduled to test during this exam day.

Belt exams are a special event that only occurs periodically. Make the most out of the event for yourself and fellow students by;

• attending class regularly to properly prepare
• practicing on your own to ensure confidence and readiness
• reviewing the testing requirements for each rank prior to the exam
• asking instructors when you feel you may need extra help
• informing instructors in advance if you must miss class, finding out what will be covered while you’re gone
• scheduling make up sessions with instructors when you have missed a significant amount of class
• inviting parents, grand parents, friends, spouses, teachers, and other people special to you
• attending belt exams when not being tested to see how the next level exam is conducted & support fellow students during their exams
• celebrating each promotion and goal reached..... after all you earned it !!

See you there !!

Next month's Belt Exam will be held on Friday 2 Mar 2007 !!

email: americanbb@bellsouth.net

phone: (706) 549-1671

web: http://www.americanblackbelt.org/ABBA.html