If You Are A True Warrior....

Over the last 25 plus years that I have been a student of the martial "Military" arts, I have seen many people come and go. In the beginning, I was amazed at the beauty and grace of an advanced practitioner and their abilities. Later I learned not to be impressed with the outer display of skill, but focus on the true character and strength of the few true masters and warriors I had the fortune to come to know.

These true masters of the art, understand the path of the martial arts and are not just mere practitioners. It is not the arts themselves that are the truth, but like the seed being planted in the ground, under the right leadership, the harvest produces phenomenal human beings that walk the walk and are outstanding role models for others.

From these individuals I have learned quite a few things that have impacted my life and one of the most prominent is the four "If's" of being a true warrior.

The first "If" is you are a true warrior if you continue to learn.
A true warrior reviews his experience and learns from it. If you have trained under a good teacher for a few years, then that is a good piece of time to learn from that experience. Take time to evaluate that experience and learn from that. Also, learn from other peoples experiences, what we call OPE, other peoples experiences. Over the last 5 years you have probably had a lot of opportunities to learn and the question is, did you take advantage of those chances. Imagine someone training for 30 years and then you have the opportunity to take advantage of all that knowledge in a one day seminar. Wow, powerful. Well, that is if you took advantage and went to the seminar. Have you read the "Book of Five Rings" or "The Art of War" recently? For the person that is reading the right books, attending seminars, the daily training .... what a small price to pay for the ultimate reward.

The second "If" is you are a true warrior if you try.
When the final chapter on your life is written, have them quote your wins and loses but for heavens sake, don't have them say you never tried. How do you know if you can achieve anything in life, if you never try? And just because you try it and it doesn't work the first time, try again. Try it harder, try it faster, use a different angle, use a different team, but don't give up. A true warrior knows that failure is testing, and that now you know another way that doesn't work and it is positive feedback to use to find the right way. Karate-do means path, and any failure simply means you need to change direction slightly to get back on the path on constant and never ending improvement, but never give up. A true warrior always at least tries.

The third "If" is you are a true warrior if you endure.
You must learn to hang in there and not give up. Have you noticed in the martial arts, around 80-90% of the students drop out of their training in the first 12 months? Why is that you might ask? Well, it is just one of those things. It's what seperates the rest of us, from the best of us. If you look at a typical university, and look at how many freshman they have and then the number of sophomores, that number drops. In fact it drops every year. They leave, they quit, they die, or they find other paths. It is just one of those mysteries of the mind and instead of racking your brain as to why or feeling guilty because you are not doing something better and taking the blame for them, just recognize it as just one of the truths in life.

But for yourself, make sure you stick to it long enough to reap the reward. Farmers plant in the spring, work the crop all year and then get their harvest in the fall. It is amazing, so many leave before the harvest. As a true warrior you must learn to stay the course.

And the final "If" is you are a true warrior if you care.
It is said students don't care how much you know until they know how much you care, and that is very true. If you care at all you will get some results but if you care enough, you will have great results. Care enough about yourself and others. Care enough to become all you can be. Care enough to never have to look back with regret that you should have tried more, should have given more, or you should have had bigger dreams.

Halloween Safety
Everyone wants to have a safe and happy Halloween for themselves, their guests and their children. Using safety tips and common sense can help you make the most of your Halloween season and make it as enjoyable for your kids as it is for you!

Anytime a child has an accident, it's tragic. The last thing that you want to happen is for your child to be hurt on a holiday, it would forever live in the minds of the child and the family.
There are many ways to keep your child safe at Halloween, when there is more potential for accidents and injuries. The excitement of children and adults at this time of year sometimes makes them forget to be careful. Simple common sense can do a lot to stop many tragedies from happening.

Parents of trick-or-treating kids can get so caught up in the fun themselves that they might forget some simple safety ideas that could save everyone some trouble. Having a fun and safe Halloween will make it all worth while.

Below are just a few common sense tips that can help.

1- Help your child pick out or make a costume that will be safe. Make it fire proof, the eye holes should be large enough for good peripheral vision.
2- Treating your kids to a spooky Halloween dinner will make them less likely to eat the candy they collect before you have a chance to check it for them.
3 - The best bet is to make sure that an adult is going with them. If you can't take them, see if another parent or a teen aged sibling can go along.
4 - Know the route your kids will be taking if you aren't going with them.
5 - Know what other activities a child may be attending, such as parties, school or mall functions.
6 - Make sure you set a time that they should be home by. Make sure they know how important it is for them to be home on time.
7 - Explain to children the difference between tricks and vandalism. Throwing eggs at a house may seem like fun but they need to know the other side of the coin as well, clean up and damages can ruin Halloween. If they are caught vandalizing, make them clean up the mess they've made.
8 - Explain to your kids that animal cruelty is not acceptable. Kids may know this on their own but peer pressure can be a bad thing. Make sure that they know that harming animals is not only morally wrong but punishable by law and will not be tolerated.
9 - If you set jack-o-lanterns on your porch with candles in them, make sure that they are far enough out of the way so that kids costumes won't accidentally be set on fire. Better still use glow sticks (chem lights) to light pumpkins.
10 - Make sure that if your child is carrying a prop, such as a scythe, butcher knife or a pitchfork, that the tips are smooth and flexible enough to not cause injury if fallen on.
11 - Kids always want to help with the pumpkin carving. Small children shouldn't be allowed to use a sharp knife to cut the top or the face. There are many kits available that come with tiny saws that work better then knives and are safer, although you can be cut by them as well. It's best to let the kids clean out the pumpkin and draw a face on it, which you can carve for them. 12 - Teaching your kids basic everyday safety such as not getting into cars or talking to strangers, watching both ways before crossing streets and crossing when the lights tell you to, will help make them safer when they are out Trick or Treating.
13 - Make Halloween a fun, safe and happy time for your kids and they'll carry on the tradition that you taught them to their own families some day!

The Gracie Diet

Try this delious Gracie Diet Recipe
Watermelon Smoothie, by Angela Gracie

Ingredients:
½ Watermelon
4 Bananas
¼ Cream Cheese (75g)

You have two options in how to make the watermelon juice and probably the simplest way would be using a juicer.

I personally like the traditional way that my family used to do it and some still do, which is by using the blender and pass the blended watermelon through a cotton bag.

After you juice the watermelon put the juice in the blender and blend in the bananas and cream cheese, and then your smoothie will be ready to drink.

I normally eat crackers and cheese with the smoothie, they make the perfect combination.
Observations:
If Watermelon is not cold, place some ice cubes in your finished smoothie. Do not save the smoothie for later - try to drink it fresh so you avoid fermentation.

We'd like to inform everyone that beginning this month, belt exam days will move to Saturdays and a new testing format will occur.
We will be holding our next belt exam.
Saturday --- 20 October 2007
The new format will feature test groups broken down even further by rank and age group than before.
Please review the testing schedule, exam roster, and upcoming events to see how it may affect you by visiting our website
@ http://www.athensmartialarts.net and clicking on the "Student Corner" icon.