Well, I must confess that I am a Martial Arts junkie and a life long dojo rat. I just love training in the Martial Arts and more importantly, I love being in a dojo and surrounding myself with like minded people.

People like you and anyone else that is likely to read this newsletter, achievers in life.

People of all ages that want to learn and grow, and are willing to stay FOCUSED and take MASSIVE ACTION on a daily basis. American Black Belt Academy is on a constant quest to be the Ultimate Dojo and I love it...more importantly is, I still love the day to day process of going to the dojo and training my mind, body and spirit on a daily basis.

Part of my Goal Setting for Greatness is seeing myself actively practicing and enjoying the Martial Arts at 100 + years young. I'm about 1/2 way there and loving every minute of the challenge so far.

Do you have clear Goals for Greatness in your life?

Are they written down and do you review them and remind yourself daily?

Are you eager to get up every morning and get your new day started?

It's great to have big goals and it's exciting to think of the reward and recognition that achievement brings into your life. However, it's been my experience that you will enjoy the journey much better if you actually love the process of the daily disciplined habits that big goals require.

Gary Ryan Blair, speaker, author and life coach says; "A goal is created three times. First as a mental picture. Second, written down to add clarity and dimension. And, third is when you take action toward it's achievement!"

"3 Tips for Developing Self-Discipline in Your Children"

To be happy in life, a young person must be Self- Disciplined. In order to be Self-Disciplined, children must be raised in a disciplined environment. These "tips" will help!

1. As a parent, you must always, always, do what you say you are going to do. Remember that your children learn from EVERY encounter with you...even if it's not what you want them to learn!

For example, if you tell a child that a certain behavior will cause them to be punished, you MUST follow through with the punishment. Each time you don't follow through, you teach your child, "Mom and Dad don't mean what they say."

If a child, for example, is being disruptive, and you say, "Michael, please stop that," and then allow Michael to continue, you have effectively taught Michael to disobey!

Children need the security that comes from knowing Mom and Dad are truly in charge. Any inconsistency in your approach robs them of that security!

2. Show your children the effects of self-discipline, and the effects of LACK of self-discipline. Be on the lookout for people who are becoming successful as a result of their self-discipline. Families, athletes, famous people, even fictional characters can be great examples.

In the same way, show your children the results of the lack of self-discipline. Discuss people who are in trouble, or people who don't get the results they want, and show your children how the breakdown in their self-discipline led them to trouble!

3. Paint an exciting future for your children. Inspire them to dream big dreams, to think boldly about their future. Show them the opportunities that become available to people who have great discipline!

Follow these tips, and your child will develop the important quality of Self-Discipline!

"How To Get Some Good Zzz's"

If you have trouble falling asleep, can't seem to stay asleep for long periods of time, or just wake up feeling groggy and not refreshed, you're not alone.

Almost everyone at some time or another experiences sleep issues.

While some people do have sleep disorders that require medical intervention, the rest of us can usually reclaim our sleep by changing our habits.

The first thing you must realize is that a good night's sleep begins during the day.

That's right...

Your habits during the day can have a significant impact on how well you sleep.

Many f us who have trouble sleeping, crash during the afternoon, and nothing seems better than a good nap. However, you should avoid extended naps. Doing so will help you fall asleep at a reasonable time at night.

In addition, be sure to avoid caffeine past noon, and get at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. In addition to being great for you, people who get exercise tend to sleep better at night than those who don't.

The environment in which you sleep is also very important to your quality of sleep.

Be sure that you have enough room, have covers that ensure you are not too warm, and have a supportive mattress and pillow.

Your mattress should be firm, and your pillow should promote the correct posture and alignment of your head and neck.

Your room itself should be quiet and dark, with the right temperature and ventilation. Avoid having a television or anything else that overloads the senses in your room.

Don't eat in your bed or work on your laptop computer. You should associate your bed with nothing else but sleeping and time with your spouse.

Take care that you keep a regular routine when it comes to bedtime. While it's tempting to sleep in a little later on the weekends, this will wreak havoc with your internal clock, and will make it more difficult to fall asleep.

Also, pay attention to what your body tells you in terms of when you want to go to bed. When do you usually start to feel sleepy? Go to bed then. Avoid going to bed before you are excessively tired, otherwise you might toss and turn.

Finally, be sure to keep up with your martial arts training.

Exercise such as martial arts training has been known to help quite a few people get better quality sleep.

This month we will be holding our
April Belt Exams on the standard
split schedule;

Children: Lil Dragons & Goshin Juniors will test on
Friday 24 APRIL 2009

Adult Martial Arts & Jiu Jitsu will test on
Saturday 25 APRIL 2009

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/student.html

APRIL BBC DATES !

FRIDAY 3 APR 09

FRIDAY 10 APR 09

FRIDAY 17 APR 09



DON'T MISS IT !!!

TAKE BACK THE NIGHT !!!

American Black Belt Academy
will be on campus at UGA on
Thursday 9 April
from 10:00am - 2:00pm
registering students for

FREE WOMEN'S SELF DEFENSE CLASSES

Classes will be held on



SAT 11 APR --- 3:00 -5:00PM

THURS 16 APR --- 5:00 -6:00PM

THURS 23 APR --- 5:00 -6:00PM

Students and instructors will be conducting a live skills demonstration for the public's entertainment.

Enter to WIN 6 MONTHS FREE martial arts classes.

SPRING CLEAN FLING !!!

In order to be the best, we have to continually look our best. So to maintain our high standards to meet your high standards we're dedicating a day to fix up the academy and we'd like to invite you to help.

Saturday 18 April 2009 from 3:00 - 6:00PM

We'll be patching, painting, and extensively cleaning up at the school. Sign up to help using your special talents or just your awesome attitude !!

JOIN US ...
For the live broadcast of the Ultimate Fighting Champions. We'll be featuring the fight broadcast live in our lobby with a pre-fight UFC techniques class on the mat before the fight.

There's NO COST to attend the event and refreshments and snacks will be provided.

SIGN UP to reserve your seat.

WATCH THE FIGHT..... LEARN THE MOVES ........
BRING A FRIEND ........

UFC middleweight champion Anderson "The Spider" Silva will defend his crown against number one contender Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt ,Thales Leites - winner of five in a row.

Also featured is the light heavyweight showdown between UFC legend Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell against Brazilian superstar Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.