Question: How Do I Form a Good Habit?

Answer: Making a good habit is the same as making a bad habit. The brain is amoral when it comes to habits. It does not care if it is good or bad. All it knows is that the habit action is routinely performed so it would benefit from an improved neurological pathway for more efficient processing.

Creating a habit is easy. And that can cause you a lot of problems. Since habits form so easily, you need to make sure you are doing "good" things when you create it.

To form a habit all you need to do is repeat the activity. With enough repetitions it becomes a habit. A habit can be formed in as little as 10 days, depending on the amount of repetition. The more you do it after the habit is formed, the more reinforcement you give to that habit and the stronger it becomes.

You can make the process easier if the habit activity has some good rewards associated to it. A good work out is often rewarded with endorphins; a good study session gets you a better grade. But the reward does not make it a habit. That comes with repetition and the neurological pathway.

To form a good habit, as opposed to a bad habit, it helps to structure the habit-forming process:

Teaching Study Skills

from the National Association of School Psychologists

Many capable children at all grade levels experience frustration and failure in school. It's not because they lack ability, but because they do not have adequate study skills. Good study habits are important for success in school. Knowing how to study effectively fosters feelings of competence, develops positive attitudes, and helps children realize they can control how well they do in school and in life. Good study habits also lay the groundwork for successful work habits as an adult.

Teachers and parents must work together to help children learn good study skills. Preferred learning styles vary from child to child. Children need to discover how they learn best, work out a study system that fits their learning style, and use that system regularly. Parents of elementary students usually help their children more than parents of adolescents. However, older students also need parental support and encouragement throughout high school.

Four Basic Principles to Enhance Study Skills

1. Make doing homework a positive experience: associate it with love and affection, freedom, fun and self-control.

2. Make homework a high priority.

3. Use homework to teach organization skills and improve learning skills. Remember that the primary purpose of homework is to improve learning and foster work habits.

4. Set expectations for homework, then provide and enforce logical, meaningful consequences if those expectations are not met.

9 Great Reasons to Drink Water, and How to Form the Water Habit

We all know that water is good for us, but often the reasons are a little fuzzy. And even if we know why we should drink water, it's not a habit that many people form.

But there are some very powerful reasons to drink lots of water every day, and forming the habit isn't hard, with a little focus.

The thing about it is, we don't often focus on this habit. We end up drinking coffee, and lots of soda, and alcohol, not to mention fruit juices and teas and milk and a bunch of other possibilities. Or just as often, we don't drink enough fluids, and we become dehydrated -- and that isn't good for our health.

Here are 9 powerful reasons to drink water (with tips on how to form the water habit afterwards):

1.Weight loss
Water is one of the best tools for weight loss, first of all because it often replaces high-calorie drinks like soda and juice and alcohol with a drink that doesn't have any calories. But it's also a great appetite suppressant, and often when we think we're hungry, we're actually just thirsty. Water has no fat, no calories, no carbs, no sugar. Drink plenty to help your weight-loss regimen.

2.Heart healthy
Drinking a good amount of water could lower your risks of a heart attack. A six-year study published in the May 1, 2002 American Journal of Epidemiology found that those who drink more than 5 glasses of water a day were 41% less likely to die from a heart attack during the study period than those who drank less than two glasses.

3.Energy
Being dehydrated can sap your energy and make you feel tired -- even mild dehydration of as little as 1 or 2 percent of your body weight. If you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated -- and this can lead to fatigue, muscle weakness, dizziness and other symptoms.

4.Headache cure
Another symptom of dehydration is headaches. In fact, often when we have headaches it's simply a matter of not drinking enough water. There are lots of other causes of headaches of course, but dehydration is a common one.

Our next Belt Presentations
will be held on a special split schedule;

Children: Lil Dragons & Goshin Juniors will be presented on Friday 2 March 2012

Adult Martial Arts & Jiu Jitsu belt testing will be held on Saturday 3 March 2012 and belt promotions will be awarded during

"SUPER SATURDAY"
on Saturday 10 March 2012.

----- DON'T MISS IT !! -----

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

February BBC DATES !!

FRIDAY 3 FEB 12

FRIDAY 10 FEB 12

FRIDAY 17 FEB 12

FRIDAY 24 FEB 12


DON'T MISS IT !!!

Demo Team will start back on the new schedule starting 3 Feb at 4:00 pm.

FRIDAY 3 FEB 12

FRIDAY 10 FEB 12

FRIDAY 17 FEB 12

Martial Arts for St Jude

We are excited to announce that the Jrs program has elected to organize a fundraiser for St Jude Children's Research Hospital as their 2012 Goals Challenge. We will be using this opportunity to work on our Black Belt Leadership skills such as goal setting and planning. The students are in charge of setting up their event and seeing it to fruition. The beginner class (white belt-purple belt) will be hosting a kick-a-thon while the intermediate class (red belt and up) will be hosting a grapple-a-thon. Both events will be held on Friday, March 2 during our Fun Friday and are open for everyone to attend. Please help your student to practice their communication skills at home and reach their personal fundraising goal. Also, for any parents who might know local merchants, we have a merchant letter for any business that would like to make a donation (this includes money, coupons, food etc) that has information on how to receive a tax break for their contributions.

We are very proud that the kids have decided to take their training out of the dojo and into the community. Thank you for your support.

FIGHT NIGHT III
@ The Bad Manor

Saturday, 25 FEBRUARY 2012
7:00 -11:30PM

Throw on your
A-B-B-A T-shirt
& come out and enjoy a full night of Mixed Martial Arts action as A-B-B-A Jiu-Jitsu student;

undefeated ANDY BRYANT
represents AMERICAN BLACK BELT ACADEMY in his second Mixed Martial Arts fight.

Tickets available online
General admission is $15,
vip tickets are also available...
Doors open at 6:45, fights start at 8:00.
Hope to see everyone there!