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THANK YOU!
Our monthly Women's Self Defense Seminar will be held on Sat 28
SEPT
The cost is $19.95 and includes a FREE T-shirt. Reserve your spot by signing up at the front desk or calling 706-549-1671
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S.A.F.E.
Our monthly Women's Self Defense Seminar will be held on Sat
28 SEPT
The cost is $19.95 and includes a FREE T-shirt. Reserve your spot by signing up at the front desk or calling 706-549-1671
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LOGO
on
LOCATION!!!
During your vacation or travel activities take a photo of you in your Academy Logo T-shirt in a scenic location, by a notable landmark, doing something cool, exciting, fun, or with a celebrity. Post your pic on Facebook and tag the school. Get as many of your FB friends as possible to vote for your photo by pressing "LIKE" on the ABBA Facebook album. Voting ends 14 SEP and the winner will be revealed on 21 SEP at
SUPER SATURDAY!
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Welcome to our E-News Online Newsletter for the Month of -- September !
MAGEJI TAMASHII - - INDOMITABLE SPIRIT
The "warrior spirit" , the word "indomitable" is defined as "brave, determined and impossible to defeat or frighten". --- "NEVER GIVE UP"!
Until World War II, the phrase Yamato-Damashii (also spelled Tamashii) was used to identify spiritual qualities supposedly unique to the Japanese people. These qualities included moral fortitude, courage, sincerity, devotion and an unswerving success oriented attitude. Originally, taken from the Chinese school of thought, the concept was based on unquestionable loyalty to emperor and nation. With a military mindset, the Japanese people later took this concept to define the spirit, which a warrior held when obtaining an objective.
Today, martial artists use the concept to define the spirit of a warrior when he or she trains, develops strategy and tactics or engages in conflict situations. Knowing that we are often our own worst enemy and human beings tend not to demonstrate discipline and persistence in achieving our objectives, many modern teachers now use the concept of Damashii to identify those traits needed to become successful in any endeavor.
While it is very important to have the assertiveness, endurance and stamina to stay the course until success is achieved, it is equally important to be able to identify the most important and highest value things to achieve and in which order they need to be accomplished.
Those who have a strong, well-developed indomitable spirit have a strong will that allows them to do what ever they set their sights on. Your indomitable spirit directs your life forces, habits (both good and bad) and your condition in life. It has a connection with all avenues of knowledge, activities, and accomplishment. It is the inner energy which controls all conscious and subconscious acts.
The person who has a strong indomitable spirit exhibits energy and enthusiasm in everything they do. They have strength and the intestinal fortitude to stand up for what they believe in. They have passion and excitement - an ardor that you can see in their eyes, a fire "in the belly", a purpose that you can hear it in their voice and control over their physical state that conveys quiet confidence. They are far less likely to show discouragement, because they have the determination, confidence and courage to handle the challenges and obstacles that they encounter everyday of the week.
There are two questions that you can ask on a regular basis to keep yourself focused on getting your most important tasks completed on schedule. The first question is "What are my highest value activities?" Put another way, "what are the most important tasks I have to complete to make the greatest contribution to my organization? Which threat needs to be neutralized first in this conflict? What is the most important thing I could be doing right now for my family? What are the most important tasks I could be accomplishing?"
This is one of the most important questions you can ask and answer. What are your highest value activities? First, think this through for yourself. Then, ask your boss. Ask your coworkers and subordinates. Ask your friends and family. Like focusing the lens of a camera, you must be crystal clear about your highest value activities before you begin work.
The second question you can ask continually is, "What can I and only I do, that if done well, will make a real difference?" This question comes from Peter Drucker, the management guru. It is one of the best of all questions for achieving personal effectiveness. What can you, and only you do, that if done well, can make a real difference? This is something that only you can do. If you don't do it, it won't get done. But if you do it, and you do it well, it can really make a difference to your life and your career. What is your answer to this question?
Once you have identified the most important thing you should be doing, it then becomes important that you do it right away and with an attitude that nothing will stop you from reaching that objective. This is what the term Damashii or indomitable spirit is related to and is one of the true keys to "Black Belt Excellence".
Remember "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu --- Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC).
The Journey to Black Belt Excellence is not about where you end up, it's about what you become.
Shihan Randy McElwee
Director
American Black Belt Academy
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Principles of a Martial Artist
Persist Until You Succeed By Brian Tracy
The most important single quality of success is self-discipline. Self-discipline is having the ability within yourself, based on your strength of character and willpower, to do what you should do when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not. Character is the ability to follow through on a resolution after the enthusiasm with which the resolution was made has passed. Persistence is Self-Discipline in Action
Perhaps the greatest display of self-discipline is persisting when the going gets tough. Persistence is self-discipline in action. Persistence is the great measure of individual human character. Your persistence is, in fact, the true measure of your belief in yourself and your ability to succeed. Each time that you persist in the face of adversity and disappointment, you build the habit of persistence. You build pride, power, and self-esteem in your character and your personality. You become stronger and more resolute. By persisting, you become more self-disciplined. You develop within yourself the iron quality of success, the one quality that will carry you forward and over any obstacle that life can throw in your path. Get Going and Keep Going
Orison Swett Marden wrote in his book, "There are two essential requirements for success. The first is 'go-at-it-iveness' and the second is 'stick-to-it-iveness'" Referring to the quality of persistence he wrote, "There is no failure for the man who realizes his power, who never knows when he is beaten; there is no failure for the determined endeavor, the conquerable will. There is no failure for the man who gets up every time he falls, who rebounds like a rubber ball, who persists when everyone else gives up, who pushes on when everyone else turns back." Persistence is Your Greatest Asset
Perhaps your greatest asset is simply your ability to stay at a task longer than anyone else. B.C. Forbes, who founded Forbes magazine and built it into a major publication during the darkest days of the Depression, wrote, "History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeat." Adversity is What Tests Us
Throughout history, great thinkers have reflected on this paradox and have concluded that adversity is the test that you must pass on the path to accomplishing anything worthwhile. Herodotus, the Greek philosopher, said, "Adversity has the effect of drawing out strength and qualities of a man that would have lain dormant in its absence." The very best qualities of strength, courage, character, and persistence are brought out in you when you face your greatest challenges and when you respond to them positively and constructively. Action Exercise
Your greatest successes almost invariably come one step beyond your greatest failures, when everything inside you says quit. Think of failures in terms of how you can make them successes.
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Parents' Corner
Keeping Kids Safe Online
Keeping kids safe online means staying informed and getting involved to make sure your child knows the risks, as well as the rewards, of the Internet
If your child is surfing the Web, you need to be paddling right alongside him - or at least observing him carefully from the shore. While the Internet offers goodies galore (educational materials, fun games, and connections with people all over the world), it can also pose risks to your child's physical safety and emotional well-being.
Here's what is appealing - and what's dangerous - about several popular ways kids use the Internet, along with suggested rules to keeping kids safe online. The bottom line: Communicate with your child. Discuss what she's doing online and why. Set rules, and talk about them. Then keep talking, since your child can earn more rights and responsibilities as she grows. If she feels comfortable with these conversations, she will be more likely to let you know when she runs into an online bully or stumbles upon inappropriate content. While keeping kids safe, be a role model with your own Internet habits, since your child is likely to emulate your behavior.
Safety Standards:
These basic rules apply to keeping kids safe online; visit Commonsense.com for age-by-age tips.
- Limit usage.
Permit your child have free online time for, say, 30 minutes right after school to instant-message friends, play games, or visit social networking sites, but make it a rule that family time starts with dinner. After that the computer is used for homework and it's an IM-free
zone.
- Keep kids in sight.
Have the computer centrally located. Your child is less likely to browse questionable content if she knows Mom or Dad (or her brother or sister) might walk by at any second. This helps you monitor time spent online, chosen activities, and resultant behavior.
- Do your homework.
Check his browser history to know where your child goes online, and check the sites regularly. Use security tools and privacy features - whether offered by your browser or Internet service provider, or purchased separately - for extra protection.
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Health Kick
Health Benefits of Chocolate Why is Dark Chocolate Healthy?:
Chocolate is made from plants, which means it contains many of the health benefits of dark vegetables. These benefits are from flavonoids, which act as antioxidants. Antioxidants protect the body from aging caused by free radicals, which can cause damage that leads to heart disease. Dark chocolate contains a large number of antioxidants (nearly 8 times the number found in strawberries). Flavonoids also help relax blood pressure through the production of nitric oxide, and balance certain hormones in the body.
Heart Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate:
Dark chocolate is good for your heart. A small bar of it everyday can help keep your heart and cardiovascular system running well. Two heart health benefits of dark chocolate are:
- Lower Blood Pressure: Studies have shown that consuming a small bar of dark chocolate everyday can reduce blood pressure in individuals with high blood pressure.
- Lower Cholesterol: Dark chocolate has also been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) by up to 10 percent.
Other Benefits of Dark Chocolate:
Chocolate also holds benefits apart from protecting your heart:
- it tastes good
- it stimulates endorphin production, which gives a feeling of pleasure
- it contains serotonin, which acts as an anti-depressant
- it contains theobromine, caffeine and other substances which are stimulants
Doesn't Chocolate Have a lot of Fat?:
Here is some more good news -- some of the fats in chocolate do not impact your cholesterol. The fats in chocolate are 1/3 oleic acid, 1/3 stearic acid and 1/3 palmitic acid:
- Oleic Acid is a healthy monounsaturated fat that is also found in olive oil.
- Stearic Acid is a saturated fat but one which research is shows has a neutral effect on cholesterol.
- Palmitic Acid is also a saturated fat, one which raises cholesterol and heart disease risk.
That means only 1/3 of the fat in dark chocolate is bad for you.
Chocolate Tips
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Black Belt Club
 BBC dates for the month of September: - 6 SEP 13
- 13 SEP 13
- 20 SEP 13
- 27 SEP 13
** Adult BB Focus: Weapon Disarms |
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DEMO Team
DEMO Team dates for the month of September:- 7 SEP 13
- 13 SEP 13
- 20 SEP 13
- 27 SEP 13
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