Posts Tagged ‘harker heights’
A quick welcome to our newest athletes… Please welcome:
LaSondra Jones – Boot Camp
Danielle Busque – Kickboxing and Boot Camp
I was training my son in Standing Grappling and Ground fighting just a few days ago and my youngest said, “It’s too hard, can you show me something else that is easier?” Of course, I gave him a hard time about it and continued to drill and drill. Later on, I sat him down and shared some of my life experiences where having a “Don’t give up” mental attitude literally saved my life. So, I thought that this thread might make a good blog post. Let me know what you think. I look forward to your comments and tweets.
Here it is:
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. – Aristotle
How many times do we tell students “don’t give up”, but do we practice this mindset ourselves? When a challenge comes along and we don’t get it the first time, we should keep trying for at least one hundred times.
I have not failed 700 times, I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work
~ Thomas Edison
Think how successful we would be if we always did things one hundred times before we even thought about giving up. If this was put into our life at work, home and in martial arts, think of the things we could achieve. we might not even get there after one hundred times but think how much better we would be than just giving it one chance and then saying “l can’t do it”.
“Begin at the beginning,” the King said, gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”
Lewis Carroll
The human quality of perseverance is very important. Often people with physical talent fail because they lack perseverance and motivation, they should instead be like the proverbial boulder and just know we can achieve whatever we want, as long as we keep taking action and learning we can only go forwards and progress.
Repetition is the mother of all skills. To do a technique once and expect it to work for us is not true in the slightest. To really understand the technique and its concepts we have to do it until the line of familiarity and the root movement is in our subconscious. It can be done anytime anywhere without even thinking about it.
You may train for a long time, but if you merely move your hands and feet and jump up and down like a puppet, learning Karate is not very different from learning a dance. you will never have reached the heart of the matter; you will have failed to grasp the quintessence of karate-do – Gichin Funakoshi
Think how many times we do a jab in our training more than say a difficult kick, the jab is repeated far more times as the difficult kick will work in a real situation. It’s repeated time after time so that it will work for us in situations and we become very comfortable throwing it.
Given enough time, any man may master the physical. With enough knowledge, any man may become wise. It is the true warrior who can master both….and surpass the result.
~ Tien T’ai
When we have developed all of our combative skill sets ensuring that we adhere to the six attributes then our techniques will become technically sound and we will develop our tactical or strategic skills to become an excellent martial artist.
The obstacle is the path
~ Zen Proverb
Until next time, Let’s Get Training!
jim
Great Effort Tonight! I’m proud of everyone that braved the arctic cold to come crush a killer cardio core workout.
I want to welcome the following Fighters to our family:
Brandon Bailey – Self Defense and BJJ
Ryan Bailey – Self Defense and BJJ
James Hopwood – BJJ
Honor Our Veterans
Please take a moment today to thank a Veteran of our great Nation’s military past and present.
Bull Run to Baghdad, Antietam or Afghanistan; our nations heroes have struggled to hold fast to the ideals that our founding fathers set down for us. Any and all of the freedoms that we cherish and value are direct reflections of their love of country, family and freedom.
God bless our Veterans and God bless America.
Are you a "fringe" athlete?
Everyone seems to be talking about “functional fitness.” The term has been used in some of the articles on this blog. It sounds like a good thing. It seems simple enough. Still, people want to know what the buzz is all about.
Let us begin with a couple of definitions. According to Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary, function, in this instance, is defined as “the action for which a person or thing is specially fitted or used or for which a thing exists.” Also known as, purpose. Also, in accordance with the aforementioned dictionary, the word fitness is defined as the state of being sound physically and mentally. Combine these definitions and you have “functional fitness”.
So, that’s enough with the definitions already. How about some practical examples? Let’s take a look at a group most people would consider in excellent fitness, Olympians. Are they functionally fit? Well, not really. When people specialize in a specific athletic field they train night and day. However, the training they do is specific to their sport. They are “fringe athletes”. They have to isolate the muscles that allow them to excel in their sport. For example, a runner may have superior leg strength, stamina, and even core strength. But, they may not be able to lift a 50 lb box over their head.
Functional fitness is about real life. In 20, 30, or 40 years will you be able to get up out of chair with out assistance, tie your own shoes, carry your own groceries, or squat down to pick up your grandkids? If you are functionally fit the answer is yes. Functional fitness is designed to help you become stronger and more resilient to the ware that living life brings.
You will be in a state of mental and physical soundness that will prolong your ability to continue this specially fitted action that you exist for called life.
The Tools...
Get fit to be functional for life! Call me for more information on how to get functionally fit. 254-247-4999 Harker Height’s Absolute Self Defense and Fitness.
Scrambled Egg By The Numbers
We all know, in the short run, it is easier to give in and serve a nice cold bowl of sugar coated “corn” flakes or order a greasy pizza. It’s in the house, on the table, and making your mouth water. Not to mention, it’s already made. There’s the danger! Why not make nutrition and healthy living fun for the kiddos?
Like anything worth having, this too will take effort. Start off slow and steady. A great breakfast sugar buster are eggs. Too time consuming? Here’s a tip: crack the appropriate number of eggs needed (approximately 2 per person) and whisk until blended. You can store them in airtight container for up to 2 days. Add veggies and/or lean meat like Turkey to the mix for extra flavor and nutrition. A bowl of fresh fruit on the side will provide a complete breakfast.
If you are like most parents you are probably thinking that your kid can’t live on eggs alone. Next time you are at the store let your pre-schooler or elementary aged child pick out a new fruit or vegetable from the fresh produce department. This will not only spark their interest in these foods, it will also give them a sense of ownership in the families mealtime. At dinnertime, introduce veggies first. Put a plate of crudités and hummus on the table while you finish cooking the main course. Let the kids dig in! This will help prevent pre-meal snacking and expose their palette to new tastes.
The best thing you can do is, keep trying! Your kids are not going to starve themselves. If you have a house full of healthy food they will eat healthy food. I can not tell you that there won’t be bumps along the way. In the long run, you AND your kids will be happier and healthier. Who knows, they may even thank you for it someday.
As some of you may know, I had the opportunity to attend CrossFit’s level 1 Instructor/Trainer seminar this past weekend over in Allen, Texas.
Though an amazing turn of events, my duty position at work became that of Battalion Master Fitness Trainer. And not only just fitness, but CrossFit.
I was introduced to CrossFit by my great friends, Matt and Pam Munson of CrossFit Champions several years ago. I had just returned home from a tour in Iraq and was still somewhat injured due to an Insurgent mortar attack. My back was really messed up and nothing really was making it any better.
So, once when I was visiting with Matt and Pam, they said that I really had to start doing CrossFit’s method of exercise specifically using the Ab mat for situps and using the GHD machine. And, it worked. I am back on full duty capacity and going 200 mph on a daily basis.
On to my CrossFit certification. As I said earlier, my chain of command tasked me with establishing a CrossFit program for the Soldiers in our Warrior Transition Unit. Oh yeah, and they wanted it in October this year…
So, I jumped on the phone and called up Matt. He graciously listen to me ramble and excitedly shout, then gave me the information I needed to answer questions that my command had as well as put me in touch with Deana at CrossFit HQ to be able to attend a certification quickly.
Matt also put me in touch with several CrossFit Affiliate Instructors who had a great deal to do with helping other Warrior Transition Units and Wounded Warrriors with CrossFit. I have been in contact with them and am getting tons of information for our Wounded and Injured Warriors.
I had the opportunity to attend the CrossFit Level 1 certification this past weekend at CrossFit FX TX in Allen, Texas. The owner and employess right off were first rate. The seminar signup and other paperwork was done efficiently and quickly.
After one of the first lectures, Pat, Chuck and the other Instructor Ninjas offered us our first “treat” of the weekend. A introduction to the Tabata Protocol, Air Squat Tabata’s to be exact. Just at 10 body shaking minutes later, we were ready to listen to the next lecture. Gotta love CrossFit!
Part 2, Introduction to the 9 Principal Movements of CrossFit tomorrow!