Quote of the Week
"The only medicine for suffering, crime, and all the other woes of mankind, is wisdom."
When was the last time you saw a group of kids who were dedicated, driven, and achieving success?
The last Thursday of each month is testing at SMA, and it presents both students who are testing, and their parents, with a wonderful opportunity to express and receive
gratitude respectively.
Does your child have an "Attitude of Gratitude?"
At the end of each test, we ask students to "sit on their 'x' and close their eyes." Then we invite the parents out on the mat and ask them to sit in front of their child. When the students open their eyes, they see their parents sitting in front of them holding the new belt, not the instructors. One of the main reasons for doing this is because we want students to have a chance to thank their parents for everything their parents have done for them throughout the past months.
You have a Highly-Trained Team of Professionals here to ensure your child's development!
While the instructors provide martial arts instruction on the mat, we know that a student's achievement in karate is made possible by many other people as well. In particular, we know
children's success in karate is due in large part to the committed adults in their lives: the adults that drive them to each class, that make sure their uniform is clean, that sit in the waiting room and support them when they try a new technique. We recognize this and we want our students to recognize this. We look forward to many more tests with our students - many more times for them to tell their parents "thank you."
Are you a parent who is serious about your child's Character Development?
Are traits like respect, self-control, discipline important to you?
If so, we want you!
You are the exact type of parent we are looking for to join our program!
Click Here and send us an email for more information and let us team up to bring your child these benefits of training in the martial arts.
We've recently been working on intention. You've heard us talk about its importance hundreds of times, and yet we seem to underestimate its value on the mat.
This is a little golden nugget that you already have!
How many times do you combine tone of voice and facial expression to get a point across to your kids that you are serious? How about to a co-worker? A friend?
Ultimately, you say or do something to drive a point home by putting some "oomph" behind your words or actions. The fact is, you use intention all the time! I invite you to do it on the mat as well.
What you experience and the way you train on the mat directly translate to how you are in life. I think you have already experienced this. So my question to you is this...
Is there any other place in life where having a little more intention would serve you? Would improve a circumstance? A level of communication?
Do you think that if you applied yourself in this way, that you would start to break through that plateau and begin seeing physical transformation again?
I invite you to try.
Intention is the kind of energy that will create a stronger impact both physically and mentally in your kickboxing.
When you come in this week, try it out! Really!
My colleagues laughed when I told them I signed up for kickboxing, but they weren't laughing when they witnessed my 15 pound weight loss!
How will our program benefit YOUR life?
Click Here and send us an email for more information, and experience for yourself the benefits of training in the martial arts.
Parents, Train for FREE in October!
During the month of October, we are inviting the parents of our current students to train for free!
What's the catch? There is no catch!
If you are the parent of a current student, we would like to offer you the opportunity to train in our Kickboxing program, and experience the benefits that keep our members returning week after week.
Benefits such as
- Weight Loss
- Increased Confidence
- Stress Relief
- Increased Muscle Tone
- and MANY more!
Who's ready to get started?
This opportunity represents over $200 in savings! Simply see Ms. Kristin at your child's next class, or email
Kailen today! We look forward to seeing you on the mat!
Ask Master Dan
Master Dan,
What is the purpose of handing out stripes after every class?
We hand out stripes after every class for a couple of reasons.
First, it is a mini-reward for students and lets them stay focused on the goal of achieving their next rank. The process of achieving a greater goal - like achieving your Black Belt - is simple. Start by breaking it down into smaller parts, achieve those smaller parts and eventually you will achieve the larger aim. So, we have taken care of this process for you through stripes and belts. By looking at stripes and belts, a student could actually plan out their entire martial arts training to Black Belt. They could easily determine the month they would achieve their Black Belt.
Secondly, it eliminates instructor discretion. We used to only give 3 stripes per rank. These stripes were handed out based on the opinion of the instructors and if the student met the intended requirements of skill in order to progress. While this was a very effective system, it created many problems with parents. Too many parents want their kids to receive all the rewards and awards as fast as they can for fear that someone may realize their child is less than perfect (most people have been qualifying this as entitlement but it is inaccurate). It's just fear. Fear that their child/children weren't born with incredible martial arts skill or basketball skill or even scholastic skill. And that some things their kids are simply going to have to work on and even practice in order to get better.
Therefore, when a child was told to work on something and make it better before they received a stripe, many parents would begin arguing with instructors. They would get scared that their fear was becoming a reality. Whereas, we were simply talking about reality - that practice makes things better. I understand it, but wasn't willing to fight this illusion.
For adults, we went to daily stripes to eliminate a similar headache. Many adults come into the martial arts in their 30's, 40's, and even 50's. At this point, they have usually developed one or more ailments. Often times their bodies have tightened up and their flexibility has suffered. They need to overcome different obstacles in order to achieve a level of proficiency in the martial arts. Every time they were told to wait, they too got scared. Scared that this ailment, physical or otherwise, was going to negatively impact the rest of their life. The lack of receiving the stripe pointed to this and they got upset. Again, all we were saying was, work on a specific thing and you will receive the stripe. What they heard was, "I will never make it." Again, I understand. Therefore, we eliminated that system and replaced it with daily stripes
Now it is up to parents and students to take an honest look in the mirror and determine the student's actual level of skill and proficiency rather than the instructors telling them. This has led to a secondary problem where students, parents, and even grandparents are putting the responsibility for the student's performance on the instructor rather than on the student themselves. It is an interesting problem that I haven't figured out yet. The best I can do is to tell you that if you or your child aren't performing, take responsibility and change it. Don't think that the instructors have the responsibility because we don't. All we can do is show you the way.
"Why do Bo-Blacks get monthly stripes?"
This is simply common sense. If we gave them a stripe for every class, in 6 months their belt would be nothing but tape. Having said that, we also do it because after training for 2 years in our program (and earning their bo-black), children should be able to wait 30 days before needing a "pat on the back" and a reward. We have found this to be true and the system works beautifully. Where problems arise with this system is not actually with the kids, but again with the parents thinking that their kids are entitled to more rewards more often. What they fail to realize is that the more rewards you give, it dilutes the reward. Hence the reward has less impact on the positive side. And it has less motivation associated with it if you were to use it to attempt to modify behavior. The best advice I can give parents is simply to trust that we know what we are doing. That we have been doing this for a long time and our program works.
A special note to parents: The best way to understand why we do what we do is to get on the mat yourself. We are providing the opportunity for parents to train in our program during the month of October. Simply speak with Ms. Kristin in order to get started, or email Kailen. We also have a family class on Wednesday that is free to you and an added benefit of participating in our program.
Sincerely,
Master Dan
* If you have a question for Master Dan, email it to us!.
Special Announcements!
When was the last time you saw Kids and Adults working with intensity and focus towards a worthwhile goal? Our students did it last Thursday and they were GREAT!
Last Thursday we held our monthly Karate and Kickboxing Tests! It was no easy feat, as the combination this month required more of a mental challenge than previous combinations. Nevertheless, our group of students persevered, sweated, and earned their newest rank!
Congratulations to everyone who tested, and thank you to everyone who came out to support their community!
Julian K. - Orange Belt
Luca F. - Blue Belt
Valentina B. - Blue Belt
Aniruddha M. - Green Belt
Justin C. - Green Belt
Allyson C. - Green Stripe Belt
Kickboxing Achievements!
Diane P. - Yellow Belt
Ally K. - Yellow Belt
Kathryn P. - Yellow Belt
Scott C. - Orange Belt
Chad M. - Blue Belt
Claudia P. - Green Belt
Jon M. - Green Stripe Belt
Joe D. - Green Stripe Belt
Siobhan C. - Brown Belt
Kickboxing
Bo- Black Progress Stripes
Erin F.
Ria R.
Claire W.
When are YOU testing next? Be sure to get your classes in, and you'll earn your next rank in no time!
Did you know that Martial Arts is great for the whole family?
Be sure to give a big SMA welcome to all the new white belts!
If you happen to see a white belt on the mat, be sure to introduce yourself and remind them that you were once in their shoes. Remember, every Black Belt is a White Belt who didn't quit!
Welcome to the Community:
Valeriu S.
Val S.
Mihaela S.
Cesar G.
Alexis M.
Maya T.
Congratulations is also in order for
Luca F., who joined the committed students on our Black Belt Club!
Are you ready to Gain Confidence, Lose Weight, or Help Your Child Learn the Skills Needed for Success?
Then You're Ready to Join the Community!
Don't let everyone else have all the fun! Take advantage of our Beginner Trial in order to see if training in the martial arts is right for you and your family! Email Us today, in order to get started!
We've had a devastating couple of weeks to contend with in Fairfield County. As many of you are aware, we have students who have lost their valuables and homes during Hurricane Sandy. 
