What does it mean to be a Martial Artist?

I wish there was a simple answer to this question that would sum it up so well that there would never be any controversy. Unfortunately the term “martial arts” is taken many different ways and is interpreted differently by all cultures with martial art styles.

EMA views a martial artist as someone who is confident, disciplined, shows self-control, and is greatly respected by others. It’s doing the right thing even when nobody is looking (integrity). It’s stepping out of your comfort zone and overcoming obstacles that cause you to grow physically, and mentally. It’s helping others repeatedly without asking anything in return. It's taking care of your body. It’s being a peace warrior. It’s knowing how to defend yourself and avoiding fights all together. It’s not easy, it’s not always fun, it’s not always painless. If it was, everyone would achieve the rank of black belt.

At EMA we do not practice meditation, but I do believe in taking time to rest, quiet yourself, stretch, and BREATH! Doing this is essential to relieving stress, calming anger, and creating a clear conscience to be able to think clearly at all times.

We strongly encourage questions throughout classes to clarify the small details that will help all students learn not only the physical skills but the art as well.

A martial artist should strive to acquire all of these traits to better himself/herself as well as those around him. For more questions contact TJ Holgerson at (913)-754-6570 or tj_holgerson@hotmail.com.

 

The big topic of SAFETY

As our great nation begins another year, many changes are still to come. Not even 10 full days into 2013 and there has been another school shooting. This incident took place this morning 9:00am, at a High School in California's southern San Joaquin Valley. The full story can be found at http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/10/16449709-two-reported-shot-at-california-high-school?lite.

Empower Martial Arts is putting together a safety check to insure all measures are taken to protect the students and their families. These checks are put in place to eliminate any chance of possible child abuse, sexual abuse, dangerous situations outside of class, dangerous situations that could occur inside of class, and many other safety threatening areas.

EMA wants every student and family to feel safe and confident in the instructors during every class! For more information contact Mr. Holgerson at tj_holgerson@hotmail.com.

Safety

With the recent tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, where over 2 dozen children and adults were gunned down at an elementary school, there is a lot of talk about safety and guns.

You don’t have to have a risk management personality to understand the importance of safety, especially if you have a family. In the last 12 years our country has gone through many natural disasters, tragedies, shootings, terrorist acts, and not to mention we are currently in the middle of one of the longest wars in history. That being said, how do you insure safety for you and your family? I wish I could tell you that if everyone bought a security system for their house, pepper spray for their purse, and put GPS trackers on all of their children, life would be fine.

Unfortunately no matter how many promises of safety you buy into, you will never have a 100% guarantee. Safety isn’t something you pay for once and you’re good forever. It is an ongoing dialog between students and instructors, co-workers and bosses, children and  parents, and you and yourself. Knowledge is great, but if you aren’t continually practicing safe behaviors everywhere you go, you may be caught off guard.

Take some time today to go over safety with your family, and look forward to child safety seminars coming soon! Empower Martial Arts wants to equip you with confidence and understanding to prepare you for the many challenges that come your way in Tae Kwon Do, school, work, and wherever life takes you.

For more questions e-mail tj_holgerson@hotmail.com

Stepping up, Stepping out, Empower Martial Arts

Teaching kids about self-defense isn’t just teaching them how to block punches, kicks, and thwart aggressive bullies. It’s instructing them  on the importance of proper attitude, perspective and self-talk.

Tom Callos, team coach for a program called The Ultimate Black Belt Test, promotes the idea that self-defense is far more about what a child thinks—than it is about some techniques of martial arts (this goes for adults as well).

What do you mean? This simply means don’t give someone else the power to decide how YOU feel! Don’t let others influence whether you are sad, happy, angry, or scared. I have to agree this is much easier said than done. So how do I go about this? The same way you eat an elephant, one bite at a time. One incident where you, or I, don’t blame someone else for how we feel.  Then that adds up to 2 incidents, then three, and from there habits begin to form.

This is much the way classes work at EMA. If you’re always dwelling on what lies ahead, you will become frustrated.  Instead, learn one move at a time and we will help you track your progress!

This thinking process can be just as useful as actual self-defense, and can also be practiced everywhere you go. For more questions on this lesson contact Mr. Holgerson at tj_holgerson@hotmail.com.

No Rules Self-Defense Fayetteville, NC

It’s very important that you remember when it comes to self-defense there are NO RULES. When you feel threatened, in trouble, or in any kind of danger, your only job is to get away quickly and safely as fast as possible.

The last thing you should have on your mind is to follow rules such as: I don’t want to draw attention to myself, I don’t want to lie, and I don’t want to hit someone. As master Tom Callos puts it, “HIT and hit HARD, LIE and lie BIG, don’t be afraid to throw a rock through someone’s window to get attention!” Bite, scratch, yell, stomp, kick, and throw things to get away and get away quickly.

Look for clues, be assertive, and be aware of the environment around you. Be aware of dark hallways, dark parking lots, strange characters by themselves, areas of town that become dangerous late at night, and anything that makes your hair stand up are all early signs of possible danger. However,  there are some types of danger that cannot be predicted and happen very quickly, such as car accidents or sport injuries.

Finally, never allow a situation that’s not good to get worse, or extremely dangerous. When a situation doesn’t feel right,  trust your instincts, get away, and get help quickly.

 

FREE Seminars For Parents, Empower Martial Arts

FREE Bully Prevention Seminar for Parents typically takes about 1 to 1.5 hours. Think about it: in just 1.5 hours, you will learn how to identify bullying behaviors and what you can do for your child if they are being bullied or are the bully. You will also learn the steps you need to follow when dealing with teachers and your school to provide the best protection for your child.

Click on the link http://balancedlifeskills.com/bully-prevention/workshops/parents and sign up for this free workshop. Even if your children are Home-schooled it can still be a very worthwhile conference.

This website also offers a FREE workshop on suicide prevention. How to detect the warning signs, know how to offer help, and know how to get help and save a life! Click the link http://balancedlifeskills.com/suicide-prevention to get started!

For more information or questions, leave a comment below or e-mail tj_holgerson@hotmail.com

Knowledge and awareness are the first steps in true self-defense.

The Power of Your Voice, Empower Martial Arts

When most people think of Karate or Tae-Kwon-Do, the first thing that comes to their minds is the crane pose from The Karate Kid or a goofy yell. In martial arts this goofy yell is called a “ki-hap” and it serves several purposes.

The main purpose of a “ki-hap” is to increase your power when executing a technique. Science has shown how exhaling simultaneously with a technique can increase your power by up to 15%. It causes a small burst of adrenaline to escape while at the same time reminding you to breathe when you’re nervous.

Yelling is also a great way to draw attention to yourself if you are feeling threatened or are being attacked. The worst thing you can do is freeze up and not say anything. Yelling can signal other people to help you or even scare the aggressor away entirely.

For testing purposes, ki-hap’s are used as a form of communication to signal your partner during one-step drills and self-defense routines. This is one way of showing respect to your opponent by making sure they have a plan before attacking.

Finally yelling is a great form of stress relief that is generally frowned upon in many activities. Coming from a stressful day at work or having trouble with bullies at school, EMA wants to relieve your stress and build confidence through the power of your voice!

For more information or questions on this topic or how to get involved in Empower Martial Arts contact Mr. Holgerson at tj_holgerson@hotmail.com or leave a comment below.



Safety Tips For Your Children From Empower Martial Arts

Just in case you didn’t know, pedestrian injury is still the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death in children ages 5-14. Because a child’s size and cognitive ability are constantly developing, in addition to environmental risks such as speeding motorists there are many hazards that contribute to accidents and injuries. Here are some great tips from resources www.safekids.org and www.childrensafetyzone.com.

Teach safe behaviors:

• Look left, right and left again before crossing the street. Cross when the street is clear, and keep looking both ways while crossing. Walk, don't run.

• Understand and obey traffic signals and signs.

• Walk facing traffic, on sidewalks or paths, so that you can see oncoming cars. If there are no sidewalks, walk as far to the left as possible.

Practice safe behaviors:

• Don’t allow a child under age 10 to cross streets alone as he may not be able to fully appreciate the speed of cars on the road.

• Require children to carry a flashlight at night, dawn and dusk. Add retroreflective materials to children’s clothing so that a child can be seen by motorists, even in the dark.

• Don't let kids play in driveways, unfenced yards, streets or parking lots. Drivers may not see or anticipate children playing.

For more information on safety tips and how to get involved with Empower Martial Arts Contact Mr. Holgerson at tj_holgerson@hotmail.com or by phone at (913)-754-6570.