August’s Character Development Trait is Attitude

After asking several children and adults what the first thing that comes to their mind is when they think of “attitude,” their response normally sounds something like, “being sad or happy, holding back your anger, and realizing how your actions affect others.” These are great answers, but the hard question is how do we change our attitude, and how can we use our attitude to influence and affect others?

Empower Martial Arts uses several tactics throughout each class to build a positive, challenging, and fun atmosphere. The number one direct influence children and adults pick up on is the attitude of others. Which is why modeling the correct attitude, especially in the face of diversity, is easily one of the biggest challenges life will throw at you. For even the Bible says “be angry, and do not sin,” (easier said than done!). Unfortunately there is no magic tool that will keep you in a good mood 24/7, but combining the lessons taught in Tae Kwon Do with school, work, and everyday activities, can help push you in the right direction.

One simple way of displaying our attitude is our posture. If you notice in each class, students have several different specific postures that are put in place to build confidence, strength of character, discipline, and several other traits. The real challenge however is not how confident and assertive you can look in class, but keeping that look and attitude when challenges arise. “For the measure of a man’s character cannot be measured in a time of peace, but rather how he responds when times get hard.”-Unknown.

This month we will continue to work on being assertive and how to keep calm when others make us angry. For further questions or comments contact empowermartialarts@gmail.com .

“Character may be manifested in the GREAT moments, but is made in the small ones.”-Unknown

Kick Every Day!

4 Ways Tae Kwon Do Will Empower Your Every-day Life

For those who are looking to lose a few pounds, to those who simply need a stress outlet, Empower Martial Arts Tae Kwon Do classes offer numerous benefits for your health, and physical and mental condition.

1) Movement: Tae Kwon Do focuses on functional and dynamic movements to enhance your cardio, flexibility, mobility, strength, and balance. With simple exercises such as moving from one stance to another, you will begin to strengthen the muscles and ligaments in your legs and joints, giving you more energy to move throughout the day.

2) Concentration: At Empower Martial Arts we do not practice meditation, but rather simple breathing techniques throughout each class to enhance the control and Focus of each movement. Knowing when to relax and how to generate power, come from lots of practice both physically and mentally.

3) Structure: Tae Kwon Do involves many rules to emphasize respect, discipline, and self-control. These principles are enforced and praised when done correctly to build up students’ self-esteem and confidence. Structure and repetition build confident and successful individuals.

4) Goal setting: This is the best way to maximize every class and training session to empower your life! It’s important to set short-term goals and long-term goals and track them regularly. Using this skill in martial arts and all other areas of your life will not only help you reach success, but reach it quickly!

For more information on how you can benefit from Empower Martial Arts contact empowermartialarts@gmail.com or check out our website at www.empowermartialarts.org.

July is The Month of Honor

Each month Empower Martial Arts focuses on a different character development trait and life skill. For the month of July we will be focusing on honor. What does it mean to honor someone and how can we honor ourselves?

“To hold in high esteem and respect,” is a simple definition of honor. It is a very strong word and is rarely used unless you have an ample amount of respect towards someone or something. At EMA we remind, encourage, and praise students when they demonstrate this life skill to reinforce not only good behavior but strong morals as well!

Make the effort to honor your promises, values, and rules that will lead you to success and don’t pass up any opportunity to gain respect by honoring others first.

Check out Empower Martial Arts today at www.empowermartialarts.org and our facebook page at facebook.com/Empower Martial Arts.

 

June Life Skill is Self-Control

 Self-control is one of the simplest concepts and yet is easily one of the biggest obstacles we will ever face. Self-control plays different roles in everyone’s lives from standing still to knowing when to put the fork down. Still, nothing will change unless you make a diligent change in your everyday life.

During Tae Kwon Do class we use a simple phrase to communicate self-control to our students. Clearly stated self-control means “controlling my actions.” For children to have a better understanding of what it means to have self-control, start by reinforcing this phrase and begin an ongoing dialog with your children at home about what their actions are and where they struggle with self-control. This will give them more confidence when they get to answer similar questions during class!

For adults and older kids, having a tangible way to track the areas in which they lack self-control and an accountability partner to hold them accountable are two of the most effective ways to finally making the simple changes in your lifestyle that you have always wanted to take control of. Don’t be ashamed to work on even the smallest areas of self-control from taking the trash out when it’s full to making your bed every morning. These small things speak volumes to others on how you respect yourself.

Take the steps toward achieving self-control today and celebrate the small victories every step of the way! For more information contact empowermartialarts@gmail.com or call (913)-754-6570.  If you can control your tongue, you can control your entire body.

Memorial Day

Empower Martial Arts would like to take a minute to thank all of our military families for the sacrifices, commitment, and service they give to this great country. Memorial Day is a big day for the Fayetteville/Fort Bragg community as we celebrate All American week and spend time in memory and prayer for our Gold Star families, friends, and loved ones who have sacrificed their lives for freedom.

Memorial Day is much harder for some, thankful for many, and a constant reminder that freedom has a price. So spend time with your family, forgive those who have wronged you, and love on those close to you.

Fun Facts: Memorial Day used to be called Decoration Day, a day set aside to decorate the graves of fallen soldiers in the civil war. In 1971 the name was switched to Memorial Day, and was placed on the last Monday in May so the flowers would be in full bloom. It is also the second most popular day of the year for grilling.

EMA always wanting more