Advice From Sensei—Goals

“Goals we set…are goals we get!”

If you don’t know where it is you want to go it will certainly be more difficult to get there. Goal setting is an important part of achieving your dreams. Writing down and reviewing your goals on a daily basis sets the tone for action.

Not only should you put your goals down on paper, but you should also put it where you will see it everyday, like on the bathroom mirror or next to your computer at work.

Some goals might be smaller and easy to achieve such as beating a level in a video game, or perfecting a cake recipe. These goals are can be achieved by working harder in the game or making the cake multiple times. While others, like getting into college, earning your Black Belt, or training for a marathon take years of work to achieve.

When you review your goals begin with the end in mind. Think about how it will feel when you finally beat that video game level, earn your Black Belt, or cross the finish line after running 26.2 miles that make up a marathon. When you can see it in your mind, you’ll believe in it, and then you’ll achieve it.

“Action TNT!”

Action TNT means Action Today, Not Tomorrow. When you set a goal keep this phrase in mind so that you “Take Action Today, Not Tomorrow.”

While some bigger goals may seem daunting, it is important to focus on the small steps that you can take today to achieve them in the future. If you are trying to get into a top college, first you must take small steps, such as completing your homework and studying hard for tests, then you will work up to studying for the SATs and writing admissions essays. For a marathon, maybe you start with just running one mile each day; eventually you can run five, ten, then twenty miles until you reach the goal. Whether it is done in one day, or ten years, it is important to keep working towards the goal you’ve set for yourself.

Always be sure to tell someone about your goal, because this makes you more likely to follow through with it. You can start with telling someone close to you, such as a parent, spouse, or best friend. You could also share it with more people and post your goal onto a Social Media site. By telling the people you care about your goal, you will experience a wave of positive encouragement and energy that will make it so much easier to reach your goal.

Advice From Sensei-Black Belt and Beyond

“A Black Belt is a White Belt… Who never gave up!”

Imagine your Martial Arts Training as a mountain. A White Belt just starting would find him or herself at the bottom of the mountain looking up. As you go through promotions and get higher and higher, you can look behind and see everything you have climbed; looking ahead, you still have a bit to go. Now, imagine receiving your Black Belt. You look behind you and see the long, long distance you have climbed. Now look ahead, and what do you see?

Many people may think that is it. You have reached the top of the mountain when receiving your Black Belt. But, this is not the case. When you look ahead, you have a whole new mountain’s worth to climb.

Earning your Black Belt is a symbol that you have learned the Basics. It’s kind of like earning your high school diploma—you may have mastered the basics in calculus, writing, or biology, but you’re not ready to go out into the world in a career in engineering, journalism, or medicine. After high school, you’ll need to go to college to learn what else is needed for those careers, then into the real world to apply all that learning. Once you have earned your Black Belt it is like you are in college. You take the basics you’ve already learned and apply them in new ways with weapons and advanced training.

When a teenager goes to get their license, they study and practice driving and parallel parking until their test. Once the test is completed and they have their license, do they stop driving? No. When you get your license you are officially qualified to drive. This is no different than receiving a Black Belt. When you receive the Belt, you are qualified to learn more complex techniques.

Keep in mind throughout your training, that Black Belt is the first big landmark in your training but there is so much more beyond that. Remember that a Black Belt is White Belt who never gave up.

Advice from Sensei—Courage

 “Courage is not defined by those who fought and did not fall, but by those who fought, fell, and rose again.”

Too often people believe that courage means not being afraid of anything. When you think about it, though, that definition is incorrect. After all, trying to run across a busy intersection does not show courage, it shows a lack of common sense. The true definition of courage is the ability to face something that scares you because you know it’s the right thing to do. 

It’s also important to remember that courage, like skill in the martial arts, takes practice and time to develop. If you do not succeed immediately in facing your fear, that’s okay—what’s important is to come back and try, again and again, until you succeed. For example, if you are afraid of heights and try to visit the top of the Empire State Building, it might take some time. Perhaps on day one, you look up from outside, decide it’s too high, and go home. On day two, maybe you make it to the ticket line, but when it’s time to pay you decide not to go. But finally, on day three you work up all of your courage and make it to the top to see the view of New York City. It might take days, months, or years, but all that matters is that you have succeeded.

Courage can take many forms, not just facing a physical fear of heights, the ocean, or the dark. Saying “No” to someone can often be a courageous act.

Many young people—and even adults—might face peer pressure to do something in their lives. These acts are often something they know better than to do. When faced with insistence from friends, co-workers, or family, it can be hard to say “No.” Often, people may give into peer pressure as a way to fit in or not upset the person who’s pressuring them. Giving into peer pressure shows a lack of courage. The true act of courage is to say “No” when “No” is the answer.

Whether it is facing one’s fear after much work, and even failure, or saying “No” to peer pressure, courage is an important value to our members. All students must work to have the courage of a Black Belt Champion.