EVERYONE LOVES WEAPONS….

… But how does it translate into your everyday training? One of the many things that I write about in the blog is the adaptability and completeness of the Fang Shen Do martial art system.  As previously reported, one of the FSF mantras is Whatever your needs, whatever your goals – we can help.  It must be noted in the above statement, that you will note we said “we can help”; the real responsibility, and therefore the pride in accomplishment, belongs to the individual student.  They are the ones who exhibit the discipline and dedication to train, they are the ones that push themselves in each training session – the real victory belongs to the person who emerges from each training session a little better than they...

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Everything is hard….

… Before it’s easy These are the words of the Germen philosopher, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  I would just add that, in my experience, anything worthwhile is hard before it becomes easy.  How this relates to us today is the form of discipline.   We have spent considerable time in the past week talking about discipline in the junior class and every student is now clear on the three different types of discipline.  Now, our next step, for both Junior and Adult students is to apply this discipline in our martial art training and other aspects of our daily life.  We are going to start that this week with the mini home workout / pre-class routine.    One statement that I truly believe is: With knowledge,...

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Show Me Your Friends...

…..And I will show you your future.  That is how the old adage goes, and for the most part I agree with it.  Like-minded people are more likely to associate together.  Anyone who has taught or observed a children’s class in elementary school will observe the phenomenon in action as the unruly ones may migrate to the back of the class room and the studious ones tend to stake their position at the front. It is this principal that parents keep in mind as they supervise the activities and the company that their child partake.  For this reason, parents are looking for activities that allow their young ones to grow, learn and thrive.  My biased opinion is that this is why so many parents chose martial art training. ...

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It is a game of inches…. But….

Sometimes, you make huge strides…. Or at least, your martial art growth is recognized as such. I often write about the benefits of consistency, especially when it relates to martial arts. One of the many lessons that I learned from Sijo is that “by the yard it is hard, but the inch it is a cinch”. As many of you have heard, success comes from doing the right things often enough. For martial arts – that begins with training consistently. I truly believe that perseverance is one of the many traits, which the martial arts develop and deliver – at least for those that stay with the training. The lessons teach that nothing worth-while is easy, but that success is a reward.  I also believe that persistence is a reward in and of itself –...

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What A Great Weekend!!

The last weekend was the Annual Fang Shen Do Training Day / Kids Olympics.  The day was broken down for the younger students to train in the morning, and then the adults to train in the afternoon.  I had the opportunity to talk to Sijo about the students and we both commented on the level of commitment this year’s student showed.  Many travelled for hours for the opportunity to receive amazing instruction and train with fellow students who are similarly committed to martial art excellence.   As I have also heard Sijo say...“we can come up with many excuses not to train, but no good excuses”   This goes very nicely into our Yellow Sash concept of Consistency and Effort. I have written about this before, as I feel...

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