New Year Resolutions

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New year’s resolutions generally focus on health.

  • quit smoking
    Lose weight
    Start exercising regularly
    Drink less alcohol
    Get more sleep

    • these are all great aspirations, but what percentage of people that make these resolutions follow through beyond the first couple months, weeks or even days. Generally these goals are personal and intended to stay that way, following through on nothing but the persons resolve to do so.
    A great way to make sure you get more out of your resolution is to involve others. Find like-minded individuals to create a group or team that will help motivate you and keep you accountable. Whether you benefit from the comradery and bonding that occurs when facing challenges like this together or you push yourself out of a sense of obligation to your teammates, it is obvious that results are much more likely, lasting and greater.
    One great way to accomplish this is to join a group that already exists. Why not make martial arts your exercise this year. Not only is it great for toning and burning calories, but you also learn self defense you can use and some cool moves. Honestly, who hasn’t wanted to be a ninja at some point in their lives, I do. Go take a free class with a local martial arts school, most offer at least one free class, I bet you enjoy it. If you happen to be near Marysville come try your first week free at Han Mi Tae Kwon Do. We are specifically working on burning calories and increasing stamina and cardio this month.

    Nothing Like A Good Workout

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    When it comes to working out, I had not had the burden of starting from zero in many, many years, until recently. I have been training in martial arts continuously since I was 8 years old. So when I had an especially hard workout, sure, I was sore, but I could go far beyond what an average person could do before that happened. At least until I broke a bone in my foot. I spent two months in a boot that didn’t allow much movement, and even if I took the thing off I couldn’t even stand up without it. So in that time, I did some minor training, but it was difficult to motivate myself to do anything significant since it would require quite a bit of accommodation.

    Of course, once I started working out again I pushed myself too hard. I thought I would be able to jump right into it. I worked myself so hard that it hurt to walk for a week. I can see how that would be a huge detractor for most people, but luckily for me, my job required that I work out every day. I got through that awful week, and made sure that I pushed myself nearly as hard the next week so that I could at least benefit long term from that short term pain.

    It has been a month since I started back to working out and I feel nearly back to the top of my game. The point of the title of this post is that I worked out hard tonight. And I feel GREAT. It took a month, but I am able to enjoy working out again.

    Push through the pain, work hard, it’s worth it!

    Smother Your Weaknesses With Constant Attention

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    Strengths | WeaknessesIt is not necessarily a new and unheard of approach to train to improve your weakest abilities. But it is important to decide how much attention to pay to training up those abilities. Greg Jackson, MMA(Mixed Martial Arts) trainer of some of the greatest MMA fighters in the world including Georges St. Pierre, suggests following this concept to its most pure conclusion. Work entirely on your weaknesses until they are as strong as your best abilities.

    Why Improve What You’re Best At?

    At a certain point your strengths hit a ceiling, and even if you argue that this is not true, one must admit that the law of diminishing returns applies to improving something that is already considered a strength. This point lends to the strategy of increasing your ability through quantity. This is not an argument of quantity vs. quality, but an avocation of higher quantity of quality. If improvement to ones best abilities is slow coming due to already having immense quality in that ability, increase the quality of other abilities to compliment the original strength.

    Identify Your Weaknesses.

    Applying this theory works one an increasing scale of specificity. Start with the broad weakness. This could be many things; I will give you an example of my weaknesses:

    I am not a great ground fighter; I don’t use my left arm and leg as well as my right in stand up fighting.

    Spend Your Time Improving Your Weakest Traits

    These are broad statements of categories I can improve. I am more comfortable with my left limbs striking than grappling, so I would attack grappling first. Once I can honestly state, or get a professional opinion, that, “I am a great grappler.” I don’t move on to a new category, I find a weakness inside this one and improve a specific subset of grappling. I have a feeling I would need more work on takedowns than anything else, so let us assume that would be my next goal. Then I would improve all of the takedowns and all aspects of them until I was great at it all. Then go backwards to grappling again and see if there is anything else to improve.  Once I am satisfied my grappling ability is at least near equal to my standup fighting, I can start a new category i.e. striking with my left hand and foot.

    Apply This To Your Life Outside Of Martial Arts.

    This can also be applied to other ventures. What weaknesses might you have in your professional life, your family, your character? Don’t be afraid to define your weaknesses and approach them with the intent to make them strengths. Start with something broad, i.e. “I’m a blunt jerk”. I really am talking about me, I liked to call it honesty, I was honest to a fault, and it made people think I was being mean. At least, that is how I justified it. Several things happened in my life several years ago that made me re-evaluate that way of thinking. Be willing to be honest with yourself and consider the benefits of improvements you can make in your life. I like to think that I have put a cap on my “blunt jerkiness” for the most part and have moved on to improving other parts of my life. And for me, that means people like me more, are willing to help me out when I need it and speak well of me to others, which is important in the business I am in.

    Challenge Yourself!

    What are your weaknesses? How can you approach improving them? Are you willing to do the work to reap the rewards?

    Dealing With Extreme Muscle Soreness

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    I recently had a broken foot and had to spend two months without a proper workout. This was, of course, incredibly frustrating. So, the first chance I felt I was recouped enough to handle a hard tae kwon do workout, I worked myself so hard that it hurt to walk the next day! And the day after that, and the day after that. A few students that did the workout with me have had a similar problem and one has asked for some tips to deal with the soreness. So I decided to do some research.

    What I knew about muscle soreness before the research

    What causes sore muscles:

    Working out of course. More specifically, tears in the connective tissues in the muscles that were worked and a build up of lactic acid in the muscles. The pain is a result of moving around with a bunch of damage inside you muscles before they have fully repaired.

    Stretch:

    The best way to prevent and alleviate muscle soreness is to stretch. Stretch all of the areas targeted in the workout immediately after the workout. This will help prevent some of the soreness the next day.

    When you wake up the next day, stretch the sore muscles first thing, 30 to 60 seconds per stretch should be fine. This helps disperse some of the acid in the muscles and prepare the damaged tissue for the movement to come.

    Continue to stretch throughout the day. As long as your muscles are sore, continue to stop and stretch sporadically. Again, this improves the muscles pliability and decreases the pain from the soreness.

    Eat Healthy Food:

    Eat a small “meal” after working out that includes the nutrients required for your muscles to rebuild. I put meal in quotations because it could be a protein shake and some fruit or something small like that. Broken down basically, you need some fruit, protein and carbs. Protein is the basic building block for your body. There are nutrients in the fruit that facilitate the rebuilding process. The carbs are the energy source for your body to do the work required to rebuild. Eat healthy in general as well, so that your body has plenty of the required nutrients on stockpile.

    Move:

    Small bits of exercise helps the muscles move the lactic acid out. Take it easy though, not that I have to talk you into that.

    Cold, Heat, Massage and Anti-Inflamatories:

    Heat relaxes the muscles and makes it easy for them to realign. Cold reduces swelling and therefore reduces the pain. Massage moves the lactic acid around and helps the body absorb it out of the affected area. Anti-inflamitories will reduce swelling and kill some of the pain, but should be regarded as a last resort due to the negative effects on your body from continuous use.

    What I Learned From My Research Of Muscle Soreness

    What I wrote is all pretty much universally regarded as the correct knowledge for recovery. It should be noted that there are studies that show that all of these things work wonders and there are studies that show only minimal benefits. There is no magical cure or way to speed up the process. I also learned that the name of this sort of pain is referred to as “Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness” or DOMS.

    The good news

    Once this happens once, it is less likely to happen again. The rebuilding process prepares your body for future workouts of similar intensity and type.

    The Benefits of False Motivation

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    Children are often offered money to do their chores, or candy/dessert for eating their dinner. Motivating kids to do something, even if it could easily end up being something they enjoy often requires some prodding or bribing. This is true enough for adults as well.

    For children, the benefits are obvious to the parents though usually not so much to the children. This “false motivation” is used to lead the children on the path to good habits that will serve them later in life. Getting them used to cleaning their rooms, mowing the lawn or doing the dishes gets them ready for later in life when they must take care of themselves. Forcing them to meet new friends when they are shy, or do a physical activity if they are lazy or not confident, or just doing their homework when they don’t want to sit still can fall into this category as well. Eventually, the habit is set and the benefit is obvious to even the child and the motivation is the natural reward of the activity instead of the false one of money, candy or time playing Xbox.

    This is possible to apply to ourselves as adults as well, though it takes a bit more creativity for rewards. Giving money to yourself, from yourself is a bit pointless and wouldn’t count for much motivation. However, if you set aside some money to pay for a night out, or a new toy (toys aren’t exclusive to kids), or anything that you could afford and you want, but have been putting off because it isn’t a necessity. If you have children, a good reward is hiring a baby sitter and having adult time. The point is that if you use a false motivation like this you are more likely to follow through with activities that are hard to get started in. Start an exercise regimen or take your first martial arts class or any activity you have wanted to start but haven’t had enough motivation to do it yet. Once the benefits of the activity become apparent to you the false motivation will not be required, but until then be sure to set achievable goals as milestones to reward yourself at.

    I challenge you to follow through with that activity, diet, new goal and use this technique as false motivation to get you started. Please comment with what you plan on taking on.

    Tenets of TKD: Indomitable Spirit

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    Having character and will incapable of being overcome, subdued, or vanquished; unconquerable.

    Evel Knievel Jumping Canyon
    When You Know You Can, You Will Acheive Amazing Feats

    “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”

    -Mohandas Gandhi

    In martial arts indomitable spirit is generally considered to be a refusal to be beaten, no matter how tough, talented or big your opponent may be.  However it is not only about being beaten by people. In pursuit of our ambitions in life be we will inevitably meet obstacles and problems. Some may be minor and others seem insurmountable. It is easy and pleasant to work on an ambition when all appears to be going your way, you will feel confident and optimistic about the outcome. However, the times when we meet obstacles are when the strength of our indomitable spirit will dictate how far we get.

    Indomitable spirit is a will that cannot be negatively affected by the words of others. No matter the insults or discouraging remarks, you not only continue on, but continue on with a positive state of mind.

    The strength of indomitable spirit varies from individual to individual and project to project. I’m sure we all know people who will not be beaten and other who give in quite easily.

    Tenets of TKD: Self Control

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    The ability to control oneself, in particular one’s emotions and desires or the expression of them in one’s behavior, especially in difficult situations.

    Controlled High Kick

    Control Your Mind And Body

    “You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.”
    -Brian Tracy, Author and Professional Speaker

    Self control is the ability of a person to exert their will over the inhibitions, impulses, emotions or desires of their body or self through patience and discipline. This can mean many things to different people in different situations.
    This begins in the dojang with paying attention to the instructor on the mat. It continues outward into your life. In all aspects of life, be focused on the task at hand and be mindful of your actions and their effects on others. Do not speak with reckless abandon, but consider how comments may be perceived.
    Often the first reaction to a situation is not the best. Avoiding conflict is easier when time is allowed for reasoning.

    Tenet of TKD: Perseverance

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    Steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.

    Man Hanging From Rock

    What is it worth to you to attain your goals?

    “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”

    -Calvin Coolidge, 30th American President

    Perseverance is the willingness to keep trying even when something seems impossible to do, and is an essential part being successful in any Martial Art. Perseverance means that even though it might take weeks or months, possibly even years to reach your goals, you still keep trying without letting discouragement or frustration stop you.

    Occasionally there is no choice but to persist. In school and work, we are compelled to continue. But much more commonly we much choose to either persevere or give up. It is important to understand the consequences of giving up on any endeavor. Ask yourself what the benefits are of reaching your goal, and what are those benefits worth to you?

    Tenets of TKD: Modesty

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    The quality or state of being unassuming or moderate in the estimation of one’s abilities

    “Conceit spoils the finest genius. There is not much danger that real talent or goodness will be overlooked long; even if it is, the consciousness of possessing and using it well should satisfy one, and the great charm of all power is modesty.”

    -Louisa May Alcott, Author
    Modesty is having self-respect. When you value yourself with quiet pride, you accept praise with humility and gratitude. Modesty is being comfortable with yourself and setting healthy boundaries.

    Arrogance is considered as a thick barrier that detaches you from the caring and respect of others, and thus you can influence them negatively. Modesty is important in winning the confidence of others, and keeping away from greed, envy and other reprehensible characteristics.

    People do not generally enjoy the company of a “show off” beyond the entertainment value of their skill. Commonly, those who are boastful are challenged more often to prove their abilities, this can lead to unnecessary conflict. There is no folly in being proud of your abilities, but it is important to be realistic in your evaluation of yourself and not to rub it in the faces of others.

    Motivation

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    Excercise - Some motivation required
                                                   Good motivation is hard to come by.

    What is your motivation? The beauty of motivation is that it is contagious. However strong your intentions to train, they are always stronger with a group of motivated training partners. I spoke with a new student this evening who only has access to one class per week and she said, “I wish I could do this three days a week.” The fact is, she can!Unfortunately, as she admitted herself, she just doesn’t have the motivation to work out alone. I suggested a workout partner, but again, not enough motivation to drive her to train outside of the offered class. If you are like this student, and enjoy training, but find it hard to work out on your own, there are some tricks you can use to get into the habit of extra workouts. I am going to give you tips that I have personally used to help myself push past the “BLAH” of working out alone.

    Tip 1: Set a goal. I decided to lose at least 20 lbs and get six pack abs. This was a lofty goal, and it was so on purpose. Attaining goals is a great boost of confidence, but it also an easy excuse to quit. If I chose to lose 10 lbs then extend my goal from there, I may have reached my 10 lbs and decided, “that’s enough”. So set your goals a little higher than you may want to, and be precise, nothing vague.

    Tip 2: Schedule the workout. Don’t resign to “do it when you have time”. Time never makes itself available, you must specifically set aside time to do your workouts. Be certain to include time for a cool down afterward, and travel time if you need it. My workout was every weekday before classes started at Han Mi Tae Kwon Do. The hardest day for me to workout was Saturdays because it had the least structured schedule.

    Tip 3: Change your venue. I LOVE working out at my TKD school! I really don’t like working out at home. I would rather be outside working out than in my house working out. It is important to take yourself out of the place that you have the most distractions, and the most vices to tempt you back into being lazy. If you don’t have access to a personal space, consider a gym, a park, or just the back yard. Find a place that you can accomplish what you need to complete your workout without taking phone calls in the middle, or getting the kids a snack, or stopping to watch tv for “just a second”.

    Tip 4: Do something you will enjoy, that is also challenging. When I chose the Insanity workout, I chose it because it was considered the toughest cardio workout that existed at the time, and it included a lot of plyometrics. It also require no equipment, which was a big plus, I was able to do my workout anywhere that I could take my laptop. You can create your own workout, or follow a DVD, or ask someone you trust to help you create a workout. The challenge makes it more enjoyable because you are able to get that sense of accomplishment after each workout. Completing the workout should be a goal in itself.

    Tip 5: Track and record. Don’t limit yourself to tracking weight loss. take measurements of your body where you may gain muscle or lose fat. Don’t let yourself settle for saying you have gained muscle and lost fat, so that’s why the scale isn’t changing. measure your waistline, biceps, chest, thighs, calf muscles, wherever you intend to change your body. If you stick at the same weight, but you lost 3 inches around your waist and gained and inch on your biceps, you know you are on the right track, and you get to feel good about those improvements. I also used facebook to make me accountable. There may be a few of your friends that post motivating words of encouragement, but for me it was the fact that if I didn’t post my workout, it was a failure. And I HATE failure! Also, it is a good place to brag when you trim that waistline. Don’t discount the importance of being accountable to something, even if it is just a social site or a journal.

    As I noted, these are the tips that helped me continue working out alone in addition to the tae kwon do classes that were available to me. I know they can help you too. Please post here if these tips help you.