Category: Images

Posted on

Confidence

Can you think of an area of your life that you would like more confidence? We all have something that we would like to be more sure about. There’s no shame in it. In fact, it makes us human.  

Here are my top 3 tips for building more confidence.  

1. Get a Mentor
Find the expert in the area that you want to improve, and get guidance. We all need direction in life. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Seek help and begin to improve.   There’s no mystery in gaining confidence. You just have to work at it, have a positive attitude and find someone that can mentor you through the process.

2. You’ve Got to Work It-Work it!
Nothing builds confidence better than just making time and working on the specific area. If you want the feeling of confidence, then roll up your sleeves and get to work:)  

3. Attitude Makes the Difference When working on building your confidence, you need to give yourself a check up from the neck up. Be mindful of how you are thinking about yourself and the situation. Stinking thinking will easily creep in and we will inhibit ourselves from growing.  

Let the adventure begin on improving your confidence. Ready, Set, Time to Grow!
Posted on

Want to Improve?

Without a doubt, Hurricane Sally wreaked havoc on the Gulf Coast. Power outages, flooding and trees down were among the challenges we have faced. Many of us are fortunate enough to have recovered from the storm, while others are still putting back the pieces.

As a result of the damages sustained at the dojang, we have made many improvements. It’s been a huge reset button for us. It would be easy to fall into the rut of a poor me attitude, but all I see is improvement.

In life, it’s easy to get stuck in our routines and become complacent. Most of the time, we start making improvements due to a life changing event.

My encouragement this week is that we don’t wait for a tragedy to occur for us to make needed changes. What do you want to improve? Make an improvement list, formulate a plan, then go get it. Excited to hear about your improvement success stories.. Ready, Set, Time to Improve!

Posted on

Compassion

So what does compassion have to do with the martial arts?

More than you might think. Having the ability to look outside ourselves to solve a confrontation takes quite a bit of strength. As we continue to dig deeper, a great question to ask is how do we develop this type of inner strength to practice compassion in daily life?

Let’s face it, it’s rather easy to focus on our position in an uncomfortable situation.

Here are my top 4 tips to be more compassionate in our daily life.

  1. Morning Practice – it’s all about choosing kindness. Make time each morning to make a plan of being more compassionate. Have a plan of looking beyond frustrations that others normally bring us and replace it with a understanding that everyone is suffering in small and big ways. Strive to find a win/win solution.
  2. Shift Your Focus – where is our focus often times? It’s on ourselves right? That’s not a bad thing, but we need to look beyond ourselves to find the solution. Work on thinking about the other person. Put yourself in their shoes.
  3. Find Common Ground – at the root of it all, we are all human beings. Strive to focus on common ground between you and others.
  4. Evening Reflection – at the end of the day, look back on your day and think about your victories and areas that you could have been more compassionate.

We improve by making compassion a daily plan, shifting our focus, finding common ground and reflection. I hope this helps to encourage you to be more compassionate. Honestly, compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength. Best wishes in your pursuit of being more balanced in your daily life.

Posted on

ITF Master & Black Belt Seminar & Test

Due to the current COVID 19 situation, the ITF believes it is in the best interest and safety for everyone that we change the upcoming All Masters and Black Belts Seminar and Examination currently scheduled for October 23rd and 24th in Monroeville, PA. 

The All Masters and Black Belts Seminar and Examination will be held at these four locations: Monroeville, PA; The Woodlands, TX; Odenton, MD; and Fenton, MI.  Please see the posters below for dates and schedule.  For those who live outside of the United States, dates and schedules will posted when they are finalized.  By doing this, travel for many people will be less worrisome and much easier. 

​Although we know and understand that depending on where you are located, it may still be difficult for you to travel, we hope that you will be able to attend at a location best for you.  We appreciate your understanding and your cooperation. 

Master & Kyo Sa Nim DuFour will be attending the event at Ince Karate (Woodlands, TX) on October 24. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Posted on

Outdoor Classes Start Today!

I hope you and your family are in good health and spirits. A BIG thank you to all who helped. These type of events bring out the best and worst in people. We have been blessed to see the best from each of you. Thank you.

The dojang is getting better each day, but we are not there yet. Our roof and drywall people should be finishing up by Wednesday. Fingers crossed.
Until the dojang floor gets completed, we will hold our classes (weather permitting) on the grass between us and the church. You will NOT need to schedule your classes. Just show up. Wear your uniform, shoes and bring water.

Mon & Wed Classes
Tiny Tigers 4:15pm
White & Yellow Belts 5pm
Orange Belts 6pm

Tues & Thurs Classes
Black Belt & Master 4pm
Green Belts Belts 5pm
Red & Blue Belts 6pm

We will set up our camera outside for those of you doing Facebook Live or ZOOM. Again, thank you for your patience. We are looking forward to our outdoor classes this week. If the weather is nasty, please stay home and do a previous virtual lesson. TANG SOO!!!

Posted on

Renew

We are a few weeks into our new school year, and I believe all of us could use some renewal of our minds and bodies. The new school semester along with COVID 19 has presented a slew of challenges for all of us. No details needed, right? To help us manage our frustration and road to burnout, let’s adopt some strategies to help us refresh ourselves.

Here are my top 3 tips to recharge your batteries

  1. Get Out in Nature – go for a hike, swim in the river or kayaking are great ways to recharge your batteries. There’s something healing about getting out of the rat race and getting out into nature. Give it a try!
  2. Stop & Breathe – when you find a person that has a very busy mind, you will usually find that person has a busy body too. Constantly moving. Guilty. I’ve found that by taking 15-20 minutes of quiet time helps to renew the mind and body.
  3. Change It Up – when you feel like you are heading toward frustration and burn out, pause and see if you can change up what you are currently doing. A simple change up in your routine can give you that extra spark needed to help renew yourself.

I hope this helps to encourage you to take time each day to renew your spirit. Renewing ourselves is like taking a shower. If we don’t do it often, we will feel stinky. Best wishes in your pursuit of being and giving your best!

Make time to be still and breathe.
Posted on

Kindness

Our challenge this week for all of us is to spread kindness wherever we go. Start with being kind to ourselves through our self talk and care. Like a pebble dropping in a pond, we will be the ripple effect of kindness in our community and beyond.  

Here are my top 3 tips with kindness
1. Smile – as you go about your day, give a smile to others around. It’s really infectious and rather contagious. Be the sunshine in others life through your beautiful smile.

2. Listen – when others speak, listen to understand not respond. We all want to be heard. Nothing shouts kindness more than listening to others, especially when they have a different outlook on a situation.

3. Help others – nothing feels better than helping others around you. It could be a simple task or big project Just give. Remember, giving is living.

We all know how to be kind. Start with a warm smile, listening and helping others. Be the change that we desire to see in this world. Give kindness a try. It’s free.
Posted on

Learning

Who out there loves to learn? Me too. It’s fun to learn new things. Life is filled with learning opportunities. Whether it’s a new form in class or discovering something new about the world we live in.

Obviously, learning isn’t just for our kiddos. As adults, we can continuously grow ourselves through learning too.

Here are my top 3 tips with learning

  1. Rest & Nutrition – having a good night’s rest and a proper diet, we will be bright eyed and bushy tail when approaching learning.
  2. Patience – some areas of learning will come natural to us, while other will not. Learning is a process. Just keep trying.
  3. Be in the Moment – staying focused can be challenging at times. Remember to look, listen, think and do.

Having a goal of learning something new each day is a great way to help us grow. Aren’t you excited to learn new things this week? Ready, Set, Time to learn:)

Posted on

Fun

Isn’t it easy to get in the mindset of having fun on just weekends, vacations and holidays? Our goal this week is to smile more often and simply have more fun in general.

Here are my top 3 tips with fun
1. Mindset is key – where our focus goes our energy flows. Find the positive in what you are doing and go with it. With a positive attitude you will have way more fun.

2. Make it a Goal – it’s easy to get too serious and stressed out in life. Make it a priority to have fun wherever you are at. Smile, laugh and enjoy.

3. Understand your Fun – everyone’s fun is different. The important thing to understand is what you enjoy. Make time to do that this week.

Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of things in this world to be serious about. My encouragement for all of us this week is to take a breath and have more fun. Starting now😀

Posted on

Slow Down To Go Faster

I simply love the old saying, Slow Down to Go Faster. At first glance, the statement seems contradictory. By digging deeper and applying it, one can really benefit from this concept.

Here are a few ideas to use this idea in your next practice session.

  1. Basics – slow it way down and analyze your breathing, chambers, posture, execution, stances, balance, etc.
  2. Forms – by letting your foot off the gas pedal, you will begin to work on improving the mechanics of your techniques. More purpose of your movements will begin to reveal themselves.
  3. One-Step Sparring – think about the concept of your techniques. Are you absorbing the punch, evading it? Slowing down will help you connect the dots from ready stance all the way to completing the skills.
  4. Self Defense – work on understanding how you grab and moving your body in the correct direction. Break down the little pieces that will make you effective.
  5. Breaking – break down your break (pun intended). Think about the core skill and refine that skill on a very basic level. Flying side kick – work on your side kick. Take baby steps to help you understand and build confidence.
Slow down to go faster