“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” —Winston Churchill
This is a concept all of us can use in our daily lives. In order to succeed, we must be willing to fail. It does take courage to continue after failure, but this is where mental toughness and character are built.
"If you always put a limit on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them."
Bruce Lee
What is a Traditional Martial Arts School?
First, this
type of school simply follows, Tradition.
At Guerrero’s Shotokan, we belong
to a Federation which Governs our curriculum and we use the Belt Ranking system
established by the Federation. We Bow
when entering the mat area and Bow to our Instructors. Respect is a cornerstone to this type of
training. We address our instructors as
“Sensei” to reflect the respect for each of them.
We learn the
Traditional Katas and we learn how to apply the techniques in the Katas through
the study of Bunkai. Students are not
allowed to test for the next Belt Rank unless they know their material very
well. As the Student progresses in Belt
Rank, they must learn to teach and handle a class on their own. We do not test every student every 6
weeks. Each student tests when he or
she is ready.
Discipline
is enforced in class. The students must
be engaged and working on what the Instructor asks them to do. If the student is not paying attention or is
disruptive, push ups will be assigned to the student by the Instructor.
This type of
training is so valuable for children and young people. The training carries with the student
through their primary and secondary years in school and into College and into their
Career. Students learn self control,
self discipline, self motivation and how to set and achieve goals.
Do the
students have fun? Yes, they have a
great deal of fun because they are not wasting energy misbehaving and
disrupting other students. They are
learning the history of the Martial Art they are studying and learning to
defend themselves with the techniques they practice.
I highly
recommend a Traditional Martial Arts school for any Family who has an interest
in helping their family and children succeed.
Contact us
at Guerrero’s to schedule a time to come
in and try some free classes. You can
call us at: 816-224-4447. We are located
at: 1607 S. 7 Highway Blue Springs, Missouri.
How to choose a Martial
Arts School for your family
1. A primary issue is location of
the Martial Arts School. It is helpful to locate a good Martial
Arts School that is close to your home.
2. How do you
determine the quality of the Instruction? Check the Website of the School you are
considering and see how many years of experience the Instructors have in
Martial Arts and in teaching. If the Instructors
have less than 10 years experience, it would be better to locate a school with
more experience in their Instructors. If
someone claims to be a Grand Master and does not have at least 40 years
experience in teaching, you should avoid that school.
3. How long has the School been in
business? Schools that have been in
business longer, have a good chance of you being able to achieve the Belt rank
you wish to achieve. There is a risk of a new school closing. Most new Martial Arts schools go out of
business in 18 months or less.
4. Does the School charge a large sign up or
Membership fee? Do they require you to
buy Sparring gear or other equipment up front?
Do they require you to sign a 2-4 year contract? All these issues should be considered when
you are looking for a school. A contract can be problematic. What if you or your child cannot continue to
take classes? You are still responsible to
pay for the contracted amount whether you attend class or not.
4. Does the School guarantee you or your child
will get a Black Belt in a certain time frame?
If so, proceed with caution.
Many programs like this charge several thousand dollars up front and
guarantee a Black Belt in a certain amount of time. It is not possible to guarantee that everyone
will get a Black Belt in a certain time frame.
This is simply a revenue generator for the school.
5. Can you trust the Instructors with your
child? Have the Instructors been
background checked as safe to work with children? This
is essential when looking for a Martial Arts school for your family.
6. Pricing for classes is an important
consideration. Going to a school with
the cheapest prices per month is not always a good choice. You are better served to pay more for the
classes and get the classes you want with experienced Instructors who have a
solid program and serious expectations of each student. Schools that give out Belt ranks for the
loudest Kia’s or for jumping the highest, are not Martial Arts schools. If you want to learn to defend yourself or
have a child who can defend him/herself, stay away from what are known in the
industry as “McDojo’s”. This type of Martial
Arts school give out Belt ranks every 6 weeks for example. Not all students progress at that pace.
If you want to see a Traditional,
high quality Martial Arts school in action, with experience instructors, come to Guerrero’s
Shotokan and take some free classes. We
have been in business 18 years and we are located at: 1607 S. 7 Highway Blue
Springs, MO 64015. Call us at:
816-224-4447 and start your journey in Martial Arts. Our Instructors are background checked and
certified to work with Children through Virtus. Org. Our school is also Bilingual: we have English and Spanish speaking
Instructors.
“Fall down seven times, stand up eight.” This quote means choosing to never give up. You must never lose hope, and you should strive for more. Seeing ahead of adversity helps you see the greater vision that may not be a reality yet. This is the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak.
Perserverance is one of the most important traits a person can develop. Winston Churchill said, "Never, never, never give up!" Truer words have never been spoken. If you struggle with perserverance, Martial Arts can be beneficial. You will learn to set goals and do the work required to achieve those goals. Some people go from job to job looking for the perfect job. There are no perfect jobs. You have to learn to contribute your own greatness to improve an imperfect work place. One positive person can change an environment and help others become more positive.
Do you have a child who wants to try different activities, but loses interest quickly and wants to quit? This is a good time as a parent to insist the child perservere. There is no easy way to achievement. Children can learn to do the work of goal setting and achievement. This will be an important life skill for your child to embrace and will help them become successful in school, College and in their Career choice. There is nothing sadder than a person without a purpose in life. They toss and turn like a ship without a rudder and never experience real satisfaction in their own lives. When they look back on their own lives, they sadly see they have accomplished very little of real significance. Don't let this be you or your child.
High achieving people do the following:
The students did a great job with their work during their recent Belt Rank promotion. If you would like to join our dojo and learn life skills, Self defense and traditional Martial Arts, give us a call at 816-224-4447, or if you wish, you may stop by for a free introductory class. We are located at:
"The best fighter is someone who never has to fight because they control the situation." - Bruce Lee
Saturday, April 13 @ 12:00pm - Re-Grand Opening and 18th Anniversary. We invite all our students and families to attend a cookout to show our appreciation for all your help. Each of you helped with the move to our new location in your own way and for that we are grateful. Please plan to attend and help us celebrate the 18th Anniversary of the Dojo and our new location!
"I do not fear the man who does 10,000 kicks. I fear the man who does one kick 10,000 times."
--Bruce Lee
"Karate-do may be referred to as the conflict within yourself, or a life-long marathon which can be won only through self-discipline, hard training, and your own creative efforts."
-- Gichin Funakoshi
