Who or What Is Your Enemy?

"Never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy." - Winston Churchill

Who or what scares you? And more importantly what do you do about it?

Some people fear mice, spiders, snakes, and other creepy, crawly creatures. Other people fear speaking in public, doing embarrassing things, heights, failing a class, getting cancer, bullies…and the list goes on.

Are your fears and maybe those of your children based on facts? In many cases fear is not always rational and often based more on a deep-rooted emotion or perception...which makes our fear personal to each of us.

Being mindful of your fear is a good place to start to figure out how to conquer your fear. Then you can face your fear head-on and possibly make your fear become an opportunity in your life.

For a child, they may develop a fear because of you. If you are afraid of spiders and mice, and get all jumpy and scared, then you may be teaching your child to be afraid of these things to.

Bullies on the other hand can be a totally different fear or enemy. And this can be made even worse if the bully is your friend or a person you think is a friend.

How do you combat bullies?

You will find website after website with stories about bullies and what you can do about them. In fact UMAC has developed and incorporates anti-bullying techniques in our teachings. I along with other Martial Arts instructors don’t hear or see much about bullying from our advanced students.

Why?

Martial Arts is less about learning to fight others and more about conquering your innermost fears. Conquering these fears through the discipline of Taekwondo enables your to succeed in other areas of life. Learning Taekwondo will increase your strength, flexibility, endurance, balance, and harmony, all essential skills to living an active, healthy lifestyle. These physical and mental skills are the foundation for the further development of mental and spiritual strength.

The five tenets of Taekwondo are Courtesy or Respect, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-Control, and Indomitable Spirit. These tenets are the foundations for building positive character. Three of the most powerful and energizing values developed through training are Courage, Staying Power, and Focus.

Courage...to learn to move outside your comfort zone, gaining the determination to learn more difficult Taekwondo forms and skills. Students learn there is no one to blame for failure, they control their journey of learning and self-improvement.

Staying Power...to improve physical and mental stamina; learning never to give up.

Focus...learning respect, students learn to look the instructor in the eyes, listening and paying greater attention to details as a means to improve forms and techniques.

If you or your child are looking for a fun, safe activity that will enable conquering fears, making friends, getting physically and mentally strong, then consider a Martial Arts program.

Taekwondo is all about honor, respect, and living with a positive attitude. Advanced Martial Arts students learn how to conquer their fears and challenges. If this is vital for you, then join me and learn how to live a Black Belt Life.

Thank you for this opportunity to serve you.

Master Chris Berlow, 6th Dan

Professional Martial Artist, Owner, and Author

UMAC Briarcliff

https://www.facebook.com/UMACbriarcliff

http://itsnotaboutthebelt.com/

http://empoweredmastery.com/