August 2024 Update

In strategy it is important to see distant things as if they were close, and to take a distanced view of close things. It is important in strategy to know the enemy’s sword and not to be distracted by insignificant movements of his sword. You must study this. The gaze is the same for single combat and for large-scale combat.

The gaze should be large and broad. This is the twofold gaze: “Perception and Sight.” Perception is strong and sight weak.

It is necessary in strategy to be able to look to both sides without moving the eyeballs. You cannot master this ability quickly. Learn what is written here: use this gaze in everyday life and do not vary it, whatever happens.

From The Book of Five Rings.

Who doesn’t hate going to the gym? Face it: it takes time to go to the gym, to work out, and to take care of all the other necessary duties that accompany this endeavor. But it doesn’t have to be this way. When it comes to results, you may be even better off by not going to the gym—if you play your cards right, that is.

Starting a Home Workout

So, what does all of this have to do with working out at home? Everything. Simply make your home environment your workout zone and start using your own body. Use great music to get you going when the going gets tough. Here are three simple workouts:

Squat jumps: Sit back into a squat with your weight distributed on the heels. Jump into the air. Land softly by bending your legs. Repeat this motion 15 to 20 times. Focus on your thighs, abs and butt.

Triceps dips: Sit on the edge of a sturdy chair with your hands under your body on the seat. Extend your legs out in front of you so that your hands and heels support your body weight. Lower yourself and push back up again. Repeat 15 times, rest five seconds, and repeat one more time. Focus on your triceps and shoulders.

Leg raises: Lie on the floor on your back. Place your hands flat below your butt and raise one shoulder slightly off the ground. Lift both of your legs until they are about a foot and a half above the floor, and slowly lower them just as far as possible without lifting up your lower back from the floor. Repeat 20 times, rest, and perform the exercise again. Focus on your abdominal region.

What Not to Do

• Don’t exercise without warming up.

• Make sure you pay attention to the movements; don’t just go through the motions. Feel your muscle working, and stay in control.

• Don’t forget to make some space for yourself to move around easily.

• Don’t cheat the movements just because nobody is around.

The Best Bang for Your Buck

You can also save money by working out at home, despite the fact that there is a wide range of mostly useless equipment out there for thousands of dollars. A treadmill (which does not teach you how to use your body or give you a variety of integrated movements) costs between $1,500 and $7,000. Other gym equipment, such as a lat pull machine, costs more than $3,000.

Stefan Aschan, leading expert on lifestyle, health, and fitness solutions.

A beggar came into a quiet village. His appearance was thin, dirty, weak, and hopeless. Most of the people in town steered clear of him as he put out his hands to those passing by the spot where he would lie in the center of town. That is until Master Kwan stopped and spoke with him.

Many of the people passing by were unsure why Master Kwan, who was a respected martial arts teacher, would even waste his time. What was even more disturbing to the people was when the Master lifted the man up and began to walk him to his dojo.

The interaction between Kwan and the beggar became the talk of the town. The next day, one of Master Kwan’s students asked, “Why did you take in that dirty beggar?”

Kwan replied, “Things are not always as they appear, but you must trust me that I did what was right.”

Several weeks went by and the talk faded about what happened that day, because the beggar just seemed to disappear. Then, one night, out of nowhere, the long-lost son of one of the village’s chief council members showed up at Kwan’s class.

Since most of the town trained with Kwan, there was tremendous excitement at the sudden appearance of the man, especially by his family. When asked what had happened to him, he explained, “I got lost a number of years ago and had been trying to find my way back home. I nearly starved to death on a number of occasions.”

His father replied, “It doesn’t matter now; we’re just glad to have you back.”

The man replied, “It’s all because of Master Kwan.”

Everyone was surprised.

“What do you mean?” the man’s father asked.

Kwan stepped in and replied, “The man who appeared to be a beggar is the same person as the long-lost son. I saw in his eyes who he was. He was suffering from malnutrition, which was also hurting him in other ways. I decided to nurse him back to health with good nutrition. Now you have your son back.”

Everyone, but especially the boy’s father, rejoiced.

Martial artists who make the choice to win never lose in any situation that life throws their way.

During a time of training or competing, victory will happen for those who make winning their choice. Just by deciding to win and following up with action, winning becomes a habit.

When you’re learning a new technique in your training, it doesn’t always come easily, but struggling doesn’t equal losing. The struggle itself is winning. Even continuing to work at the skill regularly through the hard times is a win because it develops discipline and confidence for the next time you face a similar situation.

In a tournament, whether you get a trophy or not, you can still be a winner with the mindset of being a winner

Winning can be something as simple as not giving into to the fear of facing a superior competitor. You’re a winner when you still have a positive attitude even though things didn’t go as planned during a breaking competition. The ultimate win in any competition is to come out of it as one who has an attitude of true sportsmanship, no matter what happens.

The same can be said for life when you make winning your choice. Any time your job seems difficult with regards to achieving your goals, you can win by using that as a learning experience. No matter how other employees act, you can be a winner by always maintaining a good work ethic. In addition, winners also have the attitude of being a team player in any business.

By making winning your choice, you will experience some form of winning, no matter what happens in the experience.

Healthy Ways

How to Change Your Life from 7 Foods in 7 Days

By Stefan Aschan

Change your body’s appearance and increase energy and mental clarity in seven days? No chance, some of you may think. Served left and right at gatherings are foods that are not always the best for us. When trying to be friendly we often feel compelled to overeat the meals and desserts and drink the alcoholic beverages served to us. To help combat these pitfalls, clients of mine have utilized to great success, the 7 Foods for 7 Days Program.

It is easy to follow and easy to implement. You will need only the following: apples, lemons, sprouts, brown rice, carrots, almonds, and broccoli.

These are all primary foods and provide you with all the necessary nutrients to function without feeling fatigued or weak. Those seven foods have ingredients that will benefit you with the following.

Benefits Gained from Seven Ingredients

Apples: High in fiber, soluble and insoluble, to aid in your digestion. Fiber is the indigestible part of a plant that assists in cleaning out our intestines and helps keep our bowel functions working optimally.

Lemons: Besides being high in vitamin C, they are excellent for detoxification, rejuvenation, and as an energizer. But did you know that lemons help you in your fat metabolism as well?

Sprouts: Trace minerals cause chemical reactions in our body, starting from cell division to metabolism. When grains start to sprout, the nutrients increase and those digested nutrients help us function more efficiently. Sprouts contain increased amounts of protein, B vitamins, vitamins E and K, calcium, and phosphorus.

Brown Rice: Who says that you get protein only from animal sources? From brown rice, you can as well, and has high levels of amino acids that you will need to restore muscle tissue, particularly after exercise. But avoid white rice, which is processed.

Carrots: Yes, high in glycemic index, but look at the benefits of a carrot: it is a powerful antioxidant, it builds healthy skin and tissue, it is good for heart disease, reduces risk of cancer, especially lung, helps stop diarrhea, stimulates appetite, helps build healthy teeth, improves eyesight, prevents eye and mucus membrane infection…What else can I say?

Almonds: Wonderful to have on hand as snack food. And do you remember that saying, “Three almonds a day keep the doctor away”? Almonds contain all the trace minerals your immune system requires to function at one hundred percent capacity, including the scarce selenium.

Broccoli: Sorry, ladies and gentlemen. I know some of you don’t like broccoli but give it a try with fresh squeezed lemon juice. The taste is unique and refreshing in combination. It can even prevent cancer!

Solutions to implement

You don’t have to eat one food item for one day. Mix and explore. Here are some suggestions that you can do in combination:

Breakfast

Carrot lemon juice
Brown rice and almond cereal

Lunch & Dinner

Brown rice, carrot, broccoli stew
Broccoli, carrot, almond stir-fry
Roasted almonds & broccoli

Dessert & Snacks:

Roasted apples spiked with almonds
Apple lemon salad

But before you start this 7-Day, 7 Foods approach, you might want to answer: “Why do you really want to do this?” Sit down and write down your responses on a piece of paper. Be honest with yourself. Yes, you will lose weight, increase your energy, tighten your stomach, and become more physically and mentally productive when you eat a fistful of those items for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But what might be the bigger benefit gained when you accomplish this approach? Might this be better health, improved digestion, increased endurance, looking younger, and a possible increase of longevity? Only you can answer this.

Stefan Aschan, leading expert on lifestyle, health and fitness solutions.

A young man kneeled outside the gates of Shaolin, motivated by the desire for vengeance. His goal was to learn Kung Fu in order to take vengeance for the murder of his father at the hands of an oppressive foreign officer. His motivation was so strong that he endured the patience test just to enter the gates.

Positively speaking, nutrition is the good we get from the food we eat that helps our bodies work. Since food is made up of different types of nutrients, there is a need to understand which ones contribute to a nutritious meal. The nutrients that people generally need to take into account are carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water. Negatively speaking, malnutrition is the failure to get the nutrients into our bodies that help us function well. Someone who suffers from malnutrition is more likely to catch diseases and will have adverse effects on the functions in their body such as the brain, eyesight, organs, height, weight, etc.

Tae Kwon Do: The Art of Self-Defense and Discipline

Tae Kwon Do, a traditional Korean martial art, is a discipline that embodies both physical and mental strength. Originating from ancient Korean martial arts, Tae Kwon Do has evolved into a popular form of martial arts practiced worldwide. This essay will delve into the history, philosophy, and benefits of Tae Kwon Do.

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Admiral Yi Sun Shin wanted to appoint a vice admiral. He decided to have a competition where the strongest and smartest sailors would compete. This competition consisted of a sword contest where sailors would cut through wooden planks and then cross from one ship to the next by walking on a wooden oar set over the water.

Only three sailors were brave enough to enter the contest. The first sailor was smart and planned to use his great swordsmanship skills to win. The second sailor planned to use his great power to bust the planks, cross the oar, and win.

The third sailor was average in strength and intelligence, but had a great deal of experience and a strong belief in his ability.

When the contest began, the first sailor used his skillful sword technique to cut the planks. The second sailor lifted his heavy sword and broke the planks, while the third sailor focused on one plank at a time.

The first sailor made it through the planks, and started to cross an oar to the other ship as the second sailor smashed through the final plank and ran toward the oars. The second sailor decided to use the same oar and planned to push the first sailor into the water. But their combined body weight caused the oar to snap and they fell into the cold water of the Yellow Sea.

Just as they hit the water, the third sailor managed to cut his way through the last plank and headed toward the oars. Instead of walking across the oar, he reached one end of it into the water for the first and second sailor to grab, pulling them to safety.

None of the three sailors made it to the second ship to claim the prize, but because the third sailor demonstrated both skill and concern for his fellow sailors, he was selected to be vice admiral. Admiral Yi said that a man who puts the safety of others ahead of his own has great character and true personal power.

The true purpose of martial arts is self-defense. People who wanted to protect themselves in threatening situations designed the martial arts brilliantly. In circumstances of this kind there will be a call for some type of action.

There are many different ways to respond in a situation that requires self-defense. By traveling in a large group you can prevent aggression before it rears its ugly head. Carrying yourself with confidence will also keep away would-be attackers. A forceful yell might also scare your attacker away in a bad situation.

A different kind of action is that of resistance. A conflict may be so dire that it requires the use of force. You may not have time to think, only to react. That is when the ability to defend yourself from your martial arts training comes into play. It’s preferable to avoid confrontation, but sometimes you must resist by blocking.

Another type of resistance is blocking and escaping. If attacked, you can use your martial arts skills to block the strike, and then quickly find a way to safety.

Finally, resistance can mean counterattacking, or doing damage to temporarily disable the attacker, so he cannot cause you any further harm.

The action of absorbing is very difficult. It’s best summed up with the idea of turning the other cheek. It is the opposite of resisting because it is a willingness to accept, rather than oppose, what confronts you.

This quality is evident in someone with high principles who is unwilling to participate in aggression. To act as one willing to absorb is to be a person of high moral character and understanding.

Another action that is useful in handling bad situations is redirection. The idea here is to allow the aggressor to beat himself or herself up. A physically aggressive attack can be turned back against the attacker so that his own force hurts him. To be able to redirect is a very skillful method of self-defense.

With such a range of possible actions in a self-defense situation, it is important to practice your skills whenever you have a chance. Think about our self-defense curriculum and categorize the techniques according to whether they are resistance, absorption, or redirection. When your instructor makes time in class to practice self-defense techniques, give it your focused attention so that you will be ready if a real confrontation arises.

A Challenge is a Good Thing

The beginning of a new year means new challenges, new goals, a fresh start, and the chance to lead yourself and others to something better.

To achieve something, you have to have a challenge. Without it, you have no purpose, no direction, and no destination.

In martial arts, overcoming challenges are one of the founding traits in its lessons. Without a challenge, how can you grow? How can you feel success? Leaders of today, such as instructors, pave the way for their followers, such as their students, enabling them to identify their challenges and how to defeat them, so they can eventually become their own leader and lead others, just as it was done for them.

This is what the martial arts are all about: being confident and positive in order to gain the opportunity to turn challenges into achievements, which is done by being consistent and expressing leadership qualities when challenges arise.

A 154-pound, 5’10” man will use up approximately the number of calories listed doing each activity below. Those who weigh more will use more calories, and those who weigh less will use fewer. The calorie values listed include both calories used by the activity and the calories used for normal body functioning.

Tales & Traditions

Hard Work Yields Great Results

There was a Grandmaster of the martial arts who wanted to pass his art on to his two sons. One of the boys was physically talented, but the other was just average. The boy who didn’t have the physical talent worked very hard to gain skill in what the father taught, but the other boy was lazy and relied on his physical talent. In the course of time, the boy who had less physical talent surpassed his brother in skill. The talented brother was upset, so he went to his father to complain.

We all want to be a winner, but in order to achieve this goal we must be able to dominate our skills with our minds, bodies, and souls. What you say, how your body movements flow, and whether you maintain your fitness level will determine how quickly and agilely you move. If you exert a supreme guiding influence over your body with your mind, then your mind dominates your gestured skills. If you practice long enough, your mind will be in tune with your body and your skills will dominate other people when necessary. While in a tournament, your mind will be as one with your body and your skills will present this as you fight. Just as you control your opponent to win the fight, you must always be in control of your destination in every aspect of your life.

Happy holidays! Wishing you all a season filled with joy, love, and peace. May your days be merry and bright!

Dec 24, 2023 - Christmas Eve -Closed

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Jan 1, 2024 - New Year's Day - Closed