Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Self-Defense? Oh Yeah, It’s About Diet Soda (Is it?)
Did you, by chance, see the article on-line that reported a study about drinking diet soda? The report suggested that there was a 61% higher risk of vascular events (like strokes and heart attacks) for people who drank a diet soda every day.
Now whether that report is accurate or not is not the issue. What IS the issue is that your health is linked to what you (do or do not) consume. This is so important an aspect of self-defense that my colleagues and I have started a website called www.DietarySelfDefense.com. Nutritionist and black belt Mike Tubbs oversees the site --and loads plate-fulls of useful reminders and information there.
Food and nutrition information is finding its way into our schools and on to our mats too (not to mention, in our mouths!). It’s about time!
Self-defense training is so much more than learning how to handle yourself in a hand-to-hand combat situation. If self-defense (of any kind) is of interest to you, call us. We’re collecting stories, people, and ideas around the topic of, well, EVERYTHING Self-Defense.Our contact information is Samurai Karate Studio, 803-462-9425, samuraikarate@bellsouth.net, 2000 Clemson Road, Suite # 9, Columbia, SC, 29229
Here’s the link to the story n diet soda:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41479869/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition
Self-Defense is Found in the Simple Things
- We teach self-defense --and self-defense is found in the simplest of things. Kindness, for example; kindness is a beautiful form of self-defense. Good food --and the appreciation of it; there’s a fine, fine kind of self-defense. Oh, and how about love of community? Participation in --and love for --one’s community is a kind of self-defense that’s impossible to put a value on. And my favorite kind of self-defense is found in a simple rule, The Golden Rule: Treat others as you would want them to treat you. Simply perfect.We like Tom Callos’ (www.tomcallos.com) description of self-defense too: “Self-defense isn’t only about personal protection, it’s about taking care of the people around you, the town you live in, and allowing that care to radiate out in ever-widening circles.” And of course, self-defense training is all you already imagined it to be, but with this particular attitude about it, self-defense becomes about living a good life. What a great way to look at it! For information about our school and self-defense lessons for today’s world, contact us at
Samurai Karate Studio803-462-9425samuraikarate@bellsouth.netColumbia, SC 29229
Sunday, February 6, 2011
In Defense of a Tree!
As part of my reading goals this year, I tried to be more mindful in my selection. For two years, Coach Callos has been talking about the work of Julia Butterfly Hill and while I vaguely remember hearing about this "crazy" person sitting in a tree for more than two years, I really didn't know much about her.
Well, I just finished reading her book, "The Legacy of Luna" and I can tell you this woman is anything BUT crazy!
"Everything we do ripples out and affects other people's lives." JBH
For those of you that might be thinking, pretty boring topic, I can tell you her book read more like a suspense novel! Between the winter storms, the cold, the rain, the wind, the constant threat of the lumber company taking the tree down (with her still sitting in it); it was an all out battle to protect the life of this tree and the trees around it.
I had no idea of the sacrifice she made to protect this tree. Her supplies were typically limited, she was cold and wet a good majority of the time and there were many days were she was very isolated. She gave up most comforts we take for granted, like a bathroom, a hot shower and lots of contact with the outside world. Luna, the name of the tree, became a source of peace and inspiration for Julia and despite all of the hardships and all of the threats, she stayed steadfast in her goal of saving this tree. Throughout this whole ordeal, she treated everyone, even her adversaries, with respect, as love and compassion were her main weapons whenever dealing with confrontation.
During the course of the two years, she became a national celebrity (by accident) and while she never relished the role, being a fairly private person; she realized the significance of movement and studied and read and became an expert in forestry, lumbering practices and conservation, because she understood she was now the face of the movement.
She finally ended her tree sit when she successfully negotiated the guaranteed safety of Luna with the creation of a buffer zone around her.
This is an amazing story and and extraordinary woman!
“Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.” Thicht Nhat Hahn
Chris Feldt
Samurai Karate Studio
803-462-9425
samuraikarate@bellsouth.net
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Children's Classes in Martial Arts: What to Expect?
Expect there to be one or more experienced teachers on the floor in your child’s class. Expect the teacher to, at times, appear to have the patience of Job. Expect a bit more, Oh how shall we say it? ENERGY, every so often. Expect the teacher, whether gently guiding everyone along or cranking up the troops, to wear a smile (a happy one!).
Expect a lot of talk about respect, about leadership, about good manners, about anger, about a whole bunch of things just about any parent would love to hear some OTHER adult talking to them about. That’s the way we do it.
“I haven’t been a ‘karate kid’ for some time, like decades, but the experience is still in my mind like it happened yesterday. Parents, enroll your child in a good martial arts school. You’ll never regret it --and your children will never forget it.” -- Tom Callos, www.tomcallos.com
Expect a lot of good-sleep-inducing exercise. And expect some special events, as one of our primary goals is to teach our students to take what they practice on the mat and apply it to other things (like school, like work, like fun, and like --to the community).
Expect to look back on your son or daughters martial arts lessons with great pleasure and fond memories. Expect, genuinely, some very good times.
For a free trial program (and mark my words here, there’s no “hook” or sales pitch in this offer. This is simply a way for you to test drive our school, before ever THINKING about enrollment. Click here or contact us at:
Martial Arts Lessons: It’s Not About Violence
- Just the other day a parent asked me if she thought my classes promoted violent behavior in young boys. She was inquiring about lessons for her son and was concerned that he and his friends might take what they’re learning and use it inappropriately. I thought it was a fine question.
- Yes, there have been a few cases (very few) of students “playing martial arts” with friends, the same way they play as their favorite superheroes, but I’ve never heard of the play being malicious or hurtful. I do, however, hear many stories of my young students using the kind of restraint we talk about in almost every class. I hear many stories of the young people in my program --and other martial arts schools --avoiding violence, avoiding conflict, and staying out of trouble as a result of their training. A good martial arts teacher adds instructions and advice about how NOT to use martial arts, as often as he or she teaches the technical aspects of the arts.
- “The ‘cake’ that is what a martial arts teacher offers his or her students,” says Tom Callos (www.tomcallos.com), the National Director of The One Hundred (www.flavors.me/masterteachers), an association made up of martial arts instructors who embrace education over the more media-prevalent aspects of martial arts instruction, “is made up of blocks, punches, kicks, and other maneuvers, But the real “flour” of the recipe is in the restraint, the self-control, and the attitude of self-discipline that makes up the best-of-the-best the martial arts has to offer.”
- And by way of an offer, any reader of this piece that would like to “taste” the cake we produce at our school, need only call me at 803-462-9425 and refer to this article and you will receive a 1 week free trial (no strings attached, no sales pitches, nothing but a genuine “try us”). And no, it is not about violence or aggression or hurting people. The martial arts are about grown-up adults mentoring young people in the ways of non-violence, self-control, and contribution.
