JUST FOR KICKS

Arizona Shaolin Kenpo Academy Newsletter

Volume 1

Issue 1

June 1997

Inside This Issue

Our Very First Newsletter

Sparring & Safety

Children & Motivation

Congratulations

Birthdays

Our Very First Newsletter

It's said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Hopefully, this newsletter is the first step in providing a thousand miles worth of dojo news, information, and a forum for students, parents and friends. As with all publications, comments, suggestions, and articles are always welcome, so feel free to express and contribute! I hope you enjoy our first edition!

Sparring & Safety

The importance of proper sparring equipment can not be understated! There are several reasons why we are required to have safety gear for our sparring classes. The two main reasons are for the safety of the students and for insurance purposes. The dojo is covered by insurance only if students wear safety gear. If something happens and we are not wearing the gear, the dojo could easily be shut down! I personally don't ever want that to happen, and I don't think any of you do either! Sensei Jerry had asked the insurance company to grant a little extra time for everyone to obtain the appropriate equipment. However, that time limit is now up!

The requirements are as follows:

WHITE BELTS(and above):All male students are required to have a strap and protective cup!

YELLOW BELTS(and above):Head gear and a mouth piece are required.

ORANGE BELTS(and above): Hand gear is required.

BLUE BELTS(and above):Shin and instep pads are required.

GREEN BELTS(and above): Foot pads(boots)are required.

RED BELTS(and above): Rib guards(chest protectors)are required.

These are not things you can get later, if you feel that you need them! They are required by the insurance company. Please do your best to get the gear required for your rank as soon as possible! It is very important! Another plus to getting your gear is that it makes sparring class so much more fun! If you don't have it, there are restrictions put on you. The people who do have gear have a much better time because they have more opportunities to experience a more complete range of sparring. So, don't miss the fun and don't be the one that causes the insurance company to require that all sparring gear must be purchased before you can come to any sparring class! Those of us who already have our gear will sure miss you! If you don't already have your gear for your belt rank, please ask Sensei Jerry for details. You can purchase this equipment separately or in a package deal. Students at Arizona Shaolin Kenpo Academy receive a great discount! Please hurry!

No endeavor is worse than that which is not attempted--Mexican Proverb

Children & Motivation

In the field of sport and exercise psychology, there are a number of principles and applications which are very relevant to and translate quite easily into martial arts. In coming months, I hope to provide information on some of these principles and how they can enhance training. As the name implies, sport and exercise psychology deals with the mental aspects of physical endeavor such motivation, anxiety control, aggression, attention, and personality and how all of these issues affect physical performance. In this month's offering, I'll be looking at what psychologists have cited as factors that parents should be mindful of in motivating children in physical activities. Parents, because they are the most prominent role models in their children's lives, have considerable influence on a child's development of achievement motivation. Achievement motivation is defined as the desire to achieve and succeed. No matter how often a child comes to karate class, parents are their child's first "sensei" and will be looked to for support in their training. The following 8 guidelines are cited for parents to practice in promoting achievement motivation in their children:

1.) Parents should promote independence and reinforce a child's efforts becoming independent.

2.) Parents should be warm and encouraging to their children.

3.) Parents should comfort and support their children when setbacks, fear, and discouragement occur.

4.) Parents should expect their children to be able, competent, and responsible and set such an example for them to follow.

5.) Parents can demonstrate confidence in their children's ability by resisting the urge to "take charge" when the child has difficulty mastering a task.

6.) Parents should allow for and expect many trials for a child to master a task. Do not keep track of trials and appreciate small steps.

7.) Keep track of a child's successes and applaud them! Do not dwell on the failures!

8.) Parents should pay attention to their children's efforts, really listen to their problems and allow them to openly express their feelings.

These 8 guidelines are applicable to achievements motivation in academic efforts as well. A last issue cited is that emphasis should be placed on performance mastery as opposed to merely winning. If success is viewed as mastering a task, with the appropriate effort success is a certainty. But if success is linked with only winning, then most attempts will be failures. The 8 guidelines were taken from; "Sport Psychology, Concepts and Applications" 3rd Edition.

The art of living is more like that of wrestling than of dancing; the main thing is to stand firm and be ready for an unseen attack.

--Marcus Aurelius

Congratulations!!!

to all who tested on Saturday May, 24th! Great job!