Practice

The martial arts are like any other sport, the more you practice the better you’ll get. It’s a lot like when we first learned to walk. We all started by crawling. Soon, we were able to pull ourselves up using the coffee table. Eventually, we took our first step and then fail down. However, we didn’t give up. We kept at it. Before long, it was all our parents could do just to keep up with us. Now, we’re not only walking, but running, jumping and even kicking. We’re where we are today because we didn’t give up. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, Practice makes perfect. That statement may not be entirely true. However, the more we practice the better we’ll get. In fact, I’m absolutely positive that any martial arts student will make faster and more measurable progress when they practice what they are taught.

Let me make myself clear. I’m not talking about attending class as often as possible. However, that does help and is a great goal for students to have. I’m talking about the importance of practice away from the studio, while at home. Refining what you’ve learned in class by repetition. That is essentially what makes you better. Repetition! Repetition! Repetition!

Those of you who are new to martial arts may be wondering how you should go about practicing. Knowing what to practice can sometimes be confusing. After all, there are so many different block, kicks, punches and combinations. Not to mention all the different forms and sets. A good rule of thumb is to take a notebook to class with you. After class jot down what blocks, kicks, punches, etc. that you covered in class. Between that class and the next class practice those techniques. One thing that has helped me out is to practices in front of a mirror.

Now you may be wondering, “How long should I Practice?” It’s probably not a good idea to start off with really long practice sessions between classes. Too much of a good thing can end up having a negative effect. Start with about a 15 minute session. If that’s comfortable slowly increase to 20minutes then 30 minutes and so on.

Make sure you stay on task. If you lose focus and aren’t concentrating on what you’re doing your progress will slow. Sometimes listening to music can help. However, I would defiantly turn the TV off. The TV can be a major distraction. Having someone to practice with can be beneficial too. Make sure you friend has martial arts experience and take turns leading the workout. Practicing with someone who doesn’t have experience is a bad idea. You or they could get hurt. Also, your progress is then hindered because you end up trying to teach rather than workout. Plus, school policy forbids it.

The next question you may be asking yourself is, “How often should I practice?” Everyday would be ideal. However, I realize that that’s not always possible. Some students simply cannot put that many practice sessions into their schedule. I would say the bare minimum should be at least one practice session between each class. More would be better. Setting aside a specific time is also a good idea. Classes are currently on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So, try setting aside 15 minutes to practice on Monday, Wednesday and Friday or Saturday. Remember to stay attentive to what you are doing. No distractions!

If you follow this advice, you’ll notice faster and more measurable results in no time!

Luke 2:8-20

Study Questions

Click here to read Luke 2:8-20

1. At what time and place did the angels appear to the shepherds? (2:8)


2. How many angels did the shepherds see at first? (2:9)


3. How did the shepherds react when they saw the angel? (2:9)


4. What message did the angel tell the shepherds? (2:10-11)


5. What titles did the angel use to describe the baby? (2:11)


6. By what symbol or sign were the shepherds supposed to identify the Christ child? (2:12)


7. How many angels did the shepherds hear praising God? (2:13)


8. What was the immediate reaction of the shepherds after the angels left? (2:15)


9. After finding the Christ child, what did the shepherds do? (2:17-20)


10. What kind of reactions did the shepherds get when they told others what had happened that night? (2:18)

Luke 2:1-7

Study Questions

Click here to read Luke 2:1-7

Who decreed that a census be taken of the entire Roman world? (2:1)

1. What historical facts did Luke provide that allow us to approximate the date of Christ's birth? (2:1-2)
2. What was the purpose of Joseph and Mary's trip to Bethlehem? (2:1-4)
3. What reason did Luke give for Joseph having to travel to Bethlehem for the census? (2:4)
4. What was Joseph and Mary's marital status at the time of Jesus' birth? (2:5)
5. What were the conditions in Bethlehem the night Jesus was born? (2:7)

Luke 1:67-80

Study Questions

Click her to read Luke 1:67-80

1. Who is described in the first part of Zechariah's song? (1:68-75)
2. Who is the subject of the second part of Zechariah's song? (1:76-79)
3. Who was the source of inspiration for Zechariah's song? (1:67)
4. How did Zechariah describe the "covenant" with God? (1:72-74)
5. What title did Zechariah say would be given to his son? (1:76)
6. For whom was John supposed to prepare a way? How? (1:76)
7. What basic facts did Luke include about John's childhood? (1:80)

Luke 1:57-66

Study Questions

Click here to read Luke 1:57-66

1. What two groups celebrated the birth of Zechariah and Elizabeth's baby? (1:58)
2. When did Elizabeth's relatives come to visit her child? Why? (1:59)
3. What was the relatives' response when Elizabeth told them the child wouldn't be called Zechariah? (1:61)
4. Why did the relatives have to make signs to Zechariah about what he wanted to call the child? (1:62)
5. Why was Zechariah's voice restored? (1:63-64)
6. How did Zechariah react when his voice was restored? (1:64)
7. What was the effect of all these events on the people in the region in which Zechariah and Elizabeth lived? (1:65-66)
8. What was obvious to all who heard John’s story? (1:66)

Luke 1:46-56

Study Questions

Click here to read Luke 1:46-56

1. What different titles for God did Mary mention in her song? (1:46-47, 49)
2. What specific actions did Mary say God had done for her? (1:46-49)
3. How did Mary describe herself in her song? (1:47-48)
4. What reasons did Mary give for believing that all generations would call her "blessed"? (1:48)
5. What happens to people who fear God? (1:50)
6. What happens to the proud? (1:51)
7. To whom was God merciful? (1:54-55)

Luke 1:39-45

Study Questions

Click here to read Luke 1:39-45

1. To where did Mary hurry? (1:39)
   
2. What two remarkable things happened as soon as Mary called her greeting to Elizabeth? (1:41)
   
3. How did Elizabeth respond to the baby's leaping inside her? (1:42-45)
   
4. In what way was Mary blessed? (1:42)
   
5. In what significant way did Elizabeth address Mary? (1:43)

A New You in 2009

Did you know more people make resolutions to start a new habit than to break an old habit? Whether it was to start or break a habit, chances are, that at some time in your life, you have made a New Year’s resolution – and then broken it. Here are 10 tips to help you start and commit to making your resolutions stick.

1. Get real! The quickest way to fail is to set yourself up for failure with unrealistic goals. Make certain the goals you set are challenging, but attainable. If your goal is to increase your fitness by adding an additional hour to your regime each week, try adding 10-minutes each week or an additional night to your current workout until you reach your goal.
2. Plan ahead! You should have started thinking about your goals in December so you could have a plan of attack ready.
3. Think it through! You know you will hit plateaus and challenges so decide early on how to handle them. If you are changing your diet, how will you handle eating out? What will you do during the holidays or at parties? Keep a list of answers such as calling a friend, practicing positive thinking and self-talk, or reminding yourself how far you have come.
4. Pros and cons! Make a list of the pros and cons of why you chose these resolutions to stay motivated
5. Tell the world! Don’t keep your resolutions a secret. Tell trusted friends so they can help you stay on target and be there when you are wavering. If you gave up smoking, call your friends and let them know when you are stressed and need the comfort of a cigarette.
6. Reward yourself! Yes, success deserves rewards, but don’t choose rewards that make a negative impact on your hard work. Celebrate your success with a new pair of jeans instead of chocolate cake for losing 10 pounds.
7. Become a tracker! Keep track of your progress. If your goal is losing 20 pounds, keep a chart with the ups and downs of losing. If your goal is less tangible, find a way to chart it. If your goal is to be nicer to your coworkers, plan to say two nice things each day to each person and track those comments.
8. Don’t focus on setbacks! Don’t go into this thinking you won’t have setbacks. (If it were that easy, you wouldn’t have to make a resolution.) If you fall off the wagon, don’t stay off; get back on it as soon as possible. If you missed a week of martial arts classes, don’t quit! Call your instructor and tell him or her you will be back for the next class. If you ate a slice of cake, don’t eat the whole cake. Get back on track with your healthy eating.
9. Stick with it! Experts say it takes about 21 days for something to become a habit and six months for it to become a part of your personality. It may be difficult at first, but soon it will be second nature!
10. Don’t give up! If you give up because you have fallen a few times, begin again. No one said you could only make resolutions in January!
    

Respect

Respect is being thoughtful, courteous and showing care and regard for yourself, other people and things.

Dear Parents,
One of the most important things you can teach your children is respect. Respect is not the same as obedience. Children may obey you because they are afraid of you, but children who respect you will listen to you, because they know you want what is best for them.

Have you ever told your children, “Do onto others as you would have them do onto you”? Of course, because the best way to teach respect is to be respectful. When children experience respect, they learn what it feels like and begin to understand how important it is. Being respectful helps children succeed in life. People who are disrespectful to their peers, supervisors, or themselves, seldom succeed. Believe it or not, parents are more influential in how well their children behave than any other factor.

What can parents and caregivers do to help their children develop respect?

Show others respect. Use the same manners you would like your children to exhibit. When you show respect to other people, your children learn how to be respectful. Apologize when you are wrong, be honest, follow rules, and show concern for others.

Show your children respect. Sometimes the people we are closest to are the ones we show the least respect. Honor your children by respecting them. Don’t embarrass them in public. Let your child take responsibility for their choices. Give your child your full attention when talking.
Keep promises. Listen to your child’s side of the story before making a judgment.

Teach your child self-respect. Respecting oneself is the most important form of respect, because you can’t respect others unless you respect yourself. Don’t say how dumb, fat, or ugly you are in front of your children, even when joking. Show how you respect yourself when eating,
exercising or studying.

Explain rules you set. For instance, if the rule is, “No television between 4:00 and 6:00,” explain that this is homework time because it is important to keep your grades up.

Belt Testing

Belt Testing is Only Two Months Away

Students test every three to four months, depending how much material is covered in class. There are a few things students must do in addition to learning the material we cover in class.

First, students need to have attended at least 24 classes. We realize that there are going to be emergencies from time to time and students might need to miss a class. If this happens, all the student needs to do is log on to our website and download the Bible study questions from the missed class. They can answer the questions and turn it in to an instructor or someone on the Leadership Team. Your instructor will mark that class as made up. If a student misses three or more classes they will need to attend a private class. The private class is needed to ensure the student knows the material that has been covered in the missed classes and is ready to test.Private classes are typically scheduled on Saturdays and last for 30 minutes. The cost is $20 per private class and needs to be scheduled one week in advance. After the student turns in the Bible studies that were missed and attends a private class the instructor will mark the classes as made up.

Second, students are required to fill out a To Do List and turn it in every week. The To Do List contains a list of chores and such that students are required to do at home and school. To download your To Do List go to our website and click on the Belt Testing link at the top of the page. Then click on the link titled To Do List and print.

Next, students need to log on to our website and download the Promotion Application Forms. There are three forms that need to be filled out and turned in one week before the test. There is a check list, an Intent to Promote Form and a Test Application. To download these for go to the Belt Testing page on our website and click on the link titled Application Forms.

New Program

The Master’s Club

In addition to our Basic Training and our Black Belt Club, both of which focus mainly on martial arts, one very important goal is to qualify for membership into the Master’s Club. The Master’s Club is soon to be the biggest club at our school.


What is the Master’s Club?

The Master’s Club is comprised of students committed to learning more about scripture. Unlike our Basic Training Program or our Black Belt Club Program, which focus primarily on learning martial arts, the heart of the Master’s Club will be to expand each student’s general Bible knowledge. Lessons will be geared toward teaching kids about each book of the Bible, their themes, basic outline, key chapters, key verses and key people.


Why is the Master’s Club Important?

Scripture gives many reasons why studying and knowing God’s Word is essential. For example, In John 17:17b Jesus prayed to the Father and said, “Thy Word is truth.” That statement alone should be enough to motivate us to study and find out what God’s Word says. According to 2 Timothy 3:7, there are people who are always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Many people search for truth by studying science, philosophy, psychology and the like. Many are so hungry for the truth that they grab the first thing that comes along, be it drugs, sexual misconduct, or even false religions, just to name a few.

Don’t misunderstand, just because something or someone claims to be or have or know the truth, one should exercise caution. To blindly follow such a claim would be foolish. However, the bible makes many claims and only recently has history validated those claims. Here’s one example. The Bible indicates that the earth is round. Isaiah 40:22 mentions the “circle of the earth.” We now know that the Earth is not flat as once thought. Pictures from space clearly show that the Earth is round, just as described in scripture.

Additionally, what the bible has to say with regards to prophecy is quite amazing. John MacArthur in “How to Study the Bible” quotes Peter Stoner from his book “Science Speaks” who says:

“if you take just eight of the Old Testament prophecies Christ fulfilled and add up the probabilities that these eight things could come to pass by accident, it would be one chance in 10 to the 17th power that such an accident could happen and yet every detail has come to pass. One chance in 10 to the 17th power would be like filling the state of Texas two-feet deep in silver dollars, putting an “x” on one of them and giving a blind man one pick. He’d have one chance in 1017 in picking the one with an “x” on it. That’s how much chance there is, according to mathematics of probability, of these eight prophecies (with their specific details) ever coming to pass by accident.“ (17)

In addition to God’s Word being truth, it also brings happiness. The Bible says in Psalm 19:8a that, “The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart.” Simply put, learning what God’s Word has to say, brings happiness. The truths contained in scripture are exhilarating. When one studies these great truths, and begins to understand them, they’re sure to get excited. Proverbs 8:34 says, "Blessed is the man who listens to me”. The word “blessed” in that verse could also be translated “happy”. So in other words, happiness comes from hearing the Lord. Paul tells us in 2 Timothy that, “All Scripture is inspired by God (or God breathed)”. Because scripture has come directly from God, is the source of truth and happiness, daily bible study should be an important part of every believer’s life.


Who can qualify for the Master’s Club?

Any student regardless of rank may participate in the Master’s Club.


What are the benefits of the Master’s Club?

LIFE 180° Martial Arts is a school devoted to producing excellent black belts, however we are even more are committed to sharing God’s Word. When a student makes the commitment to the Master’s Club they are embarking on a journey that will literally last an eternity. As a member of the Master’s Club, students will enjoy the following privileges:

1. Discounts on all special events.
2. Discounts on testing fees
3. Special Master’s Club patch.
4. Opportunity to wear black Gi pants.

How do I join?

It’s simple; when a student starts their training at our school they automatically become eligible to join the Master’s Club. The entire Master’s Club material and lessons will be available on our website at http://www.life180martialarts.net/. All students need to do is log on and download the first lesson. When the student is comfortable with that material, they download the test for that lesson, fill it out, and turn it in to the instructor or one of the members of the leadership team. Once the student has passed the first three lessons they are eligible to purchase the Master’s Club Patch and black Gi pants. Your instructors will continue to conduct a series of tests and evaluations to determine if you are still working on the Master’s Club material.