Begin With The End In Mind!

Begin with the End in Mind!

As the Holiday Season starts to consume our thoughts and priorities we have another element of what I like to call “Hibernation Mode” to battle. That is this feeling of lack of motivation. This hits on two fronts. A) Because of the sometime stressful nature of the Holidays and the familial duties that accompany them, and B) What I call “the cycle of winter” with its effects both psychologically and physically. With less daylight during the day and cooler weather our motivation tends to wane a bit. It’s not about pushing through on the last leg of the race and giving it all you’ve got, but more about not losing focus on our goals and keeping some consistency. While it is okay and normal to slow down this time of year brings up a very good subject matter to discuss, one with which most people revisit very strongly come the first of the year when those dreadful resolutions are made.

Begin With the End in Mind

“Beginning with the End in Mind” means developing a clear picture of where you want to go. This has a wide range of application, from very small projects all the way up to deciding how you live your life. You may not realize it, but you begin with the end in mind all the time. You draw up a blueprint before you build a house. You read a recipe before you bake a cake. In cases like this, it’s the obvious thing to do. But many people don’t take the time to apply this same concept to how they live their lives. If you apply the “begin with the end in mind” concept to your life in the same way you’d apply it on any project, you’ll probably find yourself thinking about your values, goals, and priorities. And when you focus on these, the results are almost always positive.

We symbolize this concept in the martial arts as achieving a Black Belt. Can you think of a way to “begin with the end in mind” for achieving any of your life’s goals? I encourage you to explore this simple yet powerful concept.

In Oneness,

Sensei

Quality of Yudansha

Endurance and Perseverance

As a teacher of the martial arts nothing makes me more proud than seeing a student set the goal of Yudansha (Black Belt) and attaining that goal. I like to always remind my students that earning a black belt and being admitted into the Yudansha grades is not solely about the skill they have learned but more importantly represents the qualities that being a black belt is all about. In simple terms what kind of person have you turned into through hard work and dedication in achieving this milestone. The Black Belt itself represents being admitted into the Yudansha grades and further signifies that the student is now ready to start learning Bushin Ryu in our Dojo. This past week I was honored and proud of a student who has been with me throughout tough times, Dojo changes, and had the loyalty and determination to stick through adversity and many challenges in and out of the Dojo. This student tested for Shodan (1st Degree Black Belt) and past with amazing colors. This student as well as others who've attained this achievement have one quality which is universal to their success and that is the quality of endurance and perseverance. Well wait a minute aren't those two qualities? The answer is yes and no, they are parallels of the same quality. Perseverance is the parallel life quality to the martial quality of endurance.

There is a phrase that says, " Poor endurance makes cowards of us all." What this means is that when you get tired you weaken in every way and that fatigue can also erode your courage. The solution is to train hard to increase your endurance. Physically this means just that, train hard. Mentally and psychologically this means in the many years it takes to reach the beginning of Yudansha grade there will be many challenges which creep up along the way, we generally call this life. Family issues, work issues, and the list goes on, however perseverance is the key to maintaining the balance required to achieve this position in the Dojo. Sometimes there are issues that cannot be helped and other times we simply take the easy road which is to quit for awhile (or in the worst case scenario forever), but in order to make it, one must have the quality of endurance and perseverance.

A great example of this is Thomas Edison. Edison did over 5,000 experiments, which eventually led him to the final success in inventing the light bulb. One day a young reporter came to interview Thomas Edison and asked him, "Aren't you wasting your time trying to invent the light bulb?" Edison replied, "I beg your pardon, I just successfully identified 5,000 ways that don't work." Mr. Edison was absolutely determined to achieve his goal.

So, we'll all benefit if we develop perseverance in our daily lives, just as we develop endurance to succeed in the martial system of Bushin Ryu. You will never regret setting the goal of black belt and seeing it through!

In Oneness,

Sensei

Thanksgiving Martial Arts Mesa Style

Thanksgiving Martial Arts Mesa Style

Well November is here and most of us at least in the United States will be gearing up for the end of the month and the accompanying feast. This is a fantastic time of year. The energy seems to change for everyone as people start to settle into the holiday spirit. This is also a good time of year because a lot of our normal hustle starts to decline a bit. Of course there is the holiday hustle but I am referring to the hustle of our normal routines as more of our priorities shift towards holidays.

Thanksgiving in and of itself is a wonderful holiday to me because at the heart of it we focus on what’s most important in our lives. Even if that reflection is brief it allows us to add context to our lives. As a martial artist I feel that the martial arts have taught me most of all to be appreciative of what I have all the time. This comes from Budo as the study of war which is our primary focus here at martial arts mesa. If you looked at your life as finite as it is within context I believe everyone would be a little more grateful for all they have. This tends to slip away as we fall into the delusion of ‘tomorrow’. Tomorrow is an uncertainty for everyone. Take that to heart and then look at your life. One can’t help but to simply be thankful.

I encourage you to take the spirit of thanksgiving into your everyday routines far after the holiday season is over. There is a peace and level of gratitude that you can feel all year long. It also allows you to make better choices in my opinion. If you were truly grateful and had an understanding that life is fragile you would make sure all the loose ends of your life are tied up, you would form deeper and more meaningful relationship with the people around you, and so much more. Your life would take on a new meaning if we could just hold onto this attitude and see all year round. Martial Arts Mesa at The Budo Shingikan Dojo teaches Japanese style martial arts. The Samurai kept death in mind constantly. This was felt to have given them an advantage during war as well as help them support their local communities as well as to be proactive and positive members of society in times of peace.

As martial artists we must see that as our task. A true Budoka is thankful for every day, appreciative for all the he or she has in their lives, and makes choices based upon this spirit of being.

I am thankful for so much in my life and am greatly looking forward to this holiday season with my friends, family, and martial arts mesa students.

In Oneness,

Sensei

Karate Mesa AZ

Karate Mesa AZ

The Karate Mesa AZ program at The Budo Shingikan Dojo is formulated for today’s modern family. We offer our martial arts program to children, teens, and adults providing a great source for a good workout as well as a great family activity that everyone will love. The benefits within traditional martial arts and our Karate Mesa AZ program range from physical, emotional, and psychological for all ages and all participants. It’s no surprise that the martial arts is a great workout, many families have looked to martial arts as a way to motivate their children and teens and lure them away from the video games and television. It has also been a great source of physical fitness for those adults who want to be a part of a class setting making friends as well as working out so that their workouts are fun. With the ever changing classes each week it’s a workout that never becomes boring or monotonous.

 The Karate Mesa AZ program in addition to the tremendous fitness benefits offers many psychological as well as emotional benefit to all ages. Most of us parents have to balance so many things in our everyday routine. Whether that’s simply getting the kids to school and then off to work or balancing our own interpersonal relationship with our hectic work schedules the martial arts offers a great source of internal focus helping to center ourselves within our crazy lives. From police officers, to medical professionals we see people join the martial arts as a great way to spend time with their families as well as learn techniques for self-control and self-discipline which allows us to live a truly balanced lifestyle. These benefits reduce the amount of stress in each and everyone of our lives. For children these benefits reflect in their character and their attitude whether at school or at home. The Karate Mesa AZ program specializes in giving your children the tools they need to become stronger physically and emotionally. With kids we see that having the well know martial arts belt ranking system is a great tool to show progression as well as give them a goal to set. Once a child sets goals and puts in the hard work and dedication to reach their goals you see a truly trans-formative process in which the child’s self-confidence and esteem grows tremendously. They set their sights on their target and then they applied themselves to earn their goal. This happens to also be a valuable lesson in responsibility which is a huge part of our life skills program within the Karate Mesa AZ school.

Understanding all the benefits that any student can attain from the martial arts is an integral part of choosing the right type of martial art and school for you and your family. Simply put there are so many benefits to choosing the martial arts that we could write a novel on the subject. In the end we leave the journey of martial arts to be left to the practitioner, as teachers we can only motivate and guide the students to achieve their goals. We invite anyone interested in the benefits of martial arts to visit the Karate Mesa AZ program at The Budo Shingikan Dojo.

For more information please visit our website at www.MartialArtsMesa.com

Sincerely,

+ Darrell D’Antonoli Kaiso