I Can. I Will.
Posted on | June 1, 2010 | No Comments
Most of us in the Martial Arts profession continue to work on ways to strengthen our program, making sure that it is the best it can be. I’m no different, and in the past few years I have placed a special emphasis on trying to develop a set of mental exercises that will help my students practice and benefit from the power of proper focus. What has evolved is a series of nine affirmations designed to improve the way we view our life. I have named these affirmations “The Mastery Mindset”.
Let’s begin by discussing the first Mastery Mindset affirmation. It is “I Can. I Will.”
“I Can. I Will.” refers to your Attitude, your Belief and your Commitment. It is an affirmation that you WILL get through any challenge that you are currently facing. It is about being stubborn in a positive way. Allow me to illustrate this mindset with a story.
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You Don’t Have To Want To Mow The Lawn
Posted on | May 15, 2010 | No Comments
Every now and then, someone tells you something that just stays with you. My dad told me something years ago that falls into that category. The statement was profoundly simple and I will never forget his words. It was early June 1970, I was 11 years old and had just finished 5th grade. I was excited about summer vacation for all the normal reasons, one of which was the fact that I was finally old enough to earn some extra money mowing the lawn. And boy was it fun, at least for the first two weeks and then… not so much. The novelty wore off pretty quickly and by early August I told my dad that I didn’t want to mow the lawn anymore. He responded by saying, “Son, you don’t have to WANT to mow the lawn, you just have to do it.” What could I say? There was no counter. All that I could do was to shrug my shoulders and then go start the mower.
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Parent Orientation for 4 to 6 year old students
Posted on | May 15, 2010 | 1 Comment
In this post, I would like to share an outline with you that we use to help educate parents of our 4 to 6 year old students on how they can maximize the value of our program.
Parent Orientation for Little Dragons (Ages 4-6)
I. The Little Dragons program is not designed to develop a highly skilled 6-year-old Martial Artist.
More appropriately, our emphasis is on:
- Teaching them how to pay attention so they can become better learners.
- Developing better coordination so they can become more athletically inclined.
- Teaching them how to be more respectful and courteous.
- Showing them the foundational qualities of cooperation and trust.
- Teaching them basic martial arts techniques and principles.
- Confidence and mental self-defense.
II. Expectations – In Little Dragons, retention of techniques is not as important as enjoying class and exploring different movements, therefore tips and belts are based on time and attitude. Explain the tip system. Emphasize the importance of consistency and adhering to a set schedule.
The Core Principle of the Black Belt Club
Posted on | May 1, 2010 | No Comments
Offering membership in a Black Belt Club or a similar designation in your school is a powerful tool that can be used to dramatically increase retention. I’m often asked about how we do our Black Belt Club. What kind of a discount do members get on retail? Do they have a special class only for them? Do they get to wear a cool uniform? How long do they enroll for?
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I’m A Better Person After You Leave The Room.
Posted on | May 1, 2010 | No Comments
I am fortunate to have a great relationship with my two children. Although they are well behaved and respectful when they should be, there is also a playful side to our relationship and we often banter back and forth. A few days ago, my daughter, son and I were having one of our good natured verbal sparring sessions. My son jokingly told his sister how lucky she was to have him to guide her in the ways of being a better person. She rolled her eyes, smiled and said, “Bro, I’m a better person after you leave the room.”
I immediately realized that there were two ways this sentence could be interpreted. It could mean that being around you has affected me in a profoundly positive way and I’m a better person for it. Or, it could mean that being around you brings me down so much that I’m better off the moment you leave.
So the question is, how would the people in your life interpret this line as it relates to you? I think we’d all agree that when we leave a room, we want the people we just left to feel that their lives were just a little bit better because we had been with them.
I Bring Value to All My Relationships
Posted on | April 15, 2010 | 1 Comment
At Kovars Satori Academy, we practice what is referred to as the Mastery Mindsets. These are nine “power affirmations” designed to keep you in a positive and proactive state. I find myself referring to one or more of these mindsets several times a day. The eighth one is “I Bring Value to All My Relationships” and it serves as a reminder of the importance of empathy, respect, patience and service. In theory, very few people that I know disagree with this concept. But I have learned many times, theory and application are two different things. I want to share a story with you that I believe demonstrates this very thing.
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That’s What I Like About You
Posted on | April 15, 2010 | 1 Comment
As you know, a martial arts teacher can have a very influential role in a student’s life. Therefore, it is very important that we use our influence for the betterment of our students and that our messages are always positive and uplifting. Here’s a technique that is fun and can have some amazing results. We use it primarily with our junior students, but with a little imagination the concept can be applied to people of all ages.
It goes like this: Imagine that a young student approaches you and says he has a band-aid on his finger and doesn’t think he can do push ups today, you say: “That’s what I like about you, Sam! You can train hard and do push ups even when you have a bandage on your finger.” It works with practically every excuse from just being tired, to having missed a month of classes and everything in between. I can’t tell you how many times I have successfully used this strategy and it never ceases to amaze me.
This method works wonders! Here are some of the reasons this works so well:
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Why Every Parent Should Have Their Child Learn Martial Arts
Posted on | April 1, 2010 | 2 Comments
This month I wanted to share with you a campaign that we are in the process of rolling out in the Sacramento area. We are trying to send out a clear message to our community as to why every child should learn Martial Arts. This concept is nothing new; we have all been doing this in one way or another for our whole careers. The difference for us is that we have never been quite as deliberate in our efforts as we are now. I believe that every child should learn Martial Arts and you probably do too.
There is no doubt about the fact that we as a profession have already made great progress in making martial arts more acceptable in the main stream but we still have a long way to go. Imagine what would happen to our industry if we could gather together with the following universal battle cry? So if you feel compelled to, please join me in sharing this message with everyone who will listen. If you like, please use all or part the following essay in any way you see fit. We will all benefit from each other’s effort, I promise.
There is a reason why Oprah, Dr Phil, Dr Laura Schlesinger, Jillian Michaels (Biggest Loser), Tony Robbins, pediatricians, child physiologists, and educators the world over all have alluded to the fact that Martial Arts is one of the most valuable things you can involve your child in.
It goes way beyond self defense and can help a child in nearly every aspect of their life. Improved health and fitness, athletic enhancement, increased confidence, better concentration, better behavior, more courteous and respectful; martial arts can help in all these areas.
Does this sound too good to be true? It’s not. As a matter of fact, many experts agree that in this day and age of escalating childhood obesity, increased playground violence and deteriorating family structure, if you do nothing else for your child, you should make sure that they learn how to swim and they learn martial arts. Let’s discuss why.
Self Defense – “Practice the fight so that you don’t have to” is a phrase that is often used to describe the self defense benefits of martial arts training. It refers to the fact that as a child becomes more confident in their ability to defend themselves thru martial arts training. The need to defend themselves automatically decreases because they unconsciously begin to carry themselves in a more confident manner and that confidence is projected to those around them, making them less vulnerable to predatory behavior. On top of that, martial arts’ training includes strategic self defense as well as actual self defense. Children are taught how to recognize a potentially dangerous situation and how to avoid confrontations.
Athletic Enhancement – There is a reason why virtually every professional sports team in virtually every major sport supplements their training with martial arts. Martial arts training offer several advantages. First off, it is amazingly effective in enhancing general coordination because it uses every part of the body in a balanced way. Upper body, lower body, right side, left side, forward movement, lateral movement, rotational movement, it’s all included in martial arts training.
Fitness - The three pieces of the fitness puzzle are strength, flexibility and endurance. Martial arts training demand a balance between the three. Therefore, a child who trains in martial arts will find their deficiencies greatly enhanced. Also, because of the balance in the three pieces of the fitness puzzle, they are less likely to injure themselves while participating in other athletic endeavors.
Health - Martial arts training is a proven link to better health for people of all ages, but especially children for several reasons. First off, it is great exercise. But because it is fun, kids don’t mind doing it. Discussing diet and lifestyle habits with students is a part of martial arts training, so children who grow up training develop healthy habits that will stick with them for life.
Concentration - Very few activities engage the mind, body and spirit more than martial arts. Because of this, a child’s ability to concentrate is greatly enhanced by their martial arts training and this concentration tends to be easily transferable to other activities.
Respect and Courtesy – Due to the fact that martial arts teaches techniques that could be harmful to others if applied, martial arts instructors are obliged to stress the importance of respect, courtesy, and restraint. It has been proven time and again that children who are skilled in martial arts tend to be extremely respectful, considerate and composed.
Confidence - Martial arts virtually always lends to increased confidence in children for a couple of specific reasons. First off, there are no bench sitters, every child participates and is judged not against others but more importantly, against their own potential. Secondly, the structure of martial arts is built on the concept of setting children up for success by giving them a series of realistic, short term goals that they can attain quickly while keeping them focused on an exciting, long term goal. Each time they experience success, their confidence improves until they tend to believe that with hard work and dedication, they can accomplish just about anything.
The Yin/Yang Syndrome
Posted on | April 1, 2010 | 1 Comment
There is a lady I see at the gym every morning riding the stationary bike. I mean EVERY day since I began going to this gym in 2000. She is there when I arrive and still peddling when I leave. You would think she would be in great shape, but she isn’t even close to achieving the fitness level she could attain. I mean no disrespect, but if you saw her you might question if she exercised at all and you might even think someone should recommend a fitness regimen to her. I know what you are thinking – how can this be? It’s because while she may be on the bike every day, she isn’t focused on her results. She peddles as slow as possible, at the lowest level, never breaking a sweat. She reads to occupy her time. When she gets off the bike, her heart rate is only a few beats higher than her resting rate. After I asked her recently about how her training was going I learned she is fully capable of training harder. She told me she works out every day, but she said she can’t seem to increase her level of fitness due to inheriting her father’s “slow metabolism”.
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The Value of Statistics
Posted on | March 15, 2010 | 1 Comment
Every well run business, regardless of the industry, has specific methods for tracking the trends of their business. It is their way of keeping score, letting them know how they’re doing and where they can improve. The martial arts industry is no exception. Keeping solid statistics is vital to the growth of your school. Although there are more statistics than those listed below that you can track to help grow your school, these are the one that you absolutely must track to achieve success. My brother, Tim, and I were taught this by Mr. Nick Cokinos, CEO of EFC over 20 years ago and it has proven to be one of the most important lessons in business that we ever learned.
About Dave Kovar
Mr. Kovar has been teaching Martial Arts professionally since 1978. Dave is a multi-style Black Belt who has been committed to ever-improving his Martial Arts skills. He updates this blog to provide tips and insights to martial arts instructors around the country. To learn more, click here.
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