Balanced Life Skills Martial Arts

Saturday night I had the privilege to attend the performance of Shen Yun. This performing art of traditional Chinese culture, filled with stories and virtues told with music, dance, acrobatics and beautiful costumes. I learned just enough about Chinese culture, met some fascinating individuals who all inspired me to put on my list of must do’s – learn more about the rich history and culture of the 5000 years of Chinese people. If you ever have the opportunity to see these dedicated performers – be sure to not miss it. Then go to their website and learn more. We had a great evening at the Kennedy Center and the show is there until April 2. There will be shows in NYC in April.

Shen Yun 2011 – Audience feedback from Shen Yun on Vimeo.

For more information and to hear others feedback about the showGo to Shen Yun.

I have started a 100 Day Challenge.  This challenge is to get me focused on some very bold and innovative projects as well as making improvements in my own training.  If you would like to follow what I do over the next 100 days here is the link to Mr. Joe’s 100 Day Challenge.

It is the journey to black belt – it is not the belt, stripe, or the trophy that will bring us happiness. If we believe that when we reach this goal or get this accomplished – then we will be happy -it has never failed me to see that we will be disappointed. The reason is, we are tied to the results rather than the experience. Living in the moment we are in, learning as we go, appreciating everything that happens to us – even if we consider it as bad fortune. The reason is that everything we have or do not have, everything we get or do not get, has the ability to make us better individuals – even if we do not understand how or why at this time.

Parents especially, as much as we want the best and everything for our child, as much as it hurts to see our children not get what they want so bad, it is a part of life that if we learn to accept as part of the journey and learn from – we will enjoy the wanted results even more when they come.

We live in a society that demands results NOW and many are unwilling to accept waiting. But in reality that is not how life works – if we want happiness. Enjoy the journey to black belt, enjoy your experience learning anything new, yes even in school. In the end everything will be more enjoyable, each minute, hour, day, years and life. In the end when the goal is reached, whatever it might be, we will look back on the struggles and disappointments as learning experiences and those are the things that create our very best character.

I enjoyed this clip from a movie that demonstrates what we can learn:

What are we thankful for?  Out of everyone’s mouth come the ‘standard’ answers of health, family and friends.  Sometimes we think even deeper and we will talk about those who have done something for us, we may talk about a teacher or mentor, or we may have an extraordinary experience that has fundamentally changed who we are.  Have you had one of those experiences, where you see or have an experience that makes you think differently?  Maybe you or someone you love came close to death, or your touched by a story you hear or see that calls you to a different action than your normal activity.

This morning I received an email from an individual whom I have studied his work for a short time, Gary Ryan Blair.  He suggest that we practice gratitude.  Now that by itself is not a new thought, as I have mentioned previously, starting each day off with the question, What am I grateful for? is a great way to start your day on a positive note.  But Mr. Blair suggest these ways of practicing gratitude and giving thanks for being alive is:

Accept 100% responsibility for your life Behave like a gentleman and lady, Commit your life to excellence, Deliver exceptional results, Exceed expectations, Focus on solutions, Gracefully age, Honor your commitments, Inspire through your actions, Joyfully embrace each day, Keep your promises, Leave a lasting legacy, Model best practices, Necessitate high, uniform, ethical standards, Open your mind to new ideas, Passionately pursue your dreams, Quickly solve problems, Reciprocate and pay it forward, Showcase your talents, Talk lovingly, Undertake challenging tasks, Vote and defend democracy, Welcome and embrace change, Zealously do what is right, good and noble.

As you look at these suggestions think of gratitude as an action item and not a passive statement.  If you are not sure, check out those that have less than, and who seem to find a way to make a difference and to use what they have to benefit others.  Then Practice Gratefulness.

This is an amazing moment in nature.

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

There is so much happening in the world at this time, including right here in the United States. I thought I would share with you a report done right on the ground in Japan, where there is still much work to be done to help the families there. What can we do to be of assistance?

Joe Van Deuren

I was so happy to see this TED talk on smiling.  While some may question the power of the smile, from personal experience I know that when we reach a frustration level where we may act or react in a way that we really do not want to act, SMILING has the affect of reducing the frustration.

As a parent or teacher this is a valuable tool.  Just when your child or student has pushed one of your buttons, take a deep breath, smile and then respond.  This is much like counting to ten, or 3 deep breaths – but the addition of the smile, eliminates the possibility of being mean.  It is impossible to be mean, frown or act in an unkind way – while smiling.

We can practice this on ourselves also.  When we see our own anger rising, we can look at it, recognize it for what it is, smile at it and allow it to be.  If we smile at our anger, we will see it subside.  The power of the smile!

Joe Van Deuren

On Monday May 16 at 11 AM, I will be in Boston to see our youngest son, Sean, graduate from Emerson College.  Anyone who has children can imagine or know what it feels like to have put 4 children through college successfully.

Sean who had a slow start in school, needing speech therapy and an extra year in Kindergarten, went on to be the student chosen to give his 5th grade graduation speech, to high school being a part of the improv team, take part in plays and give monologue performance at the Kennedy Center, go to college and be on the #1 improv team at Emerson That’s Pathetic as a freshman, traveling around giving performances, and finally having a group of his short stories published with a book signing and reading in his junior year at Emerson.

Can you tell I am proud of him?  But the real reason I am writing this comes from an article sent to me, unsolicited, about the Life Lessons that can be learned from being on an improv team.

20 Lesson You Can Learn From Improv

I hope you enjoy the article and when your son or daughter says they want to try it out – allow them to do so.  it will be a great experience.  By the way, after 8 years of improv, Sean told me last night that he is not interested in continuing that part of his life, but what great lessons he learned being a part of those two teams.

What would the thoughts be that go through your mind, if you knew that your life was about to come to an end?  What we can be reminded of by someone who went through this experience and lived, can help us to be aware of the preciousness of living our life and being there for others, especially family.  The 3 things this man learned may be the same for you or maybe not.  It does remind us though to pause and ask ourselves … “If I knew I only had a short time to live, how would I live it?”   Here is my reminder – All of us have a short time to live.

It’s this simple:  Children defend themselves with their heads. It’s knowledge that protects children in today’s world. Knowledge about safety, about what to avoid, about what to do, where to go, and how to stay out of harm’s way.

I’m a part of a remarkable association of martial arts teachers, really forward thinking and action-oriented instructors, who come together almost every day to move worthwhile projects forward. The group is called The One Hundred, it’s headed by a 6th degree black belt named Tom Callos (www.tomcallos.com).

The One Hundred, all of us, work on things that are, literally, “good for the world.” Like we’re bringing diabetes education to martial arts schools and anger management training and environmental self-defense programs. This week we launched a very simple, but powerful website to help girls (young women) learn about a kind of self-defense made just for today’s world.

The site, still being added to and polished, is www.flavors.me/10Lessons. Check it out.

And if you know a young person who could use some self-defense instruction, send them our way. Tell us you visited our 10 Lessons site and we’ll give you 1-week of lessons, for free –and one thing you will NEVER get at a school in The One Hundred, is a “sales pitch.” We don’t sell over the counter, we sell by engaging in and delivering extraordinary work.