July 2013 Newsletter

Wise Words from Sifu Rick!

“Falling down doesn’t make you a failure but staying down does!”

AASD ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Belt Test (Little & Junior Dragons) Friday, 8/2/13 6:30 pm
• Adult Belt Saturday, 8/3/13 11:00am in class
• Leadership class Saturday, 7/6/13 8:00 am

Black Belt Pride

July 2013 Student of the Month

Lily Yered

Lily Yered is the student of the month for July 2013. Lily started training at AASD in March of 2012.

Lily shows an example of dedication and hard work that is second to none. Always giving a 100% Lily excels in all aspects of her training especially sparring. Lily trains along with her younger brother Luke, and you can see the sibling competition come out with great respect as well.

Sifu Rick would also like to salute Lily’s parents Paul & Connie for all their support.

Black Belt Pride

What is Tact?

By Melody Shuman

Everyone has been taught that honesty is the best policy. The truth is not always pretty, however. Sometimes the blunt truth can be extremely hurtful. Tact is the ability to know how to express the truth in carefully worded terms to avoid hurting others’ feelings. If you must make a statement that could upset another person, then use the skill of tact to say it in the least hurtful way. Tact will also help you to avoid insults and rude replies.

As a martial artist, you should use tact as a natural part of your everyday manners. It’s the responsibility of every martial artist to protect others, and that includes their feelings. Feelings are extremely valuable to people. It is important that you always protect those feelings by learning and using tact.

Let’s explore some examples of tact and how to use it correctly.

Example 1: One of your classmates invites you to his birthday party.
A rude reply: “I don’t like you, so I won’t be there.”
A tactful reply: “I won’t be able to make it, but thank you for the invitation.”

Example 2: Your friend asks you, “Do you like my new shoes?”
A rude reply: ‘Those shoes are ugly.”
A tactful reply: ‘They’re not my style, but they look good on you.”

Example 3: You are visiting a friend’s house and his mom serves meatloaf, which you do not like.
A rude comment: “I hate meatloaf.”
A tactful reply: “I do not usually eat meatloaf, but thank you for offering me dinner.”

In each situation above, there is the potential to hurt the other person’s feelings. By making a tactful reply, you demonstrate good character. You should choose the tactful way to respond all of the time.

Remember, you need not lie to be tactful. You are tactful because you care about others’ feelings, and you want to avoid hurting or offending them. People who use tact tend to have more friends and they are better leaders. They attract people because they make others feel good. If you want to be a great friend and leader, then you should always think about using tact when speaking with others.

Make Evervone Feel Important

Make everyone you meet feel important. Listen. Be patient. Pay attention. Don’t interrupt or fidget. Make eye contact. Smile and nod encouragement. People love to be involved in projects, which they helped create. Help others to identify and develop their strengths. Be quick to praise and slow to criticize.

Bill FitzPatrick is a 5th-degree Black Belt, holds a Master’s Degree in Education and runs the non-profit American Success Institute at: www.mastersuccess.com.

Health Kick: Good Routines Keep You Healthy!

Your exercise routine may be interrupted, like many of us, by a medical condition, extra work or just plain laziness. You’ve experienced how difficult it is to return to your daily workout, especially after a long interruption. Regardless of why you stopped exercising, you must “jump right back on the horse” as soon as you are able. You must overcome the obstacle, and resume your healthy routine.

If a medical condition restricts your exercise, then continue to maintain a healthy/exercise mindset. For example, if your ailment affects only one part of your body, then continue to exercise the
other parts. If you have a cold, then find the energy to do some chair-based exercises. If you’re on vacation, then you should be able to still find the time to do all or part of your workout. The goal is to reduce the amount and length of the interruption and maintain a healthy outlook.

Think of your diet in the same manner. Don’t dwell on individual dietary “indiscretions,” such as an extra piece of cake. Look to the future, instead, and make your next meal or snack as nutritional as possible. Avoid the diet downhill spiral, where one extra piece of cake today leads to more diet mistakes tomorrow and the next day. Every calorie you eat either must be exercised from your body or stored as fat in your body.

New research shows that your body probably makes a very quick shift from burning energy to storing fat. In a study, rats started storing fat after only a few days of inactivity. (They had been running on an exercise wheel for three weeks.) Their fat cells expanded by approximately 20% on average, and their abdominal fat increased in weight by 25%. Rats aren’t humans, but this research indicates that maintaining a daily exercise program is as significant to your metabolism as you have been told. Studies of inactive humans have shown that blood sugar and insulin increase after only five days of inactivity. The new animal studies suggest that the changes in metabolism could be more dramatic, and start much earlier.

Your take-home lesson is to exercise daily, and don’t stop. Plan and consume a healthy diet. Overcome the interruptions and obstacles to achieve and maintain your healthy lifestyle. Your body and mind will thank you every day.