Goals

Goal: noun. – the result or achievement toward which effort is directed.

Goals are valuable tools to help individuals measure progress toward a greater achievement. Attaining a diploma, receiving the rank of Eagle Scout, Black Belt, or educational distinction are all good examples. Goals are most effective when created in succession, smaller goals achieved get us closer to a larger goal or objective. Most published lists of “Highly Successful People” include ‘goal oriented’ as a necessary trait. Goal setting is important in both personal and professional growth.

What we have to be guarded against is what kind of goal are we setting for ourselves. For instance, a goal to become a Black Belt is a common goal for most martial art students. I hear this from new students of all ages and encourage it as an overall objective. Just like with any goal, we need to be careful to understand what the goal entails or what we’re placing value upon. Is getting a Black Belt the goal or is it the knowledge, philosophy, and experience it represents? Is earning a college degree the goal or is it the mastery of the material learned along the way? A real goal isn’t a diploma (paper), or dark colored belt (cloth), or a pin (metal) on a Boy Scout’s sash – these are symbols. We must ask ourselves (and our students); “Is our goal symbolic or substantive?” Is it simply framed recognition of time spent or is it the culmination of lessons learned?

Successful people also have enthusiasm for the process. Our goals should not be focused on the symbolism of an achievement but on the substantive knowledge and experiences gained as we march toward an objective. Think of this next time you set a goal for yourself or assist students in goal-setting exercises. Is your goal substantive or symbolic? What is it you are really looking to achieve, learn, or experience?

My $.02

SUN!
Mr. Dragon

The Case Against Competition

The Case Against Competition

By Alfie Kohn

When it comes to competition, we Americans typically recognize only two legitimate positions: enthusiastic support and qualified support.

The first view holds that the more we immerse our children (and ourselves) in rivalry, the better. Competition builds character and produces excellence. The second stance admits that our society has gotten carried away with the need to be Number One, that we push our kids too hard and too fast to become winners -- but insists that competition can be healthy and fun if we keep it in perspective.

I used to be in the second camp. But after investigating the topic for several years, looking at research from psychology, sociology, biology, education, and other fields, I'm now convinced that neither position is correct. Competition is bad news all right, but it's not just that we overdo it or misapply it. The trouble lies with competition itself. The best amount of competition for our children is none at all, and the very phrase "healthy competition" is actually a contradiction in terms.

That may sound extreme if not downright un-American. But some things aren't just bad because they're done to excess; some things are inherently destructive. Competition, which simply means that one person can succeed only if others fail, is one of those things. It's always unnecessary and inappropriate at school, at play, and at home.

Think for a moment about the goals you have for your children. Chances are you want them to develop healthy self-esteem, to accept themselves as basically good people. You want them to become successful, to achieve the excellence of which they're capable. You want them to have loving and supportive relationships. And you want them to enjoy themselves.

These are fine goals. But competition not only isn't necessary for reaching them -- it actually undermines them.

Competition is to self-esteem as sugar is to teeth. Most people lose in most competitive encounters, and it's obvious why that causes self-doubt. But even winning doesn't build character; it just lets a child gloat temporarily. Studies have shown that feelings of self-worth become dependent on external sources of evaluation as a result of competition: Your value is defined by what you've done. Worse -- you're a good person in proportion to the number of people you've beaten.

In a competitive culture, a child is told that it isn't enough to be good -- he must triumph over others. Success comes to be defined as victory, even though these are really two very different things. Even when the child manages to win, the whole affair, psychologically speaking, becomes a vicious circle: The more he competes, the more he needs to compete to feel good about himself.

When I made this point on a talk show on national television, my objections were waved aside by the parents of a seven-year-old tennis champion named Kyle, who appeared on the program with me. Kyle had been used to winning ever since a tennis racket was put in his hands at the age of two. But at the very end of the show, someone in the audience asked him how he felt when he lost. Kyle lowered his head and in a small voice replied, "Ashamed."

This is not to say that children shouldn't learn discipline and tenacity, that they shouldn't be encouraged to succeed or even have a nodding acquaintance with failure. But none of these requires winning and losing -- that is, having to beat other children and worry about being beaten. When classrooms and playing fields are based on cooperation rather than competition, children feel better about themselves. They work with others instead of against them, and their self-esteem doesn't depend on winning a spelling bee or a Little League game.

Children succeed in spite of competition, not because of it. Most of us were raised to believe that we do our best work when we're in a race -- that without competition we would all become fat, lazy, and mediocre. It's a belief that our society takes on faith. It's also false.

There is good evidence that productivity in the workplace suffers as a result of competition. The research is even more compelling in classroom settings. David Johnson, a professor of social psychology at the University of Minnesota, and his colleagues reviewed all the studies they could find on the subject from 1924 to 1980. Sixty-five of the studies found that children learn better when they work cooperatively as opposed to competitively, eight found the reverse, and 36 found no significant difference. The more complex the learning task, the worse children in a competitive environment fared.

Brandeis University psychologist Teresa Amabile was more interested in creativity. In a study, she asked children to make "silly collages." Some competed for prizes and some didn't. Seven artists then independently rated the kids' work. It turned out that those who were trying to win produced collages that were much less creative -- less spontaneous, complex and varied -- than the others.

One after another, researchers across the country have concluded that children do not learn better when education is transformed into a competitive struggle. Why? First, competition often makes kids anxious and that interferes with concentration. Second, competition doesn't permit them to share their talents and resources as cooperation does, so they can't learn from one another. Finally, trying to be Number One distracts them from what they're supposed to be learning. It may seem paradoxical, but when a student concentrates on the reward (an A or a gold star or a trophy), she becomes less interested in what she's doing. The result: Performance declines.

Just because forcing children to try to outdo one another is counterproductive doesn't mean they can't keep track of how they're doing. There's no problem with comparing their achievements to an objective standard (how fast they ran, how many questions they got right) or to how they did yesterday or last year. But if we value our children's intellectual development, we need to realize that turning learning into a race simply doesn't work.

Competition is a recipe for hostility. By definition, not everyone can win a contest. If one child wins, another cannot. This means that each child comes to regard others as obstacles to his or her own success. Forget fractions or home runs; this is the real lesson our children learn in a competitive environment.

Competition leads children to envy winners, to dismiss losers (there's no nastier epithet in our language than "Loser!"), and to be suspicious of just about everyone. Competition makes it difficult to regard others as potential friends or collaborators; even if you're not my rival today, you could be tomorrow.

This is not to say that competitors will always detest each other. But trying to outdo someone is not conducive to trust -- indeed, it would be irrational to trust someone who gains from your failure. At best, competition leads one to look at others through narrowed eyes; at worst, it invites outright aggression. Existing relationships are strained to the breaking point, while new friendships are often nipped in the bud.

Again, the research -- which I review in my book No Contest: The Case Against Competition -- helps to explain the destructive effect of win/lose arrangements. When children compete, they are less able to take the perspective of others -- that is, to see the world from someone else's point of view. One study demonstrated conclusively that competitive children were less empathetic than others; another study showed that competitive children were less generous.

Cooperation, on the other hand, is marvelously successful at helping children to communicate effectively, to trust in others and to accept those who are different from themselves. Competition interferes with these goals and often results in outright antisocial behavior. The choice is ours: We can blame the individual children who cheat, turn violent, or withdraw, or we can face the fact that competition itself is responsible for such ugliness.

Studies also show, incidentally, that competition among groups isn't any better than competition among individuals. Kids don't have to work against a common enemy in order to know the joys of camaraderie or to experience success. Real cooperation doesn't require triumphing over another group.

Having fun doesn't mean turning playing fields into battlefields. It's remarkable, when you stop to think about it, that the way we teach our kids to have a good time is to play highly structured games in which one individual or team must defeat another.

Consider one of the first games our children learn to play: musical chairs. Take away one chair and one child in each round until one smug winner is seated and everyone else has been excluded from play. You know that sour birthday party scene; the needle is lifted from the record and someone else is transformed into a loser, forced to sit out the rest of the game with the other unhappy kids on the side. That's how children learn to have fun in America.

Terry Orlick, a Canadian expert on games, suggests changing the goal of musical chairs so children are asked to fit on a diminishing number of seats. At the end, seven or eight giggling, happy kids are trying to squish on a single chair. Everyone has fun and there are no winners or losers.

What's true of musical chairs is true of all recreation; with a little ingenuity, we can devise games in which the obstacle is something intrinsic to the task itself rather than another person or team.

In fact, not one of the benefits attributed to sports or other competitive games actually requires competition. Children can get plenty of exercise without struggling against each other. Teamwork? Cooperative games allow everyone to work together, without creating enemies. Improving skills and setting challenges? Again, an objective standard or one's own earlier performance will do.

When Orlick taught a group of children noncompetitive games, two thirds of the boys and all of the girls preferred them to games that require opponents. If our culture's idea of a good time is competition, it may just be because we haven't tried the alternative.

How can parents raise a noncompetitive child in a competitive world?Competition is destructive to children's self-esteem, it interferes with learning, sabotages relationships, and isn't necessary to have a good time. But how do you raise a child in a culture that hasn't yet caught on to all this?

There are no easy answers here. But there is one clearly unsatisfactory answer: Make your son or daughter competitive in order to fit into the "real world." That isn't desirable for the child -- for all the reasons given here -- and it perpetuates the poison of competition in another generation.

Children can be taught about competition, prepared for the destructive forces they'll encounter, without being groomed to take part in it uncritically. They can be exposed to the case against competition just as they are taught the harms of drug abuse or reckless driving.

You will have to decide how much compromise is appropriate so your child isn't left out or ridiculed in a competitive society. But at least you can make your decision based on knowledge about competition's destructiveness. You can work with other parents and with your child's teachers and coaches to help change the structures that set children against one another. Or you may want to look into cooperative schools and summer camps, which are beginning to catch on around the country.

As for reducing rivalry and competitive attitudes in the home:

• Avoid comparing a child's performance to that of a sibling, a classmate, or yourself as a child.
• Don't use contests ("Who can dry the dishes fastest?") around the house. Watch your use of language ("Who's the best little girl in the whole wide world?") that reinforces competitive attitudes.
• Never make your love or acceptance conditional on a child's performance. It's not enough to say, "As long as you did your best, honey" if the child learns that Mommy's attitude about her is quite different when she has triumphed over her peers.
• Be aware of your power as a model. If you need to beat others, your child will learn that from you regardless of what you say. The lesson will be even stronger if you use your child to provide you with vicarious victories.

Raising healthy, happy, productive children goes hand in hand with creating a better society. The first step to achieving both is recognizing that our belief in the value of competition is built on myths. There are better ways for our children -- and for us -- to work and play and live.

Benefits of Traditional Martial Arts Practice

With proper instruction in traditional martial arts you can control the stress and tension in your life, take off excess weight and enjoy yourself while learning an effective self-defense. Along with looking and feeling better you will gain self-confidence.

Martial arts builds and maintains muscle tone. A martial arts program is designed to keep the body perfectly conditioned. Its insistence on mental alertness keeps a sound mind in a sound body.

The immediate aim of the true martial arts is the welfare of the student. Not only will self-defense skills be attained, but more importantly will be the focus on the individual’s character development. A well-rounded personality can be realized only if the spirit is right. Courtesy, respect, modesty, loyalty, generosity and dedication are not only the source, but the reward of martial arts.

The student Involved in the proper instruction of martial arts will develop good self-discipline. Improvement of physical ability gained from training will be immediately visible to the student himself while the improvement of his self-discipline will be recognized by those around him. Physical activities used to enhance mental conditioning are helpful in developing a positive self-image.

Martial arts are excellent for people of either sex and all ages. Women will learn an effective self-defense that can be used against an opponent who might be larger and stronger than themselves. It helps take off unwanted inches while toning the muscles through a fun and worthwhile learning experience. For children martial arts teaches self-defense while improving coordination. Many children’s doctors and psychologists recommend a program in the martial arts to correct childhood problems. The lessons a child learns will have a direct effect on the rest of their life.

Many parents choose to involve their entire family in martial arts as an interesting and enjoyable means of strengthening family relationships. Take the time to seriously consider what the martial arts has to offer you and your family. This could be an important step toward achieving those goals and aspirations you have been striving for.

Improvements Obtained through the Martial Arts

Mental Improvements

1. Mental Concentration: Not only physically will you find yourself being able to “go that extra mile”, but mentally as well. This is the ability to relax and concentrate deeply and more fully for greater lengths of time.

2. Personal Relationships: Both at work or at school, and with family and friends. Along with the mental concentration and respect for others comes an awareness of others and their needs. Respect, courtesy, kindness and sensitivity towards others will affect personal relationships.

3. Positive Attitude: The ability to defend oneself greatly improves self-confidence. Self-confidence combines with better judgment, integrity and overall improvement in lifestyle brings about a positive attitude.

Physical Accomplishments Include:

1. Improved Balance and Coordination: The will carry over into other activities of life. Also Instinct, agility and speed will all show vast improvements.

2. Flexibility: One of the first areas change will occur. Even touching your toes sets you apart from the majority of people. Good flexibility not only promotes good posture and physical looks, but will continue to improve your life physically as you age.

3. Endurance: Like flexibility, endurance will continue to show great improvements as you practice. Endurance will affect many areas such as becoming less tired while traveling, ability to excel in sports and constant increase of energy level.

As you can see, traditional martial arts is much more than just a workout. It is an alteration, both physically and mentally, of ones lifestyle that will last a life time.

How Martial Arts Can Increase Safety Awareness In Children

This article informs the reader of how martial arts can help increase their child's safety awareness.

Parents enroll their children in martial arts classes for a variety of reasons. Some kids are overweight or otherwise lacking in physical fitness. Martial Arts can help them slim down and become physically active. Others need the discipline and structure inherent to studying martial arts so that they can focus in school and be more helpful around the house. Then there are others who want their kids to learn martial arts so that they are better able to protect themselves.

This is not meant to imply that at Sun Martial Arts we go around turning kids into little Jackie Chan-like fighting machines. However, we do provide them with certain tools and training through martial arts that if the situation demanded, it would allow them to defend themselves against a bully or give them the good sense to extract themselves from a bad situation. The fact is that studying martial arts does help protect children by increasing their overall awareness level and making them more conscious of any potentially dangerous situation, from crossing a street to avoiding a dimly lit alley.

The unfortunate fact is that potential dangers for children can arise just about anywhere these days. Whether you're an adult or a child, learning martial arts demands that you increase your awareness of your surroundings. This awareness allows true martial artists to stave off most conflicts before they even arise. Sometimes, it's by doing something as simple as crossing to the other side of the street where it is better lit and there are a greater number of people around.

Part of the martial arts training we provide in our Dynamite and Youth programs at Sun Martial Arts is to always be aware of their surroundings, especially when they are walking or biking home from school or from a friend's house. Martial arts is about using your eyes and ears both on and off the mat.

At Sun Martial Arts, we have developed unique programs that are specifically designed to teach martial arts to children between the ages of 4-7 and 8-12. These programs are intended to help kids become more conscientious in every aspect of their life, be it at school, at home or in their social interactions with their peers. Along with that conscientiousness, comes a greater sense of being more safety conscious in general. We teach all of our young martial artists to avoid dangerous situations by using their heads.

If you are interested in finding out more about Sun Martial Arts and how our programs may be able to help your child become more safety conscious, give us a call at Sun Martial Arts 704-743-8317 or visit our website: www.SunMartialArts.net

Stay Safe!

Primers

A primer is a book that covers the basic elements of a subject. A reading primer would start with the abc's and present basic short, simple sentences. A math primer would begin with addition and subtraction of small numbers.
I consider kata to be primers. The early kata introduce the most basic techniques in a non-complicated short form. Even the most advanced kata use the same abc's but in a more complicated and dynamic fashion.
The more experienced practitioners will use all the kata as launching pads to further study what I call the art of movement. Ebb and flow, soft and hard, center lines, placement, diversion, impact, mass, speed, body-part dynamics, application, etc.,etc.
So, don't just read the primer and put it down. Explore it. Dissect it. The simple primer can be a master piece.
But please remember, the primers/katas are all-important and shouldn't be altered even if you think you have found a better way to execute a technique, as undoubtedly you will. Those just beginning the martial arts and those learning new kata need to learn them the same way you did, i.e. this move is attached to this move is attached to this move, etc.
I think a good rule of thumb is, when teaching, be dogmatic. The kata is taught as Master Rhee put them down years ago on the videos. However, when demonstrating, bring out the Art of Martial Arts. Read between the lines and demonstrate from between the moves.
SUN!

SUN "Military" Techniques

Martial Arts & the Bullying Epidemic

The bullying epidemic is as large as ever & receiving more attention & awareness than at any other time in our generation. Everyone from Talk show hosts, TV personalities, professionals & news anchors discuss & debate effective ways to combat this terrible & unfortunate reality. While their hearts are certainly in the right place I believe most of their efforts will be ineffective. I believe that the best way to diminish the likely hood of a child becoming the target of a bully (& most will at some point in their childhood) is to teach them self defense. I like to compare one’s ability to physically defend themselves to a home alarm system or car insurance. In either case, you feel a sense of security knowing they are there. You hope you will never have to use it but you are covered should an event arise.Too often I hear people say “Violence is not the answer”. Learning self defense through martial arts training has nothing to do with violence at all. In fact, statistics show that when a person knows how to defend themselves, they usually never have to. The reason is simply this: When you know how to defend yourself by physical means, you walk with confidence. Bullies sense that and look for a different target. Imagine this: You’re a bully who targets a kid on the playground. Right before you walk up to him/her, someone came up to you & said “Just so you know, that kid will fight back fiercely if you get physical with him”, would you go for it anyway? I think not! Bullies look for easy targets. People they “know” won’t stand up for themselves.The old adage says every one should know 5 important life skills: Reading, writing, arithmetic, swimming, & martial arts. Let’s look at the last 2 skills. When you break it down, swimming is self defense against water isn’t it? One day most people find themselves in water & if they can’t swim they can get hurt or worse. Well, martial arts is self defense on dry land & statistics prove that at 1 time or another you will find yourself in a situation where you need to “hold your ground”. That doesn’t mean to fight or be violent but simply have the confidence to look a bully square in the eyes & let them know he’s chosen the wrong target. The only real way to do that is to know you have the physical skills to back it up. You can “bluff” confidence only so far as somewhere in the back of your head lies a fear, big or small that if the bully calls it you may be in trouble! The bottom line is that everyone should know how to defend themselves. You wouldn’t send your child out into the middle of the ocean on a raft if he didn’t know how to swim. So why would you send them out into the world without self defense skills? It’s a jungle out there & predators are lurking!