Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives.
If we were allowed to go through life without any obstacles, we would be crippled.
We would not be as strong as what we could have been. And we could never fly.
Habit of Loyalty
To have loyal friends, you must be a loyal friend.
To be trusted, you must be trustworthy.
In life, every person has two paths to choose from…loyalty or disloyalty, honesty or dishonesty.
13 Reasons for Training
A few fantastic reasons to train that caught the eye of our very own Shihan.
Muscle Regeneration
We lose muscle as we age, about 5% every 10 years after the age of 35. This loss in muscle mass translates to a decline in metabolism and also an increased risk of injury. Strength training will reverse this process not only by building muscle, but by creating a favorable hormone environment. Any type of exercise will also increase blood flow to the body and help reverse the muscle loss as well.
Here are 10 powerful ways to stimulate muscle growth.
Here are 10 powerful ways to stimulate muscle growth.
Better Skin
Good fitness involves eating right, exercising, and drinking plenty of water – all of which have various positive effects on your skin. Eating a nutritious diet high in vitamin C and Omega 3 fatty acids has been shown to slow the appearance of wrinkles . Exercise improves circulation to your skin, giving it more elasticity. Drinking water flushes out toxins and improves your skin’s appearance by hydrating it.
Fat Ages You
My best friend, who is 38, recently became very fit through nutrition and exercise. I was meeting her in a crowded location and walked right past her no fewer than 3 times, because I thought she was a teenager standing there. I think even I look younger at 35 than I did 10 years ago when I was 30 pounds overweight, and that is often the first impression I have when seeing body transformations – they look 10 years younger! Keeping your body healthy and fit will give you the physical appearance of someone much younger.
Youth On a Cellular Level
Exercise has been shown through research to stop the shortening of telomeres, which are tiny protective strands of DNA that prevent chromosomes from unraveling in our immunity cells. Shortening of these telomeres is thought to be caused by stress, which then opens the door to disease. Exercise reduces stress levels, which in turn prevents the damage to these cell protectors, keeping them undamaged and “younger”.
Improved Cognitive Function
Aside from the improved oxygen circulation to the brain, research has actually found that exercise can reverse the aging of the section of the brain that controls memory. As we age, this part of the brain (the hippocampus) shrinks, which is why many elderly adults struggle with dementia and memory loss. A study of 120 older adults showed a 2% increase in size of the hippocampus with exercise [4]. This increase in size was shown to positively affect memory in these adults. Many superfoods with anti-inflammatory properties, like spinach, blueberries, and omega 3 fats have also been shown to lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological degenerative disorders.
Vitality
Keeping your body in shape, flexible, and energizing it with nutritious food enables you to keep up with physical activities that you might otherwise have to give up as you age. Play sports, go out dancing, chase your children and grandchildren well into your later years.
HGH – Human Growth Hormone
Human growth hormone (HGH) is produced by the pituitary gland. Its decline during middle age is one reason for our aging, specifically muscle and bone loss, and skin elasticity decline. We can increase the amount of HGH we produce naturally as we age just by getting adequate sleep, and through exercise. Specifically, resistance and high intensity interval training have been shown to increase the amount of HGH our bodies naturally produce.
Bone Health
As we age, particularly women over the age of 50, we are more likely to develop osteoporosis as our bones deteriorate. Strength training prevents and even reverses this deterioration by stimulating bone growth and improving bone density. Our diet also affects our bone health, as bones are made almost entirely of calcium and phosphorus.
Posture
A reduction in overall muscle mass, core strength, and bone density often lead to a slumped over posture that is observed in elderly men and women. This can cause balance issues and stiffness/pain. Strength training, specifically core exercises, will keep your posture in good form so you can stand straight and tall into your golden years.
Youthful Hair
Eating a sufficient amount of protein in your diet, one that is rich in Vitamin B, will slow the aging process of your hair, which can become thinner, finer, and have more breakage as we get older.
Sex Drive
As we age, we produce less and less testosterone, which is responsible for much of our libido. Exercise increases testosterone production, as does a nutritious diet – keeping our sex drives alive.
Here is more about how good health makes sex better.
Here is more about how good health makes sex better.
Lowered Risk of Disease
Both healthy diet and exercise lower your risk of diseases that are common with aging, like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and even some types of cancer.
Kaizen
This comprehensive principle of self-improvement is called “kaizen”, or “constant and never-ending improvement”. It’s at the core of what it means to become a black belt.
Positive Self-Control
Besides being creatures of habit, we are all emotional beings. Most of the actions you take are based on your emotions.
So how do we learn to make better decisions? On the mat and off, the key is to learn to control your emotions so they don’t control you.
One of the greatest benefits you’ll see from Martial Arts training is what we call “positive self-control” when it comes to your emotions. Rather than just reacting all the time, you can learn to do three important things:
First, assess…
Then respond…
Then reset.
When you train yourself in this way, you begin to understand that there are ways that you can influence your own emotions, putting you in the driver seat.
This is a very empowering experience, one that is directly in line with the principles of Jiu-Jitsu: efficiency, effectiveness, creativity and consideration.
If you’ve ever lost control of your emotions, this usually means you’ve grown mad, sad or upset over something that’s happened to you. You’ve allowed your emotions to be in the driver’s seat, when they’d do much better as a passenger. With consistent training and practice, you can and will gain control over your emotions; and this will allow you to excel in your training and your life.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, stricken with polio at age 39, became president at the height of the Great Depression, and helped the American people regain their faith in themselves. He wrote, “We are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of our own minds.”
What are you a “prisoner” of? What are you doing to change it?
The things you focus on day in and day out have a significant influence on your attitude. Your daily habits can have a positive or a negative impact on your thoughts and emotions. The more you direct your focus and thinking patterns, the better control you will have over your emotions.
Martial arts training puts us directly in front of ourselves. We’re reminded about both our strengths and our shortcomings on a regular basis – a personal inventory that many people lack the courage to consider. As modern warriors, we have to consider the physical, mental and emotional habits we’re building as we work towards black belt.
Thoughts lead to feelings, your feelings lead to your actions, and your actions always determine your results.
Improve your thinking and you will improve your life.
Habit of Self-Belief
Belief is the knowledge that we can do something. It’s an inner feeling that we can accomplish the things we desire to do…and decide to achieve.
One of the truly great things about the goal of Black Belt is that it re-invests us in ourselves: it asks us to commit to self-belief. When you believe in yourself, you gain power and your eyes open to opportunities that lead to greatness.
To achieve high levels of success in any field, you must believe you can do it. Surrounding yourself with a powerful support team – your family, your friends, your instructors, your bosses – helps to build this feeling of belief and possibility.
Your thoughts can be positive and filled with belief, or they can be negative and filled with disbelief. If you’re not building the habit of self-belief through positive, proactive activities, you can slip into self-doubt and “stinking thinking”.
Either way, your mind will convince you to succeed and achieve, or to fail and give up.
Have confidence in yourself and your ability to become more and achieve more than you already have. Confidence and self-belief are like muscles that have to be exercised and used to become stronger.
“Believe you can and you are halfway there.”
— Theodore Roosevelt
Fill your mind with thoughts of success and victory – work to eliminate thoughts of failure and defeat. Surround yourself with people that support and encourage you to go for it, and dump the naysayers that fill your mind with fear and doubt.
See it, believe it…and you’ll make the change a reality.
A Special Stranger Danger
We love taking the practice outside the dojo, especially when we’re helping kids learn how to stay safe. Our afternoon with Healthy Living Ministries was great – and here is what they had to say about the class:
Greetings,
Good day to you Professor Noto…We really had a great time in the Stranger Danger Class on Friday; in fact I learned some important life saving skills for myself…Thank You!…..The Children could not stop talking about their new experience…Please count us in for the next class…Our Youth will participate in the “Stranger Danger” class.
Warmly,
Rev. S. Jordon
Friends Healing Network for Healthy Living Ministries, Inc.
Habit of Taking Action
To achieve your best in any area of your life, you must take action… and plenty of it. If you didn’t realize this already, you wouldn’t be training in the Martial Arts – you’d be thinking about training in the Martial Arts!
Most people think before they act, and usually that’s a good thing. We know that preparation and planning are essential to success. But some people think and think and think, and never act. They fail to launch their plan into action. Sometimes it’s because they fear failure, other times they are waiting for everything to be exactly right to get started and sometimes they are just plain lazy.
*** Take Action Today Not Tomorrow! ***
People who accomplish things in this life tend to be “action oriented”. In other words, they don’t wait…they create.
Once you decide you want to achieve or attain something, take action. If you want to be an expert or gain experience for yourself, you’ve got to be willing to be a beginner – and to start from wherever you are. Take action today and tomorrow…but don’t wait until tomorrow to get started.
Almost everyone has something they wished they’d gotten started on sooner. Maybe it was to start training in the Martial Arts sooner, maybe it was to start a diet sooner or start saving money sooner. Maybe it was an art project, or spending time with their family or starting a business. If that describes you, realize you are not alone.
Learn from your past: repeat what works and change what doesn’t. If you have a tendency to procrastinate or avoid taking action, do something – anything – to break the habit. You’ve got too much to offer to be held back by such a limited belief system.
Change your approach and take action today, not tomorrow!
It’s never too late to start, and the sooner you start…the sooner you can start to see progress, results and changes.
Tyler’s Thai Kickboxing Essay
Tyler – age 15
The most significant change I’ve experienced since beginning the Muay Thai program at Brooklyn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is self-control and my overall physical shape. The improvement in my self-control came thru the intense workout at BBJJ provides and the constant help you can get from any of the instructors. Physically since I joined BBJJ I have lost close to 40 pounds and my endurance in any physical activity has gone from lasting a few minutes to an hour without stop. It has affected myself and those around me by making me more active with my family and my friends, being able to spend more time running and playing instead of sitting under a tree resting while everyone played without me. Personally its help me with my self-esteem as well knowing that I’ve slimmed down and gotten both stronger physically and mentally.
