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  • Self-Defense – Why Most Adults Drop Out of Martial Arts Classes

    Self-Defense – Why Most Adults Drop Out of Martial Arts Classes

    They were martial arts teachers and they certainly taught self-defense as a part of their classes.
    Now, this isn’t to say that most martial arts instructors don’t know their arts and the techniques and skills that come with them. No matter how hard they try, most self-defense instructors and martial arts will not be able to convince most adults that they know what they’re talking about without the experience to back it up. By all means, an instructor can, and should, continue to teach his particular style of martial art. They should also know this …
    … no company, whether it’s a furniture store or a martial art school, stays in-business very long if it can’t give its customers what they need and want.

    The most surprising statistic that most martial and karate arts teachers discover is the one that tells them “why most of their adult students quit shortly after enrolling.” The greatest percentage of adult dropouts from martial arts classes occurs within the first 100 days!
    This has sparked some groups to investigate the reasons behind this phenomena. Surveys have been conducted both in the United States and in Canada. Additional inquiries may also have been conducted in places like Europe and Australia.
    What the researchers found was, to them, incredible. They found that, by and large, the number one reason for adult students dropping out of their programs was …
    … no real-world self-defense training early on in their training!
    The researchers were stunned. They were martial arts teachers and they certainly taught self-defense as a part of their classes.
    How could these adults say that they weren’t being taught real-world self-defense techniques?
    Perhaps, the problem was not that “self-defense techniques” were or were not being taught. Because, even after these studies were conducted and karate programs started to “import” third-party self-defense packages into their product offering, adult dropouts remained high.
    Maybe the problem was in perception. Maybe students just couldn’t see how the “stylized” movements of a centuries-old system could be applicable against a street attack against a stiletto or ‘Saturday Night Special’ -wielding assailant.
    It’s certain that students were not hearing and seeing what they thought they should in order to believe that they were getting what they needed to survive such an attack. Even if these students don’t know what ‘that thing’ really looks like, their gut-level feeling was that, “this stuff isn’t going to work.”
    Maybe the problem – what adult students are looking for – is in something even more crucial to learning self-defense against violent attackers. And maybe this “thing” was easier to identify by novices than by trained instructors who had been indoctrinated into sport systems.
    Maybe what was lacking in all of these programs was something the real experts like to call …
    … Experience!
    Regardless of the subject, it’s fairly easy to see when someone has experience with the information they have, isn’t it? I mean, experience in actually applying that information to produce viable, proven results. As the old saying goes, “those who can – do; and those who can’t – teach.”
    And, what adult students are looking for is someone who “can” AND “teach” others how they can.
    Now, this isn’t to say that most martial arts instructors don’t know their arts and the techniques and skills that come with them. Most certainly do. And these people are very good at what they do.
    ; there is a huge difference between knowing how to ‘perform’ a skill – any skill – and being able to apply that skill in a particular context. And self-defense is no exception.
    No matter how hard they try, most self-defense instructors and martial arts will not be able to convince most adults that they know what they’re talking about without the experience to back it up. Adult students are not children. They have seen far too much in their lives to let these less-than-able instructors slide.
    And with the new threat of terrorism being added to the ever-present concern with crime, most adults have no desire to learn martial arts for purely ascetic reasons. They want – no, they demand – and rightly so, that the person they place their trust in, not to mention their very lives, knows what he or she is doing.
    What’s an instructor to do if he or she lacks actual real-world experience? Should they rush right out and get into a few fights? Should they go hang out in the seedier side of town and wait to be mugged, raped, or beaten?
    No, of course not. They can, like their students, go in search of real experts – people who have “been there” and who can help them learn what they need to know in order to help the people who come to them for this type of knowledge.
    Of course, this may require that they suck in their pride and get a check on the old ego. As everyone knows who has been in an actual violent confrontation with a dangerous attacker, you need to “check your ego at the door” if you’re going to survive.
    Teaching self-protection skills to others is a huge responsibility. And one perhaps that’s too great for a lot of people who are teaching for purely personal reasons.
    There is another option available, however; just in case the primary one is totally unacceptable. If they’re not qualified, and that option is simply to …
    … stop trying to teach self-defense.
    By all means, an instructor can, and should, continue to teach his particular style of martial art. He should stop trying to convince intelligent, grown adults, that he knows what he’s talking about with regards to surviving a violent attack if he doesn’t.
    Most martial arts instructors teach honesty as one of the major tenets and character traits of a black belt master and leader. Wouldn’t this be the “honest” thing to do?
    The moral here is that, if a martial arts or karate teacher wishes to teach self-defense – if he or she wants to get and retain adult students looking for this type of training for the long-term, they really have no choice but to do what they must.
    They, like every other information-based professional, are in business to provide a service. They must decide what that service is and whether or not it includes real-world self-protection against violent attackers who don’t follow the rules of fairness and respect found in martial arts schools and karate tournaments.
    They should also know this …
    … no company, whether it’s a furniture store or a martial art school, stays in-business very long if it can’t give its customers what they need and want. Their students and clients may never tell them that they don’t believe or trust them. Rest assured that if they’re not getting what they’ve paid for, they’re gone.
    As a final thought, and one that I live by. What if, some day, “I” must depend on one of my students to protect me from a dangerous assailant for whatever reason. Wouldn’t I want to make sure that what he or she learned was really going to work?

  • Action Steps For Successful Knife Defense

    Action Steps For Successful Knife Defense

    Of all, don’t get into knife fights. I don’t care how good you are, if you’re bare handed and in street clothes, and the other guy has a combat knife, you’re at a serious disadvantage.

    In Western fencing, this would be called a riposte, and it teaches you that the block automatically breaks the line of the attack and lets you counterattack immediately. Use any techniques you can to A) disable your attacker, and B) run away. You aren’t fighting fair, you aren’t fighting for points, you’re fighting to put the other guy down as fast as possible while avoiding getting hurt.

    I treat martial arts somewhat as a sport and as a workout routine, but I ‘d be lying to you if I didn’t think it also had some practical utility as a self-defense technique, and a lot of the classes I teach focus on self-defense, particularly in teaching classes to teenagers and women, in particular mugger defense and knife defense.

    Recently, I’ve had to give some thought into teaching knife defense. Knife defense and martial arts techniques sort of mix, and sort of don’t. Knife defense has to take a different approach.

    The basic knife attack is a thrust or a slash delivered with the forward hand, sort of like a punch. Most people aren’t particularly trained at knife fighting, so they use a natural punching motion. Just like you do an inside block or outside block on a punch, you do the same thing against a guy with a knife.

    Recently, I’ve had to give some thought into teaching knife defense. Knife defense and martial arts techniques sort of mix, and sort of don’t.

    Of all, don’t get into knife fights. Which leads to the first principle of knife defense: You’re going to get cut.

    Which leads to the first principle of knife defense: You’re going to get cut. Repeat after me: You’re going to get cut. Be prepared for it, understand that it can happen, and that it will hurt (when you’re getting cut) and hurt a lot less immediately after.

  • Success Tips For Personal Growth

    Success Tips For Personal Growth

    You will see the success in your life to the level in which you believe it is possible to achieve Do not be afraid of adversity and challenge, it is part and parcel of your success.

    You Are Already A Success
    Whether you know it or not., you have already gotten the things you have been wanting, there is nothing wrong with you, you work perfectly. The very fact that you are reading this right now suggests that you have faced hardships up to this point in time, simply because you are human.

    Below are three not so common success tips towards your personal growth.

    Everything is already inside of you, look around you, what do you see, this is what is going on inside of you. Change the picture if you do not see the picture of success you were hoping for. You have success today, it is just a matter of defining those areas of your life that you want more of.

    You Don’t Have To Feel Good All The Time
    No matter what the media tells you, feeling good all the time is not normal, one constant state of being creates illness. Given time, too much of a good thing becomes commonplace or boring. Just remember that you can’t have one without the other, yin and yang, white and black, mad and sane, hero, fool.

    If you do not see the picture of success you were hoping for, change the picture. You have success today, it is just a matter of defining those areas of your life that you want more of.

    Success Is No Harder Than Failing
    Whether you will be a success or failure is entirely up to you but know that success is a lot easier than failing. Living in a constant state of being down and unhappy is unnecessary and very difficult, if you have the time and energy to live like that, success will be a doddle in comparison.

    Success, personal growth, self development, whatever you want to call it is the dedication to self-discipline, determination and wanting what is rightfully yours – usually excellence in your chosen field.

    Success is the habit that is forged in consistent daily actions, focusing on achievement of self-imposed goals. How you deal with these unforeseen circumstances will play a large part in your overall success.

    The impossible of yesterday can be the commonplace of today. Nothing limits you unless you limit the means that you are using. You will see the success in your life to the level in which you believe it is possible to achieve Do not be afraid of adversity and challenge, it is part and parcel of your success.

    If you haven’t achieved the desired results you were expecting to have happened by now, what have you been doing with the results of your actions up until this point in time? Have you developed your relationships with friends or life partner?

    Success is the habit that is forged in consistent daily actions, focusing on achievement of self-imposed goals. How you deal with these unforeseen circumstances will play a large part in your overall success.

  • How your success can continue well into the future

    How your success can continue well into the future

    As for the financial success, you will need to consider putting some of your income away so that you can retire and live without having to worry about where you are going to get your next meal. You need to start thinking about your future finances so that you can reflect on yourself and feel like a success.

    You are going to have to think about the ways that you are going to be affected in the future because of the success that you are having right now. You need to start thinking about your own procrastination and overcoming procrastination and your spending sins so that you can start thinking about the success that you could have in the future.

    If you want to work on your procrastination and your potential success, then you not only have to look successful, but you have to health too. What is the use of having success if you can’t enjoy it! You will need to learn how to keep the body going by watching your calories and your fat intake so that you can keep your heart going strong.

    Even if you use this sense of thinking for everyday things like laundry and the dishes, because for you to be a success you have to look a success and you have to feel like a success and clutter is just one of the many things that could hold your success back.

    They plan and think and plan, but they never take any action for own success. You will need to take some steps so that you don’t allow procrastination to overtake your possible future success.

    If you really want to stay a success or find more success you have to avoid being a perfectionist and start thinking about your own self confidence. When you take a step or a day away from business and stress you will find that your lives a lot better and find the confidence to reach for success.

    If you really want to stay a success or find more success you have to avoid being a perfectionist and start thinking about your own self confidence. You need to start thinking about your future finances so that you can reflect on yourself and feel like a success.

    You have to consider the fact that your success can continue far into the future, but you have to want it to. You are going to have to think about the ways that you are going to be affected in the future because of the success that you are having right now. You need to start thinking about your own procrastination and overcoming procrastination and your spending sins so that you can start thinking about the success that you could have in the future.

    You are going to have to set yourself some boundaries and goals. The boundaries will actually be deadlines so that you can do things to push yourself forward. Even if you use this sense of thinking for everyday things like laundry and the dishes, because for you to be a success you have to look a success and you have to feel like a success and clutter is just one of the many things that could hold your success back.

  • Become Proactive And Master Success

    Become Proactive And Master Success

    You are an imaginative and resourceful person. These qualities are among your inheritance as a human being. Then you are bound to find more success in your professional and personal lives, if you use the qualities to take responsibility for your actions and generate new initiatives.

    We want to succeed in our professional lives. Despite this desire to succeed we so often do not find success. Just what is the secret to success in our professional and personal lives?

    It is easy to place the blame for our failure to succeed on the many factors that influence our lives. Assigning blame for our failures, even if we accept the blame for ourselves, will not do one thing to change our failure. If we move past the blame game and start to think proactively– better yet become proactive– then we will be on the path to success.

    Many people are familiar with the term– proactive– however they simply believe it means to take action on our own initiative. Becoming a proactive person is more than simply taking action. Being proactive means that you not only take action but you also take responsibility for yourself.

    In order to ensure your success you must accept your personal responsibility for your own failure and success. Do not blame others, conditions, or the past, but rather choose to respond to failure or success in a positive way.

    Once you begin to take advantage of your inherently human abilities and strengths, you are bound to find success. We have the power to change ourselves and our lives. This is the true path to success.

    Once you begin to take advantage of your inherently human abilities and strengths, you are bound to find success. If you use the qualities to take responsibility for your actions and generate new initiatives then you are bound to find more success in your professional and personal lives.

    Remember that failure does not have to be the end of the road but can rather be the beginning of a whole new path. Then take those lessons to forge a new plan of action then you are bound to find success, if you can accept the blame for your mistakes and learn from them.

    Despite this desire to succeed we so often do not find success. Just what is the secret to success in our professional and personal lives? If we move past the blame game and start to think proactively– better yet become proactive– then we will be on the path to success.

  • Business Coaching And Training

    Business Coaching And Training

    This is precisely the reason why business coaching has become a valuable skill and coaching training a valuable commodity. Business coaching makes us all better, more confident in our own skills, aptitudes, and communications.
    The type of people who friends go to for advice, who see the best in others even when other people don’t; the type of people who grow frustrated when people fail to see the potential in themselves.

    What is best, is that this development builds upon itself, for once a coaching skill is developed it can not help but let its influence and encouragement spread.
    Coaching is about potential, learning from mistakes, building on previous success, and realizing the future. Coaching training farms this potential, and will undoubtedly bring out the best performance in any team.

  • Small Business Coaching: Are You Ready To Become A Success Story?

    Small Business Coaching: Are You Ready To Become A Success Story?

    Small business coaching is hot. A few years ago the only coaches anyone talked about were sports coaches. Today, PriceWaterhouseCoopers estimates that there are 30,000 business and life coaches worldwide.

    Thousands of small business owners and managers turn to coaches every day to improve their personal skills and business results. You have to select the right coach.

    Are you Ready?

    Most small businesses owners don’t start out using a coach. They usually come to coaching when they’re ready to listen and when they need a little nudge and a little knowledge to do the right things.

    Coaching is not a magic bean. You have to work at success every day. I tell my clients that “success is based on persistency and consistency, not magic.”

    Coaching does not come without a price. You may even realize that you need to invest in new things for your business.

    If you see coaching as an investment in yourself and your success, you’re ready for coaching. Your next challenge is to find the right coach for you.

    Are you ready to listen to the things you need to hear? A good coach will ask you about things you haven’t thought of and push you to think outside the box. That’s often scary.

    Are you ready to take a hard look at your business? If your business can’t deliver quality to enough people at the right price, even the best coach can’t help you. Sometimes a business simply can’t succeed because the market is too hard or too small to reach.

    Rosa started her business out of her home. That’s when a friend suggested that a small business coach would help.

    If you’re not ready to be helped, the best coaching in the world won’t help you. Before you go hunting for a good small business coach, answer the following questions.

    A good coach may also tell you to change the way you do some things. Because it means admitting that you’ve made some bad decisions and choices, that’s hard for many small business owners.

    Choosing the Coach for You

    Look for a coach who’s been doing it for a while. My job as a coach is to help you know what to do, but it’s also to help you do what you know. It takes time to learn to coach well.

    And, sometimes, even a great coach is not the right coach for you. Small businesses are different from big businesses and you need a coach who understands the special challenges.

    It can happen for you, too. If you’re ready, if you’re willing to embrace change and if you’re willing to pay the price, a small business coach can help you become an amazing success story.

    After some soul searching and some research Rosa started working with a small business coach. It wasn’t always easy, but together they found ways to help Rosa’s business grow and help her reap the benefits of success. They took her business and life to a whole new level.

    Look for a coach that you’re comfortable with. If you feel any of those things, look for a different coach.

    Look for a coach who won’t nickel and dime you to death. It seems to me that there are two kinds of coaches when it comes to billing.

    Look for a coach who’s run a small business. Before I started coaching I built two successful small businesses. I’ve really “been there and done that” so I know what my clients are going through.

    Look for a coach who’s picky. The best coaches are selective about the kind of clients they work with. We expect a lot of our clients and we limit the number of clients we work with so we can concentrate on helping each one succeeds.

    Great coaches, like great chefs and great football players, are rare. And, sometimes, even a great coach is not the right coach for you. Here are some ways to evaluate coaches.

    I also use coaches myself. The ones that work best for me have small business experience. Small businesses are different from big businesses and you need a coach who understands the special challenges.

    A few years ago the only coaches anyone talked about were sports coaches. Thousands of small business owners and managers turn to coaches every day to improve their personal skills and business results. That’s when a friend suggested that a small business coach would help.

  • Business Coaching: Coaches Are Not Just For Sports

    Business Coaching: Coaches Are Not Just For Sports

    I think one of the best things about playing organized sports is the ability to learn the sport from a coach. He was able to relate to me in a way that helped me understand how to play the game better.

    A business coach is used to help a person make their business process more successful. Do not confuse a business coach with a consultant, because a consultant is usually brought in for advice on a single project, or a few similar projects. A business coach is brought in to take a business down a path that will lead to a more successful business overall.

    When trying to create a successful business, many successful entrepreneurs take this same approach. Sometimes these entrepreneurs enlist the help of a business coach. Business coaching can be used in many different ways to help a business become a successful one.

    Do you remember when you were a small child and you would watch an older child play a sport, and you would think how amazing they were? As you got older you would try and play sports to do everything just like the pros. For some reason you were never able to do things just like they were able to do them.

    Business coaching can help many different types of businesses including startups, corporations, small businesses, and even franchises. When critical processes are being planned, these business coaches usually have a lot of prior experience managing a business and can help to guide their employers in the right direction. Just like my old basketball coach was able to relate to me to help me better understand how to play basketball, a business coach is also there to help an entrepreneur understand how to run a business better and more efficiently.

    Business coaching can help many different types of businesses including startups, corporations, small businesses, and even franchises. Just like my old basketball coach was able to relate to me to help me better understand how to play basketball, a business coach is also there to help an entrepreneur understand how to run a business better and more efficiently.

    A business coach is brought in to take a business down a path that will lead to a more successful business overall.

  • Can You Become Wealthy?

    Can You Become Wealthy?

    Without good money management it doesn’t matter how much money you make, you won’t keep it. There are as many money management strategies as there are investment opportunities, so which one is best for you?
    The first step in money management and thus wealth is debt elimination. You will never become wealthy if your credit cards are “maxed” out every month. Where do you find that extra money each month?
    The second step in money management is to have a budgetary strategy. Below are two examples, one for someone who is currently struggling with debt and one for someone who is on their way to becoming wealthy.


    Example A.
    10% of income to reduce debt.
    10% of income to use on long-term savings for expensive items (car, trip etc.).
    10% of income to be used on financial education (self-improvement).
    60% of income to be used on necessities (mortgage, food, utilities etc.).
    10% of income to be used for play (dining out, movies, toys).
    Example B.
    10% of income to be invested in passive income opportunities.
    10% of income to use on long-term savings for expensive items (car, trip etc.).
    10% of income to be used on financial education (self-improvement).
    55% of income to be used on necessities (mortgage, food, utilities etc.).
    10% of income to be used for play (dining out, movies, toys).
    5% of income to be used for charity.
    Only your actions and commitment can manage your money to help you on the path to becoming wealthy.
    Then click here for more helpful information, if you choose to be rich.

    An important part of becoming wealthy is money management? Without good money management it doesn’t matter how much money you make, you won’t keep it. There are as many money management strategies as there are investment opportunities, so which one is best for you? You need to develop sound money management habits that you will stick too.
    The second step in money management is to have a budgetary strategy.

  • The Wealthy Mindset

    The Wealthy Mindset

    What is the difference between wealthy people and poor (even average) people? It is not all the money that wealthy people have and the average don’t, nor the luxury, nor the lifestyle. A few lucky people have won a lot of money and become wealthy overnight, but in short time many of them have returned to their prior financial condition too soon. Because it is not the money and the luxurious lifestyle that make people wealthy. The more money wealthy people have, the more they can invest in their own businesses.

    What is the difference between wealthy people and poor (even average) people? It is not all the money that wealthy people have and the average don’t, nor the luxury, nor the lifestyle. It is their mindset.


    A few lucky people have won a lot of money and become wealthy overnight, but in short time many of them have returned to their prior financial condition too soon. Once won, there is no trace of all the riches they have. Very few of them can stay healthy long enough to actually improve their quality of life.
    Why? Because it is not the money and the luxurious lifestyle that make people wealthy. It is their mindset.
    Real wealthy people act differently upon the big cash they can get their hands on and upon everything else pertaining money and possession. Because they think differently from most average people in the first place, and this is.
    Let’s think this through and discuss the way average people think …
    As soon as they can get their hands on a big fat check, average people would almost immediately go shopping. Buy the latest model car, luxurious home, or spend it on renovation, once-in-a-lifetime luxurious vacation … blah blah.
    They think that in order to really become wealthy, they have to possess all the stuff that wealthy people would have, travel to places wealthy people would go to, drive the cars wealthy people would live or drive in big mansions where wealthy people would live.
    Because they have higher purchasing power, real wealthy people can afford all the above simply. Most of us, on the other hand, would think that by having all those above we just might be considered as ‘wealthy’. We tend to think that to become wealthy we have to ‘act’ or ‘live’ like those who in reality are.
    Ironically, the fact is to become wealthy we have to ‘think’ like real wealthy people.
    Once again I must say that it’s the mindset that makes people wealthy. It’s neither their possessions nor what they spend their money on.
    Most of us go shopping while holding on to this principle: Buy now, struggle later.
    When wealthy people go shopping they think: Delay it now, invest the money, and have all you want later on! They embrace delayed gratification.
    Generally, too soon, the average people would end up in debt due to their principles of immediate gratification. And in most cases their debt worsens. Car loans, furniture loans, education loans, home loans, credit cards … and who knows what else.
    As the story continuous, I believe, it becomes more and more familiar to the vast majority: In order to pay off all the debts, they become slaves of their own jobs after they realised that they had been “slaves of their own debt” for some time.
    To them, a job becomes a necessity as opposed to a choice. It is chosen based on how big the salary is to pay off their debt, instead of on the satisfaction the job provides.
    Can these people retire early? They wouldn’t even dare to think about it!
    On the other hand, not only do the wealthy know the negatives of being in a debt, they also know precisely the advantages of being debt-free. By being debt-free, they have more money to save.
    The more money wealthy people have, the more they can invest in their own businesses. Exactly these businesses are their assets that generate life-long passive income for them. True wealthy people have known
    for decades that having traditional jobs would NEVER make them rich. It would make their bosses rich for sure but there is no way acquiring real wealth merely by trading time for money.
    Having your own business means having passive income for life (more likely even longer than that). If you work consistently on growing your business, you will come to a point where your passive income exceeds your daily living cost.
    Your choice of jobs will not be limited by how much money they provide. Even if you chose not to work, you would still have money coming in from your business.
    This is what real freedom is and this is exactly how wealthy people think!
    Ironically, I have met some people who sneer at the idea of investing in a business. For some reason they think that people who are interested in investing must be so much in love with money, or even slaves of it.
    Most average people think that business owners must have become wealthy by the drive of their greedy, selfish minds. They tend to think that business owners must be slaves to their money and riches that they could actually have riches so abundantly now.
    The truth is their mindset is exactly the opposite.
    Exactly because of UNSELFISH reasons, business owners set up their businesses in the first place.
    By having their own businesses which generate passive income for them, they have quality time to spend with their loved ones.
    They are not too busy to go to their daughter’s first dance recital or to show up at his son’s birthday party.
    They are not too busy to spend a one-week holiday with their spouse. They are not too busy (or too broke) to be involved in voluntary social work.
    The average traditional worker, on the other hand, would not be able to just go and have a holiday anytime he pleases. He needs jobs that pay well and social works just won’t do.
    Well, who is the selfish one now?
    Most importantly, because the businesses wealthy people own generate passive income not only throughout their lives but also throughout the lives of their grandchildren and children, business owners prove themselves even more UNSELFISH than the average people do.
    People with typical jobs will either retire broke or die poor, leaving their families with nothing (if not with their remaining debt).
    By having the right mindset, you will not only be able to have abundant riches, but also a great chance to live abundantly: do all the things that provide satisfaction, spend quality time with you family and friends, and have all the time and money to voluntarily help other people and make your part of the world a better place to live.
    Above all, having the right mindset will give you a chance to provide and care for your family even after you leave this planet.