Thursday, April 5, 2012

The Road to becoming a Champion

    At Quest Martial Arts we are preparing for our upcoming Tournament the Tae Kwon-Do Inernational Canada Western Canadian Championships to be held Aptil 28th 2012 in Kelowna BC.  We will have players coming from all over to compete and test their skills against other martial artists.  When we do such events they are open tournaments, meaning anyone who wishes can come and play as long as they follow the rules of the game. 

    The thing that I always find interesting is how some people are so lucky?  They always seem to come out on top, score that last second point to win the sparring match or better yet score the first point to set the tempo. 

    Now maybe part of it is god given talent, not everyone can go out and be comfortable and confident while someone is through punches and kicks at them.  Even though it is not a full contact game, it is still not a comfortable feeling. 

    But the reality is that it is not luck...those who say it is are not there when those "Lucky Guys" are there hours after everyone else has left still working on techniques, patterns, conditioning or their flexability.  They are not there to see home many times they are training alone because so few people are truly dedicated to something they love that much. 

    Jim Fannin is a great speaker who I saw in Vancouver a couple of years ago, talks about knowing the S.C.O.R.E., for life (Great Book!) and basicly it is just that.  We can use it in any arena of life at this moment it is applying to being the best martial artists you can be. 
 
Self-Discipline  - Doing what you have to whether you feel like it or not.  The first step is controling your thoughts by keeping them positive, which generates a positive emotion thereby driving you to take positive actions towards the desired results.  You are in total control of your desitiny, you first just have to become aware of the fact that you are where you are because of choices you have made.  Harsh but true...I never chose to get into a car accident, I never chose to loose my job.  True but you choose how you want to respond to those outcomes.  The reality is there are very few things in this world we can truly control but ourselves.

Concentration - Focusing your mind on the end goal, having Laser Focus and being single minded.  That is why so many people start in martial arts to help with focus, and self-discipline.  These are traits that will help you to over come the ups and downs of training or life.  My sons volleyball coach Jon Rowe (no relation) was trying to get the kids to make changes to the way the pass the ball.  The results were mixed at best and frustration started to kick in.  Then he told them to trust the process it will get worse before it gets better, just concentrate on the end goal and be disciplined to the form and the results will Great Advice!

Optimisim - It is hard to walk around the world with rose coloured glasses on.  But it is a much happier place when we focus on looking for the positive.  The reality is whatever we focus on we get more of.  Have you ever noticed that when you make the deceision to buy a new red car...what do you see ever where?  New Red Cars, ust like the one you are wanting.  The same thing occurs in any area of life.

Relaxtion - Someitmes the best thing to do is to just take a minute and breath.  When sparring it is one of the hardest lessons for new students to really grasp.  Would you run the greatest sports car full out all of the time without giving it time to cool off, refuel or recharge?  Probably not, if your like me you would treat it with soft mittens.  So do the same things with yourself, when you get to that state where you feel tension it might be time to just take a minute and relax.  Jim Fannin says "Like a palm tree in a hurricane - just go with the flow"

Enjoyment - Make sure you are enjoying what you are doing in life.  When you are work enjoy being there by concentrating on that alone, so that when you go home and are with your family you can be there with your family.  Here at Quest Martial Arts we say "Enjoy the Journey!" 

   So our future champions will use these tools, sometimes even uncontiously to improve their training for the upcoming Tae Kwon-Do championships and if they are "Lucky" they may even bring home a few medals.  But the choice is ours, what are you willing to do in order to achieve your goal?  Have you stated your goal, in writting?  How can you achieve your goal unless you write it down...

Respectfully,

Chris Rowe
Cheif International Instructor
IV Dan Black Belt