Thursday, October 21, 2010

Mixed Martial Arts Gyms in Aurora

What do you do when you make a Mistake?

I think when I started martial arts my mind was filled with everything I was doing wrong. My poor grades, bad behavior, lack of social skills, even just remembering how I had dropped my books in the school hallway. It seemed like I couldn't do anything right.

My martial arts training started to change all of that for me. Instand of all my mistakes, my mind started to be filled with all the successes I was having in class. The board I broke, the friend I made during class, how I was getting strong and faster, or what my instructor said to me about how my focus was improving.

Soon my grades were getting better, my behavior changed at home and school, and I was make more and more friends. But what had really changed was me. What I was seeing in my mind and what I believed about myself. So here are some quick tips on improving how we handle mistakes and form our self-confidence.

1. Focus on what you want not what you don't want. - I can think of many times that I would walk up to someone and say to myself, "Don't be nervous." That never worked. Now I say, "How can I help this person?".

2. Realize mistakes are the normal. - I don't spend much time thinking about or paying attention to mistakes because I know that they are normal. Instead I practice looking for improvements and then remembering them as clearly as possible. You know you have this step down when others around you can't even tell you made a mistake because you have already moved on to the next moment.

3. Mistakes are always in the past. -Mistakes are always what happened in the past. Focus on the present moment and life is much easier. Learn from mistakes, but focus on what is happening right now. One of my instructors, Richard Kim, would say, "If you make a mistake, don't make it an encore."

3. Practice a lot. - Expect to practice hundreds or thousands of times to achieve a couple of perfect experiences. The general rule of thumb is: 8 times to memorize, 1000 times to develop some skill, and 10,000 hours to achieve mastery. When I get upset that I haven't had success in some area of life I know I have rarely put in 10,000 hours of practice in that area. This helps put things in perspective.

Once you begin the journey of practicing you are going to start to see results. This is where all the hard work pays off and life gets really fun. So start today and let all those mistakes go like water off a ducks back.

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Wednesday, October 13, 2010

MMA Training in Aurora

How to Get the Most out of your MMA Training.

1. Decide head of time to focus your mind on just one thing.
Studies show that doing only one thing at a time increases productivity by 25%. So if you regularly work an 8 hour day focusing on just one thing at a time would be like working a 10 hour day.
For example:
  • I will focus on moving just like the instructor.
  • I will have mobile, fast, and solid footwork.
  • I will use my whole body on every movement and technique.
  • I will play only defense to improve my ability to see my opponent and increase my patience when striking and going for submissions. This way I can find the best movement and timing.
2. Use a powerful question to focus and refocus you mind during class.
 Ask your self this question many times during class.
  • For Example: Am I moving exactly like my instructor? Questions work much more effectively than statements.
3. Evaluate your incremental progress for this training session using questions.
  • How did my skills improve today?
  • What will be the long term results of consistent improvement like I achieved today?
  • What did I learn today?
  • How can I use what I learned to improve my life in general? 
Let me know how these tips help your training by commenting below.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Martial Arts Instructor,
Scott Shoen

P.S. I have include a picture of my original belts coming up through the ranks. This belt rack is on display in my home office. My white belt is now 27 years old! I can't believe it and yes there were only 5 colored belts (White, Yellow, Green, Blue and Brown). My original black belt is still active for special training sessions so I don't have it on a display.
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Not a Family Martial Arts Student Yet?

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    Friday, October 8, 2010

    Martial Arts in Aurora

    Please hit the Facebook "LIKE" button!


    In this Post:
    • NEWS & EVENTS
    • SHOUT OUTS!
    • NEW VID - Justin's Fire Break at Sensei's House

    • Congrats to all our students at what I have heard was one of our best graduations! Way to go! Watch for videos from our special award winners at this last graduation. I can't wait to hear from students and their families.
    • Bruna Vilela, & Fred Fennell were both recommended to Leadership Training. We look forward to seeing them and several other students at Leadership Tryouts.
    • We will be closed Columbus Day, Oct 11th.  
    • Bring a buddy week this coming week! Only three days this month to bring a friend and Thanks to all those who have brought friends last month. Seven people have joined our martial arts family due to your kind referrals.
    • Keep an eye out as we are in the middle of planning a special Halloween Event for our younger students and a Fight Night at BW3s to watch the next big UFC match for our adult students.

    Thank-you Thank You for Your Trust and Kind Referrals...in October so far!

     Mrs. Case, Ella & Philph Case, Brandon Burkhardt, Abigail Gray, Abigail & Alex Holbert, and all the students who have been referring to the academy. 

    Not A Fan of the FMAA Fan Page yet?

     Go now and become a fan: CLICK HERE!
    See the latest student of the month, Interviews, pictures, videos and all the latest Victory News.

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      Justin's Fire Break at Sensei's House!

      Justin Harshbarger had a private training session at Sensei's house this last summer after winning one of our toughest CIT (Certified Instructor Training) Challenges. During the training we got the great idea to do fire break out of nowhere. Please don't try this at home of course. 

      I think Justin surprised himself! Leave comments to let Justin know what you think!

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      Not a Family Martial Arts Student Yet?

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