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The Character of Jiu-Jitsu

Wednesday, August 15th, 2007

With the domination of the Mixed Martial Arts world by Gracie Jiu-Jitsu practitioners, I have noticed many outsiders have the perception that Jiu-Jitsu is a one dimensional art that teaches “ground fighting” and is practiced by a group of brutish Neanderthals. What many people have missed are the incredible mental benefits.

I have had the incredible fortune to train with some of the greatest instructors in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu including Royce, Rodrigo, and Relson Gracie, Pedro Sauer, Pedro and Gi Valente, and Marcio Simas. To varying degrees all of these great instructors share some common traits that the general public has missed; traits that are the core of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and made it a world wide phenomenon and the fastest growing martial art in the world today.

First, they all posses a deep seated respect and genuine interest in the well being of their students in class and out. If you visit one of their schools or a seminar you can count on being treated graciously. I used to be surprised when I visited a new school and after an hour the instructor and other students were talking to and treating me like a long lost cousin they hadn’t seen in a while. The culture of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is very informal compared to most other martial arts, but it is extremely personal. Every student feels like they are a part of something bigger than themselves. The feelings of belonging, acceptance, and respect are some of the reasons why the student retention rate of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is so high and their children’s programs are so successful.

Beyond the self-defense and fitness aspects, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu inherently teaches life lessons that helps students become better people. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is one of the few martial arts where a practitioner must train with multiple partners in order to advance and improve. It forces students to learn to give of themselves and others during every class. If a student is selfish, too rough, or disagreeable, other students will not want to train with him or her and that student will not progress. Without learning to care for and help others you cannot be a practitioner of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

Strong moral character is expected of every student. The art is so ingrained in the realities of hand to hand combat that no instructor with good conscience will teach a student of low character. Instructors are very concerned with the conduct of their students outside of class. Unsupervised fighting and “school yard” bullying is not tolerated.

Next, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu develops and teaches one of the most important aspects of character building: mental toughness. I was first introduced to Gracie Jiu-Jitsu through the Army’s Ranger Program. The US Army Rangers are among the most elite of the world’s special forces, and they chose Gracie Jiu-Jitsu as the core of their hand to hand combat program, and since their selection, West Point, and the US Marine Corps have added it to their curriculum teaching every new cadet and recruit Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

Any combat veteran will tell you that the one character trait that separates warriors from the rest of society is mental toughness. It is the key ingredient to success on the battle field. The development of an iron will to succeed no matter the adversity faced is the key trait that sets the Rangers apart, and for that reason they chose Gracie Jiu-Jitsu as their martial art of choice. This idea is embodied in the last stanza of the Ranger creed “Readily will I display the intestinal fortitude required to drive on to the Ranger objective and complete the mission, though I be the lone survivor. Rangers lead the way!” Whether in combat, business, or life in general mental toughness is a fundamental character trait that builds success.
Dedication and diligence toward the mastery of any skill is in itself a valuable character building endeavor. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is a very complex art and it is not uncommon for a student to take 10-15 years to achieve a black belt. It takes commitment to excellence and the willingness to continually put others before your self. The character of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is its greatest strength and value to society.

http://www.gracie-jiu-jitsu.com

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A Kickboxer Discovers Tai Chi

Tuesday, July 31st, 2007

Once in a while, I get really bored with my workouts. You know, after a while it gets to be the same old, same old stuff. It is always weights or cardio machines or the same stuff over and over again. I have worked out for years and sometimes it is nice to have something different to sink your teeth into when you go to the gym. Or it is also nice to have something fun and invigorating to do at home. Something that gets you started off on the right foot in the morning.

I recently found something that fits that criteria and it is called Tai Chi. You may have heard of it. It has been around for centuries. Tai Chi is a Chinese martial art but different from regular sparring types of kung fu. Some people may call it a soft style of martial arts and I think they have a point because you can’t really whack a guy with Tai Chi. But that doesn’t matter because the point of this exercise is to help a person relax and to inner reflect, if you will. How to do Tai Chi correctly and effectively is a simple matter of finding the right instructor.

You see, Tai Chi is all about finding the right balance within yourself, your “Chi” or spiritual center. Most people do not do Tai Chi for any martial arts benefit. I know I did not start it for that reason. I did it to have another form of exercise in place of regular boring stuff I was sick of. The thing is, I discovered that it really does help you find peace and improve your balance.

Tai Chi is based on using the whole body, even the inner strength of the mind and breath, all together as one unit. Think of it as standing yoga or a combination of that and ballet. Maybe it seems silly for a tough guy like me to say I do something similar to ballet, but I tell you, it is not only relaxing but challenging as well. Some people call it moving meditation. Because that is what you are doing. You are moving your hands and arms and legs together, but you are relaxing your mind at the same time to allow deep meditation.

Tai Chi patterns are easy to learn and hard to master. They are very flowing and smooth and develop the internal flow or Chi or your body and soul. It was tough for me at first, doing all those weird poses and repetitive moves, but it got easier and much more fun once I got the hang of it. I knew I had to be bad before I good be good.

There are a wide range of videos out there to help you get started and I tried quite a few before I got hooked on one instructor that really blew me away. You have to find someone that knows what they are doing and can really relate to you what Tai Chi is all about.

Here is what really struck me…it’s something I can do for my health for the rest of my life.

Yoshi E. Kundagawa is a freelance journalist. He covers the mixed martial arts industry. For a free report on Tai Chi Qigong Training visit his blog.

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The Legends of MMA

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007

Wouldn’t it be great to turn back time? I’m tired of seeing older fighters past their prime, just looking for another payday. These guys are forced to fight guys ten or fifteen years younger than themselves. The most recent examples of this were the fights between Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock and the fight between Royce Gracie and Matt Hughes. We’ve also seen such mismatches as Tank Abbott vs Frank Mir and Tank Abbott vs Paul Buentello. Even so, part of me wants to see these legends mix it up again, just not in mismatches which tarnish their past glory.

Let’s face it, in their day, Gracie and Shamrock were the number one and two fighters in the UFC and likely in the entire MMA world. Grace fought people 75 pounds heavier than he was and defeated them. Shamrock was feared for his power and leg locks. These two guys fought each other twice, the first time Ken Shamrock got caught in a choke from Gracie. The second match went past 25 minutes and was declared a draw.

I would personally like to see Ken Shamrock vs Royce Gracie 3. I have no interest in seeing either of these guys tarnish their legendary status by fighting todays breed of MMA stars, but I’d love to see what they can do against each other.

While I’m at it, why not pull out a couple of other legends of the sport. How about Bas Rutten vs Mark Coleman. Some might argue that Mark Coleman is not in Bas’ league. Maybe, but when Mark Coleman is in the right frame of mind, he’s like a freight train, hard to stop!

Another interesting match up would be Kimo vs Don Frye. While neither of these two were my favorite fighters, Don Frye always puts on a show and the same can be said for Kimo. I think this would be a very exciting fight and interesting.

Okay, who could put on an MMA legends card without Tank Abbott? The only question with Tank is who is he going to fight? I’d love to see Tank against Shamrock, or Frye. I don’t think he’d stand a chance with Gracie. Of course Dan, the best Severn hasn’t been mentioned yet, so let’s put David “Tank” Abbott vs Dan “The Beast ” Severn on the card.

If “they” ever put together a legends card, those are the fighters I’d like to see on it.

Here’s my picks

Ken Shamrock vs Royce Gracie
- With todays rules, Royce Gracie cannot wait around for something to happen. The pressure of rounds and the recovery in between allows stronger fighters a couple of advantages. First, they can recuperate between rounds and secondly, they get stood back up. I think Ken would win this fight, likely by decision.

Bas Rutten vs Mark Coleman
- Mark Coleman is tough, strong and a great wrestler, but Bas Rutten is a complete fighter. His striking is better than Coleman and Bas knows submission fighting. Bas Rutten by submission.

Kimo vs Don Frye
- This one is a tough call, but if I need to I’ll take Frye by decision. Never underestimate the pure toughness of Don Frye.

Tank Abbott vs Dan Severn
- While Tank is one of the most exciting legend fighters there is, he is no match for Dan Severn who has managed to keep his skill(s) more up to date.

Here’s to the legends of MMA!

Ultimate Fighting is the combat sport of the future. Ultimate Fighter Forums is the place to make your MMA opinions known. Scary Stuff Here

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Do You Need Focus To Achieve Your Goals Faster?

Saturday, June 30th, 2007

Let me ask you another question

What is the shortest distance between two points?

This isn’t a trick, the answers very simple yes it’s one that you were taught at school

…A straight line !!

So what does this have to do with you achieving your dreams in the shortest possible time, before they fade away and you loose sight of them?

Simple, you need to be travelling straight towards them at all times. That way you’ll get there as quickly as you can.

So why don’t you always head straight in the direction of your goals, why doesn’t everyone always do that?

There are lots of reasons why people don’t always head towards their goals. Maybe they make excuses like:

“I just don’t have the energy” “My cat/dog/goldfish was ill” “I was too busy” (watching the television…) “I was going to but my friend/distant aunt/uncle/cousin phoned” “I had other things on my mind”

Or sometimes they get confused, there’s just too many options to choose from. Or they actually start doing something and following a path and then some new fad comes along and they switch to that and then the next one and the next… In the end they run around in circles getting nowhere. So many people flit around from idea to idea never accomplishing anything.

Or maybe they just over complicate things, adding lots of extra steps to get from where they are to where they want to be.

How many of these things have you done? Go on be honest…

I know I’ve been guilt of them all…

Occasionally there are things that just can’t be avoided – major dramas, serious illnesses and accidents and these will demand your attention, slow you down for a while. But so often people let these events stop them completely.

None of these things have to happen. They are choices. We let ourselves get distracted.

Whatever your favourite form of distraction the result is that you loose sight of your goals and you waste your time and energy getting nowhere. Until eventually discouraged and disheartened you give up ever trying to reach that goal.

The Habit That Can Save The Day

So how can you avoid the pitfalls of distraction?

There’s one very important mental habit that can make a difference, one learnt by all successful people in all walks of life – business, the sciences, the arts….

** FOCUS **

Focus your mind and your energy on your goals. Don’t let problems and distractions get in your way. Remember what you focus on is what you get. If you choose to focus on distractions then you’ll get nowhere. If you choose to focus on your goals, then you will get there.

Focus is a habit that you should practice daily.

  • Take time every day to remind yourself where it is you want to go.

  • Have a well thought out plan that clearly states where you want to go and how you are going to get there – make it believable so that you don’t feel tempted to change horses mid-stream.

  • Every day plan the time you are going to use that day. Make sure you know when you are going to do the things you must do to get you moving forward that day.

  • If distractions do come up, pause, take a deep breath. Remind yourself about your plan. Ask yourself does this thing help me or hinder me? Only do the things that help you.

    • Use The Right Tools

    If you aren’t in the habit of focus it can be very difficult to do. You will need to work to change your habits.

    Remember there are lots of tools out there that can help you to improve your focus. For example writing a simple “to-do” list every day helps a lot of people. If this isn’t enough there are a lot of personal development tools you can find to help you focus better. You need to find some tools that work for you and start using them.

    You can get a free, 5 part e-course “Achieving Your Dreams” for more useful tips on success. To discover more resources, articles, and support materials that will help you to succeed visit http://www.achieving-your-dreams.com.

    Kevin John has spent many years helping businesses owners, aspiring business owners, and private individuals to develop the understanding and skills that they need to achieve the success that they want.

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Profile of Comedian Steven Wright

Friday, June 29th, 2007

Steven Alexander Wright was born in December 6, 1955 in Burlington, Massachusetts. He had a rather uneventful childhood, and made the slow dues paying climb through the ranks of the stand up comedy scene in Boston and New York City. In 1985, he released his first album, “I have a Pony” which was nominated for a Grammy for best comedy album of the year. In 1988, Wright coauthored and starred in a short film entitled, “The Appointments of Dennis Jennings”. The film won the Academy Award for best short film. This success led to a series of regular appearances on the popular 1992 television show, “Mad About You”.

Steven Wright has a very distinct and recognizable comedy style. He delivers short and ironic jokes and one liners in a dead pan monotone. The subjects are often extremely philosophical in nature although usually twisted and confusing. His serious, unchanging expression and slow speech with his wild hair and receding hairline have delighted audiences for over 20 years.

His short jokes and sayings have become so popular that they appear on sites all over the internet. The problem, according to Wright himself, is that not all of the jokes that are attributed to him are actually his own material. It is almost as if there is a “Steven Wright” style of joke, and the jokes from other comedians that match this style find their way to his joke lists. Steven’s own comment about this unintentional plagiarism is that he wished he had written some of them.

After his time on “Mad About You”, he stayed away from television, but continues to do live stand up performances. After many years of this, he began to notice his audience seemed to be getting older and older. He decided the time had come to reach out to a new generation of comedy fans. In October of 2006, Comedy Central aired his first stand up special in over 16 years.

Although Steven Wright has not reached the same level of multi-media popularity as some other comedians of his era, he has received praise from his peers. In 2005, his fellow comedians and comedy insiders voted him as one of the top 50 comedy acts of all time. The Comedy Central List of All Time Stand up Comedians has him listed in the 23rd spot. The wide distribution of his material over the internet has insured him a lasting spot in comedy lore.

Joseph Daily is with JokerDaily.com - providing free daily funny quotes.

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Overcoming Anxiety Disorders - Letting Go Of Fear

Saturday, June 16th, 2007

There is an old Buddhist saying that goes, “While you cannot change your past, you can ruin your present by being anxious about the future”. Obviously, this tenet stems from the fact that overcoming anxiety and fear is something that Buddhist masters continue to teach their students through out the ages.

It is said that enlightenment, or true and pure peace of mind, cannot be achieved by individuals while they are privy to fear of change that the future will inevitably bring. In this sense then, one can say that learning and embodying the Buddhist principles is like overcoming anxiety disorders.

An anxiety disorder is an abnormal condition of fear and nervousness that in turn inhibits the proper flow of everyday functions. Some anxiety disorders are acute and some severe, but at whatever level of severity these afflictions have, one’s quality of life will be challenged. This makes overcoming anxiety disorders an important endeavor to embark on.

For starters, one will need to be properly diagnosed to be able to be on the path towards overcoming anxiety disorders. There are different types of anxiety disorders that have different symptoms and manifestations. Whatever the type of disorder however, at the root of it is an irrational fear that has been formed by previous harmful cognitive processes that need to be addressed. Getting to the root of the matter and healing from that point on is the only true way of overcoming anxiety disorders.

There are certain anti-depressants and other types of prescription drugs that may mislead individuals into thinking that these pills will help them in overcoming anxiety disorders. While sometimes, therapists will prescribe these medications to help compliment cognitive therapy, it is important to understand that one must not become dependent on these external factors because, the cause of the anxiety and inevitably the cure, will be coming from the mind. Understanding this will be vital in overcoming anxiety disorders.

The human mind is so complex that it can create its own reality. Of course, as humans, we also have common realities on which we base absolute reality on. However, there are relative realities that are born out of different beliefs and principles that taint our perception, which poses a challenge in the process of overcoming anxiety disorders.

This means that if ten people decided to eat an apple, they will all have different experiences of the apple and at the same time share common realities about the apple like color and such. This results in different realities of eating an apple, dependent who are experiencing it and their biases in perception.

Normally, everyone has a bias in perception that has been born out of societal teachings, personal experience and upbringing. In the case of an anxiety disorder, the individual’s perception is biased towards succumbing to the experience of fear and anxiety so much so that he or she can suffer from a reduced quality of life.

Overcoming anxiety disorders will help individuals get their life back. They no longer need be controlled by excessive fear that will inhibit their ability to participate everyday life. Understanding that most fears are irrational will help in overcoming anxiety disorders. Looking deeper into one’s self and psyche to see that certain emotions are born out of fear and understanding where these fears stem from will all help in overcoming anxiety disorders.

To learn how you can eliminate anxiety disorders with a completely natural approach, please visit http://www.overcome-panic-attacks.info

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The Benefits of Brochure Printing

Friday, June 15th, 2007

One of the most widely used tool in showcasing businesses products and services are the brochures. Businesses consider them to be a vital tool for advertising because they could easily inform their target prospects about the latest updates and newest products and services. Second they keep people informed about the good benefits they can get through the brief information included on it. And lastly they can keep an eye of turning prospects to potential clients and end up with more sales and profits.

Taking a look at the brochures we could highly regard them as single or multi-page material that can be used by companies for showcasing a product or service. They are popularly known as a tool widely used for event promotions, real estate, updating customers about certain product of keeping people aware of the company itself.

Brochure printing became the significant service in the printing industry. This is because it could cater to print exemplary brochure that will impose an impression that will last. Printed with the expert designers and printing staffs these brochures can be formed as a simple but very important-document.

Its vital usage and benefits given by brochure printing had placed your business to show off the good services you can give to your prospects. In addition to that these brochures can also be the anchor of a mail campaign that gets your product under the noses of consumers and serve as an excuse for a follow-up phone call.

What benefits can brochure printing give?

1.Develop and print compelling brochure prints – brochure printing can bring life and sophisticated look to your brochures. With the capabilities of the printers’ graphic designers and printing staff every brochure printed encompasses top notch quality that will stand out of the crowd.

2.Establish impressive impression – Every printed brochure possesses a quality that is worth remembering. The unique designs and attention grabbing colors will surely leave a positive impression resulting to recognition and ending up with more sales and profits.

3.Fast turnaround time – every material printed will be delivered and produced based on the span of time given by clients. Brochure printing services always see to it that every brochure they print is delivered timely.

4.Convenience – You need no longer to scout and walk around just to look for a local print shop. The convenience of brochure printing is just right after a single click of your mouse and right in front or your desktop. Hassle free and worry free printing.

With the online brochure printing companies that are sprouting at present, it is so easy to locate for a brochure printing service right for you. However In choosing for the printer, see to it that they are the right ones for you. This is because as a customer paying for the job it is just your right to get what is due you.

This composition is projected to give the readers information about Brochure Printing and on how brochures can help you in your marketing schemes and provide you a higher sales rate. For more topics and tips about Brochure Printing please refer to Brochure Printing Company - U Printing

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Discover The Ancient Art of Shaolin Kung Fu

Saturday, May 19th, 2007

The first time I saw Shaolin Kung fu techniques was while watching a martial arts movie. I loved the style of martial arts so much, that I watched the second movie and fell totally in love. There was something so riveting about watching the punches, kicks and jumps. Even though it was Hong Kong Hollywood, it looked so much more real than most martial arts you see. I’ve watched a lot of martial arts movies in my day. In fact, they’re actually my favorite type of movie. Recently I saw Jet Li in Fearless. Though his style in that movie was wing chun.

Why is kung fu my favorite form of martial art? Probably because of the exotic origin. It’s a style practiced by monks. You wouldn’t think monks would know a fighting style, especially when they stand for peace and nonviolence but they do practice it every day, for the entirety of their lives. It’s like their way of finding enlightenment and it’s a viable combat art. Most kung fu you see in movies or during shows, or exhibitions are stylized sport martial arts. But not the shaolin. There are historical references of it being used in defensive battle as far back as 728 B.C. Normally, when you see a martial artist, it’s usually big muscles, lots of noise, a show, right? Not this one. This art trains practitioners with the purpose of nature. I’m sure you’ve heard references to it in the movies, where someone engaged in kung fu took a tiger stance or that of the crane.

Each one of these has a purpose behind it attached to the meanings of the animals, not to mention that the types of Shaolin have really cool names like ‘Jiao long nu kong’, which means the /coiling dragon growls in wrath’, or ‘Qian jintui’ the ‘leg weighing one thousand jins’. compare that to boxing. Jab. Cross. How dull!

You can’t help but admire the training and dedication, the grace, and fluidity of movement that accompanies this martial art. Out of all of the ones I’ve read, seen or done research on, I keep coming back to this one. Warrior monks even won battles and were honored using these techniques. It boggles my mind when I think of it. Weapon use, boxing, spins, kicks - all of it at lightening fast speeds and almost inhuman precision. I find myself sitting on the edge of my seat waiting eagerly for the next bad guy to come along or the next move in the exhibition.

It’s amazing how they can do all those moves - flying through various forms, blocks, kicks, jumps, punches - and then stop give their bow and not even be breathing hard. They don’t just use any weapon, either. A popular one is the long spear. I’ve held one before. They aren’t light and they’re long. To use one takes a lot of skill, and they make it seem so easy.

It doesn’t matter what form or practice of Shaolin Kung fu techniques are being used, I love it!

Yoshi Kundagawa is a freelance journalist. He covers the
mixed martial arts industry. For a free report on Shaolin Kung Fu visit his blog.

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Reducing Risks in Stock Market Venturing

Saturday, May 12th, 2007

One of the largest growing industries in the world is Forex and stock exchange. Seems these days, everyone is taking a chance by venturing into stocks. One of the largest stocks is the Foreign Exchange market, which is Forex. The processes of this stock involve charts, which help traders to reduce their risks.

Charts allow investors to monitor the currencies exchanged, analyze the weight on one currency or the other, and to explore the market on real-time platforms.

Forex has free charts. If you are not use to stocks and stock markets, do not step into the sector until you know what you are doing. If you lack knowledge, your risks increase.

Online, the stocks and markets offer connections to brokers, programs and charts. The charts keep you updated. Trends are the focus in the stocks, since it is believed that if you follow the trends in stocks, you cannot loose. The trends involved spreads, pips, highs, lows, etc. The charts use dictator tools and indicators that interact with utilities to produce readings from foreign currency exchange.

The market stays updated on a daily scale, which trendy listings help traders in the business to stay tuned to highs and lows. The tools offered provide tips, strategies, and offers access to free accounts in stock exchange.

The problem is some of the programs and charts are not accurate. This is a mistake, since accuracy is important in stocks. The best solution when choosing software is to find the most updated programs that guarantee precision.

Forex charts can help you stay updated in exchanging paired currencies, i.e. when to buy and sell the currencies. Follow the trends according to traders and you will win. The fact is the risks are high. The currencies now paired include EUR-USD, which are Europe dollar and the US currency. The Europe dollar is currently outweighing the US dollar. Other currencies include GBP-USD, JPY-USD, etc.

Within the structure of this market pairs is important, rates, bid/asks, high/lows, etc all play a major part in the stock market. Heed warning now, and read up before joining the market, so that you do not become the next trader falling behind.

RateEmpire.com, http://www.RateEmpire.com, an internet consumer banking marketplace is a destination site of personal finance, investing, taxes and mortgage rates. RateEmpire.com provides mortgage guides and financial rates and information. RateEmpire.com also operates a financial portal #1 American Financial, found at http://www.1AmericanFinancial.com and debt consolidation portal for business, real estate or debt management http://www.1DebtMoney.com

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Wing Chun School: Not in the Garage Anymore

Thursday, April 26th, 2007

Perhaps we should take a good look at how martial arts are taught today and the different mentalities involved. Maybe we should question not our methods of Wing Chun, but our motivations for teaching this great fighting system. There are several questions that come to mind when I think about how excellent Wing Chun is as a fighting system and yet here in the United States, we are few in number. If we were to compare to Tae Kwon Do schools we are last place. They have really nice schools that are not only beautiful to look at, but also safe to train in. Why is that? I know what you are thinking already. Tae Kwon Do schools are nothing more than McDojo’s that only exist to make the owner of the school rich. Don’t worry, I think that is true in many cases but not all. There are several reputable schools out there that have the complete package. Great martial arts and a great business for the owner. I believe the McDojo’s are the extreme and we should not throw out the baby with the bath water.

What if Wing Chun were to become as popular as Tae Kwon Do in the U.S. without “selling out”. Is it possible to run a very successful Wing Chun school that not only makes the owner really good money; but also produces above average, highly skilled fighters? Hasn’t our mentality been… ‘you can’t teach wing chun in a beautiful school with 50, 75, 100 or 200 students without somehow sacrificing quality.’? We all know famous masters who still teach out of a garage with only 6 or 8 students with this way of thinking. Of course they have to keep a day job to survive and there’s nothing wrong with that. I believe many of us suffer from a mentality that has either been passed on to us, or we just assumed that this is the way it’s done because after all, Master Dun Ol Way does it that way.

I used to think that if my Wing Chun was really good, I mean if I practiced so that no one in my city could come close to my skill, that people would just be busting my door down to learn from me. I wanted to at least achieve what my Sifu did in his school. In fact I secretly wanted to surpass him in the number of students he had. He didn’t hold back. He taught me with utmost care. Surely many people would just show up. I could not have been more mistaken. I was actually surprised that I didn’t have large numbers even though I saw other Wing Chun masters working out of ugly and sometimes dangerous looking buildings with only a hand full of students. No they didn’t come. In fact if it were not for the few “hard core fighter types” that darkened my door I would not have any students at all. I found out I was really good at running people off. Of course I would justify it by saying that they were not worthy any way. Not worthy to learn from a master like me who possessed this level of skill. Why this skill was only for the few who I could pass it on to. I could pass on my Wing Chun to my worthy students and the rest could go take a hike. Yea!!! Now I’m poor!

My friends, I discovered that I had the Wing Chun Poverty Mentality. I don’t quite know where it came from. Maybe it came from our Chinese fathers who operated out of the backs of restaurants and in homes. I don’t know and I don’t care any more. I made a decision that totally changed my school and made it not only an awesome place to learn hard core Wing Chun, but also a growing business with a high number of students.

I decided that I would have a new attitude and a new mentality about teaching. The first thing was to get rid of that old “poverty mentality” I didn’t teach some mish mosh kung fu. I taught the best martial art in the world. A martial art worthy of kings and anyone in need of self-defense. I began to develop the “luxury mentality”. After all Wing Chun is the Cadillac of martial arts. It has all the buttons and gadgets anyone needs in a martial art. But wait a minute, I bet you’re thinking that I have some kind of big head or something. No. The opposite is true. I decided that I would become a servant of sorts. That’s right. I would serve my students and help them achieve their martial arts goals. How did they hear about me? Well, an ingenious idea I found. I advertise on the internet with a very nice, well thought out website. No, advertising is not selling out! It’s getting the word out that you have something good you want to show others. It’s how we let people know about us and of course word of mouth is always good.

So now my mentality is this… I provide a beautiful, very Feng Shui kind of school for my students. I mean we have a real store-bought, CUSTOM-built Muk Jong. The walls and doors are painted Asian style and the floor is finished and flat. The dressing room and bathroom actually work and they are clean and sanitary. I have a desk, beautiful Asian decor on the walls and lovely furniture. We have a systematic approach to getting people in the door, interviewing them to find out their goals and sign them up in a very professional way. Most importantly we have a billing company that keeps track of tuition for me.

My approach to teaching is not to find the worthy, but to help all my students. I have found that this way I have their utmost respect and loyalty. Not only that, they want to stick around and learn more. And the highly sought-after, worthy student? I have them too and they get special training because of their commitment to high level quality. I even have inner-core students who I thought would never make it but stuck it out and now have become very proficient, excellent fighters. What if I would have run them off early on?

Imagine large Wing Chun schools in the United States that are the most beautiful places to train and contain the best martial artists in the world. I suggest we do away with the old poverty mentality ways if they bring us down. That old poverty mentality that would keep us in garages, poor and unknown. That old mentality that says Wing Chun and good business can never mix. I say it can be done because we do it every day. If I’m not mistaken, our school is one of the nicest and largest Wing Chun schools in the South East and the Wing Chun is high level, intact and undiluted. My Sifu and Si-Gung are pleased with our success and they quietly keep an eye on our success with familial pride. Now we have students who are happy to do it the “New Improved old way” if you will. And their skill level is excellent.

I would like to see teachers who want to train people for a living to believe that it is a possibility to have the best of both worlds and no longer think they are wrong for wanting a nice school with nice things in it. If Wing Chun is the Cadillac of martial arts, lets begin to put on that mentality. Let’s begin to recognize who we are in the world. We are the best. If there was something better we’d do it, right? Well there it is. It’s the more balanced approach to running a Wing Chun school. Let’s believe we can get out of the garage and act like we have something really good and well-balanced to offer people interested in self-defense.

Armando Sainz has been involved in martial arts since 1979. His school is highly recognized in the industry as being one of the top Wing Chun schools in the country. He is the number-one student of Sifu Bill Graves and seventh-generation Sifu in a line of senior students from Yip Man (Bruce Lee’s teacher).

He is a Master of Wing Chun and certified an Instructor by Sifu Bill Graves.
Armando is skilled in Chen Style Tai Chi Chuan, silk reeling-spiraling power Chi Kung (Chan Ssu Chin), Dragon PaGua Chang and the classic Shantung weapons of China under Sifu Frank J. Paolillo. Sifu Paolillo was a senior student of world famous Grandmaster Chan Poi, and also trained under Internal Martial Arts Masters; Kay Chi Leung, Li En Jiu, Zhang Xia Xin, and Hing Lun Kwan.

Armando holds a Black Belt

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