The Black Belt Academy

Leadership News

May 2008.

Forthcoming Events @ BC

11^th May ((Sunday) 8-45 am P.O.W.E.R. seminar Unfortunately there will be no POWER seminar in May as I will be attending the EKKA National Championships along with many of our students.

11^th May (Sunday )10 – 11.30am Kata class

17^th May (Saturday )12.30 till 1.30pm XMA Gymnastics at Bull Close.

17^th May (Saturday) 2pm. Sparring Seminar with Master Vince

31^st May (Saturday) First Black Belt Prep class 7am Bull Close

31^st May (Saturday) Fitness assessment day.

Kickboxing Tournament.

The Light Continuous Kickboxing Tournament at Master Wayne’s Academy, Drayton was a great success. I am very proud of all our students that took part not least because none of us pretended to be hurt and nobody was dropped with a body shot. We are obviously all doing the required amount of ab exercise. Pictures from the event are available to see at www.bolddog.com

Summer School

Exciting news, this summer (during the holidays) we will be holding a ‘Summer School.’ This will be for most of the day each weekday (probably about 9am until 4pm) . We will have loads of interesting, fun, educational and informative things going on and, of course, some Taekwondo each day. One of the ideas behind this project is to help working parents, those people that would otherwise have to find expensive childcare for the holidays.

Obviously there will be a maximum number so, if you may be interested, please let us know a.s.a.p.

There will be more details available soon.

Character Building

One of the main reasons that our Academy is so successful is that we focus on developing positive character traits as well as physical abilities. By the time our junior students reach Junior Black Belt grade, they will have had lots of input from the instructors regarding behaviour, the way they treat other people, their confidence levels and much more.

One of our KEY TOOLS in putting across some aspect of character development is the monthly STAR sheet.

Every month there is an activity and a task (or tasks) that need to be completed.

ALL of these tasks (there are 12 in total) MUST be completed before a student can pass their Junior Black Belt.

Please don’t let yourself get behind with these tasks.

Ipswich Tournament

At the most recent tournament in Ipswich

Jack Wright was placed third, Harry Meeks was also third, so were Tom Vince and Kyle Ward. Mr Fitch however, had a remarkable tournament coming back from 7-0 down then 11-4 down to eventually win 11 – 12. The next point fighting event is the EKKA National Championships in Ipswich on Sunday 11^th May.

Black Belts Grading.

The senior Black Belt grading will be held on Sunday 20^th July at 10am. Those wishing to be assessed for Dan grades must apply and make payment before the first prep class which is Saturday 30^th May 7am at Bull Close.

6 monthly Fitness Assessments

On Saturday 31^th May I will be conducting the 6 monthly fitness assessments. I do apologise for telling you that it was to be 10^th May but I’m afraid I made a mistake.

If you would like to have your fitness assessed then please book an appointment with Mr Fitch or Miss Barrett at Bull Close. The direct dial number is 01603 760022.

JOKE:

Where can you find out how much a pie weighs?

(You have to sing this part)

“Somewhere over the rainbow way up high”

MYSPACE

The Myspace page is being maintained and updated regularly so keep checking it for information. If you join as a friend then you will be automatically sent updates from our page.

There is even a chance to win something at the moment.

The Thinking Part

I thought I would give you a break from my ramblings this month, here is something from my collection at home.

It's Lonely At The Top

I recently went to a self improvement workshop in Los Angeles, California, which was one of the most insightful and enlightening experiences that I've ever had.

On the very first day I was partnered with a 50 year old woman named Diana. Our challenge was to climb a 60-foot tall rope ladder, working as a pair. We were connected at the hip with a four-foot long rope and each fitted with a body harness to catch us if we fell off the ladder during the climb.

At first glance I thought that I would be able to make the climb on my own, seeing that I'm pretty active and physically fit. When I realized that I would be partnered with Diana, the voice in my head started to buzz with disempowering thoughts like: 'How the hell are we going to do this?' and 'I hope Diana doesn't have a heart attack!'

Well, seeing that the whole point here was for us to learn something about our own limitations as people, I made a choice to turn things around and take on this challenge head on and began to ask myself more supportive questions like: 'How can I motivate and inspire Diana? What are our strengths as a team?'

Before we started our climb I looked Diana in the eye and I said: 'I believe in you, just give me your 100%.' At the beginning of the climb, things went pretty well and we eventually reached the first rung on the ladder. Then it started to get tougher. I was up on the second rung and Diana was still on the first rung and our connecting rope was stretched to full length. I heard someone yell to me from down below, 'You've got to go down and help her up!'

That was the first time I realized that even though I knew I could do the climb on my own, it wasn't just about me. It was about both of us making it to the top as a team. So I climbed back down to the first rung and bent down on my knees to support Diana and using all my strength, pushed her up to the second rung. The whole time we were doing this, the ladder was swinging back and forth with a 40-foot drop below us.

As soon as Diana got settled on the second rung I screamed up to her in support of this massive accomplishment. We were making the impossible possible. Diana and I continued this way up the rope ladder until we reached the top and we gave each other a big hug - we were both exhausted but hugely delighted.

After we got back down to the ground, Diana said to me: 'I didn't think we were going to make it to the top.' I thought to myself, I didn't think we would do it either. It was at this moment I really understood what I learned from the exercise - that in fact this was not about climbing at all. I realized that in my entire life I had always done things for myself in order to feel that sense of achievement and purpose.

When I heard Diana say those words to me it created an entire paradigm shift in me and I realized that it's very lonely at the top when you do things only for yourself. I learned that life is a lot more fulfilling when you take other people along for the climb. I now know I will never again feel lonely at the top.

Steve Martile

Master Vince’s

P.O.W.E.R. Strategy (New Time).

As I mentioned in ‘forthcoming events’ I’m afraid there will not be a POWER seminar this month as I will be attending the EKKA National Championships with many of our students.

Nature and seasonal events in May

May is here and this month the countryside is the place to be because some of the migrants are arriving back from Africa! This is an amazing migration and when they land, along with the swallows, they start looking for a mate. Swallows eat mainly insects which there are lots of on spring and summer days. You can see them speed feeding on fields so you will often see swallows fly very fast over fields catching insects. Also violet grand beetles are now emerging out off there larvae. This beetle is called ‘the violet ground beetle’ because on the edges of it’s shell are violet. You can see them in your garden at night, they hide under logs and stones during the day these beetles are also very fast, faster than other spices of beetle. This weekend a special a event is going on. On Sunday the 4^th of may dawn chorus walks are going to take place please have look because I promise you they are amazing. I’m going to one. Check these sites for more information. www.rspb.co.uk or www.nofolkwildlifetrust.co.uk as well as www.bbc.co.uk.

From Iain bell Nature lover

Helping People Close To Us Interior and Exterior Painting Service.

As you have probably noticed, I am more than happy to promote the business of anyone who is an Academy member. This month I am pleased to announce that;

Bob Day ( Sam and Jacks Dad) offers an interior/exterior painting service. He is happy to quote for; Internal work, external work including; summer houses, fences, windows and doors etc.

All his work is fully insured.

Call Bob for a free quote on

01508 473071or

Mobile: 07942 443859.

Newsletter