News for October 29!

Download our NEWEST SCHEDULE!!

1-  Legends of Chima event #3 this weekend!  This is the final battle for which "tribe" is going to win!  Even if you didn't participate in the 1st or 2nd event, you can still do this one, we'll just pick different teams and do our special team challenges to see who wins!  It's on November 2nd from 5pm-9pm THIS SATURDAY!  Register ASAP for $10

2-  HYPER Day Camp!  We're going to be training with cool martial arts combos, forms, spin kicks, and gymnastics moves the day before thanksgiving!  Register today for only $39 for a special camp on a day with no school!  The class will be from 9am-4pm with an earlier drop off time and later pick up time.  We will be flexible with your work schedule if you have to drop off before 9 or pick up after 4.  Only 19 spots available, register right away!

3-  December 7th is our last KID POWER event of the year! Lots of families are constantly trying to talk their kids into eating their vegetables and this seminar is our way to inspire them to do so.  We "trick" them with a really awesome martial arts class, combining fun techniques, board breaking, and team challenges and throw in little inspirational messages in our "team huddles."  Register for our two seminars: TIGER POWER (for our 4-6 year olds, 10:00am-10:45am) and KID POWER (for our 7-12 year olds, 11:15am-12:15pm). This seminar is free

**Combine events #1 & #3 with our special referral reward contest this cycle.  Every time one of your friends sign up for one of our 30-days free (must purchase a uniform, $49), or 6 weeks for $69 Trials, you get 1 credit.  At the end of the cycle, you can trade in your credits for special prizes!  See the sign at the school for all the prizes**

4-  Belt Promotions #6, December 21st.  Times to be announced next week.  At the end of the night, we will present everyone their belts at our Holiday Party (location to be announced).

Upcoming events as of 8-13-13

Thanks for being a goal getter and a member of ATA Elkton!  Here are some things you should know about what's coming up in the next few weeks:

August 17th - We're going to try again for Mobile Dojo at Elk Mills Park.  As long as we get a few good days of sunshine, it'll be on.  Check our Facebook Page or give us a call if you are unsure.  Remember, the Weather Channel App is what we go by!

August 28th - Adult Belt Promotions from 7:15pm-8:00pm.  Get registered this week.  We are ordering belts on Friday!

August 31st - Belt Promotions for everyone else!  10am: Tiny Tigers, 12pm: Juniors, 2:30pm: Red/Black and Black Belts.  We will be closed September 2nd for administrative purposes.

September 14th - Legends of Chima Parents Night Out: This "Parent's Night Out" style event is a bracket tournament to see which tribe will control the Sacred Pool of Chi!! Based on the popular children's show on Cartoon Network, kids will be divided into teams that represent one of the 8 most popular tribes in the show: Gorillas, Crocodiles, Wolves, Rhino, Bears, Wolves, Eagles, and Lions. Each "tribe" will have a special team name and learn a unique martial arts form/ combo based on the animal! Whichever team wins the team competition will help their favorite tribe move on to the championship round to see who will win control of the Sacred Pool of Chi! Note, this event is one of three. The first event is 4 challenges, the next is 3 challenges, and the last is the Semi-Finals and Finals!  All winners in the final competition will win special Chima prizes and everyone that attends will receive a chance to win an official Lego Playset!

September 21st - Fall Fest and "Be a Healthy Family Day."  A few months ago I went to the Elkton Alliance to do an event for the entire county that will set the example for healthy lifestyles in Cecil County.  With an attendance of approximately 8,000 people, I am organizing a day-full of events that will benefit every person.  To make it happen, I need the help of a lot of the families at ATA Elkton.  I'm looking for adults that know how to grill and volunteers for basic duties at the event!  Please let me know if you are available!  We will also be hosting our "Success Course for Keeping A+ Grades" that day which is our way to inspire kids to do their best in school using a fun and motivational martial arts class.

For the rest of our events, visit our event page at http://www.facebook.com/ataelkton/events

Note & Upcoming: We are redesigning our Life Skill program to make it more disciplined and powerful to influence students to have good character, stay tuned!  Our attendance card "station" will be up and running right after belt promotions.

Respect

We have all been raised to show respect to our parents, our teachers and our elders, but people who live their life with respect as their foundation are also well mannered, honest, and trustworthy. At school you have the opportunity to meet people from different backgrounds, maybe different countries and cultures. You show respect for other people’s viewpoints and traditions by listening to them, and by accepting their individuality. We all want to feel respected. The secret to getting respect... is to give respect.

• When someone is speaking to you, look in their eyes and listen with your full attention 
• Use good manners by saying “thank you” and “please”
• Limit interruptions when other people are speaking 
• Greet your teachers with “Good Morning” when you arrive at school
• Ask a teacher or a friend about one of their family’s traditions

I bet you and your family can improve your respect today!!  Here are some ways to show respect in your martial arts class:

• Bow when you walk in the door and say, "Hello ma'am, Hello sir!"
• Always say thank you to your instructor when you're done with class
• Try your best in every class and try to get better
• Make sure your uniform is clean and ironed and your belt is tied correctly
• Say goodbye to your instructors when you leave

It's $$cheaper$$ to get CANCER

OK, when talking about money, yes, it's probably cheaper to get cancer.  Diseases like cancer take more out of a family than what the withdraw slip says.  I know because my grandmother died of lung cancer a few years ago.  But get this - it is cheaper to file an insurance claim and go to cancer treatments than to spend a extra money every week on healthy, nutritious, organic food for your whole life.  I know what you're thinking, "Oh no, here's another guy talking about organics..."  But just hear me out.  I've struggled over the past couple years and have thought there's no difference.  Well, the difference will be more on the inside than something you'll notice immediately.  You're body is a fine-tuned machine that requires premium fuel!!  But as John from Newark Natural Foods says about processed and non-organics, "It doesn't kill you instantly."

In the next few sentences I'll talk about why you should at least make 50% of your food organic and local!  "Advances" in agriculture have helped create altered foods like tomatoes that resist bugs!!  This means, the bugs don't want to eat it because of some type of chemical the tomatoes produce, pretty cool huh?  Well on the screen, it seems great, but the problem is that the change in the tomato changes how we use it for fuel.  The pesticides that the tomato creates (not the one we spray on it) interferes with our cell structure.  It really effects the part of our cells called the mitochondria.   The Mitochondria is what powers the cell and gives us energy on a cellular level.

It's the same thing when it comes to refined foods.  Have you ever read the back of your loaf of bread?  It says ENRICHED flour.  That means that when they process the flour from the grains it comes from, it looses all it's nutrients (or while growing it, the farmers produce really terrible crops).  So the companies have to get raw vitamins and add it back into it so we can use bread on our sandwich for energy.  Basically,  the more steps it takes to get to the shelf, the less nutrition you get.

That being said, organic food will give you higher nutrients when gives you a stronger brain, heart, and whole body!  Don't notice a difference?  You do, you just don't associate it to the food you're eating.  Kids with ADHD, you're short temper, you're gaining weight even though you eat a salad every day, you are extra sore after you work out, extra acne, or a disease with a name you can't pronounce.  There are a ton of signs that show that the food you eat result in weakness elsewhere... you just don't associate it.

Be careful to not fall into the schemes that videos LIKE THIS want you to believe.  As more processing continues, our food goes from raw materials with dirt on it to plastic tomatoes!
***********************************************************************************
Here are my resources:
An excellent conversation with the manager at Newark Natural Foods
Visit their website:  http://www.newarknaturalfoods.com/

An amazing series of web videos 
Elliott Hulse and LeanHybridMuscle.com
************************************************************************************
Join our ATAfit program at ATA Martial Arts in Elkton, MD to get a physical fitness program that is unmatched in our area.  It's always improving, too.  So, remember, DRINK lots of water, use this article to influence you when you EAT SOMETHING GOOD, and TELL YOUR FRIENDS (Share my blog on Facebook and other avenues by clicking the little buttons below!)

The Fall Line and Destroying Bad Habits

Welcome to ATA Martial Arts.  Instructors who are positive role models for everyone they train.  Not washed up athletes that "coulda taken state!" but ones who are on a journey themselves.  We all have goals, things we want, who we want to be, products we want, sweet cars to drive, that awesome job, finishing something you've started, achieving a title, the list goes on.  Every person has what it takes to get what they want, naturally.  Sometimes, we need more education or a new perspective to get the edge on our challenges and disadvantages.  Sometimes, that challenge and disadvantage is a fall line for us, and we are stuck where we are.  Oh no, I promise, that is not true.

     A fall line could be defined as a place in a river that is impassable because of a current or rock formation.  It could also be
     defined as a place that a civilization grows up to where they can't pass - like a cliff.  For a long time, the civilization grows
     up to that fall line until one day (maybe centuries pass) someone finds a way through, then growth continues.

What stops us are things that are obvious and some that are not.  The obvious ones we know - I just need to get on schedule at the gym to lose weight, I need to clean out the cabinets and eat well, I need to work harder to make more sales at work, I need to get more education to get that job.  There are other ones that we don't see - our blind spots.  But don't worry, our loved ones see them like a neon sign on the strip in Vegas.  

For kids, they haven't had all the experiences of adults that make us judge, assess, reassess, re-judge, and make decision to act or not to act.  Many kids are fearless and will just try anything.  For them, we offer a special seminar that will help them understand the concept of "destroying bad habits."  Using martial arts as a metaphor for real life, we are going to show how breaking boards, relating it to self defense, is just like achieving your goals and objectives - accomplishing your mission or challenge.  After you want the video, check out below it for more information.





The Unleash your Power! Board breaking event will be on February 25th from 2:30 - 3:30.  An hour long seminar where an ATA kid can invite a non-ATA person to attend with them.  We'll be breaking wooden boards, which will be very cool!!  The cost is $35 and limited to 20 people.  Make sure you register right away!!

Real Self Defense and "The Missing Link"

It could easily be argued that wrestling is the foundation for all martial arts and combat sports. Controlling or moving an opponent’s body, while standing or on the ground, is a fundamental skill of combat. Certainly it is one of the oldest forms of combat and sport. The ancient Greeks believed that everyone in society should wrestle in order to create a sound mind in a sound body and wrestling was regarded as the best expression of strength out of all of the competitions and was represented in Greek mythology by Herakles.  Combat Wrestling has been a program at ATA Elkton since December 2011.  We have added it to our "MMA" program because it provides the best foundation of fighting skills.

One of the hidden strengths of wrestling is it’s ground escapes and reversals to get back to standing.  Our Combat Wrestling System provides an excellent foundation for controlling an opponent without injuring him. The confidence that one can gain from a knowledge of wrestling is invaluable because of the ability to begin with non-lethal control and increase the intensity of the response.  This is why it would be have incredible value for people in the profession of Law Enforcement, Fire Safety (controlling an unconscious person to get them to safety - including our unconventional strength training), Department of Emergency Services, Security, and anyone that has to make "house calls" like cable company employees, plumbers, and HVAC teams.

It’s no secret – the fittest athletes are martial artists and the fittest of the martial artists are grapplers. This is real fitness that can save your life and never gets boring.

Join the evolution of mixed martial arts at ATA Elkton, MD.  Call (410) 398-8624 for a two free classes to get you pumped and addicted.

Reblog - School Talk at Thomson Estates

A few weeks ago ATA instructors went to Thomson Estates elementary and hosted a special class for the whole school.  It was all the kids that have had good behavior all year from the school, split into 3 groups.  This was something new because I've never taught classes of 150 students before, but it was really cool.  I learned a couple things about engaging a crowd and that the excitement of a class is amplified when the "Yes Sir!" can be heard echoing through the entire school.  We took a few pictures, but it was tough to take them at the same time we were teaching.  Check out our Facebook picture album by going to THIS PAGE.

We taught a really cool course called the ABC Concentration course.  First, we warm the kids up with some plyometric drills to make them fast and strong.  Then we talk about having a good attitude and always trying their best.  After that, we use martial arts to teach Belief- how the most important person to believe in is yourself!  Then, I taught them the 3 levels of master focus and give teachers a tool to use when the kids are having trouble focusing.

Thanks Thomson Estates and their guidance counselor, Gretchen Zahn, for inviting us.  The staff at the school, including the principal shows how dedicated they are to the future of our community every day in their action.  I've never met a crew with so much passion!