Rock Blog

Building confidence and leadership skills through martial arts….


Growing up with a Japanese martial arts back ground (Karate and Jiu-Jitsu)was great for me and helped me become the martial artist, and person I am today. The Japanese embody the martial arts lifestyle with an extreme focus on excellence.(This is not to say other disciplines don’t focus on many similar practices, but that wasn’t my original path mine was Japanese).

The good schools follow that same practice, focusing on technique, discipline, striving for perfection. Rather then believe you can’t, the martial artist are taught to believe they just have not gotten to that level yet. Martial arts is a journey and takes years to master. It isn’t so much about the destination but the journey. Of course we all want black belts and thats a good thing, but there are no short cuts in martial arts. In order to perfect these techniques it takes focus, determination, and perseverance. There will be many days a martial artist goes home feeling defeated. We are forced to accept these feelings,analyze what went wrong continue on our journey and not be deterred. These are life building skills essential for growth.

These days I have noticed many well meaning parents try and shelter our children from experiencing these feelings. In my opinion thats the worst thing we can do. We need setbacks to grow as people, as leaders, they are a part of life . If you prune a shrub it comes back fuller stronger and more complete. Are we so different? Being put under pressure is part of the Martial arts lifestyle. Its how we learn to respond thats important. As we grow in the martial arts we begin to learn what we once thought was impossible is now just a distant memory. Overcoming adversity both mentally and physically builds true confidence and teaches us the keys to victory.. Whether on the mats or cage or in life. How many of you wouldn’t agree the person who has been in the situation before will generally be the most level headed?

A martial artist is also taught after a time to pass down their knowledge to the lower ranked students behind them. Teaching others whats been passed down to them and guiding younger martial artists so that they can avoid the mistakes they have made. Not only are they developing leadership skills but a much deeper understanding of the martial arts. In order to teach martial arts you must truly understand them. As you teach you learn, and have new challenges and the growth continues. Good Gyms and Dojos tell you to check your ego at the door but in the event you don’t. This process i just described has a funny way of checking it for you. Egos don’t last long because there isn’t room for them in a real martial artist life. They only hinder growth. I have seen many people drop out including pro fighters who let their ego get the best of them. Once this happens you begin to think you have nothing to learn.. One great thing about martial arts is you can never take it put in your pocket and say done there is always more to learn, keeping you humble. Go to any typical fitness gym you’ll see many muscle bound guys staring at themselves in the mirror strutting around .

I personally believe that behavior exhibits a lack of confidence my Gym for instance Rock M.M.A. is full of smiles, hand shakes, and a good sense of humor. These men and women have very little ego. They are well trained martial artists, in great shape and fully capable of intimidating someone but they don’t. Why? They have a great self belief in their abilities and are aware of what is possible because they have been tested many times in training and if need be know they can handle most situations.Its probably to a point where most of them don’t really think of why they are all so easy going and helpful. Its been ingrained in them over time and its a culture.

The coaches and higher ranking members behave in this manner so the new ones follow suit.. We are serious about learning and becoming the best martial artists in the world but we enjoy the process at the same time. If you think martial arts sounds like your path or you have any questions about this blog feel free to reach out to me directly Carl @ 754-422-9869 or @[email protected] God Bless.

Created: 03/23/15 at 8:35 PM

People often ask me why as an owner why I choose to teach my children’s and teens mixed martial arts classes.
The answer is simple its what I absolutely love to do. As a life long martial artist its always been a constant in my life. When times were rough and even before girls or I knew God it was my first love. My friend and at times even my psychiatrist. I am now lucky enough to be blessed with the ability to not only teach my own children martial arts, but other children as well. I love to see how martial arts changes the lives of my students for the better.
I call MMA the great equalizer because it humbles the proud and builds self confidence in the meek.
I love to see the progression of a student when they come to me all shelled up and distant. By being firm, fair and caring they start to trust me and we start the long journey between teacher and student. When they first start martial arts they are at times 2 left feet, but as they become more in tune with their bodies and as their fitness levels come up they start to believe and become more and more bold and assertive. That moment where it all clicks and they understand their capabilities is amazing and extremely satisfying as a coach. This is especially true with teens, it gives them a release from the new pressures life brings them and a positive goal.
Over time you begin to see fruit. The proud many times come in with a chip on their shoulder pride and ego in there own way. Once they start the training and realize the difficulty level to master something like this and struggle through the workouts they quickly learn how very human they are. Both of these groups eventually learn to trust and rely on each other as teammates because of the intensity of training and difficulty level. Much like soldiers in a foxhole. The students learn to work together and push each other and it is extremely common to see the students helping one another together on open mat (in between classes). As far as discipline goes not only on the mat but off the students are required to be respectful, curtious and honorable to one another and others they interact with.
Martial arts is a great self defense in more ways than the obvious. Many times when confronted my students will simply avoid problems. They learn their capabilities and because they are so confident in themselves they feel they have nothing to prove.
The way the world is nowadays with technology and video games obesity and fitness are also another factor we see a lot. I can assure you with the proper dedication and diet these issues don’t take very long to resolve. The students eventually compete in grappling tournaments and have a chance to win medals and trophies. They train as a team and push each other. Some go on to kickboxing and MMA tournaments others don’t, but the lessons they learn in martial arts are life lessons and in my humble opinion have no substitute. Whether or not they become world renowned black belts or UFC champions isn’t that important. They learn to become winners in life they learn to win and face their fears and conquer them. They learn humility, they learn confidence and team work they get the gift of health and learn about nutrition. Oh and most of all while these lessons are being learned they have a ton of fun and make life long friends in a rewarding sport that one day they can pass on to their children as I’m now blessed enough to do with mine.
Martial arts is a wonderful lifestyle that always teaches and goes through life with you, if you have never tried it I encourage you to come down and join us for a free class and begin your journey today.
Created: 11/19/14 at 10:20 PM