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Don’t be Fooled by Price

I don’t know about you, but in Rancho Bernardo, I can’t help but feel like things are expensive.  I have friends who live up in Orange County, and we are always talking about how expensive it is to live in the areas we do.  It is worth it though.  There is a difference between cost and price.  There is a high value to living in Rancho Bernardo.  You have Poway Unified Schools, a safe neighborhood for your kids to grow up, and you can walk outside and play Pokemon Go at night and not worry about being mugged(I will catch all the ghost pokemon some day). The cost of something is different.  For example, when we moved to Rancho Bernardo I hired a cheap contractor to remodel our bathroom.  I will never forget the cost of this mistake.  My family waited four years for that bathroom to be finished, and the guys still owes me $2,000.  I ended up hiring a much more expensive general contractor to fix all of this guys mistakes.  The cheaper contractor cost me much more.  The price of the second contractor was much higher, but it did not cost me nearly as much(I am still getting flack from my wife). Choosing a martial arts school for your kids is no different.  We believe that if a computer repair man is charging $25 an hour he must not be very good, but if someone charges $100 an hour he must be amazing.  Don’t be fooled.  Just because you are paying a higher price for your kids martial arts training does not mean that it is...

Best Martial Art for Self Defense in Rancho Bernardo

If your like me, having two daughters, you want them to be able to protect themselves.  So what is the best martial arts system for self-defense?  I always find this question funny.  Brace yourselves, I am going to reveal the best fighting system for self-defense… It’s a weapon.  Learning how to use a gun or a knife at close range.  I mean are we still debating this?  Weapons have been around for centuries.  I hate to break it to all of our die hard martial artists out there but your system is not going to protect you from bullets or knife wounds.  I have heard so many stories from martial artists where a knife was involved and it changes everything.  I think of knife techniques like duck and cover drills during the Cold War.  It’s better than nothing.  You might be asking me, “Then why do I teach martial art?” My family loves guns, I have never really been that interested in them.  I live in Rancho Bernardo.  Do you know how many people I worry about in Rancho Bernardo attacking me?  No one.  You know why?  I worked hard my entire adult life so I can live in Rancho Bernardo!  The crime rate is ridiculously low.  This year there are no reported murders in Rancho Bernardo, one case of rape.  That doesn’t mean bad things aren’t happening, being a criminologist I know that stats from the UCR are not all inclusive, but I do think I will take my chances. Why do I train martial arts?  I enjoy doing it!  I always find this silly, like in 2018...

Bullying can’t be Stopped

Bullying Bullying is a hot topic these days.  Now you can even be bullied 24/7 with social media.  Whether it is because of the media, school shootings, or overzealous parents.  I hear people saying they want to end bullying, I think it is admirable but misleading and missing the point.  I did my graduate paper on bullying and programs that reduced it.  There was a lot of good programs out there that helped.  Creating a community that cares about all it’s members.  Promoting activities that keep kids involved like after school programs.  These all helped cut down on bullying, but there was no program that came close to eliminating it, That’s because you can’t remove the causes of bullying.  Some kids bully to get negative emotions out, some do it for the control over another person, some do it because they are abused.  The point is there is nothing you can do about the way it is out there, with the kids trying to bully.  What you can do is teach your kids in a manner that prevents them from being bullied.  Being involved in your child’s life is the only way that is going to happen. I’m very lucky that my martial arts school was well established before my kids were born.  My two daughters are surrounded by kids with strong moral values and a sense of integrity.  Sure my daughter’s are going to learn how to defend themselves but they are also already a part of a group.  When I joined my first martial arts school, that sense of community the class offered was great.  It was...

Belt Testing

Belt testing I was so surprised to realize how little I understood about honesty.  Not so much being honest in my speech when it comes to confrontation, more people would appreciate it if I was less honest.  It is being honest around my friends and those close to me that is difficult.  I was bullied as a kid, it left a lasting impression.  It made me not want to say how I really felt, conform to the group.  This is a useful skill, but not appropriate when it is something that keeps you up at night.  Honesty can set you free.  When you are honest with where you are it doesn’t matter what happened a year ago, the tragedy of your life can be a tragedy, but that does not mean you can not accept where you are and move forward.  Being able to adjust your mindset to grow has to start with not deceiving yourself.  If you don’t believe what you are saying people will sense it. So how does martial arts teach honesty?  Well to be honest(my favorite phrase I say when I am about to upset someone) it regularly does not.  When you have kids who earn something like a black belt after a few years of training and believe that their training mattered because of attendance I laugh.  Your attendance can mean you accumulated skill, but in that situation it usually does not.  My oldest daughter asks me after every class how she did, and I always say let’s talk about it later.  She is not focused on what she is doing half the time,...

How High Intensity Interval Training can Help you Lose Weight!

How High Intensity Interval Training can Help you Lose Weight! As a father and a martial artist, one of my life long goals is to remain in shape. I stay in shape not only for my career, but for my daughter who relies on me to set an example for her. I want her to know how important it is to take care of one’s body not only for health, but for confidence as well. I have tried multiple workouts throughout the years trying to find the right one for me. Still, if having a kid has taught me anything, and it has taught me a lot, it’s that time is limited.  I regularly plan my weekly workouts only to have a sick kid or an unforeseen event make me miss or cancel my classes.  It is hard to find the time to fit in an hour long workout when juggling a career and a child, as most people can probably relate to me on this. Fitness experts say just do something, but that “something” is so vague. How do I know that I’m targeting the muscles I want just doing “something?” I kept thinking that there had to be a better system for parents like us. That’s when I came across High Intensity Interval Training. High Intensity Interval Training was just the workout I was looking for to fit my hectic schedule. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)  is a great way to get your metabolism going and to burn more calories in a shorter period of time so you don’t have to miss a workout.  HIIT programs can...

4S Ranch Most Important Skills from Martial Arts Honesty

Accept the Situation Martial arts for kids has grown in the last few decades from a fad to a mandatory youth experience.  Children train for a few months like they would any sport, in seasonal fashion.  Martial arts and karate, I would argue, are not just seasonal sports.  The benefits your kids receive from them can be integral in how your child acts as an adult.  Here is a list of the top 5 skills your kids should learn from training.  I am going to leave out self-defense for a few reasons I will write about in another article.  Mainly because of my Master’s degree in Criminology, I know who is usually the msot dangerous to my daughter.  A close family member, boss, spouse.  Often times these situation’s cannot be resolved by learning krav maga, and kicking someone in the groin.  When your boss blackmails you or husband is not treating you right, karate skills can help, but I would argue not because you know how to knock him unconscious. Now are there places of travel, places you can live, and situations to learn self defense?  Of course!  I am not against learning how to defend yourself.  I also do not believe that a martial art can give you any skills if it is not rooted in actual self defense.  Still, when I walk on the mat to teach a class I would much rather be developing the skills people consider values, the martial arts is simply a vehicle. Honesty I would argue it is the most important thing on my list for character development.  Without honesty you are...