WHAT GOOD IS INTEGRITY? After a workshop, Paul (that's not his real name) said that he still has 10-year-old scars from the time he quit a good job rather than lie. When his boss asked him to issue a press release containing patently false statements, he refused, putting his employee badge on the table. His boss calmly handed the badge back to him saying, "Think this over. Why throw away a good job and a promising career?" Paul walked out so frustrated and frightened, he had to find a private place to cry. What's worse, he said that his act of moral courage was a meaningless waste. Someone else issued the press release and his boss's career flourished. "It took me year s to find a job as good as that one and my family suffered," he added. "So, what good did my integrity do for anyone?" Paul was looking for validation of his principled stance in the wrong places. We exercise integrity not to get what we want, but to be what we want. Integrity is not essentially about winning; it's about staying whole and being worthy of self-respect and the esteem of loved ones. It's about being honorable, not as a success strategy, but a life choice. Though Paul suffered for a time because of his moral courage, he would have suffered far worse had he betrayed his own values. While he didn't appreciate it, Paul preserved for himself and his family something far more valuable than his job -- his honor. And it's no accident that he now has a better job with no pressures to cheat or lie. Michael Josephson

THE ART OF LIVING – Clearly Define the Person You Want to Be Who exactly do you want to be? What kind of person do you wan t to be? What are your personal ideals? Whom do you admire? What are their special traits that you would make you own? It’s time to stop being vague. If you wish to be an extraordinary person, if you wish to be wise, then you should explicitly identify the kind of person you aspire to become. If you have a daybook, write who you’re trying to be, so that you can refer to this self-definition. Precisely describe the demeanor you want to adopt so that you may preserve it when you are by yourself or with other people.

BALANCE Without balance, you are nothing. With balance every movement you make mentally, physically, spiritually should reflect the readiness of a hawk hunting a prey and the concentration of a leopard stalking a game.

KATA TRAINING is another step in the development of complete kumite skills. Like basic exercise, kata should also be practiced to the point of thoughtless performance. Any complete martial arts system has as a characteristic, kata that demonstrates and teaches the essence of fighting and incorporates effective, realistic techniques. To take advantage of what kata has to offer, one must be willing to devote considerable time to training the individual techniques that comprise the kata. As mentioned earlier, these training exercises must be real-time activities that are also trained to the point of thoughtless performance. It is vital to reiterate at this point that kata should never be trained for the purpose of class performance. In the instance of kata performance one’s kata should emulate fighting.

KUMITE TRAINING should be viewed as testing ground for one’s training. The evolutionary process continues even at this level of training. Kumite training allows one to further understand and exploit their strengths and weaknesses to the point of making subtle changes in technique, i.e. fist angles, block angles, stances, etc. in order to facilitate greater proficiency. This evolution becomes apparent in the practice and performance of one’s kata.

THE ONLY WAY SOMEONE CAN INSULT YOU, IS FOR YOU TO ACCEPT THE ASSAULT.

YOU EXPERIENCE MORE MENTAL ATTACKS EVERY DAY THEN PHYSICAL ATTACKS YEARLY.

Battle of the Mind – emotion, jealousy, envy, feeling of inferiority and insecurity.

Thoughts create attitude, attitude creates personality, and personality creates action.

FOUR STEP FORMULA FOR SUCCESS

You must know what you want – purpose You must want it sincerely – desire

You must firmly believe that you will get it – faith You must exert every

IF THE WEATHER IS QUESTIONABLE . . . LISTEN TO WRNJ - 1510 AM ON YOUR RADIO FOR DOJO CLOSINGS . . . OR CALL THE DOJO . . . SAFETY FIRST . . .

FITNESS! 5Pillars.com October, 2003

Problems such as over-training, injuries and just plain boredom can sabotage even the best exercise routine. Following these simple F-I-T-N-E-S-S rules will help keep you moving and motivated.

Forget doing the same exercise routine day in and day out! Instead, be creative and look for ways to add variety to your workouts. Sticking to the same routine is boring, keeps you from reaching your fitness potential and can lead to burnout and exercise related repetitive injury. There are hundreds of activities to choose from, the more exercise options at your disposal, the better. Try making a list of activities you enjoy and picking a different one each week.

Incorporate all three components of fitness when working out. Maintaining a balance between cardiovascular (aerobic) exercise, strength (weight lifting) and flexibility training (stretching) gives you total body conditioning and increased health benefits. Different types of activities have different advantages for your body. One activity may burn more calories, another may be better for improving lung capacity, endurance and stamina, increasing flexibility, or strengthening muscles and bones.

Take time to rest and recover between workouts! The time taken between workouts allows your body to rebuild and repair itself so that you are able to give more to your next exercise session. The tendency to over-train exists with both beginners and experienced exercisers. Beginners tend to do too much too soon in order to see results while experienced exercisers tend to do too much because they fear losing progress. Once you’ve been bitten by the exercise bug, you may find yourself going through ‘withdrawals’ if you don't get your daily dose of exercise. In this case, if you truly can't pull back from training, at least replace your usual workout with something less intense. "Relative rest" like taking a walk if you usually run, or cutting back on the time or speed is at least better than over-training An over-train body is a weak body, a well rested body is able to give 100% to every workout.

Never increase the intensity of your workouts to quickly. Instead try not to add more than 10 percent per week. For example, if you typically jog 5 miles a day but your goal is to jog 10, build up gradually by increasing your mileage by 10% each week. Rapidly increasing the intensity, or level of hard work, overtaxes the body and leaves it prone to injury. The "10% rule" also works for increasing the amount of weight you lift in your strength-training workouts.

Establish good eating habits! Paying attention to your nutritional needs is important if you expect to have productive exercise sessions and keep your weight under control. A healthy diet consists of fruits and vegetables, high fiber foods such as cereals, beans and whole grains, lean meats and/or fish. Eat 4-6 times each day, and have your biggest meals before the biggest amount of your calorie expenditure. Always wait 1-2 hours after eating for your food to digest before beginning your workout. Make sure to keep yourself well hydrated by drinking plenty of water before, during and after activity, especially in hot weather. If you find yourself exercising intensely for more than an hour at a time, experts recommend replenish lost fluids with a sports drink to replace essential electrolytes lost with perspiration.

Shoes and workout clothes should be comfortable and appropriate for the activity you are doing. If you need to purchase gloves, knee pads, bike helmets, or any other safety equipment be sure to try them out before you make a purchase to make sure they fit properly and best serve your needs.

Stay safe. Before and after each workout, spend 5-10 minutes doing a low-intensity exercise such as walking, and take time to do some gentle stretching. Never stretch before you have done your warm up. Always use proper form when exercising to avoid injury. Slow controlled movements are usually best for flexibility and strength training movements.

For the average healthy adult, working out at a pace where you are moderately winded but can still carry on a conversation is considered safe most cardiovascular workouts. Always check with your doctor before beginning a new exercise routine and learn to listen to your body. If you experience pain, sudden fatigue, dizziness, nausea or shortness of breath, stop immediately and consult your physician.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PEOPLE WHO EARNED RECENT PROMOTIONS:

• Brown Belt #2 - Eric Aleman
• Green Belt - Michael Wack, Jeff Rothe

THERE WILL BE NO CLASSES ON THE FOLLOWING DATES:

• DECEMBER - (WED) 24TH & (THURS) 25TH (WED) 31ST
• JANUARY - (THURS) 1ST
• PLAN AHEAD AND MAKE CLASSES UP AT THE DOJO OR AT FIT HAPPENS.