Martial Arts, the Circle of Life

By Israel Gonzales

Martial Arts, The Circle Of Life takes an in depth look at the students journey in the martial arts and the hurdles they face at each level and correlates it with the human life cycle and the challenges we face during the different stages of life. For example, a new white belt student enters a class with the same open mind, curiosity and trust as a young child, ready to learn and absorb what the teacher has to offer, with no hang ups or insecurities. They believe in what is being taught and are excited about what they are learning. The next level is where curiosity begins to dominate just as preteen will ask several questions and often experiement a little more.

Martial Arts, The Circle Of Life is a good tool for both instructors and students and is beneficial for the student that may be starting to feel discouraged about continuing a training program.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 29, 2012
• ISBN: 9781481701686

Israel Gonzales

Israel Gonzales has over 30 years experience in martial arts and is a direct student of the late Grand Master Richard L. Peralta. Mr. Gonzales currently holds a 7th Degree Black Belt in Kajukembo and has been consistantly teaching Kajukembo in the Dallas/Fort Worth area since 1997. Mr. Gonzales is a two time inductee into the United States Martial Arts Hall Of Fame and has authored two books; Kajukembo - The Peralta Method & Martial Arts, The Circle Of Life.

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© 2013 by Israel Gonzales. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 12/21/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4817-0169-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-0168-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012924163

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Chapter 1 Preface

Chapter 2 The Circle Of Life

Chapter 3 The Octagon

Chapter 4 The Beginning

Chapter 5 Schools

Chapter 6 Reap What You Sow

Chapter 7 Is This Really For Me?

Chapter 8 Am I Different?

Chapter 9 Treadmill Affect

Chapter 10 Physical Or Mental?

Chapter 11 Hurdles

Chapter 12 Schedules

Chapter 13 Skipping

Chapter 14 Self Defense, Does This Stuff Work?

CHAPTER 1

PREFACE

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It is our human nature to desire to learn new activities and most of us have tried several activities in our lifetime. Take bowling for example, nearly everyone has at least tried it and some will have enjoyed it more than others, some will have gotten good and perhaps joined a league, while others may only get the urge to bowl once every several months. Yet others will have realized that it just wasn’t as fun as they thought it would be and probably never bothered to do it again. It does not mean that bowling isn’t a fun activity; it just means it isn’t as fun for everyone.

Fact is, we don’t all excel in the same areas and some of us struggle a little more than others, but one thing is for certain, we all have something we can do really well. Perhaps you may have not yet discovered your talents, but rest assured that there is something you can do really well.

Some people discover their forte at early ages at which their minds are less occupied by the responsibilities of raising families, careers and the obligations and commitments associated with just being an adult. We sometimes think of children as being able to pick things up quickly because their minds are less occupied with the responsibilities we have as adults, but whatever it is, children do have a tendency to struggle less with learning as adults.

The first section of this book covers what I refer to as the Circle of Life. Through years of teaching martial arts, I have noticed that certain behaviors are more common during the different levels of students’ training which are also common to a persons’ chronological growth. Keep in mind that this is just an example I use to understand the students maturity levels and has nothing to do with how and when students are promoted.

The purpose of this book is to help the reader understand the obstacles they face when implementing a new sport or activity and to better understand the feeling they get when they find themselves asking, is this really for me? This book is not intended to help or persuade you to make any decisions on whether to continue or abort a training program. Please use your best judgment when participating in any physical program and consult with a physician prior to beginning such activities.

CHAPTER 2

THE CIRCLE OF LIFE

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When someone starts something new, he or she might be a little nervous at first because they still do not know exactly what to expect, but once they have jumped into it with both feet, they usually become excited and full of enthusiasm. Every little thing seems to have meaning and they feel good about what they are doing. At this level, it is perfectly okay to actually suck at it and the newbies have a legitimate excuse to since they are still are new at it. In a group setting, the student might be the newest, therefore he or she isn’t expected be as good as the rest of them, but most importantly, the student isn’t as critical on themselves just yet as those who have been there longer.

Fact is that there will be things this student may excel more quickly in and actually be better than some of the others within a short time. This is common and we all have certain things we are naturally good at. For example, in a martial arts class, you may be naturally flexible, therefore you may be more flexible than someone who has been in a martial arts class for a lot longer than you and when everyone is stretching, the instructor may compliment you on your flexibility as he sees it as an advantage for lower stances or higher kicks while he or she may notice another student’s strength or other trait that can be beneficial in martial arts training.

To hear the instructor compliment something you’re good at usually increases your motivation and encourages you to try harder. Unfortunately, there are also certain aspects to everything that we just have issues with and we have a harder time learning than others. In the same example above, you may be naturally flexible but totally uncoordinated, therefore you may not excel as fast as someone else in some martial arts techniques, but this is still okay since you are just a beginner and can always blame it on the lack