Archive for the ‘Health and Living’ Category

Never Limit What You Think You Can Do

Know Your Limits…

bleh. Reach beyond them

Due to changes in her school schedule, travel and time constraints our previous and wonderful yoga instructor sadly said goodbye to Community Martial Arts. Of course this left me in a conundrum. The Yoga class isn’t a huge class but has a few dedicated individuals who truly love being in the Yoga class.

I didn’t have a replacement.

But…I have done yoga for a few years personally and for several years it was a part of our training regimen for warm up before class in the adult program.

I could have said… well, this isn’t going well so we can just cut the class. But I know that there are genuine benefits to Yoga. It is extremely beneficial for so many things.

If you have never tried it before, you would be amazed at what Yoga can do for your body. Not only will you strengthen and tone your body, you will also lose weight and feel great.

A typical Yoga class involves slow gentle movements, holding postures, and finishing with a few minutes of relaxed meditation. All of which take the body gently step by step into a gradual progression of intensity and cool down. I always feel great afterwards.

As of late, I have had lots of digestive trouble. I have had to change my diet over to Vegetarianism which has seemed to do the trick. I also needed to add more exercise into my regimen. I could say that I am too busy. I could say that I don’t look like your average spunky supermodel-esque yoga instructor. It doesn’t matter. I am going to exceed my own limits and teach Yoga. You never know what you can achieve until you reach beyond yourself!

Yoga is hugely beneficial for martial artists as well! The Yoga program is a scientific sequence designed to improve martial arts and self defense movements with an emphasis on defeating the ego, your first opponent in any fight.

That is why I am giving away a HUGE SPECIAL to all my students…

Yoga is FREE FOR ONE MONTH

Just show up to classes on Monday or Wednesday at 5:30 PM

Just wanted to give everyone an update to our schedule this week being a Holiday weekend.

Tae Kwon Do Classes are cancelled this week and next while Grandmaster Barnes is on vacation.

Mt. Vernon Kung Fu and MMA classes will be cancelled from Wednesday on through the holiday weekend as Master Barnes is taking vacation as well.

Evansville Kung Fu and MMA classes will be cancelled this holiday weekend as Sifu DeRudder is taking the weekend off.

There have been several questions about testing and when it will happen for the Kung Fu classes…

I have decided to push it back a couple of weeks to ensure that everyone is ready to test. This gives the instructors and myself ample time with each student to assess their training needs and make sure they are ready to test.

More than likely we will have our testing on July 18th with a Free Women’s Self Defense Seminar to Follow at 3:00 PM.

I figured I would leave you with some 4th of July / Independence Day Celebration Safety Tips:

• A responsible adult should supervise all fireworks activities.
• Never give fireworks to young children.
• Always purchase fireworks from reliable sources.
• Follow label directions carefully.
• Never point or throw fireworks at another person.
• Use fireworks outdoors in a clear area away from buildings and vehicles.
• Never carry fireworks in your pocket or shoot them in metal or glass containers.
• Light them one at a time then move back quickly.
• Don’t experiment with homemade fireworks.
• Observe local laws and use common sense.
• Sparklers, fountains and other items that many states allow for use by consumers are not appropriate when a large crowd is present.
• If attending a community display, leave your own fireworks at home — there will be plenty of excitement provided by the display.

- Sijo Jeff Barnes

Getting Rid of Attachments

Why do people fight?

Believe it or not, I believe that most people honestly want to be good. Why do I say this?

If you look at most world religions you find a common theme of being nice and genuine to one another. How to avoid the problems that could really hurt you and have a life meaningful to one another.

Then why all the hatred, violence and crime?

The real answer is that is that people are attached. The attachment comes from an emotional connection between them and the object and person, place or thing.

People fight for land, rights, possessions, honor, and respect.

Whatever the reason, people who start or wish to fight it is in respect to the emotional response they have  towards what they are attached to.

So what does that mean for you?

Using our minds, we can quickly determine the attachment our opponent may have. It could either be they feel dishonored, disrespected, or even violated in some way. Whatever the reason, they have an emotional response to the situation.

If you can determine the reason for their emotional response, you have the opportunity to circumvent the fight. You can ‘read’ your opponent and quickly understand why they are choosing to have a beef with you.

Be it money, ego, or possessions, these things are immaterial. They can be replaced. If you can give them away to circumvent the situation, it is in your best interest to do so. Having this mind of unattachment towards items, or things allow you to have a clear head and stable mental environment to keep yourself safe.

As always, fighting should be our last option, not our first!

Sijo Jeff Barnes

Women Need To Learn Self Defense

I read an interesting article today that while it is a ‘racey’ topic, I felt that the overall story was something to mention.

Exploited women in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu are learning self defense.

You can read the story here http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8093946.stm

What is interesting is that these women (prostitutes) are being beaten, taken advantage of unfairly, robbed and degraded. It saddens me that women still have to sell themselves on the street in order to make a living. However, I am happy to hear that organizations are standing up for them and giving them the much needed training they need in order to survive.

Here in the United States, women are still being taken advantage of. Aggression, lack of respect and degradation, along with unfair prejudice is still haunting the female population. Being the father of three beautiful girls, it pains me to think of what they will have to face as teenagers and young women.

With the rise of teenage pregnancy and a society that is more open to sexual contact as a form of ‘expression’ I feel that this leaves women at risk. That is why I believe that women need to be taught self defense. The problem is that people believe that once you ‘learn the moves’ you are alright.

What statistics show is that women who actively practice self defense are nine times more likely to survive an attack versus those who merely went to a couple of classes. You see that the difference is an active and continual ‘practice’ outweighs a few lessons.

If you know of someone who is at risk, or you have a daughter about to turn into a teenager, I highly recommend them getting into a self defense program. If you are in the Evansville or Mount Vernon Indiana area, I highly recommend my two schools (http://www.communitymartialarts.com).

Master Jeff Barnes

Dances of Universal Peace Mt. Vernon

Linda Young of Mt. Vernon and Newburgh Indiana hosted Lance Sandleben to lead the Dances of Universal Peace session at Community Martial Arts Mt. Vernon.

It was a great turnout. It was fun and great to see so many turn out for our first event.

Dances of Universal Peace is a participatory community dance and are offered in a variety of ways such as ongoing evening sessions, day workshops, longer residential retreats and dance camps.]

With a repertoire of over 400 dances included themes of peace, healing of the earth, love, joy and understanding, the end goal is not for public performance but rather a celebration and welcoming diversity. Dancers focus on peace and armony while celebrating the underlying unity of all the spiritual practices of the earth.

Community Martial Arts was enjoyed being a part of this event. It was neat to see everyone genuinely enjoying themselves and appreciating each other. It really brings a sense of peace and community among the dancers. We gladly back welcome Linda and the Dances of Universal Peace community at our school.

Master Jeff Barnes

Be Amazing!

The woman to the left probably could have spent the rest of her life as an ‘unknown.’

But watch this…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

As you can see, she is absolutely amazing!

As she walked on the stage, people snikered. At first look, you wouldn’t think anything amazing about her. She is just another ‘train wreck’ about to happen on Europe’s biggest reality show.

And then the music started.

She was absolutely amazing. I know I have already said that. She reminded me of an earlier Britains Got Talent where the singer Paul Potts won. He was an overweight cellphone salesman from New Zealand with a cleft lip. With all of that against him, he still won!

All I have to say is that in the martial arts, the world may never think that you have what it takes to succeeed. The world may say you are this or that and try to define you. The martial arts is about finding your own limits and breaking them to excell yourself to higher levels.

You too can be a superstar! Believe in yourself and don’t worry about what the world has to say!

Galaxian

Tonight, we expect the first of several fun changes to Community Martial Arts. One of the thing I have always wanted was my very own personal arcade.  Some of my most memorable times were spent dropping quarters into my favorite games.

I wanted to share my love of the classic arcade with you. We have acquired our second arcade machine Galaxian, a cocktail style arcade game that you can play against your friends or family.

Here is a video of the game play… the memories

[youtube RCypeMzP0Mw Community Martial Arts January 26, 2009]

Tonight in the Evansville Community Martial Arts school we focused on self defenses. Master Barnes shows an example of overloading an attacker with pain causing them to ultimately shut down and collapse. The students learned simple and effective techniques from their basic techniques.

[youtube ug0ZZiLV1XY Martial Arts and Self Defense Evansville Indiana]

Tonight we focused on eye-hand coordination drills for the kids and followed up with some great sparring drills. The adults warmed up to a great workout and finished with more sparring drills and actual sparring. Fun was had by all.

[youtube vot3yYMqbZU]

On January 20th we had a momentous day in history. We have the first African American President. No matter what side of the fence you prescribe to politically, you still con appreciate the historical significance of such an event.

Here is a video clip of the many things that are going on at the Mount Vernon school. You will get to see our Lil’ Ninjas class, Tae Kwon Do, Kids Kung Fu and our Boxing program.

There is absolutely something for everyone at Community Martial Arts.