Bethlehem Martial Arts Academy

T.G.I.M.
(cause ya gotta start somewhere…)

Reminder: Bethlehem Martial Arts Academy will be closed Saturday, May 27 through Monday, May 29 for the Memorial Day weekend.
Please remember the reason for Memorial Day.

Never Miss a Monday:

Tonight’s special, Attitude Requirement #5: Practice basic techniques all the time.

Tang Soo Do techniques can be dynamic, awe-inspiring, and very technically challenging. However, without solid basic techniques all that “flash” is a waste and maybe even impossible.

Come see why…

Philosophy Phriday

Workout Wednesday:
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Tang Soo style!

Hand and kick combos interspersed with active recovery sessions. 20 minutes and you’ll wish you stayed home.

Come join us.

It is with a heavy but proud heart that we bid a temporary farewell to one of our BMAA family members. Mr Alex Isaac, E Dan, is taking a break from his Tang Soo Do training to serve this great nation as a member of the United States Air Force. We are proud of what you’ve done, Mr. Isaac, and more so of what you will become. Thank you in advance for your service.

Aim high, Tang Soo Man. Aim High Airman. Tang Soo!

Yes! Classes are on! The roads are fine, and the temps will warm as the night progresses. Come have some Snow Day fun! Partner drills all night.

As always, remember good self-defense starts with awareness and making safety job 1. Stay within your comfort zone when driving. See you Saturday if you’re not thrilled about coming out tonight.

Spinning (kick) Saturday!
Who’s ready to get dizzy?!

Philosophy Phriday:
I had the great fortune of finding a TV ”station” that has the reruns of the old David Carradine “Kung Fu” TV series. It’s been great rewatching the show that inspired me to learn martial arts. Btw, that was because of the philosophy, not the fighting.

Isn’t it interesting how different peoples in different places at different times came up with the same ideas? For example, the Um and Yang (the duality of opposites—-Yin and Yang if you prefer the Chinese version, a rose by any other name…) and Newton’s Third Law of Motion, “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.” Hmmm…Interesting, interesting indeed.
Happy Phriday!

Teaching and Training Tuesday:

Remember when teaching, learning, or practicing techniques—-especially complicated ones, like many Tang Soo Do kicks—-eliminate as many variables as possible in the beginning stages.

For example, practicing a hook kick can be taught first by having students use the front leg, thus eliminating variables such as balance issues, postural weakness, and supporting leg pivoting skills.

When proficient with that, we can add a slide up with the rear leg, then a step through, the back leg kick with pivot, and finally the turn to the rear.

This “scaffolding” makes the kick progressively more challenging, yet not overwhelming, while making use of the good kicking skills the student has already learned and demonstrates.

Happy Teaching and Training!

Tang Soo!

“Never miss a Monday.”
Master Mark Causerano

New Year’s Message 2023

Ego?

As the Founder of The World Tang Soo Do Association, Grandmaster Jae Chul Shin, once said, “Ego is the #1 killer of good Black Belts.” This wisdom not only fits our Tang Soo Do pursuits, but many other aspects of our lives, as well.

Consider those things that other people do that produce anxiety, distress, frustration, or even anger in us—-a stranger, a coworker, a loved one doing something we wish they wouldn’t or not doing something we wish they would. Why do other’s actions have such an influence over the way we think and feel? It may be because our Ego decides such an action is an insult, an affront, or is disrespectful to us in some way. Read that again, our Ego decides…

If that is correct, it’s not the action itself, nor the intent of the other person that makes it so. It is the way we take that act. It’s the way we interpret the action. It’s the way we perceive what they did. WE decide that, not the other, not the action. Certainly not the latter, after all, action has only the value we give it.

My favorite example is when you’re driving down the highway and a person speeds up to squeeze into the space ahead. A space not exactly safe in terms of the proper following distance we all learned about in Driver’s Ed. All that hurry (and peril) in order to get that extra three feet in front of you and arrive at their destination a few seconds earlier. Sheesh…

What is our typical reaction to this? You certainly can answer that yourself. And you can guess mine by the way I phrased that. Anyway, is that reaction because of what that person did or because of how we perceive what they did? Did their action really have anything—-anything at all—-to do with me? Did they consciously wish to offend or anger me or is that just how I take what they did?

If the latter, how can we limit this Ego-filled reaction? How can we respond less like that?

Perhaps one way is by asking a simple question when we observe such a reaction, “Is this my Ego talking?” Or just ask yourself, “Ego?”

If the answer is yes, great! We can recognize that and work to improve it. If the answer is no…maybe we should ask that question again.

Ego?

Happy 2023. Tang Soo!