Martial Arts Lessons – The Five Tenants

Martial Arts Lessons – The Five Tenants

During these turbulent times with financial hardships, or market corrections the martial arts can teach so many things that we may not have thought it could before. In the Korean martial art of  Tae Kwon-Do, Tae meaning foot, Kwon referring to hand or fist and Do meaning “The Way” – the way we train is with the five tenants. These are rules that apply to us during training, but more importantly they apply to us outside the dojang (training hall).

Courtesy – to respect ourselves and others. This is simply the Golden Rule. I just asked my 8 year old daughter what it meant to her and she said ”treat others how you want to be treated”. Only encourage and promote people to do the best they can with what they have available to them at that particular moment.

Integrity – total honesty with ourselves and others. If we are honest with ourselves, then we are where we are because of choices we have made. Some people may say “It was not my fault, you see when I was a child I had it hard…” That may be the case but what have you done to change your way of thinking. Be honest with yourself and your situation will improve.

Perseverance – Patience never never never give up. If you have kids, think back to when they were starting to learn how to walk. What if we stopped letting them fall after five times of trying? Truth is, it is only when we fall that we learn and improve. Brian Tracy says that if you are not improving then you are getting worse. When was the last time you fell? If you can not remember then maybe you’re not trying hard enough.

Self-Control – Control our thoughts – emotions – and actions. This tenant plays the biggest role in today’s world. Our thoughts leads to our emotions, our emotions to our actions and our actions will drive our results, which is your destiny. If we let the negative emotions Fear, Worry, Anxiety rule our life then we will bring more of what we don’t want, those same emotions into our lives. You may have read the book or seen the movie “The Secret”, what we think about we bring about, that is why we need to focus on what we want. Be aware of the negative things, but don’t dwell on them. This does not mean that we walk around with rose coloured glasses, or our head buried in the sand. What it does mean though, is that every morning when you wake-up, you make a conscious choice to show people the correct way to live. When people ask how my day is going my response is, “Unbelievable” and I say it with a smile. Regardless of whether it is good or bad, it is covered both ways. Because every day is the same it is only our attitude about them that changes.

Indomitable spirit – Be guided by your heart. If it feels right then it is right. This is listening to your higher-self. Whether you call it, the Universe or God ,that is up to you, but it is the voice inside that says that is the best and right thing. My business partner and I always make decisions as if the other person is in the room. Does this decision make sense for them and us.

For more information please contact
Chris Rowe
KelownaMartialArts.com
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