Thought of the Week

A positive mind finds a way it can be done. A negative mind looks for all the ways it can’t be done.

Someone once said, “There are no truths; there are only perceptions of truth.” Whether or not you accept this statement, whatever you believe to be true will become your reality. Your subconscious mind will believe anything you tell it — if you repeat the words often and with conviction. When you are faced with a daunting task that you’ve never attempted before, focus on the potential for success, not on the possibilities for failure. Break the job down into smaller elements and tackle each one separately. The only difference between success and failure in any job is your attitude toward it.

Thought of the Week

You come finally to believe anything you tell yourself often enough — even if it is not true.

If you repeat something over and over to yourself, your subconscious mind will eventually begin to accept it as fact. When something has been accepted as truth by your subconscious mind, it will work overtime to transform the idea into physical reality. You can take advantage of this by programming your mind to think positive thoughts. Use self-motivators or affirmations to persuade your subconscious that you are capable of doing anything you wish. Repeat the self-motivator several times a day until it becomes an automatic reaction to recall a positive phrase whenever you begin to doubt yourself. Replace “I can’t” with “I will!”

Thought of the Week

A closed mind stumbles over the blessings of life without recognizing them.

To the untrained eye, a geode looks pretty much like an ordinary rock. But a trained geologist knows that inside the geode there is a beautiful crystal lining. The story is the same for those who refuse to examine new possibilities because their minds are closed. Life’s greatest opportunities, like the geode, often come in ordinary packaging. Do not allow yourself to become such a creature of habit that you simply go through the motions and let life happen to you. Just taking a new route to work, putting together a jigsaw puzzle, reading a newspaper instead of watching television, or visiting a museum at lunchtime will stimulate your thought processes and may help you open your mind to new possibilities.

Thought of the Week

Just what are you waiting for and why are you waiting?

Far too many people spend their entire lives waiting for that glorious day when the perfect opportunity presents itself to them. Too late, they realize that each day held opportunity for those who sought it out. If you have not formulated a plan for what you would like to accomplish in your life, don’t waste another minute. When you have Definiteness of Purpose fueled by a burning desire to reach your objectives, nothing can stand in your way. Don’t wait around waiting for life to happen to you. When you know what you want and how you expect to earn it, life will agree to your terms, not the other way around.

Thought of the Week

If you start at the top, you can move in only one direction — downward.

Perhaps the worst thing that might have happened to you would be to have been born with the proverbial silver spoon in your mouth. For had you been born into privilege, you would have been deprived of one of the world’s greatest gifts: the opportunity to reach the highest levels of success of which you are capable, solely on the basis of your own merit. If you were born with less than most, don’t resent others who seem to have more advantages. In truth, the real advantage is yours, for you will develop the self-confidence that comes only from meeting life’s challenges on your own terms. As you progress, you gain the strength and knowledge necessary to assure your enduring success, things that cannot be given to you, but must be earned.

5 Myths about the Gasshuku

1. I am going to get promoted just for showing up. This is perhaps,

the biggest myth of the Karate Gasshuku. Some people think that just

because they come to the gasshuku they will get promoted. This is not

the case. Although some people have been promoted at the gasshuku,
this is not a guarantee. If you come to the gasshuku and work hard,
there may be an opportunity for you to earn stripes and/or possibly
get promoted...but you have to EARN IT! If you want to get
promoted....earn it.

2. I am not going to learn anything new. Only if you choose not to. If
you have an open mind you will always learn something new. I guarantee
that I can show you the same thing ten times and you can learn ten
different things...but will you? We have a saying, "Open Mind, Joyful
Training". Look for new...it will appear.

3. I am too young for the gasshuku. That depends! If you are in one of

the regular karate classes, then you are not too young. I think the

youngest participant we've ever had was 6 years old, but they were in
our regular karate program. If you are a Knee-High Samurai, then yes,
perhaps you need to wait till next year.

4. I am too old for the gasshuku. You may be. Our oldest participant
was Mr. Arturo Domingo (may he rest in peace). He was in his

seventies, as was Mrs. Domingo, as they came year after year. You are

only as old as you feel. So let me ask you...are you too old?

5. I'll never get to practice what I learned at the gasshuku. That's
up to you. Once you learn something, you can practice it as much as
you want. You can go back to your dojo and practice with all the
people that attended the gasshuku. This will keep your skills sharp

and at their highest level.

Get details here: http://www.unitedstateskarateacademy.com/Gasshuku.html

Outstanding Attendance Award

Outstanding Attendance Award Congratulations to Sydney Tate for her outstanding attendance in 2012.  Sydney (Galley Dojo) had the most overall attendances of all United States Karate Academy students from all locations.

Sydney not only excelled in her attendances, she also participated in every seminar, gasshuku, competitions and events. 

Sydney was awarded an Outstanding Attendance Certificate, a heavyweight uniform and a $100 Visa Gift Card. 

Congratulations Sydney!  Lead the way!

Top Ten Reasons to Attend Karate Gasshuku 2013

Here are the Top Ten Reasons to Attend the Gasshuku:

1. You will learn a lot
2. More Bunkai than brain or brawn           
3. Up to 3 months of training
4. Up to 6 months of knowledge
5. Learn new, cool techniques
6. Train with like-minded people
7. Only happens once a year
8. More stuff than you will remember
9. Special surprise
10. Can you say, "too cool"?

I know I can come up with more....can you?  If so,

send them to me. I may put them on the list or on a future 

gasshuku T-shirt.

But hurry, spots will fill up soon.  You can register at: http://www.unitedstateskarateacademy.com/Gasshuku.html

For more information about our Colorado Springs Martial Arts program or our Kids Karate classes in Colorado Springs and in Monument, please visit our website at http://www.unitedstateskarateacademy.com  

Don't forget to check out our Kickboxing classes in Colorado Springs and Monument.

Beat Your Plateau in 5 Steps

It happens to all of us at some point.

Your workouts are dialed in, and your body is rapidly becoming leaner and more attractive. Friends and family notice and you feel fantastic.

And then it stops.

You are doing everything exactly the same as before except your body no longer responds.

You, my friend, have hit a plateau. It's a frustrating place to be parked, so read the following 5 steps to get your body back into results mode.

Step #1: Reduce Sugar. A very effective way to restart your results is to reel in your sugar intake. Inspect all of your food for added sugars and eliminate items that contain high calorie sweeteners. This means no sugar, corn syrup, honey or maple syrup.

If you've already eliminated processed sugars from your diet, and have still hit a plateau, then it's time to dig a little deeper by eliminating some of the natural sugars from your diet. Limit your intake of sweet fruits and eliminate dried fruits.

Step #2: Get More Sleep. We are supposed to get an average of eight hours of sleep each night. If you're not getting adequate amounts of rest, you're more likely to be hungry, overeat, and gain weight.

When you're tired, you don't feel like cooking a healthy meal, and you're more likely to opt for fast (fattening) food. Then your lack of energy causes you to skip your workouts. And to make matter worse, sleep deprivation causes your metabolism to slow down, slowing or reversing your results. To beat your plateau, make sleep a priority.

Step #3: Drink Only Water. To restart your results you'll need to make some changes. Sorry, but some of the changes aren't going to be fun. If you're one of the millions hooked on soda, alcohol, or other sweetened beverages, then your plateau will stay locked in place until you replace these drinks with water.

Keep in mind that your brain often confuses thirst with hunger. So at the first sign of hunger, don't grab a snack or calorie-filled drinks. Instead, grab a glass of water.

Step #4: Eat Healthy Breakfast. But not just any breakfast. Your plateau-breaking breakfast should be low in carbs and high in protein. Try eggs, lean breakfast meats, a protein shake, or a mini-muffin made with almond flour.

Fitting breakfast into your busy morning may take some work, but research shows that the habit of eating a healthy breakfast is key to losing weight and keeping pounds off. Set your alarm 15 minutes earlier to give yourself time to eat breakfast

Step #5: Increase Exercise Intensity. It's time to start taking your workouts more seriously. No more going through the motions, it's all-out for you. If you want to get back on track with your body transformation, and to keep the fat melting away, then increase the amount and intensity of your exercise routine.

For most people, this is the most difficult lifestyle change of all, but the benefits are enormous. Try to get 30 to 60 minutes of intense exercise on most days of the week. When exercise is a normal part of your everyday routine, you're more likely to stick with it, and your body will become slimmer and more toned.

The quickest and most permanent way to beat that plateau is through a combination of healthy eating and consistent, challenging workouts.

I'm here to help you meet your fitness and weight loss goals.

You deserve that fit and attractive body—I can help you get it.

Call or email today and together we will overcome your fitness plateau.

Getting To The Goal in 5 Steps

You want to get into better shape, to drop the fat and to increase your tone and strength.

Join the club…most people are actively working toward an elusive fitness goal.

So what separates those who end up achieving their goals from the rest of the masses who are trapped in a fruitless struggle?

Winston Churchill hit the nail on the head when he said, "Never, never, never, never give up."

The bottom line is that it is possible to achieve any fitness goal when you lock on to it and strive towards it every day. Unfortunately distractions are everywhere, making it easy to fall off track.

This brings us to the classic Henry Ford quote, "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal."

In order to stay the course it is vital that you keep your eyes on the goal.

Here's how to get to your goal in 5 Steps:

Step One: Only One At A Time
When you're feeling motivated, and decide to set a goal, it's tempting to become over-ambitious by setting multiple goals. While it's great that you want to improve many things about yourself, the pressure of trying to achieve more than one goal at once will cause you to drop all the goals and go back to status quo.

Focus in on the one goal that you really want to achieve first, and focus all of your efforts onto this goal with laser-like force. There will be plenty of time in the future to see to your other goals, but for now see your number one goal all the way through to completion.

Step Two: Start Slow
Another pitfall that often results in dropped goals is the act of starting out too fast and too strong. If your goal in fitness is to drop 6 pant sizes and to exercise 5 times a week, do not (I repeat, DO NOT) go out and hit the gym hard for the next 5 days in a row. You'll be so sore that I guarantee you'll stop all progress the following week and your goal will be put back on a shelf.

Take a deep breath and remember that this isn't a race. This is your life, and it's you against yourself. Start out slow and steady and gradually build as you progress toward your goal. Don't allow self-induced fatigue to get in your way.

Step Three: Know Your Reasons Why
Why is this goal so important to you? There are probably many reasons, and you should know every single one of them. Write down each and every possible reason you can come up with as to why your goal needs to be met.

Intimately get to know the 'reasons why' this goal is so important to you. You should have them memorized and should recite them every single day. Remember what Ford said - when you take your eyes of your goal you'll see loads and loads of obstacles. Keep your eyes locked onto that goal by filling your mind with all of the 'reasons why' you're going to see this thing through.

Step Four: Think About It
Along with thinking about your reasons for accomplishing your goal, it's also helpful to focus your mind on how you'll feel once you've done it. Dedicate some time each day to picture your new post-goal life.

How awesome are you going to feel when you've accomplished this goal that's been on your mind for so long? Pretty amazing. Fill your mind with that feeling of accomplishment well before you've finished the work. The more you feel connected to the end of the race, the more likely it is that you'll make it through.

Step Five: Put It All On The Line
It's time to put your money where your mouth is. Invest in something that will help propel you toward your goal. When you shell out some of your hard earned money to aide in your progress, then you are going to take this process that much more seriously.

It's time to seriously commit yourself to seeing this goal to completion. If your goal is to lose weight and to get into amazing shape then invest in one of my proven fitness programs.

My clients see results. My clients achieve their goals.

It's time that you become one of my clients.

Call or email today and together we will get you to your goal.