Monday, September 30, 2013

Student of the Month - Mike


Favorite Color-Red, white and blue baby.
Favorite Food-Bacon
Profession-Operations Manager at a Quality Control company

Tell us about your family-I have a beautiful wife, Stephanie. We have 2 children, Jessica 21 and Dylan 16. We have three dogs, Amber the English Bulldog whom is my spirit guide, a Pomeranian named Fancy King and a miniature Chihuahua/Pomeranian named Petri and one cat named Cosmo who thinks he is a dog.

Besides Kajukenbo, what other activities do you enjoy? Spending time with Stephanie. having Sunday breakfast with my family, it is one of the few times out of the week the family can unplug and be with each other. Shooting firearms. Eating.

What do you like most about training at Kaju AZ? Since coming to Kajukenbo AZ and training the PIT, Kaju and now BJJ, I have lost over 100 pounds. Working out helps me maintain and keep the weight off. I love working out with my son Dylan and getting to share that time with him on the mat. And I love going to the dojo and being with some great people.

What are your goals for the next year in and out of the dojo? I would like to earn my green belt. I have started the Kore BJJ program to work on my ground work and I want to continue improving. Outside of the dojo I am in the process of completing my project management certification. And have a travel vacation with Stephanie.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Student of the Month - Anthony


Favorite Color-Blue
Favorite Food-French Toast, Posole, Candy
Profession-Technician/Coordinator

Tell us about your family and pets-I am very blessed to have my family. I am married to my wife Jenni, and I have a set of twins (23 years old) Brianna & Timothy, and stepkids Zoey and Donna. We live in Gilbert, AZ and have 2 dogs, Katie and Max.

Besides Kaju, what other activities do you enjoy? I enjoy riding my mountain bike… to the mailbox and back. Riding my quad and taking my Rhino off-roading. I like watching UFC and spending time with friends and family.

What do you like most about training at Kaju AZ? I enjoy the people that we train with at Kaju AZ. I love the challenging CrossPITS and excellent instructor led classes. - The discipline, kicking the crap out of the bags, channeling life challenges and turning it into something positive.

What are your goals for the next year in and out of the dojo? Over the next year at the dojo I want to continually improve in all aspects of Kajukenbo. I want to work on having very crisp pinions and improve physical fitness. Outside of the dojo I want to be able to take some time for relaxation. Some family time with a little vacation squeezed in there.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Student of the Month - Dylan


Dylan King - Kaju Junior Brown -
16 years old - Mesa

Favorite Color-Green
Favorite Food-Meat
Favorite School Subject-History
Do you have any pets? 3 dogs, 1 cat, none of them are mine.
Besides Kajukenbo, what other activities do you enjoy? Track, Cross Country, Baseball and Swimming.
What do you like most about training at Kaju AZ? The Ohana and mental training. Along with the physical training.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Student of the Month - Dylan




Dylan - Kaju Junior Orange -
9 years old

Favorite Color-Black
Favorite Food-Pizza
Favorite School Subject-Math
Tell us about your family-My dad is a engineer. My mom is a marathon runner. My brother, Alec, is currently playing football and is a Orange/Black Stripe belt at Kaju AZ.
Do you have any pets? Yes. Chaz, Dax and Cheyenne.
Besides Kajukenbo, what other activities do you enjoy? Football and Basketball.
What do you like most about training at Kaju AZ? Grappling and Jiu Jitsu.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

A Commitment to Excellence


     


       The other day I was reminded of a quote from Lou Holtz, the Hall-of-Fame football coach. Did you know he was the only coach to lead six different programs to bowl games and the only coach to take four different programs to the top 20 rankings? Quite a success! He was talking about the four things that any organization needs to be number one.

“First,” he says, “you have to make a commitment to excellence.”

Second is complete attention to detail.  “It is the teams that play strict attention to little things that win,” says Holtz.

The third thing is to have sound fundamentals.  “You can't be bored with such basic things as blocking and tackling.”

The fourth requirement is discipline.  “Virtually nothing is impossible in this world if you just put your mind to it and maintain a positive attitude.”

These four requirements can apply to an organization, a football team, even us as martial artists, or us as moms, dads and students.

A commitment to excellence is our steadfast desire to do our best in any situation. By being committed, we are already on the path; nothing should sway us in any other direction to do anything else other than what we have determined is our action.

A commitment requires complete emotional and intellectual determination to execute our intended action. And if excellence is our action, then certainly good results will follow.

Attention to detail takes a special desire to get it all right. I remember when I was in high school I worked at the school in the summer helping doing maintenance work. I helped a lot with an older gentleman named Carl who was a master painter. He could paint the trim around windows and doors and never put a drop of paint out of place. However, if he ever did, no matter how small the drop, he would always take time to prepare a rag and remove the insignificant spot of paint. He painted in places where I’m certain no one would take the time to look because he had an extraordinary personal commitment to excellence.

Watching a master at work can cause you to be amazed at the skill and talent displayed. Sometimes we only assume that natural talent is all that is portrayed. We tend to forget that most great masters did something very early in their career: they mastered the fundamentals.

Having sound fundamentals separates the good from the great. It allows the somewhat talented to overcome those with natural raw ability. It allows a person to have confidence in what they have learned and allow them to have a foundation to build on to learn new and more complicated things.

This is why we practice the basic techniques over and over again. This is why we tell ourselves we can always improve something a little more. Talent will only get you so far, but sound basics will take you to the destination.

I remember a class where Grandmaster Lim was teaching and said something like, “I am just now understanding grab art number 1.” I thought, “Oh no, I am never going to learn anything.” But what he was really saying: There is always more to learn.

If we ever tell ourselves we have learned all there is to know about something, we have just stunted our ability to learn. And that may very well hurt us when we are faced with a situation that required just a little more knowledge to overcome.

I think of discipline as the core glue that holds together our character. It is what allows us to practice over and over again because we know we need to. It is the iron will behind our commitments to do something. It is the foundation to our desire to pay attention to the details.

Many people with goals and dreams lack the discipline to do what is necessary. Therefore their goals are simply hopes and wishes based on chance. Those that accomplish their dreams require discipline to make a plan and then have the discipline to follow their plan’s execution.

It’s never too late to practice the basics a little more. It’s never too late to make a slight adjustment to a technique to improve it just a little more. And it’s never too late to make a commitment to doing your best at everything you do.

Let’s make today a day about excellence in everything we do.

Black Belt Excellence Every Day, Every Way!

-Sigung Kelly

Kajukenbo Motto: Train Strong to Remain Strong

Kajukenbo Arizona is a traditional martial arts school specializing in real self-defense through the art of Kajukenbo. Kajukenbo was founded in 1947 and is credited as being the first American martial art. Kajukenbo is a blend of five styles: Karate, Judo, Jiu-Jitsu, Kenpo and Kung Fu. Feel free to visit our school and see our programs for all ages! We also offer CrossPIT classes based on the world-famous Pit Conditioning System. Classes are 30-minutes of high-intensity old-school cardio. CrossPIT memberships available!