Student of the Month - Caryn Morrison - Kaju Purple/Blue

So many nice things to say about Caryn! She is the dojo cheerleader and is always there as a helping hand to other students and instructors. We love having Caryn around!

Caryn's favorite color is blue or purple. She just can't decide! Her favorite food is a cheeseburger with lots of tomatoes. She works as a Medical Lab Technician and calls herself a Jack-of-all-Trades.

Caryn comes from a family of 5 kids. She has four sisters and all of there names start with 'C'. She has a dog she calls "Fish" or Fisher and a cat who she calls "Old Man" since he is 18 years old.

Not only does Caryn train in Kajukenbo, she is also a member of our Kaju AZ Hula Halau. Besides being busy with that, she also enjoys reading. She is going to a book convention later this year. She also likes Japanese and Korean live TV.

Caryn says what she likes most about training at Kaju AZ is the family that she has collected. She feels special and feels like she belongs. She knows that if she needs anything, her Ohana is just a click, text, call or short car ride away.

Her goals for the next year are to earn her blue belt, defeat Asthma, spend more time with her Ohana and in the words of Dori, "Just keep swimming!"

Student of the Month - Michelle Tieu - Junior Orange/Purple

Michelle is always such a positive student in class and works hard to be her best at all times. She is always encouraging to her fellow students.

Michelle's Favorite color is light purple and her favorite food is steak and mashed potatoes. Michelle's favorite subject in school is Math.

Michelle has an older brother named Brandon who is planning on becoming a doctor in the future. He is often serious, but humorous at times. Her mom has been employee of the month 5 times and her dad is a telecommunication engineer.

Besides Kaju, Michelle enjoys English Style Horseback Riding and playing the piano. The highlight of training at Kaju AZ is becoming mentally stronger while also having fun.

Student of the Month - Aydin - Junior Purple/Blue

Aydin is a pleasure to have in class. He is a hard worker and really enjoys learning new techniques. 

Aydin's favorite color is Blue/Black and he likes Crepes. His favorite subject in school is PE. 

Aydin has 2 brothers and 2 sisters. His older brother just left on his mission to Philadelphia.

Besides Kaju, Aydin likes to play basketball. At the dojo, he likes to see his friends and loves the discipline that martial arts teaches and he enjoys the workouts.

Great job Aydin! Keep up the great workout and team attitude that you bring to class everyday!

Study Finds Kids in Martial Arts Less Likely to Bully, Be Bullied

(Source: Greg Moody, Arizona Republic, August 22, 2012)

Bullying affects as many as one in three children.

Bullying isn’t just “kids being kids” but is a form of torture that can have the same long-lasting effect on kids as sexual and physical abuse. Bullied kids are three times as likely to develop headaches and eight times as likely to get seriously depressed.

Arizona law requires schools to have procedures in place to reduce bullying, but having procedures in place does not mean that they are working.

As a bullying prevention trainer, I get calls all the time from parents who want me to help them. I hate hearing from a mom or dad whose child is receiving daily, relentless physical and psychological abuse at a school where there seems to be no support for kids and their families.

Bullying is a national epidemic, and finding ways to keep our kids safe and protected is difficult for parents, teachers and caregivers. 

Where do we start?

For years martial arts schools have been touted as a solution for kids who are bullied. If we teach our kids to respect and protect themselves, they will be better able to deal with other kids at school, bullies or not. Unfortunately, we have never had data to back this up.

So, along with Arizona State University, we initiated research to find out whether karate helps, doesn’t help or makes the problem worse.  More than 200 kids and parents at American Taekwondo Association schools in 17 states were surveyed.

The results are both conclusive and exciting.

We found that kids who train in martial arts for an extended period get bulled at a staggering 64 percent less than those who just got started. This is a better reduction than most programs that schools implement.

In addition, it appears that karate kids bully others less, and 98 percent of the parents reported improvement in their child’s self-esteem, making them better able to respond to the pressures of the classroom and the playground.

The ATA martial arts schools surveyed participate in a bullying-prevention training developed by the ATA in consultation with the No. 1 school-based bullying prevention program in the world, the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program.  Kids learn tools and skills to avoid bullying without violence.

As the father of a 10-year old and a karate instructor for more than 20 years, I wanted to share this research.  We as parents need to take the initiative to keep our kids safe and happy.

We need to be proactive and do something even if our kids are not being bullied yet.  If you are thinking of protecting your child, martial arts has proven to be a great idea.

Are You Able to Grow?

        Do you think that human qualities, such as intelligence and skills, can be cultivated over time? Or are they fixed in stone: people are either skilled or unskilled at certain things?
How you answer that question might indicate how successful you can be in life and in your martial arts training.
We all want to believe that anything is possible if we just try. But, some of us while we say that are still thinking that some people are born with natural abilities and that’s just the way it is.
Sure, there are prodigies out there, but I am talking about the huge majority of ‘normal’ people: you and me. We might have some natural talents at certain things, but those basic talents will only get you so far. Then desire, hard work, and practice must take over. Some of us forget that and, instead, rely on the natural talents in our efforts forever. For those people, mediocre effort is all that is expended and no optimum success will ever be reached.
What I am talking about is a mindset. The mindset is fixed versus growth. The fixed mindset person believes that you are born a certain way and nothing can change that. This mindset believes you are either smart or you are not. You are either good at math or you are not. You are either successful or not.
Here’s the first trap: Jonny does something well at home and Jonny’s mom compliments him, “Hey Jonny, you solved that problem so quickly, you must be math-wiz!” Now Jonny might be doomed. Either he has to keep up appearances of being great at math or he will not be living up to his mom’s expectations. Of course math will get harder, and his natural skill will not be up to the challenge, and when Jonny realizes the answers don’t just come to him automatically, he will start to doubt that he really is a math-wiz. Then he must avoid the difficult situations where everyone may realize he is a fake. He won’t seek help for the difficult work because if he did, then he must not really be the super awesome math-wiz that he is supposed to already be! Poor Jonny! Now Jonny might even resort to cheating to get ahead. Or making up excuses, “I could do that if I wanted to, but I don’t really want to.”
Here’s the second trap: Mary attempts something and is not successful. Mary’s dad says “Mary, it’s okay you are not that good at baseball, you just don’t have the athlete gene!” Mary now thinks that you are either born with it or not. Why try? If she were meant to be good at something, it should show immediately.
Both Mary and Jonny get to the same fixed mindset destination from different paths. But, either way, the idea that effort, practice, or hard work can overcome challenges is not part of their mindset.
That’s what we need to overcome for ourselves. We need to adopt the growth mindset.
Growth-minded people are willing to challenge themselves, even fail, so that they can finally accomplish their goals. Growth-minded people do not see failure as a reflection of who they are. Failure is just an intermediate result along the way towards success. Or rather, a single failure is just a reflection of a certain set of circumstances that just didn’t quite work out as hoped.
A growth-minded person will then make adjustments and try again. Growth-minded people do not give up. Giving up is for fixed-minded people – why bother? Why try? It’s hopeless… etc.

     
A fixed-minded person is afraid to compete because if they lose, everyone will know they are a failure.
A fixed-minded person is happy when others fail because it makes it easier for them to succeed.
A fixed-minded person worries more about what people think of them than about who they really are. A fixed-minded person lives in fear (fear of failure, fear of being exposed, etc.)


A growth-minded person will try anything. Losing an event does not mean anything except they happened to lose on that day. It doesn’t make them bad or good, a success or a failure.
A growth-minded person knows that more effort and more practice will enable a better result next time.
A growth minded-person knows who they are and knows who they can be.

        So how to we adopt this mentality?
For the people around us: praise the effort, not the result or the person. “I see you worked really hard on that, it shows!”
For ourselves: remember that every day we get to choose how hard we can work and how much effort we will put forth. The harder we work, the ‘luckier’ we get! Ask yourself this every day: What did you learn today that you didn’t know yesterday? What mistake did you make today that taught you something? What did you work on that will make improvements in your life (or your martial arts)?
As you ask these questions, you will focus on the work and the improvement of self. You will begin to enjoy the journey and not necessarily be waiting for the destination.

-Sigung

Student of the Month - Kim

Kim is Kaju AZ's cheerleader! She brings such a great energy to classes and tests and makes everyone feel like they belong and are a part of the Kaju AZ ohana. She does everything with enthusiasm and great love.

Kim's favorite color is pink and she loves Spaghetti Aglio e Olio. She is a neonatal nurse and loves caring for the new babies and their families.

Kim has been married to Ron for almost 20 years. They have two children who also train at Kaju AZ and they all love training together. They have 2 dogs, a cat and a parakeet.

Besides Kaju, Kim really love hula and she enjoys swimming, yoga and reading a good book. For Kim, the best part of Kaju AZ is the atmosphere of family and caring. It is a safe place to come and step out of your comfort zone without fear of ridicule or unrealistic expectations. It is a place for growth and encouragement.

Kim's goals this year are to do a pull up! And also to improve her strength and endurance.

Great job Kim! You are such an invaluable part of our school. Your love for the school and all the people in it really shows. It is people like you that make Kaju AZ such a great place to be!