Student of the Month - Maunale'o

Favorite Color - Blue, Red, Green and Yellow

Favorite Food - Teriyaki Chicken, Kalua Pig, Saimin and Pizza

Favorite Subject in School - PE, so I can play

Tell us about your family - I have a twin sister named Kaihohonu who dance hula at Kaju AZ. I also have a big brother and big sister on Maui. We live with our Mama To in San Tan Valley and our Daddy lives on Maui.

Do you have any pets? Not here, but a Blue Nose Pitbull named Poly back on Maui and pig named Baggy.

Besides Kajukenbo, what other activities do you enjoy? Watching Kung Fu movies while eating popcorn with Mochi crunch and Lihing mui powder. I really like rollerblading, swimming and just hanging out with my ohana

What do you like most about training at Kaju AZ? Take downs, monkey crawls, the friends I made, my instructors, and sometimes I love the running. I also like learning self defense and boxing hands.

Student of the Month - Gracie

Favorite Color - Purple

Favorite Food - Shrimp

Favorite Subject in school - Music

Tell us about your family - My brother is funny, my dad is awesome, and my mom is great because she helps me with my homework.

Do you have any pets? I have 2 dogs. Their names are Jessie and Louis

Besides Kaju, what other activities do you enjoy? Playing on my playground.

What do you like most about training at Kaju AZ?  I get to see my friends and train strong to remain strong.

Train Strong to Remain Strong In Life

Dave Kovar, motivational speaker, successful businessman, and martial artist, recently posted the following statement:
       
 By developing our physical stamina, Martial Arts not only increases vital energy, but also develops mental toughness to get through life’s biggest challenges.

I wholeheartedly agree with this statement.

Our martial arts training requires us to learn and practice the techniques, develop a no quit attitude, and build the physical strength and stamina to use the techniques when we need to.

We can know the technique in our mind, but if our body is not strong enough or our cardio is not sufficient to carry us through a situation, we might not succeed when it matters most.

John Hackleman has said that the fighter in the best shape has the most chances for winning. Sometimes your sheer strength and cardio will overcome the opponent’s initial barrage and allow you to win even if they are technically more skilled.

I have noticed that the martial artists who spend the time training their bodies and overcoming physical challenges tend to develop the mental toughness that is needed to make progress in their training.                

That same mental toughness leads to success in life.

Successful people tend to have a mental toughness that allows them to overcome the distractions that might otherwise pull them away from their dedication to their goals. Successful people overcome minor aches and pains and keep going when others give up. Successful people don’t care what other people are doing, they just do what needs to be done.

We became a PIT affiliate in 2008, and added CrossPITs to our schedule. We also made two PITs a week the minimum requirement for progression in our belt programs.  It’s been a great fit for Kaju AZ and been a way to expand our Ohana too.  I think because of our PIT affiliation and dedication to working hard, our students tend to be much stronger in mind AND body than others.

At last year’s Martial Arts SuperShow, I was training in the Pit Master’s morning workout and there were a lot of people there. One person in particular caught my eye. He was smiling, talking to people, and was very personable to everyone around him. He also was working out harder than most people and you could tell he was no stranger to hard workouts. It was Kyoshi Dave Kovar himself.  He’s got nothing to prove but keeps fit, physically and perhaps more importantly, mentally.  It’s no wonder to me why he is so successful.

Make your next workout your best workout!

Train Strong to Remain Strong!
-Sigung Kelly

Student of the Month - Matthew

Favorite Color - Red
Favorite Food - Quesadillas and Salads
Favorite Subject in School - Science

Tell us about your family - I have a silly dad and a great mommy. Oh, I have a sister too.

Do you have any pets? A cat named Liberty. She was born on July 4th.

Besides Kajukenbo, what other activities do you enjoy? I like to play soccer and watch Ninjago. I like BYU Football.

What do you like most about training at Kaju AZ?
 I most like doing punches, kicks, jogging and spiderman.

Student of the Month - Julian - Dragon Orange

Favorite Color - Blue
Favorite Food - Spaghetti (with butter)
Favorite Subject in school - Math & Reading & Recess

Tell us about your family - I am the only one in my family that does karate. My daddy drives me.

Do you have any pets? My big red stuffed dog “Mudge” and my little stuffed dog “Slushie”.

Besides Kaju, what other activities do you enjoy? Soccer

What do you like most about training at Kaju AZ?  That you get to work hard and have fun.

Patience is MORE than Simply Waiting

When Sibak Nicolas was young and was given a task or assignment he would always ask “And then what?” Every morning he liked hearing the “daily plan” and would check the family calendar several times a day to see what the next activity was. Obviously, some part of him wanted to know the details and the chain of events that were about to occur or perhaps he was impatient with the current situation and wanted to know when the next series of events would unfold.

Many times we can be like that in our training. We often want to know what material is next and worry about mastering that material. Sometimes we are impatient with our progress or our expectations for our progress are not realistic.

It’s more than okay to want to do more and to be better. It’s okay to want to know what’s going to happen so you can make plans to overcome any situation that might arise. However, it’s not okay to put unreasonable expectations on your progress based on your efforts and the time needed to master certain skills.

When you have done everything in your power to plan and set yourself up for success, patience is needed most while going through the motions and executing your plan. Sometimes we see the end result so clearly in our mind that we expect the results to be now, when in reality more work still needs to be done.

Patience doesn’t mean being lazy and waiting for something to happen to or for you. It’s a state of mind that accepts where we are at this moment and allows us to be at peace with the current situation. It allows us to be happy while we strive towards our goals. It means we can be happy today, right now.

As martial artists we can learn a lot by simply being patient and enjoying the journey as it occurs. Take a moment and enjoy your successes! Let’s incorporate patience into our goals for 2014!

                                 -Sigung Kelly

Random Reflections on my Black Belt Journey - by Amy Companik

*Day 1 - OMG they are going to make me do front rolls?!? Boy, did I get my "what-I-thought-was-fit" butt kicked doing CrossPit #5 (which I still believe is harder than #7).
* Pull-ups? Seriously? I'm too old for this!
* It took me forever to consistently do a burpee without bringing my feet back in 1 at a time after the pushup.
* So excited when I was asked to test for my orange belt - skipping yellow.
* SO terrified when I actually had to TEST for my orange belt (you mean I don't just show up and get a belt?). Extreme panic and dry mouth during my ~5 min time on the mat - BY MYSELF?!? - in front of all the black belts.
* As an orange belt - my first experience getting punched (with gloves) in the eye by Sigung during a sparring drill. WOW that hurt! They're serious about throwing "real" punches. I really DO have to keep my guard up!
* Loving Coach Kyle's CrossPit classes. He really pushed me and my kids in a positive way. I remember the day he told me that I was no longer allowed to do knee push-ups - because he knew I was strong enough to do them on my toes (and I was getting complacent).
* My first run in preparation for my purple belt test. 2.5 miles? I thought it was 1.5! I'm not a runner!!! Runners are crazy people!!
* The pride in getting to a fitness level where I could do (in a row): 10 pull-ups, 20 toe pushups, REAL burpees, 100/200/300+ jump ropes, dball slams with the 60 lb ball, etc.
* Prepping for my blue belt test with Sihing. Gasping for air as we sparred for like a minute straight (which felt like forever) while he pounded me in the head. How am I ever going to be able to do this?!?
* My parents' first experience watching me test - for blue. Finding out afterwards how difficult it was for them to watch me in the self-defense circle (they specifically mentioned concerns about the big guys hurting me). They were never able to get themselves comfortable coming back to another test - for me or the kids. Kind of frustrated that I still can't get dad to understand that seeing us being able to defend ourselves is a good thing.
* Months later - leaving my job and getting to spend time with my mom in the final days before her passing.
* Taking time off to find the “right” new job (got it!). Enjoying the opportunity to train 2-3x/day, every day, for 15 months.
* Being asked to teach some classes. Initially very honored, but struggled with feeling I was "good enough" to lead a class. Feeling like everyone was negatively judging me, though t was probably just my own insecurities.
* The onset of injuries - neck, shoulder, vertigo, etc. So frustrating to be derailed when I had such momentum going.
* At least I can still run! I love my friend Cindy who taught me the joy of running!
* The frustration in not being asked to test "on schedule" (in my mind at the time) for my red/black belt. As hard as it was to hear initially, the life lessons were invaluable.
* Dealing with the challenges of getting in my training with my super crazy work/travel/family activity schedule. (“Things will settle down soon.” – NOT)
* Realizing as I "fine tune" my material for my black belt test that there's a LOT I still have to learn!
* The days immediately preceding the final pre-test/test - feeling the increased presence of my mom in everyday tasks. As I said, she absolutely hated watching the kids and me go thru the rigors of testing. Just too much for her to watch those she loved potentially get hurt.
* But, man, was she ever there in spirit that Saturday! I was completely exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally, but I knew I could do it. I will NEVER forget the feeling I had after I got my belt and class stopped to salute me. I was unable to stop the tears that flowed. The feeling of my mom's presence, along with the absolute humility in having a room full of black belts, students, families and friends pay respects to my accomplishment was too much to contain (in fact, the tears flow as I write this :-).

I say it a lot, but it bears repeating - I am TRULY blessed to be a part of this incredible Ohana!

Mahalo to Sigung and Sifu for creating this amazing experience! There is nothing else like it!

(Amy was promoted to Black Belt at our September Tesing/Promotion/Potluck)