Word of the Week, from Sensei Ken Watrous, to the Karate West InstructorsWord of the Week: Self-AssuranceMay 4thThe word of the week is SELF-ASSURANCE... What we are speaking of this week in regard to our monthly theme of confidence is being free from self doubt or uncertainty. We want our students to be self-assured in their abilities... their abilities to think, love, laugh, and live lives of purpose. They must believe in themselves so much that it won't bother them when no one else believes in them. We are building students that are assured in who they are as human beings. Word of the Week: CharityApril 27thThe word of the week is CHARITY... There are many worthwhile causes in society that champion those in need of help. Some of these charities ask for your time, some need you to get your hands dirty, and some direct your funds to a target group. The point is, there are many ways to demonstrate kindness by getting involved with a charity. Never forget that charity begins at home! Take care of the ones you love! Word of the Week: GratitudeApril 20thThe word of the week is GRATITUDE... So far this month we have been discussing how to visit kindness upon others. This week I want to turn inward and have us all take a look at the kindness that we are receiving. We need to always have an attitude of gratitude. Word of the Week: CourtesyApril 13thThe word of the week is COURTESY... There are many ways that we can demonstrate this trait but the easiest is by using our best manners all of the time. That is the number one reason that we have all of the youth in the dojo respond with a "Yes Mam / Sir". Your manners muscles only get stronger when you work them out. Word of the Week: GenerosityApril 6thThe word of the week is GENEROSITY... There are many ways that we can be generous. We can give an ear to someone that needs to talk. We can offer our shoulder when someone needs to cry. We can lend a hand when someone needs help. We can open our wallet to give our funds. We can give our time and talents. Our goal for this week is to help students not only understand how generosity ties into kindness, but to help them actually perform these acts of kindness towards the entire earth. Word of the Week: AttitudeMarch 30, 2008 Word of the Week: ChoiceMarch 23, 2008 Word of the Week: PerspectiveMarch 16, 2008 Word of the Week: AccountableMarch 9, 2008 Word of the Week: ResilienceMarch 2, 2008 Word of the Week: HonestyFebruary 24, 2008 Word of the Week: IndependenceFebruary 18, 2008 Word of the Week: BraveryFebruary 11, 2008 Word of the Week: BoldnessFebruary 4, 2008 Word of the Week: GoalsJanuary 28, 2008 Word of the Week: GoalsJanuary 21, 2008 Word of the Week: GoalsJanuary 14, 2008 Word of the Week: Vision BoardJanuary 7, 2008 Word of the Week: GoalsJanuary 1, 2008 Word of the Week: BalanceDecember 31, 2007This week, talk to your students about balance. There are many things that we have to keep in balance in our daily lives: a balanced diet, a balance between work and play, a balanced budget, physical balance, etc. Ask your students to evaluate themselves using the "Wheel of Life". This is a pie chart where students can pick the categories that describe their lives: Health, Family, Spiritual, Financial, Educational, Professional, Social / Friends, etc. Once they have selected the categories, ask them to evaluate themselves from 0% to 100%. Shade in that slice accordingly. After they have given you feedback for all of the groups, erase the areas that are not shaded to 100%. The shape that we are often left with is less than circular. Then ask them, "If this was the wheel on your bike / car how would you be rolling through life?". This is a graphic example for all of the students to see what needs to be addressed. Word of the Week: LoveDecember 16, 2007 The word of the week will be LOVE. This is a biggie. Nothing worthwhile in this world can happen without it... nothing can be created without love. To many people it would seem odd to be talk about love as you practice punching and kicking. It is our love of life that keeps us training. Word of the Week: TeamworkNovember 26, 2007 The word of the week is TEAMWORK. This week I want you to talk to your students about what it means to be a contributing member of a team. We are all members of teams: family, school, work, neighborhood, nation, and global. I am first and foremost a member of the "home team"... my family. We must be committed to making our "home team" as strong as possible. Talk to your students about making it their mission to be a contributing member of this team every day of their life. Word of the Week: GratefulNovember 19, 2007The quality of being grateful is a mental state that we should live in daily. This week I want you to talk to your students about all of the things that they should be grateful for in preparation for their Thanksgiving feast. I want them to make a list of both big and small items. Are they healthy? Are they loved? Can they make a difference? We need to wake everyday and count our blessings. Word of the Week: ResponsibleNovember 12, 2007The word of the week is Responsible. This week I want you to talk to your students about what it means to be a responsible human being. To become a responsible person we must begin with ourselves. We must work from the inside out. We are responsible for our state of mind... our attitude... our happiness. Once we are healthy, we must take this same approach to making our world better. It is our obligation to make a difference in this world. Word of the Week: HumbleNovember 5, 2007 The word of the week is HUMBLE. This week I want you to talk to your students about humility. It is a funny thing about people that are really good at what they do.... they don't have to tell you. You just see it in action. They don't have to make someone else feel badly for them to look good. In our industry, we fit that description. We have the best practitioners making the best students around. Word of the Week: DeterminedOctober 28, 2007 How does one get what they want? They must be determined. It doesn't matter if you are striving for excellent grades, trying to make the school soccer team, perfecting your kata for the upcoming exam, or being a better human being... it takes an individual that is determined. I want you to give your students examples of those throughout history that have demonstrated the character trait. They are easy to find. They are the captains of industries, the leaders of political groups, and the masters in their chosen fields of endeavor. Despite hardships and challenges, they never gave up until they had been successful. As karate students we all share this same quality and it must be developed as it is one that will serve us well. Word of the Week: DependableOctober 21, 2007This week we will talk about being dependable. Ask your students who they can always turn to in times of need. Who is the most dependable? The top of the list will be Mom and Dad. Ask them why. Parents are always there for their kids. As parents we have an unconditional love for our children until we leave this earth. As instructors, we need to take the same type of approach and always be here to serve our students. Word of the Week: HonorableOctober 10 , 2007This week, teach your students about what it means to be honorable. It is important for our students to show honor to all people; their parents, teachers, friends and neighbors. Remind them that it does not matter kind of clothes others may wear, what kind of car they ride in, the type of religion they may practice, or the color of their skin. We need to prepare our students with enough self confidence and appreciation for all people so that they may treat everyone honorably. Let them know that they should be an example for others to follow. Word of the Week: CourageSeptember 30, 2007This week we are talking about courage. Students will have the opportunity to exercise courage when they get up in front of class to demonstrate kata, count for drills, answer questions, and perform under pressure. They will have to use courage when they strap on their sparring gear and step into the ring. Students must be given an opportunity in every class to experience the application of courage. The next step is to teach them how to use this important trait in their daily lives, at home at school and with their peers. Our job as Karate West instructors is to help our students develop courage so that they are prepared to succeed in life. Word of the Week: CourageSeptember 17, 2007 The word of the week is COURAGE. According to Webster's, courage is "mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty". Our mission is to help our students understand that this is being strengthened every time they step on the training floor. Word of the week: Self DisclipineSeptember 10, 2007This week, focus on self discipline with your students. Self discipline comes into play many times during each day... from the time the alarm goes off in the morning, to that late night movie that we have to turn off before the end. We are given opportunity after opportunity to strengthen our self discipline muscle. Every time we make a correct decision we get stronger. You have heard it said many times before... "Champions don't give up... they turn it up". Help your students become champions at life. They don't need to be the next CEO of a major corporation, but wouldn't it be nice if they had that choice. Let's help to give them the tools that they will need to be successful at life whatever their definition of success. Word of the Week: HonestySeptember 3 , 2007Talk with the students this week about the importance of Honesty. We need to teach students to be honest with themselves in an empowering way. It is said that, "our inner world creates our outer world". What we say to ourselves all day long in our inner dialog can either make us or break us. We need to make sure that our "little voice" is helping us to grow in a positive direction. Word of the Week: FocusAugust 27, 2007This week I want you to deliver the message of focus to your students. I want them to understand the power of focus and how they need to apply it to karate, home, and school / work. They need to experience what it is to be focused. Have them stand perfectly still. Have them lock their eyes on a target like laser beams. Have them practice their kata in their head. These are ways for them to experience and exercise focus within the dojo. Now I want them to understand how they can use it to get ready for their best school year ever. Show them how to walk in the room and greet their teacher with good eye contact. This is how they use the eye focus they have practiced. Have them sit in front of the room with good posture. This is how they use the body focus they have practiced in their katas. Have them ask good questions at the appropriate time. Here they are demonstrating that they are mentally focused. Tell them to expect to do well.... because karate students have tenacity, are self confident, and know how to be focused. Word of the Week: Self ConfidenceAugust 19, 2007One of the best ways to empower our students for success is by instilling them with self confidence. Begin by having your students stand at attention while they hold their shoulders back, head high, and chest out. Have them use the proper body chamber and mental focus in every move they perform. The way that they stand, move and speak will physically project the confidence we are helping them achieve. At each step along the way to black belt, they will build self confidence as they master new challenges. Our job as instructors is to demonstrate confidence in our students as they develop confidence in themselves. Word of the Week: TenacityAugust 13, 2007Ask your students to come up with a definition for the word tenacity. Then have them provide an example of a world leader that has demonstrates this quality. Point out to the students that they also have this quality. There have been times in their lives that they all have wanted to quit at something: running laps at soccer, cleaning their rooms, a subject at school, a relationship with a friend, a drill in karate, etc. They did not quit because they have tenacity. They share this same character trait with famous world leaders. One of the ways these individuals became world leaders was by not quitting when the urge arose. They stuck to it! Let your students know that they have the potential to BE that world leader. By sharing the same qualities of someone that is great... they are great themselves. Creating a Game PlanAugust 5, 2007 This week, I'd like you to talk with your students about developing a "game plan" for their next big endeavor. For some students their next challenge may be to get into the Black Belt Prep Course at the end of this month. Other students may want to begin their next school year as a 4.0 student. Still others may have a big project at work that they need to do well on to get that promotion they are seeking. No matter the endeavor, they must begin by doing inner work. Zig Zigglar is known for saying, "You gotta be before you can do. You gotta do before you can have." That is why karate is so wonderful. It is about the improvement of ones self. If we devote time everyday to the improvement of ourselves, we are one step closer to achieving our goal. Word of the Week: CompasionJuly 22, 2007This week, our "Wrap It Up" circle time with students focuses on Compassion. Ask them what they can do that demonstrates putting other people’s needs before their own. After they have come up with ideas, challenge them to put these ideas into action! Teach them this saying, "What I hear I forget. What I see I remember. What I do I understand." Putting their great ideas into action will allow the students to really understand at their individual levels what compassion is all about. They can make a difference. We will teach them how! Be In the MomentJuly 15, 2007Yesterday I was fortunate enough to spend the entire day with my family playing in the sun. It got me thinking about the Karate West staff. Our goal as teachers is to "be in the moment" when we are with our students. Really be there... wholly. Let us commit ourselves, giving 100%. Let each and every class we teach be the most important class that we teach. Make a MemoryJuly 1, 2007The one thought that keeps coming back to me from the recent staff meeting is the influence that truly great teachers can have on the lives of their students. We have all had those teachers that we remember vividly. We remember some of them because they were great teachers and others because they were not. As Karate West instructors, we have the wonderful opportunity to enrich the lives of our students by inspiring them to believe in themselves. By showing our students that we believe in them, we encourage them believe in themselves. Extraordinary teachers have an impact on the lives of their students that lasts a lifetime. Let us seize the moment and make a memory. Creating Outstanding CitizensJune 24, 2007We have a much larger goal for our students than simply teaching them to be good karate practitioners. We are an intricate piece of their success puzzle. We have the opportunity to help children become outstanding citizens. Look around Karate West at the quality of the individuals. For example, there are about a dozen Eagle Scouts that train with us (Collin Wick has just received this honor). A concentration of such high caliber individuals is simply unheard of in other groups. This is not a coincidence. Most of these students started with Karate West when they were young children. Their parents report that we have helped form their ethics during their journey at Karate West. Students like these are the future leaders of our community. Thank you for all you do every week to make our community a brighter place for all. |