Healthy Eating Habit - When It's Junk Food Time, Don't Overdo It

Being a healthy eater does not mean that you must never, ever again enjoy tasty treats that may not be good for you. That would be no fun. In fact, it's important for you to enjoy your favorite foods from time to time, even if they aren't healthy.  The trick is not to overdo it. If you love chocolate cake, enjoy it from time to time. Just be sure to enjoy it less often and in smaller portions. Eating smaller portions makes you more mindful of every bite.

Most of us don't have the willpower to do with without putting together a clear plan ahead of time. There are several things you can do to put this plan into action.  One way is to set aside one day a week for junk food. Perhaps you decide to eat junk food from Saturday night to Sunday night. This would be that for the rest of the week you avoid the chocolate cake. But, you will be able to do it because in the back of your mind you can look forward to enjoying a small portion this upcoming weekend completely guilt-free. This alone will often help keep your willpower strong.

Another strategy is to pick one time every day when you are going to allow yourself to have a small portion of that favorite junk food. Then be sure to stick to your plan. And don't forget the word "small." This is crucial to your long-term success.

Remember, when you are following a predetermined plan and it is time for you to enjoy a little junk food, don't feel guilty; instead, enjoy yourself and move on.

Finally, remember you can eat anything you want within reason once in a while, but not everything you want any time.

Martial Arts Training For Senior Citizens

Although there are those that argue that senior citizens should not take martial arts not only as a way to stay physically fit, but to learn how to fight.

....just don't say that to Mr. Bill Doneghy!!!

“If you’re a senior citizen, it gives you confidence,” said Mr. Doneghy. “Every time you go, you’re accomplishing something. Master Liciaga doesn't take it easy on me because I am an old man! He trains me smart and pushes me to my limit. Master Liciaga always reminds me to do my best. I love it!"

Find out about our group classes and private lessons for senior citizens by calling 856-235-0414 or emailing MasterLiciaga@dinotokarate.com

This blog is part of Peter Liciaga's effort to promote the Ultimate Black Belt Test Program ( http://www.ultimateblackbelttest.com), which is an undertaking of The 100. (http://www.the100.us/), and a part of Peter Liciaga's Dream 100 Project.

Martial Arts Curriculum for Kids. A New Era in Curriculum.

Recommendations for Martial Arts Curriculum, for Young People, For Today’s World

This curriculum is assembled, structured, in order to teach what I consider to be “good martial arts.” What I teach today as a man of 50, a man with children, with a grandchild, a man who has outlived one of his children father, and who has outlived some of his friends, is not what I was taught at the age of 30.

What I teach today, with nearly 40 years of experience, is not what I thought I knew when I got my black belt or when I had 15 years or 20 years or 30 years of experience. What I teach today has been shaped, in part, by my many failures, my occasional successes, by my work with inner-city kids, by Nick Vujicic, by Dr. Patch Adams, by Theresa Burroughs, by Tom Callos, by the war for oil in the Persian Gulf, and by the explosion of information technology.

Self-defense, today, is so much bigger than we ever thought about in 1973 or ‘79 or ‘84 or at any time in recent history. It is predicted that 1 in 3 children will be affected by type II diabetes in the next decade. Obesity is considered a national epidemic. And not one of the top 10 killers of men, women, or children has any relation to anything involving a kata, a block, a choke defense, a kick, or reality-based self-defense training.

In the 1950’s and ‘60’s, self-defense books showed defense from soldiers sporting bayonets. If it didn’t show soldiers, it showed men in suits with ties and women in dresses with bonnets like my mother use to wear. In the 1970’s and ‘80’s, self-defense was David Caradine and Bruce Lee. It was Joe Lewis teaching Playboy bunnies in the pages of Black Belt Magazine. It was “the death touch” and really weird guys from Chicago. We spent a lot of time debating what style was most effective on the street.

Today’s self-defense isn’t about “style” at all. It's about what we eat and where that food comes from. It’s about what we consume and where it goes when we throw it away (and where is “away?”). It’s about obesity and diabetes and domestic violence, bullying, ageism, sexism, positive self-images for girls and boys, racial and gender prejudice, Wall Street and corporate greed, pesticides, cancer, drugs, attachment, nationalism, hyper-aggressive masculinity, oil, and so many things that aren’t about the martial arts I grew up on that it is, literally, a whole new era for “self-defense.”

When my young students leave my care, whether after a month or years of practice, I want them to know as much about real fitness as I have the ability to impart. That’s not just physical fitness I’m talking about, but mental, emotional, spiritual, and social “fitness,” as ill health isn’t only a disease of the body. If I knew nothing about the world, I might be content to teach the martial arts I grew up with. Fortunately, I have grown --and so has my martial arts.

I want my students to know real, pedal to the metal self-defense, but not just physical self-defense. Attitude and beliefs about other people, about relationships, about money, about food, about our obligation (or lack thereof) to our communities, about waste, about conformity, violence, and about education, well, these things are just as, if not MORE relevant to personal protection today, than any physical maneuver of “the martial arts.”

As a “Sabom” (master martial arts teacher) in today’s world, my martial arts --and as a result, my curriculum, has changed and evolved as much as the world has between the time President Theodore Roosevelt practiced judo in The White House (1903) and today, July 23, 2011.

Curriculum for Kids.

Community Involvement

Each belt a student advances should require the student to have conceived, planned, and executed a “project” that exemplifies the idea of “out of the dojang and into the world.” The project should engage the student in something they’re interested in, but it MUST help someone or something in the community. Each project should be kept in an on-line “project portfolio.”



Dietary Self-Defense

Each student should be well trained --and practiced --in dietary self-defense. It is absolutely unacceptable that a child should move into his or her high school years and not have a solid understanding of what healthy eating is --and is not.



Peace and Non-Violence Training

Attitudes about conflict, gender roles, race, and the media affect mental health and society’s propensity for violence. No student should go through authentic martial arts training without learning as much about the “art” of peace as they know about the physical aspects of their “martial” art.



Environmental Self-Defense

We can no sooner ignore our impact on the environment as we can walk into a lion’s cage wearing a steak suit. Every young person who goes through the belt ranks of a martial arts “system,” should know the basics of environmental self-defense as well as they know the basics of physical self defense.



Mindfulness Training

The opposite of "being mindful" is "being mindless." Every young martial arts student should know what mindful living is --and have a very full toolbox of resources for all that living as a mindful, aware, and high-functioning human being involves. Furthermore, knowing what mindfulness is, doesn't have 1/1000th the value of knowing how to practice mindfulness. The student who spends any significant amount of time studying the martial arts, should be as proficient at living mindfully as he or she is in the "art" in question.



If you are a parent or someone interested in a curriculum / program that instills the discipline of martial arts that is practical for the world today, contact us using the comments section below. Or, contact Peter Liciaga at pliciaga@gmail.com

This blog is part of Peter Liciaga's community activism effort for the Ultimate Black Belt Test Program ( http://www.ultimateblackbelttest.com/ ), which is an undertaking of The 100. ( http://www.the100.us/ ), and a part of Peter Liciaga's Dream 100 Project.

2 Simple Self Defense Tips

Here are two simple self-defense tips, a one-minute-read, that could save your life --and/or the life of someone you love.

Ready?

1. Eat MINDFULLY. Eating without paying attention causes you to eat the wrong things and/or too much food. Doing either (or both) could, as they say, “take the shine off your shoes.” Heart disease, diabetes, and all sorts of ailments await the person who doesn’t practice mindful eating. Look to the video, below, for for some mindful eating basics (it’s Harvard Professor, Dr. Lilian Cheung, co-author of Savor, Mindful Eating, Mindful Life): The video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Emd9q6_o6Z0
2. The self-defense expert Sanford Strong, author of Strong on Defense, sets forth four survival rules that everyone should know if faced with a dangerous situation or attack:

• React immediately
• Resist,
• Avoid crime scene #2
• Never give up.

Want more? (We want you to want more!)

We are actively recruiting women (mothers and daughters) in our community for an upcoming 2 hour “What I Need to Know About Self-Defense” workshop. If you would like to be on our “Self-Defense Tips” mailing list and/or hear more about our workshops, please contact us here: masterliciaga@dinotokarate.com or call me Peter Liciaga directly at 856-235-0414.

5 Free Tips for a Healthier New Year!

(No charge - but we'd love it if you stopped by for a FREE class!)
(Here are some tried and true tips to stay on track in 2011. You've probably heard most of these before, but it's always good to review them every once in a while because we KNOW we don't always follow them!)

1. Don't grocery shop when you're hungry. Just don't do it!
2. If you don't buy those snacks, you won't eat them. Do NOT keep snacks in the house!
3. Eat your fruit first, vegetables second - and everything else third. "Everything else" should consist of healthy choices - and hopefully all those fruits and veggies will keep you from being a little piggy with the "everything else"!
4. Regular, daily exercise. No, you don't have to come to our gym every day, but you HAVE TO HAVE TO HAVE TO stay active. Use those stairs, park farther away - you know the drill. (And you can come to a fitness class every other day or so!)
5. Don't load up that giant plate. Use a smaller plate. If you must have more, take your time with it. Give your food a chance to tell your brain that you're really not hungry anymore! And keep the serving dishes in the kitchen so you'll at least get a little exercise having to get up and go get your seconds and thirds...

Health means diet AND exercise. Losing fat AND gaining muscle are the keys to a healthier body.

• Losing fat is about 2/3 diet and 1/3 exercise.
• Gaining muscle is about 2/3 exercise and 1/3 diet.

We can help. We can make it more fun! 

NEW MORNING & EVENING ZUMBA FITNESS CLASSES NOW AVAILABLE AT DINOTO KARATE CENTER!

Give us a call today. 856-235-0414

Self-Defense? Oh Yeah, It’s About Diet Soda (Is it?)

Did you, by chance, see the article on-line that reported a study about drinking diet soda? The report suggested that there was a 61% higher risk of vascular events (like strokes and heart attacks) for people who drank a diet soda every day.
Now whether that report is accurate or not is not the issue. What IS the issue is that your health is linked to what you (do or do not) consume. This is so important an aspect of self-defense that my colleagues and I have started a website called www.DietarySelfDefense.com . Nutritionist and black belt Mike Tubbs oversees the site --and loads plate-fulls of useful reminders and information there.

Food and nutrition information is finding its way into our schools and on to our mats too (not to mention, in our mouths!). It’s about time!

Self-defense training is so much more than learning how to handle yourself in a hand-to-hand combat situation. If self-defense (of any kind) is of interest to you, call us. We’re collecting stories, people, and ideas around the topic of, well, EVERYTHING Self-Defense.

Our contact information: Peter Liciaga c/o Dinoto Karate Center, Mt. Laurel NJ

856-235-0414 or visit us HERE

Here’s the link to the story on diet soda: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41479869/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition

Martial Arts? You would do well with a few "things."

In the martial arts, to make true and worthwhile progress, you would do well to have a few "things."

One of those things is patience. Patience means you look at the long-term benefits of steady, consistent training; not too hard and not to easy, but training that’s varied, interesting, and --eventually --both meditative and challenging.

Another thing is the big picture view. Your martial arts practice should not be limited to --or even predominately on --the mat. The awareness, the calmness, the confidence, should make it’s way off of the mat and into your world.

“My favorite saying about the martial arts and life is,'My life is my dojo.'” --Tom Callos ( http://www.tomcallos.com/ )

And yet another great thing to have is an instructor with a brain and some awareness. It’s a great, great thing to have friends and mentors who have the makings for a full picnic lunch --and it’s a real bummer when you end up hanging out with someone who turns out to have brought the basket, but forgot to pack the sandwiches.

Oh, and a really wonderful thing to have is a good diet. Without a good diet, the body doesn’t cooperate the way it should and training is never as much fun or as productive as it could (and should) be.

If you’re considering martial arts classes as a way to have some fun while polishing those “things” that you like most about yourself, consider checking us out here. I like to give new students a good, healthy opportunity to see what the training is like (we always start slow and easy). If you have questions, please, call this number: 856-235-0414.

10 Tips for Martial Arts Students, to Deepen Your Practice

By Tom Callos for Peter Liciaga and Dinoto Karate Center students

You didn’t start your study of the martial arts to “go through the motions” of it all, did you? Of course you didn’t, but look around you in your next class and I’ll bet you spot a number of your classmates doing that very thing, going through the motions. It’s human nature to get distracted, to multi-task, and wander off course.

To deepen and strengthen your practice so that you stay on the mark and make reasonable progress, I offer you these 10 time-tested, Tom-tested tips:

1. As often as you can remember to do so, say to yourself “I am aware that I am training” (kicking, punching grappling, or whatever it is you’re doing at the moment). For me, that never fails to get my head out of the clouds and back into my practice (I am aware that I am writing this!).
   
2. Use a training partner (or partners) to hold you accountable to more intense, more focused, and more “present” practice. Friends are a good thing.
   
3. Eat better food before and after ever class (and, of course, that translates into ALL THE TIME). If you’re body’s jammed full of food-delivered chemicals, cups of corn-syrup, and crates full of unnecessary carbs or fats, you’re going to find you don’t function like the well-oiled machine you're supposed to be. Contrary to the way a lot of people live their lives, what you eat IS important to your performance. In fact, what you eat IS self-defense.
   
4. Breath deeply, focus on breathing deeply, think about breathing deeply, and maybe, if you have a habit of forgetting, write “BREATH DEEPLY” on the backside of your hand. To see just how much this helps you, do it. You’ll feel the benefits right away.


5. Take your practice off of the mat. Courtesy and respect for others isn’t something that’s practiced in the school with people you’re semi-afraid of. It’s for that ding-dong at the supermarket (you can tell what someone is made of by how they treat the people that mean nothing to them). It’s for your Mom, who sometimes bugs you in a big way. It’s for the substitute teacher (yes, even for him/her).


6. Practice at home, a minimum of 10 minutes a day on the days you don’t attend classes. Little things add up, so even 10 minutes of practice can help you grow. Oh, and if you don’t think 10 minutes matters, try to hold your side-kick out out for 10 minutes or try and hold your breath for 10 minutes. Yeah.


7. Read age-appropriate philosophy. Champions, whether in science, baseball, chess, jiu-jitsu, or cross-country skiing, all have belief systems that make them rise above hardship and overcome obstacles. They all learn to cope with defeat --and victory. Reading the words of someone with experience can be the next best thing to talking with them face-to-face.


8. Go crazy. Yes, act in a way that most people would consider very odd indeed. For example, when things start getting really hard, you pretend they’re getting easier. Crazy! When everyone else complains --and for good reasons too, you find the good in the situation and jump up to be the first person to turn whatever is wrong, right. Insane! When everyone else quits, you stick to it! You’re a nut!
   
   Actually, you’re a martial artist.
   
9. Measure your own personal performance on a scale between 1 and 10, with “1” being your worst performance --and “10” being an all out, focused, beautiful-to-behold effort. Try to operate as close to level 10 as you can during your classes (whether you’re standing still or doing difficult maneuvers). And while you’re at it, try to LIVE at level 10, whenever possible. It’s a good thing.
   
10. I hate to drop this one on you last, as it’s a bit of a let-down after all this glorious focus on you and yours, but maybe the best way to deepen your own practice of the martial arts is to help others deepen theirs. Yes, that’s right, in the end, it’s not about you at all. Funny how it always works out that way.

If you are thinking about martial arts classes in Mount Laurel for you or your family, find out more HERE

About the Author: Tom Callos’ bio and project portfolio may be read at http://www.tomcallos.com/

Obvious and Not-So-Obvious Benefits of Taking Martial Arts Lessons.

There are some obvious benefits that young and old alike garner from studying the martial arts. The first one is in the exercise involved. Exercise, if it’s tailored for the age and ability of the participant, is good for the body, the mind, and, yes, often good for the spirit too.

A not-so-obvious benefit of studying the martial arts is the often unspoken requirement to “be present” in the practice. “When you’re dealing with kicks, punches and self-defense,” says veteran martial arts teacher Peter Liciaga of Mount Laurel, “you simply have to stay ‘in the moment’ to keep from getting punched in the nose. Awareness of what I call, ‘The here and now,” is something you can instantly take off of the mat and put to work in your everyday life.”

With exercise and mindfulness comes a third component that is not a benefit you’ll find in every martial arts school, but it’s something we are deeply involved with. It’s about food and its connection to fitness and health. The Diet Chronicles is a project where a group of martial arts teachers are starting to document, on video, what they eat and how it’s prepared --in an effort to eat more mindfully.

Some of the video journals are being posted to an on-line community based around the book Savor (http://www.savorthebook.com/). Savor is co-written by Harvard nutritionist Dr. Lilian Cheung and Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.

To see one of the Diet Chronicle videos, click this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3gANPh_RvY

“What we consume is as important and relevant to self-defense in today’s world,” says Liciaga, “as any kind of martial arts technique.”

For more information on using the martial arts to improve the body, mind, and diet, contact Dinoto Karate Center (http://frontpage.tripod.com/liciaga/dinoto_karate.htm), Mount Laurel's martial arts center for adults and children.