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
A student (name will remain anonymous) pointed out the other day, that it had been 6 months since he joined the martial arts program ---and, I'm assuming, he was making a statement about what's been learned, not-learned, done or not done, as the comment was said during our short conversation about the Student Creed, Black Belt Excellence and a commitment to black belt training.
What has or has not happened in the last 6 months is already a mute point, as there's no getting time back. What you are capable of doing in the next 6 months (or 3 years) is where the focus MUST be, as it's worth a healthy life-style, confident and peaceful mindset --or so --to you.
Some suggestions:
3 martial arts classes / 1 journal entry or 1 video of you training a week for the next 6 months
= 114 GREAT stories to share with your family, friends and co-workers
= 114 opportunities to talk about how you improved your health, your mind and that so elusive “indomitable spirit” we always talk about in black belt training (you know the one that will give you what you need when you need to get through one of life’s challenging moments!)
= 114 chances to talk about the highly committed people you meet in your black belt training
= 114 things you did to improve your ability to serve your family, friends and your community
= 114 chances to support and help other people, just like you, live the life of a black belt in training, and the 114 things that are important to you and those that love you.
6 months is 114 teaching moments for you and your family, friends and co-workers, using something I/we have discussed, or written via our blogs / newsletters, or seen via our video tutorials/stories, or are currently working on (Kids teaching Kids, Diabetes, Bullying, Verbal Self-Defense, Societal issues, etc...).
6 Months is your chance to share your lessons learned (and taught) on your own page here on the Dream 100. It could be 50 journal entries of you sharing about your training, what you want to achieve, and the posting of questions to make you/us think about challenges and solutions.
6 months is 114 opportunities to focus in on the different aspects of your growth.
6 months is 114 reasons how martial arts has changed your life.
If 10 of our students make 1 post a week, in blog, twitter, or film, that's 360 posts about their journey to black belt and our schools’ value to the community.
6 months is more than enough time to completely master your schedule and time management skills --and to exemplify and motivate everyone in your circle of influence to the same level of commitment.. to life.
6 months is in-depth, open discussions of your ups & downs in your martial arts training to black belt, to really, I mean, REALLY focus on what to do each and every day of your life (different action, different results).
6 Months is time to educate yourself in self-defense, healthy eating, communication skills, healthy learning habits, in bullying issues, and to train yourself to represent ANY material, excellently, in your community.
6 months is time to shed the need to do it all yourself --and learn the power of delegation and people management. It's also time to help 6 other school family members or neighbors to overcome their weaknesses, as they help you overcome yours (reach out).
6 Months is six (at least) invitations to your friends to come and observe and watch you train.
Every single day you have a chance to renew your focus, pay attention to details, and change your course.
The 4 things that can/should occupy your days are:
As a martial arts teacher and a dad, it's only natural that my healthy lifestyle extends beyond the karate school and into my family life.
My wife and my children all have a healthy mindset and a great appreciation for fitness and eating healthy. (watch the video below of my 7 year old son, Christain, having fun exercising at the park)
5 simple suggestions for families who would like to start living a more healthy and fitness life.
1. Make a Game of It
It is important to keep family fitness fun, especially when children are involved. It will then seem less like a chore and the kids may actually look forward to exercise. Go to the park or take a hike. Spend one hour playing games like tag, red light-green light or family tee-ball and touch football. If this doesn't sound fun, stay inside, turn on fun music and dance around for half an hour.
2. Get Creative
Find creative ways to introduce fitness and a healthy lifestyle to your family. Make a rule that if someone watches TV, commercials must be spent doing sit-ups, push ups, jumping jacks or squats. Incorporate chores by turning toy clean-up into a race, or make a basketball game out of throwing dirty clothes in a hamper.
3. Input From Every Family Member
Allow every family member to choose an activity and make a list of possible activities to choose from. This list might include walks, bike rides, dance and fitness videos or martial arts classes. The variety in activities will prevent boredom and will make exercise seem less like a chore.
4. Stay Committed
Set a good example for your kids by staying committed to a healthy lifestyle. Don't allow time-off or breaks in routine unless it can't be helped. If you stay enthusiastic and upbeat about it, your kids will follow suit. Kids will then learn to make fitness a permanent part of their lives.
5. Small Things Matter
If starting a complete family fitness program seems too daunting, start small. Park at the far edge of the mall parking lot in order to walk farther. Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator. When picking up or dropping off at school, don't pull up all the way to the front door. Have your child walk around the grocery store instead of riding in a cart. Chances are, your child won't even notice these changes.
These are just some simple ideas, come up with your own. Please share your ideas below in our comments section.
Now, grab your loved ones and get fit!
- Peter Liciaga, Your Mount Laurel Martial Artist
"My wife and I are currently developing an online family fitness challenge resource site."
For more information about the Family Fitness Challenge, emailpliciaga@gmail.com
1. Basic Fitness Training
2. Practical Healthy Eating
3. The Mastery Mindset
"I am 100% committed to constant and never-ending improvement and this challenge is my way of living that conviction," says Master Liciaga. "There is nothing greater for my children and my students as a master teacher than for me to lead by example. This challenge is yet another way that I can teach the importance of fitness, health and the mastery of mind for living life fully with an energy for excellence!"
Follow Master Liciaga's progress on his Satori Fitness Challenge Video Channel (first video scheduled for 8/15/11)
1. Combat Fitness Training Module (total Time: 9:40:00 Minutes)
a. Kelly Workout (see video above)
2. Striking (Pad Work) Hand & Feet:
a. Combo: Jab/cross/hook, Round kick
3. Take Downs:
a. Double leg take down
4. BJJ/Submission Grappling Drills: (with consideration for punching. COVER UP)
a. Putting it all together - From standing guard: Jab/cross/hook, Round kick, Double leg take down, Take Side mount or Top mount
5. “Mat Time” – using standing combination to double leg take down - 5 x 2 minutes w/20 sec break
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
With temperatures soaring into the upper 90’s and 100’s across the state, your Mount Laurel Martial Artist Peter Liciaga, would like to offer a few simple parent tips to help keep kids safe and cool during this unusually hot weather.
"I think this early summer preview is a great opportunity to help make parents and others aware that children’s regulatory systems are much more sensitive to heat than an adult’s. Let’s make sure that we look out for each other and help make the most of this wonderful weather so that it is not marred by a preventable tragedy,” shares Dinoto Karate Center's master martial arts teacher, Peter Liciaga.
Facts Every Parent Should Know:
Heat exhaustion and heat stroke can occur rapidly in enclosed vehicles. Never leave your child unattended in a car. Children’s thermoregulatory systems warm three to five times faster than an adult’s.
Always check to make sure all children leave the vehicle when you reach your destination. Don’t overlook sleeping infants. (TIP: Keep your child’s toy or diaper bag in the front passenger seat to help remind you the child is on board).
On a 93-degree day, the inside of a car can exceed 125° degrees Fahrenheit in as little as 20 minutes. The temperature inside of a car is hotter than outside temperatures, and can climb rapidly.
Heat stroke can occur in a matter of minutes for young children and infants. Keep children sufficiently hydrated and cool during the day.
Cracking the windows enough to let in air is not an effective way to avoid the heat risks involved with leaving a child alone in a car on a hot day.
Seek immediate emergency medical attention if you know or think that your child has been exposed to high temperatures by having been left in or accidentally trapped in a car.
If your child gets locked inside a car, dial 9-1-1 or your local emergency number immediately.
An open or screened window in homes can be a danger to children. Falls from upper story windows related to the heat have been responsible for fatal child injuries in our state. (TIP: Keeping furniture away from windows, opening windows from the top down if possible, and installing child-safety window guards all help to prevent injury).
This week your Mount Laurel martial artist, Peter Liciaga, will be continuing with the Combat Fitness Training routines in our MMA classes.
Combat Fitness Training is a series of fitness training exercises that are short workouts, that are usually 10 or 11 minutes long. They will be added to our MMA class, and are martial arts specific workouts that are drawn from CrossFit, Tabada, Monkey Fit and other new concept gym fitness concepts. The idea is to make sure that you get a great workout that is varied yet practical and functional for your MMA training.
Last week we started with the CFT Bench Mark Fitness Test. This is a series of exercize that give you an idea of where your fitness level is at any given point of time. The series was designed by my friend, Dave Kovar. You can see a video of the workout and record your time HERE.
Our focus this week in our mma classes will be mma boxing drills, muay thai round kick, take downs, sprawling, bjj top maintenance & top escapes. This week we will start doing what I will call "mat time". This will be the opportunity where you will work with a partner in 3 to 5 rounds of 2 to 5 minutes each, practicing the techniques & strategies you worked on in the class. They are a lot of fun and burn A LOT of CALORIES!!!!
WHERE YOUR GROIN PROTECTION!!!!
I also recommend you look for someone that can be your partner. Someone that has equal commitment to similar mma goals as you. This is a great way to learn and practice all the many techniques and drills that you will be introduced to.
Happy training and I'll see you on the mat!
You can also participate in this training in our MMA class. For more information about our MMA classes go HERE.
This week your Mount Laurel martial artist, Peter Liciaga, will be starting the Combat Fitness Training routines in our MMA classes.
Over the next several weeks your Mount Laurel martial artist, Peter Liciaga, will be going through a series of fitness training exercises that are called Combat Fitness Training. These are short workouts, that are usually 10 or 11 minutes long, will be added to our MMA class, are martial arts specific workouts that are drawn from CrossFit, Tabada, Monkey Fit and other new concept gym fitness concepts.
The idea is to make sure that you get a great workout that is varied yet practical and functional for your MMA training. We're going to start the CFT this first week by going through what is referred to as our Bench Mark Fitness Test. This is a series of exercize that give you an idea of where your fitness level is at any given point of time. The series was designed by my friend, Dave Kovar. You can see a video of the workout and record your time HERE.
You can also participate in this training in our MMA class. For more information about our MMA classes go HERE.
This week in our mma program we will be warming up with hand/foot focus mitt drills (pad drills). If you have your own focus mitts bring them.
Our core training this week will be focusing on fitness and developing core strength.
We will also work on bjj partner drills. (see sample video below)
Unfortunately, we cannot train MMA/BJJ all by ourselves. I cannot tell you how important it is to have a good partner. There are training dummies out on the market, but once you learn the move you cannot get any resistance, thus making a good partner extremely important.
What is a good partner?
A good partner will learn the moves with you and work through the motions, slow, and step-by-step with you. This doesn’t mean your partner is a “dead” body, or limp. Maintaining good base, and posture is helpful when learning a new technique. If your partner just lays with all their weight on you, it is far from a learning simulation. Since you are learning the technique, sometimes you may do something wrong, or be “loose” when you should be tight. Your partner should learn how to tell you when and where your mistake is.
Once you have the technique down, and can drill flawlessly, progressive resistance should be applied.
A good partner understands that progressive resistance is not an all out sparring or grappling match. Your partner should take advantage of your mistakes. If you are drilling an armbar, and you forget to keep your knees tight on the transition, your partner should counter/escape. A discussion should then take place as to why he escaped.
So...make sure to contact your friends, ask them to try a class with you and see if you can find a "good" partner.
Safety Equipment
Be sure to bring your safety equipment. Groin protection MUST be worn. Shin guards, gloves for pad work, mouth guard are a must. Forearm guards are optional. You can order all your equipment needs with us.
Here is a video of some sample drills.
Below is a workout I did yesterday with one of my students.
If you are interested in joining our mma program or getting more information, go HERE. If you would like to schedule a free class, go HERE.
The Martial Arts has so much to offer to people in all age groups. What most people don't realize is that back in the '60's and '70's, Martial Arts was primarily an adult activity.
Then, in the mid-eighties, Karate Kid and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arrived and dojos across the world were flooded with kids. Often out outnumbering the adults that once dominated the population of dojo participants.
Then, when Tae Bo hit the market in the '90's, we started seeing more adults stepping on the mats again. Mostly women that were seeking fitness, fun and self defense. Since that era, there has become a very balanced level of activity involved in the Martial Arts.
Adults, kids, professionals from all walks of life are enjoying the many benefits that come from quality Martial Arts training. XMA (Xtreme Martial Arts) has kept the interest of many teenage Black Belts and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) continues to keep many adults in great shape. Physically, mentally and emotionally.
Most adult students are just big kids that never want to grow up :-) Martial Arts is truly a great way to stay young!
For kids, there is no better activity for learning habits of self-discipline, self-control, goal setting, respect and better social skills. Martial Arts training also teaches kids proven ways to overcome bullying and it's a great year round fitness activity that attracts kids and keeps them in great shape year round.
If you're a parent of an adult who has ever thought about getting involved in the Martial Arts, there has never been a better time than now. Why is that? Because our professional team of Black Belt instructors are some of the finest trained teachers in the world and continue to learn and improve their own skills as well as increase their knowledge as professional motivators, success coaches and role model examples of what the Martial Arts lifestyle is all about.
Who benefits the most from Martial Arts training?
YOU DO. YOUR FAMILY DOES AND SO DO YOUR FRIENDS.
When you are healthier, happier and more confident, everyone around you will benefit from the BEST YOU that is constantly working to get better.
Last night kicked off our 90 Day Fitness Challenge and I was so impressed with the teams that came out last evening. This is going to be incredible! To all Teams - please be sure to visit the website often as we will be providing sample menus, nutrition tips and tricks and more!
It's not too late to sign up for the Challenge - let me know if you want to participate. See you in class!
As a boy, my parents took me to try out all the typical sports. As a an adult, I am now able to reflect back on all those activities --and I have an opinion about sports that might help you (parents), if you too are considering something athletic for your own child.
The martial arts lessons I took, without question, left me with the most powerful memories, usable resources, and the richest experiences of all the sports I participated in. Just the other day for example, 40 years after I started my martial arts training, my ultimate black belt test coach reminded me of the saying, “If you can’t, then you must --and if you must, then you will.”
Martial arts lessons will stick with your child. I’m more confident today, more capable, and better when the pressure is on --and I attribute a lot of that to my martial arts training. Parents, invest in lessons. They’re worth it.
Please visit our school and let us show you around, and let us give you and your child a free lesson. Call us at 856-235-0414 for more information.
Are you interested or committed to the best you? Get fit...stay fit...never quit! Get ready to change the way you look, feel and act. Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Would you like to get rid of a few unwanted pounds and a ton of stress? The 90 Day Fitness Challenge will include:
*Bi-Weekly Weigh Ins
*Monthly Progress Evaluations
*Nutrition Tips and Guidelines
*Support
Does your spouse, friend or co-worker want to participate? Ask us about the details of how you and a friend can win $500. Call us at 856-235-0414 or visit us was http://www.dinotokarate.com/ for more details.
Full of Good and Great and Ingenious ways to stay in shape, educate and protect his family...and the community.
Not enough discipline to start a healthy lifestyle, you ask? Maybe. But if you don't try to implement the best way to develop discipline you have only yourself to blame. You have to start with one idea -- martial arts. Watch, listen and read all the blogs and videos on our website (http://www.dinotokarate.com/) and listen to your heart about what is the right thing to do.
Discipline. The ability to teach. Self-Discipline: The ability to teach YOURSELF.
Discipline. This is the thing that you need to commit to and should concentrate on developing. Martial arts training with a good -- I mean GREAT -- martial arts instructor that LIVES the disciplined life IS the place to start. Don't try to do it with someone that is not living it.
Remember it takes time to develop discipline, but this is ONLY when you find that right teacher and environment. Martial arts is the RIGHT environment...well, at least at Dinoto Karate Center! Check them out at http://www.dinotokarate.com/!
Rome wasn't built in a day. Niether was the discipline of Peter Liciaga (http://www.peterliciaga.org/) one of DKC's full-time senior instructors.
Do you need discipline? How about your children?
We are the best at teaching discipline! Find out for yourself.
If you're over the age of 30, should you consider studying the martial arts?
Well, yes --and no.
You should consider a regular, daily, exercise program, for sure. A sensible one; one that starts slow and lets your fitness sneak up on you (rather than hitting you over the head with it).
A martial arts program certainly has the potential to be a wonderfully complete training program, as it includes stretching, strength training, aerobic exercise, and requires a kind of mental focus akin to deep meditation. That is, if the instructor you choose is old enough to have the right kind of experience. Instructors that are under the age of 30 are often spectacular athletes, but they don’t know what it’s like to be out of shape, to be 30-plus, and they tend to lean towards competition and acrobatics --and trust me, at 30 the last thing you need is acrobatics.
But Oh, find a great teacher and the martial arts can become your best friend. The training can keep you supple, sharp, and clear thinking. A martial arts school, directed by a conscientious teacher, can be a centering, inspiring, refreshing place that you love going to --and leave thinking about your next session.
As a teacher at 49 and getting ready to turn 50, I'm so much more careful, more balanced, more patient. After training for over 40 years and teaching for almost 20, I'm finally starting to get good at it.
Yes, look to the martial arts for some new perspective on your life, after the age of 30. It’s not too late, even at 40, 50, or 60. To choose a school take their trial course (which should be free or close to it). All the best schools offer new students an opportunity to test drive “the car” before buying. I think you should try my school, of course, but I might be a tad bit prejudice.
If you’re thinking about taking classes, allow me to be the first to invite you in. Mention that you’re over 30 and I will offer you a free private lesson and a couple of group lessons to try us out (no strings attached). Warning: It’s fun, affordable, and invigorating. It’s never too late to start working out. The most difficult aspect of exercise is taking that first step.
(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!)
Don't grocery shop when you're hungry. Just don't do it!
If you don't buy those snacks, you won't eat them. Do NOT keep snacks in the house!
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"!
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!)
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!
Almost 50 kids enjoy 3-hours of obstacle courses, re-breakable board challenges, music, karate, dancing, pizza and high-energy fun & excitement at Dinoto Karate Center's 3rd annual Parent's Night Out while parents enjoyed a night out on the town!
Led by education activist Peter Liciaga and the DKC event staff, the kids were treated to an evening of non-stop high-energy fun!
The theme of the event was "Operatation Domination - We Will Rock You!" Teaching the kids that they have the power to make a difference in their families and communities. Whatever they have a passion for or care about, they can be a voice that can be heard. Whether it is girls self-esteem, a positive male self-image, anti-bullying, environmental awareness, diet & health, fitness, animal rights, whatever they feel passionate about, they can be the voice that makes the difference!
We are looking for youth that want to make a difference in their communities. Find out about our Project Based Leadership Program and join the "Operatation Domination - We Will Rock You!" campaign.
Call Peter Liciaga at 856-235-0414 to find out more, or email him at pliciaga@gmail.com
