You're NOT My Student...BUT, if You Were...

If you or your child WERE my "student," here's some of the stuff I'd "teach" ---

I'd teach you that the people you hang out with so dramatically affects your thinking, goals, state-of-mind, sense of right and wrong, sense of duty, and the value you do --or do not --put on things like education, literature, art, Rolex watches, living-in-the-here-and-now, wearing the perfect sunglasses that make a statement about who you are in the world, compassion, empathy, participation, and 1000 other greats and not-so-greats, that it might be the single most important thing you pay attention to.


I'd teach you to pay more attention to just about everything about healthy eating, fitness, positive role models, positive self-image, peace, environmental awareness, anger management. The Good stuff.
I'd teach you how to contribute to --and fully participate in -- a successful martial arts program something like Mount Laurel's Dinoto Karate Center  offers. As I can tell that most people think that martial arts schools are nothing but an activity that teaches kicks, punches and blocks. I can also tell you that all the martial artist that I surround myself with are positive and motivating people that help me achieve my goals and overcome my obstacles. If I really taught you how to step up, participate and contribute and why...well, you'd know everything I learned in my 40 years as a martial arts student ----Everything!

I'd teach you how and why to embrace your life, your training, and your work. I'd teach you why it's so very important to train yourself to write a journal (more important than any kick, punch or block you'd ever learn, for sure).

I'd teach you why it's so important that you live a more transparent life (it's about being a GREAT student and teaching by example).

I'd teach you how to completely redesign your idea of what it is to be a great citizen in your community --and in the world (and that lesson, alone, would forever change your world --and the lives of 100's if not 1000's of people in your sphere of influence).

I'd teach you that the very things I'm trying to teach you are the very things someone's trying to teach me.

-----------------------------------------------------------

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.

Dave Kovar's Lesson in Comprehension

When I met with Kyoshi Dave Kovar to do his instructor training workshop, one of the first things he said was, "I Have Great Comprehension!"


Kyoshi Dave Kovar



"I have great comprehension. When I finish reading a book, I understand it extremely well…probably better than most people. Do you know how I know that? That’s easy…Mrs. Austin, my sixth grade teacher told me I did. After giving an oral report to the class on an assigned book, she pulled me aside and said “That was a really good report. You have great comprehension. Don’t ever forget that”.

Well I haven’t…and to this day, if I read a book, I’m confident that I will understand it really well. Now the honest truth is that my comprehension is probably just average at best, but I still hear the message Mrs. Austin instilled in me 40+ years ago. Her message helped to shape me. We should never underestimate the power our words can have with the people we share our life with, especially those who look up to us."

As an educator, I am constantly aware of how my words help shape the people in my life. Whether I am at home, at work or teaching martial arts, I am always looking for opportunities to encourage, motivate and inspire.

As a master instructor at Mount Laurel's Dinoto Karate center, one of our my main objective's is to seek out and train future teachers and instructors.

Here is a short list of what I look for in a potential teacher/instructor:

1. The Gift of Gab. Love to talk and share their knowledge.
2. The Gift of Words. Love the power of words to encourage, motivate and inspire others.
   and...
3. They must LOVE People. A teacher must love to work with people, especially children if they are going to WORK with children!

How are you and your words helping shape the people in your life?

Our Dream 100. resource site is designed not only for our black belts and advanced students, but for our future instructors as well.

Visit the Dream 100. and explore it.

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.

Mount Laurel Martial Arts School Designs Curriculum for Karate Teachers

Mount Laurel New Jersey's Dinoto Karate Center creates a new curriculum exclusively for martial arts teachers.

One of the unique features of Dinoto Karate Center is it's Certified Instructor Training program (CIT). The CIT program not only offers our students more advanced techniques and higher-level training but offers them the opportunity to become certified as officially licensed instructors at our academy. They are also offered the opportunity to become a staff member and earn a living from their martial arts. This program is a fantastic idea. We believe that no one should be instructing a karate class in the name of any organization without having received a certificate of approval from a reputable martial arts academy.

Certification should be a prerequisite for being an instructor. It makes no sense for a martial arts school to allow someone to instruct as a karate instructor when they have not been qualified to lead and run a class.

Furthermore, it would be intelligent --and make good sense-- if there were programs designed to ensure that the people who teach martial arts were qualified in a few specific areas:

• Basic communicational skills
• Basic health
• Basic nutrition
• Basic instruction for all ages (as young as 3 years old!)
• Basic exercise
• First aid & CPR
• Class curriculum design
• Class organization
• Technical diagnosis
• Basic coaching / mentoring
• Basic business principles

Are these topics given any attention at all in the current offerings of instructor training in the martial arts schools in your community?

Visit our instructors website HERE.

For more information about this and other programs, please visit us at http://www.dinotokarate.com/ or call us at 856-235-0414.

President Obama & the First Lady at the White House Conference on Bullying Prevention

http://www.stopbullying.gov/ 
President Obama & the First Lady at the White House Conference ...

http://www.whitehouse.gov/
The President and First Lady Michelle Obama discuss how we can all work together to end bullying as an accepted practice and create a safer environment for our kids to grow up in.


Read Transcript

Master Liciaga teaches Dinoto Karate instructors

Master Liciaga teaches motivation to Dinoto Karate Center's instructors on March 5th, 2011.

Tweeting Martial Arts...and more!

For the past several months I’ve been posting videos, photos, commentary and insights in the various areas of martial arts training - self-defense, fitness, diet, anti-bullying, anger management, verbal self-defense, training for over 50, girls self-esteem, boys positive self-image...oh, yeah, even some kicks, punches, grappling and weapons training. Some of you have been to my Facebook page for Peter Liciaga to see more photos, watch videos or ask a question (http://www.facebook.com/pliciaga). Others have followed my tweets at http://twitter.com/#!/peterliciaga where you’ll see even more comments and videos but mostly my thoughts on what I’m experiencing at any particular moment during my own training to 5th degree black belt.

I’ve also linked off both of these sites to http://www.peterliciaga.org/ , my BETA site being designed and built for parents, educators and martial artists to connect and communicate with community projects, resources and experts in several fields. Here’s a link to a couple of channels with videos I’ve been able to load up during my training:

• My Training Chronicles
• DKC Channel
• Kids Teaching Kids Channel
• Self-esteem For Girls
• Words of Wisdom Channel
• Chronicles of Doneghy (martial artist over 60)

What’s great about all of these different mediums is how they allow both the martial artists and the students (or soon to be student) to learn more about great martial arts, all at the click of a mouse. In one case, you can “fan” me on the Peter Liciaga Facebook page and my updates and self-defense article links will show up periodically on your wall. You can encourage family, friends and neighbors to do the same and they will see those same updates. If you want to read my articles and see links to other media from my training, workshops and events, then you can go to Twitter and follow me at PLiciaga. Twitter allows me to communicate one-on-many or one-on-one with people interested in the kinds of projects and training I’m working on at that moment.

Finally there is DinotoKarate.com and what I call our current “work in progress” as we finalize a number of enhancements that will make it the “go to” place for you to communicate and connect with anything that has to do with martial arts and self-defense. For instance, if you would like information about bullying, there's our Stop Bullying Now Project; or if it's anger management for children, you have Anger411. Or, how about 10 Simple Lessons for Self Defense for Youth? From my Flip Camera or my Smart Phone to my laptop, my online channels and websites, I was able to create video lessons, even a brief commentary, and immediately post them to my Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pliciaga), my Twitter page at (http://twitter.com/#!/peterliciaga) and my here on my blog.

If you had been following either or both of these platforms, you would have been able to share in these experiences and share them with your friends as well. As you know, friends are always looking for information and ideas about martial arts, safety, bullying, protection, including developing the discipline to lose weight and get fit.

My ultimate goal is to be able to provide insights to both you and your freinds that will inspire a healthy lifestyle. This month it’s the Mardi Gras Spring Fling Celebration at Dinoto Karate Center , as you’ve seen from my many updates. Next month I’m off to Greensboro, Alabama with my camera and laptop to help build a home for an elderly lady, make some repairs in the community and teach some seminars/workshops to the youth along with 50 to 100 fellow martial arts masters and their students. Stay tuned.

More importantly, tune into my where-abouts and "up to's" via whatever medium you feel most comfortable with and I’ll do my best to keep you in tune with what I see, hear, learn and experience. For one more way to see what I’m up to, visit http://www.peterliciaga.org/

Peter Liciaga is an Education Activist, Master Martial Arts Instructor, Self-Defense Expert and Key Note Speaker working with youth, parents, educators and community leaders.

Self-Defense is Found in the Simple Things

We teach self-defense --and self-defense is found in the simplest of things. Kindness, for example; kindness is a beautiful form of self-defense. Good food --and the appreciation of it; there’s great kind of self-defense!

Oh, and how about love of community? Participation in --and love for --one’s community is a kind of self-defense that’s impossible to put a value on.

And my favorite kind of self-defense is found in a simple rule, The Golden Rule:

Treat others as you would want them to treat you.

Simply perfect.

I like Tom Callos’ (www.tomcallos.com) description of self-defense too:

“Self-defense isn’t only about personal protection, it’s about taking care of the people around you and the place you live as well.”

And of course, self-defense training is all you already imagined it to be, but with this particular attitude about it, self-defense becomes about living a good life. What a great idea.

For information about our school and our self-defense lessons for today’s world, contact us HERE.

What should you expect of a martial arts teacher?

Yes, what SHOULD you expect from a martial arts teacher?

You should expect --and get common courtesy, yes? Of course. You might even expect uncommon, beyond-the-norm courtesy I would think? After all, isn’t a good deal of the martial arts about learning and practicing respect?

You should expect the teacher to be in good --to excellent --physical shape. An exception to that rule might come from a teacher who has an unexpected health condition or who suffers as a result of a disabling accident. Stephen Hawking, for example, is still without question a brilliant theoretical physicist, despite his physical limitations. But, in most cases, your teacher should be an example of the benefits of the lifestyle that the martial arts promotes.

You should expect your teacher to be knowledgeable, beyond his or her art. It takes more than a knowledge of kicks, punches, grappling, or the ability to break boards with your head, to be the kind of teacher one imagines a “Master” of the martial arts to be. It takes some life experience, some mistakes, some losses, and some mileage on one’s life odometer to accumulate a little "wisdom" (common sense).

In the group of instructors I am a part of, The One Hundred, each of us is listed on this site: www.flavors.me/masterteachers. Each member listed there maintains a “project portfolio,” a record of the things we have done --or are currently doing --that, as the head of the project, Tom Callos, says, “Shows how we take our martial arts out of the dojo and put it to work in the world.”

Some of The One Hundred members are new teachers, so their project portfolios are just getting started, while other teachers on the team are veterans of dozens of remarkable community-based projects.

“In the future,” says Tom Callos, “all martial arts teachers will be judged not only by their physical skills or experience, but by how they’ve applied their ‘mastery’ to things in the world that lives outside of their schools.”

One thing you should definitely expect from every cognizant martial arts teacher is a chance to try his or her classes before making any kind of commitment to attending regularly. Ask for an introductory course (we will provide you with one free of charge), to try some classes before determining whether the school is a place you would like to spend time at.

If and when you’re ready, call, write, or stop by our location, here:

Peter Liciaga/Dinoto Karate Center
127 Ark Road, Mount Laurel NJ 08054
856-235-0414
masterliciaga@dinotokarate.com

For more info about Martial Arts in Mount Laurel go HERE