Parents Night Out

Hello everyone! Hope your Memorial Day was as great as mine! Parents Night Out is going to be on Saturday, June 11th from 5 to 8PM. Space is extremely limited so see Mrs. Dinoto right away to reserve your spot. The cost is as follows: Basic Members $20; BBC $10; LP/CIT $5; Friends and Family $10. Feel free to email me with any questions.

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

Parent's Night Out - We Will Rock YOU!

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

The Power of the Moment

Anger management, environmental self-defense, dietary self-defense, community involvement, meditation, empathy training, and sustainable living represent a part of the new kind of “self-defense lessons” taught in schools that recognize what I call the power of the moment.

That moment is the opening that comes every so often; that moment when the young and impressionable student is listening to his or her martial arts teacher like only a child can –with that wide-eyed acceptance, that fully open mind, ready to grow, instantly absorbing, and highly impressionable.

It is at that moment that we want our hero at the front of the class to speak not about defeating an opponent or striking another human being or winning a tournament; we want to hear words and ideas that inspire compassion, awareness, respect for self, for family, for the community, for the global community, and for the planet.

We want a seed planted and/or watered at that moment; something that has the potential to sprout into a kind of wisdom and happiness that is uncommon, but the deepest wish of every mother and father.

When that moment comes, as I have seen it come so many times, trust that your teacher is fully aware and recognizes what power his or her words, influence, actions, and position wields.

This is the kind of martial arts I am coaching your teacher to practice (and if they have sent this letter to you, then you can assume that he or she is a good student! Note: The best teachers are almost always good students themselves).

My clients are the kinds of teachers who are acutely aware of the power of the moment; they live to create those moments –so that they might make a true contribution to a better and more peaceful world.

We consider this “our business.”

We spend only the smallest amount of time necessary working on how to run our businesses so that we can pay the bills and have money left over (like all business owners); we spend the majority of our energy on coming up with the most innovative, creative, interesting, and powerful ways to create moments of deep learning, constructive and useful attitudes, and the kind of awareness that promotes peace of mind –and peace in action.

To be a part of my programs, your teacher must transform himself (or herself) into someone who makes the pursuit of genuine martial arts mastery a deep, personal and spiritual daily practice.

You can recognize my students because they are training to be in the best shape of their lives; they are eating and living with full consciousness of what they consume; they define and engage their heroes; they practice meditation; they read; and they take on projects with their students that benefit their respective communities; projects that show, firsthand, how to apply their training principles to life —on and off of the mat.

My members are grounded, real –and exuberant people.

Among our ranks is an Academy Award winning filmmaker; there are songwriters, environmental and civil engineers, artists, authors, attorneys, world champions, school teachers, counselors, journalists, grandfathers, grandmothers, fathers, mothers—and all of them are martial artists with a desire to make a difference, here and now, through what they teach and how they teach it.

That is the mission of this work, which is now made up of my work and the work of your teacher.

Find out what your instructor is doing by visiting him at www.PeterLiciaga.org

Martial Arts Lessons: It’s Not About Violence

Just the other day a parent asked me if she thought my classes promoted violent behavior in young boys. She was inquiring about lessons for her son and was concerned that he and his friends might take what they’re learning and use it inappropriately.

I thought it was a fine question.

Yes, there have been a few cases (very few) of students “playing martial arts” with friends, the same way they play as their favorite superheroes, but I’ve never heard of the play being malicious or hurtful. I do, however, hear many stories of my young students using the kind of restraint we talk about in almost every class. I hear many stories of the young people in my program --and other martial arts schools --avoiding violence, avoiding conflict, and staying out of trouble as a result of their training.

A good martial arts teacher adds instructions and advice about how NOT to use martial arts, as often as he or she teaches the technical aspects of the arts.

“The ‘cake’ that is what a martial arts teacher offers his or her students,” says Tom Callos (www.tomcallos.com), the National Director of The One Hundred (www.flavors.me/masterteachers), an association made up of martial arts instructors who embrace education over the more media-prevalent aspects of martial arts instruction, “is made up of blocks, punches, kicks, and other maneuvers, But the real “flour” of the recipe is in the restraint, the self-control, and the attitude of self-discipline that makes up the best-of-the-best the martial arts has to offer.”

And by way of an offer, any reader of this piece that would like to “taste” the cake we produce at our school, need only contact me, Peter Liciaga, Instructor at Dinoto Karate Center to receive a free private or group trial class (no strings attached, no sales pitches, nothing but a genuine “try us”).

And no, it is not about violence or aggression or hurting people. The martial arts are about grown-up adults mentoring young people in the ways of non-violence, self-control, and contribution.

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/

“Nobody Can Make Me Anything.”

Teaching kids about self-defense isn’t just teaching them how to block punches, kicks, and thwart aggressive bullies, it’s instructing them in the importance of proper attitude, perspective, and self-talk. Tom Callos, team coach for a program called The Ultimate Black Belt Test, promotes the idea that real self-defense is far more about what a child thinks --than it is about some technique of martial art (obviously, this goes for adults too).

“One of the 10 top self-defense skills I teach my students,” says Callos, “is the idea that nobody can make them anything. Someone else can’t make you angry, make you sad, or even make you happy. It’s not wise to give that power to anyone besides yourself. Of course, this is easy to say and far more difficult to put into practice.”

I have to concur. I do know, however, that big things, giant things, huge accomplishments (like learning to take responsibility for the way you feel), are achieved through small, consistent efforts. One incident where you (or I) don’t blame someone else for how we feel then adds up to two incidents, then three, and from there habits begin to form.

This is much the way martial arts classes work (and if you're kind enough to read this blog, you may visit our school and receive a free pass to try our lessons. Thank you!); anyone can be trained as a martial artist through small successive victories. Real self-defense isn’t just physical, it’s mental, emotional, social, and spiritual.

Thinking, “Nobody can make me anything,” is, in my opinion, as good or BETTER a technique of self-defense than anything I have ever learned; OK, except for The Golden Rule (Which is, of course: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. But then, that's another lesson.).

Hope to see you on the training floor! :)

~ Peter Liciaga

For more information about Self Defense for children (and adults), contact me, Peter Liciaga, Master Instructor at Dinoto Karate Center in Mount Laurel NJ.

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.

Free Bullying E-course

Check out this Free resource from About.com
Bullying – What Parents Should Know About Bullying

This free e-course will be delivered in four lessons, one per day.
Here’s what you’ll learn about preventing and dealing with bullying:

Day One: Bullying and Middle School
Day Two: The Different Types of Bullying
Day Three: All About Victims and Bullies
Day Four: The Effects of Bullying

http://tweenparenting.about.com/c/ec/6.htm