No. 2
Martial Arts Fitness for IDS The Power of Integrity
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hen you learn Martial Arts you are also learning skills that help you to be more confident. As your body gets fit and strong, your mind gets more focused. Having a strong body and mind makes you feel more confident because you know you can handle all the challenges in your life. It’s a powerful feeling. With that kind of confidence, you have to make an important decision about how you will use your strength and focus. Using Martial Arts to become a better person shows integrity. This means you are confident enough to be honest, and to always try to do the right thing. Someone skilled in Martial Arts has a lot of power to hurt others, but a true Martial Artist also has the integrity to use their strength and focus to accomplish good things for themselves and others. They use their power and confidence to make a positive difference in the lives of other people. It isn’t always easy to do the right thing. Sometimes the right thing is doing something different that what your friends would like for you to do. Sometimes the right thing requires hard work and time away from doing things you think are more fun. Having integrity means doing the right thing even when it is hard, unpopular or inconvenient. A true Martial Artist has strength and focus in their body, mind and their character. They have powerful skills, but they also have powerful integrity. Making the decision to be a positive force in the world, and having the skills and confidence to follow through is what Martial Arts is all about. Real power is not measured by how many people you can beat up, or impress with your Martial Arts skills. Real power is measured by how much of a positive force you are in the lives of those Inside this Issue: Sophie is asked to do something around you. n she knows is wrong to prove her friendship and
Having integrity means doing the right thing even when it is hard.
learns some friends aren’t worth having.
Martial Arts Fitness for KIDS | Issue 2
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RIVER VIEW L MARTIA ARTS
Color in the panels the way you want.
in martial arts, we must
always use our skills...
Integrity means doing what you know to be right, even when it is hard. Even if it means going against your friends.
...with integrity.
if you want to be my friend, prove how tough you are. Use your martial arts to show her who’s in charge here.
Riverview Martial Arts is the story of Paul and Sandra Armstrong, owners of two Martial Arts schools, and their three children, Martial Matthew,Arts Sophia, and Lucas. 2 Fitness | Issue 1
Martial Artists Showing Integrity Super Star Jackie Chan was bullied as a child. He shows integrity by working for dozens charities to improve the lives of children everywhere. Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar, a Black Belt in Taeknowdo, grew up in a rough neighborhood without a father. She shows her integrity by working for charities that support low-income families. Actor Christian Slater, has felt inadequate his whole life because of his height. He had the integrity to face his confidence problems by studying the Martial Arts. Jean-Claude Van Damme studied ballet for 5 years because he had the integrity to do what was right for him, even when his friends teased him.
Focusing your Punches Martial Arts will help you master the skill of focus by training you to direct your senses. When you throw a punch, your eyes, ears and body are all facing the same direction as the punch. Unless your whole body and mind is focused correctly, you can’t get any power behind your punch. Focus is POWER in both Martial Arts and the classroom.
Bullying is a serious problem that adults and kids don’t like to think or talk about. Here’s a few fact about bullies every kid (and adult) should know.
sages. Delete all hateful messages after you report them. Block all bullies from your accounts. Bullying is not allowed on social media sites. A bully’s account can and will be suspended or shut down.
Fact: About 77% of all kids have been
Fact: Teachers and principals are
bullied. Being bullied does not mean you’re a “weird” kid. It means you’re a regular kid.
required by law to stop bullying, but not every adult knows how. Involve adults as soon as you witness a problem. If one adult doesn’t know how to put a stop to the bullying, keep talking until you find one who does.
The Facts about Bullying
Fact: Bullies count on other kids being too embarrassed or afraid to say anything. Speak up! The only way to end bullying is to call them out on their behavior. Fact: If you are being bullied on your Facebook account or any other social media account online, immediately unfriend the person sending the mes-
Fact: Bullies like the feeling of power it gives them. One of the most effective ways to end bullying is to not be impressed by them. Martial Arts training helps to build the confidence needed to not be afraid.
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Fact: Whenever possible, walk away or avoid bullies. This doesn’t make you a coward or weak. It makes you someone who has better things to do than be bothered by a bully.
Fact: Bullies should be avoided, but not ignored. The sooner a bully is confronted, the more likely the problem is to go away. Some bullies are very persistent and like the challenge of disrupting another kid’s life. They scare off friends to isolate the kid they’ve targeted. That is why it’s important to speak up as soon as the bullying starts, and keep speaking up until you find an adult who knows how to stop bullying. Fact: When adults are bullied, they ask for help from their bosses or the police because it’s against the law to bully an adult. The bully can lose his job or go to jail. n