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Ms. Yuli's comments: My personal goal is to be the best that I can be and to help others to be the best that they can be. This is done mostly by encouragement and positive words.
There
are so many negativity in this world with the stress, bad economy, stress in our jobs, busy lifestyle, seeing that the news on TV of wars, maybe a fall out with our friends and family or someone we work with that we all get too wrapped up in our problems and not spend enough time taking care of ourselves and our needs. I want people to discover martial art training that can truly have a positive influence on their lives. Its a great way to condition our health and fitness and release stress. And when a technique is done right, they are praised and encouraged to continue working hard. We need that in life.
 My pet peeves: One thing that bothers me the most about some martial artist is that they mistake "confidence" with
"arrogance". It is truly a great thing to have confidence however arrogance is shameful. I cringe at arrogant people as they see first themselves and rather than offering respect to all, arrogant person demand respect from all. These kind of people will NEVER grow because of their pride and ego as they feel that they know everything and they are above it all. So be confident but not arrogant! Having confidence means you know your strengths but also understand your limits and weakness. Arrogant person would ignore their weaknesses and only play out or recognize their strengths, they are truly unwise.
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We all need to humble ourselves and be respectful of others, work through adversity with self-discipline and perseverance. Wise people understand this and it is not something that needs to be taught. Unwise arrogant people always blame others when things go wrong and never look at themselves, nor are they capable of self reflection. These people give "Martial Art" a bad rep.
Ultimately, a true martial art practicioner remains humble, respectful, patience, diligent, diciplined and self perseverance. This should
be the way of life for everyone. We are all students until the day we die and should never stop learning, even if you have a black belt! Always
keep an open mind and be ready to learn, listen and be respectful.
Belt colors represents years of training, commitment, dedication and
hard work and should be respected as that but does not mean you stop learning after you have obtained your black belt. In fact, that's when it really begins!
I believe that everyone is different, with different
talents as well as limitation. So there is no such thing as a
"One-size-fit-all" in martial arts. What works for one person may not
necessarily work for other.
As a martial art practitioner, whether you are training to
loose weight, to compete, or to learn self-defense, one
thing you should always keep in mind is that these
techniques are meant to be used when our safety and
our life is being threatened. We should always be aware
of our surroundings and avoid physical confrontation in
our lives. Prevention is the number one key to self-defense.
Another words, don't go looking for trouble and make
wise decisions!
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Yuli Okada-Pereira
