Wednesday 27 November 2013

Leadership & Black Belt Training - 29/11/2013























Our last monthly session for instructors and seniors will be held this Friday 29th November. NB. The change of location from the usual venue for these sessions:

Ellen Wilkinson School (Main Hall)
Queens Drive
North Ealing
London W3 0HW

6.30 - 7.00pm Leadership Training (Junior Leadership Team, AIs, HIs & CIs and Black Belts)
7.00 - 8.30pm Black Belt Training (All Black Belts. Advanced level students upon invitation)

Black Belt Grading - December 2013


















The final Black Belt Grading for 2013 will be held this Sunday 1st December at:

Wembley CKD
Barham Primary School
Danethorpe Road
Wembley
Middx. HA0 4RQ

Click here for a map of Wembley CKD

NB. The split of times for Il Dan Yellow candidates from different CKD schools.

10.00am Dan Test: Brown Senior, 1st Degree Brown & 2nd Degree Brown
12.00pm Tag Test 1: 1st Degree Plain & Yellow (Ealing, Harrow & West End CKD students only)
12.50pm Tag Test 2: 1st Degree Yellow (all other CKD schools), 1st Degree Gold, Orange, Green & Blue
1.40pm Tag Test 3: 1st Degree Blue, Purple & Red. 2nd Degree Plain, Gold, Green, Blue & Red. 3rd Degree Plain, Gold & Blue
2.30pm Scheduled Finish

Click here to pay Grading Fees online


Wednesday 13 November 2013

Putting In 100%

 
If you’re a fan of the TV series The Apprentice you’ll be very familiar with a certain, popular phrase. No, not "you're fired!". The other one:

“I need everyone to put in 150% on this task”.

(Normally said by the project manager to inspire their team members before a task. This is ensure victory and avoid one of the team being later told by Alan Sugar, "you're fired!").

While I understand the sentiment, essentially "I want everyone to work really hard", the phrase always makes me smile; surely, if you put in 100% effort, commitment or concentration to a given task, you’ve already put in all you have. 100% is everything, or so I always thought. So where are you going find an additional 50% of yourself?

To put in 100% simply isn’t enough anymore. In fact, nowadays it seems that if you were to say that you were “putting in 150%”, your level of commitment may well be questioned. Why are you not putting in 200%?

Which is why I’m often intrigued when I notice students in class giving what appears to be far less than 100%.

Time is priceless.

We all know that if we were not at class, there are at least 10 other things that we could be doing, eg.

Homework or assignments
Watching TV
Still at work
Working at home
Playing games or other sports and hobbies
Chatting on the phone
Spending time with family/friends/partners/children etc.
Cooking dinner
Clearing up the house

The list is endless and you get the idea: if you’ve made the decision to come to class, then why not try and make it worthwhile and put in the effort?

Yes...you’ll have to force yourself, but that’s the basis for developing self discipline: to force yourself to do things whether you want to or not.

Yes...we all have those days in class when our minds are distracted by a variety of things (see list above for starters), but sometimes the class creates a positive distraction to help take your mind away from the items in the list for an hour. Adult students often say that the class gives them a chance to ‘focus on themselves’, which I completely understand.

Similarly, yes...you can only get out what you put in. If you’re putting in 100% only then can you begin to really gain and appreciate the host of benefits that Choi Kwang-Do martial art training provides. You might even perspire - your own evidence of hard work!

For the record, I’m happy if you’re striving to give ‘just’ 100% effort, commitment or concentration in each and every class, as the majority of you do. Moveover, your efforts help to motivate others to do the same by making high levels of effort the class norm. If you haven't already, make the decision now to become a member of the '100 club' - martial arts students who strive to give 100% each and every class. Or maybe the '150 club' if you're applying for next series of The Apprentice...

__________
Jason Wright is a 5th Degree Black Belt and Master Instructor in the martial art Choi Kwang-Do. For further information on Choi Kwang-Do classes in Ealing, West London visit www.TheMartialArtForLife.com

Monday 4 November 2013

Coloured Belt Grading - November 2013
















Our rescheduled October grading will be held on Wednesday 6th November at Ellen Wilkinson School during your regular class time.

Please refer to the grading list sent by email to confirm your eligibility. You should aim to arrive 10 - 15 minutes early to warm up and be ready to start at your usual class time.

Click here to pay Grading Fees online

The last Coloured Belt Grading for 2013 is scheduled for Wednesday 4th December.