email: info@victorykarate.com

Competitive Spirit | Victory Karate



Welcome Resources Instructor Enrollment Members Victory

"Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle"

Psalms 144:1




Recently featured in:










"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

"We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it Pluralism.

"We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

"We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

"We have killed our unborn and called it choice.

"We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

"We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.

"We have abused power and called it politics.

"We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.

"We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

"We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

"Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.

"Amen!"

Pastor Joe Wright
Opening prayer for the Kansas Senate




Other links:


Competitive Spirit

  7 steps for finding

a good martial arts teacher  


Here are some pointers you might find useful when looking for a good martial arts teacher:


  1. Look around. Sometimes the best teachers aren't actually at those commercial studios down the street. A karate business is run by a good businessman, which does not necessarily make him a good martial artist or even a good teacher. You can sometimes find good instruction at the local YMCA or rec center. Some of the best in the world only teach privately and semi-privately. Ask around. Search the internet. It might be worth it to look around a little more beyond just the yellow pages.

  2. If you're looking to enroll your child, find a teacher who loves teaching kids. Just because someone is a good martial artist doesn't necessarily mean he's a good teacher, especially when it comes to your kids. Look for a teacher who understands the impact martial arts can make on your kids and makes the program fun and exciting for them. Talk to the other parents and their kids and ask them how they feel about the program. Observe the children in class. Do they show discipline, focus, and respect, or are they just clowning around the whole time? Be careful if you see a lot of child black belts. There's a reason why a black belt carries a special respect about it; it should never be given away.

  3. Look at the quality of the product. A teacher's product is his students. What are the students like? Do they show the ability to defend themselves? Can they move? Do they carry themselves in a respectful, professional manner? Do they show confidence, yet humility? Do the black belts look and move like black belts? Use the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) as your guide.

  4. Ask questions. Once you've found a potential teacher, ask him about his teaching philosophies. Heck, why not share your own Christian faith with him and see how he responds? Even if he is not a Christian, your concerns are valid and should be addressed by the instructor. Talk to the other students and ask them how they like the class. Why did they choose this teacher? Did they try any others? Are they allowed and encouraged to go to competitions and seminars, especially those not sponsored by the instructor?

  5. Take a test drive. You wouldn't buy a car without taking it for a test drive, right? So why not do the same with a karate class? Any martial arts instructor who stands behind his teaching will let you get out on the floor and try out some classes for free. If he doesn't (and I've met a few), then he's probably hiding something. Get out there and get some first hand experience for how the classes are run and what the staff and other students are like. Are they mean spirited and demeaning? Or do you walk out invigorated and inspired, better off than you were before class?

  6. Location, location, location. While certain select people are willing to commute 1 or 2 hours to train with a particular teacher, most of us would simply stop going if the drive was too far out of the way. Try to find someone either close to home or close to work, or somewhere in-between. (Then again, if you do find an absolutely great teacher, and you're very committed to training, then it might be worth the drive for you! Exceptional teachers are hard to find...)

  7. Watch where your money goes. Granted, the commercial karate studio owner is teaching martial arts for a living and needs to get paid in order to stay in business and feed his family. If he's good at what he does, and does so with integrity, then he needs and deserves your support. However, there are a few out there who are just used car salesmen in karate uniforms. Contracts, dues, equipment costs, testing fees, these are all to be expected. But be wary of any fast talking sales pitch, especially when it comes to getting a black belt in a short period of time, or instructors who claim that they are the only way and discourage or actually prohibit students from working out with others outside of the school.



P.S. Read my articles, "Don't sweat it when others lose their cool, part 1" and "Is There CHI in CHRIST?", from Faith & Fitness Magazine.



P.P.S. Are you a pastor or church member who would like to have a karate ministry at your church? Want a great, non-threatening way to ATTRACT non-Christians to your church and introduce them to the anointing message of Jesus Christ? If so, then contact me to discuss ways to easily introduce an exciting new ministry to your church.



P.P.P.S. Maybe you're not into martial arts, but you are a sports athlete who wants to be at your competitive best, and you need the spiritual discipline of Christian martial arts training. If so, then check out my coaching program based on my Christian championship martial arts experience and knowledge called Competitive Spirit. Have greater joy & peace when competing, more consistent championship-level performance, a more balanced home life, a renewed Faith in God, and a new passion for the game.




VICTORY KARATE
info@victorykarate.com
(310) 448-7542


Welcome· Resources· Instructor· Enrollment· Members· Victory

Copyright © 2005 Erik Akutagawa, Victory Karate.
All rights reserved.