Many students at Progressive Martial Arts list "Self Defense" as their primary reason for training, and the other top answer is "Health/Fitness." What some don't realize are the two are the same thing! Self Defense is not just defending against an assault, it is also fighting obesity, age, and fatigue! Check out this article by Jennifer Galea about self defense...for your body! With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it seems appropriate.

As Martial Artists we strive to nourish our bodies and our minds in the best possible ways.  And by optimizing our overall health, we optimize our athletic performance. In 2007, a panel of 21 international experts published the “Report on Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer.” They published recommendations for countries, to prevent cancer in their populations, and for individuals, to decrease their personal risks.

1. 1. Body Weight. The recommendation continues to be to maintain normal body weight, but the newest recommendation emphasizes being as lean as possible within the normal range for body weight. In addition, it stresses the importance of avoiding weight gain, especially with regard to the gain’s impact on increasing waist circumference, after age 21, as this type of weight gain is associated with increased body fat.
2. 2. Physical Activity. As with all current recommendations for physical activity, the panel found that daily physical activity is crucial in reducing cancer risk. In addition, the panel advised limiting sedentary behavior (such as TV watching).
3. 3. Empty Calories. Yet again, we are told to avoid foods and drinks that contain what are considered “empty” calories. In particular, the panel mentions calorie-dense foods (such as fast foods) and sugary beverages.
4. 4. Plant Foods. Fruits and vegetables continue to be emphasized, but the important role of whole grains also takes center stage.
5. 5. Animal Foods. Red meat is a culprit in some forms of cancer, and so should be limited to 18 ounces per week. Processed meats should be avoided.
6. 6. Preservation, Processing, Preparation. The panel recommends limiting consumption of processed foods, many of which are very high in sodium as well as other chemicals.
7. 7. Dietary Supplements. Although a vitamin/mineral supplement may be called for in other realms, when it comes to cancer prevention, diet is key. The panel does not advise taking a dietary supplement, but rather recommends meeting your nutritional needs through diet alone.

Although these recommendations are specific to reducing cancer risk, following each and every one of them is crucial to optimizing our health in general. Martial artists who can commit to these food consumption strategies are practicing self defense against a formidable opponent, disease!

A study was recently discussed on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 that tries to explain the roots of the modern bully. Let's start by taking a look at this video -

http://mw.cnn.com/snarticle?c=cnnd_us&p=10&aId=20111010%3Aac-360-bullying-study%3A1

"This idea of the schoolyard bully beating you up and taking your lunch money is outdated."

To sum it up, they have found that there are still instances of bullies victimizing insecure kids at school because they (the bully) has some type of insecurity, psychological issue, or lack of confidence; More often, however, the "normal" kids in the middle of the social heirarchy are taking part in aggressive behaviors to climb higher up the social ladder. The most common type of bullying seems to be psychological as opposed to physical.

The root of the problem still comes down to confidence. When kids move into middle school and high school, we need to have instilled in them the confidence to know that they do not need to belittle and put down other kids to gain popularity. We need to teach them that the courage to resist the "norm" and stand up for what is right is far more valuable then the popularity gained by putting down those around them. This culture of bullying is prevalent not only in schools right now but in the workplace also.

This issue does not stop when we graduate high school. We continue the destructive path of putting down others to achieve our own objectives, and usually feel that we need to because "everyone else is doing it." WITHOUT A DOUBT, children that grow up in this environment will naturally pick up on these patterns adults display and will take it with them to school. What children need now are positive role models in their lives that are leading lives of confidence, respect, courage and discipline. If these people lead by example, children will follow. Parents, teachers and community leaders have to tell our children to not give in to the "norm."

At schools, this is the number one way to put an end to bullying - for EVERYONE to do their part. We not only need to instill change in the bullies and victims (1%) but the 99% of children that see it happen and either support it or just watch it. We have to build a foundation of confidence in every child.

I am currently looking into setting up a Bully Prevention tour for East Tennessee schools. If you know of a school that you would like included in the tour please pass along the information! My email address is dcorrigan@pmaoakridge.com.

By David Corrigan

Most of us have been in the majority for our entire lives. You might not have realized it, but training martial arts makes you a minority! This past week, Felipe Costa and his wife Ana, came to Knoxville, TN to spend some time with my family. While he was here, we naturally discussed Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competition. When you love a sport like many of us do, we follow the sport, know the names of our favorite athletes, and watch some matches on YouTube. However, my dad taught me a great lesson when I was younger that I want to share with you all -

Many times because of the people we surround ourselves with, the websites that we frequent, and the amount of time we spend thinking about martial arts, we forget that only a very, VERY small percentage of the population is like us. For example, name the top 3 swimmers at the last Olympic games, or how about the top 3 runners. Most of you probably thought, "ooh Michael Phelps..." or "Usain Bolt!", but couldn't name any more. Swimming and running are probably one thousand times more popular than Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but we cannot name the top 3 in the world! Unless, you are one of the people that really follows swimming, visits swimming websites, and watches swim meets on YouTube.

Sometimes because of the growth of the UFC and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, we get a false perception that many people are training martial arts. The truth is, the population that understands the difference between Karate and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is growing because of the UFC, but is still extremely small. The amount of people that actually have trained Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is even smaller. And finally the amount of people that have ascribed to the "Martial Arts Way of Life" and consistently train is miniscule.

How does this work to your advantage? If you are training to learn to defend yourself, do not fall into the trap of thinking your attacker will attack you the way your partner in class rolls with you. The average bully on the street will not have any real training, and will resort to many of the "classic" attacks such as haymaker punches, headlocks, and pushes.

If you are training because you love the sport of Jiu Jitsu, enjoy the fact that you are in an elite club! I am lucky enough to call one of the most successful competitors in BJJ, Felipe Costa, my close friend and teacher, AND to have my 56 year old (later this month) Dad as my number one training partner and teacher, providing me with this kind of insight day in and day out.

Now to prove my point, go ask 5 random family members and friends who the two people are in the picture above!

Ancient principles with modern applications are what the Martial Arts is made of.  Even in a modern world where many Martial Arts systems have become eclectic and where words like “Mixed Martial Arts” have become synonymous with what the Martial Arts represents, there are age-old philosophies that still ring true in the 21^st century.

Traditional Martial Arts have always been taught a bit elusive.  The teacher may disguise their lessons. Most of us would prefer to cut to the chase and demonstrate benefits quickly.  Is that good or bad?  Of course it is entirely up to the student: when the student is ready the teacher will appear.  How ready are you as the student?

Ten Philosophies of Greatness

1) Always be open minded – ready to learn from any experience.

2) Always work hard to achieve greatness – never settle for mediocrity.

3) Never expect – always strive to deserve.  Never assume results are owed to you.

4) If it is too easy – it is not always worth it.  Sometimes we want to take the easy way out. Today’s buzzwords are “work smart, not hard.”  But hard work always pays off in the end.

5) Don’t compare – everyone is different. Don’t fall into the trap of trying to do what the person next to you is doing.  You are your own person; you should work on you and you only.  It doesn’t matter what others think.

6) Be Patient – strive not to sweat the small stuff.  If you allow yourself to get distracted or upset over little matters, then other components of your life including family and friends will be affected by it.  Put everything in perspective.

7) Be Compassionate – Realizing that all people have their own agendas will certainly help you gain perspective on how you should react to others’ actions.  Try to always put yourself in their positions.

Be Loving – Has anyone ever told you to treat others as you would treat your mother, father, son or daughter?  We tend to be more patient with people we know rather then perfect strangers.

9) Be Strong – As the Navy S.E.A.L.S say, pain is weakness leaving the body.  Don’t shy away from hard work or tasks that are difficult.  Strengthen your spirit, your body, and your mind.

10) Be Healthy – Treat you body as your temple. The saying goes “Everything in moderation.”  Always be careful about what you eat and drink and how much rest you get.  The body is like an engine; if you do not put in the proper fuel it will fail.  Take care of your body; it is the only one you have.

By David Corrigan

I spoke with one of my private clients last week about staying in shape. He started martial arts training after completing the popular P90X program. Once he completed P90X he asked himself, what am I going to do now to stay in shape? What is my ultimate goal for fitness?

This is a common problem, experienced by possibly hundreds of thousands across the United States. Why don’t we have the drive to go to the gym? Why is it so difficult to get on the treadmill? Here are 3 tips to start enjoying your workouts:

1. Take Advantage of Your Location - This week, PMA is on Spring Break. With the time off, my wife and I decided to take my sister and her friends camping/hiking. Living in Tennessee, we have amazing opportunities to experience the outdoors. People actually travel from all over the world to see our beautiful mountains. Living here, we do not appreciate the opportunity that we have to go outside…

Instead of sitting around during your lunch break, take the opportunity to go outside! It is very difficult to find a place in TN that does not have a beautiful view. Pack a delicious sandwich that you can enjoy without driving to a restaurant, and then spend the rest of your time taking a walk. Not only are you burning calories, but this is a great time to re-connect with yourself. There are so many distractions throughout your day, a little time to think about you and your path is extremely enjoyable.

2. Swap the Rules and Exceptions – One of the keys to start living a healthy lifestyle is to make good habits the rule and bad habits the exception. For most of us, good habits are the exception. For example, using the case above, for most Americans sitting in the office for lunch is the rule, going outside is the exception. Some of you may not be able to go outdoors for lunch, but you can apply this rule all over. Eating unhealthy is usually the rule, and eating healthy is the exception. Switch these around and not only will you live a healthier life, but your lazy days and cheat days will be much more fulfilling!

3. Fitness with a Purpose – The student I mentioned above is training martial arts because he realized he wanted to start an activity that had a purpose. You may argue, that getting on the treadmill has the purpose of losing weight. However, most would agree that this purpose is not very fun. Start a fitness program that you love. Martial arts, yoga, hiking, are all great examples of this third tip.

There is one thing in common with all three of the tips above; they are about living your life to the fullest.

By David Corrigan

Every 10 years the Department of Health and Human Services’ Public Health Service put together objectives and goals for promoting health and preventing disease. For 2010, the major goals were to increase quality and years of healthy life and to eliminate health disparities. The topics and objectives for 2020 are available online at, www.healthypeople.gov.

Some of the more specific objectives for 2010 were increasing the proportion of adults at a healthy weight by 18%, and decreasing the number of obese and overweight children by 6%. I have not found anywhere that reports on the results of Healthy People 2010, but I would like to see if the United States met any of the goals for 2010.

As I looked into this website, I was interested in learning more about Healthy People 2020 and listed Progressive Martial Arts Academy as one of the organizations interested in helping our country reach its goals in health and fitness. As you dig deeper into the site, you will find that each state has put together a plan to implement specific portions of the plan in their territory to target their population more specifically. Tennessee is one of the only states that have not put together a plan! TN was listed as the 2nd fattest state this year, and yet we have failed to put together a plan to improve health (Sanchez, 2010). Just a coincidence? I don’t think so.

Take a look through some of the objectives and make your own plan to increase your quality and years of healthy life. Since our state does not have a plan, take a good look at your state of health to make some changes that will benefit you most!

Good Morning PMA Family! This has been a crazy week of weather for East Tennessee and the rest of the country. The weather channel reported that 49 of the 50 states have snow today and WBIR reported that this is the most snow Knoxville has received since 1996!

I know that training for many of you has become part of your life and missing class for inclement weather can be very disappointing. I know this because I am one of them!

Over 90% of our student population listed self defense as 1 of the 2 reasons that they wanted to learn martial arts. After just a few classes this does not change but many other hidden benefits are discovered from training. We asked you to list some of those this week while stuck at home and here are some of the responses that did not mind sharing with the public:

The benefit that jumps to the head of my mind would have to be security.  There is a pretty good chance no one would ever try to start a fight with me because of my size but I have always worried that I would need to help someone else and need the tools that Jiu Jitsu offers. PMA has taught me that the techniques that I learn are applicable regardless of an attackers size and I now feel more confident that I have the answers if trouble ever comes calling. This is the type of security and peace of mind that PMA has given me. Thank you. - Dustin Retterer
Benefit: The ability to learn new things! Who wants to get old and set in their ways?  Not me! Each time I go to PMA I am challenged to learn something new or do something better! - Ric Cross
One of the hugest benefits i have received, and the most noticeable, is the level of patience i have now.. To take everything calmly and not rush.. and I know it's only going to get better. I love PMA, and the family i have there. - Jake Dritt
Of the many benefits I have received at PMA, the greatest is the general feeling of confidence I now have. I am no longer fearful to walk places alone and I am far more aware. It has given me a measure of peace that is priceless. - Jen Pence
World class training, and I have made some really good friends!! (people i would have never met if not for PMA!) - Curt West
I have gotten physically healthier since i first joined PMA and i hope to it improves more as i continue training! - Eric Ridenour
I would have NEVER been introduced to Dit Da Jow if it weren't for PMA. - Ken Hayes
I'm in the best shape of my life! I have much more confidence and I love the feeling of camaraderie that I get from class. - Terry Alcorn

There is one benefit of training martial arts that many times goes unnoticed. That benefit is increased awareness. As mentioned above, we are focused on self defense, and therefore we think of awareness meaning that we are more aware of the threats and potential scenarios that we may end up in during an assault. However, MANY more Americans are injured in car wrecks than in physical assaults. Your awareness from martial arts training should carry over into every aspect of your life, especially driving...

PMA maintains a winter weather policy to follow Oak Ridge City School Closings. We do this and trust the officials in Oak Ridge to make the best decisions. They have a very hard task and in my opinion, they do a very good job with it. They have to consider main roads, back roads, driveways and parking lots when making their decisions. They must also consider families that live in surrounding counties and travel into Oak Ridge, as is the case for over 50% of the PMA student base. I certainly would not want their jobs and this is one of the reasons we have chosen to just listen to them!

Thank you for your understanding of our winter weather policy. Please carry over your awareness onto the roads as you are in more danger there than anywhere! So far, the forecast looks clear for the rest of the week, after tonight. I hope to see every one of you before the week is out. Check out the schedule for the rest of the week (weather permitting) :

Thursday: Normal Class Schedule
Friday: Bag Workout @ 5:30 PM (All are welcome!)
Saturday: ATP BJJ 10:30 AM, All Levels Filkenjutsu 12:00 PM

As always...see you on the mat,

Sempai David Corrigan

We are 10 days into January already. Have you maintained your resolutions? If not - please do not give up! Defeating old habits and building new ones can takes months for many and sometimes years. We are not perfect and will always stumble.

Fall seven times. Stand up eight.

Don't forget this famous Japanese proverb. It is very useful when it comes to heath and fitness. It is very easy to be tempted by bad foods, laziness, or to let stress get the best of you. Just because you lost a battle does not mean that you lost the war.

So what is the secret? Find something that you LOVE to do. If you can find an exercise program that will keep you coming back for more year after year, than you are set. Check out this inspirational video with some encouraging advice on "getting back up."

By David Corrigan

I was talking to my sister this week about dieting over the holidays because you ALWAYS hear people talking about how difficult it is to make healthy decisions this time of year. At the academy we have received dozens of cookies, boxes of candies and nuts and the occasional fruit basket. I usually receive gift cards to all of my favorite restaurants, and some candy with those too!

Here is the classic response:

“I am just going to give up for the holidays and start fresh with the New Year.”

Don’t tell me that you have never pulled this one before! All in all, it is better than just giving u

p period, but why wait to make healthy choices and ditch bad habits until the “New Year”? One of the absolute best habits that you can start to build TODAY, is to learn how to get back up when you fall down. Just because you stumbled into a tin of cookies, or ate quadruple the amount of calories you were supposed to, does not mean that you have to give up or wait for the New Year to come. Wipe your slate clean and start fresh right there.

It is absolutely ok to indulge in the season in my opinion, and in fact if you take the advice above on board, you will indulge and relieve huge amounts of stress as well! I think thousands and possibly millions of Americans stress over Christmas because they know how unhealthy they are. The taste of good food and drink is one of the greatest pleasures in life for many people and they do not want to give it up.

“Whatever you do, do it in moderation”

I am not positive who said this, but they are very wise words. How many times have you said, “I am going to give up ___ this year.”? You try this new diet and find yourself back to where you started and maybe worse within the first half of the year. This time don’t wait for the New Year, start right now. If you mess up, enjoy it but start fresh with your “diet” immediately after and you will have the best of both worlds – the taste and the health. After a few months, evaluate your health and you will most likely find that you have much more success with this “Moderation Diet” than any other extreme that you have tried in the past.

This does however take discipline and focus. Do not take this advice and then accidentally stumble into those cookies on a regular basis! Have a Happy Holiday and let’s have a GREAT New Year!

The holidays are supposed to be a time to relax, enjoy good food and family and experience the best life has to offer. However, for most Americans it is a time to stress and worry. Which one of these is you? Which one would you like to be? Believe it or not, martial arts can help you be the one that you would like to be and it all  starts with your attitude.

The word attitude means a state of mind, behavior, or conduct. It is true that we are totally in control of our own attitudes. We cannot control many parts of our environments, such as the weather, but we can control how we think or behave in various circumstances. In return, our attitude has an effect on the outcome of our lives. With that said, it makes sense to practice maintaining a positive attitude so that we can increase our chances of living more positive lives.

In the Martial Arts, we are taught to think positively. This does not come naturally for some of us. Having a positive attitude requires skill, consistency, and practice. If we allowed our negative thoughts to overcome our behavior, then we would be defeated quite often. That is another reason that the distinguished rank of Black Belt is so special. It represents not only excellence in Martial Arts skills and abilities, but excellence in attitude as well. Without a positive attitude one could not reach the level of Black Belt because of the numerous challenges that the journey entails.

Will you have a positive or negative attitude this year?