To everyone who took the time to read the Article from last week about my Battle with Bullying and Adversity, thank you and I hope you enjoyed it. Check out some of the other posts on this blog.
Martial Arts has changed my Life, it actually Saved My Life so if you're looking for a program to change your child's life, Start Today!
Here are some statistics about the Bullying Epidemic our kids are facing everyday:
October is Bully Preventon Month so I wanted to briefly share my story about a little Asian boy growing up in Morris County NJ
Posted: October 04, 2017
STOP BULLYING.
I want to take a few minutes out of your busy day to talk about bullying. We all have stories and I want to share mine with all of you. I was the only Asian kid growing-up in a small town in Morris County - Roxbury Township. I attended Jefferson Elementary School. Myself and another student Will - I can’t believe I remember his name after all these years – an African American were the only two students that were minorities in the entire school. I was constantly harassed and bullied during those days. I was overweight and would bring ethnic foods to school for lunch – rice, kimchi, and dried seaweed. Yes, imagine an overweight Asian kid that ate dried seaweed and smelled like kimchi walking to and from school each day was a recipe for bullying. A lot of those that have been bullied display signs of depression, anxiety, and sadness. They are angry, have nightmares and fewer friends, and have poor eating habits. As time goes on there is a drop-in grades, low self-esteem, and feelings of being helpless, and many turn to drugs and alcohol. In extreme cases there are suicidal ideation thoughts. During my time being bullied I learned to adapt and overcome.
MY FAMILY AND TAE KWON DO HAD BEEN MY SAVING GRACE!
9/11 Forgive but never Forget!
Posted: September 11, 2017
Today marks the 16th anniversary that changed the lives of thousands of families and emotionally impacted the entire country. Thousands of family members and survivors are in NYC at the World Trade Center Memorial today paying their respects by reciting lost loved ones names, sharing and holding pictures, moments of silence and tolling bells. Others grieve differently and visit the memorial once a year as a way of closure and in the hopes of being closer to loved ones who passed. Victims family members also come together once a year to share their stories and help each other grieve and support each other. As we get older I think we can all agree that seeing and feeling our loves ones pass and taken away from us is the hardest thing that a person and family has to go through.
16 long years have passed but the wounds seem like it was just yesterday, people are hoping to take a step back and use this moment of darkness and healing to shed some light on uniting the country that has been torn a part this year. Today whether you were white, yellow, brown or black, it didn't matter. We all came together and put aside our differences on a united front where we shared the memories of our loved ones with smiles, hugs and tears. Today showed us that we do not have to agree on everything but we can still respect, support and love each other.
At Master Parks we would like to take a second and have a moment of silence for all the loved ones we lost on 911 and our hearts go out to all the families that were affected. At our dojos we have parents and training partners that miraculously survived the attack on 911 and continue to fight everyday and keep their heads held high for their families and friends, we know it's hard and appreciate every second.
4 Ways Tae Kwon Do Helps Kids With Their Studies at School and Adults at the Workplace
Posted: September 08, 2017
No doubt, studying and doing well in school is one of our main priorities for at least the first 18 years of our lives plus college and then onto your master and PHD. This may have initially been encouraged by our parents, which we will also be unabashedly passed down to our next of kin, but ultimately all of us want to make the most of our years at school because it will help us fulfill our goals in life. While we know that education is the key to future opportunities, what else can we do to supplement our education in order to maximize our learning potential, output, and results? The answer lies in one of the many academic research studies that have found evidence of a link between exercise and a boost in academic results.
1. Form Awesome Life Changing Habits
Success starts with believing in yourself. With martial arts, you will always be striving to be 1% better than yesterday and be goal-orientated in learning new techniques and mastering old ones. In the same way, hours of hard work need to be put into progressing to the next level in martial arts, succeeding in your studies is equally based on the commitment you put into it.
Martial Arts Trains Kids to Become Leaders
Posted: August 29, 2017
Leadership is the ability to influence and guide peers, friends, colleagues and members of our community - Leadership is one of the key ingredients to LIFE. I have 3 kids Cole, Olivia and Ella and a nephew named Aidan and two nieces Mikayla and Sophia who all train and practice Tae Kwon Do 2 to 4 times a week. I look at them and I say to myself, here is the next generation of Park children that will grow and one day lead the world. That can't be true enough, all our kids are the FUTURE and everything they learn at school each and everyday will determine the type of men and women that they will become. Let's all make sure we give our children the right tools and skills to gain the knowledge to bring us into a newer brighter and more AWESOME future!
When our children go to school they learn language arts, mathematics, history and other important knowledge that has been handed down from generation to generation but there is also things that need to be taught and learned that school does not provide in the academic classroom. Leadership is a characteristic we want all our children to have, Making decisions and standing up for yourself and what you believe in is always the right decision. Leadership is one of the foundation blocks in martial arts training.
Martial Arts has a variety of benefits, one of the most important is developing and teaching kids and students in becoming great LEADERS! Here are 4 ways Tae Kwon Do develops Leadership.