"The purpose of training is to tighten up the slack,

 toughen the body, and polish the spirit."

Morihei Ueshiba

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Wearing a black belt does not make you

 invincible...........it means,

You never gave up,

Worked past the pain,

Overcame the disappointments,

Didn't cave in to your doubt's,

Faced your fears and learned enough to realise how

 little you actually know.

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Experience is something you gain after you need it!

I just love that, and how true!

Told to me by my nephew Paul, thanks for that 

big boy!

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I really really like the statement below, I took it from

 an article I was reading on the martial arts, the man

 who made the statement clearly is someone I can

 relate to, and boy oh boy have I met a few along "The

 Way", that like the sound of their own voices!!

Humility - In an age where arrogance, conceit, narcissism, and over indulgence in being self-opinionated is the undercurrent that drives our society, the time to stop and reflect on the essence of the martial arts and what it is to be a true martial artist, is long overdue. The word 'humble' in the Collins New English Dictionary is interpreted as exhibiting a 'modest and unpretentious demeanour' and to be conscious of ones failings. As such, the true martial artist should allow the physical acts of their achievements to be the broadcaster and not the sound of their own pontificating voices, as appears to be in so many ever increasing cases. 

Could not have put it better myself! Spot on! 

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"Pain is the best instructor, but nobody wants to go to

 his class"

Quote by General Cho Hong Hi, founder of Taekwondo.

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Did you know that......the association is now 36 years

 old! as of January 2021, making it the second longest

 running Martial Arts clubs in Dover.

To me it represents a massive achievement, something

 that has taken me most of my life to do, and, God

 willing, I shall continue to share it with you all for the

 rest of my life.

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Did you know that "Bullshido" means...............

Martial arts instruction that is fraudulent, inept or

 otherwise not worth trusting (from a portmanteau of

 bushido and bullshit) what a lovely word portmanteau

 is!

If the instructor appears to be out to make money,

 then the chances are that you will probably encounter

 bullshido!

Ha! I just love this one!

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Did you know that.................

Tanto Jutsu means "The Art of the Knife".

It's part of the Samurai "Bujutsu".

In Korean Arts they call it "Dan Gum Sul".

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Did you know that..................

70 million people practice WTF Taekwondo in 200

 different countries!.......not a lot of people know that!

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ECTA welfare officer is Dawn Lovelock, Dawn is

 usually at the club between 6pm

 and 8:30pm most Wednesdays, she is more than

 willing to discuss and answer any questions or

 concerns regarding student welfare issues. We are

 glad that Dawn has agreed to take on

 this responsibility and thank her for her continued

 support.

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Did you know that...........Taekwondo literally means:

  way of the hand and foot. 

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Did you know that............Karate literally means: 

empty hand.

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Did you know that..........the only student that started

 training with me as a teenager and that has carried

 on into his adult life, reaching his current grade of

 4th Dan  running his own Taekwondo School in

 Lincolnshire, is a man called Paul Timms. Paul trained

 with me in 1987 for some years, went on to join the

 Parachute Regiment, then joined the Royal Military

 Police. Paul has since taught arrest and restraint

 techniques to the police force and is a qualified

 national and international referee. 

Paul is now an international WT referee and regularly

 referees all over the world and is regarded as one of

 the world's best WT referees. 

WELL DONE PAUL!

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Did you know that..........the associations first junior

 black belt was a

 junior called Paul Lazarus,

Paul also went on to become the associations first

 junior second Dan. 

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 Did you know that...........the associations first senior

 1st Dan was a man called Kevin Finch.

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Did you know that............11th April 1955...... was a

 Monday, not a lot of people know that!

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REMEMBER THIS 

A black belt is a white belt that didn't quit!

A master is a black belt that didn't quit!

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SENIORS REMEMBER THIS

For as we fight

So must we train!

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Its not just practice that makes perfect

It's CORRECT practice that makes perfect!

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 One becomes a beginner after a thousand days of

 training

And an expert after ten thousand days of practice!

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 Everyone wants to be a tough guy....... but no one

 wants to pay the price! (Steven Segal)

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Did you know that......the first adult female black belt

was  Yasmin Smith. She was a Junior black belt and

 passed her senior black belt in December 2017.

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The best self defence advice that I can honestly give

 to  anyone, drawn from decades of learning,

 working, 

 looking and listening, experimenting and doing, is to:

Not be there!

Other than that, there are far too many variables

 that make "being there" far too dangerous for so

 many different reasons. 

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In my humble opinion, the ability to get angry does

 not corollate with your ability to defend yourself,

 there is absolutely zero connection!

Situational awareness, keeping fit, and training with

 intent, to me, are the key factors that are

 most important.

Martial arts is not self defence!! 

But that's just my opinion.......

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Read this article recently and really liked it! I've

 altered it slightly, but to me. it gets the message

 across. Shame more of the keyboard warrior idiots

 out there aren't clever enough to understand it!

Nowadays, you will encounter people who variously claim that: Krav Maga is all hype; Tae Kwon Do is all flowery kicks and nothing else; Boxing is no good in street fights; BJJ won't work outside an MMA ring; Muay Thai doesn't look too special inside an MMA ring; Tai Chi is for rich retirees to keep them limber; Wing Chun has no defence from hooks; JKD is a commercial scam, Bruce Lee was nothing but an actor who couldn't really fight and Shao Lin monks aren't direct enough in their art to be any actual good. I don't know why people do this. All martial arts are "good on the street." If your foot can pass someone's guard and kick him in the chin or alongside the jaw, you have "won on the street." If you grab someone and flip him into a wall or just hard onto the sidewalk, you have "won on the street." If you can chain-punch an attacker while dislocating his kneecap with a short kick, you have "won on the street." If you "help" the attacker "go where he wants to go," and his destination turns out to be a parked car, you have "won on the street." If you hit a perfect opening posture and have the diplomacy and command presence to suggest you'd both be better off at home with a beer, and succeed, you've "won on the street." There is no "best martial art." There's only the "best martial artist" in any given confrontation. To me, and in my experience, the most skilled is the practitioner who defuses the confrontation altogether, or has had the acumen not to be there in the first place!