Master Brandon Richards Appointed Commissioner at Amerstate University

On Wednesday, October 20, 2010, Master Brandon Richards, school director of Seattle Tae Kwon Do in Mountlake Terrace was appointed "Commissioner" at Amerstate University in Racine, Michigan.

Amerstate University is the only accredited school in the United States that offers a Master of Science Degree in Martial Arts.

Master Richards will act as an ambassador of the university in public affairs and will be an integral part in university growth.

Master Richards operates Seattle Tae Kwon Do in Mountlake Terrace which is nationally recogized as on of the top Martial Arts schools in the United States. Amerstate Univeristy would like to include some of the successful teaching strategies taught at Seattle Tae Kwon Do to Amerstate University. Master Richards is the first and only Martial Arts instructor in the Pacific Northwest to be connected with a major univeristy in such a role.

For more information contact:

Seattle Tae Kwon Do

22803 44th Ave. West

Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043

Tel. 425-775-0299

http://www.http//www.seattletaekwondo.com

The Shoerack Theory

SHOERACK THEORY

It has long been a custom in the Martial Arts, that upon entering the dojang, students remove their shoes and place them in the shoerack. Part of this custom is for hygiene and cleanliness. A clean dojnag and well kept dojang is certainly better than a dirty one.

Even better is a philosophy called the Shoerack Theory.

Students remove their shoes and place them in the shoerack for a more purposeful reason. They are also placing all of life’s challenges and any stressful thoughts or negative issues from their day, in their shoes before entering the mat.

This allows you to give yourself fully to your training...

Mentally, physically and emotionally…then after a great class, you will be able to better deal with any of the challenges placed in your shoes before class.

Sometimes, you actually may find they’ve disappeared all together. Meaning that after a great workout and practice session, you have relieved yourself of all the stress you had before your class and/or relieved yourself from any negativity.

Martial Arts training is proven to be an outstanding way to relieve stress and cleanse your mind, body and spirit of any negativity.

If you practice this philosophy every time you enter the dojang, you will find yourself in a better mood and you will also enjoy greater benefit from your Martial Arts training.

This philosophy can also be applied to walking into your own home.

Mentally, leaving all stress and challenges in your shoes upon entering so you can enjoy quality time with your family and loved ones.

One way you can maximize the benefits of your Martial Arts training is to practice and apply the philosophies you learn in class to your everyday life outside the dojang.

-Master Brandon Richards
http://www.seattletaekwondo.com

Seattle Tae Kwon Do
22803 44th Ave. West
Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043
Tel. 425-775-0299

Master Richards reveals "7 Magic Words"

Martial Arts, Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Judo, and Jujitsu all have a common thread taught by the Instructors and Masters. Self Discipline, Confidence, Focus, and Self Control being amongst the most important of the attitudes.

However, every Martial Art starts with attitude... an attitude that is expected from the moment you enter the school, all the way through to the day you receive your Black Belt.

RESPECT!

Respect isn't just being couteous, respect is treating other people in the way that you would like to be or expect to be treated yourself. Respect within the Martial Arts is checking your ego or your bad day at the door on the way into training, so that you can work with other students with a clear and open mind, helping them with their journey while keeping both of you safe and injury free.

I believe that the first stage of Respect is "Respectful Communication", or the way that we speak to each other. -And for that reason we use the 7 Magic Words at Seattle Tae Kwon Do. Seven words that aren't just respectful and courteous but also words that once said with certainty can also be an important part of confidence, or being clear and certian with what you are saying.

YES, SIR

NO, SIR

YES, MAAM

NO, MAAM

PLEASE

THANK YOU

YOU'RE WELCOME

By using these words with other students, teachers, instructors, parents and even friends, you will begin the process of respectful communication. Treating somebody with respect should always invoke the postive reaction of respect back.

"Every human being, of whatever origin, of whatever station, deserves respect. We must each respect others even as we respect ourselfves.

-Master Brandon Richards

Seattle Tae Kwon Do

22803 44th Ave. West

Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043

Tel. 425-775-0299

The toughest job in the world!

Dear Parents,

The toughest, and most rewarding job in the world is being a parent. As a parent our job is to love, nuture and guide our children. Our primary duty is to prepare them for life. This means, we need to develop their character. It can be hard to do this when we get caught up in the details of life and parenthood. It is hard while going grocery shopping with three little ones, to talk about respect and honor. It is near impossible while driving past MacDonald's to talk about self-control or discipline. While these things are hard they are not impossible. That is where Tae Kwon Do training comes in. Each week, while in class, you kids are engaged in conversations about intergrity, honor, respect, discipline and how to set and achieve goals. These instructors, help make your job as a parent so much easier. However, it is a not a one-way road. The parents, must also work with the instructors to help emphasis the importance to the lessons taught and how they are to live the lessons they learn. For example, sometime in your child's training, they are going to say, "Mom/Dad, I want to quit". Be prepared for this as every parent has to face this challenge. This is when you need to remember your job as a parent is to help mold their character and make them a better person. You need to remind them of their goals and the commitment they made towards achieveing a Black Belt. You are not teaching them anything by simply letting them quit, other than it is okay to quit when things get hard. Do you think great men, like Abraham Lincoln. would have become president if after his first unsuccessful bid for congress gave up and decided it was too hard? The same is true for your kids. They are young and need to be taught that the most important part of setting a goal is not to give up once they have set it. The same is true for parents, once we have set upon being a parent, we cannot forget to teach them how to live a honorable, good life. Being a parent is a tough job, but in the end it is worth every bit of effort.

Sincerely,

Master Brandon Richards

Seattle Tae Kwon Do Competition Team Cleans House at WA State Open in Bellevue

Congratulations to the Competition Team who competed at the Washington State Open on Saturday, October 8th at Bellevue Community College!

Kiana Rendorio—Gold Sparring/Silver Forms
Armen Nalbandyan—Gold Sparring/Silver Forms
Jalen Kirk—Gold Sparring/Bronze Forms
Eirean Arata—Gold Sparring/Gold Forms
Nelson Coop—Bronze Sparring/Silver Forms
Jacob Jellison—Gold Sparring/Bronze Forms
Zachary Krumroy—Bronze Sparring/Gold Forms
Evan Jean—Bronze Sparring/Bronze Forms
Daniel Rossovsky—Gold Sparring/Gold Forms

The facts come out - Martial Arts Makes Smarter Kids!

Get your children away from the TV - Martial Arts makes smarter brains

Want to raise healthy and smart children?

Then don't allow them to be couch potatoes. Martial Arts training, it turns out, does more than benefit the body and overall health -- Martial Arts builds smarter brains in youngsters, too.

That's the news from a study just published in the journal Brain Research. Scientists used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure the relative size of specific structures in the brains of 49 children, all of whom were 9 or 10 years old. The research team discovered that the hippocampus (part of the brain inside the temporal lobe that plays an important part in memory and learning) tended to be significantly larger in the kids who were in Martial Arts. What's more, the fit children performed better on a memory test than youngsters the same age who were not in Martial Arts."This is the first study I know of that has used MRI measures to look at differences in brains between kids who are in Martial Arts and kids who aren't fit. Beyond that, it relates those measures of brain structure to cognition," University of Illinois psychology professor and Beckman Institute director Art Kramer said in a statement to the media. Dr. Kramer headed the study along with doctoral student Laura Chaddock and kinesiology and community health professor Charles Hillman. The researchers zeroed in on the hippocampus because it has long been known this brain structure is intricately involved in both learning and memory and that a larger hippocampus is associated with better performance on spatial reasoning and other cognitive tasks. Moreover, previous research in older adults and animals has shown that exercise can increase the size of the hippocampus. For the new study, the University of Illinois scientists measured the children's physical fitness levels by seeing how efficiently the youngsters used oxygen while running on a treadmill. "The physically fit children were much more efficient than the less-fit children at utilizing oxygen," Dr. Kramer noted.When the researchers analyzed the MRI data on the young research subjects, they found the Martial Arts kids tended to have significantly larger hippocampal volume.

In fact, this part of the Martial Arts kids' brains was a whopping 12 percent bigger, relative to total brain size, than the hippocampus in non-Martial Arts kids.

What's more, the children who were in Martial Arts also scored higher on tests of relational memory (the ability to remember and integrate various types of information) than their less-fit peers."Martial Arts children had higher performance on the relational memory task, higher fit children had larger hippocampal volumes, and in general, children with larger hippocampal volumes had better relational memory," Dr. Chaddock concluded in the media statement."We knew that experience and environmental factors and socioeconomic status all impact brain development," Dr. Kramer added. "If you get some lousy genes from your parents, you can't really fix that, and it's not easy to do something about your economic status. But here's something that we can do something about."Bottom line: getting children out of the house and in Martial Arts could have an important effect on brain development and even intelligence.

Summary, if you want smarter kids then get them involved with Martial Arts. Call Seattle Tae Kwon Do at 425-775-0299 to register for a free month of training, plus uniform. Just see how smart your kids can get in one month!

Seattle Tae Kwon Do - 22803 44th Ave. West, Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043

www.seattletaekwondo.com

Warning Signs that a Child is Being Bullied

What is bullying?

Bullying among children is aggressive behavior that is intentional and that involves and imbalance of power or strength. Typically, it is repeated over time. Bullying can take many forms, such as hitting and .or punching (physical bullying); teasing or name-calling (verbal bullying); intimidation using gestures or social exclusion (nonverbal bullying or emotional bullying); and sending insulting messages by phone or computer email (cyber bullying).* Many children, particulary boys and older children, do not tell their parents or adults at school about being bulllied. It is important tha adults are vigilant to possible signs of bullying.

Warning signs

Possible warning signs that a child is being bullied:

• Comes home with torn, damaged, or missing pieces of clothing, books, or other belingings;


• Has unexplained cuts, bruises, and scratches;


• Has few, if any friends, with whom he or she spends time;


• Seems afraid of going to school, walking to and from school;


• Has lost interest in school work or suddenly begins to do poorly in school;


• Appears sad, moody, teary, or depressed when he or she comes home;


• Complains frequently of headaches, stomachaches, or other physical ailments;


• Has trouble sleeping or has frequent band dreams;


• Experiences a loss of appetite; or


• Appears anxious and suffers from low self-esteem.

What to do if you suspect that your child is being bullied?

1. Talk with your child. Tell your child that you are concerned and that you'd like to help. Here are some questions that can get the discussion going:

Some direct questions:

• "I'm worried about you. Are there any kids at school who may be picking on you or bullying you?"


• Are there any kids at school who tease you in a mean way?"


• "Are there any kids at school who leave you out or exclude you on purpose?"

Some subtle questions:

• "Do you have any special friends at school this year? Who are they? Who do you hang out with?"


• "Who do you sit with at lunch and on the bus?"


• "are there any kids at school who you really don't like? Why don't you like them? Do they ever pick on you or leave you out of things?"

2. Talk with staff at your child's school. Call or set up an appointment to talk with your child's teacher. He or she will probably be in the best position to understand the relationships between your child and other peers at school. Share your concerns about your child and ask the teacher such questions as:

• "How does my child get along with other students in his or her class?"


• "With whom does he or she spend free time?"


• "Have you noticed or have youever suspected that my child is bullied by other students?" Give examples of some ways that children can be bullied to be sure that the teacher is not focusing only on one kind of bullying (such as physical bullying).

Ask the teacher to talk with other adults who interact with your child at school (such as the music teacher, physical education teacher, or bus driver) to see whether they have observed students bullying your child.

If you are not comfortable talking with your child's teacher, or if you are not satisfied with the conversation, make an appointment to meet with your child's guidance counselor or principal to discuss your concerns.

If you obtain information from your child or from staff at your child's school that leads you to believe that he or she is being bullied, take quick action. Bullying can have serious effects on children.

If, after talking with your child and staff at his or her school, you don't suspect that yur child is being bullied, stay vigilant to other possible problems that your child may be having. Some of the warning signs above (e.g., depression, social isolation, and loss of interest in school) may be signs of other serious problems. Share your concerns with a counselor at your child's school.

Community Service - Identity Theft Workshop

Seattle Tae Kwon Do in Mountlake Terrace in conjunction with the Seattle Chapter of the FBI Citizens' Academy Alumni Association Present:

IDENTITY THEFT:

How to help keep your identity and finances safe

"According the FBI statistics, identity theft is currently our nation's fastest growing crime."

What is identity theft?
Identity theft occurs when someon uses the personal inforatmion of aonter (i.e., name, date of birth, social security number, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, etc.), fraudulently and without permission. Criminals usually do this to obtain money or goods and services, but identity theft also involves obtaining false drivers' licenses, birth certificates, social security numbers.

How can you safe guard yourself and your family?

Attend a Free, Community Service "Identity Theft" Presentation.

When: Sat., Oct. 23, 2010 from 1:00pm to 2:30pm

Where: Seattle Tae Kwon Do, 22803 44th Ave. West, Mountlake Terrace, WA.
For directions call 425-775-0299

Amazing Knockout