Making Good Choices takes
Practice and Courage
by Sifu Mark Moy
“Whether you like it
or not, your child will make all of the Big Decisions in
their life when you’re not around. So, the only hope is
to teach them how to make good decisions."
Mac Bledsoe
(Parenting with Dignity)
How do you raise a happy,
healthy and confident child; a child that has the skills
and personal strengths to become a successful teen and
adult?
Successful people have
several traits in common.
They are emotionally mature, self-reliant and accept
responsibility for their actions. They set goals and
are disciplined enough to achieve them. They understand
the importance of personal integrity and quality
relationships.
At Moy’s Kung Fu & Tai Chi
Academy we believe that a truly successful person also
has a strong character ethic.
Who we are on the
inside – our character, determines what we do on the
outside – our behavior and actions.
Our training program is
designed to reinforce the character virtues of honesty,
courtesy, self-control, loyalty, compassion and courage.
Unfortunately, many people
put Martial Arts into the same category as sports like
soccer, baseball or basketball. The only similarity is
that they are all physical activities. In reality, the
physical training in Kung-Fu encompasses only 10% of the
program.
No one sits on the
bench at Moy’s Kung Fu Academy.
Playing sports will train
the physical body but generally lacks the character
building and moral training that are necessary for kids
to withstand the pressures, influences and temptations
of today’s society.
Sports rarely help the
victims of today, who grow into the under-achievers or
dysfunctional adults of tomorrow. How many stories have
you heard of people “blaming” their upbringing, other
people, or their circumstances on why their life is out
of control? How many intelligent, well-educated adults
do you know that are miserable?
Child psychologists say
that there is a small “window of opportunity” to plant
seeds of values, virtues, and personal discipline in our
children. If our children learn how to be
self-disciplined when they are young, they’ll have a
greater chance of success in their adult life.
A strong character ethic
will enable them to recover from the disappointments of
life and to overcome obstacles with grace and poise.
To make the most of this
training program:
-
Talk to your child and
help them set tangible goals.
-
Give them their own
calendar, note special events on it and have them
mark off each class they attend.
-
Let your child know
that you don’t consider Kung-Fu a sport.
Occasionally take the time to watch a class; one
class every other week is a good average.
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