Black Belt Secret

Posted By Rob Redmond On October 4, 2006 @ 4:00 am In Instructor Training

In the recent podcast on [1] How to Coach for Karate Tests, I gave a seven step model to follow for instructors who are preparing their students to take examinations as far as years in advance. The steps I gave to follow were: (1) Set goals, (2) Assess Skills, (3) Build Consensus, (4) Give Feedback, (5) Stop at three, (6) Follow Up, (7) Rinse, lather, repeat. In the podcast, I pointed out that the fourth step, giving feedback, was a very powerful tool in itself, so I thought it would be useful to cover it further.

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Posted By Rob Redmond On October 5, 2006 @ 4:00 am In Instructor Training

As a Karate instructor, your #1 job is to help your students succeed in their Karate training. If you have students who are not successful at Karate, one of two things is happening: either they are not trying, or you are not doing everything you can to help them. As an instructor myself, let me go ahead and admit that I too have had Karate students who didn’t try. They showed up once every three weeks, they didn’t practice at home, and they were in such poor athletic condition I was surprised that participating in classes didn’t kill them.

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One of the concepts I have challenged the karate community on repeatedly in my many writings has always been what I feel is a passive approach to personal growth and self-improvement. Without defining what character is, without taking a benchmark of individual good and bad qualities, without setting out a plan for what to do about each of those bad qualities and how to emphasize those good qualities, karate instructors proudly strut around claiming that karate builds character and changes the participant for the better.
I do not believe that.

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Choose one of two ways to get off to a great start.

The first is to dive in; tackling whatever is in front of you. You might check your emails. This is an interesting beginning as it is always possible something fun and new came in since you last looked.

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The word “university” would seem to imply the universe, infinity, no limitations. The reality of today’s universities is quite different.

Limitations of the Traditional System

University today is an institution with severe limitations. There are limitations on who gets in, limitations on who is teaching courses, limitations on what courses are offered, limitations on which courses you can enroll in, limitations on when courses are offered and on and on.

What’s more, universities are tremendously expensive. The average cost in North America is in excess of $25,000 per year per student, or around $5,000 for an 8 month course of study in one subject. In Canada, for example, 6.1% of GDP is spent on “higher education”.

The Potential of Online Education

The Internet is a much more promising model. The possible methods of delivery of educational content include video, audio, text, web conferences, blogs, podcasts, forums, and other forms of interactive learning.

Face to face meetings can also be efficiently organized through the web. Age, nationality and language need not restrict this interaction. And the web is accessible 24/7, 12 months of the year, and anyone can access the Internet from anywhere.

Professors, experts, coaches, and facilitators who make their skills and knowledge available on the Internet can choose what to charge, how to charge, or what to make available free of charge. The cost of these services will certainly be much less than the cost of courses at a university.

Interactive functionality and methods of searching for, storing and then reviewing bits of knowledge can make this environment a more effective learning space than the University lecture hall.

If the Internet takes a larger and larger share of education space, governments and other third party funders may well pay for some or most of these costs, just as they do for established educational institutions today. And the cost will be much lower, and the reach much broader, than the model of maintaining students at college.

Self Motivated Learning

The argument against “e-learning” is that learners soon lose motivation. However, e-learning methodology is improving just as a new generation of learners is more comfortable connected electronically than sitting in a class room.

What is more, we are not talking about elementary school children here. The mature life-long learner, whether 18 or 80, should be interested in what he or she is learning or else do something else. I know a large company in France that will pay for formal language classes for its employees, only if the employee spends 6 months on an inexpensive self-study program.

In other words, why should they pay for a learner who is not motivated. The same question needs to be asked by third party funders of college students, namely parents, tax-payers, foundations, alumni, corporations etc..

But there is another piece which will go a long way to help with motivation, accreditation or evaluation; the ticket that everyone goes to university to get.

Independent Evaluation

Society (and the learner) needs that “proof” of what the student really knows. I foresee an evaluation system developing via the web that will be independent of the providers of educational content.

These independent evaluators can include private coaches, or organizations administering various forms of essay and test correction. Test results, and correctors’ and coaches’ comments, can accumulate on a digital education profile (or portfolio) of the learner’s activities, which would also include records of written and oral presentations.

Details such as evaluation, verification and standards for the testers and coaches will have to be addressed. I am, however, confident that the economic cost and fairness of such a system would be superior to the university system that exists today.

Finally, if a truly universal “University” can be created on the web, this will provide peer inspired motivation. Perhaps we will achieve the vision of Ivan Illitch of world-wide, interlocking, learning “convivia “, communities of learning communities.

Steve Kaufmann is a former Canadian diplomat, who has had his own company in the international trade of forest products for over 20 years. Steve founded The Linguist Institute Ltd. in 2002 to develop a new approach to language learning using the web. The new LingQ system for learning multiple languages is now available in Beta. Steve speaks nine languages fluently and is currently learning Russian using LingQ. Steve maintains a blog on language learning.

The Renaissance was a defining period in history — a time when artistic, social, scientific, and political thought all turned in new directions.

The Renaissance (which is French for “Rebirth”) began in Florence, Italy in the late 13th century and continued until the 17th century, by which time it had spread to the rest of Italy and Europe.

The Renaissance spirit was one of rejuvenation, enthusiasm, and experimentation. It is perhaps in art that this bold new spirit reached its sharpest formulation, in particular in the works of geniuses such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.

Whilst the Renaissance is long gone, it is still possible to embrace its spirit. Indeed, you have probably heard a person referred to as either a “Renaissance man” or “Renaissance woman”. Here then are a selection of the most important characteristics of the Renaissance spirit, with some simple suggestions for how you can embrace it and suggestions for further reading.

Independent Thought

One of the most important ways in which the Renaissance spirit was expressed was by the intellectual movement called humanism. Previously, during the Middle Ages, scholars had been guided by the teachings of the church, and people had concerned themselves with actions leading to heavenly rewards. During the Renaissance, humanists broke free from the mental strictures imposed by the church, which lead to a spirit of free inquiry and a new confidence in the possibilities of human thought and creations.

In this modern age, you can exercise independent thought by questioning authority and putting yourself in a state of open-mindedness. For just one small example of how to think independently, I suggest you read Here’s a Tip: Start Thinking For Yourself.

Rediscovery of the Classics

Renaissance humanists returned to the writings of ancient Greece and Rome, known as the “classics.” Here they rediscovered writings on scientific matters, government, rhetoric, philosophy, and art. They were particularly influenced by the emphasis these writings placed on man, his intellect, and his life on Earth.

Apart from returning to the classics by the likes of Plato and Aristotle, you can capture the spirit of the Renaissance by reading the “modern classics”. If you would like some suggestions, I highly recommend reading 10 Ways to Improve Your Mind by Reading the Classics (in particular the comments from readers).

Passion for Learning

Invented in 1445 by Gutenberg, the printing press played a major part in the spread of the Renaissance spirit throughout Italy and Europe. Prior to this invention, literacy and books were the preserve of a tiny elite since making a book required great effort by hand and took a significant amount of time. The printing press changed everything, unleashing information to the masses and fostering improved literacy in the middle classes.

In many ways, the printing press had the same revolutionary affect that the internet has had on the Information Age. Today, we can embrace the Renaissance spirit by utilizing the vast information resources that now lie at our fingertips. For just one example of how you can do this, read How to Educate Your Online.

The Renaissance Ideal

The Renaissance Ideal can be understood as a person who was devoted to the development of his or her capacities to their full potential, both mentally and physically. Typically they were an accomplished athlete and could speak several languages, play a musical instrument, and write poetry, amongst other things.

Leonardo da Vinci is often described as the archetype of this Renaissance Ideal. Apart from being considered as one of the greatest painters of all time, Leonardo was an accomplished scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, architect, musician, poet, and writer.

You can pursue the Renaissance ideal by approaching life with a curious, creative, and determined attitude. Aim to excel in a number of intellectual fields, whilst keeping yourself in fantastic physical shape. If this sounds daunting, a great place to start is by reading How to Teach Yourself a Foreign Language and A Muscle Building Workout You Can Do Without Weights.

Peter completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Western Australia, where he majored in history. He writes about living a better life at his blog Iwillchangeyourlife.com.

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Recently I’ve been dealing with the issue of time scarcity. Between this site, my regular job, preparations for the CFA exam, and other projects, things get busier every day. I wouldn’t have it any other way, but in order to fit everything in, I’ve been searching for new ways to use time more efficiently.

Through reading books and articles, I’ve found a dozens of time management tips. Some have been more useful than others, but as I continue to think about it, I’ve realize that it comes down to one essential concept. If you can master this one time management tip, then all the others become trivial.

There is nothing secret or revolutionary here. It’s a basic economic principle that I’m betting you already know. In fact, it’s so simple that it’s tempting to ignore in favor of flashier alternatives.

Ready to hear it already? The ultimate time management tips is:

Cut off activities at the point of diminishing returns.

Simple isn’t it?

Problems with time management arise, not from the activities we choose, but from the amount of time we allocate to each activity. The activities that are essential to productivity are the same ones that leach away valuable time.

Consider the example of email. The first 15 minutes you spend reading and responding to email each day is by far the most productive. This is when you have a ton of incoming mail to process. You’re focused on getting through it all as quickly as possible by identifying the relevant parts of each message and sending quick replies.

But this level of efficiency isn’t sustainable. The longer you stay in that inbox, the lower the marginal returns on your time. After 15 minutes you might not have any important messages left, so you start spending more time on group email lists or casual conversations with friends. After half an hour, email has become a complete waste of time because you have nothing to do besides click “refresh” every 30 seconds.

Break down the productivity of any activity and you’ll find a similar distribution. The beginning brings in the big results until the peak is reached, followed by a sharp decline. The trick is cutting off each activity right after the peak and switching to something new, where high levels of efficiency are possible.

This easier said than done. It’s hard to spot the peak when you reach it, and moving seamlessly from one task to the next is a major obstacle. To improve your time management, focus primarily on two areas: experience and self discipline.

Experience

To apply the law of diminishing returns, you need to determine the point when returns start to decline. This depends on many factors. The only way to figure it out is through experience. This doesn’t come automatically. To find the “sweet spot” you’ll need to pay careful attention to your own work habits. How long can you stay productive? What activities do you like to drag out? Where can you salvage time?

By constantly asking yourself these questions, adjusting your behavior, and evaluating the results, you’ll be able to gradually optimize your work habits.

Self Discipline

The second cornerstone of time management is self discipline. You might be able to spot the perfect time to change activities, but if you don’t have the self discipline to make the move it doesn’t matter.

Developing self discipline takes time and practice.

The best way to improve is to impose time limits on yourself, then record and schedule them. If you only make a mental note, it’s easy to forget or ignore, but when you deliberately set alerts to remind yourself to change activities you solidify your commitment and make yourself accountable.

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John Lennon once sang “Imagine no possessions — I wonder if you can.” After I sold everything I owned and moved out of state, these lyrics represented nearly everyone I met.

“You sold everything you owned? That’s crazy. I could never do that.”

I used to feel the same way. Parting with personal belongings was difficult because I viewed an item’s price tag as a solid representation of its value. I often told myself things like:

I can’t afford to lose that, it’s a — $200 stereo, $500 television, $300 suit.

Incidentally, this materialistic mindset almost cost me my life.

It was the summer of 2000. High school was done. My friends and I celebrated our newfound freedom impractically: We used our savings to buy Jeeps, and then spent most of the summer off-roading. It was during one of our off-roading adventures when we discovered “Gravelly Run.”

Gravelly Run is a hidden water hole in the middle of the Pine Barrens. It served as an alternative to the beach when you wanted to go swimming with the added benefit of no parental supervision. For those who knew about it, Gravelly Run was a haven for teenage rebellion. It also sets the scene for my most notorious moment of indiscretion.

At the start of the summer, Gravelly Run was an ordinary water hole. By summer’s end, resourceful daredevils had transformed it into the most feature-rich water hole in South Jersey. Self-built add-ons appeared every time we went there: A rope swing was hung from a tall tree branch for killer cannonballs. Wooden platforms were attached to trees along the water’s edge for diving. A zip line suspended 30 feet in the air stretched between the opposing shores for a high-rise thrill.

For the uninformed, a zip line is a steel insulated cable with a trolley on it. The trolley has handlebars that you use to “zip” from one end of the cable to the other. Once we saw it, we immediately wanted to try it
out.

Unfortunately, whoever set up the zip line didn’t leave the trolley behind. Without it, the suspended cable loomed high above — clearly teasing us.

Determined to try out the latest addition to Gravelly Run, I improvised: I retrieved a tow rope from my Jeep. It was a 12 foot long piece of sturdy rope with metal hooks on both ends. Convinced this could work, I tucked it under my arm and ran back to the water’s edge.

I climbed the series of two-by-fours that had been nailed into the tree trunk until I reached the zip line. The treetop swayed easily in the summer breeze with me perched in it. Fearlessly, I latched the two
metal hooks onto the insulated steel cable, then planted my bare feet into the center of the “U” I created with the rope. Holding the rope near the hooks, I adjusted my weight from the tree limb to the tow rope
– and committed myself to the ride.

I quickly learned that a tow rope is a poor choice of vessel for crossing a zip line. My weight caused the hooks to dig into the cable insulation. Consequently, the insulation stripped off as I slid down
the cable. It bunched up around the metal hooks in a mess of clear plastic as it peeled.

Eventually, I found myself stranded high above the center of the water pit. The stripped insulation had bunched up to the point where the metal hooks slid no further. I lost my balance and fell 30 feet into
the water below. My tow rope remained firmly embedded in the cable.

I swam ashore, looked at the mess I created, and frowned. Half of the zip line was bare steel cable, half of it was still insulated, and smack in the center was a big knot of plastic that held my tow rope hostage.
I instinctually thought: I can’t afford to lose that, it’s a $50 tow rope.

With this thought, I caused myself to do the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life: I attempted to retrieve my tow rope using a makeshift harness made out of towels.

The idea seemed logical when I first imagined it. It seemed logical as I swam to the other side of the water pit holding the towels above my head. It still seemed logical as I climbed the tree with the two towels slung around my neck. It even seemed doable as I sat perched in the tree and tied the towels to the cable.

“Just like in the Cliffhanger movie,” I thought. I foresaw myself sliding along the cable with profound ease while being suspended upside down in the harness. I foresaw everyone on the shore clapping and cheering as I dislodged the tow rope. I did not foresee — or even consider the possibility of — falling 30 feet to my death.

I completed the harness. One towel was wrapped around my back, the other was under my butt. The idea was that the towels would support me as I laid in a horizontal position, and I could wriggle along the cable easily.

The reality, however, was that I wriggled only five feet from the treetop without incident. I gasped in fright when the towel that was previously supporting my butt slipped under my knees. My legs clenched
around the towel hard, and suddenly I understood what might happen if I fell this close to the shore.

I tried to scoot back into the lower towel, but only managed to bunch the higher towel tight beneath my armpits. I heard my friends shout things from the shore as I stared at the sky feeling trapped.

If I had been given more time, I may have thought of trying to return to the tree. My ability to make choices ceased, however, when the knot in the towel supporting my torso untied.

With nothing supporting my torso, I toppled backwards out of the harness. I struck several tree branches during my 30 foot descent and landed in shallow water belly-up. My butt struck the floor hard.

“Are you okay!?” someone from the opposite shore shouted. I waved my arm to signal that I was unharmed, although I hadn’t really assessed whether I was or not. My back hurt, my butt hurt, and I was unable to speak — I was in shock.

If I had landed on the shore, I would have broken bones. If I had landed head first, I would have been paralyzed. If I had landed head first on the shore, I would have died.

Luckily, the worst injuries I received from the fall were a scraped-up back and a bruised butt. More interestingly, I left Gravelly Run that day having learned an important lesson: Life is more valuable than things.

Looking back on that day, I see two things being put on a scale: a tow rope and a human being. One of those things can be replaced for a mere $50. The other, on the other hand, is irreplaceable. From this perspective, it’s easy to tell which is worth more.

Don’t risk your life the way I did in order to learn this lesson. Know that it’s not possible to put a price on the human experience — it’s simply too valuable. When you find yourself facing a choice that could endanger your life, remember to ask yourself: How much is your life worth?

Shaun Boyd is a former computer guy who has reinvented himself as a writer. You can read more of his works at LifeReboot.com.

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Are you writing the story of your life, or are you letting other people and circumstances write it for you? You might not consider yourself a follower, but here are a few signs you aren’t in control:

You don’t like your job - Maybe you picked something because it was easier or safer than your ideal career. Worse, maybe you’re just doing what your family pressured you to do.

You’re living paycheck to paycheck - The problem usually isn’t money, but your priorities. It isn’t hard for the stuff you own to turn around and own you.

You feel obligated to do things you don’t want to do. Your first duty is to yourself. You can’t save the world while you’re miserable.

Leading your life isn’t easy. It means freeing yourself from many different assumptions. That freedom can be initially terrifying and painful, which is why so few people do it. It is far easier to just follow the assumptions of society, even if it leaves you unfulfilled.

Here are 7 rules that can help you start building a life worth living:

Rule One: Never let another person dictate the terms for living your life.

Not your parents. Not your spouse. Not your kids. Leading your life means you can accept the input of other people, but the final decision is yours. This means that career choice, relationships, beliefs and way of life are to be judged by you, not anyone else.

This rule holds especially when you have doubts. Don’t let your moment of doubt become a weakness to be exploited by others. Not sure what you want to do with your life? Don’t sit passively and let other people decide for you.

Rule Two: Don’t allow yourself to be chained by consumerism.

The world is filled with stuff. Don’t let stuff get in the way of what is important. When you become chained to your stuff, you are no longer leading your life. Ask yourself: if you had to give up 90% of your net worth tomorrow to pursue your dream, could you do it effortlessly? If you hesitated, perhaps your ability to lead your own life has been weakened by your attachment to stuff.

Rule Three: Rule money. Don’t let money rule you.

Money is a resource that can be applied when leading your life. You can use it to reduce discomforts, focus on meaningful work and apply it to help you learn and improve. But if you’re living paycheck to paycheck, the money is in control.

Here are some goals to put yourself in a position to rule the money in your life:

• Maintain one year of emergency funds in the bank.
• Your lifestyle should expand at a slower rate than your income grows.
• Be able to drastically reduce your expenditures if needed.

Financial freedom doesn’t mean the ability to buy everything you could desire or live in luxury. It means that money becomes a tool and not a distraction in leading your life.

Rule Four: You come first in relationships.

Do you know people that can’t stand being single? They get out of one bad relationship only to jump into the next.

Why? Because they put too much of their needs dependent on that other person. Without emotional and possibly financial support, they can’t survive.

In any relationship you need to be the person that comes first. That means that while you might enjoy the relationship, it doesn’t become the major purpose in your life.

Your purpose and leading your life must come before any relationship you enter. The surprising fact is that when you do this, you are able to have healthier personal and intimate relationships because there is no need for jealousy or possession.

Rule Five: Never outsource your thinking.

“You can split up food between men, but each man must digest it individually.” - Howard Roark in The Fountainhead.

Leading your own life means leading your own beliefs. It means never accepting anything unless you can filter it through your reasoning and find it to be true. Think critically about everything in life. Chances are there are a lot of indigested thoughts floating around trying to bypass your mind and go straight to your gut.

Rule Six: Anything you lack can be trained.

Never accept a fatalistic view of life. So you’ve been told you lack the intelligence, willpower, strength or charisma to do something? Ignore them. So you’ve told yourself that you lack the talent? Ignore yourself.

Begin with the assumption that anything can be trained and you’ll find few exceptions. I used to be a shy, introverted kid. Recently some friends described me as an extreme extrovert, being unafraid to meet new people and having honed my abilities to speak in front of crowds. Begin with the belief that you have no idea where your talents are until you train them.

Rule Seven: Purpose comes from your creative faculties.

Want to know what your purpose in life is? Simple. Hold your hands in front of you. Now look at them. There is your purpose and means to do it.

Purpose is your ability to take the creative energies you have and communicating them with the world. You and I might pick different mediums, but the act of purpose is exactly the same. You could be a manager crafting the art of dealing with people, a programmer crafting the knowledge of algorithms or an entrepreneur crafting the art of a business.

Don’t worry if you haven’t found the right medium. Once you feel that great purpose for your life and it comes from within, that is your greatest asset. With that belief you are the leader of your own life.

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Don’t you hate being pressured into doing things you don’t want to do?

Savvy influencers like pushy sales people, aggressive colleagues, and annoying neighbors have a knack for pressing the buttons that make it difficult to say no.

To help combat these advances, Stanford Professor of Psychology Phil Zimbardo has put together a list of 20 hints to help you resist unwanted influences.

Particularly handy is this suggested counter-move, for when they try to use the rule book against you:

Rules are abstractions for controlling behavior and eliciting compliance and conformity — challenge them when necessary: ask, who made the rule? What purpose does it serve? Who maintains it? Does it make sense in this specific situation? What happens if you violate it? Insist that the rule be made explicit, so it cannot be modified and altered over time to suit the influence agent.

20 Hints for Resisting Unwanted Influences [The Lucifer Effect]

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