Proactive Martial Arts Christchurch

Cup half empty or half full

2011-03-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

Well like most people in Christchurch I have been hard at work trying to get some normality and routine back. One thing that I have been noticing over the last couple of weeks is people’s reaction to the destruction that has happened from the earthquake. I have come across people making comments about how much damage has been done and how bad everything is.

Then I come across people who say isn’t it fantastic how much of the city has survived after such a horrific event.

I personally like to focus on how well some people have bounced back or those that have not been able to bounce back, but are keeping a positive attitude to the situation. It takes much more strength and courage to be positive in a bad situation than it does when everything is going well and once again this is when people true personalities stand out.

Ethics

2011-03-10T08:48:00.000-08:00

I must say I have seen the best and the worst in people over these stress full times. You also find out who your friends really are. I must say, I have even had some surprises myself like many other people.

I feel it is times like these though that presents the most opportunities because change is a fact of life now, and you will get the opportunity to make important decisions that will affect the rest of your life. The thing for most people is how do I know what direction to go.

To me that’s easy, you take the road that is most ethically and morally correct. You are going to find some people don’t care about that sort of thing, but at the end of the day what goes round comes round.

I love or city and our community and as we rebuild these will be exciting times as the people bond together to help each other. It is fantastic to see so many people coming together in support of each other and it is important for our future that we don’t forget or lose this connection.

Christchurch Earthquake

2011-02-28T10:33:00.000-08:00

It’s been a challenging week for all of us in with the and has been interesting observing how people react to the pressure of it all. I must say those that can get back to doing what they would normally do even if it’s just some sport or catching up with friends seem to handle the pressure allot better than those that just stick to themselves and don’t get out.

Even though I got a bit of a hard time from different people for opening so soon after the earthquake I knew it was the correct thing to do as the building was safe and by the number of students on the floor at the classes.

You know it’s so easy to get side tracked by different things and all though this is a terrible tragedy life must still go on and the way to do that is to go back and recheck your goals, make sure your actions are on target and move on.

See you at training!

P.S. If anybody needs a hand Proactive has allot of man power so just let me know!

Natural Talent

2011-02-15T10:47:00.000-08:00

It’s so easy for so many people to assume that someone is naturally talented at something when you see somebody doing something so easily. From my experience in the martial arts most natural talent comes from hard work and a high work ethic. It’s important if you want to move ahead to do a bit of training in your own time. 10 minutes extra everyday over a year makes a huge difference. Some of the most talented fighters at Proactive might do a couple of extra hours a day.

Keeping the balance

2011-02-08T03:10:00.000-08:00

As much as I enjoy my training and martial arts, I also have many other interests outside of martial arts. Reading, hunting, socialising with friends, inventing gadgets etc. I feel it’s important not to become to one dimensional as to much of anything whether it is good or bad so to speak of, is not a good or healthy thing.

Yes you need to be focused and committed to succeed in any endeavour but there’s a fine line between compulsive and addictive behaviour and leading a healthy balanced life style. To a certain degree we are all different but when friends or family are affected by our action it is time to take a look at ourselves to weight up what’s most important in our lives, as we are not here for that longer time. If in doubt, family and friends should always come first.

Have you got a plan?

2011-02-05T18:05:00.000-08:00

It’s interesting at this time of year to see so many people back into training more than 6 to 8 classes a week. It will be interesting to see who is still doing that in June. I personally after a long break like Christmas from full on training, believe like anything you should have a plan to slowly get back up to speed to minimise burn out or the chance of injury. The last week of January I was up to 5 full on sessions in that week. By the end of Feb I will be up 8 full on sessions in the last week. I would rather take my time and be consistent than over doing it too early and having to stop. By midyear I will be at my limit of around 10 to 12 sessions a week.

Gliding

2011-01-31T20:16:00.000-08:00

I have set a plan this year to try many new things. I have always wanted to try gliding. So while on my way to good friends wedding Ian and Amanda in the weekend at Wanaka I took the opportunity to try it out. I must say it’s fantastic and worth doing especially things like loops and stalls.

Diary

2011-01-22T10:47:00.000-08:00

If it’s worth spending your valuable time doing something, it’s worth recording it. I always keep a training log of my own training whether it is at the gym for cardio or weight training or martial arts training. I have log books back now 25 years from my gym and ZDK training sessions. These things come in handy not just for historical reasons but also at times for motivation and problem solving. I also log things like injuries and how I was healed so I can pass on advice and recommendations. Its funny how we spend years at school writing things down to help us remember and learn, yet most people stop that once they leave school. I personally believe it’s not so much what you learn at school that is important, but the process of learning itself.

2011

2011-01-16T17:43:00.000-08:00

I am going to endeavor to blog consistently in 2011 to keep students and those interested on what is going on and what I am up to. Being a book worm from completing my first Dan reading requirements I have been reading ever since, probably explains why half our house looks like a library. Any way I have just finished a book called EVERY BASTARD SAYS NO. A awesome autobiography about the 42 below story. For those that have not heard of it before it’s from the founder of the Vodka company 42 Below. Very inspirational.

July news

2010-07-17T13:13:00.000-07:00

Wow how time flies when you’re having fun. While I was in Thailand last month Jacque and Allister managed to find another hall which would give them the flexibility to be able to grow and improve the Papanui club. It’s fantastic to announce after many weeks of hard work they have opened the new club. Well done guys. This going to be a big step forward for Proactive as a whole and it’s going to fun and exciting as we which it grow.We are also planning some exciting improvements to the Riccarton club in a few weeks time with an expansion to the gym of which you might have already noticed some changes with new equipment arriving this week. We are working towards a new floor lay out to provide more floor space and make room for more punch bags and chin up bars etc. We are planning a working bee in August with a social afterwards to achieve a couple of these goals with the challenging part being the moving of the ring.

May & June

2010-05-24T22:56:00.000-07:00

May & June are going to very busy months from now on with half a dozen gradings on, travel to Australia and Thailand and then a host of seminars lined up as well. Please if you have questions, orders etc please get in early or phone directly to the Proactive office 3434001 as their might be some delays as I am only going to be in Christchurch for the occasional day or two from now on till 5th July.

News 2010

2010-03-09T02:39:00.000-08:00

Wow this year has been flying by and we are almost a quarter of the way through it all ready. Splitting up the kickboxing class to 3 levels is really paying off now with a more manageable level of students in each class at Riccarton.
You would have noticed the start of a new set up at the front door, which will be complete by next week, and we have some major refurbishment of the changing rooms happening this month as well.
It’s fantastic to see so many new students using the gym and with such growth we are already looking at expanding into a larger premises around the middle of this year.
We have also had our first seminar for the year with Mat Reid on Thai Boxing and are looking at another 4 seminars through out the year so keep an eye out. We also have our first fight night coming up on the 24th April, which will be hosted by Fight Entertainment Ltd. You will notice a huge improvement with these fight nights as we take the next step forward in promoting. We also have some very exciting news on this front but it will have to wait a little longer before I announce it as we finalize the last of the details.

Club Carnage 4 2009

2010-01-04T09:42:00.000-08:00

Club carnage 4 had to be the best fight night yet with skill level improving another step up again. You can notice with any of the fighters that have fought 2 or 3 times now that they are starting to be able to apply strategy to there fight, and the level of fitness is improving every time as well making for a more active fight in all rounds. We have some big plans for the fight nights and for some of the fighters in 2010. Also keep an eye out for Thai boxing seminars this year as we are planning on having a few of them.

Self Defence Courses

2009-10-10T00:56:00.000-07:00

With the upsurge in Self Defence courses being asked of me over the last few months I thought I would put a bit of info up here about Proactive Self- Defence Courses.
Participating in a course like this is like insurance. You hope you don’t have to use it but if you need to, it’s good to have the confidence and the skills to know what to do.
Now it’s important to understand the difference between sports martial arts and self-defence, which seems to get a lot of people confused. Just because you train in some form of martial art say Thai Boxing, Karate, etc does not mean you have the best skills to defend yourself in a realistic street confrontation. You need to remember street self-defence does not have rules, and skills required are very different than those of a sporting martial art in a lot of cases.
Yes some of the principles my be the same in certain circumstances like hit First - Fast - Hard. But if your were to do that say with a common punch then there is a good chance you are going to break knuckles or bones in your hand. This to me seems very counter productive when you are trying to stop yourself from being hurt in the first place. The self-defence courses I am now running are all about getting out of situations with the least possible chance of being hurt yourself, and doing what ever it takes to achieve that. These courses come in 3 levels so anybody doing a level one course won’t be put out of their comfort zone. Where as a level three course you get to try your skills on somebody fully suited up with an adrenaline dump. We run courses for all levels.

Class fitness level

2009-09-22T14:38:00.000-07:00

I have heard over the last few weeks of several students finding some of the classes to hard. It’s important to train to your own level and not to others. You need to gauge yourself by past experience not the person beside you. Several different factors need to be taken into consideration when you’re training eg, age, experience, motivation, injuries etc. So to get the most out of your class set realistic goals based on you’re past ability and results. Not the person beside you or other class mates. :)

Fitness

2009-06-06T15:20:00.000-07:00

It was fantastic to see so many students at Richards first fitness class yesterday and not just those fighting in the up coming fight night. Having a strong core fitness is not just good for your health but for all your martial arts skills. Even as we all get older I believe that we do need to push ourselves just that little bit more so we can keep moving forward physically. If you have never done one of these courses you have know idea just how beneficial they are for you and strongly recommend you give one a go. This one is sold out but keep an eye out in August for the next one.

Basics

2009-05-17T22:28:00.000-07:00

Everybody knows that you can’t build anything of substance without a good foundation or good basics. Most students look at higher ranks and their skills and just want to learn the advanced skills without realizing that what makes those skills work so well is the fact that they have such a high level of basics. The challenge that most students come across is the boredom factor and after repeating something two or three times they think they know it.
The real trick here for the teacher or some times the student is to break down the skill into small parts so that when you are drilling it you can repeat the same skill numerous times but work on a different component of the skill. I find this really helps with enthusiasm and helps keep the passion alive with your training.

News

2009-05-16T21:41:00.000-07:00

So much for posting on a regular bases!
As many people would have noticed this year already we have had substantial improvements to the Riccarton Club as well as more classes added. I am currently working on four more classes to be added in on Saturdays as well as a couple more during the week.
I am also working on two new private lesson rooms for those students who wish for one on one tuition. The first room will be operational in mid June.Remember to keep an eye on the notice board at Riccarton for up coming events.

2008-12-11T10:09:00.000-08:00

We have finally got the new offices up and running at Riccarton. We are upstairs past the training hall main doors. The left office is admin and boardroom the right office is instructor’s office and teaching room. As of 2009 and we will be holding regular training courses upstairs for instructors. We also have a new admin phone number Ph 3434-001

Thailand

2008-12-03T07:59:00.000-08:00

Well all is looking good for Thailand now with 15 of us heading over in a couple of weeks. We will also have a few fighting this time as well. This is a fantastic opportunity to up skill and have a holiday all at the same time. I recommend it to any martial arts enthusiast. We have made this part of a yearly thing now and have already had enquiries for the 2010 trip. It fantastic to see so many committed students to their training.

Moving forward in 08

2008-12-01T14:43:00.000-08:00

So much has happened this year it has been challenging to keep up. The introduction of several new classes and systems. We have taken on more space at the Riccarton Club on permeant bases for all our new equipment. We have just this week opened a new Proactive office at the Riccarton Club upstairs from the training hall. This is to just name a few things on the go, not to mention things like our first fight night that went off so well. I must take this opportunity to thank all those involved in the progression off the club as it has been a huge under taking with the leap forward the club has gone under this year.
Now we have our new office with new PC’s etc I can now get time to get back to posting on a regular bases. We have several new things happening that I will full you in on as they come to hand.Good luck to everybody grading this Saturday.

Positive decision-making

2008-08-17T09:12:00.000-07:00

We all know that bad news sells better than good news, which is a shame really. After reading a paper this weekend you would think that the majority of the population were bad people and were out to hurt each other. I personally believe that 99.9% of people are good people but some times in the heat of the moment might make a bad decision. I’m sure even that decision made at the time had for the best intentions but unfortunately may be not the best out come resulted from it. Things like pear pressure etc, as you know can make you do things you would not normally do in the heat of the moment. I now always ask myself how would I feel on the receiving end of an action and if I’m with a group would I do the same thing if I were on my own. At the end of the day now I have found through asking these simple questions to myself I get a gut feeling on what the answer is any way even before asking. One bad decision can influence you for a lifetime.

Stretching

2008-08-16T13:25:00.000-07:00

I had a student ask me today why we spend so much time on stretching and wouldn’t the time be better spent on learning self-defence skills. My answer was well you are learning self-defence; one of the meanings of the word is to guard or protect. For most law abiding citizens you have a greater chance of getting injured from a muscle strain or full due to the lack of flexibility than you do getting attacked in the street. Now everything I do as far as training goes I ask myself this question. Will I still be able to do this skill when I am 95? And will it improve me as a martial artist and assist me in my every day life. One of my mentors once told me make sure which ever arts you decide to study make sure that it has a majority of healthy mature instructors as we all get old and you need to make sure you follow the correct teachers. The second thing was stretch every day, which I do first thing in the morning.

Improvement

2008-08-14T12:25:00.000-07:00

I personally find it important to myself that everything I do is better today than it was yesterday. By that I mean constantly improving. I believe that by improving something by just one or two percent each time that over a period of a year it equals up to massive improvement.
That is why my own training programme is always under review and I am always open enough to try something new. That is also why every week something is being worked on at the club. It might be newly painted walls, updating heaters, new equipment, etc etc. Know matter what it is I believe everything can be improved.
As the old saying goes.Happy but not satisfied.

New Classes

2008-07-26T15:22:00.000-07:00

Make sure you are training correctly for the result you are after. It’s no good going to Thai class if you want to become competent on the ground or Vis versa. The reason we have so many systems is so that you can get more precise with your training to be able to get out of it what your after. This will be very important, as we get ready to launch several new classes over the coming months, which are going to be very specific towards your needs. I will be starting to use the Blog to explain a bit on what is going on in different classes as well as personal thoughts.

Time management

2008-06-01T02:39:00.000-07:00

Time management has to be one of my most important parts to training now. I find that I have to live with my diary to complete tasks I wish to accomplish. With the growth of the clubs and the challenges that it brings I was finding I was running from one situation to the next and missing a few. So I did my favourite thing and bought some books to read up on the subject. After reading up on all these fancy and confusing skills to supposably make me more efficient, I just went and used common sense and I find it works great.

1. Get a diary.
2. Plan my week out in advance.
3. Before leaving anywhere check my diary first.
4. Up date it straight away if anything changes.

Simple really

Tall poppy syndrome

2008-05-24T21:53:00.000-07:00

I was talking with an associate today when the topic of tall poppy syndrome came up. It got me thinking about things I have noticed on my travels over seas and the way different cultures react to success and how it relates to martial arts training. Unfortunately a few people don’t like to see other people succeed and if they do succeed their emotions go to one of jealousy and then their actions tend to turn negatively towards the person. But I believe when this happens you are only hurting yourself as you are only attracting like behaviours and people with the same attitude.In our training it is important to genuinely congratulate people who have done well for themselves, as they are leading the way for us all to get better and with out them it is to easy to stagnate. :)

Update

2008-05-23T05:49:00.000-07:00

Wow – It’s been a while since I last got on the blog. We have been full on with the growth of the clubs and just the general day-to-day running of things. But I hope to have a bit of time to start blogging again now that we have got two more staff members on board to help out as of this month, which should free up a bit of time over the coming weeks. We also have some very exciting news about developments at our Riccarton Club. I am just waiting on final reports before I say anything more.Also after getting back from Sydney it has been taking some time to digest all the information from the weekend. Let alone everything I went over on Monday’s training sessions. All this fantastic information has really got the brain going into over drive, which is probably why I’m writing at 1am. :)

Use it or lose it

2008-03-03T00:44:00.001-08:00

It’s amazing how many people are not as agile or flexible etc as they use to be. By keeping up with your training and by training in some cases with younger ones it keeps you alert and alive. You don’t have to lose all those skill you had when you were a child of being able to jump, roll, flip etc it’s just a matter of keeping them up. Unfortunately as we get older most of us conform to society rules of how we should behave at a certain age. This is why I enjoy teaching younger students. It gives me the opportunity to practise my flips, rolls flying kicks etc and this helps keep me young at heart. I plan on still doing all these things in my 90s.

Communication & selfdefence

2008-03-02T00:23:00.000-08:00

So many people join martial arts or kickboxing or the likes to learn self-defence but in many cases do not learn one of the most important parts to self-defence. It’s all well and good to train like we do with improving on what ever art we have decided to follow, but you shouldn’t fool yourself to what self-defence is all about. (Being prepared). To those with limited knowledge one would assume it was only about the physical confrontation that they had to master to look after themselves, and to a certain degree this is true. But something that I have had a huge interested in now for many years is body language. Take time out to learn a little about this subject and you can save yourself the hassle in many cases even before it begins. Another topic that is just as vital in self-defence would have to be verbal communication. I little work in these two areas and you can save yourself a whole lot of trouble. You will also find that these two areas merge into one and from my experience good martial artists are good in these areas as well.

Myths on exercise

2008-02-29T09:35:00.000-08:00

The Number One Exercise Myth: Exercising hurts.
The Truth About Movement: Healthy movement is comfortable and can help to prevent, not cause, pain.
The Number Two-Exercise Myth: Exercise takes hours, and you have to work out every day to get or stay in shape.
The Truth About Movement: When done properly and at the right intensity, aerobic movement can be effective in as little as 10-15 minutes, and resistance movement can be effective in an even shorter time (2-3 minutes). Exercising the right way three to four days a week will notably improve your health and fitness levels.
The Number Three-Exercise Myth: Exercise is for young people, healthy people and muscle heads named "Arnold"
The Truth About Movement: A movement program is essential for every kind or type of person. Not only can regular movements be performed at any age, a steady program can even slow down or reverse the aging process.
The Number Four-Exercise Myth: Exercise is for people who want big muscles or want to look good in a Speedo or bikini.The Final Truth About Movement: Movement is for survival.

Repetitive drilling

2008-02-20T08:57:00.000-08:00

Repetitive drilling
After being asked why drill so much of the something when I could just go to the gym and get strong and achieve the same outcome. This might be true in the beginning, but it’s important to drill a new skill to get down the correct moves, angles, timing etc. Once you have something down correct it does not take strength to make it work or very little of it. As they say there are only two guarantees in life, death and taxes and the first one requires you to get older on the way. As this happens you start to loss your strength eventually, and now if you want that same technique to work you need skill. Anyway what’s the point in learning something that you can only use while you are young?

2008 here already

2008-01-26T16:33:00.000-08:00

This year has started off running at full speed with the first couple of weeks in Thailand and then getting ready for an expansion of more classes, but I have still found time to read and study DVD’s. The latest one called The Elegant Universe is a very interesting watch by Brian Greene.

Reading

2007-12-01T10:15:00.000-08:00

So much for posting more often. But I can say I have almost finished all the books that Dan Millman has put out. They certainly make you think. I am now finding that the more I read, the more one book opens up to more books on similar subjects which inturn means more reading, a bit like training I guess. Although just like training you get better at it, so at least now it only takes a day or two to read a book.

Need more time

2007-11-15T11:24:00.000-08:00

Wow things just seem to get busier with the taking over of the new full time facility at Riccarton. I haven’t had a lot of time to post or even get on the web site. It’s only because today is a holiday that I have found time to post here now. Our Melbourne trip a couple of weeks ago was great to catch up with so many different martial arts styles and there organisations to get ideas on how we will build up our new full time club, and I have only just finished going over all the information from that trip.
One of the things to come out of it is we are looking at launching some new styles of martial arts next year at Riccarton.
Of course with Christmas coming up and our end of year grading with a few hundred students grading that’s going to keep things busy as well through to the 20 of Dec.
As most people know I love to read these days and a book a just finished was Richards Branson Autobiography. It must be a fantastic book as it only took me a couple of days to read it. Very inspirational! I will work on posting more often.

Old photos

2007-10-18T23:54:00.000-07:00

This is the first proactive kickboxing club back in the 90's.

Some of the first female black belts from Proactive in 2001.

Old Training Photos

2007-10-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

I have had several students ask about old training photos. Well this morning I found some so I will place some here as I get time to work my way through them.The one above was a few years ago when Riccarton was closed because of snow. Don’t let that stop you from training.

The one above is in the Southern Alps. I must say it was cold that day.

Keeping Records

2007-10-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

Dairy
Anything worth doing is worth recording. We all know that to help retain information it is beneficial to keep a record of what you have learnt not just so you can go back and read it, but the act alone of writing things down helps us to remember things. Now I always take paper and pen to seminars and make notes during or after a class. I find it might be a month or two before I look at them again, but when I do the information all comes rushing back.
Now for those at training I suggest you have a training diary. It might just be a book but you need something so when it comes close to grading time you can go back and review your notes to help you prepare and remember pointers through out the year. I still have my first records filed away from when I first started keeping records in 1988. It’s informative even to this day, and every now and then to pull them out and see where my journey has taken me.

Mentors

2007-10-10T01:32:00.000-07:00

Mentors

Everybody needs mentors, I have had serious mentors ever since I started martial arts. We all have them, normally they are our friends or family when we are young and we might not even know it. But as we get older and hopefully wiser we need to source mentors that are appropriate for what we are trying to learn. I have several mentors for all different parts of my life. Physically, Mentally, Spiritually. Now most people are keen to help share their knowledge with you if you are keen to learn. You have all heard of the saying when you are ready to learn the teacher will appear. Well I have always found that if I made the decision to try and find a mentor on a specific skill that it was never hard to find one by just asking around. You will be surprised who knows who and as that other saying goes, it’s not what you know it’s who you know. So if you need help! ask.

Going in the correct direction

2007-10-06T10:02:00.000-07:00

How many times do you hear people say I am only doing this job until I figure out what I really want to do? Even worse and I have heard this many times because of our culture, I am saving for my retirement so then I can really enjoy life and do what I like all day. Man that’s a long time to what for most to be truly happy if you make it.
You know life’s to short not to be going in the correct direction as soon as possible and to me that’s doing things you enjoy. I see all to often people in there more mature years still not happy with what they are doing. Some will admit it, others out of pride will fool themselves into pretending they are happy but most around them no they are not.
One of my mentors years ago once told me what ever you enjoy doing most is what you must do for a living.
Then you must find someone who is doing that same job who is old, healthy, well respected and be in a position that you would like to be in when you are that age.
Then from there, study what they did to get where they are. Simple really, one would think it was common sense.

Moving forward

2007-10-04T10:54:00.000-07:00

It’s always been a dream of mine to own a full time training facility and we are certainly one step closer to that. It has been over 20 years in the doing and has taken a lot of work and time, but now it is all starting to pay off.
Over the years I can’t remember how may times people have told me I couldn’t do this, or in fact that it would never work going full time teaching martial arts as a living. Some of these comments come from some of the closest people I know, and I understand that they do this to look out me as good friends and family do. But at the end of the day only you know what is best for yourself, so although it’s good to listen to other peoples advise especially if it valid always go with your gut feeling. We are all individuals and what’s good and correct for one person doesn’t make it right for someone else.

Having Flexibility

2007-09-20T10:10:00.000-07:00

Now when I mention being flexible most people think of stretching but that is not what I am talking about today although you should stretch physically every day. Know I am talking about your mental approach to issues.
I’m sure most of you have all heard of the saying,
“ If you don’t like the way I drive, get off the side walk!”
These situations happen to us in life all the time and most people will spend their time moaning or complaining it isn’t fair. Now you should just be great full for the opportunity to be able to test your reflexes and jump out of the way.
Now we worked on this theory in a physical sense at Riccarton this week with the higher ranks using your opponents force to move out of the way and let them hurt themselves in the attack by being flexible enough to move out of the way but leaving a foot or object in the way so the opponent runs into it. Now you could just stand there and complain or moan but it isn’t going to do you any good, other than you would get hurt.

Now to keep this mental flexibility and approach through live requires that you keep learning as this provides the opportunity for you to constantly grow. If we do not, we become set in our ways and eventually we will be broken down by change.For an example of this you can see in nature: look at healthy young trees, when the weather changes and the wind blows the young green tree moves in the wind. When you have an old tree or one that does not move and the wind blows the branches break. So one of the ways for us to keep young green and flexible is to keep learning so we keep growing.

Appropriate Topic

2007-09-09T18:13:00.000-07:00

What an appropriate topic the last one is on change. As we have some very exciting news to be released very soon on that matter. I know I still haven’t been able to blog as much as you would like due to time spent in negotiations. But this week I should be able to full everybody in on exactly what I have been spending so much time trying to sort out this year. This has been such a fantastic challenge and growing process for myself that I have been keeping records to document all the challenges that have been going on at the same time as to provide some inspiration for people to show you that it doesn’t matter how tough things get, if you believe in yourself and your cause with perseverance and determination anything is possible.

Change

2007-08-27T16:52:00.000-07:00

Change
Only one thing is constant in life and that is change. Evolution has designed it that if you don’t change you will get left behind. Being able to handle and embrace change is a large hurdle for most people to over come, but once you do its when you make your largest learning curves.
Now people resist change because of issues of comfort and not feeling safe in the different environment. But once you over come this feeling and develop an acceptance of discomfort you can really move forward. By understanding this basic issue related to personal change, you understand that we are getting at a basic issue of empowering people by getting them to except change and improve.
Now you can see this in the way we train, if you have been training for over 5 years you would have noticed huge changes in things like gradings, training procedures, even what we teach which is one of the reasons why we keep growing.
Like anything the more you do, the easier it becomes.
So you have to watch what you do, because the longer you have been doing something a set way the harder it is to change and although it might be the best thing to do today that might not be the case tomorrow.

Sharpening the saw

2007-08-24T10:28:00.000-07:00

The key to success in martial arts!
Sharpening the saw

" If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend the first four hours sharpening the saw."
Sharpening the saw is a term for learning new information and is what being proactive is all about. Now it doesn’t matter what you are doing this rule applies to everything and getting this principle correct in martial arts is the difference between success and burn out.

Now the woodcutter can’t just alternate between cutting wood and sharpening the saw indefinitely. Downtime is needed too, but it isn’t the same as sharpening the saw. The woodcutter can become even more productive by sharpening the blade, studying new woodcutting techniques, working out to become stronger, and learning from other woodcutters.
Forgetting to intentionally sharpen the saw can lead to a feeling of burnout. If you merely alternate between productive work and downtime, your production capacity will drop off. You’re still working hard, but you don’t feel as productive as you think you should be. When you sharpen yourself regularly, you’ll find that you can flow along at a steady pace week after week without getting burnt out.
Whenever I feel burnt out or overwhelmed, taking a day or two off helps a little, but not very much. What yields a much greater benefit for me is attending a weekend seminar, reading an inspiring book, or having an interesting conversation. It’s common to see people return from a conference with a notable spike in motivation that lasts for weeks. But this isn’t really a break or a vacation — going to a conference is an activity, but it’s the kind that often increases energy and motivation.
How are your various blades doing? Your skills, your knowledge, your mind, your physical body, your relationships, your motivation, your commitment, your capacity for enjoyment, your emotions — are all of them still sharp? If not, which ones are dull, and what can you do to sharpen them?

Learning is an active process. We learn by doing. Only knowledge that is constantly used sticks in your mind and can be considered knowledge.

Friends

2007-08-16T02:14:00.000-07:00

They say you can tell a lot about a person by who they associate with. It is a fact that the people you attract and socialize with will be of similar nature. That is why you should always make sure that people you hang round with are positive and going in a direction in life that you want to go. When I am working on, or learning a new skill I will make sure that I surround myself with people who have already mastered or succeeded in what I am trying to learn as I understand that some of there knowledge will rub off on to me.
Now this is very important to realize that this also works the other way round, if you always hang round negative people or people that have a negative influence in there actions this will also rub off on to you.
My advice is. (Choose your friends wisely)
and you can never have to many friends.
I wise departed friend once said to me

True friends are like diamonds precious and rear

False friends are like autumn leaves found everywhere.

Life Skills

2007-08-08T14:47:00.000-07:00

When one really starts to study martial arts you learn there is a lot more to it than just turning up to the training hall to train or teach for an hour. As a martial artist, if you don’t learn skills that you can take with you to use in everyday life then what’s the point?
I see myself as a martial artist 24 hours of the day, not just say between 6 and 7 when I am on the floor.
Now sure we might not start with that in mind, because we all start because of some sort of emotional challenge bought on by our environment that we have placed ourselves in. But it does not take long before you realize that while you are training you will find weaknesses that need improving, eg may be self-discipline, focus, empathy, etc it’s different for everyone and when you find and work on fixing that issue in training you should also be looking at doing the same outside of training.Martial arts is about learning life skills and trying to master them to make a better future for yourself and those you associate with. Not something where you behave a certain way just because you’re at training, and then forget about that once your out of the hall.

Update

2007-08-04T21:07:00.001-07:00

I know it’s been some time since I have last posted. This has been due to the developments at the Riccarton Club taking most of my time. I will get back to posting here next week with life skills and martial arts concepts.

Breath

2007-06-30T21:19:00.000-07:00

After my last post on ego I have had plenty of feed back which is great to know students are reading the posts and then doing some creative thinking about there meaning.

Have you ever noticed that if you feel ill and decide to go to the doctor by the time you actually get there nine times out of ten while you are waiting in the waiting room you feel a lot better. Or how you might of had the worst day and you get to training and all of a sudden you feel better as soon as you walk in the hall.
How about when you have not been looking forward to meeting someone and as soon as you meet them your emotional state changes (how you feel) or even when you think of a certain person your emotional state changes.
When these sorts of things seem to happen for know apparent reason how often do you pay attention to your breathing. Eg. Depth, Rhythm, etc.Breathing has a lot to do with how you feel emotionally and by controlling one you can influence the other.

Ego

2007-06-27T19:10:00.000-07:00

Ego
Unfortunately some where in most students training ego seems to get in the way of their progression. It also seems to become more of an issue the higher up the rank one becomes. This issue can make a student make some very poor choices. One must remember that we are all students here to learn from each other.
If one has an injury and you need to rest, so be it rest. If you find an exercise or drill aggravates an injury don’t do it. If there is a certain drill that you cannot do, ask for help. It takes a bigger, stronger person to admit they cannot do something and be honest about it than someone who just plods on doing something that is incorrect to save face.
At the end of the day the honest person will always come out better off.

Healthy Eating

2007-06-25T16:27:00.000-07:00

When it comes to healthy eating we all know what we are suppose to eat and what we should not. The biggest problem most people have is time in organizing the correct food and when they do decide to eat healthy they set goals that are realistically unachievable so they give up after a week or two.
I found by starting with just one meal first making sure that the majority of the time would be healthy for a month then moving onto morning tea and so forth was easier to organise and allow for the body and mind to become accustom to the new habit.
I found by working for a month and only one meal at a time it gave me time to try different foods and get some variety as well as record how I felt after certain foods.
It’s also really important that you enjoy what you eat, there is know point eating foods you do not like as you won’t stay to your plan if you do that.
I am not in to diets, as the word it self says to me (die eat). I believe so long as everything is in moderation it is fine. After all life is to be enjoyed and you spend a lot of time eating, why not enjoy it. Also if your going to have the odd bit of chocolate or something, there is know point feeling guilty about it other wise that will take away the whole pleasure of eating it in the first place. Moderation is the key here.

Self-motivation

2007-06-08T09:07:00.000-07:00

Over the years there have been many friends come and go through the martial arts. Some stay for only a few months, some for a few years and others for a few decades. One of the main reasons for students leaving the martial arts is self-motivation and finding a purpose to continue. After all most of us join to learn self-defence or get fitter or gain some kind of intrinsic or extrinsic reward. Most of these things can be attained in a relatively short period of time. It is after achieving what you were after originally that now self-motivation to keep going becomes an issue. Now at some time in our training journey we will be challenged with the motivation thing and I believe that is where we need to go back and look at when we first started and remember what gave us that feeling of excitement. I believe you will find it was a mixture of learning something new and the achievement steps along the way. Now this never really changes but the way you achieve it does. To begin with you are basically spoon feed information and motivated by those that have gone before you, but after a while it is up to you to motivate yourself, to push your own comfort zones and grow from within and only you can do that. Yes it will mean you will have to make some challenging decisions and do something’s you won’t like at times as you push yourself past your boundaries, but that’s a part of growing and you will not stay motivated and move forward with out it. You will find the higher the rank, the greater the challenge as you not only now motivate yourself but others as well. Now your self- motivation also will need enthusiasm and passion to name a few other qualities if you are to have a positive effect on motivating others. So with that being said you cannot look after others with out looking after yourself first, and making sure that your own motivation comes first. Remember if you allow yourself to become complacent and stagnant at where you are, it will only be a matter of time before you lose motivation, and the negative spiral begins. Self-motivation is one of the things you always want to keep in check and make sure you’re on top of it. If you do have any questions or concerns about it, ask your teacher.

Positive

2007-05-23T02:08:00.000-07:00

So often I hear students say they could never accomplish a certain rank or goal or attain a certain level. You are what you think you are and it’s important to think positively about everything you do. Sure some times you won’t make the grade or you might miss out, but that is no excuse to give up. You have just learnt a very important lesson and that is what you did, didn’t work so you get to try something else.You will find that the more positive you are, the more positive things will happen as like attract like. So often I hear people getting manipulated by focusing on what they don’t have or cannot do and then these intensify because of the law of attraction. So if you are feeling a bit negative, acknowledge the thought and move on to something positive and enjoy the rest of your day.

Reading

2007-05-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

I have always promoted the idea of reading, as it has to be one of my favourite things to do in my spare time. I always have believed that if you struggle to learn something it is a good thing, as it means that when you do finally get it down you will appreciate it so much more, which must be why I love reading so much as I really struggled with it in my younger days.
I can normally have up to 3 books on the go at any one time and I choose my books carefully as I do value my time.
Self help books would have to be one of my favourites with the likes of Stephen R Covey, Anthony Robbins, etc also of course a wide selection of Martial Arts and Health and Fitness books.
One of the books I would recommend is by Stephen R Covey called The 7 habits of highly effective people. It is in the recommended section for black belt to first Dan also. This book is also available on audio cd.
It was also one of the reasons why I called our organization Proactive Martial Arts over 15 years ago was from habit 1. Be Proactive.
I also enjoy reading autobiographies for inspiration as well as spiritual books for personal growth and being able to see life from different points of views.I do hear allot of students telling me they never get spare time to read. I believe it’s so important you should just make it part of your daily routine and set aside half an hour when you cannot be interrupted. Even if it means getting up half an hour earlier.

Rank

2007-05-11T06:14:00.000-07:00

With grading coming up I thought it would be appropriate to say a few words about my interpretation on rank. It’s not uncommon for students to get caught up in all the hype of what rank they are and what rank they want to be, but at the end of the day your only as good as your last training session and it’s about enjoying the training and learning. Now don’t get me wrong it’s important to have rank for many reasons like, class order, goals, extrinsic / intrinsic, etc but all to often I have seen a martial artist get to a certain rank and then stop for various reasons thinking that they have achieved all that they can. When you truly understand about martial arts and training you realize that in your lifetime you will never know it all, and that its just one big living adventure learning. Over my past 20 years of training it has just given me an insight on how much I don’t know, and this gets me even more excited than what I do know. My most important advice I will finish with is, you must enjoy the training other wise you won’t keep going, and I would suggest that if your not enjoying your training you need to speak to your coach as something is wrong

Change for Blog

2007-05-04T23:33:00.000-07:00

As we now have an updated news page there is know need to use the blog for news. So I have decided to use it to write my own thoughts and experiences on martial arts and related topics. I thought this would be a great way to share information I have learnt over the years, and share ideas I have been working with.

Cashmere

2007-04-23T17:50:00.000-07:00

As I will be away for the next couple of days, we have a guest instructor taking my place for me at Cashmere on Thursday. I will catch up with everybody on Saturday at the morning train.

What's On page updated

2007-04-16T13:22:00.000-07:00

We have up dated the what’s on page. You will be able to go directly to each club to see what that club is up to. Speaking of what’s on, don’t forget we have the Krypton Factor challenge on the 28 of April. You can still register for this at your local club.

MASTER ANDY ELLIOTT 6th Dan

2007-04-11T13:23:00.000-07:00

MASTER ANDY ELLIOTT 6TH DAN

SEMINAR WILL COVER

· KALI / ARNIS – ARMED COMBAT (STICKS & BLADED WEAPONS)
· MANO MANO – UNARMED COMBAT
· DUMOG – GRAPPLING, RESTRAINTS, LOCKS & TAKEDOWNS

ONLY $50.00

LOCATION: RICCARTON CLUB, 66B Wharenui Road, Riccarton, Chch.
DATE: SUNDAY 27TH MAY 2007 TIME: 1:30PM TO 5.30PM

Training over Easter

2007-04-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

No training on Easter Public holidays. But you are more than welcome to make up a day at one of the other clubs during the week.The only exception to this rule is Monday the 9th April at Templeton, which will be open.

Linwood Kickboxing Grading

2007-03-28T14:17:00.000-07:00

I am looking forward to the first kickboxing grading at Linwood this Thursday night. Good luck to everybody attempting his or her first grade.

KRYPTON FACTOR CHALLENGE TRAINING DAY

2007-03-26T15:21:00.000-07:00

KRYPTON FACTOR CHALLENGE TRAINING DAY

WHO - Age limit for Krypton is 12 years of age and is open to Panthers, Freestyle martial arts Members and Kickboxers. Pre-training is open to everyone but minors must be accompanied by an adult. All welcome to attend the social.

WHERE - At the Rear of Burnham Army Camp.

WHEN - Saturday 28th April - 10am for the pre-training.
- 11am for Krypton Factor
- 12 noon for the social BBQ (BYO food & drink))

WHY - For training, fun & social

COST - $25 per person for Krypton goers. There are limited tickets and are only available until Friday 13th April.

You are very welcome to attend just the training before hand, watch so you can laugh at or support the Krypton factor goers. Or you can attend just the social afterwards if preferred. It is weather dependant & cancellations will be posted on the Proactive forum on the day.

Shihan Richard Norton Seminars

2007-03-25T11:28:00.000-07:00

We all had a fantastic couple of seminars this weekend with Richard Norton. On the Saturday working BJJ mostly with concepts and drills from side control and on Sunday working first with complexes then with street smart self-protection skills. A lot of information to take in over two days, but it gave everybody plenty to work on and improve on. I look forward to being able to bring Shihan Richard over again. My be next time we can also find some more

News

2007-03-21T19:02:00.000-07:00

This weekend is all go for the Richard Norton Seminar. If you haven’t registered yet there are a few spaces left so you can pay on the day.
Also well done to everybody who graded in kickboxing last week. It was a fantastic grading with the skill level really improving. Those students who have now moved over to the intermediate class need to make sure you work at your own pace and adjust to the new intensity level slowly as to not injure yourselves.

Kick boxing grading

2007-03-08T12:14:00.000-08:00

First Kick boxing grading for the year is this Wednesday 14th of March at 7:15pm at Riccarton. Remember you have till this Monday to confirm if you wish to grade. If you have any questions about the grading we will be having an extra train after our Monday class to go through any points you would like some help on.

Templeton Proactive Kickboxing Opening

2007-03-04T17:47:00.000-08:00

Templeton Proactive Kickboxing Opening

Only a week to go!
On the 15 of March we have the new kickboxing club opening at Templeton. This is a fantastic way to supplement other sports or ultimate freestyle. If you haven’t tried it before, go down to Templeton and try a FREE lesson. They have a fantastic set up out there. Classes will be every Thursday 7:30pm till 8:30pm.

If you know of anybody who would like to give the sport a go let them know, or come and get a free pass from one of our clubs.

See you there opening night!

Richard Norton Seminars

2007-03-02T09:55:00.000-08:00

PROACTIVE MARTIAL ARTS IS PROUD TO HOST TWO SEMINARS WITH RICHARD NORTON

(Open to all Styles of martial arts)

DAY ONE: Saturday 24 March 2007

TOPIC: BJJ Ground Skills (suitable for all levels)
TIME: 10 am – 1 pm
VENUE: The Riccarton Club
66 b Wharenui Road
Riccarton
Christchurch

DAY TWO: Sunday 25 March 2007

TOPICS: Complexes to increase technique speed (suitable for all levels)
Real street survival tactics (suitable for all levels)
TIME 10 am – 1 pm
VENUE: Templeton Community Centre
Kirk Road
Templeton

Christchurch

For more info phone Nigel on 3666-000 or 0274-333-543

Richard Norton
Richard Norton is considered to be Australia’s most successful Martial Arts expert with over 45 years training in the Martial Arts and a movie career spanning some 30 years.
Norton has trained in many aspects of the Martial Arts including Karate, Jiu Jitsu, Kick Boxing and various Japanese weapons systems. He holds a 5th degree Shihan ranking in Goju Ryu Karate, personally presented to him by Hanshi Tino Ceberano, a 5th degree in Zen Do Kai Karate, 1st degree Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under world renowned coach, Jean Jacques Machado and most recently, a 5th Degree Master ranking in Chun Kuk Do, personally awarded and presented to him by the legendary Chuck Norris.
Norton is in constant demand for seminars all over the world, covering such topics as real life street defence, martial arts weapons drills and speed training complexes. He has trained extensively in the U.S with such Martial Arts legends as Benny’ The Jet’ Urquidez, Fumio Demura, Bill Wallace, Pete ‘Sugar Foot’ Cunningham, Rigan and Jean Jacques Machado and of course his old friend, Chuck Norris.
Norton’s movie career has seen him co-star alongside such greats as Jackie Chan, Chuck Norris, David Carradine and the great Sammo Hung. Norton’s movie career started in 1979 as the head enforcer ‘Kyo’, in Chuck Norris,’ The Octagon’. He went on to work with Jackie Chan in Hong Kong in the early 80’s in a movie called ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars’. He later co starred in City Hunter and had a co lead in Chan’s, ‘Mr. Nice Guy’. In fact Norton is the only western Martial Artist ever to be invited back to work on more than one project with Jackie in one of his Hong Kong movies, which in itself is a remarkable testimonial of the respect Mr. Chan has for Richard’s acting and action abilities. Norton now has over 60 movie roles to his credit. Aside from acting, Richard is also highly sought after as a 2nd Unit Director and Stunt/ Fight Coordinator. Norton also toured for many years as a personal Body Guard and trainer for such leading Rock Musicians as The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Fleetwood Mac, Joe Cocker and ABBA.

Richard Norton Seminar

2007-02-25T11:36:00.000-08:00

Richard Norton will be hosting two seminars in Christchurch on the 24 and 25 of March. More details soon.

Morning train

2007-02-23T21:22:00.000-08:00

Even though it was wet we still had fun going over some new drills. A bit of a run and a few fitness drills, a couple of push-ups and we were warm enough to get into it. Afterwards there was a group that went off for a cycle through the forest while the rest of us had a yarn by the BBQ. Good way to spend a morning, good training with good friends. Thanks Templeton for putting it together. Looking forward to the next morning train in April, which is up to the Bishopdale group.

Saturday 24 February

2007-02-20T16:38:00.000-08:00

Saturday 10.00am - outside train with Shihan.Everyone welcome.Kids under 15 need to have an adult with them though sorry.
Where - McCleans Island reserve.If coming from town end it is about 100m before you get to Orana Park.It is on the right and Orana Park is on the left.
There is a picnic area for a train for about an hour and then those wishing to do so can go for a mountain bike on the moutain bike track.It is about 30 - 40 mins depending.After that whoever wants to stay and have a picnic,maybe a game of touch or whatever.Allister is bringing our old BBQ along so if anyone wants to use it they are welcome. Now all we need is some great weather for the day and we'll be right. Friends and family welcome to bring their bikes and join us for a picnic as well.See you there
We will also have a group leaving from the Riccarton Club Inc car park at 9:30am if you would like to car pool.

Thanks Templeton

2007-02-16T20:33:00.000-08:00

Thanks for inviting me to come out and teach at Templeton . I must say you have got bigger since I was last out there with over 80 on the floor for a Friday night. I can see it would keep you busy if everybody turned up. I look forward to coming out soon to carry on with the ground skills with the Panthers and the Adults.
Also looking forward to Bishopdale this Tuesday.

Freestyle Syllabus

2007-02-15T07:34:00.000-08:00

As I have started on the new Ultimate Freestyle syllabus up dates, look forward to seeing some new random skills being taught in class as I am after feed back. I will be going through some of these new skills at Bishopdale and Templeton over the next week.

Bishopdale

2007-02-14T10:33:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday 20th March I will be training at the Bishopdale Club. I look forward to catching up with everybody as I had a great time last time.

New Proactive Kickboxing Club to Open

2007-02-13T12:03:00.000-08:00

On Thursday the 15th March Proactive will have a new Kickboxing club at our Templeton Brunch. Training will be from 7:30 till 8:30pm at the Templeton Community Centre Kirk Rd. This is also a great way for Ultimate Freestyle students to up skill faster, or just some great fitness and skills in a fantastic environment.

A couple of training tips

2007-02-12T17:01:00.000-08:00

As we get back into the swing of things I have noticed a few students come and see Anna or myself about injuries. As most of you already know we are more than happy to practise our Ortho-Bionomy skills on these, and in most cases have great success.
I would like to remind you though if you have got an injury let your instructor know, and do not aggravate it. It’s you body’s way of saying slow down.Also another good tip before training is to get some sort of liniment and a little cooking oil and massage it into your legs or injuries as it really helps with warming you up before training.

Panther Instructors

2007-02-12T00:44:00.000-08:00

As we roll out the new updated Panther syllabuses as from today please make sure if you are an instructor, you have got your new copy. If it’s not version 3 as from March, we don’t use it. Any questions ask your head instructor or phone me personally. This is the first part of which there will be a manual to follow. I will also be going over it in the instructors classes. Tigers are a week away.

Saturday Class

2007-02-11T16:46:00.000-08:00

This Saturday 17th February we will have an advanced Kickboxing class (blue Singlet and over) and Black Belt Class at 9am and an Instructors class at 10am.These will be held at the Riccarton Club Inc.

Kickboxing & Freestyle Morning Train

2007-02-09T18:03:00.000-08:00

Our first out door train for 2007 is on Saturday 24 February at Mcleans Forest, opposite Orana park entrance. We are meeting there at 10am and it is open to all Proactive members over the age of 15. Students 15 or under must have parent supervision. Feel free to bring a picnic lunch if you wish and we will have available a gas BBQ for anyone who would like to use it. Also there are bike tracks etc for those who would like to go for a social ride through the forest after lunch, or just catch up with other members etc

Linwood Open Waitangi Day

2007-02-01T00:18:00.000-08:00

Cashmere will be closed on Tuesday the 6 February Waitangi day, but Linwood will be open.
ZDK 6:30- 7:30pm
Kickboxing 7:30 – 8:30pm
Feel free to come down and train for FREE
Linwood Intermediate
Rhona St

Free February

2007-01-29T11:42:00.000-08:00

All current paid up members of Proactive Martial Arts are welcome to train for FREE at the New Linwood branch of Proactive Martial Arts in the month of February. Ultimate freestyle (ZDK) is from 6:30-7:30pm and Kickboxing is from 7:30-8:30pm on Tuesday & Thursday evenings. It’s at Linwood Intermediate School McLean St but you can drive directly to the hall door at the end of Rhona St.

Cityscape

2007-01-26T11:38:00.000-08:00

Look out for Proactive in the February edition of Cityscape.

All the best Tane

2007-01-25T10:57:00.000-08:00

We wish Tane all the best up North with his ventures. We are going to miss Tane as he was at almost every class at Riccarton and Cashmere. But we will still see him on his visits down south and I know he will still be training where ever he ends up.

Linwood Opens

2007-01-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

Linwood opens on Tuesday 30 January. Feel free to go down and check it out.
ZDK from 6:30pm till 7:30pm and
Kickboxing from 7:30 till 8:30pm
The address is
Linwood Intermediate
McLean Street

T-shirts

2007-01-20T23:09:00.000-08:00

We have about 25 Proactive T-shirts left from the last design. We will be selling these on a first in first served basis. We will be running a different design on the next ones, so if you want one get in quick.

Web site update

2007-01-15T00:40:00.000-08:00

As you might have noticed we have started on the update of the web site for 2007. We are planning many improvements over the next couple of months so make sure you keep an eye out on the web site. We would also appreciate some feed back on what you think of it.

Photos from Israel

2007-01-11T11:00:00.000-08:00

I have placed up another couple of photos from Nick on his travels. These ones are of him in Israel. He has made contact with some very talented martial artists on his training travels of which some we are hoping to get to New Zealand for some seminars. All going well Nick and I will be catching up in Las Vegas for training this year.

Back into training

2007-01-07T14:34:00.000-08:00

With all classes starting back over the next couple of days it’s important to start out at a pace that you can stick to. If you have had a break with no training at all don’t expect to necessarily come back to training at the same fitness level. For your first couple of classes take your time to get things correct, further speed will not improve a bad technique and force will not compensate for bad technique. Take your time and get it correct and most importantly enjoy your learning.It doesn’t matter if you don’t remember everything, just try and improve by 1 percent every training lesson and before you know it, you will improve further than you ever imagined.

Welcome back in 2007

2007-01-05T09:49:00.000-08:00

Happy new year to everybody, and I hope you have all enjoyed some time off to spend with family etc. We start back on Monday 8 January and it’s going to be another full on year. We plan to have a camp this year as well as numerous out door-training sessions through out the year to add to our normal events held through out the year. Also just a point to remember now that it looks like summer has finally arrived. Make sure you stay hydrated as by the time you feel thirsty you have already started to dehydrate, especially students who decide they want to train classes back to back for a few hours dehydration can sneak up on you. Don’t full victim to it.

Thanks

2006-12-23T13:19:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all the help and support from students, Instructors and helpers. Its been a fantastic year. Everybody have a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year and see you in 2007.We already have a full on schedule planed for next year with new and exciting things happening. I will post soon on all the new updates.

End of year party

2006-12-15T11:12:00.000-08:00

Well a good night had by all last weekend at our end of year break up and awards evening. Most really got in to the fancy dress theme for the night and had a good time. With over a thousand dollars worth of prizes being given away through out the night and plenty of entertainment it really made for a fun night. Thank you, to everybody who helped set up and organise the night, it was a big task with getting close to a couple of hundred guests on the night.

Proactive Awards 2006

2006-12-14T15:34:00.000-08:00

Proactive Awards 2006

Proactive Instructor of the Year 2006 – Mechelle Tkach

Proactive Junior Instructor of the Year 2006 – Danielle Sutherland

Proactive Contribution of the Year 2006 – Debbie Woodhouse

Proactive Black Belts of the Year 2006 – Kalia Faulkner & Neil Robb

Proactive Bushido of the Year 2006 – Kim Davis

Proactive Female Kick boxer of the Year 2006 – Catherine Ironside

Proactive Male Kick boxer of the Year 2006 – David Rycroft

Proactive Bishopdale Adult Student of the Year 2006 – Zoe Lynskey
Proactive Bishopdale Panthers Student of the Year 2006 – Dallas Barlow

Proactive Cashmere Adult Student of the Year 2006 – Frank Rzoska
Proactive Cashmere Panthers Student of the Year 2006 – Emma Clarke

Proactive Riccarton Adult Student of the Year 2006 – Rob Lomas
Proactive Riccarton Panthers Student of the Year 2006 – Matthew Dynes-Morgan

Proactive Templeton Adult Student of the Year 2006 – Gail Buchanan
Proactive Templeton Panthers Student of the Year 2006 – Jordan Glen

Proactive Recognition Award 2006 – Fleur Ford
Proactive Dedication Awards 2006 – Alan Chapman & Tane Upjohn-Beatson

News

2006-12-04T17:11:00.000-08:00

Well done to everybody who has graded in ZDK and Panthers over the last couple of days. It has been a very busy few weeks with gradings etc. Also with training in one form or another every day for the past couple of months I know Xmas is looking good. Don’t forget about our full on party this Saturday night. It’s going to be big, and a lot of fun. We have printed off some more tickets as we had run out. I know I said there would be door sales but that probably will not happen now. I suggest you give me a call by Wednesday night if you would like a ticket as the new ones will not last.

10 Days to go

2006-11-30T01:32:00.000-08:00

I am really enjoying looking through the photos for the competition. Only a week and a half to go. Some of the photos are getting really creative which is great to see. This one was from a trampoline.

Templeton Panther Grading

2006-11-29T15:56:00.000-08:00

This Sunday starting at 10:30 we have a grading out at Templeton for those students who missed the main grading in November. If you are grading make sure you get there 20 or so minutes early and bring your sparring gear etc.Thanks to the Templeton crew for making a grading catch up day available for those students who could not make the last one.

Kickboxing Grading Wed 6 Dec

2006-11-28T10:23:00.000-08:00

Remember the kickboxing grading is on Wednesday the 6th December at 7:15 sharp. Make sure you get there a bit earlier as this is going to be a very busy night. We also have a normal class running at the same time for everybody else not grading. After the grading we will also be having a get together next door. Make sure your there.

80s Party

2006-11-27T00:18:00.000-08:00

Our end of year break up party on the 9th of December has been a hit with some clubs selling out of tickets already. If you want tickets let your instructor know this week, as we might be able to get some from other clubs who still have some available.

Photo competition

2006-11-22T02:17:00.000-08:00

Photo competition only has a couple of weeks to go. I’m starting to get a few through now.

2006-11-21T00:14:00.000-08:00

Had fun catching up with the crew from Bishopdale tonight. Remember only a couple of weeks left for the photo competition. Get them into me soon. Heres one I got the other day. Photos will be judged at the 80s party.

Proactive Martial Arts Christchurch

Cup half empty or half full

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Christchurch Earthquake

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Have you got a plan?

Gliding

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Recommended Reading for Shodan

2011

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2008 here already

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Old Training Photos

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Change

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MASTER ANDY ELLIOTT 6th Dan

Training over Easter

Linwood Kickboxing Grading

KRYPTON FACTOR CHALLENGE TRAINING DAY

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Richard Norton Seminars

Richard Norton Seminar

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Saturday 24 February

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New Proactive Kickboxing Club to Open

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