Martial Arts/Self Defense Wausau

Let your child experience the martial arts with a Karate birthday party at Premier Martial Arts. You do not have to be a member of our program to have a party. All you need is the desire to be a Martial Artist for the day. Each child will learn about self control, discipline, “cool” karate kicks, how to deal with strangers and participate in a real karate class with their friends.

After pizza, cake and opening of presents, we will play some dodge-ball games to have a blast.

The birthday child gets to cut the cake with a real sword (With instructors help)

Our parties include:
Pizza
Soda or Juice
Plates
Napkins
Plastic utinsils
Balloons

Minimum of five children, only $8.00 per child, cake is not included. Maximum of 40 per party. Party length is two hours. Usual day for party is on Saturdays from 1:00pm to 3:00pm.

If you would like more information please call, 715-355-4222.

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When I heard somone was remaking the “Karate Kid” movie, I was concerned it would not be as good as the first.  But, when I heard that Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith were starring in it, I thought it sounded like it just might work.   

The Karate Kid, released in the 1980’s, stirred excitement in the martial arts industry that has never been surpassed.  The directors created a twist in the plot from the origional to have Jaden Smith learn Kung Fu, instead of karate as in the first movie. They saught training with Mike chat, (one of the Blue Power Rangers) with his XMA (Xtreme Martial Arts) training system, to bring Jaden up to speed fast in his martial arts training and then learn Kung Fu instead of Karate, to create a twist from the origional plot with a Kung Fu environment.  Whether you are a martial artist or not, you can already feel the conflicts building.  When boy starts hitting it off with bad boy’s girlfriend, trouble’s brewing.  

A bullied boy learns to stand up for himself with the help of a mentor.  Dre (Smith) is saved from a beating from a group of Kung Fu, hot headed  bullies by Mr. Han (Chan).  Han teaches Dre, the art of Wushu Kung Fu.

Then it will be a retelling of the story but it will be new to the younger generation that has not seen the old movie.

The martial arts community is hoping for a similar wave of children to begin martial arts, as had happend when the first karate kid movie came out and changed the entire martial arts industry. Only time will tell. Check us out at the Marcus Cinema for the Karate Kid Wausau demonstration, Sunday, June 13th at 11:45am-12:15pm. See you there!

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Are you are wondering if Martial Arts training is a good choice for your child?  Many parents are concerned that their children will learn to be more aggressive than others if they enroll in Taekwondo classes.  This is a very big misconception. 

What exactly is Taekwondo? The Korean art is known as the art of hand and foot fighting and a way of life. I was taught that half of your training was to develop physical skills and the other was to develop a strong moral values, especially discipline.

Children develop better listening skills, more self control/strategies to deal with difficult children, get more exercise and gain more confidence than other children with proper training in the martial arts.   Children are easily influenced by television with all the violent shows available to them as well as role models with poor character traits, it’s no wonder a parent would have concerns.

In our Wausau Taekwondo training, a student learns how to show self discipline by practicing certain behavior traits.  They lose belt ranking if they break any major rules, like hurting someone else, when their life is not in danger.  If you pick a fight you, start, or cause a fight, you are not demonstrating black belt excellence.  Therefore, you do not deserve to wear any rank higher than a white belt (beginner belt).  Just this one method of dealing with poor behavior prevents and teaches students consequences for poor behavior, and that it is not acceptable to behave that way.

Your child may have a more difficult time working on self control, but that does not mean they should not get involved.  That is how you fix your child. Don’t hide them hoping the problem will go away.  If they get in trouble in Taekwondo training, they may have to go on a time out, or do some extra pushups but they have to start learning today.  If you wait till they are teenagers and try to change their behaviors after years of problems, they will have developed patterns that will be difficult to break.

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Preventing a problem, (using martial arts strategies), before they occur (with self defense preparation) is my motto.   If you knew what an attacker was going to do before you were attacked that would make an escape much easier.  With aggressors being unpredictable, you really have to practice techniques with the assumption that they will behave a certain way, and learn to read body language until it becomes second nature. 

I have trained thousands of students during my life and one thing I have learned is, you have to pick a training partner that may annoy you during training.  Now, don’t expect them to be a great partner.  They will be the best and worst partner you can learn from.  Difficult people teach you what you really need to know about aggressive behavior whether it’s verbal or physical.

People bugging you with name calling or pushing you around are always very common situations, especially at school.  But, how can you practice techniques, defending against bullies verbally or physically?   You have to take a class, or train at a  martial arts school that deals with these situations.  You also must pick what I would call the ultimate martial arts partner.   

We tend to pick training partners with people we feel comfortable hanging around.  However, there is no challenge in that scenario.   I suggest picking a person that has a challenging behavior issue, like someone with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder to test yourself to to the fullest level.  If they don’t bother you by doing something totally unpredictable in the first few minutes you meet them or say something that gets on your nerves, I would be surprised. 

I recommend this strategy at my Wausau martial arts school.  This person would be your ultimate training partner.  A person that is highly unpredictable, usually aggressive, will do things without much thought and challenge your self control.  The perfect partner!   They will test your mental limits by doing sporadic unanticipated things.

ADHD people are also perfect partners because they exhibit uncomfortable behavior.  They may blurt out something verbally that offends you, talk out of turn and not even bat an eyelash doing it.  You will gain so much valuable knowledge from their lack of restraint and the abrupt moves done without provocation.  And more than likely, in a real life situation, the person that you find yourself having to stand up to one day won’t be a well behaved friend or neighbor, it’s going to be someone with a lower level of restraint. Your skill level will be enhanced due to your increased awareness or you will get totally overwhelmed by your partner.  Both are perfect consequences whether good or bad. 

You see your weaknesses if you were not prepared by abrupt attacks.  If you did not respond properly, your partner will usually tell you what you did wrong.  From my experience, they always seem to like to tell you when you were overwhelmed and your feelings are a little hurt but make sure you don’t take their help in a negative way.  They may have tackled you, mauled you, or whatever they tend to do.  That was your best lesson of the day.  Actual real life encounters by an aggressive unpredictable person, in a controlled setting. Law enforcement individuals don’t show up to a call, expecting every person to be cooperative. Yet with practice, handling tough situations becomes less intimidating.

Sure it is uncomfortable to be bothered, but where else will you have a safe, perfect training ground like in a martial arts school.  A black belt is there to ensure your safety when things get too tough and you can learn from actual experience. 

Need a partner, pick the tough ones, not the easiest so you can learn more and get the most of your training. 

Have you ever trained with an ADHD student?  Whether good or bad, tell me your story!

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Call 355-4222, if you want to be the next “Karate Kid”?  Why not give it a try?    Children can learn martial arts starting at 3 1/2 years old and up in the Wausau and Schofield area at Premier Martial Arts.  Gain flexibility, self control, discipline, confidense, balance and so many other benefits.  All you have to do is call, to get involved in our childrens karate classes.   Try a free trial lesson call ( 355-4222).

Premier Martial Arts is performing a demonstration at Cedar Creek Cinema on Sunday, June 13th at  the Marcus Cedar Creek Cinema  at 11:45am to 12:15 in the lobby and a short secession in the theater at 12:20 pm before the movie begins.  Let’s see you become the next Wausau karate kid!

Make it happen!  Call today!      355-4222

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What is the best self defense method to learn?  One that works for you.  Use the KISS principle.  Keep it simple stupid or simple sweet (if you don’t like to use the word stupid).

When practicing a self defense move, a technique should work almost every single time they are used.  Nothing works 100 percent but some self defense moves work  better than others.

What makes a move work consistently and another not?  Sometimes you have not practiced the technique well enough, or the move is not practical.

If you have a very large opponent on top of you and they have you by a hundred pounds, things could get a little tough for you.  I have heard people argue, that with their style,  you can defeat a larger opponent if you learn the moves correctly.  But, they will complain that a fighter they trained did not win because their opponent was 10 pounds heaver than they were.  I always wonder what happened to the comment  “it doesn’t matter how big they are “.    That changes when the reality comes into play.

How does a smaller opponent do a move, that will work consistently on a larger or smaller opponent?  Use a move that does not require strength and capitalize on your opponents weaknesses.

No matter what style you train in, your opponent still has to see and breathe.  Hit them in the eyes, throat or groin.  Poke in the eyes, strike them in the throat or groin.  Those always work in self defense situations.

So keep to the basics and do what works.  Easy techniques do not require much strength.  Even a child can poke you in the eyes.    It still hurts.

Self defense does not have to be difficult, it only needs to get done when needed.   Keep it simple sweet!

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You wouldn’t pick on this guy would you?  Most people wouldn’t yet, some will.  Because they are a little different, those with low self-esteem will sometimes target non threatening people because they think it makes them look “cool.”

How would you deal with verbal and physical abuse?  Should you learn martial arts so bullies will regret picking  you as their next target?  And should you  show them with force why they shouldn’t have messed with you?  Or should you go to extreme measures and show the whole world that you were abused by killing others or killing yourself?

Sounds like some wacky questions but kids go through this type of thinking all the time.  They play out the problems in their minds, trying to resolve situations,  and come up with their own solutions.   What type of strategies should children use to protect themselves from bullies?

Self Defense should start before you decide to take your life.   When you are bullied to the point where you don’t want to live,  or to the extent that you  go on a shooting rampage at a school,  something should have been done to see the warning signs a little sooner.  Prevention goes a long way.

A recent story where Phoebe Prince, hanged herself because she was verbally abused, shocked America and created concern about the role and responsibilities of schools handling bullying. (Recent studies have shown that one common factor in school shootings, was a lack of response on the schools part).   It would seem someone has to die to get attention with this problem.  That should never happen!  So, what methods do schools use to stop bullying and teach some sort of self defense?

Schools hand out fliers and teach children strategies to deal with bullies at school.  But, the situation is far more  complex than that.  Children have newer methods of bulling to deal with like cyber-bullying where children exclude, insult, embarrass  others with text messages and email.

One other new distinction  in the bully world, is the cool kids are doing a  lot of  the bullying.  An article was written in Tues, April 13th issue of USA Today.   The article described bullies as difficult to spot because they are ”attractive, athletic and academically accomplished”.   According to the article, “a bully of generations past would have been a swaggering schoolyard lout, low on self- esteem , quick to lash out”, and ”easy to identify”.

They went on to say,” it looks like we have been looking for the wrong suspects”.

The shove people around methods, we often stereotype bullies with, is not seen as much in schools.  Verbal attacks are the hardest to see,  and keep track of,  because it is all  word of mouth.  How does a school keep track of that?  Some schools feel it is not their responsibility  to watch every word kids say, who can do that?  right?

If a teacher is responsible,by law,  to report any type of sexual molestation they hear about to social services,  why would bullying be much different?  Children are killing themselves because of this, and it is a serious problem.  Children really do not know how to deal with the situations, and they should be taught some sort of self defense.

I talk to students about how to deal with bullying.  I really stand firm on letting the schools handle the problem if they are doing what they are supposed to do.  And what exactly is that?

The school systems have guidance counselors available to help students deal with problems like bullying. They will take the children causing the problem into counseling and talk to their parents  about what their children are doing to resolve the problem.

However, most students try to handle the problem on their own.  That is where the problem begins.  Most children do not have great conflict resolution skills and end up lashing out, getting themselves in trouble instead, or they retreat, in shame becoming more  introverted and as a result, they are  picked on more often yet.  The method of untrained self defense gets them in more trouble than  anticipated.  The situation gets more and more out of their control, becoming overwhelming.

This is what I recommend to quickly deal with bullying.

Let the school know about the problem immediately.  Tell your teacher.  If the teacher does not handle the problem, tell the principal. Most principals handle the situations  immediately.  Tell your guidance counselor as well.   That is what they are trained to deal with,  and they should step in to handle bullying situations.   They should be all over the kids causing problems or they will become aware of what is happening to help you in the future.

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