Challenge Yourself!!

This week's theme for Personal Achievement Academy and becoming a martial arts athlete is to Challenge Yourself!!  You can become really good when you challenge yourself!  For instance, when you start to get tired, you challenge yourself to keep going and do a few extra exercises or techniques.   You will improve much faster if you do a few extra kicks or techniques when you get tired.  Why do you get so much better?  Because the self challenge gives you a jolt of energy and you will end up doing more techniques.  Plus, most people give up when they start to get tired.  When you keep going, you will excel past everyone else.  Challenge yourself to keep going next time you get tired and remember that you are getting closer to becoming a martial arts athlete!

Take the challenge!  Next time you feel like stopping, challenge yourself to do a few extra repetitions before you stop.  Lock at other people training.  When they start to slow down or give up, do a few extra repetitions.  Don't be afraid to try an exercise or martial arts move that is really hard!  Sign up for a private lesson, extra class, camp, seminar, or workshop that will challenge you!

COOL FACT!!  15 extra kicks per class is 2,340 extra kicks per year!

Being safe means being smart!

Check out the video!  As a community leader, it is important to take action to help each child be safe and make good decisions! 

Here are the top 5 preventable fatal injuries in order:

1.  Transportation (Cars, bicycles, moving vehicles) - Always wear your seat belt!  never ride your bike recklessly or at night and always watch all cars and driveways as closely as possible.  Wear a helmet and obey all street signs
2.  Drowning - Learn how to swim, never run or play fight/ wrestle violently near water and keep an adult or strong swimmer close by.  Drink lots of water and wear sunscreen when by the pool or at the beach.  If you are in a lake wear a proper vest and never run out on frozen ice!  The most common accident is hitting your head and becoming unconscious in the water.
3.  Fire - Never play with fire, matches, lighters, wall sockets, gas stoves, BBQ's, or fireplaces!  These are meant to be used by adults only!
4.  Poisoning - Do not take any prescription pills or take any medicine without an adult.  Do not play with or drink any chemicals that are underneath the sink or in storage, anytime!
5.  Falling - Always play safe and use the proper safety equipment.  Don't jump off of high things or play recklessly on the playground!

Street Safe Missions

Read these lessons with your parents and family.

Read these lessons 3 times by yourself.

Write down the top 5 fatal accidental injuries.

Show these to your teacher at school so they can inform other students.

Show a friend these lessons.

Self Defense Technique Today

Today in the Tiny Tigers class we worked on a super basic self defense technique that kids should have in their arsenal.  What do you think?  Some kind of kick or punch or joint lock that any kid could use to break the hold of a bigger attacker?  No, even simpler.

This technique is really easy and any kid can do it.  When an abductor grabs a child by the wrist, the child just plays dead!  They yell, "Stranger! Stranger! Stranger!" This causes a scene and while the kid is being dragged along or someone is struggling to pick the dead weight up, it could buy enough time for a someone to see that something is wrong with the situation.

This being said, we would hope that there are people in the world that would report such a sight.  2,185 children are abducted each day according to a study by missingkids.com.  PAA believes that it could be avoided completely or that number seriously reduced if children where taught basic awareness and self-defense drills.

PAA Elkton is dedicated to teaching self-defense and inspirational seminars for children in our area.  Our international network of instructors work together to create the best curriculum in the world to make our community a safer place.  We believe that when children remove fear from their lives, it allows them to become focused in accomplishing their goals.