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Blog | North Valley Martial Arts

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What We Teach...Believe

When it comes to self-defense we believe: 1) Avoidance is best. If at all possible it is important to recognize the fight has begun sooner than later. What we mean by that is that fights always start long before the first push, punch, or grab happen. For example, in a road rage situation, the fight starts the moment someone is cut off and become angry. Recognizing that makes it possible to begin de-escalation before the other driver becomes totally inflamed and starts following you, attempts to cut you off to get you stopped, or actually gets you pulled out of your vehicle and the physical altercation begins. Being able to see trouble coming can help us avoid and de-escalate. 2) ....
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Getting Started

Are you looking for a sport that can save your life? Kempo is the answer! Do you want your kids to have more focus, discipline, treat you and others with respect? Kempo is the answer! Are you looking for something to help you get in shape? Kempo is the answer! Are you looking for a way to relieve stress? Kempo is the answer! Are you looking for a place that it doesn't matter if you are rich, poor, black, white? Kempo!! Check out North Valley Martial Arts! First Month $47.00 https://kempostrong.com/blog/117481/1-Month-Trial ....
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24 Aug 2020
Voice

Most of us have one. Sometimes we use it and sometimes we don't. I always ask my students to practice using their voices. I believe this is an important thing to practice since it is our second-best weapon in any self-defense encounter. Learning to use your voice effectively can save your life, it can de-escalate conflict, and potentially keep an attacker at bay. When I am working with kids I always try to get them to advocate for themselves. As parents, we are not able to be there for our children throughout their day. As a former teacher and veteran playground/recess monitor, I know that kids have conflicts. Conflicts can be large or small. My first question was always "well did you ....
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Parents

I will preface this blurb by saying that I am no all-star, know it all guru, magnificent parent. I screw up, make mistakes, and blow it. I do, however, strive to be better. I work hard at what I do. For some time now, five years to be exact, I have been on a mission to influence culture and society. My eyes opened when I was hired as a martial arts teacher at a local charter school. The students were great and I enjoyed working with all of them more than they know. Early on in my tenure as an instructor, I recognized a couple of problems. One, we don't teach basic interaction. I think we teach the opposite and stifle good interaction in students. We no longer teach students to use ....
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25 Jul 2020
Mistakes

We all make them, we cringe when we notice them, we strive hard to avoid them but, mistakes are our greatest teacher. I am often keenly aware when I do something wrong or when I misspeak or make a mistake. I do my best avoid them and put them off to the side hoping to forget them. But, they never just go away. They always linger waiting to be acknowledged, admitted, and remedied. Sometimes the lessons that come with them are difficult, cost money or cause problems in relationships. I think the aforementioned quote makes a lot of sense. Our mistakes are forgivable if we have the courage and resolve to admit them. Sometimes when students or parents walk into the studio and I forget to ....
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20 Jul 2020
Everyone Has a Plan

I have heard this said and was reminded of it one-day last week. "Everyone has a plan 'til they get punched in the mouth." If 2020 has taught us anything it is that this statement has a lot of truth to it. I started the year with a plan to grow my business and continue with my day job as a martial arts instructor at a local charter school. Then came Covid-19 and one of those needed to pivot quickly and the other went away with half of my monthly income. That hurt! I had a plan, I got hit in the mouth and my plan went away. Plan B was to continue growing the dojo and receive unemployment benefits until I could find another day job. I have applied for unemployment benefits, been ....
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15 Jul 2020
Pride and Martial Arts

In our agreement for service, at the bottom, in a short but concise sentence, there is written "I have the right to dismiss any student for misconduct or behavior that reflects poorly on the studio." I always tell people that I usually do not have that problem with children and only once with a woman. It is usually men in their 30's or 40's that I have had to ask to leave the dojo. The problem is pride and arrogance. The solution is humility and respect. Martial arts requires a healthy respect for the instructor, the dojo, ourselves, and other people. I have found that when we do not have the required respect we become reckless and careless with the things we are learning. Some of the ....
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6 Jul 2020
Strong Children, Broken Men

I find things all over the internet that I like or identify with regularly. Today I found a couple of quotes. One was from someone I follow on Twitter and the other by this gentleman, Fredrick Douglas. The first quote " I think we can conclude the “time out” generation didn’t produce as good of citizens as the “ass beating” generation" makes a point about discipline or the lack thereof. I would not agree with ass beating or any type of abuse toward my children. I would agree that a spanking is in order in certain situations. I know many disagree. That is ok. Honestly, I have not had to spank either of my children since they were very young. When I did a few ....
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1 Jul 2020
Kid's Need This

Of course whenever I am blurbing about what I do or how I do it. It is with reference to Karate, Martial Arts, Self-Defense, and other related topics. I know the benefits of training in those areas. I know from personal experience how Martial Arts has changed my life. I also am able to look back on my time playing soccer, baseball, and football and I can see how my coaches have influenced my life. I can especially see how my football coaches impacted my work ethic, toughness, and drive to succeed. Those men were hard on me, they said things to me that no one else was saying at the time and they pushed me constantly to improve. I remember being a big kid so I played offensive and ....
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29 Jun 2020
Dear Parents,

https://twitter.com/JesseKellyDC/status/1277259818957504520?s=20 I was scrolling through Twitter today and found this tweet. "America has become that household where the parents never said “No” and instead gave their kids everything they wanted and now those kids are teenagers who hate their parents and scream at them in public." In the last three days, I have had several parents request information about our classes and services. I do my thing and reach out to them and their response is, " I asked my son/daughter and they said NO." As a parent, this is heartbreaking to watch. I have witnessed first hand the consequences of allowing your children to do whatever they ....
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Jenny Dreckmann

I have been taking advantage of the adult fitness class, which includes a self-defense component, for about 3 years. I love that the workouts are created to meet any fitness level and help each person to attain his/her personal goals in an energetic, judgement-free environment. Starting something new is never easy, though it didn't take long for me start seeing and feeling the benefits of my effort - I'm very happy I made the commitment to myself with this Dojo and highly recommend checking it out!

Darcy Stravitz

We have been very happy with NVMA. Our kids have learned a lot and we like how calm yet disciplined Sensei James makes it for the kids. They get to do some fun kid games at times and I like how he pushes and encourages character growth in a controlled environment.

Daniel Evan Struble

I am biased because I assist classes there but I believe full heartedly in what they do.
Teaching kids responsibility effort etiquette self control sincerity is important.

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