Culver Karate Club » Articles

Be Careful Outside Your Home!

Perry Culver — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 16:47:33 +0000

Here’s some things to worry about outside your house.

Do you have bushes where people can hide? I know people love there bushes and trees but they provide a place for criminals to hide.

Do you have ground level windows? They make an easy entrance.

Do you have air conditioners in the windows? They are easy to remove unless properly secured.

Do you have window wells, benches, chairs, ladders, etc, outside for someone to climb in the window?

Do you have a hidden key? If you didn’t know where it was how long would it take to find it?

Lights? Do you have any motion senser lights? Are there dark spots in your yard? How hard would it be to sneak up on you?

Provided by Shihan Culver of Culver Karate Club

Getting to where you want to go

Perry Culver — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 14:48:22 +0000

Where do you want to go?

No one leaves for vacation without some kind of plan. Most people plan vacations for months if not years. If Disney is what you want to do then you save money and either study the appropriate websites or consult a vacation planner. When planning life we often do little or no planning. Most people do more planning for a great vacation than for a great life. If you want to be a karate black belt then figure it out. Study the schools in the area that offer what you’d like to study. Don’t know what you want to study then read and search and find the type of martial art and or school that fits what you want to be. Yes what you want to be. I say that because karate is not a vacation, it is life changing. If you put yourself into it, you will learn to be more confident and secure in yourself. You will be the New and Improved You!

If you want to attain a goal you should use this basic process.

#1 Make a plan! Have a goal. (Like a vacation have a destination)

#2 Find people who are experts at what it is you want to do. (Like a vacation planner or travel agent)

#3 Study and work! Blood, sweat and tears! If you study enough then it may require less of each. (Figure out a method of travel and/or routes)

#4 Re-evaluate that plan frequently and remember why you started! (Make sure you have the necessary money to do your vacation)

#5 Don’t quit till you achieve your goal. (Clark Griswold said “Hey getting there is half the fun, You know that!”)

#6 Enjoy and celebrate your achievement and set another goal. (Enjoy getting to your vacation spot)

There’s a lot of ways to get to most any destination but you can’t get there without taking that first step in the right direction.

Kata, Winning & Self Confidence

Perry Culver — Tue, 08 Sep 2020 22:00:21 +0000

Kata ( Karate Routines ), are the bread and butter of Karate. These routines are a textbook of each styles karate movements and techniques. I believe, more importantly kata if properly conceptualized during training is a great confidence builder. If the karateka imagines themselves battling a great opponent or opponents then we should be victorious in our battle on each and every move.

I heard a motivational speaker many years ago comment that the subconscious can’t tell the difference between real and imagined input into the brain. If you imagine yourself winning then it is registered in the brain as a win and you have conquered a foe and gain much confidence in doing so. You may be fighting multiple opponents and winning multiple battles in each kata.

Kata is also like and alphabet of fighting. Just like we don’t use every letter of the alphabet for every word or sentence, we don’t use every move of a kata in every confrontation. A kata tells you many ways to defeat an opponent and each move can be used in a multitude of way just like some letters may be pronounced differently depending on the usage so we may not even need to do them in the exact some way as the are done in the kata. The kata is a guideline of thoughts on how to win. Kata’s can also be a strenuous workout, some have many difficult moves and jumps.

So as you do your katas use a good imagination, use good focus, wining power and winning techniques. It’s hard to believe you’ve won if your techniques are lacking.

I had a martial artist friend that told me make what you do your workout. I worked on mainly katas and push ups after that. When I competed after that i felt like I couldn’t lose. Kata is a great workout so use them.

Practice kata more and you win more. You then gain more self confidence and everything else that comes along with that.

Thanks

Perry Culver

What is your definition of fear?

Perry Culver — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 15:25:12 +0000

What is your definition of fear?

When you want to do something new, but are afraid, Remember Fear can cripple you. Fear can freeze you in place. Fear will make you stay where you are rather than try that new thing. You won’t try that new thing that you’d love to do because you know that you’re not good enough. You’re know that you’re not strong enough. You know that you’re not talented enough. You know that you’ll just embarrass yourself.

Remember the last time you tried something and you managed to do it? It was actually fun. It wasn’t that hard to do. The whole world didn’t laugh at you. You actually had someone say, hey good job. That’s because we enter with a negative image. We have false worries, false concerns, and ideas of things that can and probably will happen to me because stuff always happens to me. I know that it’s easy but I’ll probably fall down, mess up, get hurt or embarrass myself or make people mad at me.

This comes from faulty thinking.

When you approach things with this attitude you will find this out, Fear usually means:

False Expectations Appearing Real

How much differently might your experience be if you start with the belief that Fear actually means:

Face Everything And Rise

Champions Rise to the Occasion! Champions defeat Adversity! Champions Welcome New Challenges!

It’s the Dash that Counts!

Perry Culver — Tue, 30 Jul 2019 12:38:03 +0000

It’s the dash that counts!!!!!?

When your looking at someones tombstone 19__ – 20__ remember it’s what between the dates that counts. What did you do? What are you going to make your dash worth? Start today!

Remember you can’t coulda, shoulda woulda! Excuses won’t make your dash grow. I always say let’s do something even if it’s wrong! If you do something and fail, you either got closer to your goal or you learned something. Sometimes you just learn that you just made a stupid decision and sometimes you find out that you can do more than you thought.

Teddy Roosevelt said:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

When should you start karate? NOW!

What’s the best time to start something new? NOW!

Whens the best time to begin improving yourself? Not January 1st, NOW! Don’t make a New Years Resolution, Make a NEW ME Resolution!!!

A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins With the First Step! Take That First Step NOW!

Get out of your Comfort Zone!

Perry Culver — Sun, 17 Mar 2019 14:40:56 +0000

I’ve found that there is no growth in your comfort zone. If you want to grow, expand, improve, become great or even just good, you must get out of that safe place. When a mother eagle realizes it’s time for the eaglet to start flying, she throws it out of the nest. The eaglet probably thinks that it’s mother is suddenly is trying to kill it. It falls and just before it hits bottom the eagle swoops down an catches it and brings it back to the nest only to throw it out again. The mother knows that that eaglet will never learn to fly if it stays in the nest. So the mother throws the eaglet out of the comfort of the nest so it may someday soar like an Eagle should!
On the other end of a spectrum is the turkey. A turkey that is raised for consumption is put in a cage where they can’t fly and are feed too much, too often and it becomes a fat grounded bird in a comfort zone. If that bird were allowed to fly it would be much leaner and obviously not very tender on that Thanksgiving platter.
My greatest growth was when I jumped out of the nest. I’ve gone to tournaments on my own, in strange towns trusting on the notion that it would give me growth. I’ve learned the most when I challenged myself. I became friends with people from Ohio because I traveled to Ohio and competed. I became friends with people in Philadelphia, Altoona, West Virginia, Maryland, Florida, and many other states and cities because I got out of my nest, out of my comfort zone and went to tournaments, seminars or any kind of karate event there is. I’ve visited, trained, taught, learned and shared at and with many other schools and karate professionals. I had a set of beliefs when I earned my black belt and have often learned, expanded and sometimes totally destroyed some of my set of beliefs by getting out of my comfort zone. I learned how to win but more importantly I learned how to lose.

If you want to learn to win, you must first lose. If you lose and figure out why then you have grown! If you complain that hey I got cheated then you believe you have nothing to learn, so you stay in your comfort zone.
Your comfort zone is a warm cozy place to stay, just like the dojo. If you never go outside the dojo then whatever you learn is all that you learn. There are many lessons to be learned out there.
So in essence, I’m saying get off your butt, get busy, get out of your house, get out of the video, TV and game world, get out of the dojo and get out of your comfort zone and start working on you.
Get out of that turkey cage and soar like an eagle!
You can’t find greatness in your comfort zone.

Champions are made in the Summer

Perry Culver — Mon, 14 May 2018 05:21:51 +0000

I don’t see how anyone that want’s to progress or excel can take a vacation from your goal.

I once took a a little while off from karate to do some remodeling on a house that my dad and brother had bought to rent. I worked like a nut to get the work done. My dad was not feeling the best that summer and my brother was way too busy to care. Between softball and watching everyone elses games he couldn’t find time to help me. I would go to work and work late at the house. I painted outside till late at night using spot lights. I’d work 12 and 16 hrs on my days off. Why? So I could get it done and get back to my regular life. I didn’t take a vacation that summer. I didn’t play softball, something I love. I didn’t even watch a Pirate game and even didn’t get to watch the Steelers till late in the season. I knew I had to get it done. I knew I was pretty much on my own. I focused all my energy on that project to get it done.

How did I maintain any kind of training? I made my work my workout. I would exercise with heavy materials. I kept part of the living room clear so that I could do kata. I still worked out.

I often reflect back to my past summers. Other summers I would run or bike to class sometimes with a back pack and my gi and sometimes extra weight to increase my workout.

If you want to get good don’t take a vacation from your goals. Unless your goals are to be mediocre.

The Ability to Focus

Perry Culver — Mon, 14 May 2018 01:19:32 +0000

Focus Behaviors can be taught. If you or your child is to succeed, focus is all important. This skill will help your child’s aim, listening skills and reaction skills. If you want a child’s grades to improve, then better focus equals better grades.

In karate class I point to my eyes with both fingers and they say, Eyes on you sir. It’s a reminder to focus and pay attention. If they start focusing more then their listening skills will improve. I remind kids that if they want to get better grades then keep their eyes on their teachers whether it’s in school or in karate, they will excel faster in any learning activity.

Your child will also become a better listener and more focused student in both school and karate.

This skill alone is worth sending a kid to karate, let alone the confidence, mental toughness and self defense skills they will learn.

The ability to focus is so important to future development and work skills not only the ability to carry on a conversation with their future spouse. lol

See you in class!

Shihan Culver

Never

Perry Culver — Sun, 13 May 2018 23:11:03 +0000

“Never, never, never give up.”
― Winston Churchill
No never give up, never give in when you haven’t reached your goal. Don’t let other’s negativity dissuade you, disillusion you or change your mind.
When you want something so bad that it consumes you, then it is something you must and can do.
Don’t be afraid to fail. Edison once said I haven’t failed 5000 times, I’ve eliminated 5000 ways that we can’t make a light bulb! As we all know he succeeded.
Keep going, keep driving and when life looks doors, climb through a window.
When life throws up walls get a sledge hammer.
When life throws up a mountain start tunnelling!
Churchill would not let Great Britain give up in spite of the relentless bombing of the Germans. The rest is history.
If he could hold off such an overwhelming force till the USA could come to his aid and eventually beat back Nazi Germany then what kind of things can we achieve with a little determination.
Stay the course kids, stay the course!
Shihan Culver

Different Tools

Perry Culver — Wed, 09 May 2018 18:53:26 +0000

Steve the Award Man was telling me about how he made a tool to make trophies faster. He said Master Pritts came to his shop and made 130 trophies in no time because of his new tool that he invented. He managed to created a speedy assembly tool using a drill and a foot pedal. American ingenuity at it’s finest. Because he thought differently and thought outside the box Master Steve is able to speed up his work tremendously.

This reminded me of class when I tell students about adding things to their tool boxes. We all have a Martial Arts tool box that is full of neat tools. The problem is everyone has pretty much the same tool box. Most people do the same things, the same way and in the same order. I’ve said countless times that if you want to be good, show up for class, listen, train hard practice extra and make sure you practice correctly. That’s only the formula for being good, not great!

Lets think on Great! Did you ever hear about thinking out of the box? That’s thinking differently. I just said most people do things the same. If you do things differently then people don’t recognize it immediately. That’s why left handers are usually difficult to fight. Out of 10 people 1 will usually be left handed. In my experience the lefty that learns and performs as a left hander is usually very successful. However the left hander that trys to fight like a right hander is usually not near as successful. A right hander who switches side will often be a problem for right handers but a good left hander can’t really figure them out much better because they are used to fighting right handers too! So it can help the right hander to switch sides but not the lefty.

I’ve talked about many ways to throw off your opponent but when you are in the ring, you only have 2 or 3 minutes to figure the other guy out. When you are in a real fight, you may have less time. So if you do what everyone else does you’ll do what they know, what is expected, and you may lose as a result. You’ll be quickly figured out and suffer the consequences.

So if you want to be good, show up for class, listen, train hard practice extra and make sure you practice correctly.

If you want to be great be different, unique and special (not just because you’re mother said you’re special).

Have Tools ( different tools ).

Have a plan ( different plan ).

Do different stuff ( Be erratic / do combinations and technics that others don’t do ).

You don’t need to work harder, work smarter!