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Kris Wilder 2013 Seminar Texas

When I meet someone for the first time, and tell them what I do for a living, I am often given the response along the lines of, “That’s not a job.”

And to be honest, what I do does not feel like a job.

Yes, I get paid. Yes, I show up every day. Yes, I have required duties that must be performed or there will be consequences. At the most basic levels, it is a job.

The reaction comes from people who view martial arts as a hobby. To some people, undoubtedly, martial arts are a hobby.

But to me, I am not just teaching martial arts. I am making a difference in the life of each child in my class.

There are many things missing from modern society. One of these is a proper placement of the order of family. The values I was brought up with are changing too fast. When I was growing up, we were taught to respect our elders. That is a value that is fading. We have been placing our children on a pedestal. And we have been doing this for so long that the children, in many cases, do not respect the authority of the parents.

And a funny thing happens when the children don’t respect the authority of the parents; they begin to stop believing in authority at all.

In my time in school, if my grades dropped, or if I did not behave properly, my parents went after me. In many cases now, the parents go after the teacher.

The children in these cases not only stop seeing the need to respect the authority of the teacher, through their ability to get the parent to bend the rules to suit the desires of the child then that very child starts to see themselves as the authority at home and at school; they also end up with zero accountability for their own effort, action, and work ethic.

Enter the martial arts class.

Children in a traditional martial arts class must follow rules and protocols. Not following the rules results in instant and undesired consequences.

In the class, there is an authority figure. The instructor teaches and ensures the safety of the students. The instructor shares knowledge, and while still showing the students very high levels of respect, leaves no doubt as to who is in charge and what the structure of hierarchy is at all times. Within the class itself, students must be respectful to and follow the commands of the students of higher rank, and in some cases these students might be younger than them, but this they must do, for the higher rank has more knowledge of the style and has earned their rank through time and effort, which is the real meaning of kung fu.

So, while it may seem that I come in at 6:45 AM, teach martial arts classes until 5:00 or 5:30 and go home, I see it different. I am trying my best each day to make that small difference. Each day is new and is filled with opportunities to change the course of a kid’s life. As long as I hold up, I will continue to fight this fight.

We have a lot of things coming up in 2013! In addition to our upcoming additions to be added, including a video segment, as well as a training blog and a whole host of other additions, 2013 looks to be a very good year here. I thank all of you for your support, and hope to provide what you are looking for in the coming year! Stay safe and keep training!

I just want to send a quick note out to those who follow this blog.

First I wish to thank you all for the follows, the Facebook likes, and the mostly kind emails. I really do appreciate all of it, and it does keep my drive alive to make this blog high quality in terms of content, and yet keep to my view that what I write should feel as if I am talking to you and not writing a dissertation.

Next I wish to remind those who do not know, that the new school year has begun, and as such, things are very hectic for me and anyone else who works in the public school system. There will probably be long stretches of time between posts untill December, and then again until June. I cannot help this as my work requires so much time and focus that if I try to multi-task, something is going to fall apart. I work with kids, and have a family, and so I cannot allow any of that to even be at risk of falling apart. I know those of you who know me personally understand, but I do want all of the people who read this to understand as well.

Last, I want to note that my next book is complete, but still needs to go through some editing. The first part of the editing is nearly complete, as I am going through and adding footnotes and references. I find both irritating, but references are a legal requirement and footnotes add clarity, so it is a necessary evil from my point of view. Once this is done, I send it out to a few people who have offered to defend the reader and make sure that I am expressing myself clearly. It is not possible to do this part myself because I know what I am trying to communicate. I think the entire process should be complete in such a way that by January I will have the new book out. This one is better than Slapping Dragons, so those of you who liked and enjoyed Slapping Dragons will really enjoy the next one.

Last, I want to thank everyone for the kind emails. I get some garbage emails, but by and large they are outnumbered by the positive emails (and for the record; I count constructive criticism as positive…). Thank you for reading, and I am so happy that so many people have found my random thoughts to be of some small use! Take care!