Poway Veterans Park Bike Run

Recently, I had the opportunity to volunteer at the Poway Veterans Park Poker Run, a motorcycle run to benefit a new veterans’ memorial park being built in Poway, CA. It was a great event that supported a great cause. It was very well organized and those responsible for setting this up are due a tremendous thanks for their hard work. Volunteering and being of service to the community is something that is important to me and I instill these values to my students at the martial arts school as well.

All of my family was working hard at the event. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law were key organizers, and he rode in it. My mother-in-law and father-in-law were at 2 of the rest stops, as was I. My wife took my kids to the site where the park is going to be built where my son put up a lemonade stand and gave out free lemonade to all the bikers. Then at the end, I took my son to the VFW to enjoy the BBQ and festivities. I even ran into some old Marine Corps buddies I hadn’t seen in years.

Anyone who is in the San Diego area and wasn’t able to participate this year, it will most likely be back next year as the park will need ongoing maintenance and funds will need to be raised to support that. Keep an eye for more information on that next year. For those who are veterans or wish to honor them, this is an event not to be missed!
See you in the dojo.

Tony Whetstine (The Bushido Guy) and Marine Corps Veteran
Poway Samurai Martial Arts

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June is Men’s Health Month and summer is a great time to start a fitness plan. If your good health has not been a primary concern, take a moment to reflect on what you are doing for health and fitness in your life and see if you can make any changes for the better.

The American Heart Association reports that heart disease is still the leading cause of death among men in the United States. Men’s Health Month was created to heighten awareness of preventable health problems in men and boys. With a statistic that one in three men can expect to develop some form of cardiovascular disease before the age of 60, there is no better time than now to start a fitness routine.

Poway Samurai Martial Arts has several ways men can improve their health and fitness:

1. Martial Arts
   Martial arts classes can be a great way to incorporate exercise into your weekly schedule and wont give you the same routine each time so you’ll be anticipating each session and not getting bored.
2. Sword Classes
   Learning the Samurai and Ninja sword is an activity where you can not only break a sweat with physical activity, but also gain mental acuity as well and improved focus.
3. Qi Gong
   Qi Gong is a slow set of exercises great for reducing stress and also eliminating other physical “dis-ease”.

We invite you to try one or all our classes for a new exercise program that will keep your interest and never be boring. Plus you can improve your health and fitness with traditional and authentic martial arts.

See you in the dojo.
Tony Whetstine (The Bushido Guy)
Poway Samurai Martial Arts

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The release of the new Karate Kid movie has caused me to take a look back at the original movie, which I enjoyed very much as a teen. At that time, it helped to bring more attention away from the martial arts action films from China and Japan and placed much more focus on the reasons for practicing the art.

What the Karate Kid Can Teach Us

While the new movie might be more aptly called “The Kung Fu Kid”, as the boy in the film is taught Chinese Kung Fu rather than Karate from Japan or Okinawa, hopefully it will not only be entertaining but also increase interest in its’ predecessor. Paraphrasing from the At The Movies hosts at the time of the original movies release, the Karate Kid movie was “not a martial arts film but rather it was a film about martial arts”.

The more people can learn about the “why” aspect of learning this art as opposed to the “how” can I fight, the better off our community will be. Self-improvement, self-esteem and personal growth is why martial arts practice is so valuable. Yes, you do also learn self defense and fighting skills, but, it’s the internal focus that brings you so much more. Please read my older post titled: Why Practice the Traditional Martial Arts of the Samurai and Ninja.

I’ll see you in the dojo.

Tony Whetstine (The Bushido Guy)
Poway Samurai Martial Arts

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In the last 2 weeks, we’ve received a number of calls from women interested in taking the “Tools for Personal Safety – Women’s Only Self Defense” workshop. With that, we’ve scheduled a class on August 7, from 1 – 4pm.

Here’s a video clip of just one of the techniques women have learned in this workshop:

I demonstrate and teach the attendees how to escape, avoid, control, and evade dangerous situations that an jeopardize their safety. We also talk about awareness training such as: what to do if a stranger approaches asking for help, how to protect yourself in a parking lot and most importantly, how to avoid dangerous situations all together.

Don’t miss this important Women’s Safety and Self Defense class and please share this information with anyone you know: mother, sister, aunt, niece, grandmother, wife, daughter, friend, co-worker. They will be glad you did.

The “Tools for Personal Safety – Women’s only Self Defense” workshop will be held on August 7, 2010, from 1 – 4 pm at 13160 Poway Road (in the Library Plaza Shopping Center).

Fee: $30 per person. Those who bring a friend will save $5 per person.

Participants are asked to wear comfortable clothes.

See you in the dojo!
Tony Whetstine (The Bushido Guy)
Poway Samurai Martial Arts

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My Son Lee - Practing Seigan (Age 2)

In light of the recent tragedies involving two young girls in our area, our inquiries about our martial arts and womens’ safety programs have been way up. Normally it takes my wife and I a good two months to get enough women to participate in one of our bi-annual womens’ safety classes. But, the last few months have seen the phone ringing quite a bit with concerns for women’s and girls’ safety.

As you can imagine, most of the calls are parents worried about their daughters. That’s not a bad thing but today I want to remind people not to forget their boys. There isn’t nearly the attention given to boys who go missing as girls. Boys can get hurt in this world too and all too often this can be over looked.

Boys who experience abuse many times to find a way to deal with it on their own, an inherited stigma of machismo. Sadly, all too often this only leads them to becoming abusers themselves or to harming themselves. It is a good thing to have our boys look out for others and to teach and encourage this. But, they are not men yet and they need to be protected and looked after too, just as girls do.

Let’s remember to love our sons, protect them, encourage them and help them learn to do the same when they are men. I know for me personally, my son always makes me think of working as hard as possible to be a better man and a better dad. I need to be the best role model for him I can be. What are you doing in your life to be a good role model?

I look forward to your comments.

Tony Whetstine (The Bushido Guy)
Poway Samurai Martial Arts

Support the New Poway Veterans Park

The City of Poway is going to build a Veteran’s park on Midland Road and they need your help. On June 6, 2010, there is going to be a Motorcycle Benefit Ride to help raise money. As a Marine Corps veteran and Poway Citizen, I am donating 1 month of free martial arts training as a raffle prize (a $100 value). You can participate in several ways: riding in the benefit or donating directly. Donating $25 gets you a raffle ticket and ride entry and $1 more enters you in the poker hand for the Bike run.

Ride Details:

1. Ride will take place on Sunday, 6 June 2010.
2. Event will start and end at Poway VFW Post 7907 (12342 Old Pomerado Road Poway, CA 92064)
3. Registration begins at 0830 and ends at 0925.
4. Riders depart at 0945.
5. Ride will make stops at: Moreland Choppers, Vista VFW Post 7041, Escondido Cycle Center, Ramona VFW Post 3783, Poway Veterans Park Future Location
6. Ride completed no later than 1300.
7. Prize awarded for best hand and raffle conducted at end of ride.

It is a poker run. People start at the Poway VFW and then at each stop, they draw a playing card which is recorded on their “poker hand card.” At the end of the run they will have drawn enough cards for a poker hand and the best hand wins the “pot”. At the end of the run, back at the Poway VW, there will be free hot dogs and hamburgers, music, and the raffle prizes are given away (along with awarding the poker hand pot).

To Sign Up for the Motorcycle Ride:
Ride Point of Contact is Joe “Gunner” Vaineharrison at: vaineharrison@aol.com 858-722-9206
To participate in the Motorcycle Ride, email Joe for the entry form.

To Send a Check:
Make checks payable to “City of Poway” (write “Veteran’s Park” in memo). Donation is tax deductable. The receipt will come directly from the City of Poway.
If you cannot attend on June 6th, please mail your donation to:
Joe Vaineharrison
12247 Buckskin Trail
Poway, Ca 92064

See you in the dojo.
Tony Whetstine (The Bushido Guy)
Poway Samurai Martial Arts

Yesterday we held our last scheduled Women’s Tools for Personal Safety and Self Defense Class. Again I was glad that women who attended “learned more than they expected.” Some said, “I was expecting to learn to fight, but I am very glad I did not.” That is because our class is about techniques to help you escape and avoid dangerous situations, not how to beat someone up. No one can teach you to defend yourself in a one day class. Self defense takes months and years of training.

This year saw such a demand for Women’s Safety classes, and helping women become empowered with their personal safety is so rewarding for me to teach. I was also pleased to incorporate Sealed Mindset into the awareness portion of my class. For so long I felt like I was the only one out there pointing out the difference between Self Defense – learning a martial art and practicing it regularly, to Awareness and Tools for safety, which is what I teach in this particular class.

Visit sealedmindset.com for online personal safety training.

Lt. Lawrence Yatch, former Navy Seal with 11 years experience in special operations and his wife, Anne who holds a Masters in International Security, created SealedMindset.com to allow people to educate themselves, online and at their own pace, about personal safety. If you are interested in more information about their program, please visit sealedmindset.com and use coupon code PSMA for a $10 discount on their online lesson program. They even offer a free awareness test for you to try it out.

They are providing an in depth and valuable resource dedicated to personal safety and their expertise enhanced my curriculum of the Women’s Tools for Personal Safety class immeasurably!

Another student that what she remembers most from the class is to, “Be aware of your surroundings!” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

See you in the dojo.
Tony Whetstine (The Bushido Guy)
Poway Samurai Martial Arts

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With such an overwhelming response to the Tuesday 4pm class, we have opened up a second day for Little Ninjas classes starting on Monday May 17th at 5pm. Those currently enrolled in the Tuesday 4pm day and time are welcome to move to the new day if they prefer, or, stay in their current spot. If you are not already a student, this is a great time to try a free class and see how your child can get a head start on success in all they do!

Also, with summer vacations on the way, we’ve broken up the Summer Sessions into two 4 week programs. We are now accepting pre-enrollment for the summer. Here is the schedule:

Monday Classes – Once a Week, 5pm
Session #1 Mon 6/28, 7/5, 7/12 & 7/19
Session #2 Mon 8/2, 8/9, 8/16 & 8/23

Tuesday Classes – Once a Week, 4pm
Session #1 Tues 6/29, 7/6, 7/13 & 7/20
Session #2 Tues 8/3, 8/10, 8/17 & 8/24

Little Ninjas is a program to help introduce martial arts skills, develop focus and coordination as well as discipline to help children excel at their own pace. Little Ninjas uses a rotating curriculum of 8 week cycles to reinforce the skills practiced and also varies the skills and drills to keep the training fresh and exciting! Each 8 week session is different, so, your kids will find new games and lessons every time they enroll.

Give us a call at #858-486-0059 to switch classes, or enroll in any of our new sessions. We offer a multiple child discount of 10% for each additional child and the first class is always free to try.

I’ll see you in the dojo.

Tony Whetstine (The Bushido Guy)
Poway Samurai Martial Arts

How is Poway Samurai Martial Arts School different from other martial arts schools?

This is a good question is often asked by people calling or coming to check out our dojo. The answer is that not only do we teach traditional martial arts of the samurai and ninja but we hold true to their philosophies. We do not need to pressure people who inquire nor do we try and force students in to long term binding contracts.

It is our philosophy that if you train here, it is your school. We facilitate the school and help you excel in the arts we teach and how those philosophies and skill can help you be successful in other areas of your life. The effort and commitment must come from you and be to yourself. Without that purity of heart and intent then all if the skills and kata will not help you succeed.

The Code of Bushido was not simply a set of rules but truly a way of life and living that went beyond martial skills and we place that same focus here. There are no trophies or weight divisions at our school and the contest is: are you better today than you were yesterday.

See you in the dojo.
Tony Whetstine (The Bushido Guy)

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The Tools for Personal Safety Class on March 21st was a big success with 25 women in attendance. It was a pleasure to once again present the important tools to remain safe. I don’t like to call the class a “Self Defense” course because this goes far beyond that and no one can teach you how to fight off an experienced attacker in just 3 hours. For those very serious about Self Defense, they must take part in a regular martial arts program on an ongoing basis.

That being said we covered quite a few physical tools that compliment truly being aware of one’s surroundings. One comment from a woman who has trained in 4 martial arts systems was that she had never been exposed to these simple ideas before. I taught the women leverage techniques over fighting skills. These skills worked no matter the size or age of the woman, and the women left the class feeling empowered and in control of their personal safety.

Here’s a few video clips from the event.

See you in the dojo!

Tony Whetstine (The Bushido Guy)
Poway Samurai Martial Arts

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