In the darkness of every night lurks a potential danger. You may go your whole life without experiencing the terror of an attacker darting out an alley. Or you might find yourself forced to fight or lose your life when an unstable force comes hurtling your way. How will you respond?
Imi Lichtenfeld invented the technique known as Krav Maga on these violent streets of Eastern Europe. The balance had swung in the favor of Nazis and he had no choice but defend himself or perish. In those days, Lichtenfeld learned how to counter assailants wielding knives, bats, guns, chains and weapons no had even seen before. It was survival of the strongest – survival of a fighter who could bring unparalleled mental toughness to every encounter and overcome physical limitations with sheer cunning and lightning-quick reflexes.
The Vinidication of a Self-Defense Style
Lichtenfeld survived that ugly period from the mid-1930s all the way up to the Nazi takeover of the region. He made it out of Europe on one of the last refugee boats that took to sea. It was a painful experience, but the proof was indisputable: Lichtenfeld was a survivor and his technique had worked. Upon settling in Israel after the war, the IDF quickly made a place for him in special forces training.
Incorporating these survival techniques to suit modern times took less refining than you might think. The same concept applies to modern-day muggings. You are walking down the street and you happen to notice a shadow moving in an alleyway. No one is on the street. As you approach, you see movement. An attacker jumps out…are you ready to engage, or do you feel hopeless?
Living in fear is no way to respond to the challenges of this world. Krav Maga is not a system designed to get you asserting yourself in violent situations. It is a technique meant to reassure you. It is confidence, pure and simple. When your life is on the line, you’ll know you are ready to respond.
Don’t wait for the moment when you are caught unprepared. Act now and get your free private lesson to see for your self the difference between a prepared person and an unprepared person.
So I want to take some time to reiterate some things that have been said in the past, but need to be stressed again. It’s about our children in martial arts. Its not about being the best fighter in the world. It’s about so much more than that. Get the benefits of martial arts for you or your children.
One main value gained from children takingMixed Martial Arts/MMA is the level on confidence that it instills within them. At Dragon Within Mixed Martial Arts, we don’t force children to compete. We do (however) have a few who like to compete and it’s a great confidence builder! We have these four kids (ages ranging from 10-16) who love to compete in NAGA (North American Grappling Association). They have been written up in our local paper and it makes them feel good about their accomplishments. It also teaches them that, win or lose, if they gave it their all–they should be proud of what they have achieved. Being a sore loser isn’t an attribute in any of these kids. They are humble in their achievements and gracious in the lesson learned from their defeats which makes them work even harder next time. They set goals and work to achieve them. Which is a huge thing for kid’s to learn: goal setting.
There is a simple benefit from kid’s enrolled in mixed martial arts; it can improve the results in almost anything that you do in conjunction with their Mixed Martial Arts/MMA classes. We have one teen, 15 years old, who is flourishing in school with A’s and B’s and this all started when he began his training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu/BJJ.
The Most IMPORTANT thing to stress is that our programs at DWMMA, Salem MA,instills confidence in Children! Whether it is performance in school or sports they have the confidence to perform to their fullest potential. Or, if they were to encounter bullying or peer pressure–they have the confidence to make the best decisions to make you proud as a parent.
Bullying, in a nut shell, is a form of intimidation or domination toward someone who is perceived as being weaker.It’s almost like we are living in the jungle with a pack of wolves fighting over alfa male. We do all sorts of harmful acts to show our dominance and take what we want by force. Typically as kids, the only thing we want is make the other child feel humiliated. Usually this is because we are insecure for some reason. There are different types of bullying. While some may think that bullying mainly consists only of physical domination, the fact of the matter is that there are verbal and emotional forms of bullying as well. And, with the rise of the Internet, there are now instances of children being bullied online through email, chatrooms and on Facebook. It is even possible to be bullied through text messaging on a cell phone. Chid bullying can happen in any of these forms. It’s not like in the 90’s when you had to go knock door to door to bully someone, now they make it easy for you.
For the most part, boys prefer to use physical intimidation tactics in their bullying. They will use physical aggression to force others to do what they want, or to feel in charge of a situation. Something about testosterone I would imagine. Girls, on the other hand, typically use more of a subtle approach. They stick to teasing, name calling, and passive aggressive methods. None the less it still hurts the same.
They may be abused or neglected at home. They may not have parents that get involved in their life or well being. And how well do our school spread knowledge about bullying and taking a stand?
282,000 students are physically attacked in secondary schools each month.
Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year, according to the CDC. For every suicide among young people, there are at least 100 suicide attempts. Over 14 percent of high school students have considered suicide, and almost 7 percent have attempted it.
Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims, according to studies by Yale University
A study in Britain found that at least half of suicides among young people are related to bullying
10 to 14 year old girls may be at even higher risk for suicide, according to the study above
According to statistics reported by ABC News, nearly 30 percent of students are either bullies or victims of bullying, and 160,000 kids stay home from school every day because of fear of bullying
One third of teens reported being bullied while at school
About 20 percent of teens had been made fun of by a bully, 18 percent of teens had rumors or gossip spread about them, 11 percent were physically bullied, such as being shoved, tripped, or spit on, 6 percent were threatened, 5 percent were excluded from activities they wanted to participate in, 4 percent were coerced into something they did not want to do, and 4 percent had their personal belongings destroyed by bullies
4 percent of teens in this study reported being the victims of cyber bullying
Most bullying occurred inside the school, with smaller numbers of bullying incidents occurring outside on the school grounds, on the school bus, or on the way to school
Only about a third of bully victims reported the bullying to someone at school
About 2 of every 3 bully victims were bullied once or twice during the school year, 1 in 5 were bullied once or twice a month, and about 1 in 10 were bullied daily or several times a week
In this study, females and white students reported the most incidents of being the victims of bullying
44 percent of middle schools reported bullying problems, compared to just over 20 percent of both elementary and high schools
If your child is the one being bullied, you need to help them as soon as possible. Don’t wait. Try talking to them.
Let them know that you can go together, to school authorities to see what can be done in terms of mediation, and in terms of increased attention paid on the school grounds.
Please help Dragon Within Martial Arts spread the word about bullying. Talk to as many people as you can. We are hosting an anti-bully workshop that is free to your child. We want to help teach every kid the importance of knowing the signs of bullying. We need to stop this and together we can.
Join us November 22nd from 2-4 for a free community event. We will be teaching anti-bully techniques and how to get away from someone who is bullying your child.
I want to give a special shout out to all the members of our Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu team that are out today fighting for cancer! Tap cancer out is not only a great competition for out team to get some practice in, but it is an amazing fundraiser for cancer. Too many people are loosing the fight to cancer everyday. I’m sure we all have had an experience with a cancer patient. We need to do all we can to help these people. And what better way then combining our favorite sport with a fundraiser? There is also a way for people who cannot or don’t compete to just donate a little money. People fighting cancer are giving everything, even their last breath to try to make a break through for someone else. Let’s keep fighting the fight. Dragon within teaches Brazilian jiu-jitsu not only for a street fighting stand point, but will also teach anyone who is willing to learn, the fundamentals of competing. We will make you the best competitor you are capable of. If you’re willing to put in the effort, we will take you the distance. Way to go team dragon for competing this weekend and for fighting in the fight against cancer. You truly are an inspiration to those less fortunate.
Tap out cancer has only been around since 2011, but has already made a huge impact. Together with donations, these competitions have raised over $135,000 for numerous cancer causes.
Statistics show that over 560,000 people lose the fight against cancer every year. This equals to 1,500 people a day. Can you imagine how many 1,500 is? That is a lot of people to die in one day. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. This is equal to 1 out of every 4 deaths are due to cancers.
“At Tap Cancer Out, believe that the jiu-jitsu community can come together to help raise money and awareness to support these organizations, hospitals, doctors, researchers and volunteers who won’t quit until they’ve forced cancer to tap out.”
We need to make people understand that BJJ is not only about fighting and being big and strong. It is not as intimidating as some make it seem. Bjj students are like a family or a unit. They take their skill and turn it into a way of life for themselves. Bringing all these families together to raise money is the same as bringing the running community together to run 5k’s for cancer.
“Tap Out: A combat sports term for yielding to the opponent, and hence resulting in an immediate defeat.“
*We put together a team of hard working students. They worked after class to prepare for a demo at the 8th annual Culture fest. These martial artists are truly inspirational.*
So at Dragon Within Mixed Martial Arts, We could have basically taken all of our students and made a fantastic demo team. We have approximately 100 child students in 3 different age groups. These age groups make up our 3 classes; Little Dragons, Juniors, and finally Young Adults. Our little Dragons are 4-6 years old. Our Juniors are ages 7-10 years old and our Young Adults are ages 11-14. We gathered as a team and hand picked 15 kids from all three classes to perform in the demonstration.
We pair up all our students carefully with each other to avoid any size or strength issues. No child is set up for failure!
We keep them motivated with rewards and special attention and praise all the time. We even offered a snack in between classes because they get hungry after all that exercise.
-Baylie walks down the street and yet again, runs into that mean ol’ bully of her, Autumn. Autumn puts her hands on her one more and time and Baylie has had enough She defends herself with a crazy monkey in 50/50 then a take down. But she doesn’t stop there, no she mounts and pins that mean bully. She takes total control of the situation and then calls for help. This is great way to assert yourself against a bully with our hurting them. Remember our intention is not to hurt anyone, but do defend and evade the situation.
-Sarah and Steph (one of our adult students) demonstrate a little competition mixed with some real life skill. The show walking teep kicks into roundhouse kicks. This shows a more traditional Thai Kickboxing and what its all about.
Each student looks absolutely adorable up on stage, and not one student got stage fright. They were all excited and pumped to perform!
The Dragon’s at Dragon Within have been involved in martial arts training for over 50 years combined. This school has been alive for more than 10 years and is constantly growing. Our philosophy is to teach students self defense within the Art. The staff and students show compassion when training in the Dojo.
We believe that within the structured class our students develop self-confidence, motivation to set and reach goals, respect, discipline, and self control. Our class is taught at a pace, which allows students to advance in their belt over time. The time and work it takes to stay in class and earn a higher rank is what grows character, self-discipline, and patience. We understand that it is a difficult thing to stay motivated towards, which is why it is such a great achievement when they receive that belt. We stay focused on the Art and the way our curriculum is designed helps develop positive characteristics in our students over time.
Our kickboxing class has the same mentality. The curriculum is designed to keep you focused and motivated. You will feel like you have accomplished something new after each class whether it be physically or mentally.
If you have a Facebook and would like to see a recent album or see the flow of the way we operate please find us at facebook.com/dwmma . We also post schedule changes and member notifications there as well so definitely a good idea anyways!
We have experience with students of all backgrounds and maturity levels. Even children with social disorders and anxieties tend to thrive at Dragon Within
Our goal is to help our members to develop, grow, and improve both physically and mentally through their progression in Mixed Martial Arts, Krav Maga, Thai Kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Self defense and Fitness Training. We accomplish this by offering the most functional, realistic, innovative, and enjoyable martial arts and fitness training available.
**We would also like to give a special thanks to Miss Jess, kids program coordinator and lead instructor, for putting together such an amazing show. And huge thanks to the A3D for hosting the 8th Annual Culture Fest in downtown Salem and inviting us to be a part of it.**
A man in Texas went on a killing spree after his wife put out a protective order against him. This man went looking for her anyway. When he couldn’t find her, he lost it. 6 people were murdered and 1 more in critical condition. I commend the survivor (age 15) for calling 9-1-1. But what if there was a way the other 6 could still be alive? Sure there is no dodging a bullet from this sick individual. And according to CNN news, he had been known to beat his wife and drag her around the house by her hair, while the kids watched. But what if that could have been avoided? Now this is just my honest opinion, but what is a piece of paper to a sick man like him? Also what is dialing a phone going to do when you have to wait up to 10 minutes for a response? It only takes less than a second to fire off a bullet from a gun. But what if these victims knew how to defend themselves? There are many methods of protection against a brutal man, and even knowledge of weapon control and how to handle a situation when a gun is present. There is no getting rid of guns forever, and even if we did, people would find something else to kill with. It is encoded in our DNA like wild animals. Now most of us can control our inner animal. But we can learn the mind-set of how to handle a situation. It takes a lot of training. It takes a lot of discipline and mind control. Now who knows what the exact situation was when this man walked into the house and shot everyone. I do believe there may have been no avoiding it. As soon as anyone sees a gun, they tend to freeze. Some of our highly trained military and police sometimes have a moment of uncertainty. All we can do is prepare mentally and physically.
Many are skeptical about martial arts, especially when starting out. They often wonder if martial arts will be too much work or if they will even find it enjoyable, but if you ask anyone who has been doing martial arts a long time, these are common thoughts for one just starting out. The first few drills and training sessions will be the toughest as your body most likely isn’t familiar with the movements or the contact, but that will change. Each time you drill a certain technique, your body gets more and more used to it. Think of your body like a computer; each time you go through a movement or technique, you’re basically just programming your body. The more you do it the more your body becomes comfortable with it. Once you settle in and you become comfortable, that is where the fun begins. This is when you can open your skill set up to as many techniques as you can handle and learn different styles too.
If you’re not one that is comfortable with physical contact, I ensure you that Krav Maga offers nothing that will put you over the edge. After all, Krav Maga is primarily all self defense, so little contact is actually preferred in most scenarios. However, there are a few beginners that have a phobia of physical contact. Luckily for these people, martial arts offers many other styles, like Thai Kickboxing, that is just as much of an exercise as it is a martial art. While Krav Maga specializes in self-defense, thus requiring physical contact, martial arts like Thai Kickboxing is more independent. While there are many styles of Thai Kickboxing, the majority of them can be found enjoyable to the most hesitant people who fear close quarters and physical contact. As you will soon find out, Krav Maga and other martial arts have a huge pay off after that initial hump.
As comfort levels set in, you will find much enjoyment in practicing and learning techniques. You will make friends, learn things about yourself, and develop a strong, confident, mature, and new perception of life through the study of martial arts.
Do you want to make a dedicated effort at getting in shape and developing a regular exercise routine, but don’t know exactly how to do it? You can find answer in Krav Maga. Krav Maga, a martial art centered in self-defense techniques, offers up a very long list of benefits that a regular exercise gym does not. You don’t have the luxury of really becoming one with your body by cycling on an elliptical, running on a treadmill, or lifting weights. Martial arts offers a whole new dimension of physical activity that is not exclusive to ripping muscles, but included strengthening your brain and heart as well.
It’s hard to explain the exact feeling you get when pursuing a goal or an achievement. It’s a sort of internal drive; an energy inside that seems to provide your body with the needed power. There aren’t many exercises you can do at a gym that will make you feel like you really accomplished something. Sure you can complete your reps at the bench-press station, or get a new record when maxing out on squats, but you don’t actually get rewarded. In martial arts, you are directly rewarded by earning your way up a variety of different colored belts. These colors represent your rank and is what you can proudly show off. The color of your belt represents how much work, time, and dedication you put out. This is something that people at a regular gym are missing out on.
Other than the satisfaction of earning your way up an actual ranking system, the overall environment is better. When you’re on the mats practicing Krav Maga, everyone is there to help each other out. There are no egos that get in the way and that is why martial arts is such a down-to-earth environment. People all share the enjoyment together, and are there to work their way up and prove something to themselves and others. This makes for a strong connection or camaraderie that you will develop in the bonds between you and your fellow Martial Artists. Again, something that is missing for sure at a regular gym.
Is your child having trouble with bullies at school? Dragon Within Martial Arts helps many different kids learn about bullying and how it can be prevented safely and respectfully. Bullying is most commonly seen as being physical, verbal and always confrontational. Whether it’s kids or adults, face-to-face confrontations are frequently the way bullies go after their victims. But it’s not the only way. Cyberbullying through internet social networks, texting and cell phones can be just as damaging as physical showdowns. Bullying will not cease to exist unless kids police themselves and their friends. Here at Dragon Within we work with children to teach and motivate them to stand up for them selves and others facing a bully. We show children how to defuse a bully by practicing a variety of self defense methods and movements. We also conduct monthly “Mat Chats” where we sit together and discuss bullying and how to stop it. It takes a sincere effort from both children and parents to successfully put an end to bullying.
Parent involvement and communication in their child’s life can also help prevent bullying. Consistently providing a ride to and from class may be a good time where parents can address issues in school like bullying, and new friendships. Parental presence should also extend into the digital world where new found “cyber bullying” can take place as well. This new generation has proven that a iphone or laptop can become a weapon even in the hands of the most innocent-looking children. The distant communication of the internet provides children with a way to hurt others at no physical risk of danger. Kids who would never dream of shouting at another student or shaking a fist in someone’s face, can send threatening text messages or start vicious rumors on the Internet about another child. One solution to cyberbullying could be that as a parent you must have them add you as a friend on Facebook and be permitted to follow them on Twitter and Instagram or they lose the privilege to the sites themselves. You could also make it mandatory that you know the login information to their social sites. Some other preventive steps that can avoid bullying can start at home with moms and dads talking to their kids, picking up on their conversations about other children, supervising their use of cell phones making sure that they become neither victims nor perpetrators of cyberbullying. Some kids might find such intervention an invasion of privacy. Some parents might, too. But it’s like talking to children about drugs and alcohol. If you can save a kid’s life from ruin, your own or someone else’s, interceding is the right thing to do.
In order to stop bullying we have to understand why kids do it. Some bully because they feel insecure. At Dragon Within we help our students develop self confidence. Building self confidence is very important because it strengthens your child’s integrity and self esteem. These are building blocks to making good decisions outside of school like issues involving bully prevention and peer pressure. Other kids bully because they simply lack self control and coping mechanisms to deal with anger and frustration. We demonstrate the importance of being focused and controlled in class so that they may reflect the same self control when faced with a bully outside of class. The positive social values like self control and self confidence may also be just what your child needs to not become a bully or cyberbully.
At our academy we teach our students that bullying is unacceptable. We help establish rules about bullying and we stick to them. We also teach kids to treat others with respect and kindness. Our institution houses a diverse student body and is great for children to learn how to treat all different kinds of people with the same respect and kindness. In our monthly Mat Chats we discuss with our students, how to identify situations that may lead to bullying so that they can recognize and prevent it from happening. If your child is being bullied or is getting in trouble at school for bullying, Dragon Within Martial Arts can help.
Here at Dragon Within we take pride in our philosophy and practices of Martial Arts. We make it our mission to improve mental and physical wellness of our members. We help our students gain self confidence and self control through a series of healthy exercise and self defense knowledge and practice. Our Martial Arts program is designed to teach students patience and discipline through the journey within the Martial Art to a black belt.
We believe that within the structured Martial Arts classes our students develop self confidence, motivation to set and reach goals, respect, discipline, and self control. Our class is taught at a pace which allows students to advance in their belt over time. The time and work it takes to stay in class and earn a higher rank is what grows character, self discipline, and patience. We understand that it is a difficult thing to stay motivated towards, which is why it is such a great achievement when they receive that next belt. We stay focused on the Art and the way our curriculum is designed, helps develop positive character in our students over time.
The self defense skills taught in our class are specific to defending and escaping from a bully or attacker. The skills are taught as a set curriculum within the specific Martial Art. These practices are great to utilize as a cardio and fitness program. Socially the class is great for people to stay motivated towards reaching their goals because it becomes a fun positive workout where you make friends and learn together.
Our students and staff practice and believe in compassion and patience when training. We teach and understand our training at Dragon Within as a fun uplifting activity we do with our friends. It is a place where you can forget about the stress of your workday and really focus on Martial Arts with your best buddies!
Dragon Within Martial Arts is specifically a Martial Arts academy. Our school is structured with students, teachers, and the golden rule; “Treat others the way you would like to be treated”. Our classes are taught in a fun and friendly manner. Our classes teach children to be patient, confident, focused, and steadily working toward their next belt. Our classes teach adults to be patient, confident, focused, and steadily working towards their next belt respectively. Every one has their own journey to their black belt and so our instructors stay motivated to helping you at any speed you feel comfortable with, to earn it and meet any other goals you may have! Come learn with us today! 🙂
Forged Bjj Krav Maga Self Defense Salem MA 