Dear Members,

Henry Ford once said "whether you think you can or can't, you're right." I believe in this quote he was wryly observing that our thoughts become a self-fulfilling prophecy. In recent years 'self talk' has been the subject of research in many fields, one of them being athletic performance. It has been found that improving the quality of your self talk can have a direct impact and improvement on your performance. So next time you're at training this week, think about how you are thinking and what you are saying to yourself when you're trying something new or hard, and when you are motivating yourself. Do you beat yourself up if you don't get it first time, or are you kind, positive and encouraging? 

You can read a bit more about self talk in our latest TKD Tools for Success article - the last article in our series on mental skills for Taekwon-Do.

Last Week for Discounted Sparring Gear!
Our new Warrior sparring gear has proved to be very popular so far - and this is the last week you can take advantage of our special February only offer!

Get a full set for just $70 in February. From March onwards a full set will be $90.

Having sparring gear really increases the possibilities of what we can do in class and that is why we have worked hard to bring you affordable gear. 

Click here for online order form or come to the Ellerslie office - special offer ends on Monday 29 February.

Have a great training week!


Best wishes,



Rachel Bates
Centre Manager

Whether you think you can or can't, you're right.
- Henry Ford

What you say when you talk to yourself is shown to have a big impact on all areas of your life. The Henry Ford quote above sums up the idea that your thoughts become a self-fulfilling prophecy - and the body of research on athletic performance is showing that by being mindful of what you think while you train, you can give your training and performance a shot in the arm.

For martial arts training, the main types of self talk are instructional and motivational.

Instructional self talk is what you tell yourself when you're learning and developing a new skill or technique - especially ones where you need to develop accuracy. Short phrases act as cues to guide you through the steps you need to perform.

In practical terms, if you're working on low forearm blocks you might remind yourself "cross", "elbow bent" or "fist to hip" before each movement; if you are working on walking stances you might string together some words such as "front knee bent, back leg straight"; or you might come up with a short phrase that guides you through the process such as "knee bent ... feet nearly together ... up ... down" when you are working on your walking stance sine wave.

Motivational self talk is (as the name suggests) what you tell yourself to keep you motivated, on task, stay positive and face challenges head on using short positive phrases such as "let's go", "I know I can do it", "let's try that again".

How to Increase the Benefit of Self Talk
Make sure your phrases are positive - for example, try "aim high" rather than "don't miss". In fact purge your self talk vocabulary of words such has "can't", "should" and "don't"!

Practice your self talk. Make a conscious effort to decide what you want to say to yourself in training and spend time working out which phrases and words click with you. What works for one person won't necessarily work for another.

And remember ... don't tell yourself anything during training that you wouldn't tell a friend! Recruit yourself as an ally in your training using positive self talk strategies and watch your frustration dissolve and your performance improve.

​Dear Members,

Some of you noticed that the date of our first colour belt grading for this year in our last newsletter didn't match up to the dates we'd published on Facebook - and you were right! The first colour belt grading will be on Thursday 14 April, not 1 April. So if you are aiming to move up a grade in the first quarter of the year, pop that date in your diaries (note, mini kids grading dates are not affected). If you missed all the important dates you can catch up on past newsletters in the news section of our website.

Warrior Sparring Gear Has Landed!
We've been working hard to bring you affordable sparring gear, and as you can see from the photo above, our new Warrior gear looks very smart indeed!
 
Normally a vinyl pair of gloves or boots would be at least $70 for just the gloves or just for the boots. Our introductory February only special is a FULL SET of gloves and boots for $70! (Works out to be $35 per item). Save $20, as from March onwards a full set will be $90.
 
This a recommended item that colour belt students in particular should look at having. Gear can be ordered online or bought directly from the Ellerslie office. Mouth guards, shin guards and groin guards are also available at the Ellerslie office. 

Click here for online order form 

Mini Kids - Remember To Bring Your New Books!
Most of the new 'TKD Skills for Mini Kids' books went out to our mini kid White Belt, First Green, First Blue and First Red students last week. If your child did not receive their book last week, they will receive it this week.

This book needs to come to every lesson for the attendance stickers so please remember to add it to your training bag for this week's lessons.

Have a great training week!


​Best wishes,



Rachel Bates
Centre Manager

Dear Members,

What an awesome first full week back last week! It's been great to catch up with everyone and get started with Taekwon-Do for this year.
 
Below are some dates you can put in your calendar already. Take up the "Warrior Challenge" this year and aim to enter at least one tournament, one grading and one non-club event such as a seminar or special training session. Lots of events are posted on the www.itkd.co.nz website and we don't advertise all of them in our club newsletters, so keep an eye on the site for events that may interest you.
 
We hope you that will all aim to enter our club fun tournament in April with a view to preparing to representing our club at the upcoming Auckland North Regional Tournament in May - a definite highlight each year for our club.

Dates for 2016
Please note that dates can change closer to the time - however we will always give you plenty of notice. Be aware that most events have entry or registration procedures. For club events, registration is through us, and for wider events registration is usually through itkd.co.nz.
  
Mini Kids Gradings
Term 1 - Thursday 7 April, 4pm
Term 2 - Thursday 30 June, 4pm
Term 3 - Thursday 15 September, 4pm
Term 4 - Thursday 1 December, 4pm
 
Colour Belt Gradings
April - Thursday 14 April, 6.30pm
August - Thursday 25 August, 6.30pm
December - Thursday 8 December, 6.30pm
 
Other Events
Auckland North Regional Training - Sunday 6 March at Cornwall Park (to be confirmed)
Auckland North Region AGM - Saturday 12 March, 10am, venue to be confirmed
Warrior TKD Club Fun Tournament - Saturday 9 April (to be confirmed)
Counties Manukau Pee Wee Tournament - 17 April, Pukekohe
Auckland North Regional Tournament - Sunday 22 May, AMI Netball Centre
National Championships - 9-10 July, Tauranga

​
Best wishes,



Rachel Bates
Centre Manager

Dear Members,

Welcome to 2016 training! We are back in full swing from this week at Warrior Ellerslie and Warrior Three Kings with all of our classes running on our full timetable. 

Warrior Diocesan we are scheduled to start training for you next week - stay tuned and check your email for details.

When There's A Public Holiday
The "Mondayisation" policy with public holidays means there will be no Monday class next week due to Waitangi weekend. However, we do encourage our Monday students to come along at the same time on a different day of the week this week and next week instead if they can. If you're not sure what class you can attend instead just contact the office - we are happy to help! 

TKD Kubz we are arranging some special make up classes for you as there are no regularly scheduled alternative classes for you attend on other days of the week - please watch your email for details coming through this morning.

New Innovation at Warrior
We have been working exceptionally hard since last year to bring a new approach to the Mini Kids syllabus which is at the cutting edge of martial arts and Taekwon-Do education in New Zealand. We are proud to present the new TKD Skills for Mini Kids book (pictured above), which has been developed by and for Warrior Taekwon-Do and will be piloted across mini kids classes at our Ellerslie and Three Kings locations from this term. 
This new book is designed to help kids both in class and at home and is to be used alongside your Mini Kids Workbook (where you do your homework for gradings). Unlike the Mini Kids Workbook, though, your child will need to bring their TKD Skills book to every class for attendance and notes, and can use the book to help practice at home too.

As attendance stickers will now be placed in attendance sections of the book, the book should become a part of your child's training kit that comes to every lesson.

This book will be rolled out to all eligible students over the next 2-3 weeks (so don't panic if your child does not receive their book this week) free of charge. (There is a replacement cost for lost books however). There is a detailed information page for parents on the inside page of the book which we encourage you to have a look at too.

As always we are committed to excellence and are looking forward to a great 2016 across all of our three branches. Details of exciting events and opportunities in 2016 will no doubt be coming up over the next few weeks - so start thinking about the goals you want to achieve this year and how you will reach them.

We look forward to serving you and your family and helping you to achieve your goals this year!

​
Best wishes,



Rachel Bates
Centre Manager