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Martial Arts Life Lessons

Martial Arts Life Lessons

By: Amanda Olson
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 Amanda Olson and her team of instructors and leaders share lessons learned on the mat and how they can help you in your everyday life. Build confidence and learn from experienced leaders.>© Hygiene & Healthy Living Parenting & Families Relationships
Episodes
  • Teaching Children How to Accept Persons with Disabilities

    Teaching Children How to Accept Persons with Disabilities
    May 26 2021
    Being that I am a fair skinned, red head who grew up on the Gulf Coast of Florida, I find myself frequently visiting the Dermatologist to have spots, “checked”. Here lately I call these my yearly personal donations to science as I have had one after another skin cancer removed. (PSA – Wear your sunscreen!) A few years ago, I had one that left me with a very large scar right on my neckline. It’s faded a lot but when I work out, the make-up wears off and it’s more noticeable. This was the case a few weeks ago teaching a children’s Taekwondo class. I was helping a little girl with her belt and she reached up and touched my neck and asked, “Is that a scar?” I said, “Yes, it is.” She looked for a moment and then gave me a big grin as she rolled up her sleeve.” I have a scar, too!” We both laughed and went on with the lesson. It was a connection moment between myself and a little girl and it got me thinking. I don’t know for sure how her mom or dad would have reacted had they been there when she asked the question, but I do know that often times we as parents overreact to a situation like this. When our children are curious about someone who is different from them, say, with a scar or in a wheelchair, we tend to get embarrassed and say things like, “Don’t stare!” or we pull them away quickly and scold them for being rude. I believe there is a better way to react that will increase “normalizing” those who have a disability that won’t cause children to be afraid and won’t alienate or embarrass the individual. Here are some tips to get you started: Your child says, “What’s wrong with them?” You respond, “There is nothing wrong with them, they are just different.” Lead the child into noticing what about them is the same. Talk about what someone might think is different about them. Explain that everyone has something different about them and everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Because someone’s leg muscles don’t work the same way yours do, doesn’t mean there is something wrong with them. They are simply different. You child says, “Why does he have only one leg?” You respond, “I’m not sure. He seems to be doing great don’t you think?” OR If the situation is right, ask the person if it would be okay for your child to ask a question about their missing leg. This could be very educational for your child and help them see that people with disabilities are just like them in most ways and not someone to be afraid of, shunned, or pitied. On the contrary, they should be accepted and respected just like all people. Use words like, helps instead of can’t. “The wheelchair helps him move around better.” Instead of “He needs a wheelchair because he can’t walk.” Remember, it’s okay that your child is curious. Teach them to be respectful and kind as well. Try not to lead them away from others with obvious physical disabilities. That causes fear and pity in a child for the individual and it is quite isolating to have others avoid you. Teach them to smile and make eye contact with all people. It does wonders for their own confidence, as well as makes those around them feel accepted. Do teach them to ask before helping a handicapped individual. Don’t assume they can’t do things on their own. It’s a great idea to have these conversations around the dinner table or while taking a walk, before an encounter occurs. Teach empathy not sympathy. Most people want to be respected, not pitied. One last thing. Not all disabilities are visible. Autism for instance. Speak with your child about patience when dealing with someone in their class who is on the autism spectrum. Teach them to look out for people who may be struggling and offer to help and be a friend to them. A little courtesy and respect can go a long way in making the lives of all people brighter. Remember to use the same attributes when dealing with those who have a disability. Blessings, Master Amanda Olson Master Amanda Olson is: A Master Martial Artist and Instructor of Taekwondo and Tai Chi. She teaches at her local Academy.. An Author of 2 Books – “Create a Happy and Harmonious Home” and “Parenting Survival Guide” You can find her books on Amazon by following this link. A Public Speaker – Topics include Building Confident Children at Home Helping Teens with Stress Bringing Harmony to Your Home Taking Control of Your Life You can find her on: o YouTube – Master Mom and Olson’s Martial Arts o WJHL TV – Daytime Tri-Cities o Super Talk 92.9 Radio Show o Facebook  Amanda Olson  Olson’s Martial Arts o Websites  Olsonsma.com  Askmastermom.com o Write to her at – Olson’s Martial Arts Academy, INC • 113 Cherry St. #10 Johnson City, TN 37604 o Email Her: amanda@askmastermom.com
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    5 mins
  • Master Mom Podcast with Dr. Nathan Justice on Parenting

    Master Mom Podcast with Dr. Nathan Justice on Parenting
    May 6 2021
    In this podcast Master Mom Amanda Olson speaks with a very open and honest local Pediatrician, Dr. Nathan Justice. He has wonderful advice for new parents as he is one himself. He has also has advice for parents of teens from a pediatrician's perspective. Dr. Justice gives a wonderful illustration of how a lesson he learned before finishing school has shaped his life and his practice. Dr. Justice is a man of faith and brings that strength with him to his family life and professional life. Dr. Justice can be reached at justicen@etsu.edu Amanda Olson can be reached at amanda@askmastermom.com The full interview can be viewed here : http://bit.ly/mastermomDrJustice
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    38 mins
  • Teaching Your Child Leadership

    Teaching Your Child Leadership
    Apr 20 2021
    Hello Everyone! Master Mom Amanda Olson here. https://www.amazon.com/Amanda-Olson/e/B07TLG3G4F It's a beautiful Sunday here in Johnson, city, Tennessee, and I'm looking forward to getting out and playing in my garden and working in the yard. I've got some the plants that I picked up yesterday to plant. Not that I need any more plants, but it's fun. It's a hobby for me and especially on a beautiful day like today. So, I was going to talk today about a kind of interesting subject to me. And that is that of leadership. Especially teaching leadership to children, teaching leadership to teens. I have been teaching leadership for as long as I can remember, you know, back when I was teaching my martial arts classes more robustly than I do now. One of the things that I realized was especially important was to have the children, whatever lessons they learned, whether it's courtesy, respect, integrity, all the things that we teach, is that they not just know what they mean, but they also are able to show that out in the real world, outside of the, my real martial arts world. That takes confidence and that takes leadership skills. You know, some people are just kind of naturally charismatic and people follow them. They're either funny or they're confident or, you know, they're not intimidated and they just, do their thing. And people follow that energy. They're like, oh, okay, well that's kind of fun. Every time you talk, you make me laugh. Or, when we go hang out or something, you're pretty bold. And so, we get to do extra things that I wouldn't do on my own. That type of leadership happens kind of naturally in some people, but leadership can also be taught. And I know there's some different rules of thought on that, but I believe that you can become a better leader. You can teach people how to become a better leader. And in my reference of leadership, that means that you have confidence to do the things you want to do. You have confidence to choose the right things. Sometimes, there's pressure to do the wrong thing and leadership can be confidence to choose to do the right thing. Also, good leadership skills help you have more opportunity to have control over your life. So, if you have leadership skills and you are joining a club and you want to see this club go in a certain direction, whether it's raising funds for this group, or do more work outside the group, volunteer work to help the community, or whatever you want to do. If you have the leadership skills to lead your group or speak up and lead a section of your group, and you can accomplish the things in your life that you want to accomplish, Whether you're eight years old or 28 or 48, 68, or 108, it's the same skillset. And it really provides you an outlet to do the things you want to do, make the differences in the world that you want to make and enjoy life a little bit more. If you have confidence to speak up and speak your mind, not in a negative way, not bossy or mean way. Just in kind of confident way to live your life in the way that you feel is appropriate for you and being able to step in and help others. Help others using your confidence for people who aren't quite there yet. It's a good way to live. It's a happy way to live. So, teaching leadership is something that I found was very empowering for little kids. They can learn to say, no. They can learn to say, no, I'm not going to join in on picking on this kid. Or I'm not going to try this substance that is bad for my body. Or I'm not going to misbehave. You know they have that confidence because they can say, I'm a leader. I can choose to do the wrong thing, or I can choose to do the right thing. And, I have that power because I am a leader. Of course, my thing is to teach the kids, to use their leadership powers for good. But more importantly, I want to teach people, teach children, teach teens that skill. So, when they are living their lives and growing up into adulthood, they can make decisions that they feel confident with. Things that they want to do, not follow the crowd. Confidence gives them that moment to say, “Hmm, you know, I see this in the world, and I'd like to do that about it. I might need to take a different direction than what the rest of the world is doing.” Interestingly, I was talking about this with a group of folks and one of the people in there said something that just shocked me, just blew me away. They said, “I don't want my child to learn leadership because they'll use it against me. And they won't do what I say.” And I was like, wow, I have never thought of it that way before. So, I had to stop and take a step back. And I started doing a little research on that. And just kind of looking into, you know, is that just that one person's opinion or do other people have this opinion? And I found that teaching your kid to be a leader does not have the same positive connotation to every person in the world. There were many other parents that they've already got a ...
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    30 mins
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