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WHAT KIDS NEED TO KNOW Ø ARE YOU AT RISK? No child can be totally safe from gang influences. Gangs exist in all ethnic groups, in all parts of the country and in all income groups. Ø WHY JOIN? Kids join gangs for many reasons and each case maybe different. Some reasons include; excitement and fun, a sense of love or belonging, companionship, peer pressure, attention or status, intimidation, protection, financial gain, and a failure to realize what being in a gang means. Ø WHO JOINS? Gang members generally range in age from 13-21 and sometimes younger. Those who join gangs often have a low self-esteem, feel unloved at home, do poorly in school, and have a hard time making decisions and communicating with others. Ø WHAT ARE THE DANGERS? Gangs often have drugs and guns, exposing kids to the dangers of both. Members can be seriously hurt or killed during gang fights or criminal acts. Families of gang members also face danger for their own safety from rival gang members. Gang membership can also hamper education, and extensive police records can limit future employment opportunities. |
HELPFUL HINTS TO
AVOID GANGS ü Avoid known gang members ü Avoid areas where gangs hang out ü Dress like an individual ü Stay in school and get an education ü Find good friends who like you for who you are and not for what you do for them ü Get involved with … * School activities/programs/clubs *
tion Centers * Youth Programs or Groups * Church groups * Sport teams THINGS TO REMEMBER * You have the right to make your own choices, so stand up for yourself and what you think is right. * Be careful about who you trust. Don’t let your friends talk you into making bad decisions. * Getting a good education helps you get on any road you want. * Gangs are no better for girls than guys. * If you are threatened to join a gang say no, leave the location and tell your parents, a school official, or the police. * Being a gang member is a dead end in life. HELPFUL NUMBERS: Teen Youth Hotline 1.800.210.2278 214.671 GANG (4264) |
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You can visit the D.A.R.E. site here... http://www.dare.com/home/default.asp |
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This is the place I have
chosen to post my comments, opinions, and/or essays on a wide variety of
subjects… all related to the martial arts, of course. What gets written here
are my personal views and not necessarily the views of the martial arts
community at large. Oh yeah, everything here is copyrighted material so if
you want to use part or all of it please ask permission first… or at least
cite your source. Thanks,
- Instructor David Fullen The Journey or the Destination There's
an old adage associated with the martial arts that purports, 'the more you
know, the more you realize how much you don't know'. This is just another way
of saying that the longer you study something, the greater the likelihood
that you will begin to notice ever smaller and more subtle details. Everyone
knows how to make a fist and push out in front of their body... for most
people this is what's considered a punch. When a person first ventures into
the M.A. the novice is subjected to multiple, on-going adjustments to his
punching, and suddenly realizes that there are many details that go into
making a 'correct' punch. For the first several months of training the
beginner is exposed to such concepts as the correct way to make a fist,
generating power through hip rotation, over-extension, punching through the
target, etc. And then there's the seemingly endless repetition and drills to
improve the punching skills. The
off-shoot of all of this is that the now slightly experienced trainee
experiences a paradigm shift. What used to be 'just a punch' has now become
something much more complex and demanding. The quest for the perfect punch
becomes a major absorption. And the more the quest is fervently pursued, the
more subtle details of punching are exposed to the light of day; the position
of the fist in relation to the attached forearm, the role of the elbow in
delivering the punch, the point of contact using the first two knuckles, the
rotation of the fist along the trajectory of the punch, the set and rotation
of the shoulders, the weight transfer, balance, etc. Punching becomes an art
within the greater art (martial). Time
goes on and the same detailed emphasis shifts to stances, and then to
kicking, and on to forms. And then one day the student realizes that all of
the details and nuances of punching have been examined and incorporated and
practiced to the point that they have become a natural part of his punch.
Because of the repetition and familiarity it's no longer necessary to think
of and consciously apply each facet to each punch. The details have been
shoved to the far corner of the subconscious and are no longer thought about.
The punch has once again become just a punch (albeit an educated and refined
punch). Now,
apply that same progressive enlightenment process to kicks, then to stances,
then to forms. Then, of course, the same applies to the relationship between
punches and stances, and to the relationship between kicks and stances, and
to punches and kicks. Multiply the process again for the relationship between
stances, punches, and kicks together. And don't forget the same process
applies to self defense sets, and weapons, and breathing integration
exercises, and... It
becomes quite apparent - usually some time after the attainment of the first
black belt - that this learning and integration process is never-ending. The
details and the paradigm shifts simply become more and more subtle. That's
what leads to mastery of the martial art. But the reality of that process is
also what drives many practitioners to either; 1. Quit when the get their
first black belt (because they were never taught that the black belt is only
the beginning of the real learning - everything up to that point is simply
conditioning the mind and the body to accept the lessons), or 2. Jump from
one teacher to another and from one style to another, in a quest to gather as
many techniques as possible (because they were never taught that the more
they understand the fundamental techniques the more they will see the
infinite possibilities of those techniques). The first path shows a lack of
dedication and a shallow understanding that fades to insignificance over the
following years. The second path shows a lack of understanding glossed over
with misunderstood shortcuts, temporary tricks and certificates to hang on
the 'ego wall'. In
the old days (and you can pick your own frame of reference) it was said that
it takes a lifetime to master a martial art. When looked at from the
perspective of the never-ending series of subtler and subtler paradigm
shifts, it's easy to understand the concept of one art, one lifetime. It
makes the idea of a thirty-something year old 'master of seven arts' seem as
ridiculous as it sounds. To
put things in a little different perspective, if you trained six hours a
week, every week for twenty years, that amounts to 6,240 hours of training.
Compressed into 8-hour days that comes to 780 days – or just a little over
two years (OK, three years if you make it a five-day week). The average high
school graduate has spent six or more hours a day for 12 years getting ready
for college - where she/he will spend another five to six years trying to get
a Masters degree. So, the next time you hear of someone calling themselves a
master of such-and-such art you might want to ask yourself, what does it take
to become a Master? All
of this is not to say that a person cannot become very good at their chosen
art in a relatively short time. Some people become quite accomplished in just
a couple of years or so. But to really know the art and all of the possible
applications, to understand it well enough to teach it to others, to
comprehend the art well enough to learn from the art, takes years of
dedicated study and practice. There are no short cuts. And that's the
difference between a martial artist and someone who is just trying to get
another title or add another certificate to the wall.
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