Northstar Martial Arts

I want to quit…

andy — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:50:30 +0000

This time of year it is very easy to cancel your training plan. All the reasons come swarming in, I am too busy, I am losing interest…but I have to tell you folks, it’s when the desire to quit raises it head that you have to dig in even deeper. The desire to quit is always only a thought away. Some where at some time we have to face down the overwhelming urge of the ego’s desire for more/better/ newer and draw the line saying “NO..I’m going to stick this one out. I have a Black Belt in me and I’m going to do what ever it takes, to overcome all the barriers along the way.” Because that’s all they are… thoughts!

Getting a Northstar Black Belt is a tough grind…but very possible for all students. Remaining a Black Belt is even harder. The challenge is not so much physical, more mental…breaking through the reasons why you can’t do it, sitting in the negativity, witnessing it, yet still turning up to training each week. I know this to be true as I am constantly challenged…even now. I can remember the overwhelming desire to quit…many times over the years.

I have studied most martial arts and to be honest, they are all the same! The only difference in martial arts is “which art will honestly teach me about me.” All of us are limited by our physical design, age and experience. No one art can teach you the secret of invincibility. But a good martial art can help you to understand your own insecurities, guiding you on the path to self awareness that will ultimately protect you far more than any physical skill!

10 Ways to challenge the powerful thoughts of quitting.

1. I am getting in the shape of my life.
2. I am losing weight and having fun
3. I am training with a motivated group of students.
4. I recognise that this is not for me…but I love the feeling I get at the end of class.
5. The kids love the class and I am not willing to compromise their long term well being.
6. Every class is a bonus and one more step to enhancing my well being.
7. I feel the overwhelming urge to quit. But I am going to do just one more class. Then one more class, then one more class
8. My child wants to quit but what example am I setting if I allow them to quit when ever they feel like it.
9. Now is my chance to really express my commitment, and go to place with in myself that is uncomfortable.
10. I can sit in the desire of wanting more and wanting it now. I can witness it and know that it has no power over me.

Hope this helps your journey.

Andy Dickinson

2011

andy — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 22:23:07 +0000

Merry christmas and a huge thank you to all that have been associated with Northstar martial arts. We try our best to ensure that every class is an empowering experience for every student. The trainers, most of whom are actually not paid, work tirelessly each week to motivate each and every student. Sometimes the classes can be a little crowded and sometimes not every student is attended to as much as they or we would like. We teach out of public facilities (Pcyc) and as such are really confined to certain conditions and time constraints.

I continue to look for better facilities that would suit our school and know that it is just a matter of time before we will have our own dojo on the northside. In the mean time, I really appreciate your patience, dedication and belief in our school.

We now have over 1000 members. And over the last 3 months have seen a 99% attendance. In Dec we completed one of our best gradings to date with the graduation of 180 students including 8 black belts and 2 junior black belts. It is at the gradings that one can clearly see, understand and appreciate the depth and quality of our school. The quality continues to improve, at the last grading it was outstanding. This is a credit to your commitment, dedication and self discipline, and a credit to the black belt and trainers.

On a personal note, my shoulder has healed nicely though I can feel its new limitations. This year I have deepened my mediation practice and spent time studying tai chi and qi gong. All of which have deepened my understanding of my shinbudo technique. I continue to marvel at the seamless integration of the softer martial arts and the amazing increase in power as I execute the same moves , combining the ferocity of yang with the relaxed stillness of yin. Shinbudo really is a wonderful system of martial arts, philosophy and life skills. I am looking forward to sharing my knowledge with you all in class.

Next year I will be spending more time on the dojo floor, ensuring that the trainers remain at the cutting edge of martial arts tuition. I will be giving more attention to the juniors program, ensuring that there is a steady progressions from mighty mites to junior black belt and beyond. I will also be regularly teaching the adults class. While we love our gradings, I recognize that they are not ideal. I will be working harder to create a more streamlined process and at the same time maintain the high level of community interaction for which our gradings are famous for. I will give more attention to class sizes and strictly limit new students to busy time slots.

Once again a huge thanks for choosing Northstar, and on behalf of the trainers would like to wish you an enjoyable christmas with family and friends.

Andy Dickinson

Offer Kindess in mind, body and spirit.

Northstar News.

andy — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:13:20 +0000

Congratulations to all students that completed and passed grading over the weekend. It was an awesome day. I thank you for your unconditional support and patience especially in regards to the PCYC membership.

Gradings are a celebration of quiet achievement. They are quite unique as there is no winner or loser, the only opponent is oneself! Every student does their best based on their own individual attributes. Our job at Northstar is to help each student shine in their own way taking into account their strengths and limitations. We love that. Andy Dickinson

Classes over the Christmas.
Balmain Dojo will be open for classes over the xmas period. There will be no classes on the 31st December or Public Holidays. North Sydney PCYC last class will be Fri 23rd Dec and the first class will be Monday 9th Jan. North Sydney students will be expected to attend Balmain during the North Sydney break. Children can train in as many classes as they like during the school holidays. There may be some time amendments depending on attendance. We will let you know well in advance.

Training Intensive with Andy Sensei.
Looking for a challenge before the year ends? Andy Sensei is presenting 3 intensive workshops on the essence of Shinbudo. Included in each class will be kicking, punching, self defence and ground defence. There will also be sparring principles and fundamentals.

Wed 28th and Thurs 29th and Friday 30th Dec Balmain Dojo 6.30pm .
Bookings essential. Cost $100.
info@northstarmartialarts.com.au

Black Belt Attitude.
This year, each week I have included in class the concept of “developing a Black Belt attitude”. Black Belt is not an end product, rather a stepping stone to encourage self awareness. This self awareness sets the stage for understanding the impact that we all have in each other’s lives. A good black belt is on the path to leading the way to a simple, useful life, encouraging others to always choose peace and harmony over anger and aggression by demonstrating these action in daily life. The weekly lessons are not exclusive to Black Belts. We can all reflect on these simple lessons and bring the essence of the Black Belt alive in our daily interaction with each other.

In many ways we are alike. However one little difference always makes a big difference.

The little difference is ATTITUDE

BELIEF fuels passion, passion rarely fails.

COURAGE does not always roar, sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of
the day saying I will try tomorrow.

GOALS: Take the long view….one day at a time.

STAY POSITIVE: You become what you think about..

ATTITUDE are truly contagious. So ask yourself one question…is mine worth
catching…

SIMPLIFY: Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that
matter least.

LAUGHTER is the sunshine in any life. It is your heart’s way of telling your
face to smile.

EXPECT THE BEST: It’s a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept
anything but the best, you very often get it.

KINDNESS: It’s not the things you get, but the hearts you touch that will
determine your success.

LOVE does not make the world go around. Love is what makes the ride
worthwhile.

RENEWAL: The will to win…the will to achieve…goes dry and arid without
continuous renewal.

For future reference your best source of Northstar Information is one of the following:

1. The events tab on the Northstar Home Page: http://northstarmartialarts.com.au
2. The news section on the home page: http://northstarmartialarts.com.au/news/

How to get the most out of the Dojo.

andy — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 00:25:40 +0000

At Northstar we train in a room called a Dojo.I prefer to use the Japanese word as opposed to “studio” as it keeps it relating directly to martial arts. Our dojo, that is, the Northstar Dojo is often referred to as a “still and neutral space”. So the room (particularly at Balmain) is almost stark, the colours are bland, and other than some simple caligraphy the room is quite plain. This still and neutral space is most conducive to our training.

As you bow at the door, you enter almost into another world. A world where you have to put the rest of your life on hold and make being present a priority, getting the most out of every part of the class. So in essence, we have paved a way for you to fully indulge your body and mind by making it difficult for your mind to wander during the class; keeping your body moving with exercise and keeping the mind present with bowing and “ous”.

If we feel your mind starting to wander you may be challenged in a way that you are not used to. A really good bench mark of how your “non attachment” and “fully releasing” into the work out and still and neutral space is to check your reactions when your Trainer un emotionally checks you.

Do you ous and immediately let go? Or do you continue to carry it for minutes, hours, days and even sometimes months? The best trainer will continue to challenge you in every way. Northstar Martial Arts is just not about getting the grades physically, it’s also about checking in on how you react emotionally when your so called “buttons are pressed.”

Welcome to our new website

nick — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 01:25:00 +0000

You can get all the update info on Northstar events and training by visiting this site weekly. We are in the process of setting up more resource information for you, but in the mean time you if you go the resource section you will be able to get information on Adults syllabus, you tube videos on technique and the history of Northstar and the martial art we teach called “Shinbudo”. There is also an events page on the homepage, just click on the tab and see the info. The grading register for the children is now closed. We have quickly reached capacity. Adults grading register is still open. For those children that have missed out, we sincerely apologize as we are really controlled by hall availability. We will run an extra grading early 2012.

For the last week the talk has been “stillness”. We will be continuing this week as well. As we get closer to the end of the year, things can get a little frantic, so remembering the backdrop of stillness is always handy.

Looking forward to seeing you in class.

Andy

Make it count

Our lives are really full. There is a powerful pre occupation with “doing” that keeps us really busy. We step out into this world from the cocoon of our parents and launch ourselves onto the treadmill of life. As life gains momentum we zing past events and quickly move onto something new and what was recently experienced becomes a memory, stacked onto other memories that fade into the backdrop of our thinking.

Northstar Super Session “Grading”

nick — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:45:18 +0000

This is the largest grading of the year. It is highly motivating experience for all involved. There will be students going for black belt and black belt demonstrations.

Friday 2nd December Adult Blue Belt and above.
Saturday 3rd December Adult Red and Black Belt Sparring.
Sunday 4th December Children and Adults Grading.

North Sydney PCYC. 224 Falcon St North Sydney.

Northstar Christmas Party.

nick — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:44:21 +0000

Saturday 10th December.

Monkey Bar Balmain.

All adult members and parents of children welcome.

March update

andy — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 21:12:46 +0000

Sensei’s Message

The frenzy of the new year has well and truly settled and it is great to see so many students getting into a regular training routine. We have been quite busy in the office changing our data base from a simple access system to our newly developed “Business of Motion” Customer Management Hub. It enables us to give a much higher, quality service to you, but it has had it’s problems in it’s initial stages. So my apologies if you have been receiving “non attendance” emails or sms even though you have been to class….ugh. It has been 3.5 months since my shoulder operation and I have faced several barriers with rehab. It was hard going from “full on training” to no training at all and at the same time the break has done me the world of good. I was reminded again that the body is a fickle instument and can be easily broken. Keeping the mind strong, attentive and aware , giving just the right amount of attention to what is needed, maintains a centred, measured approach to life, enabling space to deal with painful issues as they arise.

This weeks talk and focus in the children’s is “FOCUS”. Please pick up the hand out in class. Please read the notes on “The Dojo” below. Grading is coming up so please check the details below. MMA combat on Sunday mornings 8am is a blast, great for students that have the martial arts basics.

I am opening my books for semi private/fast track training. So please email me if you have an interest.

Looking forward to seeing you in class

Check out my latest post: The 5 Essential Elements of Martial Arts: http://modernmartialartist.com.au

Shinbudo Technique on Youtube: Shinbudo with Daito Ryu foundations.Http://tvmartialarts.com

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Your attention will always go in the direction of what ever you focus on.

When you sign up at Northstar, the trainers will work hard to make sure you have a great and motivating training experience every time you train. Each time you train is like putting a little savings away. It may not seem like you are doing a lot, but it all adds up over time.

As a member the committment works both ways. We can’t do it all for you, the real work comes from you and your committment to yourself. It is your responsibility to make sure you don’t get too distracted from your training. Most importantly, if you fall off the wagon, just get back on again.

I often have a hundred reasons why I cant train and my teacher always says to me, “yes I know all that”…just get to class.

See you in class this week. Make the start, make the committment, even if we have not seen you this year…its not too late.
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THE DOJO

The room that twe train in is a very unique space. It is not a studio, or a hall or a room, it is called a “Dojo.” It is a place for growth and awareness, a place where people come into contact with themselves. As martial artists we view the dojo as sacred.In the Dojo the noise and fuss of our everyday world is quiet and we can let go for a moment our worries, concerns and pre occupations. We can become present and still and be.

So it is simple. The Dojo is for training only. So parents, I know you want to, and love to watch your children, unfortunately we cannot cater for you inside the Dojo. You may see parents in the dojo but as a concession we allow parents in for the childs first lesson only.

SO please understand that for your children to get the most out of their martial arts and to feel the complete experience of martial arts, you will be asked to leave if you are inside the dojo.

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NORTHSTAR FIGHTING SPIRIT SPARRING COMPETITION.

March 18th at 6pm is the date set for our annual competition. We have a number of other schools invited so the challenge has been set. Will the Northstar team be able to win the cup? This comp is open to all students. You will be matched with someone of similar experience and size. Push a little deeper, confront the challenges that you face, look fear in the eye and do it anyway..email your committment: andy@northstarmartialarts.com.au

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GRADING.

CHILDREN: Friday 25th March. Balmain Dojo. Times to be confirmed

ADULTS: Sunday 27th March. North Sydney. 10am (Blue belt and above Friday 25th 7.30pm at Balmain)

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Changes to Children’s FEES and SCHOOL HOLIDAYS 2011.

* You now have the option to train unlimited during the school holidays.

1. If you signed up prior to 1/6/2010 and don’t want to train during the holidays you need to let us know. If you signed up prior to 1/6/2010 please fill in the on line suspension form. the max we will suspend for is 2weeks during the year and 4 weeks over the xmas break.

2. If you signed up after 1st June 2010 your fees are pro rated over a 26 fortnight payment plan so cannot be put on suspend. There are classes during the school holidays. The classes are free and you can attend as many as you like.

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Please note that all students are required to become PCYC members. Please see the front counter at the PCYC.

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NORTHSTAR MMA Combat.

Northstar MMA Combat class: More than just sport and gaining points, Northstar MMA Combat teaches the best of Submission Wrestling, BJJ, Kickboxing and Andy’s own MMA style.

MMA COMBAT Sunday 8am Balmain Dojo.

FREE For Northstar Members.

Bring all sparring gear. Worth 1 training credit (sparring or regular class credit)

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STAY CONNECTED.

Stay upto date with all events and news at Northstar. Join the Northstar Facebook page.

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Feb update

andy — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 22:41:38 +0000

Sensei Message

A huge welcome back to all the parents and children this week. We are primed and ready to carry on with your martial arts tuition and look forward to sharing the journey with you. We will be starting the school term off by talking about ?respect? in class this week. A good place to begin I think, respect for each other brings about patience and tolerance, a biggie with children starting new classes and new schools. The trainers have been teaching and training in preparation for taking your children to the next level. Classes have been on for all of January and many children were making the most of ?unlimited? classes to get ready for grading on 11th Feb at Balmain (Details below). You may see some changes in the trainers this year, but you will also see myself and other senior trainers on the floor a lot more this year.

If you re interested in creating lasting positive change in your life, have a quick read: The 3 secrets that I use for success. I used these when I was working with The Biggest Loser Contestants. For years a worked as a flight attendant. If you want a laugh check out : A flight attendant?s revenge; Fat Pizza. go to http://northstarmartialarts.com.au and click on weekly news.

Though our venue hire has been raised by 10%, we will not be raising the fees. In fact we will also NOT be charging the Northstar annual membership of $30 (though you will still need to be a PCYC member). We have worked hard to keep our costs down and to do that we need your help. Please see the changes to Fee Structure below.

I thank you for continuing to choose Northstar Martial Arts. With other martial arts schools opening up in the local area you can feel,secure in the knowledge that your children are training in one Australia?s most qualified and recognised organisations. Our tried and tested systems for martial arts tuition has got the attention and recognition of major organisations world wide, including Taekwondo Australia, The Australian Ju jitsu Federation, The international Sports Ju Jitsu Federation and the International Budo-Ju Jtitsu Federation. And we are proud of our lineage and association with the elite Daito Ryu Aiki Ju Jutsu in Japan. You are in good hands.

See you in class. If you have any questions please contact me directly on andy@northstarmartialarts.com.au

ANDY DICKINSON

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The 3 words that I use when planning out a new year are:

DETERMINATION: Is a quiet but firm resolve that no matter what gets in your way you will be there at the end. You are willing to go to your edge, and then explore your limitations with a clarity that few have the courage to face.

DISCIPLINE: The ability to remain ?at your post? when you are being screamed at by yourself or others to take the easy path.

RESILIENCE: No matter what is thrown at you, no matter how many times you get knocked down, you keep standing up. Discipline, Determination and Resilience are the backbone of the Northstar Black Belt.

All 3 are qualities of a champion. They over lap and support eachother. I hope you can apply them to your own champion list and motivate yourself to follow the path of peace, contentment and present awareness in 2011.

ANDY

Changes to Children?s FEES and SCHOOL HOLIDAYS 2011.

* I am waiving the annual Northstar membership fee of $30 this year. (But you will still need to join the PCYC)

* We have not raised our fees in 10 years.

* PCYC ?s just put up their venue hire by 10%.

WE DON?T WANT TO RAISE OUR FEES so this is what we are going to do for you but, we need your help:

* You now have the option to train unlimited during the school holidays.

1. If you signed up prior to 1/6/2010 and don?t want to train during the holidays you need to let us know. If you signed up prior to 1/6/2010 please fill in the on line suspension form. the max we will suspend for is 2weeks during the year and 4 weeks over the xmas break.

GRADING REGISTER NOW OPEN.

Grading will be at Balmain on 11th Feb. Please send your child?s name, class (mighty mites or junior) and belt level to info@northstarmartialarts.com.au

Please note that all students are required to become PCYC members. Please see the front counter at the PCYC.

NORTHSTAR MMA Combat.

Northstar MMA Combat class: More than just sport and gaining points, Northstar MMA Combat teaches the best of Submission Wrestling, BJJ, Kickboxing and Andy?s own MMA style.

MMA COMBAT will commence on Thursday 3rd February at 7.30pm.

FREE For Northstar Members.

Bring all sparring gear. Worth 1 training credit (sparring or regular class credit)

STAY CONNECTED.

Stay upto date with all events and news at Northstar. Join the Northstar Facebook page.

White Belt Moves

nick — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 02:24:52 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wkNmLZ5Go0

At Northstar Martial Arts in Sydney, we teach basic, easy to learn self defence as part of the system called Shinbudo. This video is a presentation of the simple moves that you will learn as a white belt.