Friday, December 28, 2012

Study Shows Random Acts of Kindness May Prevent Bullying and Increase Happiness

Children who make an effort to perform acts of kindness are happier and experience greater acceptance from their peers, according to new research.
This could be a key to preventing bullying, said researchers Kimberly Schonert-Reichl, Ph.D.,  a professor at the University of British Columbia, and Kristin Layous of the University of California, Riverside.

For their study, the researchers asked 400 students in Vancouver elementary schools between the ages of 9 and 11 to report on their happiness and to identify which of their classmates they would like to work with on school activities.

Half of the students were asked by their teachers to perform acts of kindness — like sharing their lunch or giving their mom a hug when she felt stressed — and half were asked to keep track of pleasant places they visited, such as the playground or a grandparent’s house.

After four weeks, the students again reported on their happiness and identified classmates they would like to work with. While both groups said they were happier, kids that had performed acts of kindness selected higher numbers of classmates to work with on school activities.


“We show that kindness has some real benefits for the personal happiness of children, but also for the classroom community,” said Schonert-Reichl. She also noted that bullying tends to increase in grades four and five.

By simply asking students to think about how they can act kindly to those around them, “teachers can create a sense of connectedness in the classroom and reduce the likelihood of bullying.”

The Tiger-Rock A.L.L.Y.  (Academic Learning & Leadership for Youth) Program at Tiger-Rock Martial Arts of West Knoxville is asking students to complete  nine different random acts of kindness: three at home, three at school, and three in their community. The children that complete these tasks will earn their Kindness merit badge on their belt.





Source: University of British Columbia 
Source: Psych Central

Thursday, December 27, 2012

How many calories does Tiger-Rock Martial Arts Burn per hour?



Tiger-Rock Martial arts is one of the most effective weight-loss activities around. It offers a full-body workout by employing movements that exercise all major muscle groups, as well as incorporate balance and dexterity. Using punching, kicking and fight stances, individuals work their arms, legs, glutes and core through an activity that is challenging and fun at the same time. Despite martial arts stereotypes, it is not strictly about fighting techniques. It’s about improving fitness levels, self-discipline and overall health.

The Winning Number

So the big question is how many calories does an hour’s worth of martial arts burn? Quite a lot actually. An average 145 pound person engaging in one hour’s worth of Tiger-Rock Martial Arts can expect to burn approximately 870 calories. In order to burn the same amount, a runner of the same weight would need to run an 8 minute mile for 60 minutes or bicycle at 14 miles per hour for 90 minutes.  Comparatively, martial arts is a hot calorie burner.

Healthy Benefits

Although there are many forms and variations of martial arts, they do share a few common traits, such as heritage and philosophy. Regardless of the type of martial arts that you choose to participate in - TaeKwonDo, Karate, Judo, Kenpo, Jiu-Jitsu - their physical activity levels offer many of the same benefits:
  • Improved heart and lung function
  • Strengthening and toning of all major muscle groups
  • High calorie burn for a leaner, more svelte physique
  • Better posture and balance
  • Enhanced core strength and stability

What Can You Expect

Tiger-Rock Martial Arts is a fantastic fitness alternative for men, women and children of all ages. The great thing about martial arts is that it’s a departure from the gym or average aerobic class. Like any physical activity, mixing up your routine with something fresh and fun can give you a boost in reaching your fitness goals. This is especially true for individuals that may be experiencing a plateau in their goal cycle.

Visit our Tiger-Rock Internationall Franchised Academy at 266 North Peters Road, Knoxville, TN, visit www.WestKnoxTigerRock.com or call us at (865) 247-4437 to learn more about the different programs that we have available. We can help you choose a fitness plan to meet your needs and schedule.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

High Intensity Training Cuts Heart Rate Disease Risk

You can walk for an hour a day, but that won’t necessarily affect your risk of heart disease or stroke. But walking fast or jogging is a different story, according to results of a newly published Danish study. Researchers at Bispebjerg University Hospital, in Copenhagen, followed more than 10,000 Danish adults, between the ages of 21 and 98, for 10 years looking at the amount of physical activity they performed as well as its duration and intensity. When they joined the study, one in five of the women and about one in four of the men had metabolic syndrome, a combination of conditions that when taken together dramatically increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. This disorder was most common among study participants who had a sedentary lifestyle. After 10 years, the researchers analyzed the data they collected on the study participants and found that walking fast cut the risk of heart disease and stroke in half; jogging cut it by 40 percent. Unfortunately, taking hour-long casual walks had no apparent effect at all. The study was published October 8, 2012 in the online journal BMJ Open.

Source: http://www.drweilblog.com/


Thursday, December 20, 2012

Tiger-Rock Martial Arts Student Of The Cycle: Olivia

Congratulations to our December 2012-February 2013 Tiger-Rock Martial Arts of West Knoxville Student of the cycle: Olivia.



Olivia Henderson
Age: 11
Rank: Red Belt Level 3
Favorite TaeKwonDo Technique: Butterfly Kick
Favorite Book: Harry Potter Series
Why she loves TaeKwonDo? "Because it is good exercise and ya meet great friend."

Congratulations Olivia...you earned it!

Tiger-Rock A.L.L.Y. Program is off to a great start!



The Tiger-Rock A.L.L.Y. (Academic Learning & Leadership for Youth) Program is off to a wonderful start with a visit to River's Edge Christan Academy in Knoxville, TN. The Tiger-Rock A.L.L.Y. program has been utilized by teachers in Knox County Schools, as well as the surrounding school systems of Union County, Grangier County, and Anderson County.

The A.L.L.Y. program promotes student behavior within the school classroom and within the community. The presentations at local schools can focus on several different types of units such as Anti-Bullying, The TaeKwonDo Tenets (Honor, Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-Control, Courage, Community, Strength, Humility, Knowledge), The Three Rules of Focus (Focus my eyes, Focus my mind, and Focus my body), Resepect, Self-Discipline vs. Discipline, or a combination of the above depending on the teacher's needs and goals for the classroom behavior. The presentations last approximately 20 minutes to avoid losing instructional time, and are empowering, motivational, and educational for the students.

The pictures to the right are Ms. Olivia's 5th grade classroom after an A.L.L.Y. presentation at River's Edge Christian Academy. Ms. Olivia is a Red Belt Level 3, and approximately four months away from achieving her 1st Degree Black Belt at Tiger-Rock Martial Arts of West Knoxville. Oliva regularly receives three gold stars from her teacher, Mrs. Wilkinson, as part of the A.L.L.Y. program, which demonstrates excellent academic effort and the use of her tenets of TaeKwonDo within the classroom.

Monday, December 17, 2012

Introducing the Tiger-Rock A.L.L.Y. Program & Snow Policy

Good Afternoon Tiger-Rock Students & Families,

We hope that everyone is having a great Monday, and is prepared to rock it out this week in classes. Parents please read this email in its entirety as it has vital information to upcoming programs in 2013

We are in the final stages of preparations to roll out our first piece of the Tiger-Rock A.L.L.Y. Program for the upcoming 2013 year. The Tiger-Rock A.L.L.Y. (Academic Learning and Leadership for Youth) program is designed to promote student behavior and achievement both inside the TaeKwonDo classroom, at school, home, and within their community. Students may typically earn two "merit badge" stripes per cycle. For this training cycle, the merit badges students earn on their belt is "Dedication" for earning a minimum of 25 classes within the training cycle, and the "Random Acts of Kindness" badge where students must perform a minimum of 3 random acts of kindness at home, 3 acts of kindness at school, and 3 acts of kindness within their community. The acts of kindness merit badge must be written down by students, and brought to class to earn the merit badge. The merit badges should be placed on the left side of the belt (opposite from the training stripes), at the bottom, below the Academic Learning stars (Please allow room to place the merit badges). Merit badges will be awarded starting January 3rd, 2013.

We have also launched our Honor (ages 6-10/Blue Belt or above), Leadership (ages 11-15/Blue Belt or above), and Trainer (Ages 16 & up/Blue Belt and above) Team Programs. The programs are designed to create a comradery within the academy to develop future leaders not only within our program, but within our community as well. As we continue to grow, the Honor, Leadership, and Trainer Teams are vital to a successful long-lasting academy. We, as an academy, are going to be providing more resources, and dedicating more time to developing these programs, students, and continuing to enhance and deliver our product(s) to Knoxville. Stephen Covey, author of "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" stated that one of the seven habits of highly effective people is to, "Begin with the end in mind." Therefore, in order to create a legacy that will survive for generations to come, we must train, and develop these young leaders both from a martial arts, and a societal standpoint.

Parents & Students, please vote for your favorite Honor, Leadership, or Trainer Team Member at the front desk in order for them to win a special prize come February at the rank exams.

Snow/Inclement Weather Policy: The academy's snow policy is such that if Knox County Schools ever close due to weather, the academy will also close. We have multiple outlets to let our parents know about academy closings including email, Facebook, text messaging, twitter, google +, wbir.com, etc. If you are not recieving our updates, please check your spam folder, and then contact the academy.Finally, as a reminder, the last day of classes are this Saturday (12/22). We will return to a tentatively NEW class schedule come January 3rd. Please check the media outlets, and your email for updates.



Your proud instructor,
Signature 
Senior 4th Degree Tiger-Rock Black Belt & Certified TaeKwonDo Trainer
Tiger-Rock Grappling Trainer
CDT Protection Instructor


Phone: (865) 247-4437
Email: WestKnoxTigerRock@gmail.com
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