Pressure

Pressure, we've all felt it. Some people thrive under it, others struggle to deal with the weight of it. All of us are under pressure every day. As adults, that may come at work, with a boss or trying to meet a deadline. It may come from family to spend more time on them, or to plan am event like a party. It may come from friends to be more social. It may come from yourself. Sometimes, we just want to yell and tell people to leave us alone and that you're trying your best.

Children have those same pressures. Replace work with school and teachers. They deal with pressure to get their work done and get good grades. The pressure from parents to help around the house or maintain great behavior. The pressure from friends to do the same things they are, whether right or wrong. But how often do they get the chance to walk away from that pressure? 

Nobody is perfect. Sometimes we all have bad days. Sometimes we just want to stay home in bed and not see anyone or do anything. It's normal. The expectations we have from all of our students are simple:

1. Be a leader - there is always someone watching you, are you giving them a good example?

2. Try your best - effort makes all the difference in attitude, yours and mine.

3. What potential do you have in taekwondo 1 year from now? 2 years from now? Will you be a good black belt? Will you be a good instructor? These are the questions we ask daily. White belts will always make mistakes. So will black belts. The importance of the mistakes is what changes.

Let your students learn to love taekwondo before you start pressuring them to be perfect. They'll appreciate it, and so will our instructors. Nothing is worse than trying to help a student who doesn't want to be there. Nobody wins in that situation.