The Importance of Self-Control
July 28, 2008
Respect, discipline and self-control are three characteristics that are taught in every class at U.S. Blackbelt Academy. Of the three, I believe self-control is the key characteristic as it fosters discipline and respect.
Self-control is a habit, and as you’ve heard many times at USBA, “the habits we train are habits we gain”. As a person focuses on developing self-control in one part of his life, he will see great changes in not only that part, but in many others. Soon, his life will begin to drastically change in all aspects, whether it be diet, work, school or socially.
Self-control can be broken into a variety of different categories, but the two main ones are mental and physical. A person’s ability to have physical self-control helps them manage her diet, to exercise, to get enough sleep and to eat the right things. Mentally, self-control helps a person guide her emotions to the right responses. It helps her relax and think when panicked, to keep her temper when she gets angry and to better handle a wide variety of situations.
It is never too early to teach our children the importance of self-control. A simple habit such as sticking to a consistent time for homework is an excellent method of teaching self-control. As adults, we have opportunities daily, both at home and at work, to exercise self control. The most basic way to build self-control when a job is ahead of you is to attempt to stay on task and avoid procrastination.
Self-control, both mentally and physically from a martial arts perspective is important to ensure that the skills we teach our students are never abused or misused. Martial arts champions learn that they must control their emotions, or their emotions may control them.
Master Ivan Kravitz
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