Step in the right direction.

Once a man was lost so he decided to ask for directions.  The person he asked happened to be the philosopher Socrates.  The lost traveler asked, “Excuse me sir, do you know how to get to Mount Olympus from here?”  The wise philosopher Socrates simply replied, “Just make sure that every step you take is headed in that direction!”

There are things that we want to do and there are things we know we need to do.  The difference is that our wants stem from the reactiveness of our emotions, moods, conditions, circumstances, or environment.  The other, that is our awareness of what is right, stems from our conscience, our governing values and a deep sense of simply knowing, “This is the right thing to do.”

Whenever we hit the wall and skip going to the gym, eat the wrong things, make a bad decision because emotions are raging, or we do whatever was easier than “doing the right thing”, it weakens our character as it ignores our conscience.  We know what to do but we don’t always do what we know to be right. This is taking the step in the wrong direction, straying off course from the path to a goal we set; a goal we deemed was important. 

What if we can strengthen our character by subordinating our feelings to our values.  Just imagine, what if we act courageously from our conscience and step in the right direction? Naturally our actions would be congruent with our values and a deep sense of integrity is felt and strengthens our character.  It unleashes our human potential.  We have a choice of which direction to take.  Do we choose the path to mediocrity or the path to greatness?

What was your goal upon getting started in the martial arts?  How does one get to the ability to focus, a high level of fitness, to be self-disciplined, the confidence of self-respect, the perseverance of a champion, self-mastery and the self-defense prowess of a Black Belt?  Just make sure that every step you take is headed in that direction. 

Sensei Dan Rominski

TheDOJO

TheDOJO Sweet Salute Project has donated over 1,000 pounds of Candy to the Military for Veterans Day over the Past 10 Years.

Donate Your Halloween Candy Learn How…

over 1,000 Pounds of Candy Donated to our Veterans

Parents, We’ll take your unwanted Halloween Candy. TheDOJO collects your unwanted Halloween candy and we donate it to the military for Veterans Day; our Sweet Salute Project has raised over 1,000 pounds of candy over ten years!  

Drop Off Your Candy. Parents, drop off your unwanted Halloween Candy at TheDOJO 52 Park Ave. Rutherford NJ 07070 Monday through Thursday from 3 pm to 8 pm and Saturdays from 9 am to 12 pm until Tuesday November 12, 2019.  Tell a friend, tell your dentist, tell your school…let everyone know about our Halloween candy collection Sweet Salute Project.  

Project Based Leadership Training is an opportunity for our students to exercise their leadership muscles through interesting projects and ideas that make a difference.  Your donated candy is sent all over the world to our military who are serving our county.  Learn more by visiting our website www.TheDOJO.org and see some pictures from our past Sweet Salute Projects and see what 100 pounds of candy looks like.  Call me with any questions at (201) 933-3050 ole me know if you want your school or dentist office involved.  

New to TheDOJO? If you are not a member of TheDOJO we’ll give you or your child (or both) a free month of lessons and experience how we unleash human potential through our martial arts education of intelligent curriculum designed by Sensei Dan Rominski Chief Instructor and Owner of TheDOJO.

Montvale Jr. Police Academy

The Montvale Police Department has asked us to teach the self-defense portion of their newly launched Jr. Police Academy; a youth program for 7th and 8th Graders in Montvale NJ.

We are honored to once again help our community as we empower young people with the concept that “no one can protect you as good as you can protect yourself”.

In about a one hour time period we will unleash their human potential and give them the tools they need of thinking smart, being bold and confident and making good decisions. It’s smart to introduce them to an intelligent curriculum of a sense of awareness of things that really hurt people such as one’s own diet, one’s own attitude and young impressionable minds being manipulated by others such as through commercial marketing or unhealthy peer pressure.

Of course we’ll teach kicking and punching and other physical defense techniques of the martial arts but I would be remised as a knowledgable and experienced self-defense educator if I neglected to prepare young people that we protect ourselves with our knowledge, our thinking, and our ability to make good decisions based on principles and our conscience rather than emotion, popular belief or ignorance.

Also, we are going to have lot’s of fun and lot’s of smiles.

This Photo is an evening of The Rutherford Jr. Police Academy visiting TheDOJO around the year 2003?

Nothing to Teach You

ZEN

Nothing to Teach You

A student climbed a mountain to learn from a teacher who was sitting and meditating high up in the solitude. Upon approaching him before the student could speak the master said, “Go away for that I have nothing to teach you.” The student bowed politely and thanked the master, he realized he had just received a valuable lesson.

What is the Lesson?

Everything we seek we already have. The teacher doesn’t teach, they help us find it within ourselves. The best teachers unleash human potential. This presupposes there is a greatness inside us already and through the proper leadership the teacher affirms the students worth and potential so clearly that they eventually come to see it in themselves.

Remember the Wizard of Oz? The wizard did not give Dorthy, the scarecrow, the tin man and the lion what they were seeking ( a brain, courage, a heart, and the means to get home) they had it all along but it took the journey to discover it within themselves. Through our martial arts journey…greatness awaits.

Rutherford Special Needs Group visits TheDOJO for a Martial Arts Class!

2019 Rutherford Exceptional Individuals visits TheDOJO in Rutherford NJ with Sensei Dan Rominski

A Smashing Success! Last Night The Rutherford Rec's Exceptional Individuals visited TheDOJO and they brought their smiles and trained like champions in our martial art class.

This has been an annual event for about a decade! Expect them to enter anything with boldness and heart warming smiles.

The students of TheDOJO from our teens and adult class played fun out in their leadership role and as the expertly inspired and taught the martial arts with the empathy and compassion of true leaders.

KIPP Center Senior Valentines Day Card Project

The Details
All students are invited…This Saturday February 9, 2019 from 10 am to 11 am we are performing a martial arts demonstration for the senior citizens at The KIPP Center located in the parking garage right behind TheDOJO on Kipp Ave in Rutherford.  Meet at TheDOJO by 9:30 am, we will rehearse and then walk across the parking lot to the KIPP Center for the event.  Adult Students - The Saturday Adult Class will take place afterwards at 11 am to 12 pm.

The Love
We will also be handing out Valentine’s Day Cards, which all the students this week will be making as a part of their karate classes.  All students, siblings and parents are invited to this event on Saturday.

The Experience
Last year we did this and it was amazing!  One senior citizen mentioned to me, “This will be the only Valentine’s Day card I get this year.”  Think about it, some senior citizens have spouses and friends who have passed away.  Aging can be lonely but not if you have 30 kids in karate uniforms hand you a Valentine’s Day card with their bright smiles and laughter.  

The Lesson within The Lesson
In a real village, people look out for one another through a strong sense of interdependence which is needed for everyone’s prosperity.  These days it’s easy to get caught up in our “busy bubbles” (I know I can), this is a chance for us to commune with the senior citizens of our community.  

This project sets a stunning example for our children to show respect, kindness and love to our elders.  In “parenting” we call this a teachable moment and teachable moments are always an opportunity for children to learn and experience life lessons which shape their character.  Childhood is the training ground for later on adult behavior and as a parent I constantly think of what I am teaching our children today which shapes who they are in the future.

The Idea
I’d like to thank Vanvian Hoo and the Conway Family for spearheading this projecting for the second year!  Thank you for your inspiring idea of connecting children with senior citizens to make a difference!

TheDOJO
At TheDOJO we Unleash Human Potential through our Martial Arts Education of Intelligent Curriculum.  It takes a village to raise a child, we are honored to be a part of that village.

Thank you,

Sensei Dan Rominski
TheDOJO

Carry Water & Chop Wood - The Secret to Achievement & Beyond

Carry Water & Chop Wood - The Secret to Achievement & Beyond

We taught a really great lesson this past week:

The Story

The Student walks up the mountain where he heard a very wise teacher who has reached enlightenment lives  because he wanted to learn from him the secret to achieve enlightenment.  

The student asks the teacher “how do I achieve enlightenment?” the wise teacher replies “carry water and chop wood” 

The student thinks for a moment and then asks the teacher a second question, “what comes after enlightenment”.  The Teacher replies “carry water and chop wood”

The Context 

In the old days one must engage in menial tasks for daily living such as carry water to the house from the river for cooking and cleaning because there was no running water in the homes. Also, to chop wood for cooking over a fire and for heating the home, menial work that was vital to survival and daily living.

The Lesson  

Sometimes people want to skip the process and get to the accomplishment, but it is the process that allows us to get to the accomplishment.  Once we accomplish it, we must keep doing “the process” to maintain the accomplishment otherwise, we loose it.  

Certainly this allows us to get to the higher levels once we get the fundamentals down for that you can only build as high as your foundation is strong enough to build upon and if the foundation crumbles the whole structure falls.  This is why we practice so earnestly to the level of black belt and why we keep practicing so earnestly (if not more) once we achieve black belt, so we don't loose what we built up.

We must never loose sight of the importance of the basics.

What are the essential basics for life?  What are some fundamental principles that allow us to advance and evolve to unleash our human potential?  Character Strengths such as trust, trustworthiness, respect, focus, discipline, perseverance, self-control, grit, curiosity, creativity might some of the basics that without them we may not achieve or sustain the achievement.  At TheDOJO in our martial arts education of intelligent curriculum this is exactly what we do at every class. 

Teaching Leadership to Children

Project Based Leadership Training is teaching people of all ages how to make a difference while developing their leadership, organizational and communication skills.

For Instance, one of our students Julia at Age 12, noticed that a local private elementary school, St Mary’s had no library. For her Project Based Leadership Training (PBLT) she organized a book drive at TheDOJO and received 1,000 books which were donated from our students and the community. These books through her leadership effort began the library at the St Mary’s Elementary School helping children in our community.

At TheDOJO, we unleash human potential and Julia not only went on to become an amazing black belt, belt also an amazing human being.

Bully Protection

We offer every child in our community One Free Month of Self-Defense lessons. Free Lessons and Serving our Community, That’s Smart. That’s TheDOJO

Protect Yourself With Knowledge

Children learn to protect themselves with their Knowledge at TheDOJO.

Children Learn to Defeat Predators at TheDOJO

At TheDOJO children learn to protect themselves with their knowledge and parents get the much needed help for educating themselves and their children in how not to be a target for predators.

Diabetes Prevention

The best way to defeat diabetes is to practice the martial arts in a way that engages one in a sensible and sustainable exercise routine. This develops into a life style which encourages eating a healthy diet of more fruits and vegetables, exercising regularly and not smoking.

The Martial Arts

When we are teaching the martial arts we are really teaching about life. Sports concern themselves with scoring points, this is a game. The Martial Arts are about Self-Defense, in Self-Defense there are no points only life and death. There is a different seriousness applied because you are not winning and losing a game, you are fighting for your life.

Benifets of the Martial Arts at TheDOJO

The Martial Arts are NOT an activity they are a way of life. www.TheDOJO.org

We Are Parent Advocates

It takes a village to raise a child…we are part of that village. www.TheDOJO.org

Dietary Self-Defense

Healthy Eating is a form of Self-Defense as more people are hurt by their diet than they are ever hurt by a punch, kick, grappling or throw technique. www.TheDOJO.org