Courage and Heart

Introduction. Facing your Fears – Inner Strength.

Cum Animo Et Corde – with heart and the spirit of courage. This is the motto of our system. The name Katu Vuur was taken from this and means “good fire.” This is the ability of the student to maintain control of his or her emotions during a combat situation. To be able to stay calm and trust your techniques and ability in the face of danger or adversity. The fight/flight/freeze instinct is always with us. This must be controlled in a combat situation. But how is that done? We cannot simply repeat “I’m not afraid.” There must be some other way. Katu Vuur helps the student develop confidence, discipline, and self-esteem while developing as a fighter. The student will develop an internal fire and learn to focus that energy – a fighting spirit.

Building Confidence.

The development of confidence comes from believing in your abilities. You must see the techniques work in order to believe in them. To see the techniques work, the training must be realistic and put the student under pressure giving a realistic effect – trial by fire. The skill level of the student determines the amount of trial by fire. When a student goes through this, they are more confident and able to control their fear. Fear is always there and can be your friend. A little bit of fear (caution) keeps you from being foolish and will allow you to execute your technique with conviction. Too much fear will cause you to lose mental focus, forget your training, and makes you hesitant when striking. When students are under pressure during training, they will begin to relax more as they advance. Relaxing is another goal of this system. There are no rigid postures and stances.

Building Discipline

Discipline is “training that produces a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement.” We do not train students by enforcing compliance, rules or blind obedience. Training involves the student learning from mistakes in order to achieve meaningful objectives. Discipline is a choice.

The more the student understands that discipline is a choice, the more the student is in control. The student must make a choice to come to class, to train during class. There must be a wanting, a hunger to train. The student must do things to open up class time around his schedule of homework and other activities. This is personal discipline. The student will retain and maintain control of himself.

When children reach the age of 13, they are becoming young adults. They must receive training that will allow them develop into adults. They must be treated similar to adults.

Building Self-Esteem

Self-esteem is a confidence and satisfaction in oneself. It is how you feel about your own qualities, characteristics and value. You cannot accomplish anything by just believing in yourself. You must believe in your abilities and have the motivation to carry them out.

A person with high self-esteem is open to criticism, acknowledging mistakes, being comfortable with giving and receiving compliments, and works on solving problems in their lives. He uses constructive criticism to grow. Know that your worth is not dependent on the opinions of others.

For persons with low self-esteem the world doesn’t feel safe. They find it difficult setting boundaries, and experience emotions such as fear, anxiety or depression. This can be linked to violence, suicide, and low academic achievement.

Students are allowed to make mistakes. Students will recognize both their mistakes and their accomplishments, and build their confidence through failure. This is how we learn and grow.

The trainers will focus on team building, setting reachable goals and developing skills. This creates an environment that is designed to lift the student up and build self-worth and confidence.

Bullying

We add this section because many attacks, both physical and non-physical, come from bullies.

Bullies usually want to make the person feel less powerful or helpless. This can cause psychological (threatening or manipulating), social (lying about someone or spreading rumors) or physical harm. It can be harmful to your mental health, your self-esteem and your social relationships.

Many bullies want to dominate others to improve their social status. They may have low self-esteem. They may be the victim of bullying themselves.

A person being bullied may feel unsafe and afraid, have a sense of hopelessness – you don’t know what to do, and feel ashamed that this is happening to you. Interestingly enough, very few children tell anyone that they’re being bullied. And adults who are bullied in the workplace have a higher risk of depression and suicidal thoughts. The bully seeks to take away a person’s power – self-esteem. The victim must get their power back.

Conclusion

When training for physical attacks, the student will see that the techniques work. That’s their confidence. This school not only teaches the skills to repel a physical attack, but helps the students grow so they can deal with non-physical attacks. By dedicating themselves in class, gaining experience and camaraderie, and seeing the results, they will develop discipline, confidence, self-esteem, and the ability to work with others. This will give them the ability to operate from a position of strength, and, with help from others at school or in the workplace, resolve the non-physical attacks.