Unlock Your Child's Full Potential with Our Transported After School Program in Jefferson Ga

Are you looking for an after-school program that does more than just keep your child busy? Our Transported After School Program is the perfect solution for parents who want their children to learn valuable life skills while staying active and engaged. We offer a unique blend of character development, physical fitness, and martial arts training—all in a safe, supervised environment.

Why Our Transported After School Program Stands Out

What makes our program different? It’s not just about convenience—it’s about giving your child the tools they need to succeed both in and out of the classroom. Here’s what sets us apart:

- School Pick-Up Service: We handle the transportation, so your child is safely brought from school to our martial arts facility.

- Martial Arts Training: Our after-school program incorporates martial arts, giving your child a chance to develop skills like focus, discipline, and confidence.

- Structured and Fun Environment: Kids love our fun, engaging classes, while parents appreciate the discipline and focus we instill in their children.

How Martial Arts Shapes Your Child’s Future

Martial arts is an amazing way for children to grow, not only physically but also mentally and emotionally. Our after-school program helps kids improve concentration, develop self-control, and learn to set goals. The benefits go beyond just kicks and punches—your child will gain confidence, respect for others, and perseverance.

Convenience Meets Growth

Our Transported After School Program is ideal for busy parents who want peace of mind. We handle everything from school pick-up to providing an enriching experience until you pick them up. It’s a win-win: your child has fun, gets fit, and learns life skills, while you have more time and less stress.

Find the Right Program for Your Child

Curious to see how our program works in different areas? Check out our Jefferson After School Program to learn more about how we’re helping kids in your community grow into confident, disciplined leaders.

Sign your child up for our Transported After School Program today! Learn more by visiting choesafterschool.com and discover how martial arts can be a transformative experience for your child.

Transported After School Program by Choe's

Breaking Through Plateaus in Martial Arts Training

Plateaus: A Universal Challenge

Plateaus are a common phenomenon that can arise in any area of life, not just martial arts training. Whether you're a professional athlete, a business owner, an artist, or simply working towards personal goals, you may have experienced a period where progress seems to stagnate, and improvement becomes elusive. This frustrating and discouraging experience can leave anyone feeling stuck and demotivated.
The good news is that the strategies for overcoming plateaus in martial arts training can be applied to any area of life. The principles of persistence, adaptability, and resilience can help you break through the barriers that hold you back and continue growing and improving in any pursuit.

In this article, we'll explore the concept of plateaus, identify common signs and causes, and discuss practical tips and strategies for overcoming them. While our examples may come from the world of martial arts, the lessons and insights can be applied to any area of life where you're seeking to improve and grow.

By recognizing that plateaus are a natural part of the learning and growth process, and by developing the right mindset and strategies, you can overcome obstacles and continue moving forward in any area of life.

Identifying Plateaus

Common signs of a plateau include:

• Lack of progress or improvement
• Stagnant skills and techniques
• Decreased motivation and enthusiasm
• Feeling like you're not challenging yourself or being challenged

Recognizing when you're experiencing a plateau is crucial, and it starts with taking an honest assessment of your situation. Ask yourself some tough questions: Have I been feeling stuck or stagnant in my training lately? Have I noticed any improvements or progress recently? Am I still feeling motivated and engaged in my training? If you answered "no" to any of these questions, it may be a sign that you've hit a plateau, and it's time to take a closer look at your approach and make some adjustments to get back on track.

Plateaus can be emotionally challenging, leading to feelings of frustration, disappointment, and self-doubt. It's essential to recognize that these emotions are normal and temporary. Practicing self-compassion and acknowledging your efforts can help you stay motivated and focused. Remember that progress is not always linear, and it's okay to experience setbacks. By reframing your mindset and focusing on the process, rather than the outcome, you can overcome the emotional barriers that hold you back and continue moving forward.

Causes of Plateaus

Plateaus can arise from various factors, including:

• Complacency: Becoming too comfortable with your current skills and techniques
• Lack of challenge: Not pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone
• Mental and physical factors: Burnout, injury, or mental blocks

Understanding the underlying causes of your plateau is essential to overcoming it, as it allows you to identify the root of the issue and develop a targeted strategy to address it.  While just trying to push through or work harder may sometimes be the answer, it may not be effective in breaking through the plateau in some situations. By understanding what's holding you back, you can make informed changes to your approach, mindset, or environment to reignite progress and growth.

Tips for Overcoming Plateaus

Surrounding yourself with a supportive community and finding accountability can be a game-changer when overcoming plateaus. Having a mentor, coach, or training partner who understands your goals and challenges can provide valuable guidance, motivation, and encouragement. Joining a community of like-minded individuals who share your passion and interests can also help you stay inspired and driven. Don't be afraid to reach out for help and support – it's often the key to breaking through the plateau and achieving new heights of success.

Here are some practical strategies to help you break through plateaus:

• Seek new challenges and goals: Set new objectives, try a different style or discipline, or compete in a tournament
• Change your training routine or environment: Try a new gym, instructor, or training partner
• Focus on mental preparation and visualization: Practice mindfulness, meditation, or visualization techniques to improve your mental game
• Seek guidance from instructors or mentors: Get feedback, guidance, and support from experienced practitioners
• Embrace failure and learn from mistakes: View failures as opportunities for growth and improvement

Conclusion

Persistence and adaptability are crucial in martial arts training. Don't let plateaus discourage you – instead, use them as opportunities for growth and improvement. Apply the tips and strategies outlined above to your training, and remember that with the right mindset and approach, you can overcome plateaus and continue growing and improving in your martial arts journey.

Final thoughts: Breaking through plateaus requires a willingness to adapt, learn, and persevere. Embrace the journey, stay committed, and keep pushing forward – you got this!

RJ LoPresti
Choe's HapKiDo Martial Arts Cumming GA
Shape Up Kickboxing

"Are you going to make your kids do Martial Arts?"

Since I had my son a couple years ago, people often ask me if I will make my kids do martial arts.  It is an interesting question, and one that I have spent a good bit of time thinking about.  Luckily, this is one thing about parenting that I am actually pretty certain about lol.

First off, it is my hope that my kids will love HapKiDo as much as I do and I wont have to make them train because they will want to!  I am realistic though and am aware that there is a good chance that at some point in their life before they leave my care they will lose interest and want to stop.  Now of course I do not have a crystal ball so can't say with 100% certainty what I will do when that time comes.  At the time that I am writing this though I feel pretty certain what I will do and why I will do it.  So without further ado, here is why I WILL make my children participate in Martial Arts.


Any time someone asks me if I will make my kids do Martial Arts, my initial thought is always "Of course!"  To me, that question is the same as "Are you going to teach your child to read? Will you make them go to school? Do you care if your child has to tools to succeed in life??!!" I imagine if you ask any parent those questions they will all answer in the affirmative! To me, Martial Arts training is just as imperative to the development of a person.   Now I do not believe that someone needs to be as involved in Martial Arts as I was as a kid, and am now as an adult, to be successful.  I do however feel very strongly that the benefit of having a regular and consistent training regime is invaluable (especially in the formative adolescent and teen years.)   So, now that you know how I feel let me explain just a few of the reasons why I feel this way!

Martial Arts is the perfect teammate to parents! 

This first point may seem a little self serving, and it is in a sense, because martial arts makes the job of a parent easier!  But this is not just for the effect of making a parent's life better.  In my opinion one of the most important job of a parent is to prepare their child to be constructive and contributing member of society.  When this is done it ultimately leads to life being better for the child, and the world as a whole.  The parent's responsibility is to raise a child that is well adjusted and self sufficient, and to develop the child to hopefully be a part of humanity as a whole bringing us as a planet to a higher level of existence.  Martial Arts is the perfect aid to the parent in this task!  A good martial arts program will instill values that are universally considered to be valuable to having a strong and positive character.  Traits such as compassion, discipline, focus and respect just to name a few.  The classes will also teach kids the importance of taking care of our bodies, starting children on their journey of a healthy life.  Imagine if adults grew up and were even 10% healthier than they are now!  The benefit that would bring, not just on an individual level but to society as a whole, is mind boggling!  Good parents attempt to teach their children all of these things, and Martial Arts has been here for thousands of years to help, and in this day and age it is much more accessible than ever before!

Lack of Confidence is a HUGE cause of many of society's problems, and Martial Arts is the CURE!  

So many of society's problems such as depression, bullying and drug abuse can be improved if not completely resolved through increasing confidence at a young age.  Whether it is the strength to stand up for yourself or the positive self image required to not feel the need to "fit in" with the wrong crowd,  confidence will help a child make the right choices to steer their life in a positive direction.  Some people are naturally born with confidence, and others are not.  Some peoples' lives cultivate confidence organically, and other's seem to smother any semblance of confidence before it blossoms.  Martial Arts has the power to help everyone, not matter what their level of confidence is, learn to believe in themselves and not be drawn in a negative direction due to a lack of confidence.  The result of this confidence flows over into all areas of a Martial Artist's life.  This is a benefit that I personally have experienced through my martial arts life, and I look forward to martial arts helping my children having confidence in themselves as well!

Martial Arts will teach your child how to control ego and emotions. 

So as an equally important counterpart of the increased confidence discussed above, Martial Arts teaches kids and teens how to control their ego and emotions.  Being extremely confident without also staying humble is a recipe for disaster.  Just as not having belief in yourself is destructive, having an inflated image of yourself is going to lead to problems socially and emotionally.  These two lessons must be learned in unison!  In my opinion, and from my own personal experience, martial arts is perfect for this.  As a teen boy growing up and figuring out my place in the world as a man, it was invaluable to me that no matter how great I felt I was at the skills I was learning there was always someone there to put me in my place if needed.  No matter how much of a bad@$$ I felt like I was becoming, if my ego was ever out of line there was always someone bigger, stronger, more skilled, etc.  The best part about this is that in the moment as you learn that you aren't God's gift to the fight game, you also quickly learn that getting upset wont help the situation at all but it will actually only make it worse.  This teaches you to control your emotions and use them constructively.  There are not many things in life that can provide this for us, and I think it is crucial to the development of an adult to know that you cannot just do whatever you want just because you want to.  A good martial arts instructor can (and will if needed) teach this lesson in a safe and controlled environment, which is much preferred to learning it as an adult in their career or worse in the streets from someone who may be willing to seriously hurt or kill them.

Martial Arts is hierarchical. 

Traditional Martial Arts is set up in a way that teaches us how to be a follower as well as a leader.  All great leaders are exceptional students, they know what it takes to be a good follower and that knowledge is one of the factors that makes them exceptional.  I think this skill is something that is invaluable to anyone hoping to be successful in life.  I want my son to be a leader of course, but if he doesn't know how to be a follower when he is supposed to be then he will never reach his potential.  Traditional Martial Arts is a great teacher of this skill because it is a very hierarchical system with a rich history of tradition and etiquette.  Learning to follow a system like this may seem outdated to some, but from my experience being involved in traditional Martial Arts since the age of 6, the best students who have the most success are the ones who use this system as a way to develop and demonstrate their strength as a person.   

Martial Arts teaches compassion and the value of life.  

Learning how to effectively hurt people teaches the importance of not doing so.  Many of the kindest people I have ever met are very skilled in the martial ways.  Through training Martial Arts you learn the importance of kindness and compassion, and are able to practice those character traits on a very deep and personal level.  The idea that Martial Arts, learning how to be fight and being skilled in violence, promotes compassion is difficult for some to grasp.  But those who understand it see a very deep connection.  I want my sons to understand compassion on the deepest level possible, and I know Martial Arts will help them with this. 

We use the hashtag #HapKiDo4Life, and that to me means that HapKiDo is for the entire life, of myself and every around me.  Now.....you have had a glimpse into my brain ;)  

 

Resistance Training with Shape Up Kickboxing - Cumming Ge

Resistance Training at Shape Up Kickboxing - Cumming Georgia

When wanting to get in shape, fitness kickboxing should definitely be a part of your plan! But not all fitness kickboxing programs are created equal! The Shape Up Kickboxing Program has a few key components that really set it apart from what you will find at most gyms. Although most kickboxing classes are a good cardio workout, Shape Up Kickboxing has the aspect of resistance training added to H.I.I.T. (High Intensity Interval Training). This is one of the biggest differences between what Shape Up Kickboxing Cumming, Ga offers and "cardio kickboxing." The cardio style kickboxing class where the kickboxing moves are preformed in the air can be a great cardio calorie burn, but once your heart rate drops after the class ends then the calorie burn stops as well. The combination of the H.I.I.T. workout with resistance training will quite literally turn your body into a calorie burning machine! Without the muscular strengthening, a kickboxing workout will provide a great calorie burn during the session, but with the addition of the resistance training your body will begin to burn more calories every minute of every day. In short, the stronger and more tone your muscles are the more calories you will burn on a daily basis and the more you will be able to push yourself during your workouts. You cannot just cardio yourself to a healthy body, and Shape Up Kickboxing can help complete the whole picture to get you results!!

In the Shape Up classes you will be taught real kickboxing moves, and will train those moves on a heavy bag. Hitting a heavy bag has a variety of benefits, such as:

• Resistance Training
• Cardio
• Stress Relief
• Self Defense Skills
• Fun!
• Heavy bags wont hit you back 😆😆😆 lol

These are just a small handful of the benefits, and when you come in and try a class we would love to hear what your favorite part about hitting a heavy bag is!

Shape Up Kickboxing Classes in Cumming Georgia

Shape Up Kickboxing - Cumming, Ga

https://www.facebook.com/ShapeUpKickboxingCumming/

http://www.ShapeUpKickboxing.com
https://shapeupkickboxing.com/cumming/
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1614 Peachtree Parkway
Suite 100
Cumming, Ga 30041
(678) 919-8824

Make Love Visible - A mantra for 2020 and beyond

Make Love Visible

Make Love Visible!  I think this is going to become my mantra for 2020.  I read a post on Facebook the other day that really hit home for me. It was in one of those silly posts that says to copy and past it into your status (you know the type of post that I have always sworn I would never do.....) Well, this post had a line in it that I found so powerful that I actually copied the post as my status 😨😲

The sentence that hit deep for me was "I will not stand idly by and live in a world where love is invisible."  The text in the post gave examples of simple kindness, the type of things anyone can do, to improve peoples' day and show love.  When I read the post it instantly hit me like a light went on in my head, and I felt that many thoughts that were floating around in my brain were now nicely tied together with a ribbon. And the ribbon read "Make Love Visible"

The many thoughts that now make up my Make Love Visible philosophy come from so many different places, people and organizations.  I can hardly take credit for this idea.  I do however feel that this is a concept that is worthy of spreading and making famous!  I am a firm believer that there are more people who are basically good in the world than there are evil.  There is way more good, or at the very least neutral, in the world than there is evil.  I believe this with all of my heart. The issue it that people are more likely to perpetuate negativity than they are to spread positivity and because of this the evil people of the world get all the attention.  Think about it in your own life!  On Facebook you see people post something bad that is going on in the world, and the whole internet has to comment about how horrible it is!  But when something good happens people just go about their day like it was nothing.  We seem to have become numb to positivity.  It takes a drastically positive event to get noticed, but something as minor as getting cut off in traffic is worth posting about on social media.  People are much more likely to share a negative review than they are a positive one. At the surface that makes it seem like things are all going to hell, but I do not feel that is the case at all!  It is just that positivity, and LOVE, have become abstract ideas that people think about, talk about, post about on their Instagram, but seldom manifest into reality.  That is why it is so important that there is an army of people taking up the mission to Make Love Visible.  Every little bit is more important that anyone can imagine.  Hold the door for people, let them go ahead of you in line, smile at EVERYONE! These little acts make the love that is in the world visible and will begin a contagious reaction that is our only hope to a peaceful and bright future.

In the rest of this post I will briefly share a few of the ideas that make this statement powerful to me, and why I chose to share my thoughts here when I read the words "I will not stand idly by and live in a world where love is invisible."

I am going to start by talking about one of the most influential things in my life: HapKiDo!  HapKiDo,

simply translated, means the Art of Coordinated Power.  Like most things, a simple definition doesn't always do justice and there can be many interpretations and applications.  The definition of HapKiDo is no different, and you can use it to explain how the martial arts techniques themselves work, or you can dig into it and use it to explain a philosophy for life itself that a HapKiDoist lives by.  HapKiDo is actually 3 words: "Hap" means Coordination/Harmony, "Ki" means Energy/Power, and "Do" means Art/Way.  So what does all this have to do with Making Love Visible?  Well one way to look at the meaning of HapKiDo is that it is the way of coordinating the potential power that is inside us all with the actual power that we express outwardly.  One example of this is when we take the love that is inside us for our fellow humans, and make it visible through our actions.  HapKiDo gives us the physical, mental and spiritual strength to turn the potential we have into reality.  A good martial artist is a person of action, not theory. Thinking about love towards one another is not enough, there has to be action on those thoughts.

The next influence I want to mention in the cultivation of my Make Love Visible idea is a powerful demonstration of what it looks like when people Make Love Visible. I work with a non-profit group here in Atlanta called Project Live Love whose mission is to influence culture through love in action.  Project Live Love aims to find people who are motivated by Love, and provide an opportunity for them to put that Love into action!  This organizations mission is making love visible, and the amazing men and women who participate blow me away time and time again.  The founder of the organization, Drew Benton, told me that one of the reasons he started Project Live Love was because he was constantly finding himself talking with people who wanted to do something meaningful and good. The issue was that they did not know how or what to do, and because of this they rarely mobilized.  That is where the term Live Love comes from; it is not enough to talk about loving your fellow man, you have to live it!
(If you are interested in donating to Project Live Love, Click Here: https://projectlivelove.com/donate/)

The final influence I would like to discuss is last in this post but definitely not least!  A huge influence for me striving to live out my life with a Make Love Visible mindset is my family.  Growing up my family was always very close knit.  I was able to spend a lot of time around both my immediate family as well as many uncle, aunts and cousins.  All of the varying perspectives these people brought into my life, along with the fact that I am the youngest of five kids, allowed me to gain first hand experience of real life from a very young age.  There was my Dad always telling me to work hard, stand up for what is right and never sacrifice your values for what is easy.  Pairing perfectly with this there was my Mom stressing the importance of being kind, teaching me that with the support of family you will never feel alone and there is nothing you cannot do with their support, so never take them for granted.  Possibly the most impressive thing about my parents is that not only did they teach and instill these values in me, they lived it in their own lives!  They shared with me the things they thought were important to living a good life, then they showed me what it looked like in their lives.  Growing up my parents always made sure to not just say how they felt but they showed it in their actions.  They showed me how powerful a force it is when you Make Love Visible, and that experience has given me the motivation to reach heights that without it I wouldn't dream would be possible.

My hope and request is that after reading this you take a deep look at your life.  Look within yourself, and at the people around you, and see that there is a lot of love in you and in the world.  I hope that you will see there is a lot more love out there than there is hate.  The problem I see is the few evil people in the world, the ones filled with hate, are not holding that in.  Love is not an abstract idea, or something you have save inside of you.  Let it out, make it visible, drown out the hate, and brighten the world!

With Love,

RJ LoPresti
www.RJLoPresti.com
#NextLevel

Show Some Passion, Live With Passion

Show Some Passion Love With Passion!

Have you guys ever listened to this? You know at the end of every video I say "Show Some Passion, Live With Passion" Well that came from me listening to this.

I can honestly say that listening to this changed my life. I was assigned to write a paper on this audio when I opened my first HapKiDo school. It surely set the tone for the trajectory my life is on now. I highly recommend it!! Thank you Tony Robbins!

Check it out here: https://amzn.to/2Lyb9Ih

Do you Step Up or Back Down? Martial Artists develop an Indomitable Spirit!

So...Are you the type of person who steps up to a challenge, or do you back down?!

As a HapKiDo instructor I see tons of people on a daily basis who are faced with challenges of varying levels of significance, both on the mat as well as out in the "real" world.  These challenges range from struggles as simple as struggling to remember a technique in class to things serious such as losing a job or the death of a loved one.  It doesn't matter how serious the challenge is, it is important that we attack any challenge that stands between us and reaching our goals.  This is one of the countless reasons that I feel martial arts is so important, not just for kids but for adults as well.  HapKiDo Martial Arts teaches its students to have an indomitable spirit, meaning that nothing can hold us back. When an individual has an indomitable spirit they can achieve higher levels of success and reach their goals more easily because things that would stop most people are merely speed bumps to them.  

In HapKiDo class, from the very beginning, a student is regularly presented with challenges that they are asked to overcome.  They start out easily, maybe remembering a set of techniques or kicking above their head, but as they progress they are presented with much more difficult tasks such as staying disciplined in their training over many years to achieve mastery of the art.  The act of overcoming these struggles teaches the student that if they stay focused and try hard, they can move past the obstacles in order to get to their goal.  

This may seem ordinary, and like nothing special, but a good Martial Arts instructor works with the students until they see that they are able to overcome the obstacles that are presented to them.  This is a simple yet important realization to give the student the mentality of stepping up instead of backing down.  There are so many areas of life that allow people to just back down from a challenge instead of pushing through.  So many parents and coaches see someone struggling and they swoop in to help them out, but what does this teach them?  By doing this they learn that if something is hard they can just sit back and wait, and someone will do it for them.  Unfortunately, the world doesn't really work like that.  

Having the "Step Up" attitude can positively effect many areas of life.  It will allow HapKiDoist to get good marks in school, it will help you gain the favor of peers and supervisors at work, and will be the gift that takes your life to a level that you are proud of.  When you are not afraid to step up to a challenge you will find that you have the capability to accomplish way more than you thought possible, and will be able to achieve successes that are far out of reach for anyone who backs down in the face of adversity.  

So the question you have to ask yourself is this....

Do you want more for yourself or your loved ones?  Then it is imperative that you learn how to step up to life's challenges, and not back down when things get tough. I love HapKiDo Martial Arts because it teaches people to have the indomitable spirit like nothing else I have ever seen!  Take a look at your life and honestly see what is holding you back.  Is it something you could overcome with a disciplined effort? I bet it is!

RJ LoPresti

Choe's HapKiDo

www.RJLoPresti.com