As martial artists, our art and training is part of our lives. Because of this, we should include our art and training in our annual review and reflect sessions as well as our goal planning.

This New Year's weekend, take a moment to review and reflect on 2006. How did you advance in your art? What goals did you achieve? What were your accomplishments? What things did not turn out quite like you wanted, and what can you do to make those things happen in the next year?

Maybe your goal was to achieve a certain belt promotion. Maybe it was to win a local or national tournament. Reflect back and revel in your accomplishments for a moment, and determine what you could have done differently for goals you may have fell a bit short on. Do not be too hard on yourself. Placing second or third is quite an accomplishment too. Heck, just getting in the ring is more than most people. Training period is more than a lot of people do.

After reflecting a bit on 2006, change gears and make some goals for 2007. What do you want to get out of 2007? What do you want to accomplish? If you are a student, what do you want out of your learning and training? If you instruct, what are your goals in this area?

Once you determine some of the goals you want for 2007, take a moment to define why you want to achieve those goals. When you know why you want something, you are much more apt to achieve it. A powerful why helps you stay the course even when things get difficult and thoughts of quitting enter your mind. Do not quit, persevere because you have a powerful why as to what you want.

Then, when you know what you want and why you want it, develop a plan that will get you there.

Train Hard, Train Safe, and Have a Fantastic New Year!

Lock On Volume 1 is almost ready for release. Aiki Productions expects to release it in the next couple of weeks.

Lock On: Joint Locking Essentials Volume 1: Wrist Locks
Produced by Aiki Productions

Joint locks are some of the most versatile techniques found in martial art curriculums. They can be used to submit opponents, control rowdy people, or injure attackers, making them ideal for various self-defense and violent encounters, and a must for anyone working in law enforcement or security. Unfortunately, they can also be some of the most difficult techniques to learn and master. That is until now. The Lock On: Joint Locking Essentials series is a comprehensive guide to joint locks and one of the most complete programs available for practical joint locking information. In this original Aiki Productions DVD series, Hapkido and Self-defense instructor Alain Burrese presents detailed instruction on the mechanics of each lock, proper execution, and various applications to enable the viewer to learn the essentials of applying joint locks in any situation. This program is a must for every serious student of martial arts and self-defense.

Volume 1: Wrist Locks includes detailed instruction on a variety of wrist locks, including: an explanation of the wrist, outer wrist lock, inner wrist lock, reverse handshake, S locks, faucet locks, and more. If you want to take your joint locking ability to the next level, you must have Lock On: Joint Locking Essentials Volume 1: Wrist Locks.

Alain Burrese's martial art and self-defense career started in 1982, and includes living and training in South Korea where he continues to return and train on a regular basis. He teaches Self-defense, Safety, and Martial Art programs around the country and his previous works include Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks, Hapkido Hoshinsul, and Streetfighting Essentials.