RESPECT: The Second BlackBelt Superpower and One We Need More Of Today

Respect is our second Blackbelt Superpower at Krav Maga Martial Arts.

   I knew I’d probably have written on it in another recent blog, and here it is if you’d like to read it.

But here, too, is the lesson of the week on it, and I’m going to say a few more words here today for you, too.

1. Respect is such an important, and yet rare, attribute in society today; and I’m talking about both types, Respect for self and Respect for others.

2. Like all the Blackbelt Superpowers, and everything we teach and develop through my program, the Respect power gets stronger, easier and more consistent (habitual) with time in training. In the same way that a student’s footwork, technique and/or even something as easy as keeping their hands up, gets better with time and practice, so it is with the Superpower of Respect.

3. Since I am probably speaking to an adult audience here, I can say a few things that I can’t in my video lesson, since it’s tailored towards kids too.

   So, if you don’t believe that Respect is an important issue to invest in, consider these stats:

• Over 2 million people in the United States engage in self-harm behaviors, such as cutting, each year.
  • Self-harm is most common among teenagers and young adults, with 15-24 year olds being the highest risk group.
  • Females are more likely to engage in cutting than males, with a ratio of about 3:1. More here.  
• Based on data collected between 2017 and 2020, 41.9% of adults in the U.S. have obesity. The same data set suggests 19.7% of adolescents and children in the U.S.—14.7 million individuals— have obesity.
• According to a report by Time, R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Where has it gone?, nearly eight in ten Americans (79 percent) say a lack of respect and courtesy is a serious national problem, and most people say it’s getting worse (60 percent). Seventy-three percent say we used to treat one another with greater respect. When asked if they felt that way because of “a false nostalgia for a past that never existed,” only 21 percent said yes. The rest of us think that Americans’ attitude of disrespect really is worse these days.

Rudeness in America

• 79 percent say lack of respect is a serious problem.

• 60 percent say rude and selfish behavior is increasing.

• 88 percent sometimes encounter rude people.

• 62 percent are bothered by rude behavior.

• 77 percent see clerks ignoring customers.

• 58 percent encounter aggressive drivers.

You probably don’t need a report to tell you all this though. 

   You probably are aware of the problem with declining levels of respect in most people…

but, if you’re a part of the program and tribe at KMMA, you probably know that this is not the way it is around here.

KMMA Sensei, students and staff exude Respect, for themselves and for others.

   And take this attitude with them out of the dojo and into the world.

Start your 2 week free trial and orientation with your child today! 

Prepare To Live; Empower To Lead!

Grand Master Stephen J. Del Castillo
Founding Master Instructor, Krav Maga Martial Arts
TampaKravMaga.com         StephenDelCastillo.com

About Grandmaster Stephen J. Del Castillo: Grandmaster Del Castillo is the founding Master Instructor of Krav Maga Martial Arts and has been empowering lives in Pasco and Hillsborough Counties since October of 2000. He is a 7th degree Blackbelt, MBA, author, mentor and success coach, a US Army Veteran and a proud father and grandfather. He is married to Ms. Barbara Del Castillo who helps him run the school. Grand Master Del Castillo began his training in the early 80’s and has high level blackbelts in Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Premier Martial Arts and Krav Maga Martial Arts as well as experience in kickboxing, Jeet Kune Do and Jiujitsu. He has high level instructor certifications from BBSI, IKMF, and KMG and has been featured in numerous Martial Arts publications and also Success magazine. He was a competitive sport karate and American Kickboxing instructor until he enlisted in the US Army where he served in the 82nd Airborne Division, where he won an Army Green to Gold scholarship and proceeded to ROTC and the University of Tampa. He was commissioned in 1992 and went on to serve in Germany with the 3rd Infantry Division and then in several other posts in the US until he left military service to pursue his dream of creating KMMA in 2000.

The Krav MagaMartial Arts Headquarters is in Lutz, FL at 1900 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., 33549. Krav Maga Martial Arts serves Lutz, Land O’ Lakes, Wesley Chapel, and surrounding areas.

See stephendelcastillo.com for more information and to order my book, Developing Your Superpower, Meditations on Mastery, Volume 1.

Also, check us out on Fun4TampaKids & on Go2Karate.com