You have stumbled upon (or purposely sought out) a very, very unique martial school.

At Balanced Life Skills we teach self-defense, it's true, but it's self-defense from a global perspective.

It's art, it's peace, it's life!

First off, come see our facility. It's inviting, friendly, warm, and it's a second home to a lot of families in our community.

See a video of our first lesson in self defense

 

Sunday
05Jul

What are our commitments?

What kind of commitments have you made? Everyday and in every part of our life we make commitments to others. We ‘promise’ mom and dad to do our chores or to help do the dishes. We promise to clean our room, brush our teeth, take out the trash. These are all commitments.

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Wednesday
01Jul

Commitment: Definition

In July our word of the month is commitment.  Here are the definitions that we will be using in our school this month as we look at this word with all of our students.

"Without involvement, there is no commitment.7 Habits


Young students: 

Commitment means:  Making a promise and following through!

Older students: 

Commitment means making a promise to follow through with something until the end!

There will be more discussions on this site of this word to help everyone discuss it with their own children and to look at it more deeply with themselves in the coming month.  Check back with us or you may join our community for even more information.

Wednesday
17Jun

Courtesy - first impressions

First impressionsWhen I think about the individuals who have made a great impression on me it is always the ones that really engage me when we are speaking or who when we first met, looked me in the eye and and were there when we were speaking.  Have you ever noticed that the persons we are drawn too are courteous individuals who make us feel comfortable to speak to - the ones who are truly interested in our story.

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Monday
15Jun

Courtesy - teaching manners

This month we have been talking about courtesy and how manners plays into showing respect and politeness to others, thinking about their feelings. Emily post once said that, “Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others.” Now if we are able to teach that concept to our children, it will not matter which fork they use at the dinner table.

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Tuesday
02Jun

Courtesy

While many times we think about courtesy with regards to being polite and using good manners, courtesy is also a way of showing respect and concern for others and their rights. It goes beyond just polite conversation and knowing the ‘right thing to say” at the appropriate time. It is in fact a genuine concern for the comfort and feelings of not just strangers, but also family and friends.

Have you ever noticed someone who is able to do all the ‘right’ things for those outside their family or strangers, and yet many times do not extend the same civility to their family members?

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Tuesday
02Jun

Kind words accomplish much

This is not a fairy tale.  This is a true story of a person we will call Bill, who came to know and be mentored by two other individuals, Bob and Jim.  Jim came into Bill’s life first and had so much knowledge to share and was very willing to do so.  Bill would make mistakes - in fact on a fairly regular basis, but Jim was always there to help out and to show Bill the way.  In fact despite the fact that Bill wondered if he would ever be as good as Jim he was very happy to have someone around to show him where he was going wrong. Later in Bills life he had another mentor.  His name was Bob. 

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Monday
01Jun

Courtesy: Definitions

Each Month we define and discuss a word of character development with all of our students.  This month the word is Courtesy.  It will be defined this way.

Young students:  Courtesy means "I am thoughtful, polite and kind to others."

Older students:  Courtesy means showing respect kindness and consideration for others.

Monday
25May

Teamwork responsibilities

Being on a team brings with it certain responsibilities. We have the responsibility to carry out our assignments and to do the best we can with them. There may be times that we do not enjoy doing the assignment we have, but we do them because it will help the team. This may happen at home with chores we have agreed to perform, or in school on a project that we are working on a team.

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Friday
22May

Business Partner of the Year

 

 

Business Partner of the Year Award

Joe Van Deuren, Owner of Balanced Life Skills, was recently selected as Business Partner of the Year to Anne Arundel County Public Schools by the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce. The award was made at a special dinner held at the BWI Marriott Hotel. Joe was nominated by Linda Lamon, Signature Program Facilitator of South River High School where he serves on the business advisory board. She says,

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Friday
22May

Reduce our consumption

There is a lot to think about here in this video. Of the 3 R's Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle, it is my personal opinion that Reduce has the largest impact on the entire world and not just our corner of the world. This video makes some powerful points. http://www.storyofstuff.com/ I have personally made it a point to reduce consumption of goods.  I ask myself about what I am buying or throwing away.  Could I continue to use it or find someone who can use it?  Do I really need something new or is it just a want? Will you join me in the quest to reduce?