It's been a while since I did a post on the martial arts. Over the last weeks, due to my injury, my main interest was strength training and general physical preparation. Today's topic deals with the martial arts again. Today the Shinergy[young stars] Battle Winter 2009 took place. "Battle" is what we call our Shinergy championships, because in the beginning, those championships were held in music clubs, just like breakdance battles. Unfortunately, I couldn't be there because I had to hold classes at my dojo, but 5 of my kids competed. I have to say, team Stadlau (that's the part of Vienna where my dojo is) did really well: 5 competitors, 4 medals. Now of course, competing isn't all about winning some precious metal, but it does play a part. Especially for kids, I'm convinced that competition and reward are a great way to hold motivation. Also, it provides a great feedback for everyone: the competitor can measure his progress, the instructor can object...