Karate- Self Discipline

This month, students are learning about Self Discipline (Click here to download our character worksheet).  As parents, don’t you feel like sometimes your entire job is reminding your kids to do things?  Clean your room, put your jacket away, put away your toys…it never ends.  During our character lessons, we will be explaining why it’s important to be Self-Disciplined.  Children need to realize that there won’t always be someone around to remind them to do things.  If they don’t learn how to be disciplined on their own, what will happen when no one reminds them to do things?

To illustrate the importance of Self Discipline, we tell students a story about a man and a rattle snake.  The story goes that a man is at the base of a mountain, getting ready to hike to the top.  He hears a voice, “carry me with you.”  After looking around, he sees the rattle snake asking him, “carry me with you.”  Initially, afraid the snake will bite him, the man is reluctant.  Ultimately, the snake convinces the man to carry him up the mountain.  As they get near the top, the man reaches into his bag to take out the snake and he’s bitten on the hand.  As the venom starts coursing through his blood, the man yells angrily at the snake for breaking his promise not to bite.  The snake replies, “You knew I was a rattle snake and knew that I would bite you eventually.”

The moral of the story is that being undisciplined is like playing with a rattle snake.  Will it bite you all the time?  No but eventually it will.  If you leave one dirty dish, no big deal…until that snowballs and you have an overflowing sink of dirty dishes.  Will watching TV instead of doing your homework effect your grade that much?  Probably not, until the test comes and you’re unprepared.  The best way to avoid getting bit is to not play with the rattle snake at all.