December 15, 2025 • 25 mins
Reflecting on the recent Hu Lee Classic, a tournament which served not only as a competitive arena but also as a gathering of the ATA community, I found myself immersed in a myriad of experiences that highlighted the essence of martial arts training and camaraderie. The journey commenced with my family's visit to Little Rock, where we had the privilege of touring the ATA headquarters, experiencing a sense of belonging that is quintessential to our organization. My children, filled with excitement, interacted with esteemed figures such as Chief Master Skiles, reinforcing the notion that martial arts transcends mere physical training; it cultivates relationships and a supportive network that lasts a lifetime. As we navigated through the tournament, I had the opportunity to judge various rings, witnessing the extraordinary talent and dedication of the athletes, particularly in the 50 to 59-year-old division, where creativity and technical skills shone brightly. Such experiences reaffirmed my belief in the importance of setting goals that extend beyond personal achievements, fostering a culture of excellence and support within our martial arts community.
Takeaways:
- The concept of setting black belt goals transcends traditional New Year's resolutions, emphasizing the importance of intentional and specific aspirations in martial arts.
- Engagement in ATA events fosters a deeper connection to the community, highlighting the significance of participation in tournaments and trainings to enhance personal growth.
- Felix Pambux, our featured athlete, exemplifies dedication to martial arts, aspiring to achieve a world title while developing his instructional skills for future generations.
- Effective goal setting requires clarity and specificity; vague ambitions often lead to failure, necessitating a focused approach to personal and martial arts objectives.
- The SMART goal framework serves as a pivotal tool in ensuring that aspirations are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound, enhancing the likelihood of success.
- Continual self-assessment and adjustment of goals are essential practices for martial artists, ensuring progress and adaptation in the pursuit of excellence in their discipline.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Most people are setting NewYear's resolutions, but not you.
We're setting black belt goals.
Let's get started.
Welcome to the Ata Nation podcast.
Welcome back 80 Nation toepisode 180 of the Ata Nation podcast.
(00:23):
I'm your host, Senior MasterZack Hayden, and it is a pleasure
to be back with you today.
It is freezing here inIndiana, so I've got this awesome
beyond the belt beanie I gotfrom Camp Jongsu last year.
It is the best.
I think they were limited edition.
They had black ones and red ones.
I don't think you can even getthese anymore.
So fancy.
Anyways, I've got some thingsI want to talk to you guys about
(00:45):
today before we go to ourathlete of the week.
So first of all, a littlerecap of the Hu Lee Classic.
I told you last episode.
I just gotten back, didn'thave time to talk about it, but man,
what a blast.
We first of all love headingto Little Rock.
I've talked about it before.
I'll talk about it again.
If you haven't made it toWorld Championships and checked out
(01:07):
your home at headquarters,you're missing out.
My kids went this year.
We went.
Friday.
We went and visited headquarters.
Took a little tour around.
We didn't make it up to theother floors.
They were going to let us inthis year and we just were busy and
didn't see everything and whatnot.
But my kids were there.
Got to say hi to some of ourgreat friends at headquarters.
(01:29):
It was so funny.
My kids saw Chief Master Sky acouple times, and I know they've
seen Chief Master Scoutsbefore, but I don't think they've
really interacted with them as much.
Just yesterday, my daughterwas drawing a picture.
She draws a lot.
She really loves to draw.
And she drew this picture of a little.
A kitty.
She loves kitties as well.
(01:49):
And she was pretending thisLittle drummer boy from the Little
Drummer Boy like Song forChristmas was a kitty.
So that.
And then she named the kitty Skiles.
She said, I named the kittySkiles after Chief Master Skiles.
I sent a picture to Chief Master.
It was hilarious.
But that's the kind of impactyour ATA family can have on you.
So we went down, we visitedheadquarters, then my family.
(02:12):
It was actually my anniversarythat day.
So we took the rest of the dayand visited some things in in Little
Rock, like this Glow Glow Wildat the Little Rock Zoo, which was
this amazing light glow thingwith all kinds of displays all over
the zoo.
My kids absolutely loved it.
(02:34):
So if you go down next yearfor the Age of Classic.
I would highly recommend theGlow Wild and there was a discount
for ATM members.
For that we went to the FlyingFish, which is my favorite place
to go in Little Rock every year.
Arianis we didn't make it thisyear and it was a little sad.
It was okay.
Haven't been into the butchershop for a couple years.
They had some discounts atthat place as well.
(02:55):
That was one of EternalGrandmaster's favorites.
But then Saturday thetournament came.
I was going and I was going toget some interviews.
I thought we set up aninterview table.
I got my stuff there and thenI ended up judging like all day and
so I got to interact with somepeople and talk with them.
But then I ended up judgingall day and I was just talking to,
to an athlete of the week thatI interviewed telling him about this.
(03:17):
The last ring of the night orthe day happened to be my ring and
I didn't think I was runningit slow.
I don't think it was my faultbut you know.
And it was the.
I believe it was the 50 to 59year old second and third degree
division.
It had the wonderful MichelleRay from headquarters in it.
Two great athletes from thestair school in Texas.
(03:43):
Some other, another lady from the.
One of the headquartersschools in Little Rock.
Oh, I don't remember where theother lady was from.
There was a couple otherladies in that ring and I'm going
to tell you these ladiesbrought the heat.
Their extreme and creativeespecially was just insane.
I was so impressed with their competition.
(04:06):
Really some great stuff there.
So it was a lot of fun tojudge that ring.
I got to judge some otherrings while I was down there.
And it was neat because Idon't do a lot of travel to tournaments
that are not near meespecially that aren't Worlds or
nationals.
And at Worlds and Nationals Iget to interact with people from
other regions obviously and atregional tournaments.
(04:28):
But this was neat because itwas a regional tournament that was
in Little Rock and so youcould tell that these were students
who competed regularly atthese tournaments.
Some of them obviously, someof them were coming in for this event
special.
But it was just a lot of fun.
A lot of fun there.
Got a great, really cool.
The commemorative coin for the event.
And then we went right fromthere over to headquarters where
(04:50):
the school owners and mastershad a reception for kind of the celebration
of Eternal Grandmaster andhaving passed away 25 years ago.
And it was really great.
Some traditional Korean foodthat we got to have that the Mrs.
Lee and some of the other Mrs.Lee's helped make.
(05:12):
And we got to hear from somehigh ranks about Eternal Grandmaster.
An amazing video about EternalGrandmaster and just his legacy that
you can see on YouTube.
Really neat.
Really a special night.
I was very pleased that ourfamily was able to make it.
And I just love having my, mykids get to be part of this as well.
(05:33):
Grandmaster MK came around thetable a couple of times, said, hi,
you know, talk to my kids and whatnot.
So I don't know, guys, ATA issuch a special thing.
It is such a special thing.
You guys need to make surethat you are, you know, interacting
with these kind of events,whether it be Camp Jiangsu, whether
it be Worlds Nationals, anevent like the Hula Classic.
(05:55):
It could be, you know, theathlete development training.
It can be the ATM Max seminar.
When you get to interact withthe people of the ata.
It just makes it super special.
So I loved it.
We had a great time.
We had our Airbnb so that wecould spend the night Saturday night
and then get up early Sundayand drive home.
(06:16):
It's about a.
It ends up taking us 12 hoursto drive.
And we decided just becauseour kids are young, my daughter had
school on Monday.
We just were like, you know,what's going to be better is if we
just drive all night.
So my wife and I, I drovethrough the night after the reception
on Saturday and got homeSunday nice and early in the morning.
(06:36):
And then we were exhausted.
But it was well worth the trip.
Make plans.
You gotta go to.
Gotta go to Little Rock.
Okay, I have our athlete ofthe week and then we're gonna come
and we're gonna talk aboutsome goal setting.
ATA nation.
We have another awesomeathlete with us today.
(06:58):
What's your name, sir?
Felix Pamuk.
And where are you from?
Give us your, like, where youtrain, your rank, that kind of stuff.
I'm a third degree black belt.
I live in St. Louis, Missouriand I train at Howard's Martial Arts.
Ah, excellent.
Very good.
St. Louis.
We'll be there for nationalsthis year.
That's a nice quick trip foryou then, huh?
Yes, sir.
(07:18):
Yes, sir.
Can't complain about having awhat, like a AAA in your backyard.
Yeah, so, you know, we, welove to talk to the athletes, see
what you're doing.
What, what got you started in Mart?
When I was around, like 3years old, I used to watch the Ninja
Turtles.
Like, it used to be like myfavorite, like, thing to watch.
(07:38):
And I used to really like Raphael.
It's this Ninja Turtle.
And I used to be obsessed with him.
I have a stuffed animal stillin my room.
And so then I'm like, mom, canI start martial arts?
And so she signed me up.
Right.
And that's basically how themagic started.
Well, and you've been doing itever since it seems, huh?
Yeah, basically.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And third degree black.
Very cool.
And so, um, you know, a lot ofour athletes, we're big tournament
(08:03):
people.
We like to go and kick peopleand do some cool tricks and those
kind of things.
So when it comes totournaments, what's your favorite
event to compete in?
So I like my favorite event tocompete in.
Yeah, Like, I have the mostfun doing extreme weapons, but I'm
more serious about create weapons.
Okay, okay.
So you.
(08:23):
The.
The extreme weapons is yourkind of the place you get to.
You get to play a little bit.
Yeah, I enjoy doing it a lot.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
But creative is the one you'rereally serious about.
Yeah.
Why would you say.
What's the, what's thedifference between the two for you
that makes you one moreserious and one more playful?
(08:44):
Well, for creative, it's likeI really have to focus because it's
like my main event.
And it's my main event becauseI feel like I have the most asset
skills to win a world title.
Rather an XMA weapons, I feellike it can go either way with anyone
because in XMA weapons, like,it's easier to drop because you got
to throw, it's easier to fallon your flips.
So it's like creative is likeset and lock and extreme weapons,
(09:06):
they have to see it can go anyway to anybody.
So that's smart.
That makes total sense.
It's Extreme has got so manythings that can just one little thing
can make or break it.
And so that makes a lot of sense.
What if.
What event is your, like maybenot your.
Not your favorite?
Probably combat sparring.
(09:28):
Really interesting.
Okay.
Okay.
So if you.
Oh, do you do.
I forgot to ask.
Traditional extreme, was thatopen hand or weapon?
Weapon.
Weapon.
Creative weapons.
Extreme weapons.
What weapon is the weapon ofyour choice?
BO staff.
BO staff, of course.
Gotta go with the bow.
What about traditional weapons?
You enjoy that or do you dothat just so you can do the.
The regular.
(09:48):
So actually for like ever.
Well, like recently I only didtraditional weapons just so I can
do creative and extreme weapons.
I'm not gonna lie to you.
I'm gonna be completelyhonest, sir.
I didn't even know the form.
Okay.
I just did.
I did the old traditionalweapons form that wasn't updated
because they change it aroundall the time.
Right.
So you know, I was gettingthrees and fours, right?
So then I had my friend teachme the form, and then I went to Master
(10:12):
Howard and he corrected somestuff, and Master Howard helped me
with it.
And so the past twotournaments where I actually tried
in traditional weapons, Iended up winning both of them.
So I'm going to.
I'm going to actually, like,you know, not to take traditional
weapons as a joke in my brainno more.
I'm going to actually beserious in it now that I know the
form.
So I don't.
I don't hate it anymore.
I actually enjoy it.
It's funny how that works.
(10:34):
When you start doing well atit, you're like, okay, this isn't
so bad.
Yeah, I get that.
Hey, when I think ofsomething, I'm like, yeah, I don't
like that so much.
Okay, cool.
So what kind of goals you gotfor the rest of the season?
What are you looking.
Looking for some red letters?
Yes, sir.
Always.
Yes, sir.
So I want to win a world titlein 2026.
(10:54):
One or two, you know, sayingit's up to God and it's up to the
universe to.
And it's up to how much Iwork, how hard I work.
So it's up to those things tosee if I can achieve that again.
And then another goal of mineis to become a better instructor
and, like, just improve as amartial artist in general.
So probably the two.
The two things I would say wasto get a world title again and then
(11:16):
to be a better instructor.
Very cool.
So you are actively, you know,legacy training, teaching in classes,
trying to improve yourself asan instructor.
Yes, sir.
What.
What class is like the onethat you're like, this is the class
I love teaching.
These are the.
These are the people.
So we won't tell them.
Yeah, we'll keep it under.
(11:36):
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
So I like.
I like the black belt classbecause they're more like, advanced.
Right.
And I just like watching andhelping them because they usually
take competing more seriously.
And whenever My goal in thefuture is to build champions, you
know what I'm saying?
One by one, just like how ATA says.
So I feel like they already.
Black belts, they alreadyknow, like, the competition side
(11:58):
of things, and they take it alittle more serious.
So I like working with theblack belts, and I also.
I like the tiger class becausethey're little kids and they're cute
and they're funny.
So.
Yeah, yeah, no, they are a blast.
It's a good way to just havesome fun teaching.
Yes, sir.
So what Kind of goals do youhave for your martial arts?
You looking for mastership?
(12:18):
School owner, someday instructing?
What, do you have plans?
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
So I just recently turned 17,so the future, you know, I'm saying
it's like far away, right?
But my goals in the futurewould be like to own a martial arts
school.
I've wanted to do that since Iwas like 7 years old.
Like, I've already known whatI wanted to do.
So on a martial arts school,probably by doing that, I'll be a
(12:39):
master, because that'sprobably what I want to do for the
rest of my life.
So, yeah, probably own a school.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's the goal.
That's the plan.
That's awesome.
What a great.
What a great goal.
It works out, you know, it's.
It's a great life.
I'm not going to lie.
I was just doing some gymclasses at a local middle school
and I told them, like, guys, Iget to go on and taught middle school,
but I get paid to kick kidsand it's illegal to kick kids in
(13:01):
school.
So it's.
This is a way better gig.
Yes, sir.
So, hey, as we get ready towrap up here for you, you know, we,
we talk about in the building,champions beyond the belt.
What's it mean to you to be anathlete that goes beyond the belt?
So for me personally, I wouldsay using some of the life skills
we gave from ata.
Like, honestly, for me, Iwould use an example as belief, using
(13:24):
it outside of ata.
Like, belief is yes, I can.
Okay.
And you can use that in somany aspects of life.
Like, for example, let's sayyou're struggling on some homework,
right?
You're not about to just gogive up and stop doing the homework
and get an F. No, you're goingto persevere.
You're going to have belief in yourself.
You're going to have that Yes,I can mindset and you're going to
get that homework done.
Same with other aspects in life.
Like, I was fixing my car today.
(13:46):
I had troubles with my tireand I didn't just, like, give up.
After my hands got a littledirty and I couldn't figure out how
to do it, I continued, I didsome research and I fixed my tires.
So I would say using those ATAlife skills outside of ata.
Love that.
That is great advice.
Well, sir, congratulations onbeing an athlete of the week and
thank you so much for yourtime today.
Thank you so much, sir.
(14:12):
Oh, man, do I love hearingathletes talk about being instructors,
future masters, school owners,because this life is fantastic.
Being an ATA martial artsinstructor is amazing.
Like I said, I got to go to H?
Le Classic with my family andjust experience the fun.
So much greatness.
Now that brings me to setting goals.
(14:33):
Guys, it is about the end ofthe year.
We're getting close to the endof 2025.
Heading 2026, as in martialartists, we better be working on
our goals.
We need to be setting goalslike black belts.
Lots of people out there setNew Year's resolutions.
We set goals and these arethings we should always be monitoring
(14:54):
and adjusting.
I do a show for the licenseesof ATA called Business beyond the
Mat.
I just interviewed a great, abunch of great owner operators that
are killing it.
And one of the things thatreally stood out to me was the way
that they don't have this likeend of year thing as much as just
a constant evaluation of theirgoals, their systems, how they're
(15:16):
working things to make surethey get to where they want.
But a lot of us, you know, theend of the year is a great time to
reflect, think back, make surethat we're on track with our goals
for the new year, for our longterm goals.
And so I wanted to hit those alittle bit.
So number one, part one in ourkind of our goal setting message
here is what we why most goals fail.
(15:38):
And this is a little, this isscience back.
Okay?
So goals fail because they'revague and emotional.
Okay.
This is backed by, you know,actual science.
Go read, go out and get habitsor atomic habits.
Atomic habits.
Great book.
Okay.
So your brain loves clarityand not wishful thinking.
(15:59):
I want to be better.
Gives your brain nothing toactually like hold on to an act on.
The research shows that whenyou write goals down, increase of
follow through is like 30 to40% higher follow through rates.
So we want to make sure thatwe're writing our goals down and
then making sure we realizethat progress triggers dopamine.
(16:24):
Progress triggers dopamine,not the goal like itself.
Here's a little tricky thing,and I've read this somewhere, I can't
remember which study this was in.
But because progress triggersdopamine, you do have to be a little
careful when you set a goalthat dopamine hit can go.
When you tell other peopleabout your goal, that's another hit
(16:46):
of dopamine, which is good.
But sometimes people stopthere and you need to make sure that
you're continuing from there.
You want to get thosecontinued little dopamine hits.
Setting the goal is onetelling people about your goal.
So you're accountable is two.
But you've got to keep goingfrom there.
Okay?
You know, you've got to havethis progress.
So you're getting thosedopamine hits.
(17:07):
This is why, you know, inmartial arts, what do we do?
We have goals by, you know,what belt you testing for?
What striper are you getting?
You know, the tournamentcycle, you know, midterms for black
belts, those kind of things.
So really important to makesure that we keep those in mind,
that the progress is whatactually helps us stay on the goal
because we get thosescientifically, you know, proven
(17:27):
dopamine hits.
And that's what our body wants.
So let's talk about the smartgoal system.
We know this acronym.
If you don't know this aboutacronym, acronym been hiding, you
know, under a. I don't know,under a wavemaster somewhere.
The S is specific.
You've got to make sure yourgoals are specific.
So a bad goal.
I want to improve in martial arts.
(17:50):
Good goal.
I want to earn my next belt.
I tell my students this.
You need to make sure you have.
You should know that whenyou're testing for your next belt,
if your color belt, you shouldknow approximately when.
When you're testing for yourblack belt.
Soon as I got my black belt, Iknew I was like, this is when I want
to test for my next one.
And those goals might getadjusted as you go, but you've got
to have a plan to the M insmart is measurable.
(18:15):
A bad goal.
I'm going to train harder in 2026.
What is it?
What does that even mean?
I'm going to attend classtwice a week, every week for six
months straight.
Okay.
Or I'm going to make sure Ihit sparring class.
Or I'm going to make sure I'mspend 10 minutes outside of class
every day, whatever the casemay be.
Okay?
It's got to be measurable.
You've got to be able to seelike that I'm doing it.
(18:37):
All right.
So important to make sure thatyou are setting a goal that you can
measure.
Am I getting closer?
I'm getting.
This is what stripes and beltsare for.
This is what midterms are for.
This is what belts are for.
Am I getting closer?
The A.
Is this achievable?
Big goals are great, butunrealistic goals kill momentum.
(18:58):
All right?
Tied to this to effort, not talent.
Black belts aren't built byperfect weeks.
They're built by consistent ones.
You have to be consistent,make sure your goal is achievable.
A lot of people, this is WhenI want you guys to set goals to be
world championships, I worldchamps, I want you to set goals to
(19:18):
be district gyms.
But sometimes we set a goal tobe like, you just started competing
in a new division.
Let's say it's, it's a secondthird degree division.
You just started competing inthat and you are the young end and
you didn't place last year inany TOC event and you're like, I'm
(19:39):
going to be a world championin 2026.
Okay, like is that, is thatthe smartest goal to be setting?
I'm not saying it'simpossible, but maybe we should look
at something.
Because when you start goingand you're like, hey, I've never
done, you set that giant goal.
The unrealisticness of itkills the momentum.
(20:01):
If you start going totournaments and you don't do very
good, then you're just done.
You're just like, I'm notdoing anywhere.
And we don't want that to bethe case.
Okay?
So make sure your goal is achievable.
Set big goals.
We want big goals, but achievable.
The R in smart is relevant.
Okay.
Why does this matter to you?
The why is so important.
My mom wants me to get it.
(20:22):
Okay, that's not a good why.
All right, what is the whybehind the goal?
The why has to really matterto you so that the motivation stays.
You've got to make sure thatyou understand the relevantness of
this.
It's just something your momwants you to do or you're friend
wants you to do.
You're probably not going tobe, you know that excited about it.
(20:43):
It's got to be relevant.
And the final one t is time bound.
There's got to be a deadline.
This is why we got testing cycles.
This is why we have tournament seasons.
We, you've got to have a deadline.
When I, when I got, I don'tknow what rank I was when I decided
to set the goal of being amaster and I said I was going to
be a master by the time I was35, I think I could do it as young
(21:04):
as 31, but I gave myself alittle leeway in there just in case,
you know, things go wrong, youhave injuries, don't get permission,
tests have best and bad test,whatever the case was you, and that
was a long term goal because Isaid that probably when I was like,
I don't know, a second degree,third degree.
You've got to have a timebound to help you create that sense
of urgency.
Now I don't want to leave youthere with just the Smart goals acronym
(21:27):
because we usually have that.
We need to use the, the bestscience, the best information out
there today to help us setthese goals and keep them.
So identify your goals.
Think, think through them.
So here's, here's an example.
Instead of I want to train, Iam someone who trains consistently.
(21:47):
Identity goals.
You want to be like, can Ishift my identity?
That makes a big impact inyour goals.
Okay, act like the person youwant to become.
I am a black belt.
I am a master.
I'm the kind of person whowill become a master.
For a lot of us in the martialarts, you know, this is why I love
having these athletes of the week.
(22:07):
For a lot of us who startedmartial arts, we didn't think about
it.
Athletically, I'm an athlete.
It's taken me a lot of time toown the idea that I'm an athlete.
Even though I've done martialarts for like 30 years, obviously
I'm an athlete.
Density goals say things that,that help you identify as that kind
(22:29):
of person.
That's going to help you stayon the path with these.
This the goals that you setfor 20, 26.
Okay, so habit number twoafter identity goals would be to
make sure that the habit ismore important than the outcome.
This is where, where resultshappen are by the actions that you
(22:54):
take.
So focus on what you doweekly, not the final result.
So if I here in business, theycall these lead measures and lag
measures.
I want.
So let's say I want to losefive pounds.
What I don't focus on is thepounds I'm eating.
What I do focus is on is whatI'm eating for each meal, not how
(23:18):
many pounds, but what I'meating for each meal.
That's going to be what helps me.
Okay, the habit is moreimportant than the outcome because
the habit will help me get there.
So maybe I want the outcome ofbeing a world champion.
What are the habits that aworld champion had and then how do
I make sure that I'mconsistent with those habits?
One, I would identify as aperson who has those habits, and
(23:41):
two, I would make sure that Istick with those habits.
Those are going to help youget to the outcome of being a world
champion or being a black beltor being an instructor.
What is the habit that'shelping me get to that goal?
If you don't have a habit, ifyou don't have things that you're
doing consistently, you're notgoing to get to that outcome because
(24:01):
you're not doing the work toget there.
And then finally, the thirdkind of hack here is to make it visible.
Write the goals down, post thegoals, share the goals, put them
on your mirror, put them whereyou see them every day.
And make sure that there arethings that you see and your brain
is thinking about so thatthey're paying attention.
(24:22):
Your brain is actively workingon, hey, that's the kind of person
I am.
That's the habit I need tomake sure you do really important
as you go to set those goalsthis year.
Make sure you're, you're,you're setting these smart goals
using these little hacks.
Go read.
Atomic Habits is going to helpyou if you want a book that's going
to help you in the new year.
But here's a little challengefor you.
(24:43):
Write one smart goal for yourmartial arts training for 2026, and
then what are the habits thatyou're going to do to reach that
goal?
Share it with us, Share it online.
Share it with your parents,your instructors, your training partners.
But write a smart goal foryour martial arts and then what are
the habits that you're goingto do you're going to make consistent
in your life to reach thatreally important?
(25:05):
Okay, let's, let's train withintention this year.
Let's lead with purpose.
Let's make 2026 our strongestyear yet.
Okay, you guys are at nation.
We've got this.
It's time to get out there andbe a champion.
Beyond the belts ATA Nationpodcast, be.
Sure to subscribe and sharewith your ATA family.
Most people are setting NewYear's resolutions, but not you.
We're setting black belt goals.
Let's get started.
Welcome to the Ata Nation podcast.
Welcome back 80 Nation toepisode 180 of the Ata Nation podcast.
(00:23):
I'm your host, Senior MasterZack Hayden, and it is a pleasure
to be back with you today.
It is freezing here inIndiana, so I've got this awesome
beyond the belt beanie I gotfrom Camp Jongsu last year.
It is the best.
I think they were limited edition.
They had black ones and red ones.
I don't think you can even getthese anymore.
So fancy.
Anyways, I've got some thingsI want to talk to you guys about
(00:45):
today before we go to ourathlete of the week.
So first of all, a littlerecap of the Hu Lee Classic.
I told you last episode.
I just gotten back, didn'thave time to talk about it, but man,
what a blast.
We first of all love headingto Little Rock.
I've talked about it before.
I'll talk about it again.
If you haven't made it toWorld Championships and checked out
(01:07):
your home at headquarters,you're missing out.
My kids went this year.
We went.
Friday.
We went and visited headquarters.
Took a little tour around.
We didn't make it up to theother floors.
They were going to let us inthis year and we just were busy and
didn't see everything and whatnot.
But my kids were there.
Got to say hi to some of ourgreat friends at headquarters.
(01:29):
It was so funny.
My kids saw Chief Master Sky acouple times, and I know they've
seen Chief Master Scoutsbefore, but I don't think they've
really interacted with them as much.
Just yesterday, my daughterwas drawing a picture.
She draws a lot.
She really loves to draw.
And she drew this picture of a little.
A kitty.
She loves kitties as well.
(01:49):
And she was pretending thisLittle drummer boy from the Little
Drummer Boy like Song forChristmas was a kitty.
So that.
And then she named the kitty Skiles.
She said, I named the kittySkiles after Chief Master Skiles.
I sent a picture to Chief Master.
It was hilarious.
But that's the kind of impactyour ATA family can have on you.
So we went down, we visitedheadquarters, then my family.
(02:12):
It was actually my anniversarythat day.
So we took the rest of the dayand visited some things in in Little
Rock, like this Glow Glow Wildat the Little Rock Zoo, which was
this amazing light glow thingwith all kinds of displays all over
the zoo.
My kids absolutely loved it.
(02:34):
So if you go down next yearfor the Age of Classic.
I would highly recommend theGlow Wild and there was a discount
for ATM members.
For that we went to the FlyingFish, which is my favorite place
to go in Little Rock every year.
Arianis we didn't make it thisyear and it was a little sad.
It was okay.
Haven't been into the butchershop for a couple years.
They had some discounts atthat place as well.
(02:55):
That was one of EternalGrandmaster's favorites.
But then Saturday thetournament came.
I was going and I was going toget some interviews.
I thought we set up aninterview table.
I got my stuff there and thenI ended up judging like all day and
so I got to interact with somepeople and talk with them.
But then I ended up judgingall day and I was just talking to,
to an athlete of the week thatI interviewed telling him about this.
(03:17):
The last ring of the night orthe day happened to be my ring and
I didn't think I was runningit slow.
I don't think it was my faultbut you know.
And it was the.
I believe it was the 50 to 59year old second and third degree
division.
It had the wonderful MichelleRay from headquarters in it.
Two great athletes from thestair school in Texas.
(03:43):
Some other, another lady from the.
One of the headquartersschools in Little Rock.
Oh, I don't remember where theother lady was from.
There was a couple otherladies in that ring and I'm going
to tell you these ladiesbrought the heat.
Their extreme and creativeespecially was just insane.
I was so impressed with their competition.
(04:06):
Really some great stuff there.
So it was a lot of fun tojudge that ring.
I got to judge some otherrings while I was down there.
And it was neat because Idon't do a lot of travel to tournaments
that are not near meespecially that aren't Worlds or
nationals.
And at Worlds and Nationals Iget to interact with people from
other regions obviously and atregional tournaments.
(04:28):
But this was neat because itwas a regional tournament that was
in Little Rock and so youcould tell that these were students
who competed regularly atthese tournaments.
Some of them obviously, someof them were coming in for this event
special.
But it was just a lot of fun.
A lot of fun there.
Got a great, really cool.
The commemorative coin for the event.
And then we went right fromthere over to headquarters where
(04:50):
the school owners and mastershad a reception for kind of the celebration
of Eternal Grandmaster andhaving passed away 25 years ago.
And it was really great.
Some traditional Korean foodthat we got to have that the Mrs.
Lee and some of the other Mrs.Lee's helped make.
(05:12):
And we got to hear from somehigh ranks about Eternal Grandmaster.
An amazing video about EternalGrandmaster and just his legacy that
you can see on YouTube.
Really neat.
Really a special night.
I was very pleased that ourfamily was able to make it.
And I just love having my, mykids get to be part of this as well.
(05:33):
Grandmaster MK came around thetable a couple of times, said, hi,
you know, talk to my kids and whatnot.
So I don't know, guys, ATA issuch a special thing.
It is such a special thing.
You guys need to make surethat you are, you know, interacting
with these kind of events,whether it be Camp Jiangsu, whether
it be Worlds Nationals, anevent like the Hula Classic.
(05:55):
It could be, you know, theathlete development training.
It can be the ATM Max seminar.
When you get to interact withthe people of the ata.
It just makes it super special.
So I loved it.
We had a great time.
We had our Airbnb so that wecould spend the night Saturday night
and then get up early Sundayand drive home.
(06:16):
It's about a.
It ends up taking us 12 hoursto drive.
And we decided just becauseour kids are young, my daughter had
school on Monday.
We just were like, you know,what's going to be better is if we
just drive all night.
So my wife and I, I drovethrough the night after the reception
on Saturday and got homeSunday nice and early in the morning.
(06:36):
And then we were exhausted.
But it was well worth the trip.
Make plans.
You gotta go to.
Gotta go to Little Rock.
Okay, I have our athlete ofthe week and then we're gonna come
and we're gonna talk aboutsome goal setting.
ATA nation.
We have another awesomeathlete with us today.
(06:58):
What's your name, sir?
Felix Pamuk.
And where are you from?
Give us your, like, where youtrain, your rank, that kind of stuff.
I'm a third degree black belt.
I live in St. Louis, Missouriand I train at Howard's Martial Arts.
Ah, excellent.
Very good.
St. Louis.
We'll be there for nationalsthis year.
That's a nice quick trip foryou then, huh?
Yes, sir.
(07:18):
Yes, sir.
Can't complain about having awhat, like a AAA in your backyard.
Yeah, so, you know, we, welove to talk to the athletes, see
what you're doing.
What, what got you started in Mart?
When I was around, like 3years old, I used to watch the Ninja
Turtles.
Like, it used to be like myfavorite, like, thing to watch.
(07:38):
And I used to really like Raphael.
It's this Ninja Turtle.
And I used to be obsessed with him.
I have a stuffed animal stillin my room.
And so then I'm like, mom, canI start martial arts?
And so she signed me up.
Right.
And that's basically how themagic started.
Well, and you've been doing itever since it seems, huh?
Yeah, basically.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And third degree black.
Very cool.
And so, um, you know, a lot ofour athletes, we're big tournament
(08:03):
people.
We like to go and kick peopleand do some cool tricks and those
kind of things.
So when it comes totournaments, what's your favorite
event to compete in?
So I like my favorite event tocompete in.
Yeah, Like, I have the mostfun doing extreme weapons, but I'm
more serious about create weapons.
Okay, okay.
So you.
(08:23):
The.
The extreme weapons is yourkind of the place you get to.
You get to play a little bit.
Yeah, I enjoy doing it a lot.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
But creative is the one you'rereally serious about.
Yeah.
Why would you say.
What's the, what's thedifference between the two for you
that makes you one moreserious and one more playful?
(08:44):
Well, for creative, it's likeI really have to focus because it's
like my main event.
And it's my main event becauseI feel like I have the most asset
skills to win a world title.
Rather an XMA weapons, I feellike it can go either way with anyone
because in XMA weapons, like,it's easier to drop because you got
to throw, it's easier to fallon your flips.
So it's like creative is likeset and lock and extreme weapons,
(09:06):
they have to see it can go anyway to anybody.
So that's smart.
That makes total sense.
It's Extreme has got so manythings that can just one little thing
can make or break it.
And so that makes a lot of sense.
What if.
What event is your, like maybenot your.
Not your favorite?
Probably combat sparring.
(09:28):
Really interesting.
Okay.
Okay.
So if you.
Oh, do you do.
I forgot to ask.
Traditional extreme, was thatopen hand or weapon?
Weapon.
Weapon.
Creative weapons.
Extreme weapons.
What weapon is the weapon ofyour choice?
BO staff.
BO staff, of course.
Gotta go with the bow.
What about traditional weapons?
You enjoy that or do you dothat just so you can do the.
The regular.
(09:48):
So actually for like ever.
Well, like recently I only didtraditional weapons just so I can
do creative and extreme weapons.
I'm not gonna lie to you.
I'm gonna be completelyhonest, sir.
I didn't even know the form.
Okay.
I just did.
I did the old traditionalweapons form that wasn't updated
because they change it aroundall the time.
Right.
So you know, I was gettingthrees and fours, right?
So then I had my friend teachme the form, and then I went to Master
(10:12):
Howard and he corrected somestuff, and Master Howard helped me
with it.
And so the past twotournaments where I actually tried
in traditional weapons, Iended up winning both of them.
So I'm going to.
I'm going to actually, like,you know, not to take traditional
weapons as a joke in my brainno more.
I'm going to actually beserious in it now that I know the
form.
So I don't.
I don't hate it anymore.
I actually enjoy it.
It's funny how that works.
(10:34):
When you start doing well atit, you're like, okay, this isn't
so bad.
Yeah, I get that.
Hey, when I think ofsomething, I'm like, yeah, I don't
like that so much.
Okay, cool.
So what kind of goals you gotfor the rest of the season?
What are you looking.
Looking for some red letters?
Yes, sir.
Always.
Yes, sir.
So I want to win a world titlein 2026.
(10:54):
One or two, you know, sayingit's up to God and it's up to the
universe to.
And it's up to how much Iwork, how hard I work.
So it's up to those things tosee if I can achieve that again.
And then another goal of mineis to become a better instructor
and, like, just improve as amartial artist in general.
So probably the two.
The two things I would say wasto get a world title again and then
(11:16):
to be a better instructor.
Very cool.
So you are actively, you know,legacy training, teaching in classes,
trying to improve yourself asan instructor.
Yes, sir.
What.
What class is like the onethat you're like, this is the class
I love teaching.
These are the.
These are the people.
So we won't tell them.
Yeah, we'll keep it under.
(11:36):
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
So I like.
I like the black belt classbecause they're more like, advanced.
Right.
And I just like watching andhelping them because they usually
take competing more seriously.
And whenever My goal in thefuture is to build champions, you
know what I'm saying?
One by one, just like how ATA says.
So I feel like they already.
Black belts, they alreadyknow, like, the competition side
(11:58):
of things, and they take it alittle more serious.
So I like working with theblack belts, and I also.
I like the tiger class becausethey're little kids and they're cute
and they're funny.
So.
Yeah, yeah, no, they are a blast.
It's a good way to just havesome fun teaching.
Yes, sir.
So what Kind of goals do youhave for your martial arts?
You looking for mastership?
(12:18):
School owner, someday instructing?
What, do you have plans?
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
So I just recently turned 17,so the future, you know, I'm saying
it's like far away, right?
But my goals in the futurewould be like to own a martial arts
school.
I've wanted to do that since Iwas like 7 years old.
Like, I've already known whatI wanted to do.
So on a martial arts school,probably by doing that, I'll be a
(12:39):
master, because that'sprobably what I want to do for the
rest of my life.
So, yeah, probably own a school.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's the goal.
That's the plan.
That's awesome.
What a great.
What a great goal.
It works out, you know, it's.
It's a great life.
I'm not going to lie.
I was just doing some gymclasses at a local middle school
and I told them, like, guys, Iget to go on and taught middle school,
but I get paid to kick kidsand it's illegal to kick kids in
(13:01):
school.
So it's.
This is a way better gig.
Yes, sir.
So, hey, as we get ready towrap up here for you, you know, we,
we talk about in the building,champions beyond the belt.
What's it mean to you to be anathlete that goes beyond the belt?
So for me personally, I wouldsay using some of the life skills
we gave from ata.
Like, honestly, for me, Iwould use an example as belief, using
(13:24):
it outside of ata.
Like, belief is yes, I can.
Okay.
And you can use that in somany aspects of life.
Like, for example, let's sayyou're struggling on some homework,
right?
You're not about to just gogive up and stop doing the homework
and get an F. No, you're goingto persevere.
You're going to have belief in yourself.
You're going to have that Yes,I can mindset and you're going to
get that homework done.
Same with other aspects in life.
Like, I was fixing my car today.
(13:46):
I had troubles with my tireand I didn't just, like, give up.
After my hands got a littledirty and I couldn't figure out how
to do it, I continued, I didsome research and I fixed my tires.
So I would say using those ATAlife skills outside of ata.
Love that.
That is great advice.
Well, sir, congratulations onbeing an athlete of the week and
thank you so much for yourtime today.
Thank you so much, sir.
(14:12):
Oh, man, do I love hearingathletes talk about being instructors,
future masters, school owners,because this life is fantastic.
Being an ATA martial artsinstructor is amazing.
Like I said, I got to go to H?
Le Classic with my family andjust experience the fun.
So much greatness.
Now that brings me to setting goals.
(14:33):
Guys, it is about the end ofthe year.
We're getting close to the endof 2025.
Heading 2026, as in martialartists, we better be working on
our goals.
We need to be setting goalslike black belts.
Lots of people out there setNew Year's resolutions.
We set goals and these arethings we should always be monitoring
(14:54):
and adjusting.
I do a show for the licenseesof ATA called Business beyond the
Mat.
I just interviewed a great, abunch of great owner operators that
are killing it.
And one of the things thatreally stood out to me was the way
that they don't have this likeend of year thing as much as just
a constant evaluation of theirgoals, their systems, how they're
(15:16):
working things to make surethey get to where they want.
But a lot of us, you know, theend of the year is a great time to
reflect, think back, make surethat we're on track with our goals
for the new year, for our longterm goals.
And so I wanted to hit those alittle bit.
So number one, part one in ourkind of our goal setting message
here is what we why most goals fail.
(15:38):
And this is a little, this isscience back.
Okay?
So goals fail because they'revague and emotional.
Okay.
This is backed by, you know,actual science.
Go read, go out and get habitsor atomic habits.
Atomic habits.
Great book.
Okay.
So your brain loves clarityand not wishful thinking.
(15:59):
I want to be better.
Gives your brain nothing toactually like hold on to an act on.
The research shows that whenyou write goals down, increase of
follow through is like 30 to40% higher follow through rates.
So we want to make sure thatwe're writing our goals down and
then making sure we realizethat progress triggers dopamine.
(16:24):
Progress triggers dopamine,not the goal like itself.
Here's a little tricky thing,and I've read this somewhere, I can't
remember which study this was in.
But because progress triggersdopamine, you do have to be a little
careful when you set a goalthat dopamine hit can go.
When you tell other peopleabout your goal, that's another hit
(16:46):
of dopamine, which is good.
But sometimes people stopthere and you need to make sure that
you're continuing from there.
You want to get thosecontinued little dopamine hits.
Setting the goal is onetelling people about your goal.
So you're accountable is two.
But you've got to keep goingfrom there.
Okay?
You know, you've got to havethis progress.
So you're getting thosedopamine hits.
(17:07):
This is why, you know, inmartial arts, what do we do?
We have goals by, you know,what belt you testing for?
What striper are you getting?
You know, the tournamentcycle, you know, midterms for black
belts, those kind of things.
So really important to makesure that we keep those in mind,
that the progress is whatactually helps us stay on the goal
because we get thosescientifically, you know, proven
(17:27):
dopamine hits.
And that's what our body wants.
So let's talk about the smartgoal system.
We know this acronym.
If you don't know this aboutacronym, acronym been hiding, you
know, under a. I don't know,under a wavemaster somewhere.
The S is specific.
You've got to make sure yourgoals are specific.
So a bad goal.
I want to improve in martial arts.
(17:50):
Good goal.
I want to earn my next belt.
I tell my students this.
You need to make sure you have.
You should know that whenyou're testing for your next belt,
if your color belt, you shouldknow approximately when.
When you're testing for yourblack belt.
Soon as I got my black belt, Iknew I was like, this is when I want
to test for my next one.
And those goals might getadjusted as you go, but you've got
to have a plan to the M insmart is measurable.
(18:15):
A bad goal.
I'm going to train harder in 2026.
What is it?
What does that even mean?
I'm going to attend classtwice a week, every week for six
months straight.
Okay.
Or I'm going to make sure Ihit sparring class.
Or I'm going to make sure I'mspend 10 minutes outside of class
every day, whatever the casemay be.
Okay?
It's got to be measurable.
You've got to be able to seelike that I'm doing it.
(18:37):
All right.
So important to make sure thatyou are setting a goal that you can
measure.
Am I getting closer?
I'm getting.
This is what stripes and beltsare for.
This is what midterms are for.
This is what belts are for.
Am I getting closer?
The A.
Is this achievable?
Big goals are great, butunrealistic goals kill momentum.
(18:58):
All right?
Tied to this to effort, not talent.
Black belts aren't built byperfect weeks.
They're built by consistent ones.
You have to be consistent,make sure your goal is achievable.
A lot of people, this is WhenI want you guys to set goals to be
world championships, I worldchamps, I want you to set goals to
(19:18):
be district gyms.
But sometimes we set a goal tobe like, you just started competing
in a new division.
Let's say it's, it's a secondthird degree division.
You just started competing inthat and you are the young end and
you didn't place last year inany TOC event and you're like, I'm
(19:39):
going to be a world championin 2026.
Okay, like is that, is thatthe smartest goal to be setting?
I'm not saying it'simpossible, but maybe we should look
at something.
Because when you start goingand you're like, hey, I've never
done, you set that giant goal.
The unrealisticness of itkills the momentum.
(20:01):
If you start going totournaments and you don't do very
good, then you're just done.
You're just like, I'm notdoing anywhere.
And we don't want that to bethe case.
Okay?
So make sure your goal is achievable.
Set big goals.
We want big goals, but achievable.
The R in smart is relevant.
Okay.
Why does this matter to you?
The why is so important.
My mom wants me to get it.
(20:22):
Okay, that's not a good why.
All right, what is the whybehind the goal?
The why has to really matterto you so that the motivation stays.
You've got to make sure thatyou understand the relevantness of
this.
It's just something your momwants you to do or you're friend
wants you to do.
You're probably not going tobe, you know that excited about it.
(20:43):
It's got to be relevant.
And the final one t is time bound.
There's got to be a deadline.
This is why we got testing cycles.
This is why we have tournament seasons.
We, you've got to have a deadline.
When I, when I got, I don'tknow what rank I was when I decided
to set the goal of being amaster and I said I was going to
be a master by the time I was35, I think I could do it as young
(21:04):
as 31, but I gave myself alittle leeway in there just in case,
you know, things go wrong, youhave injuries, don't get permission,
tests have best and bad test,whatever the case was you, and that
was a long term goal because Isaid that probably when I was like,
I don't know, a second degree,third degree.
You've got to have a timebound to help you create that sense
of urgency.
Now I don't want to leave youthere with just the Smart goals acronym
(21:27):
because we usually have that.
We need to use the, the bestscience, the best information out
there today to help us setthese goals and keep them.
So identify your goals.
Think, think through them.
So here's, here's an example.
Instead of I want to train, Iam someone who trains consistently.
(21:47):
Identity goals.
You want to be like, can Ishift my identity?
That makes a big impact inyour goals.
Okay, act like the person youwant to become.
I am a black belt.
I am a master.
I'm the kind of person whowill become a master.
For a lot of us in the martialarts, you know, this is why I love
having these athletes of the week.
(22:07):
For a lot of us who startedmartial arts, we didn't think about
it.
Athletically, I'm an athlete.
It's taken me a lot of time toown the idea that I'm an athlete.
Even though I've done martialarts for like 30 years, obviously
I'm an athlete.
Density goals say things that,that help you identify as that kind
(22:29):
of person.
That's going to help you stayon the path with these.
This the goals that you setfor 20, 26.
Okay, so habit number twoafter identity goals would be to
make sure that the habit ismore important than the outcome.
This is where, where resultshappen are by the actions that you
(22:54):
take.
So focus on what you doweekly, not the final result.
So if I here in business, theycall these lead measures and lag
measures.
I want.
So let's say I want to losefive pounds.
What I don't focus on is thepounds I'm eating.
What I do focus is on is whatI'm eating for each meal, not how
(23:18):
many pounds, but what I'meating for each meal.
That's going to be what helps me.
Okay, the habit is moreimportant than the outcome because
the habit will help me get there.
So maybe I want the outcome ofbeing a world champion.
What are the habits that aworld champion had and then how do
I make sure that I'mconsistent with those habits?
One, I would identify as aperson who has those habits, and
(23:41):
two, I would make sure that Istick with those habits.
Those are going to help youget to the outcome of being a world
champion or being a black beltor being an instructor.
What is the habit that'shelping me get to that goal?
If you don't have a habit, ifyou don't have things that you're
doing consistently, you're notgoing to get to that outcome because
(24:01):
you're not doing the work toget there.
And then finally, the thirdkind of hack here is to make it visible.
Write the goals down, post thegoals, share the goals, put them
on your mirror, put them whereyou see them every day.
And make sure that there arethings that you see and your brain
is thinking about so thatthey're paying attention.
(24:22):
Your brain is actively workingon, hey, that's the kind of person
I am.
That's the habit I need tomake sure you do really important
as you go to set those goalsthis year.
Make sure you're, you're,you're setting these smart goals
using these little hacks.
Go read.
Atomic Habits is going to helpyou if you want a book that's going
to help you in the new year.
But here's a little challengefor you.
(24:43):
Write one smart goal for yourmartial arts training for 2026, and
then what are the habits thatyou're going to do to reach that
goal?
Share it with us, Share it online.
Share it with your parents,your instructors, your training partners.
But write a smart goal foryour martial arts and then what are
the habits that you're goingto do you're going to make consistent
in your life to reach thatreally important?
(25:05):
Okay, let's, let's train withintention this year.
Let's lead with purpose.
Let's make 2026 our strongestyear yet.
Okay, you guys are at nation.
We've got this.
It's time to get out there andbe a champion.
Beyond the belts ATA Nationpodcast, be.
Sure to subscribe and sharewith your ATA family.
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Bobby Bones Show
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.