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Master Instructor Phil Monaghan
Our Master Mr Phil Monaghan has over 28 years experience in Martial Arts. With Master grades in Taekwondo and Hapkido as well as experience in other systems such as Weoponry, Karate, Kung fu, Jeet Kune Do, Grappling, Mixed Martial Arts, and Freestyle. Master Phil has a long and industious career in competition as well. Having represented Australia in WTF Taekwondo, International Sport Karate as well as Hapkido. Master Phil has Many state titles, Australian and even World Championships.
  Goal setting for everyday life. |
As you are probably aware by now we got seriously flooded last Tuesday, For a while I thought that April fools day had come 24 hours early. But it was no joke over 30 centimetres of water flowed through the school and then sat there seeping into everything in it's path, Thanks to the help of Tanja, Dave and Mrs Brown (jack's Mum) we managed to get most stock and supplies of the lower shelves and got them up high so the loss was minnimal, However the Carpet and other floor coverings and some shelving, desks and storage units were destroyed.
Then there was the layer of thick smelly oozing sludge left behind on the floor and everywhere else.
A challenge?
Well afeter a team meeting with Tanja and Mr Dave it was decided that we could get it all cleaned up ready to do the graduation on Saturday at 1 pm,
Goal set!
It is said that when you positively focus your mind on a goal or outcome things happen to facilitate the outcome, I deeply believe this, And with the help of Paul, Craig, Scott,Chris who chipped in and then Arian, Indianna, and Jack who contributed about 9 hours of there time, Along with the hard work of Mr Dave and Miss Tanja who contributed about 30 hours each we did it, Come friday night we had done enough that the goal of holding the graduation on Saturday was achievable.
Goal achieved,
A monumentous effort, and again thank you all those that helped (if I have forgotten you please accept my deepest apology).
Then Saturday come around and after not training for four days the students all showed great spirit to put it all on the line to participate in a wonderful show of spirit, strength and technique. Well done guys a wonderful testament to the positive mindset we teach here at DMA.
Master Phil
p.s. check the picture page for photo's of the flood water and the graduation.
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| posted at 12:04AM | comments |
| DMA our students rock! |
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Well we have done it again, 5 Competitors travelled to Brisbane for the Queensland open championships, This comp is open to all Taekwondo competitors but Dma is the only school from Coffs with representation, The DMA Taekwondo athletes again showed excellent technique and improved ability to come away with a swag of medals 5 Gold 3 Silver and one bronze medal. This gives us 5 on the state team so far for nationals later this year in Brisbane. Well done team don't forget Tuesday and Friday comp training, Be there achieve your goals.
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| posted at 11:02PM | comments |
| Achieve your goals. |
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100% of students who do not quit get there black belt!
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| posted at 01:12AM | comments |
| Monday, February 16, 2009 |
| FLOODS |
CLASSES FOR TODAY TUESDAY THE 17FEB ARE CANCELLED DUE TO FLOODING. I APOLOGISE FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE AND HOPE TO BACK AT TRAINING TOMORROW. PLEASE TEXT ME TOMORROW ON 0414584830 TO CONFIRM CLASSES FOR TOMORROW. TEXT DO NOT RING AS I AM IN A LOW SERVICE AREA.
MASTER PHIL
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| posted at 09:58PM | comments |
| The Generation Next. |
I received an email from a parent of students of mine today. I have chosen to share the email with you in it's entirity so it can be seen in the context it was written. I agree with much of what the email says yet disagree with only a little (blowing up frogs and hitchhiking for excample) What perplexes me is that as a society and as parents we see what modern culture is doing to our kids but we allow it.
As parents we alone have the power to make a change, make a stand, change the status quo.
Every generation has the responsibility to raise it's children to be the next world leaders, healers, and carers? I ask the question are we doing a good job???????
read on.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1920's, 30's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us and lived in houses made of asbestos.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes or cervical cancer.
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets or shoes, not to mention, the risks some of us took hitchhiking.
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a Ute on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.
Take away food was limited to fish and chips, no pizza shops, McDonalds, KFC, Subway or Red Rooster.
Even though all the shops closed at 6.00pm and didn't open on the weekends, somehow we didn't starve to death!
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.
We could collect old drink bottles and cash them in at the corner store and buy Fruit Tingles and some fire crackers to blow up frogs and lizards with.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soft drinks with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because......
WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. We built tree houses and cubby houses and played in creek beds with matchbox cars.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no videogames at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape or DVD movies, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no Lawsuits from these accidents.
Only girls had pierced ears!
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
You could only buy Easter Eggs and Hot Cross buns at Easter time.......no really!
We were given BB guns and sling shots for our 10th birthdays,
We drank milk laced with Strontium 90 from cows that had eaten grass covered in nuclear fallout from the atomic testing at Maralinga in 1956.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!
Mum didn't have to go to work to help dad make ends meet!
Footy had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!
Our teachers used to belt us with big sticks and leather straps and bully's always ruled the playground at school.
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
Our parents got married before they had children and didn't invent stupid names for their kids like 'Kiora' and 'Blade'....
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!
The past 70 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned
HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!
And YOU are one of them!
CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good.
And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!
PS -The big type is because your eyes are shot at your age (message was emailed in large font my eyesight is going not my senility)
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| posted at 11:44PM | comments |
| Monday, November 10, 2008 |
| Do It NOW |
I really get emotional when I see people procrastinating there life away. You know the stuff I'll grade next time, I'LL do my black Belt Next year, I'll try harder in future, I'll BLAH BLAH BLAH what a load of nonsence. Do it now, Do your best the first time,Not ready! get ready! for the test, for the exam for the event whatever the event is.
Solemn day today, perhaps something for your blog. A mate of mine from NPWS was called out to a fire on the weekend, the day before he was sitting on a headland with another mate talking about life, watching the whales pass, helping our mate with planning his retirement. This guy, Bryce, was saying how in his retirement he was planning on just offering his expertise to the Rural Fire Service to try and help them become a better volunteer service. A very nice fellow. As Bryce walked away from his vehicle to coordinate the fire, a tree fell down on top of him and killed him instantly. Last week I stood on top of a hill with Bryce trying to work out some plans to burn a Park, today I was supposed to be in a meeting with him, right now Im deeply saddened and cant comprehend how tenuous life can be. My message “Live Life for the Moment for we are here for a good time not a long time”.
Above shared with the kind permission of Sabom Paul Meek.
I say to you do it NOW, Live life enjoy life make your mark.
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| posted at 09:41PM | comments |
| Tuesday, October 14, 2008 |
| Super High Intensity Training |
Well hello everyone who looks at my Blog. I love the little surprises and turns that life gives us from time to time. I was only thinking a few days ago how I would like to do some training something hard something challenging and intense. Then my friend and student (one day I will talk about the difference between clients and students) Ole invited me to a training bootcamp style workout run by the guys at Beyond Intensity on Saturday morning. WOW what a great challenge tyre flips, sled pulls, carry exercises, the lot. A great workout to develop core and functional strength. I was challenged. It was great and I would not hesitate to do it again in fact Zach and I are going saturday morning.
CARE TO JOIN US????????????????????????????
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| posted at 06:09PM | comments |
| Tuesday, September 23, 2008 |
| MARTIAL ARTS FOR LIFE |
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Hey everyone in. I can't beleive that after 25 years I still get such a kick out of training. New faces mixed in with the old ones makes it such a great atmosphere to train in. Love those senior students that still to this day are learning new things and puting in the effort. And the new guys with such exuberance and excitement. wow what a rush. KEEP ON TRAINING .
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| posted at 06:49PM | comments |
| What a disgrace. |
It was with utter amazement that I watched the Cuban Athlete kick a referee at the olympics the other day. It has made world news, wack it into youtube and see how many hits come up. A disgrace.
Here at Diamond Martial arts we hold strong and true to our martial arts heritage.
Over the last 20 years I observed the evolution of Taekwondo from a Martial art to a sport. We used to have fighters then they turned into players, Masters and Instructors (sabom and Kmanjangnim) became coaches. I knew then it was not a good thing.
Players become full time athletes they stopped attending normal martial arts classes and attended specialised sport classes. They stopped wearing uniforms and trained in t shirts and track suits.
I observed many of the tenets of martial arts go by the wayside as athletes got better at sparring and not better at being good people.
As an instructor I stuck to my guns and held true to the teachings of my Instructors and Masters. I decided not to allow students to train in t shirts. I expect my students to address instructors as sir, mam or Sabom, Master or Kwanjangnim, Not coach or by a casual hey Phil or Dave etc. I only teach sport Taekwondo as an ad on to traditional Martial arts training. Commercially this is not a great business decision. I repeatedly get requests to teach a stand alone sport class. This is a decision I will stand bye as I believe when you take the martial arts out of martial arts you are left with nothing but a fighting system.
Martial Arts is more than that. It is important to have a balance, Patterns teach discipline and focus, sparring teaches courage, spirit and how to overcome fear. Self Defence teaches us reality bites, and not to get cocky from our sparring skills and lastly breaking teaches us to overcome fear and to utilise our focus in a positive way.
Taekwondo Martial Arts is not about winning medals and being the best, it is about self improvement and being your best.
So please do not confuse what we see on television as a true representation of Martial Arts and Taekwondo.
Master Phil Monaghan
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| posted at 06:34AM | comments |
| Your Black Belt Test |
How to Approach Your Black Belt Test
Your black belt test, in any style of martial arts, is your
Olympics. From the first day you stepped on the mat, you began
preparing for your test,
whether you were aware of it or not.
On the day you test for your black belt, you want to be at your
absolute best, your peak; and going through the test should be like
crawling through a long tunnel between one world and the next, like
a birth; a rebirth. When you come to the other side, you should be
changed; from that day on you are a new person.
When you practice your martial arts, whether you're in your first
week of lessons or a veteran of a thousand classes, knowing your
test is coming up, that you are preparing yourself, that that day's
training session is connected to your test, gives you direction.
You train with intention, with purpose and a sense of mission.
Every part of your life, every relationship, everything you
consume, every thought, every action, every movement contains in it
something
that has to do with your test.
You are in training.
You are preparing yourself.
Getting ready for your black belt test requires that you become a
representative of the martial arts. You represent the truth of it
-or its frivolity. You represent every master teacher of every
style of every school since the beginning. To everyone around you,
you should represent the seriousness of the undertaking. It is more
than your formal education, it is more than a contest, it is more
than getting your degree, passing the Bar or getting married or any
other event in your life.
This is your black belt test, this is the event that requires you
to practice ten-thousand repetitions, to dig deep, to be
consistent, to train and train and
train until the connections in your brain are so strong, so
time-tested, and so automatic that the space between thinking and
doing is eliminated.
Every toe knows its exact place.
The foot is aligned, perfectly, as is the knee, the hip, the torso,
the shoulders, the head, and the eyes. Like a master carpenter
yielding a hammer, your hands, feet, elbows, and knees follow an
exact path; they hit their targets with exact precision, with
surprising force, with confidence that can only be born from
practice. Your movement isn't just movement, it is integration, it
comes from your centre, and your balance is perfect.
You could do it all backwards, blindfolded, against one or more
people, in the dark, on the grass, in the water, or anywhere,
anytime, with or without a proper warm up.
When you test for your black belt, you are what you have shaped
yourself to be. You have adjusted for any limitations and injuries.
You move with a confidence that comes from repetition, from
practice, from awareness, from intent, and from your breath.
In your preparation, no stone has been left unturned.
You ran the extra mile, you eliminated the unhealthy from your
diet, you studied the best of the best, and you shaped and forged
and worked on your movement. For you, it is all about the technique
-and nothing about the technique. Something drives you that is not
your muscles.
When you test for your black belt, even your mistakes are polished.
When you fall you flow, when you get hit, you embrace, when you
tap, you win with a smile. You're not hard on yourself, you don't
get angry; you
cope, you adjust, and you accept.
You have worked through the mistakes.
You have worked through the frustration and the anger and the
injuries.
The earlier you recognize the value of training for your black belt
test, the better.
The earlier you begin, the better. Preparing for your test shapes
your experience; it makes you a better person. When other people
are easily distracted, you are focused. When others eat without
purpose, you choose a diet that prepares you for your training.
When others give into anger, you see it as a chance to practice
your control.
You're in training to be a black belt.
A professionally trained dancer carries with her a sense of centre,
of style, of confidence that lasts her entire life.
A Defence Force Academy graduate has a certain posture, an attentiveness and
sense of confidence that shines -regardless of the time that has
passed since graduation. A black belt who approaches his or her training with
mission and seriousness -carries the experience to the grave.
You prepare for your black belt test with everything you have. When
you do that, the experience serves you, it is rich, it is
life-shaping, and it brings to you skills that you might never have acquired any other way.
Approach your black belt test, starting today, with these ideas in
mind. When you step on the mat, remember where you are headed. Make
your practice go deep -and then deeper, and then deeper yet. Put as
much focus and energy into your hour of practice as you put into
anything you do in your life.
Master Phil Monaghan
Diamond Martial Arts
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| posted at 12:06AM | comments |
| Three facets of health and fitness |
I have recently been talking on the importance of consistant intense training and good nutrition (we cannot stay the fattest people on earth that's just bad) but there is an equally important facet of our training and that is rest. As we train it is natural to get little injuries, strains, pulls and fatigue. That's why at DMA I take one week of every school holidays and two weeks over christmas. It is to improve my wellbeing and indeed fitness in general. However it is important to time our breaks they should not be for too long. Two weeks every holidays and all of christmas is way to long. Also if we are preparing for a comp or graduation we should time our break for after the comp to let our body recouperate. And keep our training level high in the lead up to comp day/s.
So Train hard eat well and rest accordingly you will reap the benefits.
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| posted at 04:54AM | comments |
| WE ARE FAT |
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Well congratulations Australia we have done it again. Beat the Americans at there own game. We are the fattest country in the world. Aussie Aussie Aussie OI OI OI, I fear that we will hear this war cry less and less now. Our elite athletes of today and yesteryear were children who grew up eating fruit veges from the fruiterer, meat from the butcher and not much else. Fast food was a once a month treat not the staple diet. These same kids rode Bmx all day, Built billy carts pushed them up hills and rode them down , only ever suffering the occasional bruise, graze or broken arm, played footy and cricket in the park or vacant lot. Today our kids eat fast food like it's normal! Chips , chocolate bars, packaged everythings and even fruit comes rolled up ( read the pack it's not fruit if it tastes like suger) we have to mask the taste of vegies with rich sauces and flavourings or we won't eat it. When I was growing up as with most of my generation and the generations before me it was eat your diner or go hungry and my parents meant it. We were eating good basic food and playing something all day. Now our future leaders future athletes workers and parents are sitting at computers or consoles playing mindless hours of games and eating crap. Our kids are the first generation in history who will have a shorter lifespan than there parents. Parents Children everyone, now is the time for change, now or never.
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| posted at 12:38AM | comments |
| it's worth the fight |
 Last week I spoke of standing up and being counted. Well I had cause to do this in my personal life recently and well. Damn glad I did. I Stood up and was counted over something I believed strongly about and I was found to be right. Not only by the outcome but by the process.
Stand up for your beliefs. Believe in yourself. Be Firm.
On a lighter note Friday the thirteenth dance party what a hoot. it was great. The music was loud the strobe and laser light show was cool. Everyone had fun and it was a great night for all. Nicole loads won a belt band for the best dressed as a real life doll. The scream scary was everywhere. We had goths punks ghostriders emo's devils galore and even freddy showed up. Witch's warlocks wow what a night. Fun Fun Fun a special thanks to mr Dave who's likeness to Hannibal Lecter was remarkable. Tanja who was the epitome of evil and thankyou to Jillian Owers for her excellent face paining prowess.
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| posted at 11:55PM | comments |
| Some Things are worth fighting for |
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It is sad that an attitude of "is it really worth it" "nothing is worth fighting over" (as in a physical fight) has emerged. This is disturbing on so many levels because yes I am worth fighting for. You are worth fighting for. My family your family are worth fighting for. Sometimes this means you have to bite the bullet and face some demons, Sometimes it means you have to stand up for what you believe in despite the possible retribution. And sometimes yes sometimes it means we have to defend ourselves. It is our responsibility as Martial Artist's not to start any fight . To be humble and to get along. But it also our responsibility to stand up for our beliefs for our rights and for ourselves. The challenge in this however is to know when we are right. And to accept we may be wrong now that is a challenge that requires long deep thought and self evaluation.
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| posted at 08:41PM | comments |
| Tans Tournament |
Hello every one. It is with great pride and pleasure that I blog about DMA's Awesome efforts on the weekend at Tans Tournament. Every competitor has shown improvement since there last outing with improved skill and fitness. For a few competitors it was there first ever tournament and they performed with good skill and composure to all be competitive. A great effort. Congratulations to all the medal winners and congratulations to those who didn't win a medal but who attended and did there best.
Keep training Master Phil.
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| posted at 11:30PM | comments |
| Mastery is knowing we need to continue learning. |
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Well hello everyone in blog land. Myself Mr Dave and Miss Tanja were fortunate on the weekend to travel to Sydney to attend the Australian Martial Arts Supershow. Over The weekend I took the oppurtunity to train with John Will, Raymond Floro, Fariboyz Azka, Keith Scott, Fari Salievski, Roland Osborne, It was fantastic. I learnt heaps of stuff, Hung out with cool people. And learnt some cool things to teach the awsome students at DMA. I have been studying Martial Arts for 28 years. Been a Black belt for 20 years this year. And I still love learning new things. The journey continues it will never be com plete the journey is the reason.
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| posted at 03:26AM | comments |
| Wednesday, April 23, 2008 |
| Welcome to Master Phil's blog |
 Hi guys this is my blog where each couple of weeks or so i'm going to post a blog and share my experiences in my martial Arts Journey.
This week I want to share with you something that has been realy exciting for me. That is the present expansion of DMA and Master phil's martial Art Solutions (Master Phil's MAS). After years of working towards the goal of expanding the DMA and Master Phil's MAS message it has finally come to fruition. DMA now has a licenced school in Tweed Heads headed up by Mr Tye Arnett and Mr John Wyborn has joined his Street Weyes Martial arts organisation up to Master Phil's MAS. What a huge compliment I felt that both these individuals see the value in the programs, knowledge and experience I have gained over the past 25 years of Martial Arts experience. Thank you Mr Tye Arnett and Mr John Wyborn for you confidence in our programs.
For information on Master Phil's MAs check out the business consulting page at www.GoDma.com.au
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| posted at 12:45AM | comments |
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