Episode 198
Ep. 198 - The Future of ATA: Inspiring Stories Beyond the Belt
The primary focus of this podcast episode is the imminent conclusion of the tournament season within ATA Nation, an organization that has garnered significant engagement from its community. As we approach the district championships and the end of the regular season, we express our profound gratitude for the remarkable support demonstrated by our listeners, culminating in 15,000 downloads over the past year. We also take the opportunity to introduce an exemplary athlete of the week, whose inspiring journey exemplifies perseverance and dedication in martial arts. In addition, we encourage our audience to actively participate in upcoming events, including the Spring Nationals and World Championships, emphasizing the importance of early registration to secure participation. Through these discussions, we aim to foster a sense of community and motivation among our listeners as they prepare for the challenges that lie ahead in their martial arts endeavors.
Takeaways:
- The ATA Nation podcast has seen an impressive increase of 15,000 downloads over the past year, reflecting the growing engagement of its audience.
- As we approach the conclusion of the tournament season, it is imperative to stay informed regarding district championships and necessary registrations.
- Listeners are encouraged to provide feedback on desired YouTube content, which may enhance the overall experience for the ATA community.
- The athlete of the week, Mark Harrison, exemplifies resilience and determination, inspiring others through his personal journey in martial arts.
- The significance of early registration for both district championships and world championships cannot be overstated, as deadlines approach swiftly.
- The podcast highlights the importance of community support and involvement in ATA events and activities, fostering a sense of belonging among listeners.
Transcript
Spring is in full swing here in ATA Nation.
Speaker A:Let's get started.
Speaker A:Welcome to the ata nation podcast.
Speaker A:Welcome back, Ata Nation.
Speaker A:This is episode 198 of the Ata Nation podcast.
Speaker A:I am running out of time to plan the big 200.
Speaker A:There are so many things going on in Ata Nation, guys.
Speaker A:We've just.
Speaker A:There was amazing tournaments over the weekend.
Speaker A:I know out on the east coast in Chicago, you know, just all over amazing tournaments.
Speaker A:We're getting close to the very end of the tournament season.
Speaker A:We're going to talk about that here in a couple of minutes after our athlete of the week, getting ready for districts and all those kind of things.
Speaker A:But I wanted to thank you guys.
Speaker A:I wanted to thank you.
Speaker A:I was running some of the numbers last week after our podcast episode went out, and in just the last year, and this is just a quick sweep of the data.
Speaker A:I didn't go deep diving in all the little places I can find things, but it looks like we have had 15,000 downloads in the last year.
Speaker A:And that is all because of you guys.
Speaker A:How cool is that?
Speaker A:And then we have our show that we do just for ATA licensees and that show you can't all access and whatnot special, but over 3,000 views on that one just for ATA licensees as well.
Speaker A:So, guys, AJ Nation, you are tuning in huge and we really appreciate you.
Speaker A:You know what, one thing, let's go real quick and check our YouTube stats.
Speaker A:I would love for you guys to help us out on YouTube.
Speaker A:One thing you can do for me that I really would appreciate, appreciate.
Speaker A:Let us know what kind of content you would like to see on YouTube.
Speaker A:I've just been putting the podcast on and some clips from the podcast, but I know if I get some ideas from you guys, we've got some things we might be able to do with the brand ambassadors or things like that, and we would love that.
Speaker A:Looks like we've got 34, 210 subscribers right now, up 120 in the last 28 days.
Speaker A:But guys, ATA Nation, we can do better than that.
Speaker A:You guys are, you know, huge.
Speaker A:We are the world's largest single style martial arts organization.
Speaker A:We've got schools everywhere.
Speaker A:And so, you know, hit that subscribe button, talk to your friends, get them to subscribe.
Speaker A:Not just because, you know, you get to access this awesome podcast.
Speaker A:But I was just finished this morning teaching a master class masterclass with a bunch of our students.
Speaker A:I told him, guys, you can get on the ATAs YouTube page and not only see awesome videos, cool things going on, highlight reels, from nationals, which if you didn't check that one out, it's pretty awesome.
Speaker A:But the weapons curriculum you can check out on the YouTube page.
Speaker A:I use those all the time.
Speaker A:Go to double check.
Speaker A:Hey, did I did this dance right?
Speaker A:Did I do this Double check.
Speaker A:It's all right there on the YouTube, so make sure you hit the subscribe over there.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:I want to talk a little bit about districts and getting ready for the end of the tournament season.
Speaker A:But before that, let's hit our athlete of the week, ATA Nation.
Speaker A:We have another awesome athlete of the week with us today.
Speaker A:Sir, can you introduce yourself for us?
Speaker B:I'm Mark Harrison.
Speaker B:I'm my first three black belt from the Pac Martial Arts in Jackson, Tennessee.
Speaker A:In Jackson, Tennessee, the Pack Martial Arts.
Speaker A:Who's the instructor there?
Speaker B:The Pacific.
Speaker B:They got Mitch Sage and Sage.
Speaker B:Sophia Sage and Daniel Rivera.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:They just started a.
Speaker A:A cool podcast online then too.
Speaker A:I just have been seeing it on socials.
Speaker A:Very cool.
Speaker A:Go out and just follow that, everybody.
Speaker A:So what.
Speaker A:How'd you get what first?
Speaker A:Did you say what rank you were?
Speaker A:I already forgot.
Speaker B:I'm a first degree black belt.
Speaker A:Okay, I.
Speaker A:You did say that.
Speaker A:How'd you get started in martial arts?
Speaker B:Well, you know, like, I did a different style of taekwondo when I was like younger.
Speaker B:When I was in, I went to a private school.
Speaker B:We had like a taekwondo team for that school.
Speaker B:But I remember I missed the first bell testing.
Speaker B:They got mad and quit.
Speaker B:So then after that and.
Speaker B:But I've been essential, like Power Rangers of my whole life.
Speaker B:So I came across it on YouTube and I eventually started like looking at tutorials.
Speaker B:Oh, how do I do taekwondo on YouTube?
Speaker B:My parents walked in on me and this.
Speaker B:My mom, my uncle went to, trained under my instructor now.
Speaker B:So my mom's like, oh, why don't I sign him up there?
Speaker B:And it's been there ever since.
Speaker A:Been hooked ever since, huh?
Speaker B:Or yes, sir.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, you can't go wrong with, you know, Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers and so were you.
Speaker A:You watch that?
Speaker A:What's the, what's the YouTube Power Rangers thing?
Speaker B:Oh, the Ninja Kids.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's.
Speaker A:There's an ATA guy who's been in some of that.
Speaker A:Ethan.
Speaker B:Yeah, I watched that.
Speaker B:That's something I watched too.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:Cool.
Speaker A:Okay, so obviously, you know, as one of these athletes of the week, you know, you're a competitor.
Speaker A:I see some champ uniforms there, some medals.
Speaker A:What's your favorite thing to compete in at a tournament?
Speaker B:That's really hard because like, okay, I compete in all eight individual events.
Speaker B:And I'm competing in team combat and team sparring.
Speaker B:So it's really hard to say, but, I mean, you can't go wrong with sparring.
Speaker B:But also, like, creative forms, like sparring.
Speaker B:Creative forms and traditional forms are like my big three.
Speaker A:Really?
Speaker B:Between those three.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Those three are like, the main one.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:That.
Speaker A:That is so neat.
Speaker A:Because usually and not always, you know, there's a lot of people who would like to do it all, you know, but usually when I'm talking to people, they usually fall into, like, the kind of, like, think of three buckets.
Speaker A:You got the, like, forms bucket people.
Speaker A:You got the sparring bucket people.
Speaker A:And then you have the people who are like, I just like to make all my own stuff up.
Speaker A:And so those are the creative extreme people.
Speaker A:So you just, like, you want a little of every bucket?
Speaker B:Yes, sir.
Speaker A:That's cool.
Speaker B:Well, keeping my fingers in each bucket, you just.
Speaker A:Just, you know, I used to go.
Speaker A:You do the.
Speaker A:The fountains of soda, and you just mix it all up and just have a little bit of everything.
Speaker B:I used to do that.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So you do all eight events individually.
Speaker A:You do the two team.
Speaker A:You got.
Speaker A:Are you on a team sync or team demo yet?
Speaker A:Do you add those two and you'll have every single event possible?
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:I mean, maybe team sync and team demo in the future, but we got.
Speaker B:We got something.
Speaker B:We got something cooking up, but.
Speaker B:Yeah, it might be a while before I do that.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Okay, cool.
Speaker A:What?
Speaker A:So I see you've got some titles.
Speaker A:What kind of.
Speaker A:What kind of titles have you earned so far?
Speaker A:And what kind of titles are you.
Speaker A:You shooting for?
Speaker B:So I have a district title and crave and extreme weapons, which.
Speaker B:That's weird because that wasn't even my main event, so that's the ones I got.
Speaker B:And I have a state title in every individual event.
Speaker A:Very cool.
Speaker A:Very cool.
Speaker A:The.
Speaker A:Yeah, go ahead.
Speaker B:Hopefully gonna get a world title or something this year.
Speaker B:It's just whatever follows.
Speaker B:I mean, I got eight chances.
Speaker A:So are you qualified in all of them so far?
Speaker B:Right now I am in, let me say, five, but I'm like no.
Speaker B:6.
Speaker B:And I'm right.
Speaker B:I'm close in weapons and like, okay, combat.
Speaker B:I'm not close, but I can always qualify through districts.
Speaker B:That's fine.
Speaker A:I love that.
Speaker A:That's great.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Hey, I like the optimism there on, you know, the extra ones.
Speaker A:What's your weapon of choice?
Speaker B:I do single bong monkey for traditional, I do the gumdo for creative, and I do double bong monkey for extreme.
Speaker A:You do double bong monkey for extreme.
Speaker A:You know what, I just had an excellent martial artist around us, did double bong monkey at our last tournament.
Speaker A:I was judging and he did double bong monkey for extreme or creative, maybe both.
Speaker A:It was so cool.
Speaker A:I think it might have been like the second time I've ever seen somebody do double bongi.
Speaker A:And it was an awesome looking form.
Speaker A:It's just one you don't see very often.
Speaker B:Oh, there's not enough of us.
Speaker B:I gotta start training more people in it.
Speaker B:I'm gonna start making more bong monkey people.
Speaker A:Yes, well, and single bong monkey competition for traditional.
Speaker A:Man, you are a dying breed.
Speaker A:That is, it's a great weapon.
Speaker A:Don't get me wrong, I really like the single bong monkey.
Speaker A:I think it's probably the most practical of any weapon that we actually have and I think it's great.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:But you just, you don't see it out there.
Speaker B:I really don't see it either.
Speaker A:Like what, what drew you to the bong monkey?
Speaker A:What are you like, why are you like hey, these, you know,.
Speaker B:I don't know, I mean as we're doing our weapons of the cycle, like the bong monkey like really like called to me and I don't know, like I like to watch, I mean badminton.
Speaker B:I really like the character in Nightwing.
Speaker B:So he had like this extremist 6.
Speaker B:So yeah, yeah, partially might be it but I think it's just, I don't know, I tried a bit of everything.
Speaker B:I landed on bong monkey.
Speaker A:I love it.
Speaker A:I think you should, you are going to be the, the start, the vanguard of the wave of bong mongi coming through.
Speaker A:You know like five years ago nobody did long range in like the teen rings for black belts.
Speaker A:And now you see long range in every third and fourth degree division, every or second third degree division with teenagers, they're all over the place.
Speaker A:So you are going to start the revolution.
Speaker A:Single bung monkey, traditional double bung money.
Speaker A:Extremely creative.
Speaker A:I love it.
Speaker A:You are going to be a trendsetter.
Speaker A:Okay, so you got obviously world champ goals.
Speaker A:That's fantastic.
Speaker A:What about like just your personal training, other kind kinds of things, goals that you have just as a martial artist for the future?
Speaker B:I mean, of course I want to be as good of an instructor as I can.
Speaker B:I mean I'm working at my martial arts school.
Speaker B:I mean I like, like teaching kids.
Speaker B:Like okay, if I had to pick between teaching and competing, like I love competing but I throw competing out the window.
Speaker B:If like I would choose to teach the kids because, like, that is really fulfilling, seeing the kids grow.
Speaker B:So I mainly just becoming a great leader and that's, I mean, it's the biggest goal.
Speaker B:And I want to open school one day.
Speaker A:Or maybe that's what I was gonna ask.
Speaker A:Yeah, you check out, you know, do some Songam University, do some other stuff.
Speaker A:Go, you know, open your own school.
Speaker A:That'd be amazing.
Speaker A:You're gonna be a master someday, right?
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Very cool.
Speaker A:Okay, so we like to wrap up with.
Speaker A:What's it mean to you to be an athlete that goes beyond the belt?
Speaker B:That's a very hard question.
Speaker B:But just I want to prove that, like, there's been people who said, oh, you can't do this, you can't do that.
Speaker B:I want to prove that you can if you have that belief that yes, I can attitude.
Speaker B:I was born with a club foot.
Speaker B:I don't know if many people know this.
Speaker B:And I was born Iggy premature.
Speaker B:Like doctors saying, oh, he's not going to play sports, but he's not going to do this, he's not going to do that.
Speaker B:But I mean, it's been hard, but I've been able to do a decent amount of stuff and I can still do more.
Speaker B:And I just want to inspire others, like, oh, yeah, you can do it.
Speaker B:Your dreams too.
Speaker B:You can do this, you can do that.
Speaker B:That's the main thing.
Speaker B:That's, that's what it means to me to be an athlete beyond the belt.
Speaker A:That's awesome.
Speaker A:I love that.
Speaker A:What a great way to inspire others.
Speaker A:Hey, are you heading to any of the national world events this year?
Speaker B:I'm going to Spring Nationals in April and I'm.
Speaker B:And I'm going to Worlds too.
Speaker A:Of course.
Speaker A:You gotta, gotta go to Worlds, get the title.
Speaker A:You gotta get those red letters.
Speaker B:Yes, sir, I do.
Speaker A:Very good.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Well, hey, I look forward to meeting you at.
Speaker A:Maybe I'll see you at Spring Nationals, definitely at World Championships.
Speaker A:And congratulations on being one of the athletes of the week.
Speaker A:And thanks for your time today.
Speaker B:Thank you for having me.
Speaker A:Got to see some of these athletes of the week at Spring Nationals, which was a great thing.
Speaker A:So cool to.
Speaker A:To meet them in person.
Speaker A:I even got to do one athlete interview there at Spring Nationals.
Speaker A:I wanted to do some more interviews, but I got busy doing some other things, judging being one of them, which is always fun to do as well.
Speaker A:But hey, I want to make sure that we remember as we get ready for the end of the tournament season, the end of April Was the, the end of the regular season and then we kind of go into the postseason stuff.
Speaker A:But one, make sure you are checking your points online and if you see an issue with those, they need to be submitted by form.
Speaker A:There's a special form within that 30 day window.
Speaker A:Now that 30 day window will start to disappear at the end of this season.
Speaker A:So we all know this, that at the end of the April month, those last tournaments, there won't be necessarily a full 30 days for corrections.
Speaker A:They'll post and then ATA will let us know.
Speaker A:We'll bring it up on the podcast.
Speaker A:But stay tuned.
Speaker A:Make sure this is why you need to be following the social media channels, talking to your instructors, checking your emails because that 30 day window won't exist there at the end because they've got to get that data finalized.
Speaker A:So, so then we can get district championship registrations open.
Speaker A:And remember, district champions registration is got to be done online in advance.
Speaker A:You cannot register at district championships to compete.
Speaker A:Not possible, not going to happen.
Speaker A:You got to do it in advance.
Speaker A:And it only opens for a really short window.
Speaker A:It's like a week maybe.
Speaker A:And so just make sure you're paying attention to that as it comes.
Speaker A:But put you know those notifications on or atm, martial arts on Facebook, Instagram, those kind of things.
Speaker A:Now districts is coming up.
Speaker A:It looks like Northeast, south, Southeast, Southwest, Midwest, Northwest are all the fifth or sixth or one of those two days or both days, the fifth or sixth.
Speaker A:So it looks like almost six of the regions.
Speaker A:Six of the districts I should say are that first weekend in June and then Mid America, that's the district I am in.
Speaker A:North and Rockies are all the following weekend, the June 13th weekend.
Speaker A:So though the information on those are is already on atamartial arts.com if you go over to the event section, make sure you check the districts but that information is there.
Speaker A:So you want to be planning accordingly for, you know, hotel rooms or travel time.
Speaker A:I know.
Speaker A:You know, sometimes we, we have to wait till the last minute to get our schedules just because there's such a short window to get that information back.
Speaker A:So just be aware of that coming up.
Speaker A:I know we've got a little bit of time, but I don't want anybody to get, you know, last minute miss out on anything.
Speaker A:We want you to make sure that you get your points corrected, you get registered for districts in time.
Speaker A:Now even before districts, you can start right now.
Speaker A:You can head right over right now to Hazy.
Speaker A:Sign up and sign up for world Championships.
Speaker A:Get your registrations in for world Championships.
Speaker A:And remember, World Championships is two tournaments.
Speaker A:There's the toc, the Tournament of Champions, which is you got to qualify for just for black belts and you got to qualify for that.
Speaker A:And then there is the Super 20.
Speaker A:That is for anyone and everyone.
Speaker A:Rec champion color belts.
Speaker A:My wife's first tournament was as a white belt at World Championships.
Speaker A:So you can compete there.
Speaker A:Make those plans, get registered early, save money because those registration prices will go up the closer we get to World Championships and then the World Conference there.
Speaker A:You know, training amazing training opportunities.
Speaker A:We'll have Chief Master Skiles on pretty soon to update us on those different opportunities to train, but you can get on there and get the early bird pricing right now.
Speaker A:Don't miss those guys.
Speaker A:We've got some other great things.
Speaker A:I've got an amazing interview scheduled that'll probably be on next week.
Speaker A:I'm super excited about.
Speaker A:Can't believe I haven't done it yet.
Speaker A:Not going to tell you who it is yet, but make sure you hit that subscribe button and get out there and go beyond the belt.
Speaker A:ATA Nation podcast.
Speaker A:Be sure to subscribe and share with your ATA family.
