One of the best things I didn’t expect to gain from training in martial arts is an increased mentality regarding my abilities. When I first started, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to do the same things my instructors did. I just assumed that they knew everything, and were Continue Reading
Ana Juvan
Look at Things From the Other Perspective
Before I was passionate about martial arts, my main hobby was music. The first job that I wanted was to be a rock star, so I began playing guitar as soon as my parents let me. I played in a handful of bands over the years, learned from many different Continue Reading
Sometimes People Would Rather be Right Than Correct
Martial arts is one of few unique activities where you have to put your complete trust in someone else to teach and evaluate you. Sure you can watch videos online of how to do strikes and techniques, researching the exact way it’s supposed to be done. But you won’t know Continue Reading
“You Have Two Ears, and One Mouth”
I like to think of this literal statement in a couple different ways. The first, is something a lot of little kids have issues with: thinking before they speak. So many times when I’d be teaching a class of 4-6 year olds, one would raise their hand as if they Continue Reading
Maintaining Excellence: Ryun Ma
Everyone talks about the end product, sometimes about the journey to get there. But rarely anyone talks about what it takes to maintain your level of success, and keep it growing. This comes up a lot in martial arts; you work really hard to get your black belt, or second Continue Reading
Different Learning Styles: What Works for You?
While I am very grateful and privileged to have had the education I did growing up, occasionally I’ll learn something new in my adult life that I wish I would’ve been taught back in my formative years in school. Credit scores, applying for a job, filing your taxes, renting an Continue Reading
Break Your Goals Down in Small Steps!
Oftentimes if we have a big project on our to-do list, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and dwell on the amount of time and energy you must dedicate in order to get it done. Whether it’s something like a thesis, a needed renovation, or even just cleaning the house, if Continue Reading
Repetition: A Key to Growth
In my Filipino martial arts class, we practice a variety of striking patterns and a series of blocks against general attacks, usually with sticks but can be translated to empty hand or knife. We drill in these patterns and all their permutations; when we do a High Low High attack Continue Reading
It’s Ok To Not Have All The Answers – All The Time
For a while, if a student asked me a question I didn’t know the answer to, I’d get really self conscious. I began to question my martial arts knowledge, and would start to think that all my years of training suddenly didn’t matter and I wasn’t fit to teach. It Continue Reading
Misconceptions About Meditation: More Than Sitting and Breathing
Before I started spending most of my time doing martial arts, I played guitar as much as I could. I still play, and I love seeing how different guitarists play their own personal styles. One guitarist I discovered a couple years ago is Tim Henson from the band Polyphia; they’re Continue Reading