I remember a time during one of my classes in my electrical engineering program when one of my professors was returning our graded midterm exams to us, and one student received an unpleasant surprise. He had received a deduction of five points on one of the problems! Now this class Continue Reading
David Paprocki
The Importance of Relaxation and Control in Your Training
Whenever you feel like you are relaxed in your training, relax even more! Many times, we can feel like we are relaxed in our technique but in reality, we are recruiting a lot of muscles in order to create power. While, yes, this power might be there, it will not Continue Reading
Our Training Progress Graphically: It’s Not What You Think!
It is very easy to encourage our students with the wishful thinking that we are getting better every day over time in our martial arts training and that the sky’s the limit. This is great for children and youth as this limitless potential can actually be realized and provide them Continue Reading
Focus On Your Toes: The Little Things That Matter
There are many indicators that can show us how our technique is or how we can improve it. One such indicator that I like to look at in myself or tell my students to focus on is the positioning of our toes. The positioning of toes is a tell tale Continue Reading
Share The Energy to Boost Your Training
As a master, I no longer line up with the rest of the class when I am training at my instructor’s studio, Elmhurst Tang Soo Do. When I train there, I bow-in at the front with Master Michael and/or Master Holly Inoshita, and then I go to the back of Continue Reading
The Importance of Sticking To Your Guns: Your Qualified Opinions Count!
My dojang at the university is naturally a revolving door simply due to the fact that people graduate and leave. By the same token though, there are always new students that arrive on campus each semester that begin their training with me. Sometimes these students are true beginners. Other times Continue Reading
Trick Your Brain and Disguise Repetition
I was having a discussion with a coworker over lunch about a year ago, and while he is not a martial artist, we came to talk about our different philosophies for exercising. One thought that came up in our discussion was the importance of muscle confusion – That is to Continue Reading
Self Betrayal Will Set You in the Wrong Direction
Think about the last time you were supposed to do something and didn’t. Maybe it was something related to work, or something you were supposed to do for your family or a group you are a part of. When you didn’t accomplish what you were supposed to, did you begin Continue Reading
The Importance of a Good Role Model: You Better Find One!
Who is your role model? When you look at Daniel Coyle’s The Little Book Of Talent, a book that helps the reader develop their talents or special interests through a series of tips, one of the first tips that Coyle provides the reader is “Stare at Who You Want to Continue Reading
Do a Bad Job at Something Important, It’s Worth It
“If a thing is worth doing, It is worth doing badly” – GK Chesterton When we look at the quote above, we can easily become very confused. Why would we want to do a bad job with anything? Often, we hear the opposite, “If you’re going to do it, do Continue Reading