As we cross into 2023, many people will be making New Year’s Resolutions. Most of the time, these resolutions are long term habitual goals. Some will dedicate themselves to going to the gym everyday, while others will try to quit a bad habit, while others may try to go on Continue Reading
David Paprocki
I Failed a Test: 3 Takeaways for Growth in the Martial Arts
In June of 2009, I was set to test for my Cho Dan Bo Blue Belt (Black Belt Candidate Rank) in Tang Soo Do. I was very excited to take this test, but during the test itself, something didn’t feel quite right. About half way through the test, I started Continue Reading
Finding The Secrets to Good Technique: A Story About Jump Kicking
When I reached the rank of green belt in Tang Soo Do around 15 years ago, my instructor took out the student manual and read to us the expectations for brown belt. He made sure to emphasize the following point: Must be able to demonstrate jumping techniques. In particular, the Continue Reading
Perform at the Level That You Want to Reach
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
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