What is an expert? We were having a review for this blog a couple weeks ago, and something Ana said bothered me. It bothered me not because she said anything against my view of technique, philosophy or values of martial arts. It bothered me because she was selling herself short. Continue Reading
Inspiration
Surpass Your Limits
At some point in our martial arts career, even now maybe, we plateau in terms of our skill and have to work a bit harder than usual to get better. Whether we weren’t able to kick as high as we wanted, we couldn’t punch as hard as we wanted, we Continue Reading
Training 24:7, Truly a Way of Life
How many days a week do you train? You may find yourself thinking you aren’t training enough, maybe too much, or any amount in between. However, notice I didn’t ask ‘How many days a week do you go to class?’. What are you like on the days where you’re not Continue Reading
Why Do You Train?
Every martial artist has a different reason why they started training, but the interesting question is why they kept training. There are many people who never make it to black belt, as well as a shocking amount of people who will quit almost immediately after achieving their black belt. Why? Continue Reading
The True Need for Self Motivation
There are a few martial arts practitioners that are not my students, but I have had an impact on their progression and development in the martial arts. They are low ranking Dan students around the rank of 1st or 2nd Dan. One common thing that I hear them say is, Continue Reading
How to Incorporate the Eastern Philosophy of the Martial Arts in a Healthy Way
One of the downfalls of eastern Asian philosophy that does not agree very much with the western philosophy we are acquainted with in civilian life is the point of not asking for things! When we train we are often taught not to ask our instructors to test or for a Continue Reading
How to Find a Good Instructor
This seems like a very opinionated question. What do you look for in an instructor? Really it sounds like it is a subjective question. It can certainly vary from person to person, but when you look at those instructors who have students that continued to train, continued to teach, and Continue Reading
Why You Should Spend At Least 100$ on a Traditional Uniform
It is no mystery that we behave and act more confidently and charismatically when we are better dressed. I’m not saying that you need to wear a suit and tie every day to accomplish this; I’m saying that you should wear things that fit you well, are of good material quality and above all make you feel comfortable.
Nothing Matters
There’s a mantra that I developed early on in my life as a young, depressed, over-thinker: nothing really matters. My life doesn’t matter. I’d hear this in my head, even if I didn’t want to, along with a variety of other negative thoughts and thousands of anxieties. I’d try to Continue Reading
Be One With Your Weapon
I always loved training with weapons, and over the years I’ve gotten the opportunity to train with a variety of weapons (knives, bo-staff, short sticks, swords, etc). As a Tang Soo Do practitioner originally, one of the weapons I unfortunately never got to try is the rope dart. It’s usually Continue Reading