I remember reading something in high school that stated ‘it takes 21 days to make or break a habit’. This made sense to me; I grew up Catholic, so every year there was a period of time, Lent, where we fasted and chose something to give up for 40 days. Continue Reading
Inspiration
The Importance of Having a Student Mindset to Being a Successful Leader
I was organizing a regional training clinic with a high ranking individual in our organization as our guest. As a 4th Dan, I always feel awkward telling very senior masters what the plan is and giving them instructions. I’m sure many other 4th Dans would agree with me. I very Continue Reading
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
Just Get Started: The Importance of a First Step
One of the most daunting things in life is starting something new. It can be starting a new martial art, starting a blog article, or starting a project at work. While getting started and taking the first step is easily the most difficult thing to do, it is the most Continue Reading
The Necessity of Training with Others and Connection
When we are training in the martial arts, we must appreciate each and every opportunity that we have to train with another person and we must respect that opportunity. We need training partners to get 100% of what we need out of our training. This is very obvious when it Continue Reading
Sonder: A Key to Empathy and Sympathy in Martial Arts and Life
Sonder: a word that is found in John Koenig’s The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, a dictionary of made-up words for emotions that we feel but can’t quite explain, has a profound connection to the martial arts. Sonder is defined as “The profound feeling of realizing that each random passerby is Continue Reading
Spirituality in Martial Arts
David wrote an article called “Religious Overtones in the Martial Arts”, which you can find here –> https://urbanmartialartists.com/2021/12/09/religious-overtones-in-the-martial-arts/ I find that this is a related but parallel article to what I wrote about. While he discusses the influence of religion and moral codes on the martial arts (and keeping an Continue Reading
Don’t Negotiate Against Yourself: Ask For What You Want!
I remember one Saturday afternoon after finishing class in the city, my students and I had planned to go share a meal together in Chicago’s Chinatown. In the past, going to eat dinner in Chinatown was a relatively easy thing. We would go to one of our favorite restaurants and Continue Reading
Musicality in Martial Arts
From sixth grade through high school, I played the trumpet in my school band. I wasn’t a particularly skilled trumpeter (trumpetist?) but the experience gave me several valuable experiences: a love of classical music, an increased lung capacity, and an understanding of basic musical theory. I can still sight read Continue Reading