We are closing on nearly a century of when Japan began to export its martial arts of karate, judo and aikido to the wider world and much of their customs have become widespread. Whatever art or organization you associate with, it has been several generations since the modern era of Continue Reading
Philosophy
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
Awareness and Avoiding Conflict
Many of us would go through life and will never experience a violent encounter, and I hope you, dear reader, never have to. However, there is something to be said about being prepared, both physically and mentally, so that, if we were to meet such misfortune, we would be able 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
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
Supplemental Exercise: Is It Necessary for Martial Artists?
A student last week approached me and asked, “Sir, do you have a workout regimine that you do? I would like to work on my physique.” The short answer to his question was yes, but when you pull back the layers, the better answer to the question is that while 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