When was the last time you paid attention to how you breathed? It’s one of those autonomic body functions that we take for granted until we find ourselves in a situation where that very function is put at risk, such as during a taxing exercise, when we are under duress, Continue Reading
Technique
In Order to Go Fast, You Need to Go Slow
When I first started training, there was a single black belt in the class that my instructor referred to as “Steve the Marine”. I’m not sure if he actually was a marine, but he had crisp technique, a no-nonsense attitude, and very hard shin and forearm bones. He provided a Continue Reading
Take a Page Out of a Dancer’s Playbook: Mark It!
There is never an excuse not to train. Practice methods used in dance can help us take advantage and make the most of any small opportunity we can get during even the shortest amount of free time on a busy day. When we look at some terminology used in the Continue Reading
Where the Head Goes, the Body Follows
A strategy of certain techniques in martial arts is getting your opponent off balance so your technique has a greater chance of success. Once someone’s center of gravity is disrupted, their instincts will be focused on getting their stability back; since they’re distracted and at a positional disadvantage, it leaves Continue Reading
Revisit Your Work and Technique
In May 2021, I picked up photography as a new hobby. After taking pictures while hiking with my phone, I decided that I wanted something that would give me slightly better quality pictures and bought an advanced point and shoot camera. Shortly thereafter I took a trip to the Henry Continue Reading
A Secret to Improving Your Hand Techniques
One thing that I have been emphasizing with my Tang Soo Do students that train with me at the university is the importance of rotating their wrists while they are doing their hand techniques. This applies to all hand techniques. When doing techniques in the air, it can be very Continue Reading
Teach Like Your Training Depends on It
We constantly hear the importance of teaching as we become more advanced in our martial arts journey. Some may struggle to grasp the importance of this and may even have some resistance to this thinking that if they are spending so much of their time teaching, how will they have Continue Reading
Applying Hip Motion to Kicks
One thing that is certain when it comes to any type of technique in any style of martial art, is the importance of hip rotation. This hip rotation can apply to different axes. We can rotate our hip forward and backward as well as side to side. When it comes Continue Reading
What Your Stance Says About You
Anyone who has ever trained alongside me or taken a class taught by me, knows that I value stances a lot. While stances are a crucial fundamental and having a good foundation is critical for the development of good technique, that is not totally why I emphasize stances. I emphasize Continue Reading
Prioritizing Good Technique Over Memorization
Disclaimer: My direct students are all university students, and as such, they are at their prime physically and have a mature yet sponge-like brain that can absorb things quickly. I understand that I teach in the most ideal situation, and some of what is mentioned will not apply as much Continue Reading