A few weeks ago, I was in Tang Soo Do class and we were doing speed breaks. For those who may be unfamiliar the goal of a speed break is to break a board by generating speed versus focusing on power. I am used to power breaks, I have a Continue Reading
Technique
Approaches to Training: Old School vs New School
There’s a common school of thought that old-school martial arts training was better because it was more rigorous; maybe you’ve heard (or seen videos) of shaolin monks training in kung fu monasteries in China. Punching and kicking trees or walls for conditioning, meditating outside in freezing temperatures with minimal clothing Continue Reading
Scope Creep in the Martial Arts and the Workplace
In Korean martial arts there is a philosophy known as Ryu Pa. Ryu Pa, the theory of streams diverging from the main branch of the river that eventually become their own waterway. This can be seen in adding different variations to a specific form or technique, and it can even Continue Reading
Be Honest With Yourself
One thing we may do every once in a while, hopefully not always, is quickly glaze over an article and immediately think we know all about that subject. We see this problem, especially in the media, where someone will form an opinion on something based only on one viewpoint or Continue Reading
3 Keys to Good Kicking
I enjoy kicking. I also have the advantage of being young and the advantage of beginning my training when I was a child at 6 years old. As I get older, I will definitely need to devote more time and energy to maintaining my level of flexibility and ability to Continue Reading
Strongest Muscle
I recently came across a post on Facebook that shared that latissimus dorsi are the strongest muscles in your body. Like everything on Facebook, I took it with a grain of salt, but it got me thinking a little bit about the correlation between this muscle and one of our Continue Reading
Seguida and Contra
In the style of Filipino martial arts I practice, the Defensor Method, they categorize most blocks into two different energies: Seguida and Contra. Contra means “against”, and Seguida means “to follow”. A lot of the time, our first instinct when we think of a block is something that meets the Continue Reading
Whole Body is a Weapon
A concept we have in martial arts is to utilize your whole body in a technique to maximize power. For example when we do a kick it’s not just our leg muscles activating, we use our abs to lift, our hips to thrust, and the strength of your leg and 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
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