Within the traditional arts that have a belt system, oftentimes we see people get their Black Belt and stop training. People tend to believe that the Black Belt is a sign of mastery and that they have learned everything they need to about the art, which is just not true. Continue Reading
Treat Sparring Like A Jam Session
As discussed in my previous article about one step sparring. Free sparring is a soft skill, A skill that requires creativity, different experiences, and calculated risks to improve upon! In The Little Book of Talent by Daniel Coyle, he suggests that the right environment to improve upon these skills is Continue Reading
The Hardest Gym Exercise
Going to the gym and weightlifting is a great supplement to your training, or even just for your overall health. Maybe you’re brand new to the gym; a little intimidated by all the machines, bars, and bodybuilder bros. Or perhaps you know the exact routine for you, and after years Continue Reading
Facing Our Fear
Martial artists have to face their fears all the time. Think about how many times you have heard an instructor say in a dojo, “You can’t break the board because you are afraid of it”. How many times have you seen people get afraid in the sparring ring? Or the Continue Reading
Three Fortunes – Infinite Possibilities From Lunch with a Coworker
I was having lunch a couple weeks ago with my friend Yoshi who is a colleague of mine in more ways than one. We are coworkers at the same company, but we also train in the martial arts together. He had ordered three different plates of Dim Sum to go Continue Reading
Western Mind
The human brain is a very interesting organ; just by thinking or reacting to something, your body will physically respond. When you’re anxious, your heart races and you start sweating as if you’re running a marathon, yet you could be standing perfectly still in a cold room. When you’re overjoyed, Continue Reading
Do Vs. Jutsu
I don’t know about you, but a younger Naive David Paprocki saw the arts of Ju Do and Jiu Jitsu (Also Spelled Ju Jutstu) and thought, “Hey, they both have the same first syllable. I wonder if that means something?” Well, It turns out young naive David wasn’t that naive Continue Reading
3 Keys to Technical Success
David In judging basic techniques in my students and myself, my three points of focus are always connection, vectoring, and alignment. For me, connection refers to synchronizing the timing of my hand and foot, my hip and shoulder, and my wrists and ankles. It is important to synchronize the entire Continue Reading
Reflecting on a Martial Arts Return to Normalcy
Ana As the world starts to slowly open back up again, albeit with a few restrictions, events are beginning to take place again. This includes our martial arts events; we are able to meet together and train in person again, and even have safe monitored tournaments. It’s very refreshing to Continue Reading
Being Well Rounded
In his book, The Secret Power Within: Zen Solutions to Real Problems, Chuck Norris tells a story of Bruce Lee’s one student and friend Pat Strong. Strong sought out to cross train in several different Martial Arts to make sure he was able to adapt to any fighting situation. He Continue Reading