Chances are if you are a martial artist, you have heard the claim that all martial arts stem from China. While this broad claim has been disputed by some, what cannot really be disputed is the origin of joint locks and throws! Whether you have a background in Aikido, Hapkido, Continue Reading
Unagi
If you are a giant fan of F.R.I.E.N.D.S like I am, You have undoubtedly seen the episode “The one with Unagi”. In this episode Ross goes on about being in a state of total awareness and being ready to react to anything. He uses the term Unagi throughout the episode, Continue Reading
Family Aspect in Martial Arts
Recently, I saw a poll put up asking “How many people consider their dojo and the people they train with as a family?”. I answered ‘Yes’ in almost a heartbeat; as a person who never fit in with my blood relatives, I’ve found so much unconditional love and support from Continue Reading
The Martial Artist Mentality – Part 1: Intro and Training
One common quality every martial artist has is the desire to push themselves pass their limits to achieve a goal. These goals range from passing a rank test for the next belt to breaking boards or concrete. These goals we set are necessary for us to experience growth as martial Continue Reading
No Excuses Just Priorities
One of my favorite college professors always had something to say about students that either didn’t come to class or didn’t apply themselves. He would always say, “There are no excuses in life, only management of your priorities. If I gave you $1 Million, you would always come to class.” Continue Reading
Universal Chamber: All for One, One for All
As a smaller person who doesn’t weigh much, I am always looking for ways to maximize my power without relying on pure muscular strength. In general, everybody benefits from this type of training; you are able to move faster, have longer endurance, and overall flow your techniques better. Finding the Continue Reading
Practical Karate Isn’t Pretty
I love watching people do flips and crazy spinning kicks amidst their forms as much as Red Bull loves its wings (and its annual tricking showcase). Although, one thing I don’t like as much is after telling people I do martial arts, they ask me if I can do a Continue Reading
Breathing in Martial Arts
One of the fundamental skills and focuses of martial arts is learning how to breathe. I know it sounds awkward right, you might have expected me to say that something like striking, kicking, punching, discipline, courage, or something of the like to be fundamental to the martial arts. However, all Continue Reading
The Evolution of the Spirit of Martial Arts
Many of you here, whether you’re a beginner, an advanced student, or someone just shopping for martial arts, have at least heard of the roundhouse kick. You might not know, however, that when it comes to the history of karate, the roundhouse kick is a 20th century innovation. I mean Continue Reading
Self Defense is not Fighting
Let’s take some time and discuss the differences between self-defense and fighting. Though these two things have similarities they are also different in many ways, the main way they differ are by the goals each one wishes to accomplish. The main goal of self-defense is self-preservation while the main goal Continue Reading