This past weekend, I had the privilege of sharing some knowledge of jump kicking with some youth black belts at our regional black belt camp. It was a great time; I really enjoy the opportunity to dive deep into certain martial arts topics and proverbially, Preach to the Choir sharing Continue Reading
Ask for Help
I don’t know why, but it’s always been extremely hard for me to speak up about how I feel or what I need, or even just talk about myself in general. I’ve mentioned my struggles with mental health before, so I’m guessing it’s a winning combination of that plus my Continue Reading
How to Budget for Martial Arts
For those who have been training for some time, you know there are quite a few other expenses that one needs to consider the total cost of martial arts. I hope to take a more holistic approach to budgeting for the martial arts, and in so doing help those with Continue Reading
How Do You Spend Your Time?
One thing that we all need to come to terms with is that time is a finite resource, and we will not have the time to do every opportunity that we are presented with. I often joke that as I have become more senior in rank, there are times where Continue Reading
The Meaning Behind the Bow
If you have been exposed to any kind of martial arts, the bow is one of the most iconic gestures you will see in some form or another. It may seem like an odd ritual or some mystical exchange to those who don’t train in martial arts in the West, 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
How to Deal with Chronic Pain/Illness in Your Training
When I was 19 years old, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. This is a condition where your large intestine is inflamed and can result in a sensation of burning and stabbing pain in your gut, blood in your stool, fatigue in everyday life and activities, and that’s with medication. Continue Reading
Practice What You Preach
In the martial art I practice, Tang Soo Do, “Do” means a way of life. We’re much more than just an activity or sport; our Grandmaster said one of the main goals of training in Tang Soo Do is to become a better person. Therefore, our art has codes and Continue Reading
Create Things to Look Forward To
One thing that school created for all of us growing up is the idea of looking forward to breaks and long weekends! These breaks and long weekends are structured and determined for us and we don’t give much thought to planning them. If we were fortunate enough to have the Continue Reading
Imposter Syndrome Part 2: Duty as an Instructor, and Leading by Example
This article is less of a “part 2” than an addendum to David’s incredible Imposter Syndrome article, however I feel this is an important perspective to discuss. The nagging thought of “am I good enough?” David talked about not only impacts students, but instructors as well. As students, we looked Continue Reading