Not that long ago, Japanese society was divided into a strict hierarchy of social classes that limited any upward mobility the further down the social ladder you were. At the top were the nobility, essentially the imperial family and its various offshoots; next were the samurai class, although their role Continue Reading
Find Something That You are Bad at Yet You Enjoy
I was scrolling through Facebook recently on one of my days off. There was a post that caught my eye titled, “40 Cheat Codes I Wish I Knew at 20”. I always enjoy reading these types of articles where people who are older than me reflect back on what they Continue Reading
Don’t Forget to Celebrate
A while back a friend and I were competing at a tournament. After my friend’s round, I congratulated them on their performance. This person immediately started criticizing themselves and listing all of the ways they could have done better. I reminded them, celebrate your wins today, tomorrow is when you Continue Reading
The Meaning of Sah Bum Nim
In April of 2022, I was given the rank of 4th degree black belt and the title “Sah Bum Nim” in the art of Tang Soo Do. It was an incredible honor, but it has also been a bit frustrating to explain to non-practitioners what my new rank meant: am Continue Reading
The Meaning of Hyung
In almost every traditional martial art, there are forms or patterns that are practiced and passed down from teacher to student. Hyung, or kata in Japanese martial arts, are essential in the tradition and identify of many martial art styles and the sheer variety means that everyone has at least 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
Mentally Recovering from Injury
A while back I wrote a post about strength and conditioning and avoiding injury. (Link here). And I had said that my own recovery story was for another day. Well here we are. The fact is that I have tried to sit down and write this article so many times. Continue Reading
Opportunities: Rise to the Occasion
When I was in high school band, a few members of the wind ensembles were borrowed to play with the string ensembles to make a full orchestra. If there was a certain member that was playing in the full orchestra was absent, someone else would need to step in for Continue Reading
What You Value in Others
I have a lot of great friends that I’ve met through training and our association. I’ve mentioned in previous articles that the connections you make in martial arts are different from regular everyday interactions; you have to have a certain level of trust and respect to let someone punch and Continue Reading
The Meaning of “Gup” and “Dan”
Early on in our training, we can be hyper focused on our rank. Color belts can visually see where they are in the hierarchy of the martial arts school just by looking at each other’s belts. This distinction becomes less obvious as we enter the black belt levels, but there Continue Reading