Recently a nidan from another part of our association, with whom we had not seen train before, asked us to grade him to sandan. “I have done part of it”, with another instructor he said. “…are you going to be a good Shihan?”….”I will do [insert syllabus] for my sandan.”….. (Oh oh…this does not bode […]
Should you ask for a black-belt? Read More »
Being successful and having a feeling of improving is a habit. There is a mindset, lifestyle, routine, and expectation, that comes with being successful. . Small accomplishments have a way of accumulating, and building momentum that you may not see, but that are necessary to lay the foundation for those bigger improvements down the road.
Always believe in yourself Read More »
I had so many comments on a post I made recently about self-defense and fighting. Many people could not see the distinction between the two. Most people are taught physical/fighting skills FIRST in a self-defense lesson…. Again; there IS an overlap with the two, but they are NOT the same. . Fighting is NOT self-defense/self-protection.
The art of fighting without fighting Read More »
“Self-protection, martial arts, and fighting, are not the same, they are related, but they are most definitely not the same.” ?? . . Iain Abernethy 7th Dan British Combat Association . As martial artists we need to understand the difference between these three concepts. They are distinctly different, but also overlap one another. . Many martial
Self-protection, martial arts, and fighting, are not the same Read More »
“There is a proverb that says – Nito oumono wa itto omo ezu (二兎追う者は一兎をも得ず). It translates to – If you run after two hares, you will catch neither.” ?? . Yasuhiro Uema 9th dan Shorin-Ryu Shubukan . A great master received a university professor who came to enquire about wisdom. . The master served tea.
If you run after two hares, you will catch neither. Read More »
“Control your ego properly because the true enemy is inside yourself and this is the toughest opponent to beat.” ?? . Have you checked your ego lately? Keeping ego in check means we must examine who we are, what we want, how we treat others, and our overall actions. Keep self-importance under control: . Who are
Too many students (and some instructors) rely solely on their body-weight when performing punches, without thinking to “connect”, transferring the energy from your feet, through to your fist as you hit with your entire body. . It’s NOT the style of karate that has power. NO one style is stronger than any other, regardless of
The hardest punch I’ve ever experienced Read More »
PARENTS. Life lessons kids learn from martial arts. . Because of what we see in the media, movies and television, martial arts can sometimes have a bad reputation with parents, especially if they don’t know very much about the martial arts. . If you’re a parent and your child trains in the martial arts, or
Life lessons kids learn from martial arts. Read More »
“Everyone has a goal. Whether that is to become a world champion or not doesn’t really matter. . Although your goal may often look hard to achieve at first, if you continually make efforts toward your goal, then your time, energy and commitment will never have been wasted. . So, keep it up as much
Everyone has a goal. Read More »
When do you know when it’s time to quit? . We as martial artists are constantly told “never give up”. Is this realistic? When is it, the right time to give up? . Everything comes down to the importance of the goal we want to reach. We will encounter problems, doubts in anything serious we
When do you know when it’s time to quit? Read More »
“Our focus is self-defense first. . As me and my brother are involved in MMA you learn a lot with those techniques. But when you do a little research, we found these techniques are already in karate. . Modern karate does not focus too much on self-defense, so they are losing the main technique of
Our focus is self-defense first. Read More »
