To improve at anything, you must push yourself beyond your comfort zone. When you put sustained effort toward improving, you will grow. This is the logic behind ‘deliberate practice’, a research-backed tool introduced by researcher Anders Ericsson. His research has shown that HOW you practice matters much more than how MUCH you practice. Real martial […]
You have to look deeper, the next level Read More »
All of us live in a world which is filled with conflict. The vast majority of us like to believe we’re open-minded toward individuals and other martial artists who may see the world differently to how we do. In the martial arts dojo, teaching respect is one of the core tenets most students learn. Students
Within the martial arts, being respectful is paramount. Read More »
A comment on one of my recent articles stated; “Come step onto a jiu-jitsu mat and you’ll will be humbled. I guarantee it.” . A great many people are dying to be reassured that their martial art is the best and most effective. They evidently believe that their martial art is superior to all others
I guess you can’t fix stupid! Read More »
You’re not my sensei, so why do you call YOURSELF sensei? . If I see somebody labeled as, and calling themselves “sensei”, and I don’t know them, it’s just plain wrong. They aren’t teaching me… so they aren’t my sensei. I’m not choosing to call them sensei. . The term can’t apply as a blanket
Stop calling yourself “sensei” is just narcissistic, weird and presumptuous. Read More »
Open-mindedness involves being receptive to a wide variety of ideas, arguments, and information. This doesn’t mean that being open-minded is easy. Being open to new ideas and experiences can sometimes lead to confusion. . What you once practiced as a “block” or “punch” doesn’t seem to work the way you thought, and realizing is wasn’t
“Do not pretend to know something you have not experienced.” Read More »
In many kata, and indeed the techniques of karate, there should be a great deal of emphasis placed on abdominal breathing. That is, in which you are supposed take very deep, audible, abdominal breaths, synchronized with foot and hand motions. . If we take Sanchin kata as an example, many students I have witnessed practicing
What does it mean to be a Senpai (sempai)? Senpai (先輩) translates as “Senior” and can be applied in any situation where someone is senior to you. But the meaning for those in a traditionally run martial art school is far deeper than simply ‘Senior’. The senpai of a dojo has usually trained for a
What does it mean to be a senpai? Read More »
Be passionate about your martial arts training and your martial arts training will improve. . People join martial arts schools for many different reasons, perhaps wanting to learn how to fight, how to protect themselves, get fit, gain confidence or a combination of all those things. Often times those reasons change when there is a
“The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.” Read More »
Some instructors teach their students “just enough” and often these instructors believe that they themselves have been taught all there is. . Learning is often taken to mean memorization, and advancing from one grade to the next as education, and passing that grade to mean they are competent. . If instructors just follow the curriculum,
It’s not the number of techniques you know, but how well you know them. Read More »
Fighting ability is just one aspect of self-defense. It exists alongside other skills such as situational awareness, verbal de-escalation, escaping, weapons, protecting others, the law, etc. which many people unfortunately overlook. . Also learning to recognize and avoid, or verbally de-escalate potentially hostile situations, these are hugely important skills if your interest in practicing the
Common misconceptions in self-defense. Read More »
In boxing we were taught the importance of a good, tight guard. When you put up a guard you’ve just consented to a fight. . Self-defense is different. In self-defense if you lift your hands and wait in your perfectly aligned tight guard, you’ve lost the initiative, the ability to surprise, and control the enemy’s
A hands up guard may not be useful in self-defense. Read More »
“Karate doesn’t work”…… I hear this all the time. This is a meaningless statement without a qualifier. . Works for what? You have to define the goal and from there seek the solution. . For you, is it a martial art (culture, health, personal challenge, etc). Is it fighting, competition, tournaments (consensual). Or is it
Your Karate isn’t working! Read More »
