Martial arts, self-protection, and what happens when you keep showing up. Techniques, training methods, dojo stories, mistakes, injuries, and lessons learned from putting function before form.
Training
What happens in the dojo doesn't always prepare you for what happens on the street. There's a saying in martial arts that I've come to appreciate more and more over the years: you don't rise to the occasion, you fall to the
Training
For a long time, I thought toughness meant being able to take more punishment than the other guy. Train harder. Work longer. Ignore the pain. Keep moving. I don't think that anymore. The older I get, the more I think toughness is overrated. What matters is being hard
Training
There’s a technique in ju-jutsu called ikkyo. It’s basically an arm lock, and when I first learned it, I thought I understood it pretty well. My training partner would give me his arm. I’d get into position, apply the lock, take his balance and bring him
Training
Every new adult who walks into our school does the same thing on day one. They get tight. Shoulders up. Jaw set. Fists clenched before anyone has told them to make a fist. Every muscle in the body switched on at once, because somewhere along the way we all learned
Training
For the first 3 years I practiced karate, I didn't do kata. Almost none. I had seen others doing it, but most of my training was spent working with another person. We did bunkai (disassembly and analysis of a technique) and oyo (the practical application of a technique)
Training
I’ve broken six bones since I started training in martial arts. I don’t recommend it. There are probably easier ways to learn some of the lessons I’ve learned over the last six years, but apparently I’m the kind of person who occasionally needs the lesson delivered
Training
Age uke drills are good for the dojo - get use to making contact with someone.
Training
Understanding Awareness Before Self-Defense.
Life
I started karate at 40 (like right after my 40th birthday) One of the strange things about starting something like martial arts at that age is that you walk through the door as an adult, but in that room, you're a complete beginner. You don't know
Training
The most important lesson you'll ever learn as a karateka (a person who practices karate) is maintaining a white belt mentality. Which simply means you are open to learning from everyone. Even as a black belt now, any new student who comes in wanting to learn from us,