Martial arts and yoga share many similarities. √ Both seek to connect, or yoke, the mind, body, and spirit. √ Both improve flexibility and strength through movement and breathing. √ Both come wrapped in the mystique of exotic times and places. √ Both have lineages spanning decades, centuries, or—depending on your faith in legends—thousands of years….
Category: MARTIAL ARTS TRAINING
Martial arts training tips for students and teachers of martial arts.
Who Knows You the Best? It’s Probably Not You!
When I started Tae Kwon Do, I got kicked in the head. Not with a foot, but with a bold statement. My teacher told me he could tell everything he needed to know about me the moment I stepped on the mats. My posture, my movement, my eye contact…it all gave away who I was…
The Greatest Private Lesson for Martial Artists
Spending one-on-one time with a great teacher can be a life-changing experience. While I have benefited from many private lessons over the years, without a doubt, the greatest private lesson was with the legendary samurai, Miyamoto Musashi. Yes, Musashi is dead. Not just dead, but 350 years dead. But Musashi lives on because he wrote…
Motivation Is a Waste of Time
When I started martial arts, I became an evangelist. I begged everyone I knew to come to class with me. “Martial arts has it all! Fitness, wisdom, self-defense, self-knowledge!” But no one came. Ever. And I finally got the message—motivation is a waste of time! I made a pledge to move through the world not…
Stop Practicing Martial Arts!
That’s right! I say STOP practicing martial arts. Until you read this anyway. When I think about all of the people I know who train in the martial arts, do you know the number one cause of most injuries, surgeries, and pain? You guessed it—training in the martial arts! FACT: You are more likely to…
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day, 2012. A perfect day to launch this site. I have spent far too many years wired to the internet as a taker, not a giver. I have shown up to the digital dinner table empty-handed time and time again, yet continue to fill my plate. The time has finally come for me to…