How Much Tradition is in Your karate? Back in December, Ron Amram wrote a wonderful article titled “Traditional Martial Arts – What is ‘Tradition’?” If you haven’t read it yet, click the link and do so now (or after you read this). His article got me thinking about what tradition [Read More]
Ms. Samantha Lunsford Talks About Personal Growth and Perseverance In Her Journey A while back, I came across this particular story that I knew had to be in a Positivity Post. It was about a young woman, Samantha Lunsford, who had recently competed and won a competition. That may not seem [Read More]
The Martial Arts Teacher – A Painter and a Gardener By Jonathan Bluestein As martial arts teachers, we can learn quite a lot by comparing our craft with other skillsets and types of teaching, art, and cultivation. Here in this article, you will find two such fantastic examples, with very [Read More]
Yes, you read that right. The Karate Kid. Let’s face it, it’s not a film that has a tremendous following in the martial arts community. Most don’t hate it. But it’s never on the Mount Rushmore of the genre. There’s an odd sort of resentment that The Karate Kid, of all movies, [Read More]
The most badass women I know, all do martial arts. Usually, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Not because BJJ has the market cornered on badass women. It just happens to be what I do three nights a week. In my school of about fifty students, only four or five are women. These women [Read More]
Positivity is Tax-Free! This weekly post highlights positivity in the martial arts from around the world. Unfortunately, it is far too easy to find negative stories on the internet. Positive ones, however, are harder to find. Let’s recognize and celebrate those martial artists and schools who are doing good things in [Read More]
Martial arts has many different sides to it. On one hand, you have the most obvious, purely physical side to it. And let’s face it, the physical component of the art is probably the initial draw for almost everyone. However, for most of us, that would not be enough to [Read More]
I won’t bore you with the mundane of how I became interested in the martial arts I will just get to the story. The year was 2002, I was a 30-year-old, married man with a 6-year-old son. I decided that I wanted to do karate. After talking it over with [Read More]
“What’s the best pressure point to strike during a fight?” That was a recent question posted in a karate forum. It wasn’t the question that bothered me but rather the flurry of replies: driving knuckles into the throat, finger strike to the eyes, and a litany of recommended vital point [Read More]
Ego is at the root of many issues that plague the martial arts world. Bad attitudes, unethical behaviour, ‘sensei worship’ and the ever-present and so-hard-to-avoid constant trash talking that goes on between different competitors, styles, instructors and schools. Martial Journal writer Daniel Hartz recently wrote on ego in the martial [Read More]
How Do Non-Martial Artists Develop Their Perception Of Us? Recently I had the absolute pleasure of recording a two-part podcast episode with Senseis Jeremy Lesniak of Whistlekick Martial Arts Radio, and Jaredd Wilson of Martial Thoughts. We talked about comments you often hear from non-martial artists when they find out that you [Read More]
I love talking about martial arts. All aspects of martial arts. I recently got the chance to talk with Jeremy Lesniak from whistlekick Martial Arts Radio and Scott Bolon (frequent author here) to talk about martial arts and how the rest of the world sees us and our weird little [Read More]
In my (albeit limited) experience, martial arts books can generally be grouped into one of three categories: (i) instructional; (ii) biographical; and (iii) philosophical. Instructional books are those whose main use is to teach the reader techniques of a certain art, and generally, contain a good number of pictures illustrating [Read More]
No Time Like The Present! It would be very hard to argue that today’s globalization and technological advancements have made the world closer and more connected. What does this mean for the martial arts? Three words; communication, community, and information. We can now communicate and make connections with pretty much [Read More]
I am sitting at home, watching the halfpipe event in the Winter Olympics. One of the athletes goes down the slope, knowing he has to put on an excellent display in order to get a podium position. He drops into the pipe. He speeds up towards the other end, catapults [Read More]
A short time ago I learned of Heather Harris and her delightful song, Shotokant. It’s entertaining and, yet, hits very close to home for me. Likely, for you, too. I received her permission to share it here. Enjoy! I reached out asked if she had any words we could [Read More]
Just Let the Positivity Happen This semi-regular post will attempt to highlight positivity in the martial arts from around the world. Unfortunately, it is far too easy to find negative stories on the internet. Positive ones, however, are harder to find. Let’s recognize and celebrate those martial artists and schools who [Read More]
Ego is often referred to, colloquially, as one’s opinion or assertion of personality of oneself towards others. That’s not entirely incorrect and there is certainly much more gradiation than that in regards to ego. My undergraduate psychology courses hardly qualify me as an expert to discuss the deeper nuances. As [Read More]
There is No Shortage of Opinions Humans are in no danger of running out of opinions, on anything, anytime soon. I think we can all agree on that point. Even just this site is full of them! These are from people I have an immense amount of professional respect for. [Read More]
From a young age, most people are taught that talking about religion or politics is rude. It is one of the topics not to bring up at the family dinner or with people you have just met. Martial artists, who value respect and integrity more than most, ignore this rule [Read More]
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