Martial Journal

In addition to teaching martial arts, I’ve been a classroom teacher for two decades. While the content I teach in a high school English classroom differs from the dojo, the process of helping students acquire skills is fundamentally the same. Where to Begin Of course, you can’t teach what you [Read More]

The techniques we learn in martial arts carry over into our daily lives. In life, when we face challenges, our natural reactions are to fight, flee, or freeze. As martial artists, we learn to shift and pivot—first on the dojo floor, then through the issues we encounter each day. I [Read More]

  It’s a common misconception that martial arts have always been a sport that promotes good exercise and lets people fight. Martial arts were not created by farmers or carpenters. It was not developed so that the average person could feel better about themselves. Rather, it is the product of [Read More]

The point of this little article is that there may be no real point in writing it… but I did anyway. That is to say, there will always be Dojos with inexperienced or unqualified instructors, as well as those that promise high standards but deliver low. There will always be [Read More]

How to Self-Regulate(since no one ever teaches us this)   Hey there! Ever wonder why no one teaches us how to handle our emotions? Let’s talk about self-regulation – something we all need but rarely learn about…much less practice to the point of mastery.   Introduction In a world that [Read More]

The Art of Learning by Watching The last time I traveled to Japan, I was still determined to train with my Sensei (Shihan Manabu Murakami) even though I was well past 60 years old and was now the proud owner of an artificial knee. When I arrived in Tokyo, I [Read More]

From Stress to Strength: The Neuroscientific Journey of Guided Meditation In an era defined by constant connectivity and relentless demands, mental wellness has become more critical than ever. Guided meditation emerges as a scientifically validated, accessible pathway to managing stress, enhancing cognitive function, and promoting overall well-being. Far from merely [Read More]

I often get called an overthinker, but recently, a friend changed the narrative for me when she referred to me as a “deep thinker.” She explained that it isn’t a weakness or something to feel ashamed of. She said that the overthinking, when it becomes overwhelming, is my anxiety, which [Read More]

How Martial Arts training can embody the Renaissance ideal of human potential for the contemporary world. The term “Renaissance Man” (sometimes, though rarely, “Renaissance Woman”) refers to someone who both excels in multiple fields of study and is able to reliably exhibit a wide range of both knowledge and skills. [Read More]

Introduction Life After Fighting is a 2024 martial arts film set in modern-day Australia.  I do tend to select films that are set within a historical context or are based on competitions – tournaments, cage fights, etc. – so this film is a little different from what I usually watch.  [Read More]

As an avid follower of martial arts business seminars and courses, I have committed myself to attending as many virtual and in-person events as possible. Upon retiring from my corporate management position, I took a deep dive into the current trends in the martial arts industry. After summarizing numerous seminars [Read More]

There has been a lifelong belief that has been around for years, which to some has been a statement that has been expressed long before a lot of us were born, which is that in the world of martial arts, the black belt is the last rank to achieve and [Read More]