Ramblings about the martial arts, training, life and other subjects. That’s why its called “rambling”.
Much has been said about the benefits of martial arts for building focus, discipline, confidence, and esteem. These are true but not often illustrated when as a student is promoted. These are artifacts of the holistic personal development taught through the martial arts. The remainder of this article will present and illustrate the personal development […]
Recently, I asked a handful of students and those close to the school what their thoughts were for why they stay with WTMA or have developed the connection to us. Below are excerpts from some of the replies. If you have additional thoughts, please comment or send them to me. “The love and passion you […]
An illustration of good sportsmanship came across Facebook the other day. It talked about the way to handle losing in an athletic event. Too often the focus of our society is winning [in sports] and then trying to carry the attitude into everything else. Sadly, it doesn’t work that way. This constant desire to win […]
This statement is very true! This happens all over the place in physical and intellectual ways. The problem is that too many people are comfortable just coasting along. It takes less work to complete tasks and projects when you’re naturally adept at those skills. It can also be a lullaby convincing you that it is […]
I have been searching for an academic connection for the martial arts for most of my years training. I have had opportunities to teach accredited physical education courses in Aikido (UM-Duluth & UW-Superior) and Taekwondo (UW-Superior & Hamline University). The problem that I came across was the limited view of what the course was supposed […]
I don’t usually use a meme to make a point but… This one fits for martial arts very well. I’ve been teaching for over 35 years now and have seen a wide variety of students come through the door. Not only the typical 8 year old to 70+ year old but the reasons for why […]
One of the biggest responsibilities that a martial arts teacher needs to keep in mind is the development and growth of their students. This comes from teaching students to your best ability. This is a concept that gets lost often. Having a school of 200+ students under the age of 18 is great. If they […]
I’ve been accepted into the Institute of Martial Arts and Sciences as a Fellow. Still not completely certain of what that means as I’m not very knowledgeable in the UK education system. Regardless, time to start working on their PhD equivalent!
It figures that he has a post about the topic I’m trying to sound knowledgeable about! I’ve been writing this post since we had a discussion in class about glitches (adjustments to drawing a sword due to size). “Situational awareness can get a little toxic sometimes, spending all day looking for dangers is a bit […]
The time was too short to learn all of his knowledge but it was easy to see what he wanted to create. 1.Children Grow up Happy and Healthy 2.Young Become Wise and Strong 3.Old Enjoy Peace and Harmony while Sharing Experience and Wisdom I will continue to work toward this end and keep the Song […]
Today is the first official day that The Complete Chung Bong Hyungs: Song Moo Kwan Pan Song Ryu is available for sale! Currently the paperback is only available but the Kindle version should be out by Monday! This is the first time that all seven hyungs have been published. The book also includes basics and […]
So, there is a lot of talking that happens during a martial arts class. Presenting new material and knowledge plus re-enforcing concepts and principles with a little fun mixed in. Mostly, these are necessary for the transmission of expectations. Good positive interactions. We won’t even mention how much talking happens during socializing events! Here’s where […]
Now that I’m in my 41st year of martial arts training, there have been many burst illusions along the way. Among these have been ranks and titles. Starting out back in 1981, I had learned that the highest rank possible was 10th Dan. It meant that this person was the head of the system (i.e. […]
Recently during an NFL game, the announcers commented on how the new head coach was trying to do some team building during this strange time. Since there was no training camp nor preseason games, there had been very little time to help coaches and players join together in the plan for the team. The coach […]
Watching posts from Facebook and Instagram shows that there are a lot of organizations that promote the idea of a martial arts fellowship. The thought here seems to be that there are many independent instructors and schools who would benefit from being part of a group. Whether this is for curriculum acknowledgement or rank promotion […]
Martial arts training provides an opportunity to practice strategies to prevent three common demons that appear in many areas of life. Boredom = I’ve done this a million times, so why am I doing it again? Frustration = I can’t do this! Why is this so hard? Complacency = I know this […]
I saw this one a T-shirt the other day. It was done for a high school cross country team (I left the school name out of this). It struck as a very cool perspective. Cross country runners are out there training, improving their technique, and running faster because they want to. I’d wager that there […]
One of the hardest things to understand is that you need to “put in the work” to become successful. This is different from “paying your dues”. Putting in the work is the educational side of the equation. While paying your dues is getting out there and working (getting experience from those who came before). Putting […]
Most of you now the work that I’ve been doing since learning about my Song Moo Kwan heritage. It has been a struggle. As there are always many different paths that students take, information can be lost…lack of interest at the time or forgotten time. **Ha, here’s a spot for something ages old…the Master has […]
What does it take to be “Brother”? ***Just to clarify: This post is using the single term “Brother” to illustrate the interpersonal relationship between those who are very close to each other. This does INCLUDE the females that are within the group, which just sounds wrong calling the “Sis” or “Sister” as I wasn’t raised […]
Understanding that not every person or body is the same and helping to work through that. The love and passion you and your students have. The geekiness we can all be. You allow your students to be their own person.
