Recently a discussion came about that questioned rank and time in rank. How does rank work? When can I test again? Do I have to wait [blank] years before I test again? These are standard questions. How long they get asked is the real concern. During the first year or so is pretty common. As […]

Now, I admit that my martial arts training started because of my personal interests, but that has changed and grown over the years. Not that my interest nor curiosity have changed but my role has evolved. I had started teaching a class during college because there were no Karate North schools near to train at […]

Guest post by Bill Hedrick. There is a story about the great American Composer Aaron Copland. In his later years he enjoyed conducting his own works. One rehearsal as he was working with the orchestra, pointing out things the orchestra needed to be aware of and generally breaking down the score, he pointed to a […]

In my martial arts school, I don’t have [blank]. I have students! This started with having younglings in class. Yes, those who are under the age of 16. The idea had first came up because we don’t have a specific youth class. When I first started martial arts training, within a community education program, there […]

“Pass on what you have learned. Strength, mastery. But weakness, folly, failure also. Yes, failure most of all. The greatest teacher, failure is. Luke, we are what they grow beyond. That is the true burden of all masters.” — Master Yoda (From Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)) The true burden of all Masters IS […]

Thoughts? I’m in agreement with this. He starts with the Henry Ford quote: If you believe you can or believe you can’t, you’re right.

There is much talk about respect in the martial arts and in growing younglings. All too often this respect focuses on following directions – sit still, be quiet, eat your dinner – but it goes much further than that. Though it goes deeper, the concepts aren’t difficult. They do speak volumes about you and your […]

“Sodose [kneeling stance] is hard enough without adding squats. Your friendly neighborhood martial arts instructor is more than willing to give you all the repetitions that you will need for your physical conditioning. Don’t assign yourself extra work on top of it.” – Northwind Haidong Gumdo Master Bruce Burns (https://nerdpossehaidonggumdo.wordpress.com/2018/04/26/sodose-rant-more-pt/) The post linked above is […]

Don’t live in the past! Well, that’s actually what I hear when I listen to Bruce Springsteen’s song with that title. It struck me a few years back, at least a decade, when I attended a high school reunion. While we having the main dinner event, a couple classmates (who aren’t too bad about this […]

That’s close enough, right? That was the question I asked a student last night. When I did, I got this really funny look including a wrinkled up nose and a rather emphatic “No!” So, I asked “Why not?” The response to that was “Because it’s not right.” Where is this going? Well, it started back […]

Over the past couple years, I’ve learned more about the poor behavior within the martial arts than I ever wanted to know! I’ve had my own horror story of being homeless after believing that I was going to become part of an organization that would lead toward a huge goal that I had. I also […]

Rene: “I just–I screwed up. You know, Oliver was right to kick me off the team.” Dinah: “You were in an impossible position.” Curtis: “Yeah, and when you’re in an impossible position, that’s why there’s a team, D. Just like Dig said.” — Arrow (6×09): Irreconcilable Differences So, this was going to go the way of […]

Do what Works I was originally going to title this: “Don’t try new things,” But of course that would send the wrong message. When I was a kitchen designer my biggest problem is that I didn’t want to do things the same way. If I found a good way to solve a design problem, I […]

Recently, I had the opportunity to give an interview to Unparalleled Martial Arts for their website blog. Below is the link to the interview. https://unparalleledmartialarts.com/archives/537

Here’s a link to the Hero Round Table Talk that I did back on October 2017.

Okay, the audio is poor but it says a lot! This is out of New Zealand but applies everywhere! I agree completely with his graphic about successful athletes. I also hope that people will start viewing the martial arts as more than just a sport but a way to teach the points he mentions! The […]

When I started training in the martial arts, I found that learning techniques came quickly. The coordinated movements seemed to fit together with decent balance. The flow of techniques in drills – stances to kick to stance to punch – helped develop them further. This is the start of developing discipline and focus. This was […]