“Walk a single path, becoming neither cocky with victory nor broken with defeat, without forgetting caution when all is quiet or becoming frightened when danger threatens.”

One of the most recognizable aspects of karate is the black-belt, which is awarded to those who have achieved a high level of proficiency in the art. But the black-belt is more than just a physical accessory or a symbol of skill; it represents a journey of personal growth and development. Another beginning, not the…

You have to look deeper, the next level

To improve at anything, you must push yourself beyond your comfort zone. When you put sustained effort toward improving, you will grow. This is the logic behind ‘deliberate practice’, a research-backed tool introduced by researcher Anders Ericsson. His research has shown that HOW you practice matters much more than how MUCH you practice. Real martial…

It’s not the number of techniques you know, but how well you know them. 

Some instructors teach their students “just enough” and often these instructors believe that they themselves have been taught all there is. . Learning is often taken to mean memorization, and advancing from one grade to the next as education, and passing that grade to mean they are competent. . If instructors just follow the curriculum,…

Do you want fries with that?

The martial arts are largely unregulated here in the US. There are seldom background checks carried out on teachers like there are in other countries. Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check or Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check (UK), you don’t need anything special to open a dojo or school. . You don’t even need to…

Does karate improve your character?

  Does karate improve your character? . Cooperation and sharing are basic life skills that enable us to make friends, work successfully in groups, and get along well with others. . Martial artists have many things in common – their values, beliefs, goals, and dreams….. and these common goals should bring each of us closer…

It’s never about you… It’s always about your students.

Teaching the martial arts is difficult. It demands a broad knowledge of subject matter; you have to show enthusiasm, discipline, have a caring attitude, a love of learning…. and perhaps dojo management and marketing; but most of all….. you have to have a desire to make a difference in the lives of others. . There…