I heard an interesting thing from Dr Sydnee McElroy on her podcast Sawbones. In one of the later episodes she mentions that human bodies are living chemical labs, at all times churning chemical reactions back and forth. This means, she explains, that we are at constant chemical imbalance, which causes the reactions to happen: there […]
Is Balance the Right Word? Read More »
I started training martial arts in 1979, but this past Saturday, July 29th, 2023 at the Bluegrass Games was only the third tournament I’ve competed in. My first art was Tang Soo Do, a Korean kicking-heavy style that I trained in for about 2 1/2 years, but I never competed for reasons I’ll explain later.
Don’t Stop – Tournament Musings Read More »
I had an enlightening conversation about how the Kiai was embarrassing last week. Karate has been an interesting ride because I never expected this level of introspection. Sure, I started out wanting to be a stronger and better person, but I never quite realized how hard it would be. Looking at myself in the mirror,
Kiai is Embarrassing Read More »
Recently, I had the immense pleasure to come down to Kentuckiana Shotokan Karate Do to present a workshop on Filipino martial arts, particularly focusing on single and double stick techniques and drills. One of the things I have enjoyed the most about working with this group is that they are experienced and trained martial artists
A Thousand Starting Points Read More »
Being social makes me nervous. I never quite know what’s going on because I can’t really ‘see’facial expressions or subtle body language. It’s a weird feeling, being there and not having all theclues I need to interpret social cues accurately. There is always uncertainty for me in every interaction I make with people. I make
To Be Here and Now Read More »
The Path is there. Will you follow it? This thought came up for discussion during a training session. This person was all over the place mentally. You can tell he was distracted. It has been a while since he was in the Dojo. The thought came up as he was trying to determine which way
I’ve heard it time and time again, the “s”word. Should is the “s” word that keeps us in perpetual failing because it is not based on reality. It often originates from expectations of ourselves that come from belief and not facts. Definition: (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/should ) In martial arts many of us say the “s” word a
Everyone has it. This Lazy Brain was “programmed” for survival purposes. As such it is very difficult to overcome. I can hear people thinking now: Is he calling us “lazy”? Yes, I am. And it is natural. What is lazy brain? What do I mean by “Lazy Brain”? Humans tend to go with what works.
A loud voice blasts out “Right Forward Stance, Move”. Numerous arms and legs slide, hop, jump, and shift into place. A few seconds pass and each person starts to feel pressure and tension in their muscles. As with life, we feel pressure and tension. There are so many subtleties and lessons to be learned as
The Stance is like Life Read More »
System 1 gets in the way is a thought I have been sharing in class for a couple of months now. The idea is that no matter how much your train, you or your body tend to react automatically.. especially in scary situations. It is very, very difficult to change habits, let alone “automatic” reactions.
System 1 gets in the way Read More »