That new karate student who learns everything so quickly! That martial artist who ALWAYS beats us, at EVERY tournament, in EVERY division!! No one likes to talk about it. But that’s part of what gives jealousy so much power. When we’re jealous of someone, we typically do two things: [...]
Don’t know how to put on your sparring gear for karate? I can help. [Video demo below] I have 2 sets of gear for sparring in tournaments—red and blue—but for in-class sparring you should be fine with just one colour. Now, the reason I’m making this blog post is that even [...]
To maximize your performance in karate, should you build your strengths, or improve your weaknesses? The answer, of course, is both. But which one should you prioritize? Let’s do the math. I’ll use sparring as an example. Let’s say your strength in sparring is your quickness. You’re super fast, [...]
You have a tournament coming up, and you’re FREAKING OUT because of one of two things: You’re going to be bumped up to a higher division, and will have to compete against people of a higher rank than you. Or you’ve just achieved a new rank; this will be your very first time [...]
Before you’re ready. The End. Okay, I’m still here, but I meant what I said: the best time to start competing in karate is AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I signed up for my first competition ONE WEEK after I started karate. One week. The competition was 2 months out, and I [...]
That tournament coming up—you really want gold. Picture it: Walking up when your name is called. Bowing your head to receive that gold medal around your neck. Standing on the podium after, drenched in sweat and grinning from ear to ear. The applause! The photos! The “humble” posts you’ll [...]
I was going to write this blog post about my recent run-in with a fake martial arts master. I made a video on it last week; you can watch it below. I found this situation so hilarious and ridiculous, and I really wanted to discuss the issues of arrogance and posturing that are [...]
Time to address this concept of “good” vs “bad” foods. Many of us have talk about food this way. Fruit and veggies, for instance, are commonly seen as “good” foods. And cake or potato chips are seen as “bad” foods. The reality is, some foods do have more nutritional [...]
When I’m feeling stressed and overwhelmed, my health-related habits are the first ones to take a beating. Add some chaos to an already full schedule, and suddenly my sleep habits start to suffer, my eating habits become far less than ideal, and my fitness routine all but goes out the window. All of [...]
Do you want a fun and effective warm-up for karate and kobudo using a bo staff? Check this out: The 9 exercises shown in this video are designed to improve your flexibility and mobility. These movements will increase your range of motion, and will also help build your strength [...]