Nutrition & Health

How do you build a solid martial arts practise? You start with the foundation. As beginners in karate, the first thing we learned was the basics. With a solid foundation of the basics, anything is possible. All advanced techniques require proficiency in these fundamental skills. As martial artists we know this. The importance [...]

Hydration is so important, but how much water do we actually need? Baseline Water Requirements On average, we need a baseline of approximately 12 cups of water per day. Sound like a lot? Don’t worry. Your food will provide approximately 4 cups of water per day, so you should [...]

No one likes talking about grief. No one has an easy time processing it. No one knows what to say. I never had an easy time opening up about this stuff. I always held it in, preferring to “act tough,” pretend everything’s fine, push through as a form of [...]

The other day I brushed my mom’s teeth for her for the first time in my life. She’s dying of two cancers right now. Dying in hospice. Four weeks ago she ended up in emerg, had to get two emergency surgeries, was in ICU with what seemed like 20 tubes coming out of [...]

If you want to get better at karate, you need to practise and get better at the basics. We know this. This is drilled into us from the start. If you want to get really good at something like Suparimpe, you need to make sure that your basic punches, [...]

If you want to look, feel and function your best in karate, you need to focus on protein. In other words, sufficient amounts of high-quality protein will help you kick ass at karate and look good while doing it. Functions of Protein in the Body Proteins are the building [...]

In our quest for optimal health and sports performance, many of us are eager to find that magic ingredient: the perfect diet. Is there such a thing? And what is in fact the best diet for karate? Let’s find out. Before I answer that, I’m going to ask you [...]

Karate tournaments are typically long, exhausting affairs. The combination of nerves, a poor sleep the night before, a long and unpredictable day, and the actual competing itself, can all be incredibly draining. It’s so tempting—and easy—to reach for that caffeine to perk you up. But should you? Will that cup of coffee in [...]

I used to hate my body. “You’re ugly.” “You’re fat.” “You’re gross.” “You’re disgusting.” This was my typical self-talk. I would never talk to anyone else this way, but this was my internal dialogue, and I engaged in it without even questioning it. It Started Innocently Enough It wasn’t [...]

I was at a wedding reception once, and as I was sitting and eating and chatting with another guest, she looked me up and down—watching me stuff my face—and said, “How do you stay so thin?” I looked her straight in the eye and, after swallowing my mouthful of food, said, “I exercise. [...]