Martial Journal

The Quiet Interface Two palms face one another in the air. They do not touch. Slowly, the space between them is compressed and released, as if the hands were gently shearing across an invisible sphere. The exercise is familiar to anyone who has trained in 太極拳, Tàijíquán (Supreme Ultimate Fist) [Read More]

A typical day at a traditional Shaolin Temple or one of the many martial arts academies surrounding it in Dengfeng is intense, disciplined, and deeply structured. While schedules vary from school to school, most students experience a blend of martial arts, conditioning, meditation, academics, and daily responsibilities. For many students, [Read More]

You have likely sung “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” before. Perhaps as a child, rocking back and forth with a parent or friend, hands clasped, pretending to row. Perhaps later, at Summer camp or in a classroom, your voice joining the group as you merrily, merrily sang along.   The [Read More]

People often assume that martial arts instructors are the ones doing all the teaching. After all, we stand at the front of the class. We wear the black belts. We correct the stances, demonstrate the forms, and explain the lessons. Yet after more than five decades of martial arts training [Read More]

Chess Boxing – are you serious? I was watching television when the most unusual sporting event came on, which both intrigued me and mystified me. There inside a boxing ring were two fighters in standard boxing gear sitting in the middle of the ring playing CHESS! I had heard of [Read More]

(The Budokai Samurai 2025 Summer Games Demonstration in St. John’s NL) It’s been just over a year since we started the Samurai program, a traditional Shotokan karate program for students who have diverse support needs.  In the current class, we have students with developmental/cognitive delays, low muscle tone, and some [Read More]

      “The progression of a painter’s work, as it travels from time to time from point to point, will be toward clarity.” Introduction If you have trained in a Japanese martial art for any length of time, you have likely encountered the concept of 守破離, Shuhari. You may [Read More]

A viral TikTok moment leads to real-life transformation: filmmaker Michal Simon shares her journey from watching Chase Infiniti’s powerful performance to earning her yellow belt in Taekwondo By Karina Whamond, MartialArts.io, Martial Arts Software When Michal Simon walked out of the theater after watching Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, [Read More]

Gossip and rumors test the integrity of any community. How we respond — on and off the mat — reveals whether our training is performance or practice. I used to have strong opinions. Now, I tolerate much more — offering grace in ways that once seemed impossible. Still, tolerance has [Read More]

Few weapons in Chinese history are as instantly recognizable—or as steeped in legend—as the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, traditionally attributed to Guan Yu, the peerless warrior-saint of the Three Kingdoms era. Known in Chinese as the Qīnglóng Yǎnyuè Dāo (青龍偃月刀), the weapon has become inseparable from Guan Yu’s image: a [Read More]

The Chinese broadsword—most commonly called the dao—is one of the most iconic weapons in Chinese martial culture. Instantly recognizable by its single-edged blade and forward-weighted profile, the dao has long been known as “the general of weapons,” prized for its power, adaptability, and battlefield practicality. From ancient warfare to modern [Read More]

Abstract American martial arts culture has long oscillated between striking-centric traditions and sport-driven grappling systems. While boxing, karate, taekwondo, wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and mixed martial arts (MMA) have each shaped the landscape, a crucial element remains underrepresented: a battlefield-oriented ground-fighting system that integrates striking, off-balancing, weapons awareness, and environmental adaptation. [Read More]

I joined the martial arts when I was obsessed with the Ninja Turtles, Leonardo was my favorite and as I grew older and learned who the namesake of the character, the artist Leonardo DaVinci was, admiring his paintings and writings later I took a great shine to him and what [Read More]

Music has always walked beside the martial arts—even when we don’t consciously notice it. From the deep boom of temple drums to the quiet rhythm of breath in a solo form, sound and movement have been intertwined for centuries. In modern training halls, playlists may replace drums, but the effect [Read More]