Commentary

Martial arts has many different sides to it.  On one hand, you have the most obvious, purely physical side to it. And let’s face it, the physical component of the art is probably the initial draw for almost everyone. However, for most of us, that would not be enough to [Read More]

“What’s the best pressure point to strike during a fight?” That was a recent question posted in a karate forum. It wasn’t the question that bothered me but rather the flurry of replies: driving knuckles into the throat, finger strike to the eyes, and a litany of recommended vital point [Read More]

Ego is at the root of many issues that plague the martial arts world. Bad attitudes, unethical behaviour, ‘sensei worship’ and the ever-present and so-hard-to-avoid constant trash talking that goes on between different competitors, styles, instructors and schools. Martial Journal writer Daniel Hartz recently wrote on ego in the martial [Read More]

How Do Non-Martial Artists Develop Their Perception Of Us? Recently I had the absolute pleasure of recording a two-part podcast episode with Senseis Jeremy Lesniak of Whistlekick Martial Arts Radio, and Jaredd Wilson of Martial Thoughts. We talked about comments you often hear from non-martial artists when they find out that you [Read More]

I love talking about martial arts.  All aspects of martial arts.  I recently got the chance to talk with Jeremy Lesniak from whistlekick Martial Arts Radio and Scott Bolon (frequent author here) to talk about martial arts and how the rest of the world sees us and our weird little [Read More]

In my (albeit limited) experience, martial arts books can generally be grouped into one of three categories: (i) instructional; (ii) biographical; and (iii) philosophical. Instructional books are those whose main use is to teach the reader techniques of a certain art, and generally, contain a good number of pictures illustrating [Read More]

No Time Like The Present! It would be very hard to argue that today’s globalization and technological advancements have made the world closer and more connected. What does this mean for the martial arts? Three words; communication, community, and information. We can now communicate and make connections with pretty much [Read More]

I am sitting at home, watching the halfpipe event in the Winter Olympics. One of the athletes goes down the slope, knowing he has to put on an excellent display in order to get a podium position. He drops into the pipe. He speeds up  towards the other end, catapults [Read More]

A short time ago I learned of Heather Harris and her delightful song, Shotokant. It’s entertaining and, yet, hits very close to home for me. Likely, for you, too. I received her permission to share it here. Enjoy!   I reached out asked if she had any words we could [Read More]

Just Let the Positivity Happen This semi-regular post will attempt to highlight positivity in the martial arts from around the world. Unfortunately, it is far too easy to find negative stories on the internet. Positive ones, however, are harder to find. Let’s recognize and celebrate those martial artists and schools who [Read More]

Ego is often referred to, colloquially, as one’s opinion or assertion of personality of oneself towards others. That’s not entirely incorrect and there is certainly much more gradiation than that in regards to ego. My undergraduate psychology courses hardly qualify me as an expert to discuss the deeper nuances. As [Read More]

There is No Shortage of Opinions Humans are in no danger of running out of opinions, on anything, anytime soon. I think we can all agree on that point. Even just this site is full of them! These are from people I have an immense amount of professional respect for. [Read More]

From a young age, most people are taught that talking about religion or politics is rude. It is one of the topics not to bring up at the family dinner or with people you have just met. Martial artists, who value respect and integrity more than most, ignore this rule [Read More]

“So… who’s the master at home?” This is a playful question I get asked more frequently than I’d like to admit. A byproduct, I suppose, when you’re married to one of your instructors. What I probably get asked more, though, is the follow-up to the above question: “How do you [Read More]

This is something that’s been brewing in the back of my mind for several months, if not longer. Two posts by friends have brought this back to my mind and I thought I’d discuss some thoughts about martial arts being a business, the reputation it has as a business and [Read More]

Positivity Is What It’s All About! This semi-regular post will attempt to highlight positivity in the martial arts from around the world. Unfortunately, it is far too easy to find negative stories on the internet. Positive ones, however, are harder to find. Let’s recognize and celebrate those martial artists and schools [Read More]

It was Halloween a little while ago here in the US (and other places), and I got stuck on candy duty at my house. I had the opportunity to see all the different costumes in our neighborhood. There were the normal horror movie villains, such as vampires, ghosts, and werewolves, [Read More]

In my previous article, I discussed some statements that we often hear in martial arts marketing. Those statements can often be misleading. Alternatively, they can also limit your growth as a martial artist. As such, they are statements that should ring alarm bells when you are trying to find a [Read More]

No one is allowed to have their own mind in the martial arts.  I was pondering on this thought the other day when I was driving and lamenting about one of the colored belts getting to do some cool stuff for an instructor. I made the idle comment: “They’re probably [Read More]