- Age is just a number: In Defense of a Young Black Belt - May 16, 2019
- March Movie Madness: The Karate Kid vs. Rumble in the Bronx - April 8, 2019
- The Martial Musings of a Novice: An Introduction - February 27, 2018
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 anyone around the globe as long as they have a phone jack and electricity. We can make social groups based on our arts, interest, and anything else we can think of using Facebook or any of the other countless social media apps around. Probably the most important thing about today’s world is our unprecedented access to information. Thanks to sensei YouTube, as many martial artists so fondly refer to it, anyone can learn all about the art of their choosing. From information on how techniques work to history about an art, realistic application to high-level competition. It’s hard to think of someone walking into a ‘Karate’ school and learning taekwondo for six months before realizing it, but before the internet, it was probably much more common than people would like to admit. It is a beautiful time to be alive, a beautiful time to practice martial arts, and an even better time to start.
Humble Beginnings…
I feel lucky. Lucky that I began my actual martial journey now and not 20 years ago. The thought of combing through the yellow pages trying to find a school sends a shiver down my spine. Even so, I feel like I found my way to martial arts in a very interesting fashion. Like many others, my first introduction to the martial arts, other than those awesome movies with stars like Jackie Chan, Steven Seagal, (although it’s hard to admit, I developed a love of knife fighting from watching Under Siege) and all those other legends, was a church-funded Taekwondo program. We were a low-income family and the church in our neighborhood funded a program that gave free Taekwondo lessons once a week if you participated in the church choir. Needless to say, I was a multitalented little white belt. I participated in that program from 6th grade until high school, about 3 years, where I reached the rank of blue belt (I still have that belt somewhere around my home, it’s a tight fit now though.) I enjoyed my time in Taekwondo, but school, money, and band pulled me away for close to 15 years.
Location, Location, Location…
About three years ago, early March if I remember correctly, after a night of slaying mythical beasts over the internet with a friend of mine (there’s that awesome technology again) I logged into Facebook and saw an ad for a local martial arts school. A targeted ad. You see, I’m what one would call a busy broke college kid, so I tend to window shop more than anything and martial arts schools were no different. I was the type of guy who would walk into martial arts schools searching for deals, I’d googled every school in my area. I could tell you everything. I could tell you what was taught at the school, when it was taught, and the school’s area code. Since taking classes was an unachievable goal in my current situation, I did the next best thing. I looked on the internet. I subscribed to as many podcasts as I could handle, read online articles, googled more schools, all in a vain attempt to fill this martial arts hole in my life. Then, late in the night while chatting with my friend and browsing through Facebook, I saw that ad. I didn’t click on it if you can believe it. (I don’t trust ads. I know I’m weird, don’t worry about it.) However, I did share it with my friend who happily clicked on the ad. When he looked through the school’s site his voice perked up and I could tell there was something worth looking at in that ad. Turns out the ad was for a school that was within walking distance from my house. Crazy! Not only that, it was a multidisciplinary school. They had teachers of all different arts there during the week: Monday and Wednesday evenings they had Aikido and Wing Chun, Tuesdays, Tai Chi and Seidokan Karate, Fitness classes in between, and even other arts. It was marvelous. I ran through the links on the site. Reading about the classes and the teachers, my excitement building with every tab I opened. Then I froze. My imagination ground to a stop. I was doing all this reading, hyping myself up, telling my friend how amazing this school seemed, but I forgot about the most important thing. The price.
A Good Price Makes It Twice as Nice…
Now, most schools are smart enough not to put their prices online (I know, I’ve seen A LOT of school websites.) so I was surprised when I saw a yellow tab on the school website that was labeled “Schedule/Fees.” Interesting. I clicked on the tab and waited for the page to load. I swear it took a little longer than every other page, but when it loaded, I exhaled and looked up at my screen. Good lord. It was a miracle! The classes were all priced individually and there were no contracts! Most importantly, the classes were affordable enough that even a struggling college student could pay. If elation had a physical form it would have been me at that moment. Through my headset, I heard my friend’s voice filled with the same happiness (looked like he had made his way to the “Schedule/Fees” too.) We chatted about how awesome it was to have found this school and how great it was going to be to finally learn something. It was a cathartic moment. After a few days, I built up the courage and called the school to let them know that I was coming. Then on a warm day in March, I believe it was a Wednesday, I hesitantly walked into my first class ready to start my martial journey.
Onwards and Upwards!
Now, about three years later, I’m here to write down a little something occasionally, so that maybe mine can be the article someone else who longs for martial arts can read. Hopefully, my “Musings” can be a stop down the rabbit hole for someone in search of their own targeted ad (those Ad algorithms work in mysterious ways). If not, then at least I hope my articles provide some entertainment and perspective on what martial arts look like to a novice. We were all beginners once, I don’t want to forget what it felt like to be new, so I’m going to write it down.
Mr. Munoz, I really appreciated your article here. It actually took me back to how I felt when I discovered Kenpo. In a similar way, I had also been trying in vain to fill that martial arts void that I didn’t know existed before that moment of discovery. I am happy to hear that you finally found your way into the martial arts. I look forward to reading more of your musings!
Yours in the Martial Arts,
Scott Bolon