Step into many dojos today and you’ll see students moving through kata and floor drills with a kind of casual rhythm. Their stances are loose, their strikes lack conviction, and their eyes drift as if the mind is somewhere else. The movements are performed, but the spirit is absent. This is not how martial arts…
Tag: be strong
Reflections on Aging in the Martial Arts
I turned 56 yesterday. That number feels different than the ones before it. Not heavier, but more textured. It carries decades of sweat, bruises, blood, breakthroughs, and quiet moments of clarity. It reminds me that I’ve spent most of my life in the martial arts and that the path I walk today looks different than…
How the Martial Arts Build Essential Life Skills
As parents, we want our children and teens to succeed not just in school but in life. We sign them up for activities, hoping they’ll gain confidence, discipline, and maybe even learn a new skill. If your child is in martial arts, you might be focused on the physical benefits, the strength, coordination, and self-defense….
A Teacher’s Reward Part 2
This is a repost of something I wrote years ago. Everything said here remains true. I updated where needed for accuracy. I started teaching martial arts a long time ago. When I started, my biggest passion was simply to share something I really love. For me and for many others like me, martial arts are…
Trigger Warnings or Personal Strength? Your Choice!
In my previous post, I began with what I thought to be a funny opening and poking fun at the overly offended people in our time. I am sure this was insensitive in the eyes of some people, but allow me to explain. I play around a lot. My sense of humor is quite wide,…
Wallace Smedley 