I’m not here to preach. I’m just an old martial arts instructor who’s seen a lot, too much. Maybe. I’ve watched generations grow, stumble, rise, and fall. But lately, something feels different. Not just in the dojo, but everywhere. In schools, online, in the streets. There’s a kind of emotional chaos that’s hard to ignore….
Tag: life skills
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…
Empowering Teens through the Martial Arts
I had a wonderful student years ago, and for our purposes here, we will call her Lisa, but that isn’t her real name. Lisa was not a bad kid by any stretch of the imagination. She did have some trauma in her life before she became my student. She also had some odd choices in…
When Injury Takes a Toll
Through the years I have had many setbacks in training. I suffered some pretty serious damage to my knee in my early teens. This single injury resulted in several more injuries through the course of my life, and today I have what I call a bad knee, and a worse knee. Of course, the knee…
Reality Check: Kids and the Future
I work with kids, almost exclusively. As a T.E.A.M. Member for KICKSTART KIDS, I work in a public middle school, and the vast majority of my students are in the 6th, 7th, or 8th grade, with the rest of my students being former middle school students who are committed enough to continue training with me…
Wallace Smedley 