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: teaching karate
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…
Still Going Strong: My 24th Year with Kickstart Kids
The ringing of the school bell. The odiferous scent of mats. The noise of the kids in the hall. For going on 24 years, these have been the backdrop to my life’s work as an instructor with Chuck Norris’ Kickstart Kids program. More than just teaching karate, I’ve been a part of a movement to…
Wallace Smedley 