top of page
Search
Sensei
Jun 162 min
Planting a Seed and Kata in Karate
"Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree." - Martin Luther
3 views0 comments
Sensei
Jun 141 min
Never a Master
"We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master." --Ernest Hemingway #ErnestHemingway #Craftsmanship #LifelongLearn...
1 view0 comments
Sensei
Jun 112 min
Sensei Says
I refer back to my teachers because I didn’t make up any of this.
2 views0 comments
Sensei
Jun 102 min
Steal This Technique
I have a couple students in my dojo who are notorious, unrepentant thieves. In other words, they have learned the key method used by...
3 views0 comments
Sensei
Jun 91 min
Blurred Boundaries
"Martial spirit is hard for outsiders to understand. If it is not for prize money, not for the glory of a trophy, not for a place in...
0 views0 comments
Sensei
Jun 71 min
Make It Count, All of It
"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or...
1 view0 comments
Sensei
Jun 62 min
Three Bricklayers
Intention drives action and results. In order to get what you want out of training, pick your intention carefully.
1 view0 comments
Sensei
May 292 min
What's Your Why?
If someone asked you, could you say with confidence why you train? Are you currently fulfilling that need?
2 views0 comments
Sensei
May 281 min
When you know better, do better
There's a quote from Maya Angelou that I particularly like: "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do...
8 views0 comments
Sensei
May 261 min
I Can't Pass Up a Good Dad Joke
If you ever want to get in an argument on a martial arts forum, bring up the question of whether it is proper to call a karate uniform a "gi
7 views0 comments
Sensei
May 251 min
Which class is this?!
When a bunch of the students from the sword class don't have time to change before the karate class, you get some funny looking dogi on...
3 views0 comments
Sensei
Apr 52 min
The Perfect Trap
In the past, I've said to students that we must train to be perfect, even though we know we never will be. I hear a lot of people say...
3 views0 comments
Sensei
Mar 312 min
Who Are We to Judge?
When most people wade into the debate about competition in martial arts, they are usually concerned with sparring. I'm going to pass that...
3 views0 comments
Sensei
Mar 232 min
Whatever You Like Least
Students sometimes ask me what they need to work on the most, and I always give the same answer: “whatever you like least.” This is my...
8 views0 comments
Sensei
Mar 203 min
The OODA Loop
Today's post is another one about minimizing the odds stacked up against the “good guy” when dealing with a predatory attacker. Let's...
10 views0 comments
Sensei
Mar 182 min
The Weak Spot in Our Armor
If you're half the person your dog thinks you are, you have a self-defense problem: you're not a terrible person, and that puts you at a...
20 views0 comments
Sensei
Mar 172 min
Reiho in the Modern Dojo
In the modern dojo, I tell my students that reiho is like a not-so-secret handshake that signals good intentions within a communal space.
3 views0 comments
Sensei
Mar 162 min
Welcome!
In the time since I began training in the 80s, there has been an increased focus on the importance of better understanding the native...
10 views0 comments
Sensei
Mar 142 min
Rules and Freedom in Traditional Martial Arts
When I first read Shunryu Suzuki's work 20+ years ago, it stuck with me. His book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind felt important, even though...
4 views0 comments
bottom of page