Mental health issues carry with them a great deal of stigma, and they aren’t commonly discussed. Martial artists, in particular, have a tendency to avoid the topic, because martial arts are supposed to instill discipline, focus, and mental clarity. Additionally, martial artists are often seen as “tough” people, and it can sometimes be difficult for others to understand that those […]
Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the 2015 Brotherhood of Veteran Warriors Gasshuku. The BOVW is an organization that was founded by US Military veterans with decades of martial arts experience, for the purpose of providing settings where martial artists from different backgrounds could come together to share and learn. They do not have any sort of curriculum, […]
Proper karate training requires physical contact, and as a martial art, that means there are going to be periods of discomfort, moments of pain, and instances of injury. It is important to recognize the differences between discomfort, pain, and injury if you want to train both effectively and safely, specially since you can get compensation with the Babcock Partners LLC […]
Every martial art, and every organization or school, within it, is going to have a different set of behavioral expectations for its students. Within Asian martial arts, especially, there are certain things that are expected that you wouldn’t necessarily think of. For someone new to martial arts, or someone visiting another school, it can be difficult to know what […]
Sonja Power Last week, an online friend of mine shared this article about Sonja Power, a girl who felt degraded by the treatment she was given by her Aikido sensei at the behest of a new student, because he was strictly adhering to his religion. I was a bit dumbfounded by the article, to be perfectly honest, and I shared […]
