MartialArts Professional Magazine

I attended two National Traditional Karate tournaments one summer, while a friend attended a national “open” tournament. Our experiences were quite different, and I think it’s appropriate that professionals in our industry discuss those differences.
The referees at the tournaments I attended were in complete charge of their rings, including the surrounding area, whether it was […]

You became a martial arts instructor because you believed in a personal philosophy or vision. Your grandfather, aunts, uncles and parents didn’t push you into this career. If your relatives and friends did, then your experience is unique. Most of us believed in “something” that we wanted to pass to a younger generation.
Some of us […]

What I have learned during more than 30 years of teaching is the value of paying close attention to my students, with an eye toward learning from them. If you keep your eyes open, then you will invariably have that occasional situation that will cause you to pause and reflect on what you just experienced […]

Last month, I cited our need, as instructors, to help our students discover their weaknesses or failings that we can then help them eliminate. That makes what we do valuable-­and worth whatever we charge for it.
Allow me to relate an example, knowing that it might upset a few music fans, but I feel it is […]

We work in an industry that continues to change from year to year and decade to decade. Since we teach arts that are supposedly timeless, being ancient in origin, one would think that there would be less change.
Of course, the goals that we set for our schools and our­selves drive that change. Many older instructors […]

Letter from a loving fatherDear Sons,
You have learned your martial arts history from me as children, and now from your own study. You often teach me.
You have learned how a man, Jigoro Kano, who was a member of the Japanese educational system, changed Jiu­jitsu into Judo. He took a Japanese martial art, modified it to […]

Part 6 of a Six-Part Series on Using Kata (or Form) For Martial Arts Development
My series of columns has presented what kata or form practice can do for you and your students; but we all know that many, if not most, don’t experience the good effect I have been describing, as a result of well […]

Part 5 of a Six-Part Series on Using Kata (or Form) For Martial Arts Development
Some years ago, one of my instructors, Koyoshi Nishime Sensei (Cincinnati, Ohio), revealed to me a number of things about kata that I never understood. One of the most important concerned how the development of power was like a two-headed snake. […]

Part 4 of a Six-Part Series on Using Kata (or Form) For Martial Arts Development.

Any instructor of my age grew up watching numerous dynamic and powerful boxers (read striking artists) from the 1950’s to the middle of the 1980’s. These men were in the heyday of their sport and, until self-serving and greedy promoters ruined […]

Part 3 of a Six-Part Series on Using Kata (or Form) For Martial Arts Development
The goal for the ancient and modern martial artist is to learn how to develop a stable, mobile and fluid platform that can move in any direction and EXPLODE arms, legs, hands and feet with tremendous force. It is easier to […]

Part 2 of a Six-Part Series on Using Kata (or Form) For Martial Arts Development

In the classical school, we should have processes in place to train normal people to be able to do unique and powerful things. These skills should be centered on martial abilities and not dance or gymnastic abilities…and these should not be […]