Author Note: Taekwondo is an olympic sport. There’s a huge competition component. Not all martial arts fit this description, so — as I’ve stated before — keep that in mind while hearing what I have to say. Also, note that this is partly an expansion of a previous article I wrote about why competing should be required for Black Belt.… (Read the rest)
This is the quote from the power bracelet website:
There are moments in all of us…
when we reach for the unattainable,
push ourselves beyond the 100% threshold
and cross that line from competitor to champion.
Power bracelets are the biggest scam in the history of sports performance. It’s obvious to me, … (Read the rest)
If I walk into a room where martial arts students are training, I can tell you the real rank of each one in 15 minutes. This one is a beginner. These three are intermediate. The one over there is advanced. And those two are Black Belts.
Unfortunately in today’s world, that assessment probably wouldn’t correspond with the belt the student … (Read the rest)
Martial arts student — Age 5 — Image courtesy Kevin Geary Photography
I’ve done a few martial arts in my lifetime: Taekwondo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Kali, Wing Chun, Aikido, and Jeet Kune Do. I’ve taught Olympic Taekwondo for over 10 years now and have been coaching athletes at the national level for seven of those.
Here’s some tips on how … (Read the rest)
We just had a “belt test” tonight. Over 35 of my students went to demonstrate what they’ve been learning. They didn’t go to make an announcement that they’ve been their current rank for 3 months or that they’ve attended 26 classes since they were awarded their last belt.
At the end of the day, achieving a new rank is about … (Read the rest)
Too often, kids see getting a new belt as a reward for good work. I’d rather them not see it that way, mainly because the belt has no inherent value and they start to miss the actualrewards of training.
Sometimes, I wish there were no belts.
If you watch a group of 50 martial arts students training and sparring, … (Read the rest)
My question is: How do brothers and sisters or parents and children years apart consistently progress at the exact same rate if they’re truly measured against some sort of standard?
That’s how it seems to work across the country.
Two individuals who happen to be related start at the same time. They may be a couple years apart … (Read the rest)
Taekwondo is an Olympic Sport. The Olympics is a competition. But thousands of Olympic Taekwondo students around the country are awarded the rank of Black Belt without ever having attended a real competition, much less having been a consistent competitor.
How does the sport survive this?
When Black Belts who haven’t competed become instructors, every student they teach misses an … (Read the rest)
Most people want a martial arts school with integrity. They want to be a part of a program that means something. And they want to know that they earned their rank and didn’t just buy it with money and participation.
They want all that until a year and a half into their training when it gets really difficult.
More people … (Read the rest)
I think it’s a tragedy that most people these days view the black belt as the end of a journey. When people begin martial arts training they make a goal to reach black belt. And upon reaching their goal they move on to the next thing. But reaching black belt isn’t the end of a journey, it’s the beginning of … (Read the rest)