Embracing Change in the New Year
The Paradox of Change Humans are by nature paradoxical. For example, we both crave the excitement that change brings and resist change for the discomfort it causes. This time of year is infamous for both embracing and resistance to change. In the Dojo we usually see a rush of people signing up for martial arts classes (and this year Yoga). We also see the struggle that many of these people experience
The Currency of Time: Empty and Full Moments
What Do You Do With Your Free Time? This week’s question is, When you have a random hour of free time, what do you usually do? Free time, whether it’s a minute, hour, day or entire week, is a luxury that few people feel like they have enough of. Time in general is the most valuable commodity in the world. How much would a billionaire spend in their last moments to extend
The Decisive Martial Artist
Being decisive is incredibly important as a Martial Artist. Of course in self defense, if we wait too long to respond we will get hurt. Sparring, hitting mitts and rolling in BJJ helps train our minds to make split-second decisions. A simple way to think about it is that we take our time training our minds and bodies to be able to act quickly. When we have time, we spend
Kung Fu and the Meaning of Martial Arts
In kids’ class yesterday a brand new student asked me, “What does Martial Arts mean?” I then characteristically went on a long rant about Martial Arts, Kung Fu, Tai Chi, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and much more. It’s been a while since I’ve written about some of this, so let’s discuss some of the meaning and history of our styles. First, when we say Martial Arts we are referring to all of
Dark Night of the Soul
A Dark Night of the Soul (not to be confused with The Dark Knight, the only superhero movie I saw twice in theaters) is a concept I’ve been familiar with for a while but haven’t had much direct experience with. The idea was first described by St. John of the Cross while he was imprisoned in the late 1500’s as a sort of purification of the spirit . Today, the
