Being a Dad and Coach

caitys-medals

אויף מאי 7, 2016, my daughter Caity returned to Taekwondo competition for the first time in eight years. As her dad but also her coach, I tried to dissuade her from sparring until we had a few more months but she was adamant about sparring at the tournament. Caity likes forms but she always preferred sparring. Reluctantly, I agreed. איך

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Things Come Full Circle

caity-tkd-uniform

A few weeks ago, my second foray into the martial arts came full circle. My daughter started studying Taekwondo again after more than five years away from the sport. It is actually Caity, who brought me back to martial arts in the summer of 2000. After my natural father passed away in July 1999, I went on a year-long fitness

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Practical Application of Forms

צימערמאַן-אַקאַדעמיע-לאָגאָ

When most students start forms training, their main focus is on learning the proper sequence of the techniques to perform the pattern in the prescribed manner. It is unusual for a beginning or even intermediate student to think too much about what they are doing with the techniques and what they are defending against. Is the technique straight forward or

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What About High Kicks?

צימערמאַן-אַקאַדעמיע-לאָגאָ

As a taekwondo stylist, I spent my first few years of training trying to develop high kicks. I could throw crescent kicks head height pretty easily and even an occasional side kick. פֿאַר די רובֿ טייל, my kicks tended to land on the body not the head. אָבער, high kicks are still beautiful to behold and with several spectacular head

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Wrestler Beats Jujitsu Man

george-baptiste

On St. Patrick’s Day, מאַרץ 17, 1905, סט. Louis sports fans were treated to a special match between local professional wrestler George Baptiste and traveling Japanese jujitsu practitioner Arata Suzuki. Baptiste delighted local fans by quickly defeating Suzuki in two straight falls. George Baptiste was a professional wrestler and all-around athlete, whose powerful swimming saved many St. Louisans from drowning

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Perfect Practice Makes Perfect

צימערמאַן-אַקאַדעמיע-לאָגאָ

לעצטע וואָך, it was testing preparation at Willow Martial Arts. We went through the walking drills, forms and self-defense required for Taekwondo testing. As I observed the students preparing, I remembered a statement Master Pat Weseman often told me when I was a colored belt preparing for my next Taekwondo test. “Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.”

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How To Spread A Martial Art

kano-and-mifune

3 times over the last 150 יאָרן, martial artists created more modern versions of older martial arts. Unlike many prior systems, the innovators of these modern martial arts chose to share this information with outsiders and spread their arts around the world. Jigoro Kano’s dissemination of Judo is the best case study for how to develop and spread a martial

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Why I Blog About Martial Arts

צימערמאַן-אַקאַדעמיע-לאָגאָ

לעצטנס, איך געהערט אַ פּאָדקאַסט וועגן קלאר יידענטאַפייינג וואָס איר טאָן עפּעס ווייַל עס איז וויכטיק צו יפעקטיוולי אָפּגעבן דיין אָנזאָג. איך סטאַרטעד אַ מאַרשאַל קונסט בלאָג פֿאַר איין הויפּט סיבה און אַ פּאָר לעסער אָנעס. איך בין געגאנגען צו דעקן די הויפּט סיבה הייַנט. I was not satisfied with most of the martial arts instruction related to self-defense. You

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Create Something Great After 4 Years

צימערמאַן-אַקאַדעמיע-לאָגאָ

A common myth in martial arts is that a master studies for 40 יאָרן, develops an almost superhuman understanding of self-defense, creates the perfect system and turns out generations of unbeatable fighters. Prior to the popularity of mixed martial arts, many of the magazines such as Black Belt were full of stories about which martial art was the best. If you polled

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