Posts about martial arts history and concepts.
Ryan Hall fought Gray Maynard at the TUF 24 Finale on December 3, 2016. I heard about the bout on the Anik and Florian podcast. Ray Longo talked about the bout and shared his concerns that Hall completely shut down Maynard but his style may make it difficult for him to get fights. After watching the bout, I understand what […]
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Last week, 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.” I […]
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I started my Fall training program on Monday, August 22, 2016, at 255 pounds with the goal of being 230 pound on December 15, 2016. The training will consist of martial arts and Kris Gethin’s 12 Week Hardcore Daily Trainer. Over the next several months I will share my training, milestones and challenges. Before trying this or any physical fitness […]
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My daughter asked me the other day if I had seen any of the Olympic Judo. She was surprised when I told her I had not. Besides being a black belt in Taekwondo, I’m a brown belt in Judo. Like both my sons, Caity trained in both TKD and Judo as well. However, I find most of the Olympic process […]
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After you earn your Green Rank, you will have completed your first year of training. Congratulations. On average, 75 percent of students who started with you have already quit training. Lucky for you, they will be much better targets for criminals. A humorous anecdote is told about two campers worried about a bear attack. One of the campers tells his […]
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On May 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. I […]
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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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Orange Rank is the next step on the path to obtaining a 1st Degree Black Rank in the Zimmerman Self-Defense System. You will continue to learn new techniques and start to figure out what you are naturally good at and what you need to work on more. Orange and Green Ranks sometimes trouble students because the novelty of training in […]
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Martial artists always created their arts to solve a problem. Judo was created when Dr. Jigoro Kano put his mind to solving the problem of how to train at 100 percent effort without getting someone injured by the crippling techniques of Japanese Ju-Jitsu. Helio Gracie created the basis for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by trying to solve the problem of how a […]
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(I wrote this post from the perspective that most students start martial arts training to learn self-defense. After twenty years teaching, I do not think it is the main or only motivation anymore.) When I first started martial arts with a Shotokan karate class at our local junior college, the instructor handed out an article for everyone to read. The […]
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