Taught by the right instructor, martial arts classes can be SO much more than just kicking and punching and self defense. My instructor changed my life with these lessons, and I strive to do the same for my students. Here are 9 LIFE SKILLS that we teach in our classes on a weekly basis: Hurry up and fail! Often, the people …
Crying at the Karate School
It’s happened twice in the last two weeks… Once by myself as I walked into the school, and once yesterday while I was teaching a class. Last night, I was lining up my beginner class, and this overwhelming feeling of gratitude hit me. Our students were on point. They were totally engaged. They were focused. Everyone was there to train. …
Give it to the Scariest Student
Scary students. That’s what I want. Mean. Intense. Kind. Compassionate. Monsters. Yes… yes, I do. And the red stripe this week went to… the scariest student! In every class, we finish by recognizing one student with a red stripe on their belt, the “attitude of the day” stripe. We present it to someone that we feel made the most progress …
Teeth Brushing on Vacation
I’ve decided that when I’m on vacation, I’m going to stop brushing my teeth. No toothbrush. No toothpaste. No floss. But it totally makes sense, right? It’s VACATION!! You Don’t do anything on vacation!! When I’m home and working, I always have to brush my teeth. I wake up, I brush. There is never a morning that you want to …
Everything is Difficult in the Beginning!
Remember these 6 words: Everything is difficult in the beginning! It’s always important to remember that as you’re learning a new skill, as you’re learning a new technique, it’s possible you’re always going to be bad at first. Maybe you’re one of those people that are super talented and can pick something up immediately. That’s awesome! I’m not one of those …
I Confirmed Their Suspicions: Americans are CRAAAAZYY!
Shock. Awe. Disbelief. Who thinks that way? Who says that? The look on everyone’s face as we all sat there eating was worth the whole trip 🙂 Let me back up. Last year, I went on a vacation to Italy, but not a sightseeing trip. It was a swim vacation! Every day, 4-5 kilometers of swimming along the coastline of …
The Student we TRIED to Fail
Have you ever heard of anyone earning their black belt in 11 months? Brian Keefer is the very first student that I trained to go from white belt to black belt. Brian is an amazing martial artist who’s very talented. He was about 10, maybe 11 years old when he started training with me. It only took him 11 months …
DIY Ninja
Need a last minute Halloween costume? I got you covered! I’ll keep this short and sweet because if you still don’t have a costume you’re probably realllly busy! Pull out a black tee and you’ll be ready to go in less than 2 minutes! Happy Halloween!
Ballerina Bob
Has anyone ever looked into Bob’s eyes? Like reealllly looked into his eyes? There you’ll find a sensitive guy who will do anything to make a kid smile… Like take repeated punches to the gut… or dress up like a ballerina daaays before Halloween! He’s a real team player and loved member of our martial arts family. But, he’s been …
Turning Failure into Success
This week in our classes… We have been teaching our students an important life skill–“failure.” I love talking about this. I like teaching our students that it’s okay to fail, and as a matter of fact, it’s GOOD to fail. How often does that message get communicated to our kids? How often does that message get communicated to US? It’s …