OUR BLOGS

“I DON’T WANT TO FIGHT YOU!!”That simple phrase, screamed at a would-be opponent might be all you need to block an attack. Stopping a fight before

I refuse to be thought of as “the old guy.” Even at the age of 72.When I stepped onto the mat for my first martial

My 7-year old son, Sam, was being bullied at camp. That’s why I sought out Tae Kwon-Do.The reason I came to Master Gorino’s is because I remembered

If you stink at dribbling, you don’t play soccer. But if you never play, your dribbling will never get better. So, you will continue to never

Going to the gym is no fun.It’s not so bad at first, right? You sign up at some new place, you buy a bunch of

Did I ever tell you about the time I got hit by a semi truck?What about the time I broke my leg hunting? I am no

Parents: who do you want your son or daughter to be? In this world, so many kids strive to be TikTok and Instagram “influencers.” Wouldn’t you

When you get to your blue stripe, there is a marked increase in difficulty. Students can feel overwhelmed at first. Seeing them struggle, some parents

COVID really screwed things up. Public health, business, school, government… you name it, and COVID had a negative impact. But the thing that COVID seems to have screwed up

As the old saying goes, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice.”The only way to get better at anything is to practice. Master Sharratt and

In Tae Kwon-Do, there are no superstars. Basketball has Michael Jordan, Lebron James, and Larry Bird. Hockey has Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Connor McDavid. Baseball

Let’s face it. We’re all ultimately preparing ourselves to survive a zombie apocalypse.We exercise not just because we want to look good, but because these zombies might

2024 is a big year. The dojang will celebrate our 30th anniversary. And this month, our son Charlie will earn his Go-Ma; his child-level black belt. If

It’s a bit cliché to talk about how things were “back in my day.” For me, that would be the 70’s and 80’s. But I don’t

If you used to study martial arts, but gave up on it, I assure you that no matter what you tell yourself or other people,

I am never surprised by the amount of myths out there about Tae Kwon-Do and Martial Arts in general. They tend to originate amongst people who

“But I tried Tae Kwon-Do…”If you haven’t studied Tae Kwon-Do with us, chances are, you haven’t studied Tae Kwon-Do at all. When someone tells me about

Look, I’m a dinosaur. Back in the day (a.k.a the 70’s & 80’s), we were all blown away by this cutting-edge technology that we saw in

Tae Kwon-Do used to be a lot like Fight Club. It was violent. We trained in dark rooms. And those who participated in it didn’t talk much

The most devastating move in my arsenal as a black belt and grand master?My smile.There are two kinds of smiles, of course. One is a

Can Tae Kwon-Do help with public speaking?This is an easy one. Yes, it can. And it does.Time and time again, our students and instructors have

I have always had a soft spot for toddlers, even when I was barely out of that stage myself.Growing up, I was one of the

Believe it or not, I hope I never get in another fight for the rest of my life. But if I do ever find myself in

The word “distracted” is a bit of a catch-all term that, in my opinion, doesn’t really work. There are many things that can cause distraction in

It should come as no surprise that – by and large – most people who do Tae Kwon-Do will tell you that their favorite thing

I should be good at meditating.I am not. At least not in the traditional sense. I am not one to sit quietly by myself, listening to

From the moment I started to even think of opening my own school, I knew I wanted to model it after Grand Master Gorino’s.Although I’ve trained for

I hate to break it to you, but I’m a pretty boring eater. Typically, my day starts with half a cup of coffee. See? Boring already. With that, I

What if you could see exactly what you could become if you put in the work and dedication?The students at Master Sharratt’s new school get

Social struggles know no age. I get a lot of students – adults and children alike – that are, for lack of a better word, awkward.Of

“Your Effort is Your Success.”Grand Master Park used to have a poster in his dojang with that phrase on it. It became somewhat of a

Master. Even many, many years after earning that title, it’s a word that I am still not used to saying or hearing. The journey to become a

If kicks are more powerful and have a longer reach than punches…why would you ever throw a punch?That’s a question that I am often asked,

“Martial Arts is not about being better than the other person, it’s about being better than you were yesterday.”Frankly, I think that’s not entirely true…Martial

Most Tae Kwon-Do practitioners don’t consider themselves athletes. Even though there are many athletic aspects of what we do – strength, conditioning, flexibility, etc. – for

Raise your hand if you are currently donating money to some kind of gym every month, and never actually going.That’s no accident. It’s how gyms

I always train with the same mindset: when the situation calls, be able to break it.Breaking a board or brick is hard on its own.

I was recently asked, “Master Gorino, when is it most fun for you to train? When is it the least fun?” I almost didn’t understand the

The early days of Tae Kwon-Do were anything but glamorous.In the 1960’s, General Choi, widely considered the father of Tae Kwon-Do, took a team of

Without question, one of the coolest parts of running a dojang is when a student and their loved ones earn black belts in the same ceremony.As is the case

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.One of my dear friends, Grand Master Francois Balet, was lifting weights at a YMCA in Canada one day back in the mid 60s. That

It Changed His LifeIt was August of 2014. A few weeks before his sixth birthday, Colton started Tae Kwon-Do at Master Gorino’s. We had no

Shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic, I had a baby. No, Charlie didn’t get a new brother or sister. And my wife Tica felt no pain at

Why did I learn Tae Kwon-Do? In many ways, it wasn’t up to me. I actually started out in Karate. I mainly studied Isshin-Ryū, which I spent

Tabula rasa is the notion that humans are born a blank slate, and all knowledge comes from experience or perception.The White Belt symbolizes this. Purity. Innocence.The

Preparing for a Tae Kwon-Do tournament is different than, say, preparing to play with The Four Tops. Yep. Those Four Tops. In music, I prepare based on the situation.

The first time I ever fought in a tournament, I was out of the ring as fast as I got in. I have no idea

There are always jerks.No matter how old you are, what you do, or where you are in your life, that one thing remains true. They

Grand Master Park almost never talked about other fighters. That’s why I was very surprised when he told me about this one fighter he had seen,

The best piece of advice Mr. Myagi gave Daniel-San in the Karate Kid?“No be there.” I tell my students all the time, “they can’t hurt you

If you think of Tae Kwon-Do only as a sport, you’re missing about 90% of what we do. Tae Kwon-Do is the best way to train

I’m no different than anyone else. When someone cuts me off in traffic, part of me would love to teach them a lesson.But I don’t.The

I have a confession to make. I didn’t think I was ready for 8th Dan. A true martial artist never feels ready for the next rank. Especially as

The original “Karate Kid” is one of my favorite martial arts movies of all time. Martial arts and Hollywood have a complicated relationship. There have been

Taking my first lesson, I was doing exactly that: taking. Teaching my first lesson, I was giving instead.My very first Tae Kwon-Do lesson (I had

There is no direct translation for the word “dobok.”Technically, “do” means “way,” and “bok” means “clothing.” So, dobok literally translates to “way clothing.” But that

Developing power begins with proper form. When you master good form, you develop speed. By developing speed, you develop power. With good form, you don’t get tired as

“I want to try something new” is such a teenager thing to say. But when I was 14, that’s exactly what I thought. I had started

5’2”. Nearly 40 years old. A woman. I’m not what most people think of when they hear “Tae Kwon-Do Master.” But that’s exactly what I am. I have been

For the longest time, we were earthbound.When I took Isshin-Ryu, we didn’t do any flying kicks. It was the same with other forms of Karate as well.

A great Tae Kwon-Do instructor has more than just a checklist of talent and training.Of course, there are the basics: a deep knowledge, the ability

Sparring is about more than just punching, kicking, and blocking. In fact, sparring is as much about not fighting as it is about fighting. It’s about forming

I don’t expect all of my students to be as deeply committed to Tae Kwon-Do as I am.I am realistic about the fact that my

Just like in academic schools, our school has A, B, C, D & F students. ‘D’ and ‘F’ students come to class and go through the

Breaking your first board is a lot of fun. You’ll earn huge bragging rights amongst your friends. Although, they probably won’t believe you at first. The simple act of breaking

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal, ” Henry Ford once said. In Tae Kwon-Do this is true

Junbi, Joonbi, Choonbi…to know your junbi is to know yourself. There are many ways to say and spell this very common phrase in Tae Kwon-Do. Its

What separates a true martial art from simply learning to “fight”?Patterns.“Fighting arts” tend to be narrowly focused on the combat aspect. This can be useful.

You catch yourself bowing to the clerk at the drugstore. You realize you’re using the dojang handshake with complete strangers.Before long, it’s “Yes, ma’am,” “No ma’am,”

Stretching is better when you smile.When you stretch regularly, every part of you is relaxed. Your body. Your mind. And when you relax, you smile.

When I first became a black belt, that belt looked really, really black to me. I remember walking through the dojang and looking in the

“That could be me. I could be Mr. James someday!” Daniel said. His mother had just read him the post about Mr. James (pictured above), and it really

Every student that comes through these doors will receive a world-class martial arts education. But, there are always those exceptional students who aim for more. More

In its rawest form, Pil-Sung is about persisting until you win.General Choi, the founder of Tae Kwon-Do, used to say, “if you can’t beat them with

Respect is one of the most important things we teach at Master Gorino’s Tae Kwon-Do. There are many ways we show respect for each other and for this art.

“The Foot Fist Way.”That is literally what the phrase “Tae Kwon-Do” translates to in English. Tae = Foot. Kwon = Hand. Do = WayTae Kwon-Do is

A “540” is a 540-degree jumping spin kick. When I ask them to, most students never even try to do one. It’s too hard, they

What do Muhammad Ali, Phil Mickelson, and Herschel Walker have in common?For one, they were all elite athletes at the top of their sports. Certainly in the cases of

When she said it I thought, “I’m not an athlete. I’m a martial artist.”This talented physical therapist I used to work with was lamenting to me,

“Starting Tae Kwon-Do in your 40’s? You can’t do that! In your 60’s!? C’mon, get serious!”Sometimes, it’s the negative words of a co-worker or “friend” that keeps

The first time it happens, it comes out of nowhere. A fist collides with your cheek. Your eyes open wide, and begin to water. Your nose

Imagine you own your own dojang. Students come and go, and a lot of times they complain about how hard it is, how they don’t think

Tae Kwon-Do is not a sport. Tae Kwon-Do is a martial art. Moreover, Tae Kwon-Do is a lifestyle.While both are athletic in nature, most sports are seasonal. Tae Kwon-Do,

Does Tae Kwon-Do come easier to kids than to adults? In short, yes. Thanks! See you next week! (just kidding)To be fair, it doesn’t come easily to

When you’re someone’s hero, you don’t let them down. That’s why, when my eight-year-old student, James Murray. Invited me to his school’s “Who’s Your Hero?” breakfast,

Yes, if you or your child enroll in our school, you will learn how to kick and punch. Initially, when you or your child sign up, the

Remember when “I don’t know” was a good enough answer?It was wonderful. Someone would ask you something and if you didn’t know the right answer,

Here’s a tip: If you are interested in enrolling your preschooler in Tae Kwon-Do, and the dojang instructor or owner tells you that there are five-year-olds at

In my opinion, my mentor Grand Master Park Jong Soo is not only the greatest Tae Kwon-Do Master of all time, he is the greatest martial artist

By far and away, the most common question I get from parents who want to sign their children up for Tae Kwon-Do is: What happens

Anyone else feeling the need to start kicking and punching things?Six months of sheltering in place, uncertain when (or if) things will ever get back

I see it time and time again. Someone walks into the dojang for the first time and they sense it right off the bat: there’s something going

In recent weeks, I have seen the eyes of many of my students go from bright and alert, to distant and confused. I can see it

Our school mantra, Pil-Sung, means “certain victory.” It’s a little ironic during a time like COVID-19 in which uncertainty seems to reign supreme.  When the shutdown went into

If I can punch you in the face from four feet away, and you can only punch me in the face from two feet away,

Stop me when this stops sounding familiar:Because of COVID-19, you have now found yourself working from home. At first, it sounds great! No commute, no boss

“What the heck is a Zoom?” I asked. I have to admit, when we first decided to switch over to a virtual dojang, I knew nothing about the technicalities

After our father passed away, well-meaning family and friends were pretty vocal about what my older brother and I should expect to be the “new normal”