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 same training that taught me how to inflict physical harm on someone taught me when to inflict physical harm on someone. And when not to. We [...]Read more

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 taken Karate before) was under a gentleman named Wan Jo Lee. He was a great martial artist; he really knew his stuff. Unfortunately, [...]Read more

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 doesn’t really mean anything.  Gi, which is the Japanese version of the dobok, is actually short for [...]Read more

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 fast because you’re not “over-muscling” your technique.  When you watch a baseball pitcher throw a [...]Read more

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. It wasn’t until Tae Kwon-Do came out that flying kicks became such an integral and iconic part of martial arts. The flying side [...]Read more

“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 my Tae Kwon-Do journey when I was 8 years old, and it was one of the best experiences of my youth. But when you’re young, there is so much […]Read more