Responsibilities of a Black Belt - Chief Instructor's Blog July 2015

To reach the level of Black Belt takes accumulation of many years of training through  commitment to the art form itself and perseverance.  It demonstrates you have the background, physical skill, and understand the basic philosophy of the art form.

Reaching this level comes with responsibility both subtle and profound.  You have become an ambassador for the art form and the Club.  In becoming an ambassador whether you asked for it or not, you are now a role model for all lower rank students.  They will look at your attitude, training habits, how you interact with instructors and students, your technique and try to emulate you.  They will learn from you whether you are a certified instructor or not by interacting with you in class, by hearing your stories of your training and how you have overcome obstacles (e.g., injuries) in your journey.  

In reaching this level, you have demonstrated the skill to defend yourself with proficiency in Han Moo Kwan techniques and forms.  You have proven you have the capability to do immense damage.  And because of this, you have a responsibility to do everything you can to avoid the use of the physical aspect art form and only use it as a last resort.  You have a responsibility to share with everyone you come in contact with (inside or outside the Club) to share the true essence of martials arts- it is about connecting mind-body-and spirit and it is for use of self-defense only, and only if you absolutely have to.

Therefore you have an immense responsibility to understand yourself, your hot buttons, and understand in what scenario and under what conditions you feel requires the use of your physical skill.  And over the years, these scenarios may change, as you grow and learn and your situation changes (e.g., get married, have children, etc.).  And therefore, you have a responsibility to constantly self-reflect and look inward, learning more and more about who you are. 

Many people may think reaching first level Black Belt is the ultimate and while it is a great accomplishment, it is only the beginning of not just learning the art form but learning about yourself and the responsibilities of the belt you wear.  To sum it up simply, when asked about our goals in martial arts, or simply why we should practice, Mr. Kim simply said “To better ourselves.”

Regards,

Kelly

“He who conquers others is strong; He who conquers himself is mighty.”~ Lao-Tzu (6th century BC), philosopher of ancient China, and best known as the author of the Tao Te Ching

Improving Your Technique Through Targeted Muscle Training - - Chief Instructor's Blog - - June 2015

Have you been working on increasing the height of your kicks and not making much progress?

Have you been trying to get more force or speed out of your upper body techniques and not making much progress?

One way to get more from your techniques is to break down the issue and target improving specific muscles.  For example, if you want your kicks to be higher, you will need to work on your balance and/or flexibility.  If you want to improve balance, you may need to build strength and/or muscular endurance.  If you want more power, you will need to build strength, muscular endurance, and/or improve your physical alignment.  If you want sustain speed, you may need to improve muscular endurance and physical alignment.

Let me provide a few very specific examples.

Higher Front Kicks

Let’s say you want to work on higher front kicks.  To get higher kicks, this could be a balance issue or a flexibility issue.  Let’s look at flexibility first.   The major muscles used to perform the dynamic aspect of the kick are the hip flexors to lift the knee and the quadriceps to execute the kick.  Improving your flexibility in either of those two muscle groups (plus the hamstrings that get elongated with the kick) can help improve the height of your kicks.  A couple good stretches to do then would be forward bend and kneeling lunges with and without an added quadriceps stretch.

Maybe you have good flexibility but still cannot get your kicks higher.  In that case, it may be a balance issue.  Some key muscles used for balance are the calves, quadriceps and the abdominals.  You may need to build muscular strength and/or endurance for those muscles to improve balance.  Some suggestions to strengthen the calves (which is not an exhaustive list), are calf raises or walking on the balls of your feet.  If you want to work on strengthening your quadriceps and calves at the same time, you can go into a deep horse stance and rise onto both balls of the feet at the same time and hold for 5-10 second and do 10-20 repetitions at a time.  Some suggestions to strengthen the quadriceps (but not an exhaustive list), are leg presses (if enjoy lifting weights), using resistance bands and performing knee extension while sitting, performing one or two legged squats (one legged squats will help strengthen the claves as well).

More Powerful Knife Hand

More powerful knife hands will come from a combination of improving your stances as well as muscular strength in your upper body and specifically for knife hand will be triceps and deltoids (shoulder). Some exercises to strengthen your triceps (no weights needed), are dips and pushups.  These same exercises will also strengthen your deltoids.  Other good deltoid strengthening exercises that also strengthen your abdominals as an added bonus are forearm planks and single arm plank. A great exercise that strengthens the shoulders, triceps, and abdominals is pike press.

In class, given the limited time we have, we do not spend time stretching or working on balance other than drills directly related to the techniques we are working.  Therefore, it is up to each student to put in the extra time to stretch, work on muscular strength, and/or endurance outside of class.  For each technique, I would recommend determining one aspect of each one you think you could improve the most on (flexibility, balance, muscular strength, or muscular endurance).  Based on that, you can then add specific exercise to improve in that area.   I think you will be surprised how some targeting focus can help significantly improve your martial arts techniques.

If you need some pointers in any of these areas, please do not hesitate to ask.  There are also some good references out there such as “The Anatomy of Martial Arts” by Dr, Norman Link and Lily Chou [Ref. 1] that provide some good insights into muscles used and exercises to strengthen or improve flexibility for those muscles.  Loren Christensen’s “Fighter’s’ Fact Book” [Ref .2] also has some good exercises, and drills to improve various aspects of your techniques.

Regards,

Kelly

“The more you sweat in training, the less you will bleed in battle.”~ Unknown

References

1.      The Anatomy of Martial Arts by Dr, Norman Link and Lily Chou

2.      Fighter’s Fact Book by Loren W. Christensen

 

Learning Club…Teaching Club- - Chief Instructor's Blog May 2015

I like to think of our club not just as a learning club, but as a teaching club as well… similar to the concept of a teaching hospital.

As instructors, our job is to pass along knowledge to students and teach the history, philosophy, mechanics, applications, and energy behind Han Moo Kwan.  In many schools/clubs of old instructors, they held back “the secrets” of the art form for students to figure out for themselves.  We share everything (over time), as students are ready for the information.  We give students a look ahead of what they will expect as they learn and grow as a martial artist. 

As an instructor, when I teach students, I learn from them as well.  If a student is struggling with a technique, I learn new ways to teach or new drills to help a student improve.  As I observe students before drills or forms, I may have an “ah-ha” moment about the art form (e.g., another application of a technique, etc.).  Recently, I was watching two students as they played “sticky hands”.   I was trying to explain to one student that it was time to start adjusting their techniques so that it is no longer block- strike, but the strike and block are one and your motion is always direct into the opponent.  As we talked about it and the student explored, it dawned on me this is one of the big concepts of Shipsu – regardless of the physical angle you are moving, every technique energetically is linear into the target.

Each student has a responsibility in our Club to not only learn but to help others learn; the extent of this is dependent on the rank of the student.

What do I mean by this?

Let’s start with Black Belts.  Black Belts have a responsibility when participating in Intermediate class to perform techniques to the standard, being open to learning new techniques and receiving feedback, and mechanically how we expect Intermediates to perform them.  As I have mentioned in class many times, some techniques do evolve over time as does the expectation of how to perform them (e.g., for Black Belts, we expect punches to be shorter with elbow just past the body line).  In addition, Black Belts, during drills and activities such a sparring should work with students and not just spend an entire drill overpowering a lower ranked student (like a Green or Blue Belt).  I am not saying there is not a time or place to demonstrate while working with lower rank students the power and devastating energy that is expecting of Han Moo Kwan.  This is different than just easily and knowingly overpowering because you can, repeatedly, when a student has no chance of defending.  In this case, the lower rank student does not learn and just gets frustrated.  And all the Black Belt is doing is exercising their ego which has no place in the dojang.

Similarly,  upper ranked Intermediates (Brown Belts) have a responsibility to help lower ranked students (Green and Blue belts) to learn by demonstrating good technique, being open to learning new techniques and receiving feedback, as well as not just overpowering a lower rank student during drills and activities such as sparring.

In addition, Black Belts and upper ranked Intermediates can learn from lower ranked students if they remain open to learn from anyone.  Each student we work with has different strengths, so we can learn how to defend against those strengths.  In addition, not every student will respond the same way to an attack, and studying every student and the different ways a person may respond to an attack is critical in learning to defend yourself in all situations.  In addition, lower rank students tend to get more amped up in intense drills and activities like sparring.  Many students have a tendency to match the speed and energy of the student they are working with.  When the lower rank students get amped up, this is a great opportunity for upper rank students to learn to remain calm and perform with appropriate speed and control and not just add “amped” up energy to the situation.  This skill could potentially save your life in a street altercation.

Regards,

Kelly

"If every man would help his neighbor, no man would be without help." ~ Bruce Lee, (1940 –1973) American-born Chinese Hong Kong martial artist, actor, and founder of Jeet Kune Do

 

 

Importance of Etiquette in Martial Arts - - Chief Instructor's Blog April 2015

Martial arts were founded on a code (“budo”) and etiquette.  Today’s martial arts, especially if they are traditional martial arts, still have certain protocols and etiquette they follow (e.g., bowing).  For the specific etiquettes followed in our Club, see the best practice HMKTKD-BP1, Class Protocols and Class Etiquette at http://www.hanmookwan-svl.org/best_practices.htm.

But why is it important to still have etiquette?  Some of my thoughts on why etiquette is still important are below.

1. Safety.  The protocols and etiquette are critical in creating a safe environment to train in.  By bowing before starting a drill or sparring you are indicating to your partner you are prepared and are ready to start.  We bow when we are finished with certain drills or after a sparring match to indicate it is over so both partners attacks cease.  Without knowing when a drill or sparring match starts or ends, a person can be unprepared, which can easily lead to injuries. 

2. Creating a Learning Environment.  The protocols and etiquette create a learning environment.  By raising hands to ask questions, allowing only one person to talk at a time, listening when the head instructor is talking, deferring questions until after class if appropriate or would take up too much time in class, we are creating a learning environment for everyone.  By bowing to your partner before a drill or sparring, you are, in part, demonstrating a willingness to learn from each other. 

3. Creating a Better Training Environment.  The etiquette of bowing when entering the dojang and bowing to your partner before drills is a means to prepare for practice.  If you are focused and prepared to practice you will create a better training environment not just for yourself but for the instructors and the other students as well.   

4. Instilling an Art. While martial arts teach students to fight to defend themselves, it is an art requiring respect and control.  The skill is used for a specific purpose which can be brutal and very violent. The protocols and etiquette help instill that as an art, it is to be honored, practiced/taught for its specific use and always used in a controlled manner.  Without the etiquette and protocols, it could just very well look like and turn into street fighting.

5. Retaining tradition.  Tradition is important, even if you do not understand its importance at first.  Through the traditions, you are tying yourself to the founders, and instructors of the past.  Usually, things that are rooted in tradition live longer than those that are not.  If that is the case, then tradition is important to the survival of the art form itself.

Regards,

Kelly

"Karate is Budo and if Budo is removed from Karate it is nothing more than sport karate, show karate, or even fashion karate-the idea of training merely to be fashionable."  ~ Masutatsu Oyama  (1923-1994), karate master who founded Kyokushinkai Karate

How To Get Through The Plateaus - - Chief Instructor's Blog March 2015

In the December 2014 blog, I discussed five key items required to master a martial art based on “Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment” by George Leonard, a master in Aikido. 

As discussed by George Leonard (and something I believe in as well), for many people, especially Westerners, what gets in the way of truly mastering a skill is the plateaus that come with mastering a skill. 

I know in my learning and studying Han Moo Kwan I have come across many plateaus.  I have been frustrated and felt I was never going to get better at a technique, or would not really competently learn a new form, or I would never reach the next rank.

I have observed at least a hundred students in my over twenty years at the Club, and have observed their plateaus as well. 

For me, and based on my observations, plateaus can come about because your practice is inconsistent, you set a goal and become frustrated in the fact you do not think you are achieving it in a timeframe you have arbitrarily set for yourself, you compare yourself to others and feel you are not progressing like others, you injure yourself, you become complacent and lazy (one can argue whether the plateaus causes this or you enter a plateau because of this), a lack of a goal and intent can cause a plateau, or a plateaus may occur because it is just that time to embrace and spend more time on a skill.

Plateaus (at least as perceived in your mind) will happen – it is part of the path.  The path to a black belt is not a straight line, it has ups, straight lines, and sometimes, even a slight downward turn as you relearn and incorporate new concepts into your techniques.

So how do you get through a plateau?

First, if there is a technique that is frustrating you or a concept that is hard to grasp, let it lie for now.  Focus on other aspects of your skill.  Pick one thing you think you do well and want to do even better and focus on that.  It could be a form, a technique, or a foundational skill/concept like balance, alignment, focus, grounding, etc.

Second, create a smaller goal for yourself – do not make some grandiose goal of achieving a black belt in two to three years.  Stick to something like in six months your front kick will be at waist height consistently or adding more force to all your basic techniques.  Go back to baby steps – none of us learned to walk or run at birth – we had to learn to roll over, then lift our heads, then crawl, then pull ourselves up – go back to baby steps.  Do you remember learning sidekicks?  We typically teach it as seven moves slowly in a fundamental progression.  Sometimes we need to go back to baby steps in order to get to the next level.

Third, and most importantly, to get through a plateau keep coming to class, do not stop, and do not compare yourself and your path to anyone else’s.  Everyone’s path is different.  There are at least 10 paths up to the summit of Mt. Everest.  If your goal is to get to the top, which path is best?  Many factors come into play in making that decision, as does the path to mastering a martial art.  Do not have a preconceived notion of what that path looks like, just enjoy the journey, especially the plateaus.

Regards,

Kelly

“Technique and ability alone do not get you to the top; it is the willpower that is the most important. This willpower you cannot buy with money or be given by others...it rises from your heart.” ~ Junko Tabei (1939- present), Japanese mountain-climber who, on May 16, 1975, became the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

References

1. Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment” by George Leonard

 

Finding Your Edge - - Chief Instructor's Blog February 2015

In the Decmber2014 blog, I wrote about mastering martial arts based on the five concepts written about by George Leonard in his book “Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment”.

The fifth concept was The Edge.  I wanted to take some time to explore this concept of The Edge and questions about the Edge in a little more detail.  Some questions you may ask are:

How do you find your Edge?  How do you know when you found your Edge?  How do you know when you have gone past your Edge?  What is wrong with going past your Edge?

In martial arts, there are many aspects of the art form to find your Edge including speed, force, power, balance, and flexibility.  In finding and exploring your Edge, you may focus on just one these aspects at a time.  If trying to focus on too many at once, you may or may not know if you have reached your edge.  So step one is to focus on one aspect at a time.

Finding your edge really is just about pushing yourself   For example, going faster to improve speed, striking or kicking harder to find your limit in force, kicking higher to find your edge n flexibility, etc.  The real key is to know when you have reached your edge.  And recognize your edge may differ from night to night especially if you are getting over an injury or illness, so being aware of how your body is feeling and responding is critical in finding and reaching your edge.

The first easy way of determining if you have gone past your edge is when you have lost integrity in the mechanics of the art form.  For example by going past your edge in speed your leg may be no longer straight in attack stance, you do not lock your leg out in front kick, or you cut short a punch or block.  If you have gone past your edge in force, you may be overextended in your techniques and no longer square in your stance. 

The second easy way to determine if you have gone past your edge is if you have stopped breathing or your breathing is much more labored. 

At any time, if you feel any pain in your joints or your joints are making popping, cracking, grinding, and/or snapping sounds, you may have gone past your edge and you should back off.

The goal is to find your edge and then inch past it for as long as you can and then back off until you are at your edge again.

If you are training too much beyond your edge you may be creating bad habits (like not locking your leg in attack stance). Also, training past your edge too often can lead to injury.

As we enter into 2015, I encourage you to find at least one aspect of your art form you focus on to find and explore your edge.

Regards,

Kelly

“If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.” ~ Bruce Lee, (1940 –1973) American-born Chinese Hong Kong martial artist, actor, and founder of Jeet Kune Do

 

 

Emotions in the Martial Arts - - Chief Instructor's Blog January 2015

Can emotions help you in martial arts?

Emotions can be a training tool, a motivator, or provide you information about your surroundings that can be useful.  However, emotions do have limits in learning or in the application of the art form.  To demonstrate this, I will discuss a few fairly common emotions.

Fear

Fear could possible save your life, or paralyze you. If you think or know you are in the presence of danger and act to remove yourself from the danger, then the fear can be useful.  If you are fearful of not testing well or not doing well in a drill in class in front of other students, and you are motivated then to try harder, work harder, then fear can be a useful tool.  However, if you let that fear control you and you obsess about the items you are fearful about, then it is not useful.  Gavin De Becker book entitled “The Gift of Fear” [1] gives many more examples how fear can be useful if moves you from danger.

Anxiety

Anxiety is similar to fear in that if you are nervous because something does not feel right to you, then it can be a useful tool to avoid it.  If you are nervous about testing, for example, and this motivates you to train harder, then that can be useful.  However, if avoid testing or training or trying a new technique because you are nervous you will not do well, then it is not useful. 

Anger

As a tool, anger may be used to get a student to tap into an intention of destruction that aligns with the energy and intention expected in demonstrating Han Moo Kwan.  As a motivator, if you are dissatisfied with how well you are performing a technique or a form, it may motivate you to improve and this can be useful.

However, projecting your anger towards another student or instructor in the dojang is not acceptable in martial arts.  Using your skills against another person because they made you angry is not acceptable.  There is a classic story in “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” by Joseph Campbell [2] that demonstrates that to react because of anger is not honorable:

His overlord had been killed, and his vow was, of course, absolute loyalty to this lord. And it was his duty now to kill the killer. Well, after considerable difficulties, he finally backs this fellow into a corner, and he is about to slay him with his “katana”, his sword, which is the symbol of his honor. And the chap in the corner is angry and terrified, and he spits on the samurai, who sheathes his sword and walks away. Now why did he do that? He did that because this action made him angry, and it would have been a personal act to have killed that man in anger, and that would have destroyed the whole event.

Pride

To have a healthy self-esteem can be very positive. However, when your self-esteem is based on external conditions or based on something you think you deserve, pride will get in the way.  For more information on how pride can hurt your martial arts practice, refer to my January 2012 blog entitled “Ego, Pride, and Martial Arts.”

Passion

To have passion to train, work harder, learn as much about the history and application of the art form as possible, and share the art form with others is very useful.  If your passion consumes you to the point where you lose yourself and forget everyone and everything around you except the art form, this may not be useful.

Again, emotions have their place and can be useful.  A quote by Bruce Lee says it very well: "Emotion can be the enemy, if you give into your emotion, you lose yourself. You must be at one with your emotion, because the body always follows the mind."

Regards,

Kelly

“The best fighter is never angry.” ~ Lao-Tzu (6th century BC), philosopher of ancient China, and best known as the author of the Tao Te Ching

References

1.       Gift of Fear by Gavin De Becker

2.      The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell