Last year before the bracket-centric “March Madness” basketball tournament, Alex Dingmann and Jeff Doss talked through a bracket on their Inside Scoop podcast courtesy of the Martial Arts InterNetwork that featured all the best “things” at sport karate tournaments to see what would come out on top. With the famous basketball tournament just around the corner and my beloved Kentucky Wildcats fighting for a chance to dance, this episode of their show came to mind. The last few opinion articles I have written for BBM have focused on more serious topics like ways to improve the sport as a whole and tips for competitors to step up their game, so I feel it is time for a feel-good article in which I countdown what I feel are the best “things” at a given sport karate tournament. Although I am writing this list from my perspective, I will not be including the obvious “good stuff” like winning an overall grand or landing a difficult trick. These are all aspects of tournaments that don’t hinge on my personal achievements as a competitor. 5. Making an Entrance I feel this one sets the tone for the rest of the countdown: it’s really all about the little things. There are three instances that I feel “making an entrance” applies, and I thoroughly enjoyed every single time this happened at a tournament. The first is that moment when you step out of the Uber from the airport, walk into the lobby, and see at least two or three of your sport karate family members that you catch up with while waiting to check in. It doesn’t matter if it has been weeks or years since you saw these people, as soon as you are at a karate tournament you can talk as if you’ve spoken every day. The second is the walk to the tournament venue itself. One of the many reasons I have always loved the U.S. Open is that the walk to the tournament site from the hotel room is especially long because of the size of Coronado Springs. Every single time for over a decade, I walked the exact same path from Casitas to the back of the convention center where one of the world’s largest events would take place. The same staircases, the same sidewalks, looking at the same fountains… Every. Single. Time. That walk to the tournament is a time of reflection, in which you feel the nostalgia from making that same walk in years passed. It is a time to get in the zone, your favorite hype playlist acting as the soundtrack to your walk, preparing to do what you love more than anything else. Those walks were the best walks. The third and final instance is if you have the opportunity to take the stage. There’s simply nothing like stomping your way up those notoriously shaky stairs next to any night show stage as you puff your chest and lift your chin while the crowd cheers in response to Dennis Brown saying your name. The battle cry you can let out to tell the audience how bad you want it, the little wink you give to a stage-side coach to say I’ve got this , there’s so much fun to be had in those 15-30 seconds before it’s showtime. In all of those ways, making an entrance is one of the best parts of any karate tournament. 4. Daytime Grands This mostly refers to junior runoffs (sport karate’s version of a semifinals to determine who goes on stage), but also accounts for the few times that the adult men ran their runoffs during the day instead of going straight to stage. I would also say this also includes those divisions that weren’t necessarily grands, but the caliber of talent and importance of the moment certainly made it feel like a grand championship. I am also not necessarily just talking about competing in the grands or an important division, that’s obviously a good time. I’m referring to the energy that is felt during these divisions. Unlike a night show in which the audience is hidden in the relative darkness on the other side of the stage lights, the crowd envelops the ring for daytime grands. Eager sport karate fans stand on chairs to see over those lucky enough to get front row seats, and a crowd of maybe 300 starts to feel like 3,000 because of how close they are to the action and the energy they bring. If there’s a daytime stage, the stage-side slaps from friends or teammates rattle the platform and might as well send vibrations directly to your heart. It just feels different from just about any other competitive atmosphere. Let’s not forget the added hype when someone’s music is an absolute banger in these kinds of divisions. There is not a broadcast or organized livestream for these divisions, so competitors are still allowed to use any music they want regardless of copyright. There’s nothing like when a song gets the entire crowd clapping as the competitor walks into the ring. The best examples are when you can see other competitors dancing in the background of the YouTube video, that is the kind of music I’m talking about. My favorite example is when my good friend and competitive rival Reid Presley used to walk out to “X Gon’ Give It to Ya” by DMX. I always joke that it was the worst song choice he ever made. Not because it wasn’t a great song, but because if I was going after him all it did was hype me up to do a form 10x better than what I would have done if I hadn’t been listening to THAT song while I was on deck. Those who have followed my career know that I personally always try to bring extra hype to my walk-out music whether it was “All I Do is Win” by DJ Khaled back in my 2011 breakout season, some fan-favorite “No Problem” by Chance the Rapper for a couple of years, and some special moments like “Without Me” by Eminem after I hadn’t competed in over a year due to the pandemic. The right song choice can elevate these moments that I am talking about exponentially. 3. Warming Up This one is probably going to throw some people off, but I truly feel one of my favorite parts of the tournament was warming up. You still feel that same one-of-a-kind anticipation that I talked about before, but now it’s amplified by how close the action looms. This is also your time to put some headphones in, focus on the task at hand, and show off some of your best tricks in front of an audience with nothing at stake. Spectators have already gathered around the ring and if you put on a show in warm ups, you’ll get some nice reactions. Not to mention the fact that landing some of your best tricks in warm ups gives you a psychological advantage over some of your competitors. If they have no idea which tricks you are going to throw, they have to start scrambling to figure out their game plan in response. In some ways, the tournament has begun before a single person has bowed into the ring. After you have gotten your necessary reps in and feel ready to go, having shown your competitors an arsenal of threats and gathered data yourself about what they might be planning, you also have some valuable time for small talk around the ring. Those brief conversations checking in on a competitor/friend you haven’t seen in a while, pausing for a few moments to talk to a fan who has come over for a picture, those are the moments that seem small, but you appreciate them for a while. 2. Midnight on Saturday Night Whereas number three on this countdown was a bit obscure, number two is something that anyone who has ever traveled a tournament circuit can relate to. I’ve alluded to the fact that karate tournaments are often a place where you see friends that you may not have seen in several months, and you don’t necessarily get to enjoy all the time spent together because for the majority of the event you are focused on competing. However, Saturday night the dust has settled and friend groups across the sport karate community descend on fast food restaurants, hotel lobbies, and shared rooms to talk the night away and make memories that will last a lifetime. Everyone knows that you typically only get to hang out with these people a dozen or so times per year, so there’s a mutual agreement that everyone will stay up until their eyes can barely open just to maximize the time spent together. It may sound cheesy, and admittedly it is a little, but I couldn’t do this countdown without writing what everyone is thinking. Late Saturday nights are one of the best parts of the sport karate tournament experience. 1. JPM! JPM! JPM! WOO! I have done my best to make most of these points relatable, something that everyone can understand and feel an emotional connection to, but I can’t countdown the best “things” at a karate tournament according to ME without talking about the one thing that gives me chills every time. As a competitor wearing the coveted Black and White, there was nothing better than nailing a form and hearing my Paul Mitchell teammates chant “JPM! JPM! JPM! WOOOO!” while the rest of the crowd goes crazy. It gets you every time. It is almost just as fulfilling to start the chant for somebody else, when a teammate lands a crazy form or wins a fight in overtime. There’s something about sharing that prestigious battle cry with 10-15 of the best competitive martial artists in the world to celebrate the accomplishment of a teammate. Not only is it deeply rooted in a rich 36-year history, but it is also pretty rare. The team always does the chant at the end of a team meeting and following the night show, but to have the chant done in response to an individual performance only happens a handful of times per season. It makes the moment that much more special when it isn’t just a formality of being on the team, it is something that is earned by doing the spectacular. I understand that far less than 1% of those who participate in sport karate tournaments will ever have the chance to experience that specific chant with Team Paul Mitchell on their backs, but this concept does apply more broadly to everybody at an event. Whether you are there representing your school or a national team, it is unquestionable that one of the best things about any tournament is the camaraderie shared between teammates. The team meetings, the dinners shared on Friday nights, the quotes that your coach repeats every time, but they never get old, all of those things that come with having a karate family around you are really what keeps this sport going. If you don’t take anything else from this lighthearted article, just remember that it is really the people around us that keep us coming back to karate tournaments. We do it in pursuit of personal goals, sure, but the reason we keep doing it is because we love the people around us. The community is what keeps sport karate alive, and that is truly special.

Two-time Olympic champion Clarisse Agbegnenou, who made her international comeback today at the Grand Slam in Tel Aviv, refuses to wear the kimono imposed on her by the Federation. In retaliation, the Federation decided to deprive her of a coach and to freeze her financial aid. It is without a coach on the chair and therefore without advice that Clarisse Agbégnénou returned to international competition, this Friday in Tel Aviv, Israel. The "consequence" of a conflict between the judoka and the French judo federation. Clarisse Agbégnénou having chosen to wear the kimono of her supplier (Mizuno) and not that of the French team (Adidas), the federation decided to... cut her off and deprive her of coaching. Sébastien Mansois, the national technical director (DTN), had sent an email to the technical staff. "As national coaches, you cannot "coach" athletes if they are wearing an outfit that is not officially recognised or validated by the French Judo Federation", wrote the state executive. A warning addressed to all but which targets Ludovic Delacotte, Clarisse Agbégnénou's coach, forced to follow the orders of his hierarchy. Earlier in the day, the double Olympic champion had also received an email, sent by the DTN. "We would like to remind you that the French team's combat gear, provided by the coaching staff, is compulsory for the Tel Aviv Grand Slam, as it is for all the competitions in which you are involved as a member of the French team (...) We have no doubt that you will respect these rules, but we would prefer to remind you that in the event of a breach, it would be inconceivable for the Federation to maintain its commitments as set out in the agreement, including the support of your individual project. In short, the DTN explained to the champion that she would no longer receive personalised aid, which is paid by the Federation and which comes largely from the National Sports Agency, and therefore from the State. Teddy Riner also wears his own brand of kimono Source - Time News How did this come about? A few months ago, while Clarisse Agbégnénou signed a kimono contract with Mizuno, the French Judo Federation was negotiating with the equipment manufacturer Adidas to supply the entire French team... Except for Teddy Riner, who was excluded from the negotiations. As early as 2017, the three-time Olympic champion and his lawyer at the time, Delphine Verheyden, had obtained (after a hard struggle) the possibility of having his own kimono supplier, considering in particular that it could be a technical equipment (in this case the athlete wears what he wants, such as spiked shoes in athletics). At the time, Riner had just signed with Under Armour and the American firm did not manufacture kimonos at the time, so an agreement had been reached for the champion to wear a kimono. A new development in 2021: since the Tokyo Olympics, Riner has been wearing the Fight Art outfit, the brand he launched. Clarisse Agbégnénou wanted to do the same, in the name of fairness. Exchanges with the French Judo Federation quickly escalated to the point of becoming explosive in Tel Aviv. The Federation, fearing the loss of its equipment supplier, insisted that Clarisse Agbégnénou wear the same kimono as the other members of the French team and considered that the judoka was not entitled to negotiate with her own equipment supplier. The two-time Olympic champion wants to obtain the same agreement as Riner. Her entourage specifies that the French Federation "never provided her with a kimono" and that "the fittings only took place last Monday, in a hurry". Moreover, the name of a sponsor (Allianz) of the champion is missing from the national kimono. Coaches are now forbidden to express themselves on the subject. Read the full French article here ! Other News: RIP Louis Casamassa My good friend Louis Casamassa founder of Red Dragon Karate in 1965, died last week. Lou was legend in the world of martial arts. He started training in Japan in 1958 at the Kodokan where he got his first black belt. He also received his black belt in Karate in Japan, under Mas Nagano. In the US Marine he became the Captain of their Judo and Karate teams. Lou learned a lot about respect and discipline, which he expressed in his later job as a Police Officer in Bethlehem, PA. Red Dragon Karate became one the most successful marital arts schools chains which help inspire Cobra Kai in the Karate Kid . His son Chris Casamassa who played Scorpion in Mortal Combat continues to run the company. For several years, my son Nathan taught judo at a couple of their locations Comment on my Falling Blog of 2/16/23 Jim Thydén Here is a film I made at our club three years ago. We were the first club in Sweden giving courses on falling for seniors . Lone Star Classic Results When you come from a sport that is rich in diversity, it is easy to overlook symbolic occurrences that exists within. My friend Bobby Donaldson was the Chief Referee at the 32nd Annual Lone Star Classic held in Fort Worth, Texas on February 18th last month. Is this significant? Depends upon whom is asked; “this was the very first time a black person was chief referee at a National Test and Evaluation Site in the United States, during Black History Month no less!” Judo is so diverse that often historical aspects are lost due to the myriad of examples to emulate. Bobby is the 2nd African American whose received his full International IJF Referee license, the first to Referee on the IJF World Tour and many other distinctions that are uniquely his own. Bobby, who retired from the U.S. Navy, is no stranger to diversity. "The military is filled with representatives from every race, so much so, you see people as your shipmates first. Kano saw judo as having this same sort of fellowship. We have nearly every race in judo, that is a beautiful example of harmony” to further quote Bobby. The Lone Star Classic was a big success. Congratulations to Tournament Director Kim Mesa of Okuri Judo. Ukraine's Banksy stamps feature art of Putin in judo match Calendar: March - 2023 5th Sunday - Taishi's 13th Anniversary Tournament , Cerritos, CA 18th Saturday & 19th Sunday - Youth National Championships , Lubbock, TX 25th Saturday - Shoshinkan's Annual Kosen Tournament , Las Vegas, NV 26th Sunday - Shoshinkan's Shintaro Higashi Clinic , Las Vegas, NV April - 2023 1st Saturday & 2nd Sunday - High School & Collegiate Nationals , San Jose, CA 2nd Sunday - Mojica Tournament (16 & Under) , Baldwin Park, CA 15th Saturday - Couchigian Memorial Tournament , Las Vegas, NV 16th Sunday - Ryoku's Amarilis Savon Clinic , Las Vegas, NV 16th Sunday - Garden State Open Judo Classic , Wayne NJ 22nd Saturday - Arizona State Championships , Tucson, AZ 29th Saturday & 30th Sunday - Golden State Open , Azusa, CA May - 2023 7th Sunday - CJI State Championships , San Francisco, CA 18th Thursday to 21st Sunday – Budo Nord Cup & Lugi Camp , Lund Sweden 20th Saturday & 21st Sunday - Senior National Championships , Spokane, WA June - 2023 4th Sunday - Nanka Spring Tournament , Westminster, CA 16th Friday to 18th Sunday - USA Judo Junior Olympics , Shreveport, LA 24th Saturday - Sensei Gary's Birthday Scrimmage , Claremont, CA 25th Sunday - U.S. Adaptive Judo Championships , Riverside, CA July - 2023 7th Friday to 9th Sunday - USJF & USJA Summer Nationals , New York, NY 16th Sunday - CA State Games , San Diego, CA August - 2023 6th Sunday - Nikkei Games Budo Tournament , Cypress, CA September – 2023 17th Sunday - Nevada State Judo Championship , Las Vegas, NV 24th Sunday - Nanka Fall Tournament , Westminster, CA October - 2023 1st Sunday - Capitol Open Judo Championships , Sacramento, CA 22nd Sunday - Fresno Invitational Tournament , Fresno, CA 29th Sunday - Fight for a Cure Women's Tournament & Clinic , Riverside, CA November - 2023 1st Wednesday to 3rd Friday - IJF World Veterans Championships , Abu Dhabi, UAE 5th Sunday - Nanka Team Tournament , Westminster, CA 19th Sunday - Presidents Cup National Championships , Irving, TX December - 2023 8th Friday to 10th Sunday - Nanka Winter Nationals & Clinics , Azusa, CA April - 2024 7th Sunday - Nanka Spring Tournament , Westminster, CA May - 2024 5th Sunday - Nanka West Coast Invitational , Westminster, CA June - 2024 28th Friday to 30th Sunday - USJF & USJA Summer Nationals , Tacoma. WA September - 2024 29th Sunday - Nanka Fall Tournament , Westminster, CA October - 2024 20th Sunday - Nanka Team Tournament , Westminster, CA December - 2024 6th Friday to 8th Sunday - Nanka Winter Nationals & Clinics , Azusa, CA I’m always looking for new subjects to write about regarding judo as well as contributions from my readers. Please send them to gary@garygoltz.com , thanks.

At this point of deep uncertainty clinging to the fringes of a successful research project, for each praying mantis, they are grappling for their right to defend themselves or eat, and stay in the biggest conversation of them of all; can I recreate Chinese martial arts history? I’ve put my cards out on the table, the insane fear of insects, now here in front of me, high roller stakes, education, martial arts, to gleam at warriors staring into each other’s poker faces, playing the insect hands they’ve been dealt; life or death; eat or be eaten. Science can be so twisted. How did my life come down to this? Fear. Yet the outcome was something I could never have predicted; working and learning with the most unique martial arts training partners I’ve ever had. What are your greatest fears in life? For me, by March of 1973, two things, insects and death. When I was six years old, I asked my extremely well-mannered and proper mum, "When we burp, we must cover our mouth. So when we pass wind, why don't we cover our bottoms?" She flashed a Queen of England, neck-strained ostrich glare and commanded, "Don't be so insolent you cheeky little boy." I didn't know what that meant. Even when she spelt it out for me, it didn't sink in because I was a poor speller in school. After that ostrich glare, I should have hidden my head in the sand when mum asked, "Want to watch Charlton Heston in The Naked Jungle (1954) on BBC tonight?" Charlton who? Set in the Amazon, a billion, voracious red army ants, invade Heston's plantation. He plans to flood the moat around the plantation and rely on ranch hand Pedro to open the floodgates. The wry ants use their bodies to bridge across the moat. What!!? I screamed, "Open the floodgates!" Pedro's asleep! As ants creep up his legs, I'm yelling, "Pedro, wake up!" THEN…"Aaaah!" his face is covered by flesh-eating ants. NEXT…ants ooze out of his skeletal skull orifices! That night, an ant is in my bed. I couldn’t sleep knowing it would return to its nest to fetch mates so they could eat me. Next morning, butterflies, bees and ladybugs leered at me. They were in cahoots with the ants and all were out to get me. Seeing Pedro covered in ants etched unabashed terror into my life that began a life-long fear of insects. No wonder I was ant-isocial. I’ve shared parts of this story before, yet for those unaware, at 16, my doctor told me I’d be dead in five years from the lethal terminal disease Cystic Fibrosis. I decided to commit suicide so my parents wouldn’t have to watch me slowly die. The jackals were after me, no place to Hyde. Two weeks later and almost dead, after seeing Bruce Lee’s first fight in The Big Boss (1971), I instantly went from being depressed and waiting to die, to wanting to live and learn kung fu. The Effect of a Big Bully In 1978, when I was a junior at Cornell, a karate bully who disliked me, approached, and began trash talking my Chinese friends then viciously lunged at me. Seconds later, I apologized for hurting him, we spoke and cleared the air. As I moseyed off, a bug attacked me. Freaking out I punched it out of mid-air. It flew west and I ran east believing it would get its gang and seek revenge. Heart racing, my mind roared, "Stop! Why can I calmly defend myself against vicious men, but insects fearfully disable me?" Martial arts instantly removed my fear of death but not my life-long fear of insects. Solution? Enroll in Cornell's entomology program. I was already training in probably one of the toughest dojos in America, where thrice a week, we’d do bone-on-bone training until our wrists looked like something a boa constrictor would regurgitate. More on that dojo experience in Part 3 and why over-the-top training is important. I came up with an undergraduate thesis project that blew my thesis adviser’s mind. He later told me that the sheer audacity left him so flabbergasted that his piqued curiosity couldn’t say no. According to one account, when 17th-century Shaolin monk Wang Lung was one day studying his Buddhist texts, he heard a praying mantis attacking a cricket. Struck by how easily the mantis defeated its prey, Wang prodded the mantis with a piece of straw. He observed how the mantis jumped back and forth to escape harm and used its front legs to parry, grasp and crush the straw. Three years later, Wang had created the 13 Arm and Hand Movements of the Mantis . My research goal was to scientifically re-create Wang Lung's work and prove that we can learn martial arts from animals, in my case, a praying mantis. Think about it, this creature has walked and fought on our planet since the Jurassic Period, 145.5 million years ago. That’s far out man. Lights, Camera, Action My two roommates were excited about my plan of to raise praying mantises in our apartment. I was initially squeamish having to capture live insects for food. Weeks later, no big deal. I’d walk around the apartment withmantises perched on my shoulders like a pirate’s parrot. They’d never fly off. I had one perched on my shoulder during an exam, when the teacher asked me why, I said, “Noone’s an atheist around exam time, I have extra hands praying for me.” Borrowing a friend’s aquarium, I strategically placed twigs, rocks and hiding places to create an artificial habitat as their dojo. I borrowed a reel-to-reel videotape machine, a black and white camera, and a 10” B&W TV from the library for a semester. I had raised 20 adult European mantids ( Mantis religiosa Linnaeus ), pale green insects two inches in length. It was time. I shot the mantises fighting each other, defending themselves against other predaceous insects and like Wang, I studied them while provoking aggressive behavior with pieces of straw. After logging hundreds of hours of videotape and using slow-motion playback, I was able to identify ten stereotypical patterns of behavior employed by the mantises during attack, defense, and provocation. Next, I set out to replicate their movements for humans. With a reaction time of 1/40th of a second, mantids are 70% successful in catching walking flies and 25% for catching flying flies. I wasn’t that fast yet I could throw five punches in one second. Thesis Self Defense The octo is gone, it’s my thesis adviser’s square entomology office. The professor, who knew how to box, prepared to attack me like a large predacious stinkbug, by protruding its powerful spear-like mouthparts forward as to pierce it into a mantis’ gut like a battering ram. I assume a standard upright mantis posture, raptorial arms (modified front legs) held like a half opened Swiss army knife that has a serrated blade in front of my body. He charges in, I shuffle to one side and deflect his arm (battering ram spear-like mouthparts) then immediately with both arms I strike at the same time to do one of three things: push him back to create distance between us; to grab his body and pull him toward me; or to grab and crush his body. With my arms above my head (wings wide), I look bigger and offer him an opening to charge in, instead I strike down at the charging in head, grab him or his mouthparts and crush them. Regardless of prey size, spiders, large predacious bugs (beetles, stinkbugs), non-predacious bugs (crickets, beetles) and other mantids, the strikes, blocks, trapping maneuvers, are extremely quick and filled with snapping rough and rumble jumps, grappling holds, lots of nibbling, wings expanding out for balance and to look larger. It’s collections of repeatedly quick combos, where the mantis ends up distancing itself from its attacker as if measuring its opponent. My adviser enjoys the combat and asks if he can attack me with boxing and I use the mantis skills I’ve learned. WHAM, WHAM, WHAM, WHAM! He rattles off combinations of punches to my face and body. To his and my surprise, I effortlessly block and parry each strike while moving side-to-side then counter by grabbing the back of his head and pulling him toward me. Since I knew no one who practiced mantis kung fu, how could I know if I had successfully learned what Wang did and re-created martial arts history using modern technology? Major Surprise! Two years later, while studying rice pests in Taiwan, I was cast as a Persian magician on kung fu TV soap opera. The fight choreographer, Zhou Shifu, who trained the President’s body guards, was the Zhang Men Ren (head dude) of Zi Ran Men’s (Natural Door) Praying Mantis Division. He had me do a short fight using mantis kung fu and was impressed I picked up what he wanted me to do. I told him that I learned the movement from a real mantis. He sneered, saying, "Show me." By then, I had put the 10 movements into a flowing sequence using the mantis stances. He said I had crudely performed 10 of the 13 basic techniques created 300+ years ago by Wang Lung, which also happened to be the first 10 of his 20-move mantis form adding, "You are the American Wang Lung." I joked, “Wang studied the larger, five-inch-long Chinese mantis Tenodera aridifolia sinensis , which would explain why I missed the other three movements.” Mantis-Monkey to Rabbit-Crane In the realm of yin-yang…balance…attack or defend…fight or escape…be serious or humorous, I’ve learned over the past 67 years to first be humorous then serious. Where mantis kung fu adopted the leg work of another animal, the monkey, I too was influenced to take two non-related animals and create a unique manimal style by combining rabbit gentleness with the stalwart white crane leg work. Why? Just to say, “Happy Chinese New Year, the Year of the Rabbit. In Scotland, my ancestors would bellow, ‘Have a Bonnie Year,’ yet perhaps today, they might say, ‘Have a Bunny Year,’ because it’s more in line with the wonders of nature and environmental inclusiveness.” On that serious note, due to the nature of the praying mantis that allowed me to step into their environment, apart from learning the basic movements of a martial arts style in the same manner of its founder, they helped me to overcome my lifelong fear of insects as well as to develop a keen power of observation, which is an extremely important device for self-preservation. By stepping back and quietly observing you can train yourself to assess life scenarios, whether it’s combative, social, workplace, lifestyle, interactions with others, etc. Observing is a key component to survival that can create powerful ways of critical thinking and to think, it all evolved from watching praying mantises duke it out.

No matter what martial art you study, there is no substitute for partner training. Nothing teaches the student how to apply their techniques and skills faster than squaring off with an opponent or working with a partner. While there is still value to supplemental training, such as working on a heavy bag or a “Bob,” as well as practicing katas and solo drills, cooperative partner practice and resistant partner training, such as sparring, randori, or reactive training are where the practitioner can really assess their skill level and determine what needs to be improved. Do you want to get the most out of your partner training? Here are some ways to do it. Don’t Live in Your Own Private Idaho What does it mean to live in your own private Idaho? Apart from being a great song by The B-52’s, it means: don’t live in your own head. When you are sparring, rolling, or doing randori, pay attention to what your partner is doing. For myself, I know I can become so fixated on trying to apply a specific technique, that I can end up with “tunnel vision,” and miss other better opportunities. So how can you avoid this trap? You should always have a plan, but not to the exclusion of other options. Observe your opponent. If you initiate something, how do they react? You may find a way to set up your technique or they may reveal an opening for something better. For grapplers, try closing your eyes. You will learn a whole new way to literally “feel” what is happening in the exchange. After your workout, get feedback. Ask your partner what they noticed. “What did you see? Was I telegraphing my intentions?” Honest feedback will teach you a lot. It is not always fun to hear, but it is always educational. Be open to it. Incorporate the necessary changes and see yourself improve. Speed and Resistance Sometimes, when we learn something new, the temptation is to do it a few times and then try to apply it fast and hard. However, that is not the best way to learn how to incorporate something just learned. You walk before you run, and you also jog a bit before you go to a full sprint. That middle place between the initial learning of something and the fast application in a non-compliant exchange is critical. The two important factors to consider are speed and resistance. Try working at a “medium speed” with about half the resistance. Both speed and resistance can be difficult to gauge, but the mere attempt and willingness to try will go a long way toward making the practice productive. Here are some tips. When practicing at a slower speed, neither person should stop, pause, or hesitate in their movement. The idea is to go slower, but take out all the delays from the previous step of learning and strive for fluidity in your technique. It should look like moving in slow motion. Especially when grappling, dialing back the resistance when learning to apply a specific technique or skill will help both parties understand what is happening and how it feels. Increase resistance as skills improve. For strikers, slowing down and striving for better targeting will ensure that more strikes land and that they are more effective when power and speed are added. Mindset When working with a partner, the goal is not to “win,” it is to learn. It’s a subtle distinction in the student’s mindset that can make a big difference in how one approaches the interaction with training partners, and what one takes from it. You are not going to win a medal or a trophy, you are going to gain knowledge. However, that knowledge may very well help you to win a medal or a trophy at your next competition. My first teacher used to say that you should leave all your problems at the door. When you step onto the mat, you should have a good attitude without dragging your job’s office politics, your family problems, or lingering anger from that jerk that cut you off in traffic, onto the mat. That also means leaving your ego at the door as well. A student with a calm and humble demeanor will get more out of their partner practice than someone that gets angry when they lose. Don’t get me wrong though, the goal is to strive for a successful outcome. However, if you were bested by a training partner because they exploited a weakness that you have, and you learned from that experience, that is a win in my book. When defeat arrives, it must be accepted or a valuable lesson will be lost. This is the way a student learns, matures, and improves. Gratitude Always thank your training partners. If you got your clock cleaned, and you learned from that experience, then count yourself lucky. It was a valuable lesson. In general, any time you work with someone, thank them and acknowledge that you appreciate their effort. We are all on our own martial art journey, but we can’t get to our destination alone. We need the help of others along the way.

When I first saw the quote "Women hold up half the sky" being used as a social media Instagram handle, I thought how strange! This is a quote from 1949 proclaimed by Chairman Mao Zedong, who helped to rally women to join the labor force, saying, “Whatever men comrades can accomplish, women comrades can too.” It’s a good start, but this article is about celebrating women warriors all over the world where I believe we can say, at least for March, that women hold up all of the Sky. I will start with my mom, Sandra Kahn, who left her small world in Rhode Island and became one of the first female electricians’ in the Bethlehem Steel Shipyards in San Francisco. Then, keeping it personal still, I can celebrate Jill Rooks, owner of, The Energy Lab in Redlands, California-a true modern-day warrior; Colleen Lemay, owner of New Generation Martial Arts for 30 years and a skilful and badass martial artist; Tonika Taylor, Dance instructor, and Jungshin Fitness master trainer. The list goes on. And on. And ….on. We know and honor the legends: Rosa Parks, Rosey The Riveter, Harriet Tubman, Wonder Woman, Michelle Yeoh, Serena and Venus Williams, The Iron Butterfly, The Amazonian Women, etc., etc. but what do all these women have in common and why are these women warriors? According to the Oxford Dictionary, “a warrior is a brave or experienced fighter or soldier.” These women, amongst many other women, shine brightly because they pioneered paths and soldiered the way for millions of others. These women made our lives easier, for men and women alike! They passed the baton to the next generation, and now we have it: we must continue to pave the way for equality in the workplace, safe homes, and fair opportunities. As men, we get to provide good role models and templates for our daughters and celebrate our wives, moms, and grandmas, even if they are NOT perfect! As women, we raise kind and compassionate young men and strong women, honor the masculine and work alongside them. We get to use our feminine strength to guide those in our lives. We are the ones who get to stop all trials of injustice and do what is right. Why us? Because we are martial artists and we know how to. In Martial Arts, it has been more established than in other sports for a more extended period that women are strong and practice the arts like their brothers. This is one of the welcoming aspects of martial arts I love so much. When we put on our belts, we are martial artists. We are not men vs. women. In addition, Martial Arts is a legendary and ancient discipline with a deep purpose in mindfulness, tribal warfare and protection, and the art of self-defense. Within this field it is equally safe to be male or female, they or them. Who are the women in your closest circles and are you celebrating them? Please tag @jungshinfitness on Instagram and let us know! Happy International Women’s Month!

Are you prepared to compete with the best of the best in Karate? Sport Karate competitions provide participants a chance to demonstrate their skills, push themselves, and become a champion. However, it's crucial to understand what it takes to win in these high-stakes contests before you go onto the mat. Priorities: Establish some goals Having a clear understanding of your goals is essential before you even begin practicing for a Sport Karate competition. Do you wish to return home with a bright medal? Break your own record? Or perhaps you just want to know how you compare to the opposition? One of the top competitors from Sport Karate history, Matt Emig, mentioned his unique perspective on competition in his interview on The Jackson Rudolph Podcast. For him, competition wasn’t always about targeting the approach which would be most impressive to the judges, it was sometimes more about seizing improvised opportunities on stage and obtaining new levels of overall performance. Whatever your objectives, be sure they are time-bound, relevant, quantifiable, and explicit (folks in the business world know this as “SMART”, for short). This will assist you in maintaining your training-related motivation and attention. Choose Your Battles and the Appropriate Rivalry It's time to pick a competition that supports your objectives once you've set them. Do your homework before selecting a Sport Karate competition since not all of them are made equal. Take into account the logistics, including the venue, transportation, and lodging, as well as the format, regulations, and degree of competition. And don't be scared to set your goals on a significant, prominent event because you never know what you could accomplish if you do. Train Like a Champion: Be Consistent You must train persistently and shrewdly if you want to win a Sport Karate tournament. This calls for a comprehensive training plan that incorporates technical instruction, overall strategy, sparring and/or forms drilling, and physical fitness. Address your flaws while concentrating on your strengths. To keep your body and mind on their toes, switch things up. Don't overlook the value of rest and recuperation though; if you want to perform at your peak, your muscles need time to repair and regenerate. Fuel Your Fire: Diet and Hydration Are Important Sport Karate competitions are about bringing your best performance, which depends on proper diet and hydration. To feed your body and aid in muscle regeneration, make sure you are consuming enough of the proper nutrients, including carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Don't forget to drink enough water, as this is essential for sustaining both physical and mental function and regulating body temperature. Don't undervalue the power of sleep while we're talking about recuperation. In the days before the competition, make sure you get plenty of sleep to make sure you are well-rested and prepared to rock. Mind Over Matter: Manage Your Stress and Emotions Sport Karate event competition may be stressful, especially if you are under pressure to do well. It's crucial to control your tension and emotions so they don't hinder you. Finding strategies to stay focused and optimistic, as well as using relaxation techniques like deep breathing, are some ways to handle stress. Understanding the competition's rules and structure will also enable you to prepare tactically and control your tension. Make sure you are prepared for the event day, and think about participating in a nearby competition or viewing internet recordings to acquire a sense of the competition setting and observe how other competitors do. The Early Bird Gets the Golden Worm: Arrive on Time and WarmUp. I’ll keep this tip short; enhance your mobility, loosen up your muscles, and psychologically prepare for the competition with the aid of a decent warm-up. Your body will thank you, and so will your competition score. Karate Karma: Focus and Be Upbeat It's critical to maintain positivity and focus during the tournament, no matter what transpires. You can maintain the present moment and provide your best effort if you do this. Never lose faith in your skills or training, and try not to allow failures or defeats get you down. Instead, consider them as chances for development and improvement. Loses provide lessons, so long as you are willing to capture them. Mind Over Matter: Management of Your Stress and Emotions Sport Karate competitions may be nerve-wracking, especially if you are under pressure to do well. To avoid being held back, it's critical to control your tension and emotions. Using relaxation methods, such deep breathing exercises or meditation, and finding strategies to maintain concentration and optimism are some approaches to handle stress. You can control tension and make a smart preparation plan by being familiar with the competition's rules and structure. A local competition or internet recordings can help you get a sense of the competition atmosphere and how other practitioners fare. Make sure you are aware of what to anticipate on the day of the event. Leading Sport Karate Leagues and Groups If you want to get involved in the world of Sport Karate competition, you need to learn about the best leagues and groups that put on competitions. Here are a few of the great ones to follow: WKF, or the World Karate Federation. The WKF, the biggest and most prominent worldwide Karate organization, organizes a number of competitions and events every year. The WKF offers events for Karate practitioners of various skill levels, including the World Karate Championships and the Karate 1 Premier League. USKA,or the United States Karate Alliance. The USKA, a prominent Karate association in the country, organizes a variety of competitions and events every year. The USKA offers several chances for Karate practitioners to compete and display their abilities, from the USKA National Championships to the USKA World Cup. ISKA, or the International Sport Karate Association. The ISKA is a worldwide organization that sponsors a variety of competitions and events for Karateka of all levels. The ISKA offers a range of competition possibilities for Karate practitioners, from the ISKA World Championships to the ISKA National Open. Practical Suggestions for Competitors Here are a few quick helpful suggestions for you in addition to the previous advice and tactics: ● Keep your training consistent. Keep to your training and have faith in your talents. ● Take losses or defeats gracefully - Try not to lose heart if things don't turn out the wayyou expected. Instead, concentrate on the lessons you can take away from yourmistakes and see failures as chances for development. ● Finding the right balance between fun and seriousness is important. Sport Karatetournaments might be tough, but that doesn't mean you can't have a good time. Strive to strike a balance between taking the event seriously and having fun.ConclusionSport Karate tournaments are a terrific chance to put your abilities to the test, push your limitations, and challenge yourself. You can position yourself for success and have a meaningful and joyful experience by creating SMART objectives, choosing the correct competition, training consistently and wisely, managing stress and emotions, and being focused and happy.Don't be hesitant to participate in Sport Karate events, regardless of your skill level. You never know what you could accomplish! Conclusion Sport Karate tournaments are a terrific chance to put your abilities to the test, push your limitations, and challenge yourself. You can position yourself for success and have a meaningful and joyful experience by creating SMART objectives, choosing the correct competition, training consistently and wisely, managing stress and emotions, and being focused and happy.Don't be hesitant to participate in Sport Karate events, regardless of your skill level. You never know what you could accomplish!

In my hometown of Pittsburgh I’m particularly fascinated by how big judo is in Israel. With the latest IJF Grand Slam held in Israel, here some articles I collected and links over the last year I share as my Black Belt Blog for this week. ( Video Highlights & American Judo Article on Recent Grand Slam in Israel ) Saeid Mollaei Turns 30 (Now 31!) Here you can watch ALL IJF World Judo Tour events LIVE, along with various Judo Highlight shows, video series, best moments, athlete interviews ... Saeid Mollaei sacrificed a lifetime for a dream. He did it of his own free will and he did it in Japan at a place called the Budokan. Fate has reasons that reasons does not know, but when it pays justice it has an unmistakable flavor. Today is the birthday of Saeid who turns 30. In 2019 Tokyo was the scene of a bad action, espionage and suspense movie, whose main actor was Mollaei. Bad because when politics penetrates the field of sport things usually end badly and sometimes very badly. Mollaei's sin was not being born in Iran. His sin was not accepting orders and his penance was an ordeal that cost him much more than a person can bear, because to be free he had to renounce everything. The story is well known. What is little known, because it has not been offered, is Mollaei's life between 2019 and 2021. "It was the hardest decision of my life because it meant giving up my life in order to compete as a normal person." Normality, that condition that is only understood once lost. Saeid rebuilt his life with parsimony and a non-negotiable goal: the Tokyo Olympics. "That's why I left Iran and that's why I haven't seen my family since 2019: to be here." Little by little, "step by step,” as he puts it, Saeid raised his head from under the water in Germany, where he has lived ever since. "I barely spoke German. I was afraid of possible reprisals from the Iranian regime, not only for me, but for my wife and of course, my parents and brothers, who are still in Iran." Saeid has had to learn to look over his shoulder and resume his Olympic preparation. They are periods of four years, five this time. Any little misstep can cost a medal because judoka plan complex but necessary cycles to get to the peak on the right day. He also received a Mongolian passport, which has allowed him to participate in the race to Tokyo. “It was not the ideal preparation, quite the opposite. I've never lost hope because I knew I could get a good result in Japan." Mollaei took a silver medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Saeid slept that night with the silver medal. "I have spent half the night kissing the medal."

Two-time Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame honoree Fumio Demura marks a rare milestone anniversary this weekend as he celebrates his 75th anniversary in martial arts. The renowned karate and kobudo instructor's Genbu-Kai organization will be honoring his achievement at a banquet in Fullerton, Calif. Demura began training in martial arts in the late 1940s starting with kendo and karate in his native Japan. At age 12 he began practicing his primary style of shito-ryu karate. He would also go on to study traditional Okinawan weaponry under famed kobudo instructor Taira Shinken, later writing books on various karate weapons including the tonfa, sai and nunchaku. Demura moved to the United States in 1965 becoming a popular martial arts instructor in Southern California. He's, perhaps, best known as the stuntman who performed the karate scenes for Pat Morita's Mr. Miyagi character in the original "Karate Kid" movies. He was named Black Belt Magazine's karate instructor of the year in 1969 and martial artist of the year in 1975.

There is no limit to the number of life-lessons the Martial Arts teach an astute practitioner. However, in my mind, one stands above the others, and it will serve you for a lifetime. This lesson is perhaps best encapsulated by the following popular Japanese proverb. “Fall down seven times, get up eight.” The physical and mental aspects of Martial Arts training embolden your spirit such that you learn to keep moving forward no matter the obstacle. You become the very embodiment of this quotation. Sometimes this happens quite literally. Sparring This obvious parallel on the mats teaches us the literal lesson of getting back up. Undoubtably, we have all faced someone with superior skills at one time or another. That’s just life. But in the dojo, we must step up to the challenge where people regularly avoid potential conflict in everyday life. Because we stand to face the challenge, we are vulnerable to getting knocked down. And when it inevitably happens, we gather ourselves and pop back up for another round. In the middle of the session, little thought is given to the greater lesson. All we know in the moment is that we must get back up and continue. Voluntarily putting ourselves into that position of challenge and responding to whatever results is one thing that separates a martial artist from the general public. While most people would rather avoid an activity all together than risk failure, as marital artists, we know that it is through temporary failure that we learn and consequently grow. Though, not all examples in Martial Arts training are quite so literal… Promotions We have all heard a million times that our focus should be on something other than belts and climbing the ranks. Ultimately, it is the pursuit of knowledge that should be our driving factor, not the strip of cloth around our waist. Despite knowing this, it is easy to get caught up with trying to work our way through the ranks. This can be due to ego, pride, or something as innocent as excitement for learning new material. No matter the reason, it can be a tough pill to swallow if you fail on a belt test or are held at a rank longer than others. I remember early on in my Kenpo journey; I flubbed up on a pre-test in preparation for an upcoming belt test and was forced to wait for the next promotion cycle. In the moment, I was admittedly unhappy with myself. But, when I finally did test, months later, I was all the better for it. As I look back on that moment, I am exceedingly happy that I wasn’t pushed through a mediocre promotion and instead was made to put in more work to be truly worthy of testing. Though I was not physically knocked to the ground in this example, I did have to brush off my ego and step back up to the plate. I know I’m not the only one with such an experience. We all face moments like this on our journey in the arts. We have what we, in the moment, think are setbacks that ultimately become set-ups for a much grander future. Katas Sometimes the lesson is taught in the tiniest of detail. If you’ve been training for several years, think back to the very first kata you learned. Do you remember when you “got it” and thought you knew how to do it perfectly? Do you have it on video? Compare it to how you do that same form today. If you don’t have it on tape, I bet you can still see where I’m going with this. The fine detail, execution, and intention of your kata today are sure to be better in every way possible. Why is this? It’s simply another application of “getting up” again. Though you felt that you were doing it correctly before, you continue to improve through practice. This gets at the heart of the arts. The striving for perfection is on display as we continue to try again and again to master our forms. We try to make it a bit better, closer to perfection, every time. We reinforce the great lesson through these small continual improvements (kaizen). The take-home message of today is that the habit of persistence taught through the Martial Arts is one of the greatest gifts you can receive from your studies. A true Martial Artist knows that there is always room for improvement and strives for it. Not a day will go by that you are not well served by this habit formed by you of the arts. Salute, Ian Lauer 3rd Degree Black Belt American Kenpo 1st Degree Black Belt Tae Kwon Do 1st Degree Black Belt Hapkido 1st Degree Black Belt Coszacks Karate

Years ago one of my dearly departed friends and mentor Karl Geis spoke of developing a program to teach seniors citizens how to fall. Well looks like Karl had the right idea based on these articles I wanted to share as my Black Belt Judo Blog for this week. Sensei Gary Goltz Teaching Forward Ukemi (with his son Nathan in the background) He re's the routine (step forward with hands out, then up, then all the way to your back foot, and finally look to the rear). This seems to work really well. Judo Falls Save All: Tua Tagovailoa Hopes Judo Will Help Him Learn to Avoid Head Injuries The Dolphins quarterback is looking at an unorthodox way to avoid future concussions. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had multiple stints in the league’s concussion protoco l this season. As the Miami quarterback looks to enter the 2023-24 season healthier, he has a plan of attack in an effort to avoid future head injuries: Judo! “We’ve got a plan set up and I’ll be doing judo on Fridays so that I can figure out like … understanding my body and how to fall,” Tagovailoa told Kay Adams and Nate Burleson on the Up and Adams show on Friday. “Just trying to help myself.” Tagovailoa was at the center of recent discussion on concussions in football after multiple head injuries sidelined him this season. The Dolphins passer suffered multiple confirmed concussions, the final one coming against the Packers in Week 16. He missed the final three games of the season after that injury. When healthy, Tagovailoa proved that he was good enough to be the Dolphins’ franchise quarterback. He notched career highs in passing yards (3,548) and touchdowns (25). Tagovailoa also completed 64.8% oh is passes this season as he led Miami to an 8–5 record as a starter. The Dolphins made the playoffs with a 9–8 record, and finished second in the AFC East to the Bills. Miami’s season ended with a competitive 34–31 loss in the AFC wild card round to Buffalo, which was missed by Tagovailoa due to his final stint in the concussion protocol. “With @Tua now being a dad, it makes him want do things outside of the NFL to help himself… he will be doing judo every Friday to understand his body and how to fall 🥋 📺: @FanDuelTV | @heykayadams | @nateburleson” The University of Brighton will play host to the Safe Falls Seminar later this month. Taking place on the 11th and 12th of February. The Safe Falls Seminar is an educational programme, based on judo, methodologically developed through scientific research, to teach children to fall safely and securely. This prevention strategy emphasises creating safer environments to reduce daily life risks. The World Health Organization (2021) points out that falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury and deaths worldwide. This figure comes from the 37.3 million falls that are severe enough to require medical attention each year. Faced with this problem of great social significance, and of great economic expense for all countries, the WHO launched the challenge of responding to this social problem with ‘prevention strategies that should emphasise education, training, creating safer environments, prioritising fall-related research and establishing effective policies to reduce risk’. Institutions such as the European Judo Union and the University of Seville, together with eight other European universities, have reacted to this WHO call and believe that Safe Fall-Safe Schools can respond to the WHO challenge, in a coherent and objective manner. Therefore, they have joined forces to develop the Safe Fall-Safe Schools programme and to bring judo, and its ukemis, closer to society, supporting the EJU motto that ‘Judo is More than Sport’. Montreal Judo courses in Quebec are teaching older people how to fall safely Seniors learn new reflexes to prevent injury when they take a tumble Keep your head tucked in, form your body into a ball and roll. It's what Monique Laroche, 93, did last year when she fell on the bus. "The driver took off too fast and I didn't have time to sit so I let myself slide and I was careful about my head, like how we practised," said Laroche. Laroche walked away without any serious injury thanks to judo courses she's been taking in Saint-Hyacinthe, Que. They taught her how to prevent an injury when falling. Monique Laroche, 93, was one of the previous participants of the judo courses. Offered in various regions in the province, they aim to help seniors prevent injury. (Submitted by Jean-François Marceau) Judo Quebec started the initiative, which now includes three judo schools around the province in Saint-Georges, Saint-Hyacinthe and Sherbrooke. Judo Témis in Témiscamingue, Que., is one of the latest clubs which will start offering lessons on how to fall for people 60 and older. "We are experts in falling," said Ambroise Lycke, co-owner of Judo Témis. Lycke says the first thing a judoka — a person who practises judo — has to learn is "how to fall without injuring yourself." Monique Laroche, 93, was one of the previous participants of the judo courses. She says she used those skills to prevent injury twice. (Submitted by Jean-François Marceau) Our first reflex is a bad habit' Lycke says it's all about teaching people to fight their natural reflexes, such as putting a hand out to break a fall. "What happens is all your weight goes to your hand and that's the place where you'll have [a] fracture," said Lycke. "Same thing for your head. Your head will go back and so you'll hurt your head and you will snap your head on the ground." He notes judo techniques on falling could help prevent serious injuries like breaks that can severely affect an elderly person's health and independence. Judo courses in Quebec are teaching older people how to fall safely A judo school in Témiscamingue, Que., is the latest to offer courses for 60-plus on how to prevent injury when taking a tumble. An often-overlooked risk, the science of slips and falls can be lifesaving 6 overlooked risks of falls for seniors and how to prevent them Quebec seniors across the province can start the new year by learning how to fall like judo black belts. Ambroise Lycke is a Judo teacher and owner of Judo Témis in Saint-Bruno-de-Guigues in the Témiscamingue region. He tells Quebec AM host Julia Caron why it is a valuable skill for people of all ages, but especially seniors. Teaching how to fall, instead of preventing falls Most courses for seniors teach you not to fall, says Benoit Séguin, the founder of the program. Part of what inspired him to develop this kind of course was his time in university when he initially taught the course to people with multiple sclerosis. "Once I gave it to those people with multiple sclerosis I knew right there and then that it would be very important and very useful," said Séguin. From there he began putting together a book on how to fall without injuring yourself. That's when Judo Quebec became interested and implemented a few courses around the province. Séguin held courses in Sherbrooke before retiring. He says he hears a lot of positive feedback from former students, some of whom used the techniques successfully. "One of the women I taught, she was in her late 70s and she fell in the gym and she said, 'everybody was just around me [saying] what happened? what happened?' She said 'I didn't even hurt. And what was funny about it is this big fellow, the next week, he fell the same way as I did, but they had to take him out on the stretcher,'" recalled Séguin. "So it's not a question of age, it's a question of knowing how." Judo course participants learn techniques to prevent injury. (Submitted by Jean-François Marceau) Course goes back to the basics, builds confidence One of the principal lessons is to encourage suppleness and to teach students to not be afraid of falling, says Jean-François Marceau, executive director of Judo Quebec. As part of the courses, students are taught the basics of how to drop down to — and then get up from — the floor. "When you go back to that basic thing then you become less afraid of the floor," said Marceau. "Of course you don't learn to fall in one lesson and then it's acquired for life. You have to practise for several weeks … It keeps the reflex on your body and your mind." Participants of the judo courses are put through various balance and mobility exercises. (Submitted by Jean-François Marceau) That's what happened for 78-year-old Louise d'Anjou. Her husband, Bruno Janssen, helps run the judo courses in St-Hyacinthe with Louis Graveline. She started taking the course in 2016. "I'm getting older, I'm already old now, I told myself why not take this course? So I started and I'm going to do my 11th session this year," said d'Anjou. Over the years she noticed that the people with the least mobility are often the ones who make the most progress in the course. For her, it began to quell her fear of falling. "[At first] even going from a seated position onto my back scared me. My reflex was to put my hands in back of me, but that's the worst thing to do," said d'Anjou. "By the second session, because I already did it and I knew I could do it, the fear wasn't there." Calendar: February - 2023 25th Saturday - Las Vegas Judo Championships , Henderson, NV March - 2023 5th Sunday - Taishi's 13th Anniversary Tournament , Cerritos, CA 18th Saturday & 19th Sunday - Youth National Championships , Lubbock, TX 25th Saturday - Shoshinkan's Annual Kosen Tournament , Las Vegas, NV 26th Sunday - Shoshinkan's Shintaro Higashi Clinic , Las Vegas, NV April - 2023 1st Saturday & 2nd Sunday - High School & Collegiate Nationals , San Jose, CA 2nd Sunday - Mojica Tournament (16 & Under) , Baldwin Park, CA 15th Saturday - Couchigian Memorial Tournament , Las Vegas, NV 16th Sunday - Ryoku's Amarilis Savon Clinic , Las Vegas, NV 22nd Saturday - Arizona State Championships , Tucson, AZ 29th Saturday & 30th Sunday - Golden State Open , Azusa, CA May - 2023 7th Sunday - CJI State Championships , San Francisco, CA 20th Saturday & 21st Sunday - Senior National Championships , Spokane, WA June - 2023 4th Sunday - Nanka Spring Tournament , Westminster, CA 16th Friday to 18th Sunday - USA Judo Junior Olympics , Shreveport, LA 24th Saturday - Sensei Gary's Birthday Scrimmage , Claremont, CA 25th Sunday - U.S. Adaptive Judo Championships , Riverside, CA July - 2023 7th Friday to 9th Sunday - USJF & USJA Summer Nationals , New York, NY 16th Sunday - CA State Games , San Diego, CA August - 2023 6th Sunday - Nikkei Games Budo Tournament , Cypress, CA September - 2023 24th Sunday - Nanka Fall Tournament , Westminster, CA October - 2023 1st Sunday - Capitol Open Judo Championships , Sacramento, CA 22nd Sunday - Fresno Invitational Tournament , Fresno, CA 29th Sunday - Fight for a Cure Women's Tournament & Clinic , Riverside, CA November - 2023 1st Wednesday to 3rd Friday - IJF World Veterans Championships , Abu Dhabi, UAE 5th Sunday - Nanka Team Tournament , Westminster, CA 19th Sunday - Presidents Cup National Championships , Irving, TX December - 2023 8th Friday to 10th Sunday - Nanka Winter Nationals & Clinics , Azusa, CA April - 2024 7th Sunday - Nanka Spring Tournament , Westminster, CA May - 2024 5th Sunday - Nanka West Coast Invitational , Westminster, CA June - 2024 28th Friday to 30th Sunday - USJF & USJA Summer Nationals , Tacoma. WA September - 2024 29th Sunday - Nanka Fall Tournament , Westminster, CA October - 2024 20th Sunday - Nanka Team Tournament , Westminster, CA December - 2024 6th Friday to 8th Sunday - Nanka Winter Nationals & Clinics , Azusa, CA

The beginning of a new year is rife with people making new starts and setting goals. However, lately, I’ve noticed people staying away from that one word that they feel will jinx their New Year commitment: resolution. The word has fallen out of favor as some think the “R” word is the path to failure, and more obscurely, said three times, can conjure up a demonic entity, not unlike Beetlejuice. Well, I may have just made that last part up, but you get the idea. Hence, I shall refrain from using the “R” word from now on. Call it what you like, but the real problem with those New Year goals is follow-through. At the beginning of the year, everything is shiny and new, but within a few weeks, sometimes days, it can all become drudgery and disappointing. As a result, commitment fades into oblivion, taking space next to last year's failed quest for that new rank, or a gold medal at a competition. It doesn’t have to be that way though. Avoid the five common goal-setting mistakes, and you can make this new year the best one yet. Ready? Read on. Be Bold One of the biggest mistakes people make when setting goals is by making them too small. I’ve heard people say they are keeping it “realistic” when coming up with their goals. Does that sound exciting to you? Probably not. And if you’re not excited about it, you’ll probably lose interest and then…Well, we know what happens next. Going for what you think you can achieve, and not what you want, is not really a goal. It’s a safe way to mediocrity. If a goal doesn’t make you excited about attaining it, or scare you a little, it probably needs to be bigger. It's been said by some in the space program, that if President Kennedy hadn’t thrown down the challenge of landing on the moon by the end of the decade, we would probably still be trying to do it (See Yoda about “trying”). Be bold. The Same Old Thing If you are going to crush these goals you’ve set, you’re not going to do it by doing the same old thing, or you would have attained it already. You have to ask yourself: what are you going to do differently? If you want to get on the podium at your next competition, how are you planning to get there? Maybe you need to spar more or do strength training. Are you gassing out early? Maybe you need more conditioning. Ask yourself what needs to change and then change it. Honestly assess where you are now, and contrast it with where you want to be, and the answer should reveal itself. Head Trash What is the tape that plays in your head saying? We all have one. They are those consistent thoughts that tell us we’re not good enough, or that the success we want is not deserved, or unattainable, or any number of negative thoughts. Clear them out. Get rid of limiting beliefs. Where did they come from anyway? It may have been something you heard at a young age or something a friend experienced. Sadly, it could be something a teacher said. Regardless, jettison those thoughts, and slay that dragon of doubt by asking yourself: “why do I believe this?” It is a powerful question. In addition to attaining your goals, you just might change your life. Thinking of All the Ways You Can Fail I write down my goals, but I have friends that won’t, because they tell me, “If I don’t achieve them I’ll feel worse.” While I understand the sentiment, that thought is really just a kind of protection from failure. It is the difference between playing to win and playing not to lose. If you have watched any competition when a competitor plays not to lose, you know it usually doesn’t end well. It is true, you can write down your goals, and do all the things that you should and still not attain them, but that is why it is called a goal and not a guarantee. A goal has some risk involved. You have to put yourself out of your comfort zone and say, “This is what I am going to do.” That said, you don’t have to tell anyone but yourself what you are doing. You don’t have to post it on social media or tell all your friends. I believe your energies will have more power if you don’t tell a soul and just do it. Self-help guru, Napoleon Hill had a great quote for this very thing: “Tell the world what you intend to do. But first, show it.” Quitting The granddaddy of all self-sabotage is quitting, plain and simple. However, quitting shouldn’t be lumped next to those times when life throws us a curve ball. Reaching your goals is rarely a linear path. It should be acknowledged that there can be injuries, financial issues, professional commitments that have to be met, and any number of things we have to contend with to live as responsible adults. It would be unrealistic to think that there won’t be unforeseen obstacles that we need to overcome. When you find yourself in one of life’s temporary stalls, remember that you can still make progress. The lockdown taught us many ways to work on our own. We can do solo training, conditioning at home, and more. We can make the most of the time when we have to be on the sidelines. Always be preparing. Acknowledge that delays are short-term and don’t make them permanent. Don’t quit. You can do whatever you set your mind to as long you’re committed, disciplined, tenacious, and all those other adjectives that get an instant “like” on social media. Regardless of the past, this time you will be unwavering in your quest to achieve. And though it will be difficult, you’ll see it through. Write down your goals. See yourself attaining them daily. Do the work to achieve it, and this time it will be different.

Jay-Z may have said the wisest words that could ever land on a martial artist’s ears. No, I’m not talking about having only ninety-nine problems. “Go and brush your shoulders off.” You don’t have to be a pimp to benefit from remembering to brush the metaphorical dirt off of your shoulders. In fact, experts in many fields expound this very same idea. There's a fable about a donkey who fell down the well that was about to be filled. The farmer who owned the donkey saw it happen and spent many hours trying to help the donkey get out of the well. After some time had passed, he started to question if the effort was worth it however. Deciding that the donkey was too old and that the well still needed to be filled, he continued to shovel in dirt and fill the well. Though at first the donkey cried out in distress, he quickly grew quiet. Figuring that was the end of his livestock, the farmer kept shoveling the dirt in until, to his astonishment, the donkey appeared from inside and simply hopped out of the well. With every scoop of dirt that came down the well and landed on the donkey's back, he shrugged it off and took a step skywards. Rather than be buried by what could have killed him, he shook it off and used it as an opportunity to better his situation. If you accept defeat, you will become defeated. Period. If, however, you don’t stop and instead simply keep shrugging off the dirt–the pain, the stress, the excuses, the challenges life throws your way–you’ll be able to progress towards the “impossible” goals. Develop the resilience to overcome the challenges of the world and also the struggles that arise in your martial art training. Shake off the uncertainty, the boredom, the concerns, and the problems that pop up, and keep stepping skyward. Mind you, the story also goes on to say that the donkey then turns around and bites the farmer who tried to kill him, causing the man to get an infection and die from septic shock. I suppose the lesson from the story could also be that when you do the wrong thing and try to cover your ass, it’ll come back to bite you. Regardless, the story is pertinent to us martial artists. An Immovable Mind In traditional Japanese arts, there is the concept of fudoshin , or the immovable mind. Spoiler alert, life happens and it ain't easy. When the winds of struggle and everyday life come blowing, it takes a strong mind and spirit to stay resolute and rooted in your principles and convictions. This is just one of the important mindsets every martial artist should cultivate within himself, however this is one that is especially important in the beginning of your training journey. When a martial artist starts training in their style, they are faced with many challenges. Like friction sanding an object down before it can be polished, these challenges can be the best preparation for positive change. By overcoming them, we unlock new strengths and experiences to draw confidence from. Something positive can come after something problematic. This is true whether you are facing fear and uncertainty in starting a new endeavor, impatience and frustration while progress is slow, or sheer boredom from repetition of fundamental movements. The only way to achieve the results we desire is to keep a steadfast mind. Maintain the necessary self-discipline and remain resolute in your decision to act or improve. Corrupted Conviction The human mind is nosy and noisy–it particularly loves to listen in on the thoughts you allow to form, even briefly. When we waver in our conviction, we are entertaining a narrative which says that sometimes we give up, sometimes we say things that we don’t intend to actually complete. The more our brain hears this story, the more it believes it. The habit becomes more ingrained and harder to break. Consciously or unconsciously, it becomes our belief system. We begin to negotiate with ourselves as soon as motivation dips slightly–we say that we don’t want it that bad, we’re too busy right now, we can train at another time or another day, or that the conditions for working out aren’t ideal at the moment. Stop that. Author Jim Kwik said “With great responsibility comes great power.” No, that's not a misremembered quote from a Spider-Man comic. It’s the evolution of an idea. If we always blame others or come up with excuses, we are outsourcing our strength and ability to control our environment and circumstances. It is your life and it is your improvement, only you can actually make the decisions to work towards excellence and accomplishment. Once we take responsibility for our actions, or lack thereof up to this point, then we also reclaim the power to change them for the better. Once you set your intention, let your sense of responsibility and conviction carry your actions until completion. This is just as true for techniques and tactics as our personal goals. If we begin to initiate a block or strike, and then become afraid of a potential counter attack from our sparring opponent, our action will be decidedly weaker. Our spirit will be consumed by our opponent in no time. The times when you are punching and kicking are not the times to have commitment issues. Bring your focus to the highest level and keep your composure as things change around you. People punch back and change positions. Accept that without undue energy. Life is unfair and throws curveballs at inopportune moments. Accept that without undue energy as well. The moment you hold this skill in your heart and in your mind, it will show in your every action. A quote attributed to famed swordsman Tsukahara Bokuden reflects this philosophy well, stating “Mental bearing, not skill, is the sign of a matured samurai” Whether you wield a sword or not, these wise words are important. Confidence grows alongside competence. If you are living inside your comfort zone, too afraid to try something new, you are disallowing important growth for yourself. Outside that circle of ease you have leashed yourself to is a world of skill that will allow and accelerate your progress like nothing else. Growth requires discomfort and we must face it with an unfettered mind. Don’t stop. Don’t waver. You’ve got this. Go and brush your shoulders off.