I just read an article about an 8-year-old earning their 3rd degree karate black-belt. Let’s face it. In the eyes of the uninitiated public, the karate black-belt is a joke, and for good reason. For decades, martial arts school owners have gotten the advice of “industry consultants” that have prioritized profits over teaching. Some of these high profile consultants literally …
OneHeart Challenge – Week 1
“Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” Joshua J. Marine One day at a time…I have to remind myself. Our Black Belt requirements are daunting; not for the weak-minded and only the strong (heart, mind, body & spirit) need apply. Over a 1-year period, 50k pushups and crunches, 1,000 reps of a single …
Can Kids Earn a Black-Belt?
Let’s face it. In the eyes of the uninitiated public, the karate black-belt is a joke, and for good reason.
Choosing a Martial Arts School
Friends and acquaintances often ask me, “How do I choose a martial arts school?” I’m not surprised that this is a frequent question. Most people’s experience and understanding of the martial arts are limited to what they have seen in television and movies. Here are some very basic factors to consider when choosing a place to train for you or …
Week 5 and a Status Check
Week 5: Brought in the new year (woo!) Ended the first month and started the second Achieved the rank of Shichi Kyu Broke the 5000 mark on push-ups and sit-ups Started learning my first kata! That’s one busy week. Feeling pretty good about things but thankful that I spent some time on my tracking spreadsheet. Staring at that thing and …
A Tofu Smoothie… Mmmm
Tofu Goodness Just For You Just wanted to offer up another tofu recipe. This one will likely be more appealing… I mean, who doesn’t love smoothies?!?!?! The thing with this recipe is that it hides the tofu really well because it calls for silken tofu. Silken tofu basically has the consistency of yogurt so it’s a perfect swap. Ingredients: 6 …
An Invitation to RUN RUN RUN! … or WALK WALK WALK!
The Relay CA, 2011 I’m trying to get a team together for The Relay. Date: April 3oth – May 1st Registration Deadline: March 1st NOT competitive, just for FUN! Here are the options: Run: 199 mile relay from Calistoga to Santa Cruz. 12 team members, each person runs 3 legs that are from 3 – 9 miles with about 50 miles …
The Ins and Outs of Breathing
I received an e-mail from a student today asking about breathing. Why do we breathe in through the nose and out the mouth? I’ve been puzzling and haven’t yet discovered a benefit other than the sound. First we have to understand that both inhaling and exhaling are very important to the breathing process. It’s the job of our lungs to …
A little bit of tofu in your life…
A couple weeks ago Mr. Oliver asked me to share some tofu recipes with the class. So, here comes recipe number 1. nLet me just say… A lot of people I talk to who dislike tofu say it’s “a texture thing.” Now, you can sneak the silken tofu into a smoothie and *poof* … You just protein’d up your frozen …
The Fitness “First Step”, and Finding a Baseline
Regular fitness efforts have been particularly challenging for me,nmost especially as an adult and parent with a lot of responsibilitiesnas well as a history of sedentary ways. The recent classes and Mr.nOliver’s black-belt test journey have given me inspiration to get back in gearnonce again (the week of “squats of doom” was the first signal). Sincenstarting at the dojo in …