Modifying Training for Pregnancy
There are not many sports one can participate in that modifications can be made to the level of intensity of training due to the physical limitations or injuries. There are also not many sports that can offer a high level of continued learning over a lifetime. These are just two of the reasons Karate is [...]
You have to learn to be a good loser before you can be a good winner
Letter from Michael Kinney to the Editor of “The Karate Voice” Dear Editor, After reading the comments of the young tournament competitors in the last issue of the Karate Voice, I feel compelled to write and offer them some of my insights based on more than 30 years of competition, coaching and judging in karate [...]
Don't Encourage Parents to Watch Class
Many studios not only encourage parents to watch class but they provide chairs and bleachers to make it easy for them. Watching is a very passive state, it serves very little useful function for them or you. They don’t gain any benefits other than seeing their child have fun and you do not gain from [...]
How to Keep Students Longer
The most important person in the world. Signing people up and keeping students twice as long, is easy if you know the answer to one simple question. Who is the most important person in the world? The President, The Pope, Michael Jordan or someone else? The answer is clear to at least ninety nine percent [...]
Keeping Adult Students
The first lesson in dealing with adults is to realize that all they are, are just big kids. Although they may not be as graphic and vocal as the kids, they truly demand as much attention from you. If there is a perception on their part that they are not receiving that attention, you will [...]
Discipline and Respect Within the Martial Arts School
by Lee Lerchen. Last July I had the good fortune of judging the United States Open Karate Tournament in Orlando. I always enjoy judging since it gives me the opportunity to observe the various styles and the representatives from numerous and diverse schools. On the average I judge about two tournaments a month, which, although they may not be completely accurate, like most people, I tend to draw certain conclusions about styles and specific schools from what I see.
My First Martial Arts Class
by Lee Lerchen. I always admired martial artists, but I never had the motivation to begin training until my wife started insisting .that I exercise more. The thought of using the arts to appease her didn’t immediately cross my mind. I tried racquetball, then soccer, tennis and jogging, but they were rather tedious.
Hollywood's Hit Woman
by Cynthia Rothrock. When I went professional, I specialized in forms and weapons. I never really competed in sparring on the national level. I didn’t care about fighting. I wanted to be the best in forms and weapons, and I had the drive for that. Whenever I did a form, I was thinking “I’ve got to win. I’ve got to win.” But when I fought, it was just for fun…
Karate Games
by Bill Clase. The average student dropout rate statistics for martial arts schools nationwide is a staggering eighty percent. A great many of these dropouts are children, who get bored with the repetitious type of training that the martial arts require for a high degree of proficiency. One Florida based karate instructor has found a cure to the kid’s boredom…
Do You Want to Dance?
by Bill Wallace. Although most people remember me only as a full-contact and point karate fighter, in 1968 and 1969, I competed in kata (choreographed combat sets), simply because when you entered a tournament, it featured competition in both sparring and kata…
Aikido-Country Style
by Dave Lowry. An aikido seminar I attended last fall coincided with the worst November cold snap in memory. The dojo (training hall), located in rural southwest Missouri, was miles outside the nearest city. I passed ponds with steam rising off of them, and on one hillside the ground vegetation was blossoming with little swirls of delicate ice called “frost flowers.”
Aikido: A "Gentle" Art Adapts to Law Enforcement
By Keith W. Strandberg. An adapted form of the Japanese martial art of Aikido, which means “art of harmony,” could offer law enforcement a less-violent method of restraining suspects– and help minimize charges of police brutality.
Choosing Your First Martial Arts School
by Lee Lerchen. Choosing a martial arts school is like selecting a boyfriend or girlfriend: You will spend lots of time, money and effort, and if you choose well, your life will be great. However, if you choose unwisely, you may regret it for a long time…
Confessions of a Novice
By Michael Causey, Student. After a few months of Karate training the student (at least this student) begins to feel like a tiger and to act like an ass. This period of gymnastic adolescence, hopefully, doesn’t last long (I’m in my third year). It can, however, be physically and emotionally trying to friends and loved ones…
