
Building a Fire (A Martial Arts Thought Exercise)
There are a lot of analogies about martial arts training. Once you fall in love with an art, it tends to stay on the periphery of your...

STORY: The Judgments of Konishi and Yahara
(This is a fictional story with fabricated characters and events. Resemblance to real life individuals or incidences is purely...
A Tale of Two Voices
Prior to this past weekend I had never been snow shoeing before. It always seemed like way more work than it was worth and a regular hike...

Making Excellence a Habit
Mediocrity, by its very definition, is what surrounds us. The world is constantly seeking a balance of order. As such, we as a...

The Trap of Pure Exercise and the Method of Mindfulness
One of the immutable truths of martial arts training is that it requires hard work. Time, sweat, and pain are the primary currencies for...

Adapting and Adjusting (How to Carry On After Losing a Sensei)
This is the third article in Reader Week II. In this somber post, author Helen Cawley examines the state of her martial arts after losing...

Giving the Bleeding Edge
Secrecy is a long standing tradition in the martial arts. When you analyze how most arts developed, it's easy to understand why. Take...

Ryoko’s Reassurance – A Matter of Mindset
Throughout our day we stream commentary on everything we see and do, telling ourselves stories. These stories can range from conscious...