Tatanka’s Martial Arts Academy

One of the best decisions I’ve made during this time was to modify our curriculum to provide additional focus on meeting the students’ needs for socialization. While still making sure that they gain valuable martial arts skills, I’ve moved away somewhat from the rigorous classes we used to have, and have relaxed in-class protocol significantly. This has noticeably benefited the mental health of the students, and I’m so glad that we took the direction we have.

For those that don't know, I have a black belt in two completely different martial arts. Nothing - and I mean nothing - about them is similar. One is based almost entirely on grappling, one is entirely striking. You'll need that information to properly understand the rest of this post. The first black belt I received was in Judo. There was no 'kids' black belt program - you waited until you were 18, or you didn't get one. That's just the way it was. I started training when I ...Continue reading

Meanwhile, while I wasn’t looking... WE TURNED TWO YEARS OLD!!! Happy second birthday to Tatanka’s Martial Arts Academy!!

This is a post for the students: Why do we practice on our own? Why do we do 1000 kicks in a week, the same basic punches over and over, the same kata again and again and again, even when a coach isn’t watching us?... Isn’t the point of practicing to get feedback so that you can improve every time? No. The point of practice is to improve, yes, and, we often do so in such tiny increments as to be invisible to the naked eye. A coach will make adjustments, they will tell you where to focus, they will remind you to keep your hands up and your eyes forward and to point your toes. They will tell you what you need to repeat in order to become great. Unless you are spending hours each day with them, though, they will not train your body to mindlessly shift its balance ever so slightly more onto the ball of your foot so that your kick moves imperceptibly smoother for you. They will not train your response time to be that fraction of a second quicker. You will do that. Your mindful repetition of the movement they have instructed, while focusing on the things they have told you, will do that. We cannot see our own incremental growth- it is best viewed from the outside, and seen most dramatically over time. It is a matter of faith in our instructors, and faith in *ourselves*, that simple repetition without their presence will continue to yield improvement. (Drawing from high school, and then last year, as a visual example- because those seem to have greater impact )