‘Sacred Spaces – The place where one practises the way’ by Anna Glover – Chang’s Hapkido Academy UK, 2nd dan As the Head of Safety in a theatre, one of my favourite aspects of my job is to attend a
Black belt testing is a time for reflection
At a grading a couple of weeks ago, three students tested for their black belts – two for their 1st degree and the third for her 2nd degree. At CHA black belt testing is a fairly lengthy process. All three
Giving time to listening
During skills practice, traditional martial arts etiquette dictates that a junior belt not correct a more senior belt. Is this because they know more? Sometimes they do … actually, a lot of the time their additional years of practice will
Making progress
Sometimes there are sessions when nothing seems to be working right. Kicks feel heavy. Throws don’t work. Patterns are corrected, and then corrected again. The novice expects to feel a certain amount of incompetence, but for the senior belt this
Can how you define success stop you from feeling successful?
What we consider an achievement and how we define success affects us at every level. It affects confidence, self-esteem and psychological well-being. It affects motivation and how satisfied we feel with life. It influences the choices we make and the
Out with the old, in with the new
July, 2013 Last weekend I was presented with my 5th degree black belt. Many of my students have asked how it feels – I’m not sure I totally know yet, but here are some initial thoughts… As with every new
Skills, skills and more skills (part two)
Last month I spoke about how knowing a variety of martial arts skills can be beneficial to your practice (part one). Today I’d like to play devil’s advocate and argue the contrary. So why are more skills a bad thing?