‘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
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
Perseverance, self-efficacy and Hapkido training
Everyone experiences obstacles and adversity throughout their lifetime. Over the years, I’ve noticed that as a student progresses up the belts, their ‘Hapkido confidence’ develops, as well an ability to persevere through difficulties and withstand negative circumstances. In many sports, the winner
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
Nurturing possibilities
Developments in neuroscience have shown us that connections within our brain are continually forming and reforming. What that would suggest is that we are in a “constant state of becoming” throughout our lifespan. How we develop is linked to how
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
Being the best
Another old story for you… A young man turned up at the school of a famous martial arts instructor. Upon arriving, he told the Master that he wanted to become his student and be the best martial artist in Japan.
Posture, power and performance (part two)
In part one I looked at how poor posture and body mechanics decrease the effectiveness of our Hapkido techniques and expose us to potential injury and pain. This understanding is key to our physical wellbeing, but posture also has a
Skills, skills, and more skills (part three)
After spending the past few months arguing for (part one) and against (part two) the importance of learning more skills, I’d like to question the relevance of either argument. So why does focusing on more or less skills actually miss