[part 1] Before Christmas I surveyed some of Chang’s Hapkido Academy (CHA) black belts to discover what keeps them coming back after achieving their black belt. I’ve received over a dozen responses now from black belts across four of our schools, which gives me quite a bit of data to start noticing various recurring themes. [...]
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Training beyond black belt (part two)
By Ms Parlour on January 30, 2012 in Black belt, Learning in martial arts, Martial arts etiquette and discipline, Mental training for martial arts, Motivation for training
Training beyond black belt (part one)
By Ms Parlour on January 9, 2012 in Black belt, Learning in martial arts, Mental training for martial arts, Motivation for training
To achieve a black belt in Hapkido requires many years of practice. Practicing anything long term requires energy, passion and commitment. But like anything else, our ability to perform a technique effectively will eventually decay – that’s why continued practice, even after achieving black belt is essential if we want to maintain and hopefully improve [...]
Expert technique takes time.
A green belt student asked me for advice on his side kick the other day. He expressed disappointment when I told him that his side kick was fine. “But it doesn’t snap and sometimes I lose balance. Your kick is much better!”, he told me. Each class, students are instructed to perform 100 side kicks. [...]
Struggling with difficulties
A student came to me last week and said, “I love Hapkido, but I think I’ve reached my peak”. I was a little confused because that was not what I was thinking at all. “What do you mean?”, I questioned. The student said that he didn’t think he could do the current skills, that he [...]
How can we re-motivate after a period of absence from training?
There comes a time in everyone’s training when suddenly it’s a little harder to motivate oneself. Even habits that have been developing over years can suddenly be held to ransom by an injury, a need to be perfect after a long break, or a life that has become a little too hectic. Master Chang always [...]