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Perseverance means refusing to give up, even when things get tough, frustrating, or slow. While natural talent can give you a fast start, perseverance is what actually gets you across the finish line. In life, big goals are rarely achieved in a single day. Success usually comes from showing up every day, doing the small tasks over and over, and pushing through the moments when you feel like quitting. It is really about how we handle the mental fight that happens long before a

By: Sensei Luis Aponte Ask any prospective student why they haven’t walked into a dojo or gym, and they’ll give you a practical reason: I need to get in shape first. I’m too busy. I don't have the gear. It’s too expensive. But look beneath the surface, and the true reason is almost always the same: a quiet, pervasive fear of looking foolish. A fear of not being good enough. A fear of not “having what it takes.” Even among active practitioners—from white belts to veteran black

The Fight What is fighting, and more importantly is what is fighting to win? Every so often we get someone through the doors of our Dojo that is truly dedicated to their misconceptions of the martial arts, fighting and all that is involved. These people often reinforce the idea that many just want results without doing the correct work or putting in the time to make it second nature. Let’s look at what fighting is. In simple terms, fighting is an attempt to control so

By: Sensei Philip S Ebersole Jr. In the grand theater of martial arts, where fists serve as discourse and rank as currency, we find ourselves entangled in a fundamental contradiction—the question of mastery, legitimacy, and the social construct of rank itself. The matter at hand is not merely whether one may bear the title of 10th Dan in Isshinryu, but whether such a title represents the authentic continuation of martial tradition or the degenerative spectacle of ego and frau

Young people have always had action heroes, and I was no different. When I started training in Isshinryu Karate my action heroes changed...

By Sensei Kelly Cere Importance of the basics I have seen throughout my years of training so many schools no longer emphasize the basics. They focus more on kata and memorizing the moves instead of having good technique. Their students can go through the moves but lack the understanding of the technique and how it should be done. For example, they head block with their arm in the wrong position and their wrist bent or curled. If they actually had to block a wild punch c

In the years I’ve been training in the Martial Arts I’ve attended countless seminars and have visited many other Dojos from New Jersey to...

Perishable Skills Paul Kilduff Many people start out in the martial arts. Some don’t make it past the first class while others train for...