Arrowhead Martial Arts Studio Blog

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Did you catch this news story? Earlier this month a woman was beaten on UTA TRAX in Salt Lake City Utah by a 37 year old man and no one stepped in to help, push the emergency button, call the police or do anything. They just sat there, watching as this man punched her in the face.

This is a tragic but true story. This poor woman didn’t expect this to happen. Absolutely didn’t deserve it and was hoping someone would step up and help her in her time of need. However, that help never came.

It makes me wonder what the world is coming to when you hear about things like this. All it took is one person to use their cell phone… push the emergency button… tell the guy they’re calling 911.. something.

However, this happens all the time and is shocking to me and those that I speak to about events like this.

I’ve written about this before but I want to make sure all the new readers to the blog know that you can pretty much expect people to act this way. People don’t want to get involved. More than that, they’re waiting for someone else to help. They don’t feel personally connected to the events. They might even worry they’ll get sued. In short, they just tuck their heads down and do nothing and hope it just goes away.

However, there are things that you can do to get people involved. If you haven’t read my post about “What To Do If You Ever Need to Yell for ‘Help!’” I suggest you take a minute to read it. It could very well prevent bystanders from just sitting there and doing nothing if you’re ever in an emergency situation, assault or not.

Read this post. Share it with your friends. Tell your loved ones. And if you’re ever a witness to something like this, PLEASE do something.

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It’s amazing to me how many black belts are now out there in this world and how many instructors seem to just give them out to their students anymore.

I’ve even seen ads in Black Belt magazine for “organizations” that will send you a black belt certificate without verifying your credentials if you send them a check. There are even video learning programs that send you DVD’s and certificate, saying they work on the “honor system.” Again, these instructors DO NOT substantiate anything before printing out a black belt certificate with your name on it and sending it to you. To which I reply…

Are you kidding me?!

There is no sum of money large enough for me to simply hand you a black belt. And it’s not just about the belt itself but, rather, the journey and sacrifice it represents. I for one will not compromise quality for quantity of black belts at my studio.

I would rather be known for having a couple remarkable students than to have produced 100 average black belts. I NEVER want to be know as the person who watered down the meaning of a black belt. I worked too hard, too many hours, invested too much, and sacrificed too much for that honor. As long as I have students, they too will have to work to earn that privilege, just as I did.

What does having a black belt mean to me? Everything.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree? Leave your opinion in the form of a comment below.

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As a martial arts student in the art of American Kenpo, I am grateful to have learned from some of the best martial artists in the World. Without my present and past instructors, I wouldn’t be where I am today in the World or in the martial arts and wanted to take a moment to thank them.

As a martial arts instructor, I continue the long line of tradition passing on what has been handed down to me to my students. Hopefully some day you pick up the torch and help teach it to the next generation.

Passing on ones knowledge is profoundly rewarding. It can teach you a lot about the art, what you know and what you need to better understand. For me, it has also taught me to always remain humble, to share freely, and to never hold back on my students. I always strive for better methods of communicating and teaching the art and not just doing things a certain way just because that was how I learned it. If there is a better, more efficient way, I will opt for it every time.

Teaching the martial arts also connects us with history and the martial artists of the past. Without this process taking place, we wouldn’t have an art to teach. Mr. Parker would’ve never learned from Mr. Chow. Mr. Mills wouldn’t never have learned from Mr. Parker. And I would never have learned from Mr. Mills. You, in turn, would never have learned it from me.

Strive to become a teacher at the studio. Help share what you have learned and pass on the art so that the art lives forever. Its far too precious to let go.

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As a martial artists, is it more important to focus on speed or power? Which is better?

I think this sums it up succinctly:

“If You’re Not First, You’re Last” — Ricky Bobby (played by Will Ferrell)

For those who need a little more to chew on, consider this:

Speaking offensively, you can have the most powerful strikes in the world, however, if you don’t “get there first” (or can’t get there at all), you’re likely to get a free facial. Defensively speaking, you also need to “be first” with your block (and then an immediate counter) before your attacker punches you.

Conversely, you can be the fastest striker in the world and get there first, however, if you don’t have power behind your strikes, you’re not going to “be first” to do some damage. Fortunately, you don’t need a lot of power in many of the strike employed in American Kenpo. Anyone who knows Finger Set understands this point.

With that said, you can have all the speed and power in the world, but if you’re not accurate, what does it really matter how fast or powerful you are? Granted, if you’re moving with the path of action, you can still do a tremendous amount of damage to surrounding targets, however, you should definitely strive to hit your intended (and hopefully most pain inducing) target for maximum effect.

Further, you can have all the speed, power and accuracy in the world, but without a properly formulated weapon, you can easily injure yourself. Executing a four finger eye poke and then jamming it into your opponents cheekbone not only could break or sprain your fingers, it could also turn the tied in your opponents favor.

And on an on it goes…

Speed is a necessary and important ingredient to self defense and something you can’t ignore.

In a nut shell, I would rather be first, than last. Just don’t forget about the other important things, too.

Feel free to share you thoughts in the form of a comment below.

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Does Cross Training in the Martial Arts Make You A Partial Artist?

My opinion is yes, I think it can make you a partial artist. Learning one art then moving on to another is one thing, jumping around to multiple studios at the same time, to me, isn’t the most focused way to go about things. If you’re supplementing your training with videos and books from other martial arts systems and styles, that’s one thing. It’s not a total distraction from your training. Taking seminars in other arts also follows into this bucket. However, in my estimation, taking two systems or more at the same time with equal focus takes you off track and doesn’t allow you to “rifle” in.

Mr. Mills once told me one time of a conversation he had with his instructor Mr. Ed Parker about this subject. Mr. Parker told him to rifle in instead of using the shotgun/scattered approach so he could thoroughly learn American Kenpo. The sentiment was you can either be good at one thing, or a jack of all trades. Mr. Parker did it. Mr. Mills did it. Wise advise, and fine examples, if you ask me.

Why the term partial artist? Because you can’t fully understand all of the intricacies, methodologies and techniques when juggling different arts. Most arts have different mindsets, philosophies and maneuvers. It’s like trying to learn German, French and Russian then trying to combine them as you speak. What a mess!

So why do some people study more than one martial art at a time? Some martial arts students feel that there isn’t one perfect system out there and they want to sample different arts - taking the best moves and strategies - as a means to become competent in several different areas of the arts. Further, that it will also make them a more “complete” or well rounded martial artist. The reality is that while a small amount of people can accomplish this, for most, it can dilute their understanding of truly learning one art well.

By focusing and dedicating themselves to learning one art, those that focus hope to rifle in and understand it more completely and thoroughly by immersing themselves in it. For many, learning one art is hard enough to truly learn all of its intricacies, movements and philosophies. Some might find this boring or that they are happier with more variety. One of the best solutions is to take an art that encompasses several other martial arts allowing one to focus on art but become multifaceted.

I’m not saying don’t be open to new ideas, but trying to juggle multiple systems at the same time isn’t the smartest use of time, if you ask me. It can make you a partial artist.

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