Archive for October 2013
FUN KATA PRACTICE
By Jenifer Tull-Gauger To learn a skill, you need to practice. To get good at something, you need repetition. In order to remember and understand techniques and principles, they have to be put into action. Practicing does not have to be tedious. Kata practice can be fun! Here are some ways to enjoy kata: -See…
Read MorePOSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS
By Jenifer Tull-Gauger The SNL self-help parody goes something like, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like me.” The comedian Emo Phillips said, “What you see is what you get.” There is truth in comedy. As we go through childhood, we hear at some point that we are bad. Whether…
Read MoreETIQUETTE, MANNERS & DOJO KUN #4
By Jenifer Tull-Gauger Dojo Kun #4 is translated as “Develop a respectful attitude.” At East Valley Martial Arts – Kenshin Kan, we tell the Little Dragons (3 to 5-year-old students) that it means “Be nice to others.” When we want to go into more detail we talk about treating others the way you would like…
Read MoreBe a Samurai Kid Today
A fictional story by Jenifer Tull-Gauger, based on true events. A samurai had a wife and two daughters. The girls were eight and 11. But even though their dad was a samurai, they were not samurai kids. That’s because they were sheltered like rare flowers in addition to always being protected by their parents. Their…
Read MoreGOOD PERSON? OR STRONG MARTIAL ARTIST?
By Jenifer Tull-Gauger If you look at the Dojo Kun in Japanese writing, you might notice that each of the five precepts starts with the number 1 (the horizontal dash). This is because each of the concepts is just as important as the other four. We are supposed to take each one to heart and…
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