Recent Black Belt Test

MetroWest Martial Arts and Wellness in Westborough, MA recently held another Black Belt test.

I was one of the people giving the test. It's only been three years since my last test, so I'm good for awhile. :-)

The test went well and the folks going for Shodan & Nidan really shined.

In case any of my dear readers are still spreading that myth about belts slowly getting dirtier over time until the advanced students belts were black, here is the true history of using colored belts for ranking.

Basics, basics & more basics

If you are a martial arts instructor, and just don't know what you are going to cover in your next class, here is a good suggestion.

Basics, basics and then more basics.

The basics are the core, the foundation you build more advanced techniques from.

You get more power from a good punch thrown from a solid stance than you do from a good punch made while off balance (OK, you Drunken Monkey stylists are an exception, but then you practice a lot to do that).

Practice, practice and more practice. You want to be able to hit that nerve bundle with that Leopard Paw strike in a fight, then you have to practice punching over, and over again.

There are all sorts of cool and fun drills to do to keep things interesting, but it all comes back to the basics.