Melanie Gibson General Martial Arts, My Guest Posts, Self-Development and Leadership, Training Tips

My Guest Post: How to Train Leaders Before They Become Black Belts

I’ve worked in leadership development for ten years, but I’ve learned just as much or even more about leadership “on the mat” in my martial arts training. In martial arts, we don’t wait until someone is in the job of a leader (i.e., a black belt) to help them build their leadership skills.

In this month’s Martial Journal article, “How to Train Leaders Before They Become Black Belts,” my former taekwondo master (Sabumnim) and I share tips on developing leaders before they even get close to testing for black belt.

This post is a nice story about one of my last training sessions with my Sabumnim.

Melanie Gibson Mental Health, My Guest Posts

My Guest Post: Can You Be Addicted to Your Martial Art?

I’m pleased to share my article in Martial Journal for the month of December: Can You Be Addicted to Your Martial Art?

There can be too much of a good thing, and that includes martial arts. In this article I explore the feeling of being overly dependent on a martial art while my emotional health suffered elsewhere. I seek to answer the two-part question: can, indeed, you be addicted to your martial art, and what do you do about it?

Check out Martial Journal’s  wide variety of quality reading on all things martial arts: commentary, training tips, media, and more.

Melanie Gibson General Martial Arts, Mental Health, My Guest Posts

My Guest Post: The Loneliness of Martial Arts and Eating Disorders

I’m pleased to share my article in Martial Journal for the month of November: The Loneliness of Martial Arts and Eating Disorders.

Part of my journey to authenticity has been to share my mental health struggles in the hope of lightening my burden and lifting up others who feel lonely and lost. Eating disorders are taboo in both the athletic world and elsewhere. I often wonder if there are other people like me who have had an active eating disorder while practicing martial arts or if, like me now, are in active recovery. Does the expectation of a strong martial arts spirit hurt those who are struggling mentally?

This article shares my exploration into this topic and some tips on what to do if you are a martial artist and athlete dealing with this terrible mental illness.

To read, click here.

Melanie Gibson Injury and Recovery, My Guest Posts

My Guest Post: Four Things Injured and Recovering Athletes Want You To Know

I’m pleased to announce my debut as a writer for Martial Journal! This site is a collective of martial artists from different backgrounds sharing knowledge, opinions, tips, and thoughts about what they love.

My article “Recovering From an Injury: Four Things Athletes Want You To Know” is written by an athlete for athletes and those who love them. Recovering from an injury can be a long, frustrating, and lonely process. We need the people who care about us to understand how we’re feeling and what we need along the way.

To read, click here.

Melanie Gibson Book, Mental Health, My Guest Posts

My Guest Post: Five Tips For Writing About Your Mental Health Journey

I started my blog Little Black Belt in 2014 as a way to express the insights, feelings, and ideas I was having as I progressed in my taekwondo training.

What I haven’t been as open about is that I really started the blog to write about my mental health.

I’d already been in treatment for my mental illnesses before I started taekwondo, but my taekwondo training was the boost I needed to get from point A (miserable and not seeing much change) to point B (confident, relatively happy, able to productively deal with life’s stressors). It opened my mind to a new way of seeing life – hence, the blog.

Writing has been a great way to both cope with mental stress and tell the story of my mental health journey in an engaging way that resonates with other people. Writing builds habits of observation and reflection that can lead to positive change.

In this article for DIYMFA, I share five tips you can use to write about your mental health journey.

 

Visit DIYMFA.com for more great writing resources.

 

Melanie Gibson General Martial Arts, My Guest Posts, Training Tips

Interview With a Black Belt

You guys! My friend Phillip at My Wife Is a Black Belt interviewed me as part of his series about women in martial arts! If you want to learn more about how I got into taekwondo and my thoughts about it check out his page:

via Interview with a woman in martial arts – 2: Melanie (taekwondo)

 

Create your own awesome blog with WordPress. Click this link for more information!

Melanie Gibson General Martial Arts, My Guest Posts, Self-Development and Leadership, Training Tips

My Guest Post: How to be a Martial Arts Leader Without a Black Belt

This article was originally a guest post on the website BookMartialArts.com.

different belts

Did you know you become a leader the first time you wrap a white belt around your waist? Black belts are usually seen as the leaders in their martial arts schools, but other students, regardless of age or rank, can begin working on their influential leadership skills long before they reach advanced levels. While it is the responsibility of the instructor to coach and mentor his or her lower ranking students so they are ready to lead when they reach black belt, it is just as much the student’s responsibility to actively develop their leadership skills along the way.

Continue reading “My Guest Post: How to be a Martial Arts Leader Without a Black Belt” →

Melanie Gibson General Martial Arts, My Guest Posts, Training Tips

My Guest Post: The Best Sports to Complement Your Martial Arts Training

This article was originally a guest post on the website BookMartialArts.com

running on the beach

A dedicated martial artist spends hours upon hours training, sweating, striking, sparring, throwing, and rolling. A dedicated martial artist looks forward to time on the mat and reaps the mental, emotional, and physical benefits of his or her chosen sport. But every once in a while a change in routine can be just what a dedicated martial artist needs.

What are the best sports to complement your martial arts training? Something to consider is how you need to condition your body to improve your martial arts performance. Do you want to improve your speed? Do you need to be more flexible? It’s also just as important to include activities that are more restorative and gentle to counteract the pressure and strain you may put on your body from hard, repetitive training in one area of focus.

Continue reading “My Guest Post: The Best Sports to Complement Your Martial Arts Training” →

Melanie Gibson General Martial Arts, My Guest Posts, Self-Development and Leadership, Training Tips

Guest Post: 4 Tips to Becoming a Better Martial Artist in the New Year

This article was originally a guest post on the website BookMartialArts.com.

I’m not into New Year’s resolutions, but I am all about self-awareness and continuous self improvement, which can happen at any time of the year. Start out 2017 right with a renewed commitment to your practice. Even if you don’t do martial arts these tips can help you set and achieve goals in any area.

2017

 

It’s a new year and a time of hope, renewal, and fresh starts. It’s also a time for our good intentions and best-laid plans to run head on into reality. Statistics for failed New Year’s resolutions run anywhere between 45-80%. That can be disheartening to the martial artist who wants to kick start his or her practice at the beginning of a new year. There are ways, however, to make your short-term and long-term goals stick. Focusing on small milestones, following your motivation, challenging yourself, and finding what inspires you can help you make improvements throughout the year and meet or even surpass your goals.

Continue reading “Guest Post: 4 Tips to Becoming a Better Martial Artist in the New Year” →

Melanie Gibson Mental Health, My Guest Posts, Training Tips, Work and Martial Arts

My Guest Post: How Martial Arts Can Reduce Work-Related Stress

This article was originally a guest post on the website BookMartialArts.com.

work-stress-man
Some knife-hand blocks would serve him well right now.

Work-related stress has unfortunately become a norm for many adults across the world. Limited resources, long hours, demanding deadlines, job insecurity, and interpersonal conflict can greatly affect one’s emotional and physical health. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, chronic stress can cause headaches, insomnia, and irritability. People under stress are sometimes more susceptible to colds and other viral illnesses. Untreated, long-term stress has also been linked to heart disease, high blood pressure, and depression.

Continue reading “My Guest Post: How Martial Arts Can Reduce Work-Related Stress” →