When regular contributor Emma Grace Brown sent me her article about avoiding burnout, I thought, “What perfect timing!” I’m currently on a hiatus from taekwondo because I am, in fact, burned out. There were many other life-related factors that led to my decision at the end of last year to take a few months off, which I may explore in a future blog post. For now, it’s the right thing for me, and I will return to what I love eventually. I’m going to take Emma’s words to heart and think about how I can approach my training differently when I return.
Are you a martial arts school manager looking for a way to organize, modernize, and streamline your systems? This guest article explains how, using technology, you can update your system to run more efficiently and effectively. If you would like to write a guest article for Little Black Belt, please review the guidelines here.
What is the best martial art for self-defense? While my martial art (taekwondo) is primarily a striking art, the type I’ve trained in includes grabs, joint locks, and takedowns from hapkido. One of my current school’s masters has also been training the black belts in BJJ and judo-based defense, ground fighting, and throws. This gives me a diverse arsenal to have at the ready. Krav Maga expert Jake Randall provides his insight on which martial arts can provide a solid foundation for self-defense. If you would like to write a guest post for Little Black Belt, please visit the guidelines here.
Laundry, check. Work meeting, check. Taekwondo, check.
I had a thought the other day, just a fleeting thought, that maybe I’d quit taekwondo for a while and get more into Pilates and yoga, both of which I’ve practiced since college (off and on for Pilates, consistently for yoga). Or finish my g-ddamn novel I’ve been working on since 2023. Or just enjoy the time off with whatever I wanted.
I like my taekwondo school and all the people there, and I love how I feel after every class, even on days when I’m tired or irritated or wishing I’d stayed home to watch TV. I only go two days a week, but for some reason, even those two hours out of the week feel like an imposition.
It doesn’t feel so much like a time drain as it does an energy drain.
There was a year or two where I was going to taekwondo five or six days a week, sometimes for multiple classes in a day. That fed my soul and made me so very happy. Also I’ll note at the time I was single and didn’t like my job much and was content with just coasting. I might even consider my connection to taekwondo as an unhealthy, co-dependent one; one addiction replacing another and filling a very large hole gouged in my heart by emotional turmoil, mental illnesses, and stupid choices. But, that’s what I needed at the time to find happiness.
Now, other than the home I live in, my life is very different than it was ten years ago when I got my first degree black belt. I’m much more career-minded (it helps when you have a boss and work you like) and have this author thing I keep trying to kick off the ground, published memoir notwithstanding. I’ve also been in a relationship for several years, but it helps that he’s a taekwondo person too. I’m still a black belt, and I still love taekwondo, but I’m not the same black belt I was in my mid-thirties.
Maybe I’m still learning how to find balance rather than the all or nothing extreme. I did the “all” for several years, and then “nothing” for a year and a half while I recovered from two knee surgeries, which was its own bucket of drama.
It’s not taekwondo’s fault that I feel restless and like I’m not accomplishing what I want to. It’s an easy scapegoat and something easier to drop from my life than my job or home maintenance. This is telling me that rather than follow an impulsive whim to cut out something that is positive in my life, I can examine my whole life and where I’m prioritizing my energy. A portfolio rebalance, if you will.
Taekwondo no longer fills a void in my heart. My heart is whole, thanks to taekwondo but mostly thanks to the work I’ve done on my emotional and mental health. It fills a much smaller spot, and that’s okay.
Maybe I’m just bullshitting and blowing off steam. I’m still going to class tomorrow night, and I know I’ll feel great.
I’ve always been a fan of forms (poomsae in Korean) and appreciate their ability to focus the practitioner on technique, execution, proper form, and breathing. Forms are practiced across many different martial arts, including Aikido. Josh MacDonald, Calgary Rakushinkan Aikidō, shares his expertise about the history and current practice of forms (kata) in Aikido. If you would like to be a guest writer for Little Black Belt please review the guest writer guidelines and contact me.
I was recently approached by the team at Parana Sports Industries requesting to submit a guest article. The topic they pitched was intriguing: mistakes to avoid in taekwondo conditioning. Over my nearly 15 years of practicing taekwondo, I’ve made plenty of mistakes, and as I get older, those become more costly to avoid. Whether you’re an aging martial artist like me or a spring chicken, proper training and care for your body will make you less prone to injuries and ensure you can practice for a lifetime.
If you want to submit a guest article for Little Black Belt, please review the guest writer guidelines here.
When Dr. Antti Rintanen (The Internet Doctor) contacted me about a contributing a guest post offering a physician’s perspective on the benefits of martial arts, I jumped at the chance…well, hopped, being mindful of my current Achilles tendon issue. Something we all could use help improving is our posture. In this article, Dr. Rintanen focuses on how your martial arts practice can improve your posture and in turn, other health concerns. There’s even a five-minute martial arts-inspired posture routine at the end you can try today.
This article is not a substitute for treatment from a licensed medical professional. If you would like to contribute a martial arts-related post, please see the guest writer guidelines here.
Enhancing Postural Health Through Martial Arts: A Doctor’s Perspective
By Dr. Antti Rintanen, MD, MSc
In today’s world, poor posture has quietly become a modern epidemic. Hours spent hunched over screens, commuting, and sitting at desks have made forward head posture, rounded shoulders, and anterior pelvic tilt the new normal. As a medical doctor—and a lifelong martial arts practitioner—I’ve seen firsthand how movement habits can either restore or degrade the body’s natural alignment.
Are you interested in martial arts training but aren’t sure which one is right for you? Guest writer Justin Mark’s guest post can help you align your martial arts training with your personal goals. Don’t get lost in a Google rabbit hole; find the martial art that fits your unique needs.
If you would like to submit a guest post to Little Black Belt, please review the guest writer guidelines here.
A Beginner’s Guide to Select the Right Martial Art for Your Personal Goals
You want to try martial arts, but, uh, you have no clue where to start. Maybe you saw a brutal knockout in MMA and thought, Yeah, I need to learn that. Probably an old-school Kung Fu flick that left you fired up.
Whatever your reason, you now face the question: Which martial art is right for you?
Two of the five tenets of taekwondo are self-control and integrity. Humility is also a characteristic that is valued across several martial arts.
Take a shy kid at heart, combine her with martial artist humility and a smidge of imposter syndrome, and you get someone who isn’t very comfortable bragging on herself.
During my taekwondo training with my Korean Grandmaster, I was fortunate enough to learn some HapKiDo-related self-defense techniques. I’ve always enjoyed it and wanted to learn more. I was thrilled when RJ LoPresti of Choe’s HapKiDo approached me about contributing a blog post about their martial art. I’m excited to share Little Black Belt’s first HapKiDo post! If you would like to contribute a martial arts-related blog post, see guest writer guidelines here.
