Often times martial arts, such as Taekwondo, Karate and Kung Fu, are thought about only for its martial arts benefits. Some people think the martial arts are only about fighting and they don’t fully understand there is much more to them than simply throwing punches and kicks, breaking boards, sparring and tournaments.
That aside there are a number of things you will learn when you join Colorado Taekwondo that will help keep you healthy and kicking high over your head for years and years to come!
One very important thing in any martial arts school is breathing techniques. Breathing properly will add power to your punches and kicks. When you initially start to do deep breathing techniques you might feel a little light headed, if that happens take a break. You will be fine your brain just isn't used to getting the amount of oxygen that it is getting from the deep breathing.
Deep breathing techniques will help you to detoxify your body as well. The deep breathing techniques will help you to get more oxygen into your blood. The high altitude of Colorado makes this even more important than at lower altitudes.
Your lymphatic system is also powered by your lungs and by body movement. Your lymphatic system can roughly be equated to your body’s sewer system. This is one of the reasons that a sedentary life style is so bad for people. If you aren't moving and you aren't breathing properly you are not pumping the toxins out of your body.
Another important practice at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute is practicing the techniques that you've learned. If you aren't improving your skills everyday then your skills are going backwards every day. Strive to improve every day.
When I joined my martial arts school I was clumsy and uncoordinated. I practiced every day and there were times when I was just getting beat up. I remember right after I got my first belt promotion, I was about to spar with an older gentleman in class. I thought, “I’m going to show this old man how good I am…” I proceeded to get beaten badly in the match but that is what happens when a huge ego is sparring with a high ranking black belt.
Over time I worked on my ego and my body and as a result, my body got stronger and my ego got weaker. None of this would have happened however if I hadn't been consistent in my training and if I wasn't willing to leave my arrogance at the door.
Colorado Taekwondo will teach you to be humble in your life but also confident in your abilities. It will take consistent effort to be able to develop your body to be able to do some of the amazing kicks in Colorado Taekwondo. Practice every day whether on your own or in the martial arts school is essential for becoming the best martial artist that you can be.
Team work is a good thing too. Get a work out buddy. Someone who will push you to be your very best and someone to practice with as well.
Another thing that I have found useful is having a number of different mentors. As I was going through the various belt ranks I of course had my instructor but I also had secret mentors. I watched people do there forms and I would take pieces of their forms and make them my own. For example, if someone had an amazing kick I would pay attention to what they did better than the next guy and I would try to copy it. In school copying isn’t ok but it is all fair game in a martial arts school.
Another type of mentor I took on was a sparring mentor. I got the most from doing this. There was one guy in my class who I thought was amazing when he sparred. I sparred him whenever possible and then after the match he would give me pointers on things I could do better.
This can translate into your life as well. All you need to do to get good at any skill in your life is get a practice partner and a mentor. Then practice every day doing the new skill that you are working on. Get honest feedback and improve. Over time through consistent effort whatever skill you are working on will improve.
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