Martial Arts for the 21st Century

Master Mikeal 'Bear' Smith's Blog (6)

How Dare I Have a Bad Day!

A friend and teacher of mine does a free class for a group of people who are so called disadvantaged; Down’s Syndrome, many other issues, etc., well…. you get the point, and sometimes I’ve helped out.

So one day I’m having the proverbial bad day; missed a three foot putt, dog ate my homework, cutoff in traffic, nobody gets my sense of humor, etc. etc. etc. and I walk into the training center while this class is going on. Out of the…

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Added by Master Mikeal 'Bear' Smith on March 4, 2011 at 12:27pm — No Comments

I kinda like these.....

"Unless you change how you are, you will always have what you've got."

“The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not a bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.”

"Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day, while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day. It is the accumulative weight of…

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Added by Master Mikeal 'Bear' Smith on April 14, 2010 at 1:32pm — No Comments

A thought regarding the "Warrior's Mentality"

You can physically train to be a martial artist and practice martial art philosophies in life but there is something within each of us that either prevents or allows us to actually apply, in reality, a warrior's mentality to physical actions; this allows us to walk through the proverbial "valley of death" or, as some would say, "today is a good day to die". Those without so called martial training can be warriors as well; try stopping a mother from protecting her children and most likely…

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Added by Master Mikeal 'Bear' Smith on March 27, 2010 at 10:32am — No Comments

Just a Thought

Can’t We All Just Get Along?

Speaking for myself, and perhaps others, I have tired of hearing the derogatory banter between “Traditional” martial artists and “MMA” fighters and somewhere in between “Reality” practitioners. I challenge any to show what they do is “pure” in that there is nothing that has been changed, added and or removed…

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Added by Master Mikeal 'Bear' Smith on March 10, 2010 at 6:30pm — 1 Comment

New Year’s Resolution for All Martial Artists

Your Instructor owns and operates a school for you; yes you. If you walked up to the school next week for class and the doors were locked and a sign read “Sorry We Went Out of Business” what would you do? First you’d be mad, then you’d wonder why, and lastly you’d ask yourself “what am I going to do now?” I know these things because I’ve experienced them first hand. There is a fourth question that rarely gets asked. That is; “what could I have done or should I have done to help prevent… Continue

Added by Master Mikeal 'Bear' Smith on January 1, 2010 at 9:34am — No Comments

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY BREAK GLASS!

As you may or may not know, I’m a confessed seminar junkie. Below are some of my thoughts regarding participation in seminars. Also published in Black Belt Magazine, fightcon.com, usadojo.com and tangsoodoworld.com

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY BREAK GLASS!

Is your school, system, or style in a state of emergency? It could be if some of the following rings true. The title, IN CASE OF EMERGENCY BREAK GLASS, is in reference to what I like to call the “glass bubble” in which some of… Continue

Added by Master Mikeal 'Bear' Smith on December 28, 2009 at 8:42am — No Comments