Martial Arts Revelation

Apparently I’ve never been very good at keeping both feet on the ground. 😂🥋

Throwback to sparring at a Regional Championship and getting a little air time.

There’s a lot that goes into good tournament sparring—timing, distance, control, footwork, and learning when to commit. And every once in a while… you just send it. 😂

I have a lot of great memories from competing over the years, and photos like this are a fun reminder of just how long this journey has been.

Still training. Still learning. Maybe slightly less interested in testing gravity than I used to be.

Tang Soo! 👊

Sunday Reflection 🥋

“Don’t fear failure. Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail.”
— Bruce Lee

One of the hardest lessons in martial arts—and in life—is becoming comfortable with not succeeding every time.

We naturally want to win. We want the technique to work, the test to go well, the tournament result we hoped for, or the goal we set for ourselves.

But there’s something much worse than falling short:

Never challenging ourselves enough to find out what we’re capable of.

A good martial artist learns from both success and failure. We attempt something difficult, reflect on what happened, make adjustments, and try again.

So set the goal high enough that success isn’t guaranteed.

Whether you reach it or fall short, you’ll discover something about yourself in the attempt.

Aim high. Train hard. Keep growing.

Tang Soo!

20 years ago.

My first World Championships in 2006.

I was fortunate enough to earn 3rd place in sparring, sharing the podium with competitors from Mozambique and Great Britain. At the time, I was just a young martial artist excited to compete on the world stage. I had no idea where Tang Soo Do would eventually take me.

But looking at this picture now, what I think about most isn’t the medal.

I think about my dad.

He took me to this tournament. He supported my training during those early years and made sacrifices so I could have opportunities like this one. And twenty years later, he continues to support me and make sacrifices for the things I’m trying to build.

As a kid, you don’t always understand what it takes for a parent to make these experiences possible. As an adult, I appreciate it in an entirely different way.

From competing at my first Worlds in 2006 to returning to the World Championships twenty years later as an instructor with students of my own—the journey has taken me places I never could have imagined standing on that podium.

Dad, thank you for helping me get there in the first place.

I will always be grateful.

Tang Soo! 👊

That whistle. ⚔️

One of my favorite sounds in sword training is hearing the blade whistle through a cut.

It isn’t just a cool sound. When the blade moves cleanly through the air, that whistle is feedback—a sign that the angle and path of the cut are coming together properly.

And this opening movement of Jung Koop Jang Gum Hyung is where I tend to get my loudest one.

There’s something incredibly satisfying about hearing it.

You can muscle a sword through a movement, but a clean cut requires more than power. Technique, alignment, timing, speed, and control all have to come together.

When they do…

you can hear it. ⚔️

Still refining. Still listening.

Tang Soo!

A little hardware from Chicago! 🥈🥉

I’ve shared a lot about what I learned at the 2026 WTSDA World Championships—the nerves, the competition, the things I want to improve, and how much the experience pushed me.

But I also want to take a moment to appreciate what went right.

🥈 2nd Place – Weapons
🥉 3rd Place – Open Hand Forms

Standing on the floor at Worlds surrounded by martial artists from around the globe was an incredible experience. I went to Chicago wanting to challenge myself, represent Martial Arts Revelation well, learn from some outstanding competitors, and see where my training stood.

I came home with two medals—and an even bigger list of things I want to work on. 😂

I’m especially proud of the silver in weapons. This was only my second time competing with the sword, and it was probably the event I was most nervous about going into Worlds.

The medals are great, but what they represent means more: the training, mistakes, instruction, competition, and continued growth.

Still…

I’m definitely going to enjoy the hardware. 😁

Back to training.

Tang Soo! 👊🥋

One of my favorite moments from competition. 🥋🏅

The competition was over. The medals were still around his neck. And this was the first chance we had to really connect and recap everything that had just happened.

As an instructor, there’s something special about these moments.

You spend weeks helping a student prepare—working technique, correcting details, building confidence, talking through nerves—and then eventually you have to step back and let them walk onto the competition floor and do it themselves.

Afterward, you finally get to come back together.

What worked? What did we learn? What surprised us? What are we proud of? And what do we work on next?

Judging by our faces, we were both pretty pumped. 😂

The medals are exciting, but watching a student challenge himself, succeed, and come away hungry to keep improving means even more.

These are the moments that make teaching worth it.

Tang Soo! 👊🥋

Better Together 🥋

One of my favorite moments after our recent belt test with two of MAR’s very promising young martial artists.

These two were close friends before they ever stepped onto the training floor together. Sometimes training alongside your best friend can make it a little harder to stay focused. 😄 But what I’ve loved watching with these two is the opposite.

They push each other.

They train together, challenge each other, encourage each other, and seem to bring out a little more effort in one another. Their friendship has become part of what makes each of them better.

That’s one of the things I love about martial arts. Individual progress matters, but the people beside us can have a tremendous influence on who we become.

They still have a long journey ahead of them, but there is a lot of potential standing in this picture—and apparently their instructor is pretty excited about it. 😂

Keep pushing each other. Keep having fun. And keep growing.

Tang Soo! 👊🥋

Back to the basics. Always. 🥋

A little over a year ago, during my 3rd Dan test, working Pal Put Ki—one of the most fundamental punching drills in our training.

One of the things I appreciate more and more about martial arts is that advancement doesn’t mean leaving the basics behind. It means returning to them with greater understanding.

Stance. Hip rotation. Chamber. Extension. Focus. Power. Control.

The movement may be familiar, but there is always another layer to refine.

As an instructor, that’s something I want my students to understand too. We don’t practice the basics until we’re finished with them. We practice them because everything else is built upon them.

New week. Back to work.

Tang Soo! 👊🥋

Sometimes you have to leave the ground to find out what you’re capable of. 🥋

One of my favorite moments from our recent belt test - a student committing completely to a flying side kick.

Belt tests aren’t just about remembering forms, demonstrating techniques, or earning the next rank. They’re an opportunity to challenge yourself, work through nerves and fatigue, and discover that you’re capable of a little more than you thought.

And sometimes… they’re also an opportunity to fly.

So proud of the effort all of our students put into this test and how willing they were to step outside their comfort zones.

The belt is a milestone. The growth it represents is what really matters.

Tang Soo!

The work happens before anyone is watching.

While everyone else was getting ready for the belt test, Angelo found a quiet corner of the floor to stretch, focus, and prepare himself.

That mindset is one of the reasons I’m so proud of him.

Over the past year, I’ve watched him grow not only as a martial artist, but as a young leader. He’s developed confidence, maturity, and a genuine desire to help those around him.

He’s now one of the highest-ranking students at Martial Arts Revelation, and I believe this is only the beginning. He has tremendous potential, and I’m excited to help him continue developing both on and off the training floor.

Congratulations on another successful test, Angelo. Keep showing up, keep working hard, and stay humble.

The future is bright.

Tang Soo!