This website and blog have been YEARS in the making. I started it in 2018 as soon as I began having knee issues and knew I could no longer demonstrate techniques properly anymore.
Over the years I would build it, delete it, rebuild it, change the name, and then delete it again as I would give up martial arts over and over. But it is such a deep part of who I am that I just can’t do it.
Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? The more issues I had physically and the more limited I became, the more imposter syndrome set in. It is a very real thing, and it will paralyze you into inaction if you let it…and I did.
How could I tell people how to perform a technique or form when I could no longer do it properly myself? It was only within the past year that I began to study Tang Soo Do’s true roots, back to Chung Do Kwan, Shotokan, Okinawan Karate, and even Chinese Kung Fu. I realized that at the point I am at in life, that I should be studying and practicing for me and me alone.
I need to make all I have learned over the years MY Karate, MY martial art, adapted and evolved to me and my current condition and with my current limitations. My two knee replacements are my biggest issue and so what if I need to change or even stop doing some things? There are plenty of older martial artists and people who have had knee replacements who may need to hear my journey and are in the same boat.
While I may not be breaking concrete or doing any jump spinning kicks anymore, I am still able to pass on the knowledge and lessons learned and help others along the way.
This is my goal, this is why this blog exists, and I hope you find it useful.
God Bless and Tang Soo!
