You can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, well you just might find, You get what you need. — Rolling Stones Devin studied Kempo many years ago. I knew his Sensei and enjoyed reports from both of them about how well Devin’s training was going — until it wasn’t. Devin was an…
Dojos exist for a lot of people and for a lot of reasons. ‘Dojo’ literally means ‘Training Hall,’ it is a place where you learn martial arts. Nothing could be more mundane. But somehow — and I don’t claim to fully understand it — a dojo is something more, it is part of people’s lives….
The Shaolin Leopard Of the five Shaolin Animals, the Leopard is the only one crafted solely for martial purposes. That is to say, the other four Shaolin Animals had significant places in Chinese culture and mythology long before they were called on to be ‘martial’ animals. The Leopard, by contrast, has no cultural or mythological…
Let me tell you a story about a 9-year-old girl. Yesterday morning, her alarm went off. She got out of bed and went to school. She got there on time because she has learned to be disciplined. While in class other kids were talking and passing notes but she remained focused on her lessons because she has…
I was extremely fortunate, oh, those many years ago, when I wandered into a martial arts studio for the first time. Fortunate that I found Kempo but more so because I found Sensei Alen—now Master Alen Babayan. Sensei Alen ran a fantastic studio full of interesting people who were inspired and inspiring. What struck me…
The Tiger in Chinese Culture For millennia the Tiger has been a powerful symbol in China, Buddhism, and in Shaolin specifically. Tiger statues have been unearthed that date to more than 7000 years ago, showing just how long the Tiger has been of interest. So ingrained is the Tiger in Chinese culture that the character…
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