Matthew Sylvester
applications
Humility and the humble bow
Every martial art has at least some tenets or ideals that promote ‘goodness’. By goodness, I mean that they require the student to follow a set of morals and ethics, which would generally be viewed by the majority as good. These usually include humility, the ability to keep going no matter what (indomitable spirit), honesty/ … Continue reading
The Burgar Rating System
I recently put up a picture on showing an application for a move from one of the ITF patterns. The application is, to be honest, awful. It’s one that I use to indicate what is an awful application, and why is it awful. Aside from the obvious “that looks awful, it would never work”, I … Continue reading
Applications – They need to be Practical
When looking for applications in your patterns, it is important to always be critical. When you’re doing this from a Practical Taekwondo perspective, it’s vital that you also be practical. Take the picture below. Normally you see this sort of thing performed by people wearing doboks. I took it with us wearing street clothing to show just … Continue reading
Open-mindedness is vital to success in the martial arts
As a former technical consultant and features editor for what were the four leading martial arts magazines in the U.K. I had the opportunity to meet a lot of great martial artists with an open-minded approach to training and evolution. I also et a lot of their students and, interestingly, a lt of these students … Continue reading
Lawrence Kane – Traditionally Modern Warrior
What was it about the martial arts that attracted you? It’s breadth. There is so much to cover in martial arts that it can become a never-ending journey. There are some pretty cool stops along the way, of course, but you’re never really done so long as the desire to learn remains strong. I started … Continue reading
Matthew Sylvester 