On Sunday I taught in a martial arts school for the first time in ten years. Holy cow! I’m so glad to be back. I have a great feeling about teaching at North Portland Martial Arts & Movement-– Sifu Michael is making me feel very welcome and appreciated. Sunday’s class was self-defense, and I startedContinue reading “Self-Defense Success!”
Author Archives: Michelle J
Self-Defense at NPMAAM
Starting in December I will be leading self-defense classes for women and nonbinary folks at my friend Sifu Michael’s school, North Portland Martial Arts & Movement. We have two December dates scheduled with the intention to continue the series as a weekly class starting in January. Yay! Dates: Sunday, December 3rd & Sunday December 10thContinue reading “Self-Defense at NPMAAM”
Self-Defense Mindset?
Self-defense can be a mindset, a way of life. It’s a way of life I’ve been living since I first took martial arts classes as a young teenager. But is it a healthy mindset, a healthy way of life? As a student in my first tae kwon do school in the 90’s, the focus ofContinue reading “Self-Defense Mindset?”
Alter Ego
In the Animal Spirit deck by aritst Kim Krans, which I purchased sometime around 2021, there is a card for the raccoon. Raccoon energy is about wearing a mask, about hiding, but it’s also playful. On the card, Krans mentions that many artists choose to wear masks in the form of an alter ego. SheContinue reading “Alter Ego”
Harmonizing Polarizations
My tai chi teacher says that the art of tai chi, and the philosophy behind it perhaps, is all about harmonizing polarizations. And we always start by harmonizing polarizations in the self. One way to think of polarizations is to think in terms of projections and hollows–places in our self where we are projecting tooContinue reading “Harmonizing Polarizations”
Michelle Folk Johnson 