martial arts mom – Michelle Folk Johnson

My Thoughts on the Musical “Hamilton”

A quick caveat: I’m not a big fan of musicals. I like Cabaret, aka the best-musical-ever, and I like Hair, aka the second-best-musical-ever. Other than that, I’m generally not a fan. In the musical Hamilton, I really liked the character Lafayette. I was like, “Who is this French guy who is named after that streetContinue reading “My Thoughts on the Musical “Hamilton””

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”

Formula for Success

I’ve been thinking of how to set up my martial arts teaching practice, and today I came up with a formula: The formula seems simple enough. I practice, I write about the practice, I share the writing, and I also share the practice. Sharing means on social media, on here, and with friends or studentsContinue reading “Formula for Success”

August Evening Practice

Much of my martial arts practice these days is unlearning old habits. Releasing old tensions. I picked up some unhealthy movement patterns over my years training in hard-style martial arts, and I ground these movement patterns into my body over many years often at high impact. Martial artists, over time, can have shoulder problems, hipContinue reading “August Evening Practice”

A Plan for Fall

Here we are in the last hot stretch of summer. Fall is zooming into view–the kids start school again in two weeks. This means a more consistent routine, no more stretches of lazy days for them. For me it means it’s time to plan out my fall routines. First and foremost, I’m hoping to leadContinue reading “A Plan for Fall”