Martial Journeys of Madison

I had been interested in studying some type of martial arts for some time, but for one reason or another, never followed through to find a school. Enter Master Carlson. Six months ago I attended a demonstration she was giving and had my first mini-lesson. I left feeling strong and empowered. Less than two weeks later I was a student. As someone who was never very athletic, I had my doubts as to whether I was cut out for taekwondo. But after each class, I felt more confident in my body and my abilities. Master Carlson has put a lot of thought into not just teaching you a series of movements, but also into what is the best order in which to teach them. She's constantly evaluating her curriculum to make sure students learn the applications for each move and that what they learn builds on itself. She had the privilege of studying in Korea under Grandmaster Park Chul Hee, the founder of Kang Duk Won, one of the 9 original kwans or schools of taekwondo, and she passes on his knowledge, passion and respect for the art of taekwondo to her students. According to Master Carlson, Grandmaster Park knew she would open a martial arts school before she did. And her desire to do so stemmed from wanting to create a space where students learned through positive teaching and where she could impart the culture and history of the sport as well as the movements. Fast forward about 4 months after my first lesson, and I was competing at my first martial arts tournament - at 44 - and largely at Master Carlson's insistence that I would do well. Having only just attained my yellow belt and learned the second half of my form about a week before the competition, I had my doubts. Surely these were just encouraging words to push me forward. They were not. I took first that day in my event. And I learned to trust her. Master Carlson is indeed encouraging, but she doesn't give false praise. And she catches the smallest nuances in your movements, slight things that someone less skilled - or less focused - might overlook. Those minor tweaks aren't just the difference between placing in a tournament or not. They are the difference between properly executing a move or possibly hurting yourself because your body wasn't positioned correctly. To quote a parent who has enrolled her sons at Martial Journeys of Madison, "this is something that will help them in life, not just in this sport." That's certainly what I get out of it. Studying under Master Carlson is an exercise in not just what I can do, but how I can be, both in dealing with myself and others. And there's no ego involved, despite her 4th degree black belt and study under one of the sport's founders. When she seems most happy is when her students excel and learn to do what they thought that they could not. Those are the best kinds of teachers.

Martial Journeys of Madison is not just a martial arts school. If it was I wouldn't have any part of it. But meeting Master Carlson and discussing the subject of taekwondo at length, I came to realize that she wasn't just another martial artist. By that I mean that I have known people from schools that gave them a black belt just because they stuck with it long enough and kept paying, or the people who knew forms so very precisely and could not adequately explain what it was they were doing. Master Carlson is not one of those. She added the most recent three degrees of her Black Belt in Korea, studying under the Masters there. Master Carlson doesn't just show you a form and tell you to memorize it for your next belt, she shows you the applications. She once used an analogy that she said she got from "Someone much cooler than myself" that really struck a chord. The analogy was that forms are like the recipe book, when you want to eat, you don't flip to a certain recipe in the book and tear out the page and eat it! For the first time someone had shown me the art part of martial arts and how it applied to the real fight. Moreover, she knew, I mean really knew, the history of where it all came from. Who the original masters were, where they studied, how they molded their art over the centuries. You don't just learn cool moves, you learn how they apply to the real world, who developed them and the culture they came from. If you just want to say you are a black belt, go to a McDojo out there and pay your money for enough time and you will have one. If you want the whole experience (and some really good advice on where to go for Korean food!), look up Master Carlson at Martial Journeys of Madison. If you get a belt from her, you will know you earned it!