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  • Success habits- how we approach the one is often how we approach the many.

    Success and Fulfillment in life are most often based on our habits. The habits we have in one aspect in life often reflects the habits we have in many others. In other words, when it comes to our psychology, how we do one thing, is often similar to how we do other things. As Aristotle put it, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit". Many people say that training in an excellent martial arts school resembles the practice of our habits in life. When reaching for growth and our goals in life, how do we confront the discipline to start, do we make excuses or get caught up in less important things, or do we take consistent action and ....

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  • Kids Martial Arts and Adult Martial Arts Classes in Springfield!


    Welcome to Dunham's Martial Arts!
    We proudly serve the Springfield, Nixa, Republic, Rogersville, Boliver, Battlefield, Marshfield, Ozark, and surrounding areas! Come see the programs and deals we have to offer. Kids Martial Arts, Adult Martial Arts, Women's Self Defense, and SO MUCH MORE! Fill out the "Request Information" form on the side of the page and schedule time for a visit! Don't forget to click below to visit us on our social media pages!! Facebook Google+ Twitter ....

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  • The Focus'on Philosophy


    The Focus'on Philosophy
    What we focus on, we tend to feel. Have you ever remembered a happy or funny moment, during a time of sorrow? Or ever felt anger about something from the past, during a happy moment with a friend? Our focus can be directed in less than a heartbeat. And following it, comes a feeling. Be in charge of your own focus and emotions. Change your focus and change your feeling. Surround yourself with people who make you laugh, people who make you happy, people who help you focus on the good in life. If you focus on it, you will find it, whatever IT is. Learn from the bad, but focus on the good. Life is too short to be anything but happy. You don't ....

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  • The Map is Not the Territory


    The Map is Not the Territory
    Everybody has a plan till they get smacked in the mouth. - Iron Mike Tyson In the field of General Semantics, there is a concept called the "Map-Territory Relation." The founder of General Semantics, Alfred Korzybski , famously stated in 1931 that "the map is not the territory," meaning that the awareness of the thing and the symbols we use to perceive it (in this case, the map) are not the same as the actual thing itself (the territory). General Semantics is the idea that our beliefs are formed by our perceptions of the world and specifically the language we use to define it. So a symbol such as a map, while useful as a tool to understand the lay of the ....

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  • The Strongest Hand Technique


    The Strongest Hand Technique
    The other day someone asked me what the strongest hand technique in kenpo is. That got me thinking. First of all, strongest is too general a term. Do we mean most effective? Heaviest? Hardest hitting? Biggest striking surface? Smallest? There's no way to answer this question in an objective way. In kenpo we practice at least ten impact strikes with the closed fist alone. That doesn't include blocking, breaking, or gripping techniques. Plus another half dozen or so closed fist variations (knuckle strikes, half and thumbless fist), and well over a dozen open hand strikes (handswords, palms, claws, and finger strikes). All of which can be delivered from a ....

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  • The Importance of Stance and Posture


    The Importance of Stance and Posture
    In karate, everything comes from your stance. Your power, your mobility, your strikes and grapples and defenses, it all begins with your stance. In kenpo, we teach the Five Prerequisites of Proper Performance.
    Continuity
    Angles
    Balance
    Liveliness
    Posture Two of those prerequisites, Balance and Posture, relate specifically to stance and the way it affects your effectiveness in combat. Nakayama Masatoshi, the renowned karate Master, disciple of Master Funakoshi, and contemporary of respected martial arts historian Donn Draeger discusses the importance of Stance and Posture in his 1986 instructional text, Dynamic Karate . Page 23
    ....

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  • Considerations Five and Six


    Considerations Five and Six
    Today we will continue our discussion of The Ten Considerations of Combat
    . We have discussed Environment, Range , Positions, and Maneuvers . Here we will discuss Targets, and Natural Weapons.
    5. Targets
    Targets determine techniques. It can be no other way. The student must be able to both identify available targets, and determine the appropriate techniques and weapons to use against those targets. Understanding the opponent's position allows the student to identify the available targets exposed by that position. Are his arms too low to effectively defend his head? Is his body bladed, or is he facing the student square, exposing his solar plexus at ....

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  • The First Principle of Personal Defense


    The First Principle of Personal Defense
    Some consider Jeff Cooper to be for practical pistol shooting what Webster is for dictionaries - the final authority. His thoughts are simple, his actions straight forward, and his results are unquestioned. His book, Principles of Personal Defense , has only seven short chapters, but the topics of those chapters should give you some impression of how he approaches self defense.
    Alertness
    Decisiveness
    Aggressiveness
    Speed
    Coolness
    Ruthlessness
    Surprise These, more than the kicks and punches you train in karate, are the tools which will keep you alive when the worst case scenario occurs. In the following chapter, "The First Principle is ....

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  • On the Swept Plateau


    On the Swept Plateau
    "When there is no wind, row." -Chinese proverb Your karate training won't always progress at the same smooth pace. In the karate school we have a regular schedule of classes, curriculum, and tests; but your own personal growth in the arts will sometimes move in fits and starts. Sometimes you feel like you are on fire, like you pick up every new technique immediately. Other times you feel like you are plugging along, getting a little better all the time. You go to class, you hit the bag, and you feel yourself gradually getting stronger and faster. And then sometimes you feel like you've been running and running ....

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Request information

Lisa Hill

Our 8 year old son has been attending for about 8 months now and we all LOVE it! He is always excited and ready for class. It’s given him a big confidence boost and made a kid that likes to sit behind the computer a desire to be active and athletic. Mr Dunham and all of his staff work great with kids. I highly recommend for any age, young or old!

Stacy Lynn Heaton

Just finished the 8 week women's self-defense class and it was by far the coolest thing I've ever done! Great information, great instructors... A must for all women in this day and time.

Scott Dahlgren

Mr Dunham is a brilliant teacher, he teaches both the philosophical side of martial arts on top of the physical aspects. Never had a time that I left martial arts disappointed!

Get 2 weeks for $30!