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Martial Arts and Self-Defense lessons through videos and podcasts.
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Fight for a Happy Life with Sensei Ando: Martial Arts for Everyday Life
Ando Mierzwa: Martial Artist, Teacher
Martial arts are a powerful path to fitness of the mind, body, and spirit… yet most people never even try a class! Join Ando Mierzwa as he shares ways to apply the wisdom of Karate, Kung Fu, BJJ and other martial arts to everyday life. If you are pursuing success in health, relationships, or business, you will quickly discover how even a little martial arts makes life a whole lot better!
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Welcome to Episode #124 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “Stop Pulling Your Punches.” It might sound harsh, but most people are holding back… not just on the mats, but in every aspect of life. They’re NOT maximizing their efforts and, therefore, NOT maximizing their successes. (Yes, including me!) The question is WHY? Or is it? Maybe before a…
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Welcome to Episode #124 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “Stop Pulling Your Punches.” It might sound harsh, but most people are holding back… not just on the mats, but in every aspect of life. They’re NOT maximizing their efforts and, therefore, NOT maximizing their successes. (Yes, including me!) The question is WHY? Or is it? Maybe before a…
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#123: How to Build Courage in Martial Arts [Video Podcast]
27:50
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Welcome to Episode #123 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “How to Build Courage in Martial Arts.” Many people worry that they won’t have the courage to fight back against a real-life attacker… and that includes martial arts students! It makes sense, really. You can build strong muscles and practice cool moves all day long, but when fear strike…
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#123: How to Build Courage in Martial Arts [Video Podcast]
27:50
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27:50
Welcome to Episode #123 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “How to Build Courage in Martial Arts.” Many people worry that they won’t have the courage to fight back against a real-life attacker… and that includes martial arts students! It makes sense, really. You can build strong muscles and practice cool moves all day long, but when fear strike…
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#122: Yin or Yang: A Tale of Two Black Belts [Video + Podcast]
22:35
22:35
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22:35
Welcome to Episode #122 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “Yin or Yang: A Tale of Two Black Belts.” There are many paths to choose from in the martial arts… but how do you know if you’re on the right one? Wait—there’s actually an even bigger question to think about— Should you be following in someone’s else’s path at all? Don’t get me wrong—I’…
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#122: Yin or Yang: A Tale of Two Black Belts [Video + Podcast]
22:35
22:35
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22:35
Welcome to Episode #122 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “Yin or Yang: A Tale of Two Black Belts.” There are many paths to choose from in the martial arts… but how do you know if you’re on the right one? Wait—there’s actually an even bigger question to think about— Should you be following in someone’s else’s path at all? Don’t get me wrong—I’…
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#121: Hero Worship in the Martial Arts [Video + Podcast]
33:04
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33:04
Welcome to Episode #121 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “Hero Worship in the Martial Arts.” We all need teachers and role models in the martial arts… but can following a leader become harmful at some point? Is it possible to show a teacher too much respect? YES! If we’re not careful, our humility as a student can be transformed into hero wor…
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#121: Hero Worship in the Martial Arts [Video + Podcast]
33:04
33:04
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33:04
Welcome to Episode #121 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “Hero Worship in the Martial Arts.” We all need teachers and role models in the martial arts… but can following a leader become harmful at some point? Is it possible to show a teacher too much respect? YES! If we’re not careful, our humility as a student can be transformed into hero wor…
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#120: Use It or Lose It [Video + Podcast]
26:54
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Welcome to Episode #120 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “Use It or Lose It.” Some people say martial arts is like riding a bike… I don’t! I say use it or lose it! The fact is that no matter how hard you train, you can’t practice everything all the time, which means some skills will always end up being neglected. But wait—the situation is wor…
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#120: Use It or Lose It [Video + Podcast]
26:54
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26:54
Welcome to Episode #120 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “Use It or Lose It.” Some people say martial arts is like riding a bike… I don’t! I say use it or lose it! The fact is that no matter how hard you train, you can’t practice everything all the time, which means some skills will always end up being neglected. But wait—the situation is wor…
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#119: Lighten Your Load – Tai Chi’s Double-Weighted Error [Video + Podcast]
33:04
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Welcome to Episode #119 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “Lighten Your Load – Tai Chi’s Double-Weighted Error.” The art of Tai Chi Chuan is often criticized (or even mocked) in modern martial arts circles. Of course, much of that criticism comes from people who have never researched or practiced the art whatsoever! Typically, the critics have…
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#119: Lighten Your Load – Tai Chi’s Double-Weighted Error [Video + Podcast]
33:04
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33:04
Welcome to Episode #119 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “Lighten Your Load – Tai Chi’s Double-Weighted Error.” The art of Tai Chi Chuan is often criticized (or even mocked) in modern martial arts circles. Of course, much of that criticism comes from people who have never researched or practiced the art whatsoever! Typically, the critics have…
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#118: How to Get More from Your Martial Arts Practice [Video + Podcast]
24:49
24:49
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24:49
Welcome to Episode #118 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “How to Get More from Your Martial Arts Practice.” You train hard… but are you getting everything you can out of your martial arts practice? Probably not! Don’t worry—in this episode, I share three practice tips that will pay you back with BIG results. At least they did for me! No, they…
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#117: Bad Advice in the Martial Arts [Podcast]
22:03
22:03
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22:03
Welcome to Episode #117 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “Bad Advice in the Martial Arts.” You get a lot of advice as a martial arts student… you probably give a lot of advice, too! But is it possible that all of that good advice is actually bad advice? In this episode, I’m examining five pieces of popular advice that might not be helping any…
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#116: You Got This! Confidence in the Martial Arts [Video + Podcast]
26:29
26:29
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Welcome to Episode #116 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “You Got This.” Confidence is a tricky commodity. If you have too much—trouble. If you have too little—trouble! Especially in the martial arts, place too much faith in your skills, you might wind up dead. But place NO faith in your skills, you might also wind up dead! With those high st…
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#115: How to Be a Good Judge in Martial Arts and Life [Video + Podcast]
30:16
30:16
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30:16
Welcome to Episode #115 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “How to Be a Good Judge.” Are you a good judge or a bad judge? In the martial arts (and in life!), I’ve definitely been both. But as I get older, I’d like to think I’m getting better at passing judgement. Whether we’re talking about fighting styles, techniques, and training methodologie…
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#114: Driving Without Brakes – A Warning for Martial Arts and Life
24:06
24:06
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24:06
Welcome to Episode #114 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “Driving Without Brakes.” I’ve done some stupid things in my life… but driving without brakes may be the stupidest! Of course, I didn’t plan on putting myself (and everybody on the road around me!) in danger, but it also wasn’t a big surprise.... The post #114: Driving Without Brakes – …
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#113: The First Technique in Martial Arts [Video + Podcast]
34:38
34:38
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34:38
Welcome to Episode #113 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “The First Technique in Martial Arts.” Do you remember the first technique you learned in the martial arts? Was it a jab? A block? Maybe a breakfall? Whatever it was, let me ask you—would you say it was also the most important technique?... The post #113: The First Technique in Martial …
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#112: Lessons from Being Choked Out [Video + Podcast]
29:34
29:34
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29:34
Welcome to Episode #112 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “Lessons From Being Choked Out.” When I started training in the martial arts, I practiced a long list of moves to escape from chokes. No air, no problem… right? WRONG! It turned out that there’s a big difference between a “practice choke” and... The post #112: Lessons from Being Choked …
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#111: How to Make Martial Arts Techniques Work [Video + Podcast]
33:17
33:17
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Welcome to Episode #111 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “How to Make Martial Arts Techniques Work.” You see a move. You learn a move. You try a move… …but it doesn’t work! ARGH! So frustrating. The truth is, sooner or later, we all hit a wall in our training. We all get... The post #111: How to Make Martial Arts Techniques Work [Video + Podc…
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#110: Close Your Mind to Learn More [Video + Podcast]
35:03
35:03
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Welcome to Episode #110 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “Close Your Mind to Learn More.” We all know that a martial arts student should keep an open mind, right? But should it stay open forever? Is it possible that you can keep learning even when you close your mind to new information?... The post #110: Close Your Mind to Learn More [Video +…
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#109: Panic and Pandemonium | Self-Defense in a Crowd [Video + Podcast]
31:21
31:21
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Welcome to Episode #109 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “Panic and Pandemonium.” In self-defense, facing a single attacker is never easy. Now imagine defending yourself from 80,000 people! That sounds crazy, but that’s basically what happened to me. In this episode, I’ll share the story of a young, inexperienced security guard (that’s... The…
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#108: The Hardest Part of Self-Defense [Video + Podcast]
39:42
39:42
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Welcome to Episode #108 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “The Hardest Part of Self-Defense.” I have some bad news–the hardest part of self-defense is something you can’t change or stop. What am I talking about? Knowing how far to go when defending yourself. Here’s the problem–bad guys have a plan. They know... The post #108: The Hardest Part …
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#107: The Art of Moving Furniture [Video + Podcast]
28:38
28:38
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28:38
Welcome to Episode #107 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “The Art of Moving Furniture.” I moved twice in the last year—first from L.A. to Raleigh and now to a new place 6 miles up the road. That means I have spent a ridiculous number of hours packing, lifting boxes, and hauling furniture.... The post #107: The Art of Moving Furniture [Video +…
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#106: It’s Okay to Suck at Martial Arts [Video + Podcast]
29:17
29:17
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Welcome to Episode #106 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “It’s Okay to Suck at Martial Arts.” After almost two years of hiding out from Covid, I finally stepped outside and joined a BJJ school. Well, re-joined, actually. And guess what? I SUCK! Yup. I may only be two years older, but I’m... The post #106: It’s Okay to Suck at Martial Arts [Vi…
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Welcome to Episode #105 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “Waiting to Die.” My wife and I once found ourselves in a scary situation. Fortunately, we lived to tell the tale… so I’m going to tell it! Of course, you don’t need to survive a scary situation to remind you that life is... The post #105: Waiting to Die [Video + Podcast] appeared first…
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#104: Participation Trophies [Video + Podcast]
27:39
27:39
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Welcome to Episode #104 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “Participation Trophies.” Awarding trophies for participation, as opposed to the actual winning of an event, is a controversial topic. But should it be? Over the years, I’ve seen the good and the bad side of awarding participation trophies… and the crazy side! In... The post #104: Parti…
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Welcome to Episode #103 of the Fight for a Happy Life podcast, “Tools Not Rules.” Is there a difference between sticking to a routine and being stuck to one? YES, absolutely! If you’ve ever felt like a failure for skipping a workout or been stressed out for missing a class, this episode is for you…... The post #103: Tools Not Rules [Video + Podcast…
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