Turning dreams into reality

For years, I would pass storefronts with “For Lease” signs in them and my mind would instantly evaluate the space to see if it met my criteria to be a martial arts school. Most of the time something about the space didn’t fit, so I would nix it from my head. On other occasions, it was about the time; it wasn’t right. For a variety of reasons, my martial arts school wasn’t meant to be…Yet.

Since I moved to the Des Moines area, I have been training primarily in backyards and basements with a few people. During this time, I have fine tuned my teaching skills along with seeking new avenues of learning for myself. 

In retrospect, I had set the stage for opening the school long ago and the pieces finally fell into place in 2010. In April of this year, I opened the doors to Kapatiran Suntukan Martial Arts.

This isn’t to say it was easy.  I needed to figure out if I could afford it and did a lot of jumping through hoops to make it work, but I made it happen. I believe wholeheartedly that when we set our minds to reach a goal, we have it within us to achieve them.

The expressions of the martial arts I teach have a balance of understanding our surroundings and what to do when the fecal matter flies. These skills are transferable from physical aspects to conversational skills; however, both take practice to gain that understanding.

The basis for both styles I teach is movement. This movement is a combination of evasion and body english to put you in a position that will be advantageous to you while breaking down the structure of your opponent. This translates into a conversation of understanding the dynamic that is established, as well as what your goal is. This will show how you need to approach the discussion.

 Depending on the situation and the goal, you may need to confront it head-on, or you may need more subtle tactics to deflect attacks to get your point across. 

I offer one free class (in either style), so you can try them out and see which is better suited for you.

Drop by the school and give it a go.

To explore a little more, visit: http://www.ksma.us/desmoines.html

Email me at:mailto:%20jay@ksma.us

Or give me a call at: 515.255.9698.

There is a West Des Moines Chamber Ribbon Cutting at the school on June 22 at 5:15. We are located at 4930 Franklin Ave. in Des Moines. Stop by to check it out, have some food and soft beverages and ask questions.

Jay M Carstensen
Director: KSMA
Jay@ksma.us