We were watching the Super Bowl this weekend (and by we I mean I, Master Alan was watching the Super Bowl, Go Pats). But then, a really cool commercial came on and made me pause a little bit in between bits of dip (actually my Super Bowl party was lame, no dip, I was just folding laundry). Anyway, the commercial talked about the impact that the phrase “like a girl” has on children, especially young girls. So we are really excited about the #likeagirl hashtag. St. Matthews Martial Arts is going to do our part to spread the message.

If you haven’t read about Master Joan yet, we are pretty proud of her. She is the highest ranking female in our system. Out of our dojo she has trained not one, but three black belts to the level of Master (Master Dan, Master Chris, and Master Alan). A large part of what she has wanted to do with our school is teach kids that martial arts is for everyone. Anyone can be a black belt if they want to be (I’ll admit there is some work involved as well).

I learned to hit like a girl. Master Joan taught me how to get power from the floor. How to use my stance to generate energy to put into a strike. I learned how to steal someone’s balance and use it to make myself more balanced. These are things I could have learned from many martial arts masters, male or female. But I learned all of it from Master Joan. So watch our Facebook page this week for more #likeagirl photos, videos, and quotes (we’re gonna keep it around longer than just this week, we hope you’ll participate with us).