#5: Val Mijailovic – Karate is Harmony

The Black Belt Podcast

“When I was coming up, we didn’t look at anybody else, we didn’t glorify anybody else, instead we learned by discovering what we could do. Everybody was different. Now days there is so much information out there and it is so easily available. So now we try to become like others, and this takes away from that spiritual and physical muscle memory experience, that one needs to discover themselves.” – Val Mijailovic

My guest this episode is Hanshi Val Mijailovic, who is an 8’th degree Karate Black Belt under the legendary Soke Tak Kubota, and was also trained in Judo and Iaido. Hanshi Val was an international competitor and champion throughout the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s, winning the USA JKA Championships and the IKA World Championships. He is the owner and publisher of Martial Arts Masters Magazine and has produced over 700 martial arts instructional videos.

This episode is all about cultivating instincts and discovering yourself as a martial artist. My key takeaway is that Karate and all Martial Arts are truly about Harmony. Cultivating peace and balance within yourself is essential to success in life and in the heat of a battle. To study oneself in a relationship with their opponent is truly the path towards mastery. We also dive deep into training methods, fighting strategy, and the importance of becoming a good teacher. Karate is not about fighting but about taking care of others and caring about their well-being. But above all martial arts teaches us to how learn, how to live, and how to experience life. This was an amazing episode filled with so much wisdom, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.