# Hello from Oakland California



## Mitchellpagan (Nov 4, 2016)

I'm new to Martial Talk and would like to take this time to introduce myself. My name is Mitchell Pagan and I've been practicing Taekwondo for 27 years. I began practicing in 1989 and received my 1st Dan Black Belt from the U.S.A. Chapter of the Korea Taekwon-Do Association 314th promotional test under Master George Chung and Anthony Chan in 1994.

The last 27 years have been eventful, to say the least, however, the lessons I learned from my time with Master Chung and Master Chan have been the bedrock of my existence. Self-discipline, indomitable spirit, and thoughtful intention are the core beliefs I project throughout my everyday life. Sadly an often overlooked aspect of Martial Arts is meditation.

The Dojang I called home closed shortly after my promotion test and to be honest, I was a lost student looking for a formidable Master. Years went by and action sports took the place of Taekwondo. However, no action sport could provide me the sustenance I received from my time training with Master Chung and Master Chan. I soon realized that the deep introspection I gained from meditation was absent in my life. Then I found Yoga.

The eight limb path of Yoga was akin to the Nobel Eightfold Path of Taekwondo. I've been practicing Yoga for a few years now and have recently become a certified Yoga instructor. I continue to embody the knowledge bestowed upon me by my Masters with humility, courtesy, and respect. Never losing sight of the importance of spiritual and mental growth throughout my endeavors, I implore you all to continue to build character and humbly pursue the lifelong journey of oneness between mind and body.

I thank you all for your time and efforts in the continuation of this amazing art form.

The teacher in me, honors and respects the teacher in all of you.

Namaste.

Mitchell Pagan


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## Dirty Dog (Nov 4, 2016)

Welcome to MartialTalk. Hope you enjoy it.


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## Buka (Nov 4, 2016)

Welcome to the Forum, Mitchell.


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## Kickboxer101 (Nov 4, 2016)

Welcome to martial talk do you still train taekwondo at a school or do you self train now?


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## Tames D (Nov 4, 2016)

Welcome.


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## Mitchellpagan (Nov 5, 2016)

Thanks for the welcome everybody.


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## Mitchellpagan (Nov 5, 2016)

Kickboxer101 said:


> Welcome to martial talk do you still train taekwondo at a school or do you self train now?


Since receiving my Black Belt I've continued to self-train. Now, I'm almost exclusively practicing yoga asanas.


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## Transk53 (Nov 5, 2016)

Welcome along. Yoga, which type if I may ask?


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## Brian King (Nov 5, 2016)

Welcome to Martial Talk!
Regards
Brian King


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## Mitchellpagan (Nov 6, 2016)

Transk53 said:


> Welcome along. Yoga, which type if I may ask?


Thanks for the welcome. Currently, I teach Ashtanga Vinyasa. Personally, I like to keep a well-rounded training approach so I practice Ashtanga Vinyasa five days a week, Kundalini once a week, and Yin Yoga twice a week.


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## Transk53 (Nov 6, 2016)

Mitchellpagan said:


> Thanks for the welcome. Currently, I teach Ashtanga Vinyasa. Personally, I like to keep a well-rounded training approach so I practice Ashtanga Vinyasa five days a week, Kundalini once a week, and Yin Yoga twice a week.



Interesting. thanks


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## oftheherd1 (Nov 7, 2016)

Welcome to MT.  Looking forward to your future input.


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## Taken611 (Nov 7, 2016)

Welcome to martialtalk! I'm new here too


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## Dong xiao hu (Nov 7, 2016)

Welcome to MT

Sent from my Z797C using Tapatalk


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## Brian R. VanCise (Nov 8, 2016)

Welcome to MartialTalk!


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## Jenna (Nov 9, 2016)

Mitchellpagan said:


> Thanks for the welcome. Currently, I teach Ashtanga Vinyasa. Personally, I like to keep a well-rounded training approach so I practice Ashtanga Vinyasa five days a week, Kundalini once a week, and Yin Yoga twice a week.


Hey welcome along, hope you gonna post up some of your thoughts and stuff!  Hey tell me it is similar Kundalini energy to ki/qi/chi would you say?


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## wingchun100 (Nov 18, 2016)

Welcome to the boards!


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## Mitchellpagan (Dec 2, 2016)

Jenna said:


> Hey welcome along, hope you gonna post up some of your thoughts and stuff!  Hey tell me it is similar Kundalini energy to ki/qi/chi would you say?


Thanks for the warm welcome. Jenna, to answer your question, I would say absolutely! Chi/Qi/Ki/Kundalini energy are all basically the same thing, primal energy. Male and Female, Yin & Yang, Shiva & Shakti. The basis for all martial arts always leads me to Bodhidharma, a Yogi that taught the Yoga Sutras to the Shaolin Monks in China. In Taekwondo we were taught the Noble Eightfold Path which shares a striking resemblance to Patanjali's Eight Limbs of Yoga. However, I would say that Patanjali's Yoga Sutras provide a much more detailed explanation on how to achieve enlightenment and cultivate Kundalini energy. In Martial Arts training, Buddhist principles or Bagua principles are usually talked about but never described in detail. At least that was my experience. For me, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are a very practical and logical guide on how to achieve enlightenment and harness Kundalini energy. Most all martial arts Masters will tell you that everything depends on breath control and to breathe from the stomach, not the chest. For a new student to Martial Arts, this can be confusing because chances are you don't really know your body well enough to comprehend breathing through your stomach. Whereas in Yoga, there are actually pranayama breathing techniques such as Ujjayi or Kapala Bhatti breathing. Sorry, I kind of went on a tangent. Hope that answers your question.


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