Author: Ando Mierzwa

Ando Mierzwa is a martial arts teacher living in Los Angeles, CA.

Make Peace with Violence

Posted on by Ando Mierzwa

Bombings. School shootings. Genocide. Over and over, the headlines tell the story of violence. And with each incident, there is a wave of shock, grief, and outrage. It can be overwhelming. But it shouldn’t be. Not if you want to maximize your happiness in this world. To do that, you need to find a way…

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The Invisible Path to Success

Posted on by Ando Mierzwa

The path to success is not always visible. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t there. There are two types of phenomena in the universe: things you see and things you don’t see. Many of us focus on what’s visible in life because it’s easy to measure and compare. How much you weigh, how much you…

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The Myth of Women’s Self-Defense

Posted on by Ando Mierzwa

I admit it. I’ve taught seminars billed as “Women’s Self-Defense”. But I’ve never been comfortable with that title. Here’s why— I have come to believe there should be no distinction between women’s self-defense classes and self-defense classes for men. None whatsoever. Doing so just over-complicates what is really a very straight-forward goal—preparing good guys to…

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Sting Like a Bee: Tips for the Little Guy

Posted on by Ando Mierzwa

Muhammad Ali described his boxing style with the famous phrase: “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”  Did you ever wonder why a heavyweight boxer would compare himself to a tiny bumblebee? The average bumblebee weighs about five hundredths of a gram. They say a queen bumblebee weighs almost a full gram, but no one’s…

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