Martial Arts Are Better Together

1. Trust: The Core of Martial Arts and Real Community

Discover why training with Grandmaster Bobby Taboada in Balintawak Eskrima is a transformative experience for Filipino Martial Arts students in Chicago.

Let’s be real for a second. If you live in Chicago, Evanston, Skokie, or Niles, you’ve probably passed at least five different martial arts gyms without even noticing. Tae Kwon Do, BJJ, Krav Maga, Muay Thai, Karate, Kung Fu, Silat… It’s a buffet. The hard part isn’t finding a place to train—it’s figuring out what kind of training will actually fit your life. I’ve been there. I live by Albany Park, and I’ve tried everything from Hapkido to Aikido. I work a job that doesn’t let me just clock out and forget it all. So when I started training in Filipino Martial Arts—specifically Balintawak Eskrima—it was like something finally clicked. I found a system that kept my body moving, made me feel sharp, and reminded me of why I started in the first place: I wanted to learn something practical. So here’s what I’ve learned—whether you’re in your 30s figuring out your next step, or in your 50s still curious (and still kicking)—here’s what really matters when choosing where and what to train:

Let’s be honest: work stress doesn’t stay neatly behind at 5:00 PM on Friday. It rides home with you, creeps into your weekend, and hijacks your headspace. Whether you’re grinding at a desk in downtown Chicago, troubleshooting systems in Skokie, or simply trying to be present with your family and your own goals — the pressure adds up. And most people don’t have a healthy way to hit the reset button. So here’s a wild but solid solution: Hit something with a stick. I’m talking about Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) — specifically Balintawak Eskrima, a stick-based system that helps you shake off the mental cobwebs, get grounded in your body, and reset your nervous system after a long, overstimulating week. You don’t have to be a fighter. You just have to be ready to swing, sweat, and show up. Let me break down how it works.

I’ve spent years behind desks, in front of screens, solving problems that lived in spreadsheets, security protocols, or messy data sets. And while my degrees in design methods and imaging taught me how to think critically, nothing rewired the way I actually respond to challenges quite like Filipino Martial Arts — specifically, Balintawak Eskrima. It’s more than learning to defend yourself. It’s training your body and mind to process chaos, spot patterns, and make better decisions — fast.

It's Not About Your Job Title, It's About How You Live Your Life So many of you Chicago area have desk jobs. Analysts, designers, marketers, engineers, and more. That doesn’t mean you aren’t warriors in your own way. Being a warrior isn’t just for people who carry a firearm for a living. Being a warrior is how you live your life. What it means to be a warrior That means taking care of yourself and your loved ones. Taking care of your community. Digging in and standing tall when you are scared. It’s doing the hard thing sometimes. It’s speaking the truth rather than holding back. It’s going hard. It’s in your attitude of getting back in the game when you make a mistake. It doesn’t mean your superior. It’s coming at whatever it is with your full self. It means making time for regular training. Making Time to Train A warrior trains. Even training 15 minutes a day adds up. The more times you practice the better you get. Physical movement and sweating gets the blood flowing so you can let go of stress, especially if you’ve been sitting all day. Training helps your physical fitness and improves mental focus. A good martial arts practice translates beautifully to office life. It transforms your attitude. Have you ever noticed that you’re able to work through things on the mat that have been in your way at work? I remember practicing one day years ago and my instructor told me I was sticking my butt out and all I could think was “Man! I’ve been doing that all week at work, too!” People Skills Nowadays a warrior has to know how to work with people. In martial arts training that gets practiced by building trust and respect with your training partners. I’ll tell you a secret - finding ways to make them shine will make you shine. Interpersonal skills come from communicating and learning from the encounters. Being able to communicate so you don’t hurt each other help you build more intensity with your movements. Nowadays being a warrior is also leadership. That doesn’t mean being the one in charge but leading by example. That is part of why we have you lead the 12 Basics in class. Remember, being a warrior is an attitude. It’s how you live your life. It’s not that you have to even consider yourself one. It’s how you approach your day and and deal with what you are faced with. It’s how you are in the world. It’s something that is cultivated and practiced. It can be done from anywhere. Whether from in the dojo, the garden, or at your desk, you are a warrior when you need to be.