Matt Chung's Site

Category: Movement

  • Week 07 – Pistol Squat / Single legged squat progression

    I consider my lower body to be particularly weak mainly due to neglect from all these years. During my teenage years (about 16 years old), I started weight lifting and NEVER — and I mean NEVER — worked out my legs, only focusing on building mass in my upper body. Back then, I was focused on my aesthetics, wanting to sculpt myself into someone with a chiseled arms and popping chest: my then definition of masculinity. Fast forward 20 years later, my definition of attention has shifted towards function (i.e. “can I perform this movement without pain and incorporate it into my movement practice”) and longevity.

    In any case, turning my attention towards my lower body, I made the decision to start training pistol squats about 7 weeks ago, my initial draw towards it was that the move “looks cool.” On top of that motivation, I’m finding that attempting this movement serves as a diagnostic tool:

    • Is your quad weak?
    • Are you cramping in the rectus femoris?
    • Are you able to bend your knee over your ankle?
    • Can you feel tension in your hamstring while its working?

    With that in mind, I am training my single leg squat by following this progression from the lovely folks over at Stretch Therapy:

    Progress

    May 23, 2025 (Week 07)

    No victory too small. Yesterday, I was able to perform one entire pistol squat. Albeit, I was holding a 4 KG kettle bell to assist with balance however this just goes to show in just a couple months, my legs are gaining strength. Above all else, I am NOT (unlike many other areas of my life) obsessing over the movement. I am once a week, hitting the gym for about 45 minutes, going through the sequence and then moving on. Non-obsession, it has it’s place …

    April 21, 2025 (Week 04)

    Just a few weeks ago, you can see how shaky my base leg is, even at the very beginning of the movement, when I am upright.

    March 28, 2025 (week 02)

    March 21, 2025 (Week 01)

  • On Psychological Safe Spaces

    The importance of psychologically safe dance spaces.

    Note: Although this blog post centers on psychologically safe spaces for dance studios, I think that that this concept more generally applies to other environments including the corporate world as well.

    This post is more of a stream of consciousness so bare with me here.

    I started my dance journey in February 2023 (a little over a year ago at the time of this writing) and (long story short) discovered “The Beacon”, a dance studio located in Seattle Washington (USA). It’s my second home.

    Really.

    I fell in love not only with the studio, but with the people, the community. If the closest thing I have to attending church. I feel honored and considered some of the instructors and leaders in the space as friends, who ultimately cultivate what I consider a psychological safe space. A place to be witnessed. To be seen. A place to “be yourself” with no judgement.

    A psychologically safe dance space is not something I take for granted anymore. I can confidently say that, since moving to London in April 2024 and visiting half a dozen studios.

    I’m writing about this topic because more times than I can count, someone has told me that I was “brave” for jumping into the cypher, despite there being arguably more experienced and more skilled dancers surrounding the circle. While I do feel flattered, and feel proud for the progress I’ve made, I feel comfortable jumping because of my experiences The Beacon (mentioned above).

    In that studio, a “safe” space is cultivated. It is intentional. It does not happen by chance. In fact, here’s a little interview I conducted with Seattle Legend Tracey Wong (below) and how she deliberately creates the environment: