Martial Arts Fitness For Us Geezers!
Jesse Enkamp (aka the Karate Nerd) and Eddie Hall entertained me with their attempt to replicate Bruce Lee’s 1965 workout routine. Judging by the reactions of Jesse and Eddie, it sounds like an insane workout. Keep in mind that Bruce was 25 years old and…
Patience, Grasshopper!
While working on a technique sequence designed to fortify their fundamentals, students may occasionally ask to do material that is beyond their skill level. I’ll often answer them in two ways. Either I will demur and tell them that their fundamentals aren’t where they need…
“Lads, you’re not to miss practice unless you died or your parents died.”
I chuckle every time I see this quote by Notre Dame coaching legend Frank Leahy. He was the head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 1941 to 1943 and from 1946 to 1953. He missed the 1944 and 1945 seasons due to serving…
Analyzing the Dynamics of Machete Attacks
Recently, I asked ChatGPT, “Which hand is most predominant in machete attacks?” Not surprisingly, it answered that right-handed people carry out the vast majority of machete attacks. The full answer from ChatGPT: “Most studies and reports on machete attacks indicate that the dominant hand of…
Arnis for Self Defense – Does It Work?
First, watch this video on whether Arnis works in the street. From David James’ perspective (as well as mine), it depends! I believe Filipino martial arts (FMA) are a powerful asset for street self-defence. FMA empty-hand techniques and weapon training can be seamlessly applied to…
Making It Stick: Video Homework Assignments
One of the more interesting teaching ideas I’ve encountered is video homework assignments for students. Specifically, the idea is to video private lessons and upload them to Google Drive for them to watch and analyze. The inspiration for this idea comes from Maija Soderholm, one…
Private Lessons and Big Data: Turning Sticks into Trendlines!
Before discussing my data experiment, I apologize for the month-long radio silence due to being (a) buried in work and (b) having a family get-together. That said, I’m happy to blog again! After a private lesson with Rosh, the owner of ABS Training Centre, we…
RIP George Foreman
The great heavyweight boxer George Foreman recently passed away at the age of 76. Foreman has long fascinated me, especially since the iconic “Rumble in the Jungle” fight against Muhammad Ali. I was 10 years old at the time. The sports pages of the day…
Cobra Kai Never Dies!
Last night, I binge-watched the last five episodes of “Cobra Kai,” released four days ago (Feb 13th). All I can say is “WOW.” I love how the writers wrapped it up all by the final episode! Semi-Spoiler Alert ahead! Suffice it to say that Cobra…
Video of the Week 26: Double Zero to Abanico Double Action
As many of you know, I ardently advocate solo training, whether the shadowboxing version or hitting a tire. Solo training is an excellent opportunity to work on your martial skills, particularly your weaknesses. I demonstrate one solo training sequence consisting of a double zero followed…
