BrianBrief #5 (Reality vs Fantasy)
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates Let’s apply Socrates to our martial arts lives. Early in my martial arts career, I attended a Modern Arnis seminar. I wasn’t a black belt yet. After Professor Presas demonstrated a technique, I approached a black…
BrianBrief #4 (Foreseeable Crap)
“Self defense” often denotes an immediate situation confronting you. A stranger accosts you in an elevator or at a parking lot. Or a loved one throws a violent temper tantrum to the point where you fear for your safety. But what about life style choices…
BrianBrief #2
In one sense, I have two different kinds of private clients. Both concern the willingness to slow down their training sequences. The first kind consciously slows down their technique (often prompted by me) to smooth things out. For example, I have a brother-sister duo who…
Robot As A Workout Partner?
I have long fantasized about having a holodeck like those in the various Star Trek series, where I can engage in Modern Arnis training. What if, instead, you had a robot as a workout partner? In my fantasy world, I’d say, “Computer, Holodeck Modern Arnis…
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…
