The Power of Similarities
I have encountered martial artists who like to focus on the differences between martial arts. I think these martial artists are done to distinguish their martial art from the “other” martial art. Often, it serves as the premise of an argument proving the superiority of their martial…
How to Fix The Wet Noodle
The “wet noodle” version of feeding a training partner is a fairly common problem encountered by martial arts instructors. I have seen variations of this problem among children and adults. In this post, I discuss the causes behind poor feeding and offer solutions on how…
4 Reasons for Teaching Beginners
Instructors and advanced students can benefit greatly from teaching beginners. Unfortunately, too many instructors have their junior or senior students working with beginners. Senior students often prefer to work with classmates of the same rank. While there is nothing wrong with working with fellow senior…
5 Problems With One Step Sparring
In the last post, I discussed three great reasons for one-step sparring. As noted in that post, this topic has been debated. While there are benefits to one-step sparring, some have argued that this training method has downsides. In this post, I will explore the problems…
3 Great Reasons For One Step Sparring
Many martial arts, such as karate and tae kwon do, employ a training method called “one-step sparring.” This training method has been the subject of a fair bit of debate. Some advocate it, while others deride it as impractical and unsuited to the realities of…
Simplicity
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. – Leonardo DaVinci. Simplicity is the key to brilliance. – Bruce Lee. My first formal introduction to Arnis/Eskrima was during a private lesson with Professor Florendo Visitacion, otherwise known as Professor Vee in the fall of 1989. I travelled to…
Bikinis and Filipino Martial Arts
Now I have your attention. Let’s talk. And yes, there is a discussion about bikinis and Filipino Martial Arts in this post. In this post, I discuss a problem that I see over and over: sexism in the martial arts industry. This is a result of…
6 Reasons To Go Slow
You must go slow! Slow is the mother of skill!- Professor Remy Presas. The professor used to admonish us who rushed into new techniques. He wanted us to have good form and structure before worrying about speed—wise words. I often train slowly for smoothness and…
Too Young to Learn Filipino Martial Arts?
I posted “It’s Real and Spectacular” a week ago on a martial arts discussion board. I discussed the topic of teaching Filipino Martial Arts to young children. Some martial artists raised concerns about my students’ young age and liability issues. One writer indicated his belief…
“It Has To Be Done This Way!”
A quote that bugs me the most: “It has to be done this way.” In martial arts, an instructor usually says this in the context of a prescribed self-defence technique or sequence. Again, it depends on the context. If this statement relates to proper structure, then…
