Happy New Year 2024!
Happy New Year to all of you! As I said to my wife last night, “Wow, I can’t believe that we have rolled into 2024, the year of my 60th birthday!” She shook her head, perhaps not believing I’d hit 60 in nine months. Jeebus!…
A Look Back on 2023
Well, this has been an eventful year for my wife and I. Fortunately, the year is ending on a good note. Hip Replacement As many of you know, my right hip was replaced in January. The day of the surgery was a bit crazy. My…
Back To The Drawing Board
As many of you know, one of my goals for my 60th birthday is to perform 60 push-ups on that day. To that end, I’ve been doing test push-ups. Until yesterday, I was progressing. Unfortunately, I regressed, going from 38 last month to 36 yesterday….
Horrifying Mall Attack
As readers of this blog know, I will occasionally comment about violent incidents caught on video. I aim to glean lessons from the video and pass along my observations. Such is the case with a video of a violent mall attack. Recently, a violent attack…
The Power of Incremental Gains
How many of you are okay with incremental gains from gym or martial arts workouts? Surprisingly, at 59, I’m fine with the idea of small gains. Like most folks, I was unsatisfied with mere incremental gains in my younger days. It was either substantial gains…
Going Into The Martial Arts Hibernation Season
Do you expect to train on the same martial material year-round? That approach will lead to burnout and stagnation. The intelligent approach is to vary your training throughout the year. Changing routines is relatively easy for martial arts competitors. For example, they can spend the…
Friday Recommendation #22
If you are not able to view the video, go here. In short, I highly recommend this video. This video starts with Jesse demonstrating Naihanchi/Tekki Shodan and explaining that it contains elements of Wing Chun. Beginning with that kata, Sensei Jesse and Sifu Kevin Lee…
From Pixels to Stick Fighting
A number of my Padawans play video games. That’s not exactly shocking to you, is it? However, I have often wondered how it translates to their FMA training or, more importantly, how it informs my teaching approach. Minecraft is one of the most popular video…
The Difficulty of Teaching Structure in Martial Arts
Teaching martial arts involves more than just physical techniques. One must teach structure along with techniques. I have found that teaching structure is much more challenging than a martial art’s physical techniques. But what is structure? Structure includes stances, footwork, positioning, body posture and much…
Friday Recommendation #21
October 30th marked the 49th anniversary of the “Rumble In The Jungle,” one of the most famous fights in boxing history. There is no doubt in my mind that the 50th anniversary next year will result in numerous articles about this fight. In this epic…
