Three Ways To Grab The Cane
One of the major concepts of Modern Arnis is “stealing the lead.” If the opponent presents his stick, you can steal the lead, usually by grabbing the stick. This is illustrated by the video below when I grab Alex’s stick and counter him. Learning to grab…
It Is All The Same!
I am pleased to present a guest post from my good friend, RoseAnne Mussar. She hails from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and trains in Modern Arnis at the 6Tigers Academy in Barrhaven (Ottawa) under Renshi Janet Heffernan. She also trains in the American Cane System, often traveling to…
The Equivalent of a Ph.D?
A stereotype sometimes associated with Asian Martial Art Grandmasters, either because of their lack of proficiency in English or being from Asia, is that they are uneducated or lack formal education. For example, Balintawak Founder and Grandmaster Venancio “Anciong” Bacon was reported not to have…
When to Teach Counters?
Recently, I was teaching a semi-private lesson with a couple of students. We were working on a new technique that took them a while to learn. They then asked me, “How do you counter this technique?” My answer was that there were several counters like…
Never Too Late!
I am pleased to present a guest post from my good friend, RoseAnne Mussar. She hails from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and trains in Modern Arnis at the 6Tigers Academy in Barrhaven under Renshi Janet Heffernan. She also trains in the American Cane System, often traveling to New…
To Hell With Inadequacy
For years, I felt beset by a constant feeling of inadequacy, mainly due to being nearly deaf in an overwhelmingly hearing society. It’s easier said than done, but at some point, you will need to “just let go of this shit.” It can be difficult…
Downsizing
Recently, my wife and I downsized from our house in Oshawa to a townhouse in Ajax. The new place has half the square footage of our former house. This entailed a massive amount of purging before the move, starting in October and we are still going…
How Hard Do You Really Train?
I taught the inaugural class at the Harmony Martial Arts Center in Pickering on Friday night. For a Friday night time slot of 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm, I had a turnout of 7. Not bad at all. After getting some housekeeping out of the way,…
A Surefire Counter!
A surefire counter to most techniques is simply hitting your opponent, either with the cane or with your check/alive hand. If you are not able to view the video, click here. The above video illustrates a simple way to prevent an opponent from grabbing your…
The 10 Best Martial Arts
You’ve seen those lists. “The 10 Best Martial Arts For Self Defense,” “The Best Martial Arts Styles for Self Defense,” or “The 10 Most Lethal Martial Arts.” They’re eye-catching and often informative. I have the utmost respect for the martial arts listed. I believe that…
