Video of the Week 13: Two Great Leg Exercises
Strengthening the legs is essential for martial arts because it enhances stability, power, and explosiveness. Strong legs provide a solid foundation, enabling practitioners to maintain balance and control while executing self-defense techniques. Lastly, increased leg endurance allows for sustained performance during training and sparring, reducing…
Video of the Week 9: Defending Against The Sweep Stroke
One of the key skills in Modern Arnis is learning how to defend against the sweep stroke. What is the sweep stroke? It is an offensive maneuver designed to incapacitate an opponent, as Troy demonstrates in the video below. I have seen defenders stand their…
Video of the Week 5: Modern Arnis Slap-Off/Pull-Off
In this post, the author shares insights on translating Modern Arnis stick techniques to empty hands, exemplified by the slap-off/pull-off drill, emphasizing the importance of center line and footwork. The post outlines a three-step approach to learning this translation and asks for donations to support the website’s expenses.
Video of the Week 3: Martial Arts Footwork Rules
In the video below, I outline some martial arts footwork rules to guide beginners. As I stated in the previous post, footwork is the number one issue among my private clients. Proper footwork is essential for agility, mobility, and stability. In addition, it allows you…
Video of the Week 2: Footwork
Last week, I focused on the driving side of the equation and stressed that, for driving purposes, one should have the same side foot forward according to the hand holding the stick. In other words, holding the stick in the right hand, you should have…
Crappy Hip to Bionic Hip: My FMA Footwork Reboot
Introduction While their stick, knife or machete hypnotizes many students, they often overlook the importance of footwork. In this blog post, I will explore the importance of footwork in FMA. Further, I explain how FMA footwork is my main barrier to returning to teaching. In…
Footwork
While perusing various videos on The Modern Martial Artist YouTube channel, I came across this fascinating video and loved the footwork analysis! If you are not able to view this video, click here. Quick background: Willie Pep is considered, pound for pound, among the top…
The Challenge of Teaching Footwork to Kids
The biggest challenge in teaching kids is footwork. Good footwork is crucial to self-defence and particularly so for Filipino Martial Arts. Want to avoid getting hit, slashed or stabbed? Move your feet. At the most basic level, one should be able to step up at a…
Fix It Friday: Which Way?
“Which way do you step against angle 5 or angle 12?” is a question I often hear from my students. If you are not able to view this Fix it Friday video, click here. The left vs. right defence against the #5 thrust can be…
Get A Move On!
In many private lessons and classes, I have taught over the years, I have noticed that poor footwork will often negate good stick technique. Sub-optimal footwork has reared its head enough that new students are introduced to this topic on day one. I will go through some…