Push-Up Challenge Debrief
I announced my goals for my 60th birthday a year ago. The motto for the past year was “160 and 60 by 60.” I wanted to get my weight down to 160 lbs and perform 60 push-ups by my 60th birthday. I managed to get…
Video of the Week 18: Sinawali Squat
The Sinawali Squat is a great exercise for conditioning the legs. Why not condition the legs while doing any sinawali exercise? It doesn’t matter if it’s single, double, redonda or reverse. The impetus for this comes from a conversation that I had with Rosh, the…
Navigating Between Too Much Or Just Enough
Some of you know I am a huge football fan in addition to martial arts. After all, it’s hard to avoid watching football in Ohio. I have clear memories of watching the 1970 Cotton Bowl game between Notre Dame and Texas with my father. I…
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!…
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…
Inside The Martial Arts Bubble
Not everyone is inside the martial arts bubble. A recent self-defence class at Durham College/Ontario Tech University drove this home. I was teaching a basic ground defence to the participants to a group of 5 to 6 students. I explained to the participants that, after…