The Absurd Ban on Outdoor Recreational Activities
One of the absurdities of the current “stay at home” order in Ontario is a ban on outdoor recreational activities. This flies in the face of the current COVID-19 science. The risk of being infected with COVID-19 is much lower outdoors than indoors. Ontario’s medical…
Pandemic Solo Training
Pandemic Solo Training? Hell, yes, it can be done! While it is true that FMAs are geared toward partner training, there are also tons of solo training possibilities during this pandemic. Forms and stick shadowboxing (carenza) come to mind. However, I have more than those…
Friday Recommendation #8
If you are not able to watch this video, click here. This is a nice complement/counterpart to my blog post earlier this week. What do you think when you hear “McDojo?” Most of us consider this to mean martial arts schools that are unworthy by…
Just Do Your Freaking Thing
I’ve been pondering the importance of ignoring what Professor Presas once called “the barking dogs.” He often said, “Ignore the barking dogs and do your thing.” There are many naysayers out there who espouse absolutism. They fail to recognize what is true for themselves, and…
Friday Recommendation #7 – Maija Soderholm Interview
This is a fantastic interview between Dean France and Maija Soderholm. If you are not able to view this video, click here. I am usually reluctant to recommend lengthy podcasts. Between family and work, most readers won’t have time to digest a 2-hour podcast. I…
The Third Lockdown
Due to a massive surge in cases, hospitalizations, ICU admissions and ventilator numbers, Ontario tightened the COVID-related restrictions three weeks ago. This is an extension of varying degrees of a lockdown since December. Despite that, the trend did not change. The province then imposed a…
Friday Recommendation #6
If you are not able to view this video, click here. This terrific podcast interview with Rickson Gracie is revealing. He speaks of his life philosophy that stems from his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu career. At one point in the podcast, he expounded on the meaning of…
Countering the Punyo Feed
If you are not able to view this video, click here. A YouTube viewer asked, “How do you counter a punyo feed?” In this video, I responded to this query and demonstrated three examples of countering a punyo feed. Firstly, I instruct beginner students to…
FMA Translations
One of the keys to mastery of FMAs is knowing how to translate a movement across different platforms. A good example of this is “gunting.” This is a scissors-like movement, characterized by the left hand parrying an attack while the right hand defangs or cuts…
YouTube, Zoom, and Cross-Training
Intro The martial arts industry has been upended as we have gone through this pandemic. Several martial arts schools in the vicinity of where I live have closed. One school was in its location for 30 years only to be brought down by the pandemic…
