BrianBrief #7 (A Wise Doctor)
As it turns out, I wrote yesterday’s BrianBrief at the ophthalmologist’s office for my regular checkup. Long story short, my eyes are stable glaucoma-wise. My only complaint was cloudiness in my left eye’s visual field. It turns out to be a common byproduct of cataracts…
BrianBrief #4 (Foreseeable Crap)
“Self defense” often denotes an immediate situation confronting you. A stranger accosts you in an elevator or at a parking lot. Or a loved one throws a violent temper tantrum to the point where you fear for your safety. But what about life style choices…
What A Choke Job!
Watch the video below first. According to his Instagram bio, the speaker is a neurologist and judging by his comments, may be an expert on peak performance. While the author’s analysis pertains to Ilia Malinin’s choke job on the world’s biggest stage, it also applies…
Martial Arts Fitness For Us Geezers!
Jesse Enkamp (aka the Karate Nerd) and Eddie Hall entertained me with their attempt to replicate Bruce Lee’s 1965 workout routine. Judging by the reactions of Jesse and Eddie, it sounds like an insane workout. Keep in mind that Bruce was 25 years old and…
Coming Up For Air
Dang! I’ve gone too long without writing a post! I’ve been buried in more work than usual over the last few months, juggling work across three municipalities. The summer months were especially intense. Things have slowly been returning to some normalcy – only a year…
Did I Start Too Late?
More specifically, what if I had started in Filipino Martial Arts/Modern Arnis before age 33? From age 18 to 33, I trained in Cooper Ryu and Kenpo Karate and dabbled in BJJ and Aikido. Years ago, I wondered what my skill level would have been…
RIP George Foreman
The great heavyweight boxer George Foreman recently passed away at the age of 76. Foreman has long fascinated me, especially since the iconic “Rumble in the Jungle” fight against Muhammad Ali. I was 10 years old at the time. The sports pages of the day…
Musashi and Arnis
Below is a terrific video about Muhammad Ali and the famed swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. The video draws upon Musashi’s famous book, “Book of Five Rings.” For me, it’s interesting to see Musashi’s martial philosophy through the prism of Modern Arnis. One would be wise to…
Don’t Take Anything For Granted
On Saturday, September 14th, I received a text from Professor Chuck Gauss informing me of Professor Will Higginbotham’s passing. I was shocked. Like many of his colleagues, I did not expect this at all. He was healthy and showed no signs of ill health. I…
A Fantastic Michigan Modern Arnis Camp!
My trip to the Michigan Modern Arnis Camp got off to an inauspicious start due to the worldwide IT outage that occurred earlier that day. I arrived at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor and got stuck in the middle of the bridge. It took 2.5…
