Sparring or Free Play?
Sensei Jesse Enkamp has a great video on the issue of sparring versus free play. It’s a worthwhile watch. Martial artists often discuss the concepts of free play and sparring. On the one hand, free play, characterized by a less structured and more exploratory form…
Keep It Simple Stupid!
During a lesson with Caiden, I pontificated on the importance of “K.I.S.S.” I explained to him that was shorthand for “Keep it simple, stupid!” The kid laughed, thinking that was the greatest quote he had ever heard. For the duration of the lesson, he repeated…
Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy
The first Karate Kid movie introduced us to Cobra Kai’s “Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy” slogan. While seeming over the top, upon reflection, there is depth to this slogan. Recently, my wife and I binge-watched Season 3 of Cobra Kai. We both loved it…
Attacking Combinations
The story of how I came up with the “Attacking Combinations” video! While I miss teaching classes and private lessons, one of the upsides of the lockdown is that I have had mucho time on my hands to figure out variations of solo workouts. Hence,…
Modern Arnis Concepts: Stealing The Lead
“Stealing the lead” is a term often discussed in the context of tapi tapi. “Stealing the lead” means that one player has reversed the momentum of the other player and is driving on the other. In other words, one player has gone from a defensive…
Teaching Sensitivity
Teaching one-step techniques and flow drills alone is not enough. One-step techniques are a great gateway to teaching more complex techniques, and flow drills serve as an introduction to “the flow.” However, neither, by themselves, sufficiently teaches sensitivity. What do I mean by sensitivity? In…
Reaction vs. Anticipation
Learning the difference between reaction and anticipation is challenging for a beginner student. In the beginning, students will often anticipate their opponent’s next move, often leading to bad outcomes. Over time, with guidance and experience, they will learn that reading and reacting is a better…
Stealing and Keeping The Lead
Last week, I wrote about 3 Ways To Grab The Cane in which I offered ideas on opportune times to grab your opponent’s cane in the context of tapi tapi play. Grabbing the cane is often referred to as “stealing the lead” in some Filipino Martial Arts circles….
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…
3 Great Reasons For One Step Sparring
Many martial arts, such as karate, tae kwon do, and others, employ a training method called “one-step sparring.” This training method has been the subject of a fair bit of debate. Some advocate it, while others deride it as impractical and unsuited to the realities…
