Many of the traditional martial arts that we train today have been dumbed down from the effective combat method that they originally used to be. There are a number of social and political reasons. The following is a broad generalisation as even within a given system, different masters would have taken various different paths. This post is just an overview and is not intended to be exhaustive. Continue reading “How & Why Traditional Martial Arts Got Dumbed Down” »
Tag: martial arts
Martial Arts Body Mechanics & Structures Vs Fitness & Strength
Some martial art schools/associations/franchises put a lot of emphasis on fitness and strength training. A good work out gets the endorphins going and people come out feeling good and happy, stress levels reduced and a general feeling of well-being. Being fit always feels good. Sometimes the fitness may consist of doing a lot of circuit type training and/or doing everything fast all the time.
Whilst I am definitely in favour of being fit and strong, I am not in favour of emphasising these aspects over good body mechanics and body structures Continue reading “Martial Arts Body Mechanics & Structures Vs Fitness & Strength” »
The Conscious And Subconscious Minds In Martial Arts
This is a very big topic which you could probably write a whole book about, so I will attempt to do justice to this topic but please accept that I can’t cover it all in just a single post. There is much written about the subconscious and conscious minds, but this post will mainly focus on how the 2 parts of the mind relate in a martial arts context. Continue reading “The Conscious And Subconscious Minds In Martial Arts” »
Is Stretching Important For Martial Arts?
There has been some debate over the years about stretching before training in martial arts and also for exercise in general.
I’ve heard some martial artists say that they don’t stretch before training as they’d rather train with the body that they have than the body they’d like to have! Meaning, if you were to get involved in a physical altercation, you won’t have chance to warm up and stretch; Continue reading “Is Stretching Important For Martial Arts?” »
If You Happen To Be Caught Up In A Terrorist Attack
As most people will know, there have been several terrorist attacks here in the UK over recent months, two of them involving vehicles running people over and following up with knife attacks. Now the chances of actually being caught up in such an incident, I would say are very unlikely. However, you never know! Continue reading “If You Happen To Be Caught Up In A Terrorist Attack” »
The Rise Of The McDojo
For anybody not familiar with the phrase, a McDojo is a school that teaches a watered-down and impractical form of martial arts in the name of making money. The “Mc” is taken from “McDonald’s”, as in mass produced – low quality! They usually have all the expensive designer gear too, which you have to buy from them of course. Continue reading “The Rise Of The McDojo” »
Karate Kime (Focus) & Tension At The End Of The Technique
“Kime” is a Japanese word, roughly translated as “focus”. It is where Karate derives it’s power from at the point of impact of a punching or striking technique. But how well is it understood? Continue reading “Karate Kime (Focus) & Tension At The End Of The Technique” »
Emotional Content In Martial Arts And An Interesting Experiment
This clip below is now an iconic scene from the Bruce Lee movie, Enter The Dragon, where Bruce Lee is teaching a student.
Bruce Lee: “Kick me”.
Student looks surprised.
Bruce Lee: “Kick me”. Continue reading “Emotional Content In Martial Arts And An Interesting Experiment” »
Developing And Using Intuition For Self Protection
“The brain processes 400 billion bits of information a second but we’re only aware of 2,000 of those. That means that reality is happening in the brain all the time”.
Dr Joe Dispenza from the DVD: What The Bleep Do We Know?! Continue reading “Developing And Using Intuition For Self Protection” »
Being “Present” (In The Now) And Martial Arts Training
Many self development/spiritual teachers’ today talk about “being present” or “living in the now” (which is the same thing really). It’s also part of Zen, which is often goes hand in hand with martial arts. But what does this actually mean, how can martial arts training help you achieve it and what benefits are there for you from both a self protection and everyday life point of view? Continue reading “Being “Present” (In The Now) And Martial Arts Training” »