Research Journey

In 1986 I attended a seminar with Guro Dan Inosanto partly because I wanted to meet him again and partly because I was bored with martial arts. My previous experience was mainly around boxing, fencing and Muay Thai with some grappling (Judo/Wresting) and a small amount of what we would call Combatives today. Mainly sportContinue reading “Research Journey”

Martial Arts and Mindfulness: Learning from Our Feline Friends

Anyone who has a family cat knows they are masters at doing precisely what they want; they eat, sleep, play, maintain and relax. They know the optical place to hang out in your home and have their schedule that fits their needs. I think we can learn a lot from cats about how to navigateContinue reading “Martial Arts and Mindfulness: Learning from Our Feline Friends”

Sticks – Kombat Instruments Limited

Several people ask me where I get my beautiful sticks, and I thought I would do a quick write-up. When I popped over to the Dog Brother gathering in 1998, I picked up a replacement pair of sticks from Nick Papadakis at Kombat Instruments. I got to use them the next day at some informalContinue reading “Sticks – Kombat Instruments Limited”

Debating American FMA: Perspectives from Experts

The above video is a great and excellent discussion on the following potentially sticky subject, with a tag line as follows: This episode featured guests Sifu Dwight Woods, Guro Mahipal Lunia and Guro Mark Stewart. In this episode, we discussed whether there is a legit argument for an American version of FMA. I would encourageContinue reading “Debating American FMA: Perspectives from Experts”

Championship Fighting

Championship Fighting by Jack Dempsey is a book that should be in every fighter’s library, it’s the one book I have given as a present more than any other. Why because it’s one of the few books that is readily available that will show you explosive punching and aggressive defence, written by an actual ChampionContinue reading “Championship Fighting”

The Book of Five Rings – Book Review

The book of five rings by Miyamoto Musashi 新免武蔵守藤原玄信 is a book I read about once a year. The excellent version I have on my lap is the one translated by William Scott Wilson. For those who don’t know the book, it is understood that it comes from Pamphlet by the same author. The contextContinue reading “The Book of Five Rings – Book Review”

Enhance Your Martial Arts Training with KORA

This blog’s primary goal is to talk about the training we are undertaking in our KORA class and help people with their training journey from afar as best we can. The idea is to be positive and promote the benefits of martial arts. One of the reasons I started a blog was that I realisedContinue reading “Enhance Your Martial Arts Training with KORA”

Knife Attack Self Defence

One quick look at the UK news gives you a good indication of where the knife crime statistics are going. In South London, the local social media is littered with knife muggings, gang-related knife fights, and stabbing games.  “Data gathered and analysed by the BBC found there had been 55 fatal stabbings so far this year (10Continue reading “Knife Attack Self Defence”

Understanding Different Types of Martial Artists

I guess the answer most regular readers of this blog would give is, yes, martial artist. I would say it depends on what I am doing and its context. When I was growing up, I had easy access to Boxing, grappling (Judo/Wrestling) and fencing tuition. I did not consider myself a martial artist, mostly aContinue reading “Understanding Different Types of Martial Artists”