If you're approaching someone who is flat on their back with their knees pulled in to their chest be very, very careful. It's a sign that the other guy could have some training and might be planning to kick your teeth down your throat as soon as you close the distance. This is a legit threat; many MMA fights have ended suddenly because of an upkick from the ground. And if … [Read more...]
I accidentally followed the advice of a mini-mall ninja master
I’m limping around right now because of a torn groin. It’s not serious; it’ll heal up, but it’s my own damn fault. You see, I had just walked into the dojo when someone asked me how much distance you can cover with a jumping front kick. “Show, don’t tell,” I responded and launched myself across the room into a front kick. It was a good demo, but as soon as I landed, … [Read more...]
What Hulk Hogan and Nate Diaz Can Teach Us About Chokes in Real Fights
Chokes are more effective than just about any other fight-ending technique. in unarmed combat. A really tough guy or someone hopped up on adrenaline can ignore painful punches and keep on fighting despite broken limbs. But if the blood stops flowing to the brain, then out go the lights. And chokes, properly applied against the sides of the neck and promptly released when … [Read more...]
The Zombie Walk Drill for Improving Your Footwork in Striking
The Zombie Walk is a great warmup drill that'll sharpen your footwork, improve your ability to get angles on your opponent, and blend movement with striking. To do this drill your partner - the feeder - holds his hands forwards to simulate a fighting position. Then he walks towards you at a slow, zombie-like pace. You also start in a fighting position but then circle out … [Read more...]
Is This Good Pain or Bad Pain?
Pain is subjective and contextual. Awakening to chest pain in the middle of the night is terrifying — a possible sign of a heart attack. But the very same stabbing pain after a hard workout is experienced completely differently: maybe it’s your pectoral muscles shrieking from too many pushups, or your lungs burning from hard interval training. It’s the same sensation … [Read more...]
A 1 Minute Burnout Drill for Aggression, Power and Stamina
Here's the world's simplest conditioning drill that I want you to try... Set a timer for one minute Unload on a heavy bag with punches as hard as you can Keep it super simple: just left-right-left-right-left-right Hit as hard as you can and as fast as you can, making every single punch a knockout shot Keep breathing and don't stop In theory, you could do … [Read more...]
The 4 Deceptions to Set Up Your Knockout Strike
If you want to knock people out then you've got to use deception, duplicity, and subterfuge to set those big fight-ending shots. In fact having good strategies to set up your attack can go a long way to compensate for many physical deficiencies. It's exactly what the famous world full contact Karate champion Bill 'Superfoot' Wallace used to say: “There’s always going to … [Read more...]
It’s Just a Belt Folks….
This is just your daily reminder that a black belt is a symbol of the amount of training someone has put into a martial art. But just because something is a symbol does not mean it's a sacred object. It's just a piece of cloth. Furthermore, the fact that a person has a black belt doesn't endow them with any form of moral superiority. At best a black belt only tells you … [Read more...]
A Drill to Make Multiple Knee Strikes Powerful and Instinctive
The knee strike is one of the most powerful shots you can throw. A good knee to the groin, the torso, or the head can drop any attacker. But if one knee is good then more are better! The classic Muay Thai 'skip knee' attack involves you throwing multiple knee shots in quick succession until your opponent is incapacitated. It's a VERY effective attack but developing the … [Read more...]
Five Rear Bearhug Counters
If someone gets behind you and puts you in a rear bearhug then you have to take defensive action right away! That's because getting picked up and slammed on your head is one of the worst-case scenarios in a confrontation. It's one thing to get punched in the face is bad, but getting hit in the head by a pavement-covered planet is much worse. Here's a video I put out with … [Read more...]
How to Defend Yourself When You’re Being Kicked on the Ground
I've been training in the martial arts for over 40 years, but I recently got a question that I had no good answer for. Here was the question… "If I'm lying on my side on the ground and getting kicked then is it better to reach out and try to block the kicks or just cover my head with my forearms until I can put my attacker back in guard?" The thing is … [Read more...]
Pressure Testing Knife, Stick and Gun Defenses with Burton Richardson
Burton Richardson is BJJ black belt and has an incredible lineage in the Filipino Martial Arts as well, having trained with many of the top instructors in the world. I was thrilled to have him on the podcast to talk about pressure tested self defense in the real world. If you prefer, here's our whole conversation in video format... And here's the streaming … [Read more...]
How to Defend Against Ground and Pound
One of the central concepts of using the guard for self defense is to either keep your opponent very close or very far away. When he's very close it's hard for him to generate enough power for a knockout shot. And if he's very far away then his punches simply can't reach you. It's the middle ground that gets you killed. This is where punches reach their full KO power, … [Read more...]
Push, Pull, Squat, Hinge and Carry – the 5 Strength Exercises Every Martial Artist Should Do Weekly
Strength training is super important for martial artists. Done properly lifting weights makes you stronger, faster, and much more resilient to injury. But how do you balance a busy training schedule in the dojo with spending time in the gym under heavy iron? The answer is to prioritize your training around making sure that you do at least one exercise in the 5 basic … [Read more...]
The Single Most Important Weightlifting Exercise for Martial Artists
Weight training is incredibly important for martial arts. Yes, it makes you stronger. And yes, it makes you faster. But that's NOT the most important reason to weight train. The most important reason to lift weights is to prevent injuries which in turn increases the amount of time you can spend training and increases your longevity in your art. A while ago I asked … [Read more...]