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How Hard Should You Go In Sparring?

June 7, 2020 By Stephan Kesting

How Hard Should You Go In Sparring?

How hard should you go in sparring? That's a good question! At one end of the spectrum you have light, relaxed and friendly sparring. And at the other end you have fights to the death that would make Roman gladiators proud. I once asked a Judo coaches whether I should go light or hard in the sparring part of class, and his answer has stuck with me ever … [Read more...]

MMA Fighter Fights for His Life in Home Invasion

April 9, 2020 By Stephan Kesting

MMA Fighter Fights for His Life in Home Invasion

On Sunday April 5th, 2020, at 4 am in the morning, MMA fighter Anthony Smith found himself in the fight of his life to protect his wife and kids. He went from being sound asleep to fighting an intruder a few seconds later who just wouldn't quit no matter what was thrown at him. What might sound strange is that he 6' 4", 230 lb, highly athletic, super conditioned fighter … [Read more...]

Practical Control Techniques for Law Enforcement

January 2, 2020 By Stephan Kesting

Practical Control Techniques for Law Enforcement

Law enforcement officers (including police officers, sheriffs, state troopers, corrections officers, deputies and more) have an incredibly difficult job. Part of that job is the possibility of physical confrontations with aggressive individuals or groups. Very broadly physical confrontations can be divided into two categories... Controlling someone who doesn't want  … [Read more...]

BJJ vs Boxing

November 13, 2019 By Stephan Kesting

BJJ vs Boxing

A question came up on a recent Instagram Live Q&A I did about a streetfight video in which a 'boxer' beat up a 'jiu-jitsu guy'. This was a great entry point into a really interesting discussion about the street applicability of BJJ, the importance of cross training in today's martial arts environment, and specific drills BJJ guys should be doing if they want their art to … [Read more...]

Surviving the Worst Case Scenario – BJJ vs a Gun on the Ground!

November 11, 2019 By Stephan Kesting

Surviving the Worst Case Scenario – BJJ vs a Gun on the Ground!

Beware the weapon draw! If you’re on the bottom using your guard in a submission grappling situation then the single worst thing that can happen is that the other guy drops back and locks on a heel hook submission, forcing you to tap out or suffer a potentially serious ankle or knee injury. If you’re using your guard in an MMA situation then the worst thing that can … [Read more...]

An Easy, High Amplitude Throw from MMA

October 4, 2019 By Stephan Kesting

An Easy, High Amplitude Throw from MMA

There's no way to sugar coat it - an opponent who is resisting you full force is HARD to take down to the ground! Most throws involve some combination of off balancing someone, level changing, penetrating under his center of gravity, and then forcing him off his feet before finishing him off by hitting him with the planet (i.e. bouncing him off the pavement). But what if … [Read more...]

5 Mistakes Grapplers Make When Striking

September 16, 2019 By Stephan Kesting

5 Mistakes Grapplers Make When Striking

If you’re a grapplers that wants to learn boxing or kickboxing then there are several very common mistakes that you’re probably going to make. This is because each style of fighting (grappling vs striking) trains you to use your body slightly differently which can set you up for failure in the other art Here's a video showing 5 common mistakes for grapplers when they start … [Read more...]

Kicking from the Ground – How to Do It Properly!

March 12, 2019 By Stephan Kesting

Kicking from the Ground – How to Do It Properly!

Many self defense systems teach that if you get knocked down to the ground you should get into a defensive position on your side. From there you should then lash out at your opponent with sidekicks to keep him away. In this article and video I'll show how staying on your side when you're knocked down is mostly an outmoded technique and that there are much better options … [Read more...]

Wing Chun Trapping in Self Defense

February 22, 2019 By Stephan Kesting

Wing Chun Trapping in Self Defense

This is bound to be controversial, but I don't think that trapping works in real self defense situations. At least not the way it's normally taught and trained. Here's my video on the topic, along with a few examples of where some of these techniques might actually be useful... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rxl5ukLDICM What is Trapping Hands? Trapping hands is an … [Read more...]

The Simplest Guard Pass for Self Defense and MMA

February 1, 2019 By Stephan Kesting

The Simplest Guard Pass for Self Defense and MMA

In the old days, two guys fighting would typically back up, square off, and swing for the fences until one of them went down. The whole idea of taking the fight to the ground, passing the guard, securing a good position, and using ground and pound to finish a fight or set up a submission would have been considered ludicrous. But the popularity of MMA and BJJ have done a … [Read more...]

The BJJ Guard for Self Defense… on Your Phone!

January 14, 2019 By Stephan Kesting

The BJJ Guard for Self Defense… on Your Phone!

I've just released the Self Defense Guard as a 2 module instructional for iPhone and Android. It covers the techniques and strategies from the bottom of guard that are most useful in a real fight.  From defending yourself against strikes, to getting back to your feet, to choking your opponent out or sweeping him and getting on top, it's all covered here. (Watch the video … [Read more...]

BJJ in a Streetfight, the Merciful Option

January 13, 2019 By Stephan Kesting

BJJ in a Streetfight, the Merciful Option

Adam Nadow is a Machado jiu-jitsu black belt and he was recently attacked in the street by a mentally unstable individual.  He used his BJJ training to defend himself and control his attacker until the police arrived. He used a rear naked choke and a bow and arrow lapel choke to control his opponent (and there are people who say that gi-based grappling is irrelevant for self … [Read more...]

Pressure Points for Self Defense

December 1, 2018 By Stephan Kesting

Pressure Points for Self Defense

In more than 35 years of training I've been hurt many times by pressure point attacks. Instructors and training partners have poked, prodded, gouged, and pressed their way into many nerve clusters all over my body. These pressure point attacks hurt like hell when someone shows them to you, but you'd be a fool to rely on them in a real fight. Here's a video in which I … [Read more...]

Martial Art Ranges for Fighting

November 23, 2018 By Stephan Kesting

Martial Art Ranges for Fighting

There are many different ways to classify martial arts ranges, but one relatively simple method way to divide all combat up into 5 distances... Projectile range (guns, javelins, arrows, thrown rocks, etc.) Handheld weapons range (sticks, swords, handheld spears, knives, clubs, etc.) Striking range (punches, kicks, elbows, knees, headbutts, etc.) Clinching range … [Read more...]

How to Train Eye Gouges, Throat Grabs and Groin Strikes

October 16, 2018 By Stephan Kesting

How to Train Eye Gouges, Throat Grabs and Groin Strikes

OK, I get it: on the street you don't want to be limited by the rules of a sport. On the street you may need to pull hair, gouge the eyes, kick the groin, grab the throat, and if all that doesn't work then you'll need to start fighting dirty ;) But a martial art is more than just the techniques that you find in that martial art; a martial art also includes methods for … [Read more...]

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SELF DEFENSE TUTORIALS

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Recent Articles

Back Pain from Martial Arts Training

Back Pain from Martial Arts Training

Almost every martial artist experiences back pain at some point in their training. It hurts like hell and brings your training to a screeching halt. And in the worst case some people are even permanently sidelined by it. Understanding what’s causing your pain, changing your movement patterns to prevent it, and implementing ‘spinal hygiene’ so […]

Kime in Martial Arts is Mostly a Bad Idea…

Kime in Martial Arts is Mostly a Bad Idea…

The idea of ‘Kime’ is very widespread in Japanese martial arts like Karate, and is also found in Okinawan and Chinese Martial Arts. While the term can be translated as ‘intent’ or ‘decision’ the truth is that, most of the time, it’s used to describe that robot-like freezing used all the time in kata and […]

The Trap of Placating Your Ego with Terrible Form

The Trap of Placating Your Ego with Terrible Form

Over 40 years of martial arts training I figure I’ve done something like 500,000 pushups. Practice makes perfect, so with that many reps under my belt you’d probably think I’d be good at them, right? Sadly the answer is a resounding “No!” Or, more precisely, the answer is “Not right now” You see, 9 months […]

The Most Fierce Improvised Weapon – The Scythe!

The Most Fierce Improvised Weapon – The Scythe!

I recently came across one of the cooler martial arts videos I’ve seen in a while. In this video a couple of Dutch Historical European Martial Arts practitioners demonstrate scythe techniques. The techniques they’re showing come from German martial arts manual written in the 1500’s. The large hooked blade, very pointy tip, and offset handles […]

Recent Articles

  • Back Pain from Martial Arts Training
  • Kime in Martial Arts is Mostly a Bad Idea…
  • The Trap of Placating Your Ego with Terrible Form
  • The Most Fierce Improvised Weapon – The Scythe!
  • How Hard Should You Go In Sparring?

ARTICLE INDEX

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  • Conditioning (7)
  • Featured (103)
  • Firearms (2)
  • Grappling (39)
  • Lethal Force (6)
  • Martial Arts Mythbusting (6)
  • Mindset (18)
  • Product Reviews (2)
  • Self Defense Basics (84)
  • Self Defense Tutorials (5)
  • Striking (47)
  • Weapons (16)

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