There’s a trick that I’ve seen demonstrated by martial artists who really should know better. And the more people I talk to the more common this charade seems to be. Basically it’s a ‘test' of internal energy which roots the person to the floor while the demonstration partner turns red in the face trying to push him over. With the help of my Mini-Mall Karate Master character, … [Read more...]
Does Training in Kung Fu Forms and Karate Kata Actually Work?
I trained in a LOT of traditional systems back in the day, including some forms of Karate and many styles of Kung Fu. (Hung Gar, Northern Shaolin, Wing Chun, Southern Crane, Tai Chi, Hsing I, and Shotokan Karate to name a few.) Kata and Forms were important components of that training, sometimes to the exclusion of nearly everything else. In these pre-arranged … [Read more...]
The Dreaded Double Ear Slap
The double ear slap has long been a staple of combatives training. The official story, related by many self defense experts, is that if you slap both of your opponent's ears at the same time then, no matter his size, his eardrums will explode and he'll drop to the ground in a shrivelled heap. Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? Let's take a look at the best data we … [Read more...]
The Myth of the Deadly Groin Attack
There's a persistent myth in self defense training about the groin strike that goes something like this: "Kick the guy in the balls and the fight is over. "It's the one kick wonder. Women especially are often directed to aim for this target as though it's a magic fight ender. It's not, and you are actually putting yourself at risk if you don't realise … [Read more...]
Too Deadly to Spar?
When it comes to self defense, we’ve all heard guys talking about the devastating, “deadly” techniques that are illegal in combat sports. These guys are pretty sure that while they might get schooled on the mats when they have to follow sport rules, but in a real fight, they would certainly win. Of course, because these “deadly” techniques can’t ever actually be tested in … [Read more...]