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The 4 Deceptions to Set Up Your Knockout Strike

April 18, 2022 By Self Defense Tutorials

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...]

Two is One and One is None

April 8, 2021 By Self Defense Tutorials

Broken Paddle on the 1000 Mile Solo Trip

There’s a military saying that goes, “Two is one, and one is none.” The idea is that if you have a mission-critical item then it will inevitably malfunction, get misplaced or get smashed into a million pieces.  So you need a backup. This is really a corollary of Murphy’s Law, namely “Whatever can go wrong will go wrong”.  Once you involve Murphy you can’t have a single … [Read more...]

Back Pain from Martial Arts Training

November 24, 2020 By Self Defense Tutorials

martial arts training back pain

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 that you place less wear and … [Read more...]

BJJ vs Boxing

November 13, 2019 By Stephan Kesting

trapping the hand during ground and pound

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...]

How to Spar in Kickboxing for the First Time

October 21, 2019 By Stephan Kesting

first time kickboxing sparring

I've watched a lot of beginners spar for the first time. Usually it takes only about 30 seconds for all thoughts of defense or strategy or finesse vanish and the exercise quickly devolves into two people trading giant haymakers. This is totally understandable - sparring is stressful especially if you're not used to it. But throwing heavy leather on your first time in the … [Read more...]

Training Lethwei, The Burmese Art of 9 Limbs

April 8, 2019 By Stephan Kesting

Patrick Marcil and Dave Leduc

Lethwei is an incredibly intense full contact combat sport from Burma that allows punches, kicks, elbows, knees and headbutts. Did I mention that the fighters don't wear gloves and only have a thin layer of gauze over their knuckles? And that there are no judges or decisions: the only way to win a fight is by knockout? Today's guest on my podcast (The Strenuous Life … [Read more...]

Wing Chun Trapping in Self Defense

February 22, 2019 By Stephan Kesting

self defense trapping sequence

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...]

Kickboxing Sparring without Brain Damage

December 8, 2018 By Stephan Kesting

sparring without brain damage

There's a fundamental problem with learning kickboxing... On the one hand, to get good at it and know that your techniques will work under pressure you HAVE to spar. On the other hand, it's undeniable now that repeated shots to the head are no good at all for your brain. Everyone has heard of punch drunk boxers and football players with CTE, and we DON'T want to do … [Read more...]

What’s In the Precision Kickboxing Masterclass?

December 5, 2018 By Stephan Kesting

Precision Kickboxing Masterclass

As you may know, I've just released The Precision Kickboxing Masterclass. It's an 8 hour long deep dive into the techniques, combinations, defenses, counters, drills, training methods and fight strategies of modern kickboxing. It's a surgical approach to taking your opponent apart in the striking realm, delivered by Coach Ritchie Yip who has been teaching kickboxing for … [Read more...]

A Great Reaction Time Drill

December 5, 2018 By Stephan Kesting

reaction time drill - hook punch

Everybody wants faster reaction times. The best fighters in the world make their opponents look like they're in slow motion, and a large part of that is having the ability to choose exactly the right technique at exactly the right time. Those reflexes aren't magic. They can be trained, drilled, improved. Today we're going to cover a great reaction time drill that'll teach … [Read more...]

Martial Art Ranges for Fighting

November 23, 2018 By Stephan Kesting

5 ranges of combat

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

biting and other dirty fighting moves

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5b98N_VzgQ 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 … [Read more...]

How to Make the Jab More Powerful

September 11, 2018 By Stephan Kesting

A More Powerful Jab

Many great boxing coaches and trainers consider the jab the most important punch in boxing. The jab is a non-commital punch used as range finder, a defensive tool, a probe for finding openings and a way to set up your strongest shots. It's a fast and non-telegraphic, but the problem is that the conventional jab is not very powerful.  Sure, it'll still chip teeth, bloody … [Read more...]

19 Ways to Counter the Right Cross, and the ‘Triple H Formula’ for Punch Defense

August 20, 2018 By Stephan Kesting

countering the straight right punch

The right cross to the face is one of the most powerful attacks in boxing and kickboxing. It's relatively non-telegraphic but still has the power to knock you out and leave you drooling on the floor. So you absolutely need to know multiple effective counters to the right cross. Boxing and kickboxing coach Ritchie Yip has a formula for defending punches that I would … [Read more...]

A Super-Simple 3 Part Formula for Defense in Standup Sparring

July 30, 2018 By Stephan Kesting

a simple strategy for kickboxing

Standup sparring can be really overwhelming sometimes, especially if you're new at it. There are punches and kicks flying at you from every direction and every angle. There's so much to keep track of, and so many things you need to do, that you don't even know where to start. Fortunately there are ways to simplify the situation and cut down on the number of decisions you … [Read more...]

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Recent Articles

Illegal but Effective Combat Sports Techniques

Too Deadly for Boxing, MMA and BJJ: Illegal but Effective Combat Sport Techniques

Many people learn martial arts to learn how to handle themselves in a real fight. But many martial arts are sports and sports have rules while street fights don’t. That means many things happen in fights that aren’t allowed in certain martial arts. Although it started out as “no-holds-barred”, mixed martial arts has rules today. […]

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’ […]

Is the black belt sacred?

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 […]

The skip knees on wall drill

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 […]

Recent Articles

  • Too Deadly for Boxing, MMA and BJJ: Illegal but Effective Combat Sport Techniques
  • The 4 Deceptions to Set Up Your Knockout Strike
  • It’s Just a Belt Folks….
  • A Drill to Make Multiple Knee Strikes Powerful and Instinctive
  • Five Rear Bearhug Counters

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