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Is This Good Pain or Bad Pain?

October 5, 2022 By Self Defense Tutorials

Stephan Kesting vs Chris Leben

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...]

Push, Pull, Squat, Hinge and Carry – the 5 Strength Exercises Every Martial Artist Should Do Weekly

October 1, 2021 By Self Defense Tutorials

5 fundamental strength training exercises

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

September 3, 2021 By Self Defense Tutorials

The single most important weightlifting exercise

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...]

How to do More Pullups with Mike McCastle

January 31, 2020 By Stephan Kesting

How to do More Pullups

Strength and conditioning are super important in the martial arts.  All other things being equal, a stronger martial artist is a more effective martial artist. Fundamentally there are two basic upper body motions that it's important to get stronger at: pushing and pulling. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​In a martial context a pushing motion can be a punch, a shove, or a frame to maintain … [Read more...]

A Great Ground and Pound Drill

December 29, 2018 By Stephan Kesting

ground and pound on the heavy bag

Here's a really interesting MMA drill with a TON of applications for self defense... It's features Greg Nelson who has coached 3 different fighters to UFC championships (Dave Menne, Sean Sherk and Brock Lesnar) and has also done a ton of work with law enforcement and the military. Anyway, here's video I think you should watch. The ground and pound section is mostly in … [Read more...]

The Most Important Physical Attribute for Self Defense

September 20, 2017 By Stephan Kesting

The most important martial arts attribute

There are many different physical attributes that help with your martial arts training and self defense skills: strength, power, explosiveness, endurance, coordination, sensitivity, speed, and flexibility, to name just a few. But what's the most important one? There are various martial artists who build their game around a few special attributes, but if you were going to … [Read more...]

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SELF DEFENSE TUTORIALS

Detailed Self Defense Tutorials coming soon - click here for more info

Recent Articles

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 […]

sidekick from the ground

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 […]

Standing Armlocks in Self Defense

Standing armlocks are a staple in the martial arts, including Aikido, classical ju-jujutsu, and many modern self defense systems. They’re usually practised something like this: your partner comes in with a lunging punch, you block and sidestep, control the arm, step in, and then apply pressure to the arm until he taps out. Here’s what […]

Hulk Hogan Chokes Out Richard Belzer

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 […]

Recent Articles

  • I accidentally followed the advice of a mini-mall ninja master
  • Kicking from the Ground – How to Do It Properly!
  • Standing Armlocks in Self Defense
  • What Hulk Hogan and Nate Diaz Can Teach Us About Chokes in Real Fights
  • The Zombie Walk Drill for Improving Your Footwork in Striking

ARTICLE INDEX

  • Advanced Tutorials (2)
  • Conditioning (13)
  • Featured (122)
  • Firearms (3)
  • Grappling (44)
  • Lethal Force (7)
  • Martial Arts Mythbusting (8)
  • Mindset (23)
  • Product Reviews (2)
  • Self Defense Basics (93)
  • Self Defense Tutorials (7)
  • Striking (53)
  • Weapons (19)

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