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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...]

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...]

The Worst Problem with Martial Arts Training

August 29, 2019 By Stephan Kesting

The Worst Problem with  Martial Arts Training

In martial arts training it's very common for the person in the attacker role to lunge forward with a single punch and then stand there like a statue with the arm outstretched. The defender can now do all kinds of fancy counters including multiple strikes, jointlocks, takedowns and cool finishes. This type of training makes you feel like you've reached John Wick levels of … [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...]

How to Make the Jab More Powerful

September 11, 2018 By Stephan Kesting

How to Make the Jab More Powerful

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...]

Getting Back to Your Feet From the Ground

June 2, 2018 By Stephan Kesting

Getting Back to Your Feet From the Ground

If you're talking about sport jiu-jitsu tactics then pulling guard and fighting an entire match from the bottom position can make total sense. But in a real fight, where punches, kicks, and stomps are being used, you definitely DON'T want to spend one second more than necessary in the guard position. You want to submit, sweep or standup as fast as possible! Today's … [Read more...]

New Release: The Self Defense Guard with Elliott Bayev and Stephan Kesting

May 26, 2018 By Stephan Kesting

New Release: The Self Defense Guard with Elliott Bayev and Stephan Kesting

I've been working on it for a LONG time, but the 'Self Defense Guard' is finally live at Self Defense Tutorials! This is a really in-depth instructional about how to use the guard in a self defense situation. In a real fight there is always the chance that you're going to end up on the bottom.  And if that happens the guard could save your life. But fighting off your … [Read more...]

How to Take a Punch in 3 Steps

May 9, 2018 By Stephan Kesting

How to Take a Punch in 3 Steps

Getting punched in the head is always a bad thing.  But - if you know what to do - then it doesn't necessarily need to be a fight ending, knockout inducing catastrophe. Of course you should try to dodge, deflect, block or evade a punch that's coming your way. But things don't always go according to plan. In a sparring match or a real fight sometimes you're just going to … [Read more...]

Escaping One of the Worst Positions for Ground and Pound

March 17, 2018 By Stephan Kesting

Escaping One of the Worst Positions for Ground and Pound

The ground and pound strategy in MMA is one that relies on getting on top, staying on top, and then beating your opponent into unconsciousness with your fists, forearms and elbows. In other words, it's a slightly more sophisticated version of your basic street fighter's approach to groundfighting... One of the worst ground and pound positions is the so-called 'giftwrap' … [Read more...]

The Dreaded Double Ear Slap

February 15, 2018 By Stephan Kesting

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...]

Leg Kicks, the Forgotten Tool

November 26, 2017 By Stephan Kesting

Leg Kicks, the Forgotten Tool

The leg kick isn't as sexy a technique as a superman punch or a spinning heel kick to the head, but that doesn't mean you can ignore it! It's been proven in countless Muay Thai kickboxing and MMA matches, and definitely has it's applications in the street as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0qkY4oKmRg Low kicks have one HUGE advantage over kicks to the body or … [Read more...]

Improvised Weapons Found in the Street

November 10, 2017 By Stephan Kesting

Improvised Weapons Found in the Street

Wherever you are right now as you're reading this, look up and try to spot three different improvised weapons you could grab if an attack was imminent. Seriously: if you're at home pretend that you've got 5 seconds to get your hands on something because someone's breaking in. What exactly are you going to grab?  And if you can't get your hands on that object, what's your … [Read more...]

Standing Armlocks in Self Defense

November 4, 2017 By Stephan Kesting

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 some of those standing armbars from … [Read more...]

A Guide to Elbow Strikes for Self Defense

October 20, 2017 By Stephan Kesting

A Guide to Elbow Strikes for Self Defense

Getting punched in the face is bad enough, but the prospect of getting an elbow to the head is downright scary. Depending on how exactly you land an elbow, it can knock someone out cold, or cut them open like a razor blade. And unlike hitting someone with your fist, where your technique needs to be perfect to avoid breaking the small bones in your hand, your elbow is … [Read more...]

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SELF DEFENSE TUTORIALS

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How Martial Sports Were Used to Train One of the Deadliest Army in History

How Martial Sports Were Used to Train One of the Deadliest Army in History

I listened to a really good podcast episode recently about how sports and games helped create one of the deadliest armies in history. And the amazing thing is that close to a thousand years later many of these same sports are still being practiced today! I learned about this on the Villains and Virgins podcast […]

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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…

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Recent Articles

  • How Martial Sports Were Used to Train One of the Deadliest Army in History
  • 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!

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  • Weapons (17)

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