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

January 16, 2021 By Self Defense Tutorials

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 and the specific episode was called 'Wargames of the Steppe' … [Read more...]

Back Pain from Martial Arts Training

November 24, 2020 By Self Defense Tutorials

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

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...]

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...]

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...]

Fight For Your Life with Brett Piperni

June 8, 2019 By Stephan Kesting

Fight For Your Life with Brett Piperni

Today's guest on my podcast (The Strenuous Life Podcast) is Brett Piperni who was was a nationally ranked Taekwondo competitor diagnosed with an illness that crippled him. Specialists told him was incurable. He fought through it, returned to competition, and even managed to medal at a national championship again. He's spoken about mindset and motivation on the TED stage. … [Read more...]

Training Lethwei, The Burmese Art of 9 Limbs

April 8, 2019 By Stephan Kesting

Training Lethwei, The Burmese Art of 9 Limbs

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...]

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...]

The 3 Components of Every Martial Art

March 19, 2017 By Stephan Kesting

The 3 Components of Every Martial Art

If you've spent any time in the world of martial arts then you know there can be a dizzying variety of disciplines to train in. And within each of those martial arts styles there are further differences depending on which school or instructor you train with. But there's an easy way to simplify all these different martial arts and styles and it comes down to something the … [Read more...]

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Recent Articles

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 […]

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 […]

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!

ARTICLE INDEX

  • Advanced Tutorials (2)
  • Conditioning (7)
  • Featured (104)
  • Firearms (2)
  • Grappling (39)
  • Lethal Force (6)
  • Martial Arts Mythbusting (6)
  • Mindset (19)
  • Product Reviews (2)
  • Self Defense Basics (84)
  • Self Defense Tutorials (5)
  • Striking (47)
  • Weapons (17)

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