Can judo be useful in a street fight? Or could it actually be a hindrance? Judo , a martial art with a focus on throws and grappling techniques, has gained popularity as both a competitive sport and a self-defense system. Let's examine the effectiveness of judo in street fights, considering its principles, techniques, and practicality in real-world confrontations. Understanding Judo: Judo, developed by Jigoro Kano in the late 19th century, emphasizes using an opponent's energy against them. It relies on throws, takedowns, joint locks, and chokes to neutralize adversaries. The art's emphasis on leverage, balance, and timing has led many to believe it can be effective in self-defense situations. Applying Judo Principles in Street Fights: Judo's principles, such as maximum efficiency with minimum effort, can be advantageous in street fights. By utilizing an assailant's momentum, a judoka can execute powerful throws, rendering opponents defenseless. Additionally, judo's focus on proper body positioning and control can aid in subduing an aggressor without excessive force. However, it's essential to acknowledge the limitations of judo in street fights. Judo training primarily occurs in a controlled environment, lacking the chaos and unpredictability of real-world altercations. Street fights involve various factors, including multiple attackers, weapons, and unfamiliar surroundings, which can make relying solely on judo techniques challenging. Practical Considerations: Judo practitioners must adapt their training to address the realities of street fights. This involves incorporating techniques that are prohibited in competitive judo, such as strikes and targeted attacks to vulnerable areas. Additionally, cross-training in disciplines like boxing or kickboxing can enhance a judoka's striking abilities and provide a well-rounded skill set for self-defense purposes. The Importance of Awareness and Avoidance: As always, avoid fights whenever possible! While judo can be effective in certain street fight scenarios, it is crucial to prioritize personal safety through awareness and avoidance whenever possible. Developing situational awareness, recognizing potential threats, and employing de-escalation techniques are invaluable skills that can help avoid physical confrontations altogether. Judo, with its focus on leverage, timing, and control, can be an effective tool in certain street fight situations. However, it is vital to recognize the limitations of the art and supplement training with other disciplines. Ultimately, personal safety relies on a combination of physical skills, mental preparedness, and the ability to avoid confrontations whenever possible. If you’re ready to learn Judo or brush up on your skills, you can learn from the masters for free on Black Belt+ Check out the biggest martial arts digital platform in history. From its rich history spanning over 60 years, the platform includes thousands of remastered instructional videos, martial arts movies, documentaries, and, of course, digital issues and articles from the iconic Black Belt Magazine . The new app is available on iOS and Android mobile devices and tablets. Or download and subscribe directly from Black Belt at plus.blackbeltmag.com .

The Spirituality of Martial Arts Series by Dr. Silvia Reid (aka The Chi Whisperer) and Dr. Craig D. Reid When martial arts rapidly grew during the 1970s (a lot of that had to do with Bruce Lee) and non-martial folks and friends found out that I practiced martial arts, the most asked questions were: “Are you a black belt? What would you do if I attacked you with a baseball bat? Do you think you could beat up so and so in a fight? Which is better, karate or kung Fu?” I knew if I’d answer any of these questions, that’s how people would judge who I am as a martial artist. In 1973, when I began learning martial arts at age 16, I had thought that martial artists were all connected as part of a global brotherhood. As I read more though, I sadly learned there were bitter martial art enemies based on different countries, martial arts within the same country, school philosophies, styles and certainly anger or maybe hate between people based on the martial art one learned. Yet who was I to judge any style or martial arts practitioner? Born into a Scottish family of veterans that lived through two World Wars, I was raised to be respectful, mannerly, don’t complain about our life’s situation and to be kind to others. I understood about war and how things escalate, yet to me martial arts was about learning not to fight and learning how to heal, and I believed that all martial artists could still be brothers. After I read that Lee firmly believed that one should spar with as many different styles of martial artists as possible, it made sense, it could broaden my understanding of combat and how to adapt to unfamiliar techniques and fighting styles. When I arrived at Cornell University, I had never been in a place that had such a diversity of people from other countries. Throughout my whole life I had only met four African Americans and one Asian. Then something hit me. The Chi Whisperer Judging is in our daily life. It is considered necessary or even positive. It is a process used to help us in evaluating values, making decisions, and solving problems. Judging is also the target practice of connecting with Chi! Judging concludes our understanding from connecting the dots. It’s our brain telling our Chi where we stand. Effective and sound judging allows us to make choices for appropriate actions. They require information as the basis to judge. To judge we assess and evaluate available information or options, and analyze, evaluate, and interpret information or situations, then come to conclusions. By considering various factors, evidence, and logical reasoning, we can arrive at well-informed judgments, not based on assumption and biased interpretation. Judging can be seen as negative in some contexts, judging with prejudice and stereotyping involves making assumptions and generalizations about people or situations based on limited information or stereotypes. They lead to bias, discrimination, and unfair conclusions. When we judge in a generalized way, judgement turns into condemning. These types of judging do not connect the relevant dots. In other words, condemning is a lack of exercising real judgement. Being judgmental arises from frequent condemnation. One example of condemning, generalized judging, can be: A good fighter never loses a fight. If a fighter loses a fight, this fighter cannot be a good fighter. It connects loss with bad. There is no fact about the fight. There is no fact about the fighter. Simply connect the available dots: loss and bad. Following the logic of the example: Muhammad Ali lost a fight to George Foreman; therefore, Ali must be a bad fighter. Generalized judging does not help us to connect with Chi. It makes us practice missing the target. The more precise our judging, the more we become connected with Chi. Thoughtful evaluation, constructive criticism, and making moral judgments based on empathy, understanding and kindness can contribute to personal growth, ethical decision-making, and fostering positive change. When we judge with kindness, it connects our brain with our heart. True kindness keeps the Chi in our heart alive and active. In turn, it keeps our heart healthy. When kindness is driven by guilt or we pretend to be kind, we are not connecting our brain with our heart. Sound judgement with kindness unites our brain, heart, and Chi. Dr. Craig: Bouts of Judging with Kindness Helped Prolong My Life In the Understanding Yourself and Chi Connection blog, I shared as I became m ore self-aware in my search to understand myself and what makes other people tick, I recognized how one’s background or culture shaped who they were, and I would try to show support for those who were down and out. Between 1976-1979, when I attended Cornell University, at that time 18% of the student body were Asian, and over the first few months, I asked every Asian male I saw sitting alone in a cafeteria (Cornell had four) if I could join them, hoping that perhaps they were into martial arts and/or Bruce Lee. To my shock, most were serious martial artists and also into Lee. This is how I learned about martial art attitudes from Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Philippines, Asian Americans and non-Asian Americans. I ended up sparring with 50+ different martial art stylists. In retrospect, I realize that although my approach started out from a stereotypical understanding, it ended up broadening my understanding. After each match, there was a bond of brotherhood that came from exchanging blows regardless of the style and the country the martial artist was from. I found that sparring was a quick way to get to know a person’s spirit and intention, and regardless of the style of martial art, we were all basically testing each other. It was never about winning it was about learning and getting to know someone with a mutual interest. What I learned from martial artists from specific countries, practitioners mostly learned an art from their country of origin. It created feelings of personal identity, a sense of belonging and a tool for understanding their lineage, and for self-defense. Asian Americans found their Asian identity through martial arts, and many learned because they were being bullied. The one thing we all had in common was a pure love for martial arts and Bruce Lee. That was the time period. I also learned to never to rush to judgement based on what I had read or heard from someone else about other martial artist styles, nationality, philosophy and who they were. At this juncture in my martial arts development, I reaffirmed to myself that all martial artists can be brothers, and to this day, I fervently believe that all martial artists are kindred spirits. Being kind has positive effects on physical and mental health, and gives us a sense of well-being, yet what I never realized about Chi (How could I back then, I knew nothing about it.) that by making sound moral judgments with kindness kept the Chi in my heart alive and connected to my brain (even though my taking 30/pills a day was fogging it) and kept the Chi flowing in my body, which helped to prolong my life long enough so I could learn Chi Gong and finally defeat cystic fibrosis.

It's long been a bone of contention within the martial arts world as to whether shooting guns should be considered a true martial art. Though traditionalists might scoff at the idea firearms training could have the same mental or aesthetic benefits that arts like karate or kung fu possess, kyudo, traditional Japanese archery, which shares many physical characteristics with shooting a gun, is readily accepted as part of the budo family. For those who doubt there may, indeed, be a commonality between firearms and martial arts training, they might want to attend a shooting class by Gabe White, where the simple act of drawing and firing a handgun is referred to as tai chi at hyperspeed and explained with descriptions like "You go from zero to a maximum of fluidity and speed, then round off to infinite stillness at the end." White, 45, is one of the most highly regarded and sought after firearms trainers out there, a figure universally respected in the shooting community for his ability to merge both the self-defense aspects of shooting with competition-oriented sport shooting, all while demonstrating some pretty incredible feats with his Glock pistol. White can take off on a sprint and reliably shoot a bowling pin jangling crazily in motion at the end of a string 7 yards away. He's capable of drawing a gun hidden under his shirt and firing an accurate shot in less than three-quarters of a second. He can fire off six shots that way in less than 2 seconds. He's best known within the shooting world for reaching the competitive "master" level using his everyday gun and concealed carry gear in the United States Practical Shooting Association's limited division, where all the other guns are heavily modified for competition and almost no one else wears concealment over their holster. In martial arts terms, it's akin to a mixed martial artist who handicaps himself by always wearing boxing gloves, rather than MMA gloves, but who's still good enough to make it all the way to the UFC. The martial arts analogy is particularly apropos when you consider White said his shooting career can only be understood within the context of his being a martial arts enthusiast. Born in Oregon, White grew up in a wooded area near a marsh and said, from a young age, he recognized the cycle of life where big creatures feed on small creatures. "As far back as I can remember, from the time I was maybe three years old, I came to the philosophical realization that everything has a right to try and protect its life, to continue it's existence," said White. "That's the right all others derive from because you have to be alive before you can exercise any of your other rights." White describes himself as a brainy, nerdy kid who wasn't particularly big, strong or mean. Though he didn't suffer from a great deal of bullying in school, he was still bothered by this perceived weakness and said most of his life has been an effort to correct it. He started training in taekwondo at age 7 looking for self defense but was observant enough, even at that young age, to see the complete lack of contact in the training wasn't conducive to his needs. He eventually moved on to hung gar kung fu, which, though perhaps not as practical as some other arts, he still readily calls upon in his teaching and explanations of shooting technique. "I think of shooting as an internal martial art. Hung gar is considered an external art but it has both a hard and soft energy. It's an interesting dichotomy that in gun handling everything, other than the actual shooting process, is mostly a soft art. The great internal struggle of shooting is to relax," he said. "Drawing the pistol out of the holster is similar to the sword drawing art of iaijutsu. It requires you to be relaxed to have hyper fluidity along with hyper speed. But once you get the gun mounted to your eye line and start the process of actually pulling the trigger and shooting, you need more of that hung gar hard energy because of the tension necessary for your grip." White explored several different arts over the years. He was a nationally ranked fencer as a junior, dabbled in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and practiced kali for a while. His pattern was often to practice something to the point where he went through the steep learning curve of getting the basics down but then, when improvement became about continually training to grind out smaller and smaller gains, he'd quit and move on to something else. He started seriously shooting at age 21 and it became the one "martial art" he stayed with and never lost interest in improving on. "I definitely think of shooting as a martial art. My experience is like a lot of people who have come into it from the martial arts world. They get into it for the self defense aspects but then stay for the self-improvement aspects of it. They become what I call an 'enthusiast.' They're no longer there to just check a box and get a certain minimal amount of training but they become dedicated to it because they see what it can do for them as people," he said. What White developed in his obsession to improve his shooting skills was an understanding of the difference between being outcome oriented versus being process oriented. It's something he learned from committing deeply to handgun training but which applies equally well to more standard martial arts training or any other skill development. He cultivated the mental discipline to not be constantly obsessed with the overall results of his shooting but to take refuge in the small details. Rather than fixating on the target and thinking about the success or failure of his accuracy, he instead thinks about something much more minute like the success or failure of how he pulls the trigger each time. He knows if he takes care of the small things, the bigger successes will follow. And by having laser focus on those little details, he avoids the trap of allowing his mind to start wandering into concerns over results, which ultimately leads to distraction and errant shots. He caches it in Buddhist philosophical terms as "being here, now." The implications for other martial arts should be clear. Rather than thinking about winning a fight or even just landing a punch, focusing your attention on correcting the small parts of the process that give you trouble, such as not telegraphing your punch by pulling your hand back first, is what will ultimately improve your skills and make you successful. Though White originally came to shooting from the defensive side, what's called "tactical shooting," he eventually became interested in sport shooting, primarily practical shooting competitions where competitors have to run a course shooting a series of targets at various distances while being scored on a combination of speed and accuracy. He'd been cautioned by his early tactical instructors to stay away from competition as its unrealistic nature would harm his defensive skills. Nowadays, it's a meme-like joke bandied about by elite shooters that "competition will you get you killed in the streets" but 20 years ago, when White was coming up the ranks of defensive shooters, that wisdom was still taken seriously by many. Again, the commonalities between shooting and martial arts are hard to miss. Just as there have long been debates on the merit of "practical" self defense training versus sport training in martial arts, or traditional versus modern methods, these same debates play out in the shooting world. And just as in martial arts, where it's hard to deny the evidence of how good elite sporting fighters like Jon Jones are, it's hard to deny just how good the top practical shooting competitors are in firing a handgun quickly and accurately. White recognized the high level of skill those shooters possessed and wanted to see if he could wed that with his base in proper defensive tactics to become a holistically superior practitioner of the handgun. He did so by not only throwing himself into a fanatic level of training going to the range 3-4 days a week and doing dry fire practice with an unloaded gun at home every single chance he got, but forcing himself to compete in his everyday carry gear. Working under the assumption if he ever did have to defend himself with a handgun, he'd be using what he normally carried, White wanted to get as good with that equipment as he possibly could. While he readily admits that the tactical shooting world has it correct in emphasizing the need for awareness and learning to avoid trouble as the most effective means of self defense, White also said there may be times when our awareness slips or we face a particularly difficult threat that can't be guarded against. It's on these rare occasions he feels the high level of skill developed through serious competition, particularly learning to cope with performing on demand in a stressful situation, becomes necessary. His motto is "technical excellence supports tactical preparedness." "It's generally recognized, when it comes to real situations, you're not going to perform as well as you do in training because of stress. So isn't it better to start from higher up on the mountain so when you fall, you're still at a higher skill level than your opponent?" he said. "The tactical side has it right that things like awareness are the most important part of self defense. But you also want a deep well of technical skill so when the taxman of reality shows up to drain your account, you still have enough left to pay the bill." White makes the fascinating observation, which is just as true for empty hand martial arts as for shooting, that if you're practicing all the things self defense experts preach about being aware and avoiding trouble before it happens, unless you happen to be in a profession like soldier or police officer, you'll likely develop very little real life combative experience. Yet real experience is one of the most valuable things a person can possess when it comes to improving their actual physical skills for self defense. You're then left with the conundrum that when you master the mental aspects of self defense allowing you to avoid real life combat, you'll lessen your physical self defense skills by the omission of experience. The way around that, White believes, is to delve into all realms of training. "All forms of training are unrealistic. But they've all got two or three elements that are worthwhile. It's a big puzzle and each part of it has a small piece they're good at. Tactical training with a handgun may teach you how to use cover properly. Competition won't do that but it will develop your shooting skills to a high degree. But neither of them has an uncooperative opponent. Force-on-force training is done against live opponents but with simulated ammunition, often in a prearranged scenario which is less realistic. The answer is to get facsimile experiences from all those things so if you're ever in a real situation, you have all those fragments to draw from," he said. That variety in training is something that can certainly be carried over into the larger martial arts world and is the method that the very best martial artists interested in practical self defense already incorporate. White believes martial artists can draw other benefits from learning to shoot, as well, even if they choose to never carry a gun in self defense. "You'll learn what to do with a gun if you ever have to pick one up but the main thing you can get is in the self improvement that focused practice on shooting can give you. It's very much about mental self control, about seeing tiny details in high speed and recognizing them in real time," he said. On the other side of the coin, he feels any shooter can benefit from martial arts training, both in terms of the body control it helps develop and the wider array of self defense options it gives you. "You absolutely shouldn't be married to the idea that self defense equals using a gun," he said. "Shooting is using deadly force while martial arts provide a non-deadly alternative. And you can't be one dimensional when it comes to self defense." To learn more about Gabe White, you can visit gabewhitetraining.com

By Kevin Koenig June 24, 2023 Could two of tech’s most famous CEOs really face off in a cage match? If there was ever a time, it’s now. A-list celebrities and titans of industry are putting the muscles they showed off on yachts and beaches last year to use, entering Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournaments after intensive training. Tom Hardy, Ashton Kutcher, Mario Lopez and Mark Zuckerberg are among the combat sport’s best-known amateurs. Jason Momoa dabbles in it, and Elon Musk was recently photographed wearing a jiu-jitsu white belt. Just last week, he challenged Zuckerberg to a fight, writing on Twitter: “I’m up for a cage match if he is lol.” On Instagram, the Meta chief executive replied: “Send me location,” a phrase Dagestani UFC great Khabib Nurmagomedov once used to taunt Conor McGregor. ‘It was fun. I’m a pretty competitive person,’ said Mark Zuckerberg. Brazilian jiu-jitsu is focused on ground fighting, with the end goal being controlling and submitting an opponent. Winning moves include limb-shattering joint locks and consciousness-suspending chokes. Practitioners typically tap out when a submission is in place, rather than suffer the imminent consequences. Though such a rough sport might seem like a surprising pursuit for movie stars and Silicon Valley billionaires, Zuckerberg’s coach Dave Camarillo said it’s just the opposite. “Jiu-jitsu is user-friendly enough for people in their 40s and 50s to start, and you get a lot of what I call tier-one personalities attracted to it—very successful actors and athletes. They like the high-level intellectual problem solving aspect.” Zuckerberg, who didn’t return requests for comment, recently spoke about his participation in the sport on the “Lex Fridman Podcast.” The host, a jiu-jitsu black belt, asked his guest what it was like to compete. “It was fun. I’m a pretty competitive person,” Zuckerberg said. “Doing sports that basically require your full attention I think is really important to my mental health and the way I stay focused on doing everything I’m doing.” For the 49-year-old Lopez, who had his breakout role at age 15 playing star wrestler A.C. Slater on “Saved by the Bell,” the jiu-jitsu gym also offers a kind of sanctuary. “Everyone is equal on the mat. When you’re there, it doesn’t matter who you are, the background you came from, or how much money you have. Life would be better if it was more like a jiu-jitsu academy.” Brazilian jiu-jitsu is often likened to physical chess, with endless iterations of moves and counters, culminating in the tap, which mimics a checkmate. The sport heavily focuses on leverage and technique, as opposed to raw athletic ability. It has often been presented as the one martial art that can help the 98-pound-weakling beat up the all-American jock. Does that mean Zuckerberg could conceivably beat someone like the 6-foot-4 Momoa? “Mark’s a beast,” Camarillo said of his 149-pound student. “And jiu-jitsu is leverage-based and with enough leverage you can cover a big spread in terms of size difference, so he’s got a shot. But man, Jason Momoa, that’s a big boy.” Actor Jason Momoa would make a formidable opponent. Rigan Machado is a jiu-jitsu legend who has coached many Hollywood stars, including Momoa. “He is one of the strongest guys I have ever seen. He is huge, and just a super athlete.” And what does Machado think would happen if Zuckerberg and Momoa got into a scrap? “I’d put all my money on Momoa,” he said. As for reports that Zuckerberg was choked unconscious in a recent match, Camarillo is quick to dispel the rumor. “The ref stopped the match because he thought Mark was struggling,” he said. “But Mark wasn’t going unconscious, he actually had his opponent in a choke, and what the ref heard was Mark grunting trying to finish it. The ref ended up apologizing to us. I think he was trying to protect Mark. All we want is for Mark to be treated by the same standard as everyone else.” One opponent caught a similar vibe from Zuckerberg. “Before our match he went up to me and just said ‘let’s have fun’ and then we went out there and just got after it,” recalls Vijay Hanumantha Raju, a 33-year-old Uber software engineer whom Zuckerberg defeated to win his gold medal at a tournament in May. “He even got a nosebleed in the middle of the match. And he had all his jiu-jitsu basics right. He eventually got on top of me and I couldn’t escape, and that’s how he won.” On his podcast, Fridman asked Zuckerberg if he was worried about being embarrassed in front of people at the tournament. He replied that he’d already had his share of embarrassment in life. “I think maybe to some degree your ability to keep doing interesting things is your willingness to be embarrassed again and go back to step one and start as a beginner and get your ass kicked and look stupid doing things,” the Meta CEO said. Jiu-jitsu caught on early in Hollywood. Mel Gibson used a technique known as a triangle—choking an opponent with one’s legs—to defeat Gary Busey at the end of 1987’s “Lethal Weapon.” One of the spearheads of jiu-jitsu in Southern California was Machado. Machado’s gym, The Academy Beverly Hills, still attracts hordes of A-listers, and can be considered the mecca of celebrity jiu-jitsu. Tom Hardy took gold in a 2022 martial arts competition. “Tom Hardy came in a few weeks ago,” said Machado. “Ashton Kutcher is one of my most consistent students. Wagner Moura is here often, and Charlie Hunnam is a maniac. I keep an eye on the sparring going on at my gym to make sure everything is done as safely as possible, but Charlie invites his friends over to his house and they go at it.” Training at the Academy runs the gamut in terms of intensity, from full-contact sparring to lighter sessions focused on drilling. “I have insurance people coming to my gym all the time,” Machado said. “They worry about the face, they worry about the body.” His focus, he said, is his clients’ safety: “I had Scarlett Johansson come to my academy. I’m not going to let her get roughed up.” Lopez, a longtime boxer, said he sees jiu-jitsu as “a thinking man’s sport, rather than one that relies on brute force. “In boxing you’re getting hit in the head,” he said. “With jiu-jitsu you can always tap out.” And opposed to other combat sports that involve striking, athletes can train and compete in jiu-jitsu at a high intensity without incurring visible injuries, meaning no black eyes at the board meeting. Dana White, the president of UFC, has spoken to both Zuckerberg and Musk about a faceoff. “They are both dead serious,” he said. White ran through their qualifications. “Zuckerberg is in phenomenal shape,” he said, “He does jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai, wrestling. He surfs, he foilboards. That guy is an athlete.” Meanwhile, Musk “is like, yeah I grew up in South Africa, I’ve been in fights,” White said. “He is big, and I assume he is strong,” he continued. “He can probably punch and he can probably kick. He can do the things you need to do in a fight, and also with that size comes power.” Updates: Top Ippons (video) - Ulaanbaatar Judo Grand Slam last week Fuji’s Martial Arts Cruise - - Includes Kayla, Travis & Jimmy Calendar: July - 2023 16th Sunday - CA State Games , San Diego, CA August - 2023 5th Saturday - Beginner & Intermediate Tournamen t, Las Vegas, NV 6th Sunday - Nikkei Games Budo Tournament , Cypress, CA 23rd Saturday - Veterans Judo Open , Myrtle Beach, SC September - 2023 17th Sunday - Nevada State Judo Championship , Las Vegas, NV 24th Sunday - Nanka Fall Tournament , Westminster, CA October - 2023 1st Sunday - Capitol Open Judo Championships , Sacramento, CA 22nd Sunday - Fresno Invitational Tournament , Fresno, CA 29th Sunday - Fight for a Cure Women's Tournament & Clinic , Riverside, CA 29th Sunday - Hanabi Halloween Classic , Albany, CA November - 2023 1st Wednesday to 3rd Friday - IJF World Veterans Championships , Abu Dhabi, UAE 5th Sunday - Nanka Team Tournament , Westminster, CA 19th Sunday - Presidents Cup National Championships , Irving, TX December - 2023 8th Friday to 10th Sunday - Nanka Winter Nationals & Clinics , Azusa, CA April - 2024 7th Sunday - Nanka Spring Tournament , Westminster, CA May - 2024 5th Sunday - Nanka West Coast Invitational , Westminster, CA June - 2024 28th Friday to 30th Sunday - USJF & USJA Summer Nationals , Tacoma. WA September - 2024 29th Sunday - Nanka Fall Tournament , Westminster, CA October - 2024 20th Sunday - Nanka Team Tournament , Westminster, CA December - 2024 6th Friday to 8th Sunday - Nanka Winter Nationals & Clinics , Azusa, CA I’m always looking for new subjects to write about regarding judo as well as contributions from my readers. Please send them to gary@garygoltz.com , thanks.

In part 1 of “Weight Training for Better Strength, Power, Endurance, and Flexibility,” we dug into building strength and power. These two topics are easy to understand and are commonly known as true. Even those that don’t lift weights can see how lifting weights increases strength and, when added to martial arts training, can improve power production. In case you missed it, the main take-home message for lifting to improve strength is that working within a repetition range of 3-6 is ideal. But it is also a good idea to spend some time lifting in the 8-12 rep range to build a bit more lean muscle and take advantage of what is referred to as muscle hypertrophy. You can think of the hypertrophy phase as laying the foundation for greater strength gain. When it comes to the best increase in power, we must understand what power is. Power is the ability to overcome resistance over a certain period of time. The shorter the time, the greater the power. When working to maximize our power increase with weights, practitioners will use heavy weights for rep ranges of 1-3 reps for best results. They can also incorporate plyometric training or the use of exercise bands as a means of adding resistance and moving with as much speed as safely possible. Now, let’s get into our focus of today and see how we can improve both our endurance and flexibility through weight training. ENDURANCE As we mentioned in Part 1, being powerful is undoubtedly a great advantage in an altercation, but what about in a sporting match that lasts much longer than a typical self-defense scuffle? That’s where endurance is of vital importance. As Vince Lombardi said, “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” And if you’ve been in a sparring match, stand-up, or grappling, you know that feeling of fatigue setting in and having to fight with all your might mentally to keep trudging forward. What if I said you could improve your endurance through weight training? Some folks complain that lifting weights will make you carry too much oxygen-hungry muscle causing you to gas out more quickly. However, as I mentioned in Part 1, putting on excessive muscle is hard to do, especially by accident. You can and should take an approach to your weightlifting that actually increases your endurance. There are a couple of main things to do with weightlifting to improve your endurance. You can perform high reps sets and you can adjust your rest periods . First, let’s focus on the rep range. If you read part 1, you already know the ideal rep ranges for Power (1-3), Strength (3-6), and Hypertrophy (8-12). To maximize your muscular endurance, focus the reps for each set in the 15-25 rep range. This will still help build some muscle and add strength, but it will also greatly improve muscular endurance. As the body is repeatedly challenged to supply the necessary oxygen to the muscle during training sets, it will adapt and enhance long-term endurance. The other approach mentioned is to reduce rest time between sets as much as possible. This can be accomplished by simply keeping the rest between exercise sets down around thirty seconds or less. An even more effective approach, though, is to use what are called “ super sets ” and “giant sets.” Supersets are where opposing muscle groups are trained in succession, alternating one and then another back and forth. For example, when doing bench press and barbell row, one set of bench press would be completed and immediately followed by one set of barbell row. Then back to the bench for the second set of bench press and on to the barbell row again for set number two, etc. The same approach is used for giant sets with three or more exercises. For this, one could add a barbell squat to the mix or nearly any other exercise for that matter. The main thing is to use different muscle groups in each exercise. That way, you can move from lift to lift without taking a rest. Each muscle group has enough fuel to keep going, and at the same time, you get the added benefit of improved cardiovascular training. Coupling this with the high reps that are endurance focused, you get a double whammy and can’t help but increase endurance. FLEXIBILITY We understand the importance of endurance and training to build it, but did you know that one important way to improve endurance has nothing to do with performing more reps? One of the most important things to be able to do to endure during a fight is being able to relax. This also helps with speed, but we’ll leave that discussion for another day. Regarding relaxing, if a muscle is not being used at a given moment, holding tension in that muscle is counterproductive and leads to early fatigue. I remember starting off sparring, both standup and grappling, I would get gassed so quickly. This wasn’t because I was out of shape per se, but rather because I was holding so much tension since I didn’t know when and what I could relax. Much of learning what and when we can relax simply comes from experience, but improved flexibility can also help. Furthermore, improved flexibility can improve speed and reduce injury. For all these reasons, it makes sense that more flexibility will serve a marital artist well. Unfortunately, in days of the past, people spread the belief that weight training would destroy flexibility. When, in fact, when appropriately done with intentionality, weight training can lead to greater flexibility as well as muscular control, allowing one to engage and relax muscles with more ease. So, how do we improve flexibility through weight training? There are two main ways to accomplish this goal. First, working through a full range of motion for most repetitions for each exercise is the first step towards improving flexibility. There are times when partial reps make sense. But, as a basic rule, working through the full range is a good starting point for maintaining and improving mobility. For most exercises, you’ll feel a gentle stretch at one end of the movement and a solid contraction at the other. On the bench press, for instance, when the bar touches the chest, you’ll feel a stretch across the chest. Then at the top of the movement, you should feel the chest muscles flex. That is the full range of the bench press action. Understanding muscle fiber and fascia is another component of gaining flexibility during weight training. You see, in the old days, it was thought that we should perform static stretches before we would workout. When in fact, a dynamic warm-up before a workout and a static stretchafterward is ideal. This goes for our marital arts training as well, by the way. But I digress. When lifting weights, you’ll likely feel “the pump.” This is a temporary engorgement of the muscle that happens when lifting weights. At this point, the muscle is warm and is ripe for improving flexibility. You can think of it this way, when the muscle is pumped, it is already “stretched” outward when considering the muscle in 3D. This outward expansion from the muscle pump is similar to that of a long balloon being blown up that is expanding in circumference as more air is added. In this example, the balloon is representative of the fascia and the air inside the balloon is the muscle fiber. What’s more is that the muscle is also completely warmed up at this point, making it less susceptible to injury. This is the ideal time to stretch lengthwise. With the muscles warm, the fascia already experiencing an outward stretch, adding a static lengthening stretch at this point is a surefire way to increase flexibility in the fascia and muscle fiber as much as is safely possible. Performing static stretches immediately after a workout or even during the second half of a lifting session is best. However, remember that stretches must be done regularly if one wants significant and lasting results. An added side benefit of static stretching, done in conjunction with weightlifting, is an improved mental connection to the muscles. When you focus the mind on relaxing the muscle of choice and add in breath work to improve the stretch, you will see that you can select and relax your muscles of choice when you desire. I’m sure you can imagine the advantages of the resulting increase in mobility and relaxation in an altercation or sparring situation. PUT IT ALL TOGETHER Now you know what rep ranges to use to maximize your strength gain. You also know how many repetitions you should focus on when you’re looking to increase your power. We’ve discussed how to go about adding muscle most efficiently without overdoing it to the point where your muscle becomes a liability. And on top of all that, we’ve discussed how you can improve your endurance and increase your flexibility with resistance training. Now, put it into action… If there is a particular area where you feel you need the most improvement, spend the majority of your time there. However, keep in mind that it is a good idea to work through all of the different phases, at least occasionally, as you train to improve your strength, power, and endurance. I frequently will even work through different rep ranges within a single workout. When it comes to flexibility, it is best to work on that during every workout via the use of full range of motion exercises and after each workout with focused static stretching. I hope you’ll give this a try and let us know how these concepts work for you! Salute, Ian Lauer CSCS, IFBB Men’s Physique Professional 3rd Degree Black Belt American Kenpo 1st Degree Black Belt Tae Kwon Do 1st Degree Black Belt Hapkido 1st Degree Black Belt Coszacks Karate

Bruce Lee, the legendary martial artist, philosopher, and actor, left behind a wealth of wisdom that inspires millions worldwide. One of his most profound statements was about learning from all different disciplines. He said, “Take and develop what works and discard what does not." This is important because some unpopular disciplines may not be strong in fighting skills but effective in teaching techniques, life, etc. For instance, Bruce was a boxer. He learned Kung fu, judo, and jujitsu, which developed his martial arts flow JKD. JKD was not just about fighting but honed in on life and philosophy. So don’t underestimate learning about all disciplines. For example, capoeira. Capoeira is a Brazilian fighter dance. However, it is not about learning to dance. It is about developing capoeira's fast footwork, speed, and agility and transferring it into your martial arts. And the same goes for others like Wushu, Kalarippayattu, and Kendo. The Power of Diverse Knowledge Embracing various disciplines and learning from them allows us to tap into a vast reservoir of knowledge. Each field of study or practice offers unique perspectives and insights that can broaden your understanding of the world. By venturing beyond your comfort zones and exploring diverse disciplines, you open yourself to new ideas, methodologies, and ways of thinking. The ability to synthesize knowledge from different disciplines is a powerful tool. Like Bruce, he gained insight into his perspective, understanding his approach and naturalness that tapped into his chi. He was able to see beyond by connecting to a more profound sense of self that often gets overlooked. Incorporating What Works Learning from different disciplines involves discernment—recognizing and adopting what works for you. Every discipline has its strengths and weaknesses, and by exploring multiple domains, you can cherry-pick the most effective tools, techniques, and concepts. This selective approach enables you to create a customized toolkit that aligns with your goals, values, and aspirations. For instance, martial artists can learn and enhance their skills and techniques by learning boxing, judo, or capoeira. You can draw inspiration from their movements, strategies, psychology, and philosophy. By adopting what resonates with you selectively, you can enhance your effectiveness and achieve greater success. Discarding What Does Not Work Equally important is the ability to discard what does not work. Not every concept, approach, or practice from different disciplines suits or applies to your interest. You can avoid unnecessary distractions, wasted effort, and misguided pursuits by critically evaluating and letting go of what does not serve you. Discarding and eliminating what does not work requires self-awareness, reflection, and understanding of your strengths, weaknesses, and aspirations. It allows you to streamline your efforts, focus on what truly matters, and optimize your personal growth. The Path to Personal Growth Adopting Bruce Lee's philosophy enables you to embark on a lifelong journey of personal growth and self-improvement. You continually expand your intellectual, emotional, and physical horizons by embracing diverse disciplines. You become more adaptable, resilient, open-minded, and better equipped to face life's challenges. Learning from different disciplines fosters curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. It encourages you to be a lifelong learner and student constantly seeking new ideas, experiences, and perspectives. It helps you develop a growth mindset, where setbacks and failures become opportunities for growth and learning. Breaking the Shackles of Self-Imposed Limits The human mind tends to set boundaries and limits, often due to fear, doubt, or a lack of belief in your abilities. You create mental barriers that confine you to your comfort zones, inhibiting your progress and growth. However, when you challenge these limits and push beyond your perceived boundaries, you unleash untapped potential and open yourself to a world of possibilities. Learning other disciplines taps into the reservoir of hidden potential within. You discover strengths you never thought you had and unlock capabilities you never thought possible. By shattering self-imposed limits, you gain confidence in your abilities and develop a deeper understanding of your potential. You awaken to the idea that your growth is not limited. It is only limited by your beliefs and unwillingness to embrace the unknown. Here are a few additional points. 1. Cultivating a Well-Rounded Perspective: Learning from different disciplines helps you develop a well-rounded perspective on life that encourages you to interconnect various methods and philosophies to discover your way and flow. 2. Innovation and Cross-Pollination of Ideas : When seeking knowledge from different disciplines, you create opportunities for innovation and cross-pollination of ideas. Often, breakthroughs and advancements occur at the intersection of various fields. By combining insights from seemingly unrelated disciplines, you can come up with fresh approaches and solutions that have the potential to revolutionize techniques and methods, spark creativity, and address complex problems in unique ways, much like Bruce did with JKD. 3. Overcoming Limiting Beliefs : Exploring diverse disciplines challenges your preconceived notions and expands the boundaries of what you believe is possible. It helps you break free from limiting beliefs and self-imposed constraints as you witness achieving things through approaches you may have never considered before. By embracing the philosophy of learning from all disciplines, you open yourself to new possibilities and cultivate a mindset of infinite potential. 4. Adaptability in a Changing World: Adaptability is crucial in today's rapidly evolving world. Learning from different disciplines equips you with mental agility and flexibility to navigate uncertain and dynamic environments. As you acquire knowledge and insights from various fields, you develop a versatility that allows you to adapt to new situations, acquire new skills, and thrive in diverse contexts. This adaptability becomes valuable as you embrace change and stay ahead in an ever-changing world. Bruce Lee's wisdom resonates deeply with an innate desire for growth and self-improvement. By recognizing that limits are often self-imposed and that plateaus are mere stepping stones, you can transcend your perceived limitations and embrace a life of boundless potential. Break free from the shackles and step into a world where your achievements know no bounds.

“When you can snatch the pebble from my hand, it will be time for you to leave.” That was what Master Kan (Philip Ahn) tells the young Kwai Chang Caine (Radames Pera) in the martial arts-action television program, Kung Fu (1972). Although the show was a tale of Caine (David Carradine) wandering the Old West, it was the flashbacks to his training that always interested me. Through the lessons from Caine’s teachers, we got a glimpse into what it takes to study something until you can be declared a master. While I am not a master, I have been fortunate enough to study with a few and have certainly contemplated the question: What does it mean to be a “Master”? Student I remember scanning the rows of students on my first day in karate class and taking inventory of the number of different colored belts. There were a lot of white belts, like me, and there were probably just as many orange belts. As I continued surveying the lines of the higher ranks, the numbers started to dwindle. It made me wonder: “How many white belts make it to black belt?” The truth is, that regardless of the style of martial art, there are always going to be a large number of students that begin but don’t continue, and make it to the highest level(s). Why is that? I am reminded of the quote from John Milton’s Paradise Lost : “Long is the way and hard, that out of Hell leads up to Light.” That may seem a bit dramatic, but I have never been tested more, physically or mentally, than during my martial arts career. I am willing to bet many readers have had similar experiences and would probably agree. What I gleaned from the experience is that the key element to being a successful student is self-discipline. Whether it was straining against the sudden, and abnormally strong, gravity for that last push-up, enduring the shaking legs of stance training, or taking the thudding falls from a classmate’s well-executed throw, it was always more demanding than my company’s after-work office party, which I’d passed up to go to class. Coworkers, amazed by my choice for the evening’s activity, would say, “You can miss just once, can’t you?” I could have, but I never did. The hard choices of exercising self-discipline are what it takes to make it to the next level. Instructor It’s been said that learning doesn’t really begin until black belt. That is when the student is best prepared to understand the higher-level concepts and teachings because they have mastered the basics and they can grasp the lessons of the teacher, or master, directly. For ease of understanding for the reader, let’s say that we are considering the black belt degrees from first and above, or their equivalent in a particular martial art. (For non-belt-using arts, let's suppose over five consecutive years of study) This is most often the time when a practitioner is teaching as well as studying their martial art. They are committed to the style and are more than likely going to stick with it. I believe teaching is the best way to learn something, and I think it is key to achieving a higher level of understanding in martial arts. When I’ve taught anything, I’ve always excelled equally as a student. Teaching often requires looking at something in a different way than one had considered before. It usually entails solving a problem or coming up with a drill to fix a student’s unique mistake. Sometimes, it’s just recalling some piece of wisdom that was passed to you, which is then passed to your student, who also passes it down to their student, and thus the endless teachings of generations are secured. If you want to get good at something, teach. Master What does it mean to be a master? Instantly, my mind is drawn to characters like Han (Kien Shih) from Enter the Dragon , or Feng (Christopher Walken) from Balls of Fury. Mastery must mean a flamboyant costume, a big throne, an aloof attitude, and never having to learn anything ever again, because you know it all, right? Regarding mastery, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The masters that I have been lucky enough to learn from always struck me first by their humble nature and their insatiable desire for learning and improving. Once, after a lesson with a master, I thanked him and was surprised by the response. “Thank you!” he said with a smile. Upon noticing my surprise, he said, “ I don’t teach for you. I teach for me.” That principle is not unique to martial arts. Whether in music, sales, reupholstering furniture, or anything else that requires specialized skills, the same philosophy applies. In the same way that the master swordsman is always keeping their blade sharp, mastery requires always seeking to learn and become better.

Generally speaking there are three main groups when it comes to karate, Okinawan Style, Point Style and Knockdown Style. While some karateka may protest and say their style of karate is wholly unique from any other style, it isn’t. The truth is that pressure and competition rules, not philosophy, is what ultimately shapes a martial arts style. Shotokan karate features elbows, but you never see them, because they’re not encouraged in competition, meanwhile Muay Thai is elbow city, because there is pressure to use them under a ruleset. This is why most karate styles can largely be grouped under one of these three types despite countless ‘styles’ of karate, which proport to be wholly separate martial arts. Okinawan styles, being the oldest typically focus on squarer stances, and hand techniques and are geared more towards hypothetical self defence and tough body conditioning. Point based styles are usually Japanese styles (although I’d argue Taekwondo could also be considered one) that focus on long stances and linear movement, competitions are one by tagging the opponent with a single strike – it bares very little resemblance to actual fighting. Finally, we have knockdown styles which take the tough body conditioning of Okinawan styles, and the kicks of point based styles and combine the two. Knockdown styles have their roots in Kyokushin, and most other styles of knockdown karate are simply rebranded Kyokushin with a slightly different philosophical approach to fighting, that mostly results in the same end result. Ashihara, World Oyama Karate and Kudo all have their roots in Kyokushin, but with the exception of Kudo and it’s wildly different competition format, it’s hard to argue that they’re not essentially doing the same thing. Shidokan, is different in that it has a wholly unique ‘triathlon’ approach to competition. One round will be competed under knockdown rules, then there will be a round of kickboxing, and then around of both striking and grappling akin to MMA. While the mere inclusion of an MMA round serves to make the first two rounds redundant, it still produces an undeniably well rounded competitor ad most martial arts that focus on both striking and grappling (sambo, sanda and kudo as examples) do. The History Yoshiji Soeno founded Shidokan (it’s name coming from the shinsengumi who protected the shogun). Early in his life Soeno joined the Oyama Dojo, the original Kyokushin Dojo headed by Mas Oyama himself. His time in Kyokushin saw him earn the World Open Kyokushin Knockdown Championship and while in University he opened his own Dojo, where he would teach both karate and kickboxing. Keni Kurosaki, the godfather of kickboxing in Japan, was an older student of Mas Oyama’s and by this time was already running the Mejiro Gym and coaching world champions. Kickboxing had been embraced by Kyokushin practitioners in a real way. Like other prominent Kyokushin practitioners, Soeno would head out to Thailand to test his skills against Thai Boxers to mixed success. Soeno, now known as the Tiger of Kyokushin, would recognise the importance of kickboxing, alongside prior Judo experience and begin to work out his own approach to Karate. In 1981 this would become formalised as Shidokan. Shidokan would continue to develop past this point, it’s unique among karate styles in that it has at the time of writing, a living, breathing master and founder who has allowed for the style to change as new revelations about fighting have been made. Eddie Yoshimura, then president of the US Shidokan association, and Chicago PD officer, would talk to Soeno and work to add arresting methods into the style and further round out the styles grappling. Allowing for Shidokan to be practical not just for sport fighting, but for self defence. It wasn’t enough to be good at Kyokushin competition when you would be dealing with gang members that you would have to physically restrain and arrest as opposed to simply knocking out. What is training like? It will come as no surprise that the training of Shidokan is particularly brutal. While we have the standard combination of kata and kumite training, Shidokan has brutal physical conditioning stemming from its Kyokushin roots. Due to the multifaceted nature of Shidokan, training sessions can differ wildly from lesson to lesson, some days will resemble classic Kyokushin training, doing kata, body conditioning, knockdown sparring etc. Other days will resemble kickboxing classes, using Thai pads and boxing gloves, or a class dedicated to grappling. That presence of grappling also means that in addition to the sort of knuckle push ups, squats and stance training you would expect from karate, we also see wrestlers bridges. Japanese martial arts training borrows a lot from catch wrestling, which in turn borrows its training practises from Indian wrestling, so the presence of hindu squats and push ups and those wrestling bridges isn’t all that surprising. It allows for ease of mobility and strength while on the ground. One of the most common criticisms of Karate is that it’s stuck in the mud and needs to evolve. It seems karate is often caught in a no man’s land. Tradition and historical practise are part of the arts appeal, but that’s also what has held it back vs styles that focus on reliable, frequent hard sparring and fighting. I think Shidokan does quite a good job at doing both. It has all the traditional elements of karate that people who are more interested in the cultural and artistic side of karate can enjoy, but it teaches reliable fighting skills which can protect you in multiple situations, without resorting to dangerous ideas such as weapon disarms which simply do not work.

Danielle Kelly is set to return to ONE Championship on Friday, February 10, per MMAFighting.com. The American star will make her third trip to the Circle for a submission grappling showcase against Ayaka Miura as part of ONE on Prime Video 7: Lineker vs. Andrade II. Kelly is coming off a commanding victory at ONE on Prime Video 4 against Mariia Molchanova. The action quickly hit the canvas, where Kelly sunk in a rear-naked choke for the finish just after the two-minute mark. She will continue to try and shine against a veteran of the ONE Circle. Miura began her ONE career in 2019 and quickly reeled off three submission victories in her mixed martial arts battles. The Japanese talent utilizes her strong judo base against her opposition and will be looking to do the same against Kelly when they meet in February. The matchup will be an interesting test for the Philadelphia native, who drew against Mei Yamaguchi in her ONE debut. Miura’s experience and grappling background will pose interesting stylistic challenges. The former ONE Strawweight World Championship challenger also brings a strong core and compact frame against the rising BJJ star. The submission grappling duel will be a great way for the sport to start the year and continue its rise in 2023. Kelly vs. Miura offers an intriguing stylistic matchup between two outstanding athletes. ONE on Prime Video 7: Lineker vs. Andrade II airs live and free to all Amazon Prime subscribers in the U.S. and Canada on Friday, February 10, at 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST.

You are minding your own business, buying a newspaper at your local convenience store, when a belligerent drunk decides to throw a punch at you simply because you met his stare for a second too long. What the drunk doesn't know is that you are trained in the Indonesian martial art of silat, and you are therefore able to move easily into close range where your big guns — the knees, elbows and head — can be brought into play. This range is referred to as the “battleground" by Indonesians. Now that you've entered the battleground and are literally in the drunk's face, you can begin the “tranquilizing process" — a vicious combination of elbows, knees, finger jabs, head butts and kicks to his groin, shins, thighs, eyes or any other vulnerable target. If he is still a threat after your initial salvo of blows, your combinations must continue. Can you sweep him to the ground? Can you elbow his spine? Can you stomp on one of his feet and force him off-balance? These are just a few of the possibilities available to an accomplished silat stylist. Silat's Many Styles Roughly speaking, silat means “skill for fighting." There are hundreds of different styles of silat, most of which are found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, southern Thailand and the southern Philippines. Common to all of these styles is a combat-oriented ideology and the use of weaponry. In Indonesia, there exist hundreds of styles of pentjak silat (also spelled pencak silat), as well as many systems of kuntao, a form of Chinese boxing that bears many similarities to silat and is found primarily within the Chinese communities in Indonesia. There are also many systems that blend pentjak silat and kuntao. “Chinese fighting tactics have had positive influences on the development of pentjak silat," says noted martial arts historian and author Donn Draeger. Malaysia is home to a style known as bersilat, which can be divided into two forms: putat, a dancelike series of movements intended for public display, and buah, a realistic combat method never publicly displayed. Bersilat is also found in the southern Philippines, as well as langkah silat, kuntao silat and kali silat. Silat techniques vary greatly, from the low ground-fighting postures of harimau (tiger) silat to the high-flying throws of madi silat. One particularly vicious madi throw involves controlling your opponent's head, leaping through the air, and using your body weight to yank him off his feet as your knee slams into his spinal column. A typical harimau takedown involves coming in low against an opponent's punch, capturing his foot with your foot, and forcing his knee outward with a strike or grab to the inside knee to effect the takedown. Rikeson silat focuses primarily on nerve strikes, while cipecut silat makes extensive use of the practitioner's sarong for throwing and controlling the opponent. A rikeson silat stylist might take an opponent down with a finger-thrust attack to the nerves situated in the crease between the upper leg and torso. Cipecut practitioners will deflect an attack with their sarong, then wrap it around the opponent's head, utilizing the significantly improved leverage to yank him to the ground. Bukti negara pentjak silat, as developed by Paul de Thouars, relies on a sophisticated leverage system to achieve almost effortless throws. Burton Richardson, Black Belt's 2015 Self-Defense Instructor of the Year, teamed up with the magazine to make an online course called Silat for the Street. In Philippine silat, it is common to trap your opponent's foot with your own foot while controlling his head and arm, then spin him in a circle. The opponent's body rotates 360 degrees, but his knee and foot remain in place, causing severe injury. The sheer number of silat styles allows practitioners a tremendous amount of variety, as well as a certain amount of freedom and self-expression. By researching a number of silat systems, you can add tremendous diversity to your combat arsenal. Silat's Indonesian Weapons Virtually all silat styles, particularly Philippine silat, emphasize weapons training. In the areas where silat originated, carrying a weapon, usually one of the bladed variety, was for generations a fact of life for the general male populace. A silat practitioner will normally be skilled with a knife, stick, sword, staff, spear, rope, chain, whip, projectile weapons or a combination thereof. The kris sword, with its wavy blade, is one of the most common weapons in Indonesia and Malaysia. Another wicked weapon found in Indonesia is the karambit (tiger's claw), a short, curved blade used to hook into an opponent's vital points. According to Donn Draeger, the karambit is used in an upward, ripping manner to tear into the bowels of the victim. Most silat systems emphasize low, quick kicks, primarily because of the likelihood the practitioner will be confronting an opponent armed with a bladed weapon. A good rule of thumb is to never try a kick against a knife-wielding opponent, unless the kick is delivered at close range and is used as a support technique. Silat's Key Components What comprises a good silat system? The following are some of silat's key components: Silat Component #1: Efficient entry system. The style must have techniques that allow you to move quickly and efficiently into close range of your opponent. It must also include training methods that will hone your timing, precision and accuracy when employing those techniques. Silat Component #2: Effective follow-up techniques. The system must have effective punching and kicking techniques. Heavy-duty techniques such as head butts, knee smashes and elbow strikes must be highly developed. “Finishing" techniques are more effective if your opponent is properly “tranquilized." Silat Component #3: Devastating finishing techniques. After you have entered into close range and applied a “tranquilizing" technique to your opponent, the next step is to apply a “finishing" technique, such as a throw, sweep, takedown, lock or choke, to end the confrontation. Locking maneuvers will break or render ineffective an opponent's joint. Choking techniques will produce unconsciousness. Takedowns, throws or sweeps will slam the opponent into the ground or other objects with enough force to end a confrontation. Silat Component #4: Realistic weapons training. Most silat systems emphasize weapons training at some point. This training will include realistic contact-oriented drills rather than forms practice and will greatly improve your reflexes, timing, accuracy, rhythm and precision. It's amazing how quickly practitioners improve when facing a bladed weapon traveling at a high rate of speed. Silat theory, then, is simple: Enter into close range of the opponent, apply a “tranquilizing" technique such as a punch or kick, and then “finish" the opponent off with a heavy-duty technique such as a lock, sweep, choke or throw. Silat's Ambassadors to the United States Suryadi (Eddie) Jafri was one of the first to teach pentjak silat in the United States, conducting seminars throughout the country in the 1970s and '80s before returning to Indonesia several years ago. The well-respected Paul de Thouars teaches silat publicly at his Academy of Bukti Negara in Arcadia, California, and also conducts seminars across the United States each year. Another fine instructor is mande muda pentjak silat stylist Herman Suwanda, who divides his time between Los Angeles and his home in Indonesia. Mande muda is a composite of 18 different silat systems. Dan Inosanto of Los Angeles uses his weekly seminars as a forum to spread silat, as well as other martial arts. Inosanto has studied with de Paul de Thouars, Eddie Jafri and Herman Suwanda in Indonesian pentjak silat. He has also worked with John LaCoste, who taught Dan Inosanto kuntao silat, bersilat, kali and langkah silat of the southern Philippines. Dan Inosanto also trained under Nik Mustapha in Malaysian bersilat. There are actually only a few qualified silat instructors in the United States, and most of them are not easy to find. If, however, you have the good fortune to undertake the study of silat under a competent instructor, prepare yourself because you are in for an exciting, invigorating exploration into one of the world's richest and most effective martial arts. by Terry H. Gibson

Experience what life was like before China opened its martial arts doors to the world. China has always been the traditional home of the Asian martial arts. For 2,000 years, its people have experimented with and developed self-defense systems that have only recently become known in other countries as karate, judo, jujitsu and sumo. Yet curiously, little is known of the Chinese martial arts (wushu) outside of China. The country has always been a mystery to the non-Chinese, and so it is today with the martial arts. And the Chinese have done little to make knowledge of its self-defense systems available to people abroad. It’s remained for two other Asian nations, Japan and Korea, to popularize the Oriental fighting systems. They’ve been the driving force behind the worldwide boom in karate, yet both are relative newcomers to it. The “art of empty hands” was introduced to Japan only in 1917, and it didn’t get established in Korea until after World War II. Furthermore, neither Japan nor Korea learned karate directly from Chinese sources. They got it from Okinawa, where the great Chinese-boxing styles had been introduced 400 years earlier. However, by the time the 20th century rolled around, the Okinawans had so altered the basic Chinese style that their version bore only a distant resemblance to the graceful movements of kung fu. To the public, karate is still thought of as a native of Japan and Korea, but those who know the arts are paying more and more attention to the older Chinese systems. To keep readers abreast of what’s happening in the Chinese martial arts, Black Belt sent a correspondent to China to report on developments there. That trip has led to this special report, which will serve as an introduction to the subject. For it, we’ve selected six systems that illustrate the variety of the Chinese arts. Tai Chi Chuan for the Masses The future of all the arts appeared uncertain when the communists came to power in 1949. The new masters of China looked with disfavor on many of the old ways and traditions, and it was feared that the martial arts would become one more casualty of the new order. But when the regime instituted a nationwide physical-fitness program that required people of all ages to exercise, an interesting thing happened: Chinese citizens by the millions began obediently trudging to parks for their required early morning exercises, accompanied by military music blaring over loudspeakers. But the exercises that many engaged in weren’t the drills that might be associated with physical-fitness books. They were exercises associated with the great boxing art of tai chi chuan, or “grand ultimate fist.” The government may have launched a new China, but it seemed as if the citizens were still approaching it in traditional ways. Whatever doubts the communist leadership may have had about the martial arts at first, the situation is different now. In recent years, they’ve rushed to embrace the martial arts with passion. A book published in 1963, titled Sports Go Forward in China, gives a tip-off to the new prestige the martial arts are enjoying. “Wushu … is a traditional sport acquired and evolved by the Chinese people in productive labor, self-defense and physical training,” the book states in typical communist propaganda terms. Pulling out all the stops, it continues: “The aim of wushu is to cultivate agility, adroitness, stamina and strength. Besides its curative value in treating certain chronic diseases, regular practice in wushu is beneficial to the central nervous, respiratory, circulatory and digestive systems, as well as to the joints and muscles.” China’s Sophisticated Martial Arts Before examining the different arts, it helps to cover some background. To the untrained eye, the Chinese martial arts might appear different from the better-known Japanese and Korean versions. The first thing that one notices is the grace of the old Chinese styles. In this respect, the Chinese arts would have to be called more “sophisticated” than the others. They’ve developed out of the world’s oldest culture—one that’s produced a brilliant civilization. The result is fighting arts that are polished, elegant and dancelike—which explains why so many of kung fu techniques have poetic titles. The masters who developed these styles centuries ago were far too refined to refer to anything as a plain old punch to the temple, for instance. They preferred to cloak the deadliness of such a kung fu technique in an extravagant expression like the “beat of a stork’s wing’’ or “dipping for pearls.” In contrast, the Japanese and Korean versions of karate are far less elegant in appearance. And the reason is not hard to find. The karate of these two countries came from Okinawa, which was a cultural and economic backwater of Asia. Populated almost exclusively by peasants and fishermen, Okinawa couldn’t hope to match the civilization of China. Therefore, it’s not surprising that much of the finery of Chinese kung fu was lost during the 400-year development of the art on Okinawa. What emerged in the 20th century was a stripped-down version of kung fu. It became a rugged, no-nonsense system of deadly self-defense. The Okinawans infused it with an emphasis on sheer power. This is essentially the style of karate practiced in Japan and Korea today, and it’s far stiffer than the Chinese versions in that it tends to rely on directness rather than the deceptive and flowing movements of kung fu. While the karate man delivers his punches and kicks straight forward with little side-to-side maneuvering, the kung fu stylist is on the move, whirling and twisting swiftly, coming at his opponent from all directions with a barrage of techniques. Speed is considered as important as power. Sparring and the Chinese Martial Arts The grace and beauty of the Chinese styles leave the impression that they’re fancy arts—that they look pretty but are really slap-and-dash systems with little power. This is vigorously disputed by practitioners, who contend that the grace merely hides the power underneath. A more pertinent criticism is that the Chinese practice only forms and no free sparring. Yet all karate men practice forms, in which the aim is to gain perfection and control. The Chinese say they don’t engage in free sparring because it’s too dangerous, that a student might lose control and land a blow too hard, thus causing injury. But perhaps in recognition of this, the Chinese have for centuries issued challenges for personal combat to test which man or system is best in a no-holds-barred free-for-all. Many villages throughout the nation staged such contests every year, and they could be bloody affairs that cost the lives of contestants. This is in contrast to the Japanese and Korean arts, in which it’s emphasized that the skills should never be used for sport or revenge. And even today, such challenges are occasionally issued, and the issue is fought out on the rooftops of Hong Kong or in Chinatown districts of the United States. Whether these personal confrontations still take place in China isn’t known. Monasteries played a big part in the development of the martial arts throughout Asia. It was the priests of the temples who had the leisure time and the learning to develop the fighting arts. One monastery in particular deserves note. Shaolin Temple was one of the great centers of the arts in old China, and one of the boxing arts developed there eventually found its way to Okinawa. But wherever the arts developed, they grew in great profusion with many masters adding their own touches over the years. And they’re still developing. Pa kua, for instance, is a product of the 20th century. And newer styles will no doubt continue to crop up regardless of who’s running China. Shown on the next few pages are some of the greatest of the various arts and a few that are not so well-known. Eagle Claw Kung Fu One of the most famous forms of kung fu is called, menacingly enough, the eagle claw. And menacing it should be, for this system adopts as one of its more potent offenses a series of clawlike rakes to the eyes and throat. It’s spectacular to see the practitioner execute the magnificent leaps and kicks that the Chinese martial arts are famous for. The basic hand position is as follows: The wrist is arched, and the fingers are spread and tensed as if forming a claw. Exercises to strengthen the hands are important, and students improve their grip by attempting to grasp and hold a greased jar using only their nails and fingertips. The founder of the system was supposedly a great general and patriot, Yueh Fei, who lived from 1103 to 1141. Originally, the style was based on striking and clawing, with some throws reminiscent of modern judo and some joint locks similar to those of jujitsu and aikido. Own this classis by Marshall Ho'o! However, during the Ming dynasty, a monk named Lai Chuen combined eagle claw with his own system, called faan tzi. The result is known as the faan tzi eagle-claw style. In addition to empty-hand techniques, it also teaches the art of the spear. Wing Chun Kung Fu Wing chun kung fu has one of the more exotic backgrounds of the Chinese arts, for it was founded by a woman, Yim Wing Chun, 400 years ago. She took her basic self-defense training from another woman, a famous Buddhist nun named Ng Mui of the Sil Lum (Shaolin) monastery. Yim Wing Chun supposedly founded her art because she believed that the styles of the time placed too much emphasis on the “strong horse” techniques, relying on sheer strength. She came up with a system of body dynamics and techniques that she believed could apply energy more efficiently. One of the exercises she invented is called chi sao, or “sticking hands.” In it, two practitioners place their outstretched arms together and attempt to strike each other at close range. It’s amazing how, from this position, the attacker can hardly penetrate the defense of his opponent. Overall, the style is an aggressive one, with superb attacks and defenses. Wing chun was brought to Hong Kong by Ip Man (also spelled Yip Man), the foremost living authority on the art. Drunken Kung Fu Probably the most unusual of all the Chinese fighting arts is drunken kung fu. Patterned after the movements of a drunkard, it’s wild and elusive. The practitioner wobbles around and looks like he’s stumbling. Sometimes he does—on purpose. There’s much rolling around on the ground, from which the practitioner will lash out suddenly with blows. The system is based on cunning moves. Feints are often made high, after which the attack often comes in low. Students go heavily for foot sweeps, kicks and other unexpected kung fu techniques. Clawing and scratching moves also are used. Nobody is quite sure when—or why—the style was created, but it seems to have gotten its start in southern China. Interest in it is still kept up inside China, but it’s virtually unknown outside. The Chinese martial arts are riddled with myths and legends, and it would be strange if a system based on drunkenness didn’t have its share of them. Some fanciful explanations have been put forth regarding the origins of the art. For instance, one holds that the drunken system was discovered in documents found in the famous Cave of the Eight Fairies. Hence, one particular version of the drunken system is called the “eight fairies style.” Another account contends that it was founded by the great poet Li Po, a notorious wine drinker. Modern practitioners like to impress skeptics about the control inherent in the system by engaging in a demonstration. They lunge toward an opponent, fall suddenly and complete an overhead roll to tackle the onlooker’s legs. This maneuver is conducted with the drunken stylist holding a cup of water in his hand—and never spilling a drop. Praying Mantis Kung Fu Two praying mantis kung fu styles are practiced in China, both of which are popular. They draw their names from the fact that in the final position, the hands resemble the front feelers of a praying mantis. The systems have different approaches to self-defense. The northern style of praying mantis kung fu relies heavily on foot techniques and footwork for elusiveness. The southern style of praying mantis kung fu, which is widely practiced in Hong Kong, uses mainly fist techniques. However, northern praying mantis kung fu also uses fist and arm movements for defense and offense. While southern praying mantis kung fu focuses primarily on the straight knuckle fist, the northern branch uses uppercuts to good effect. Praying mantis kung fu is 300 years old. It was founded by a master from Shantung province named Wong Lon. Like so many of the stories that surround the Chinese martial arts, there’s a fanciful description of how Wong Lon started the system. Supposedly, he observed a praying mantis fighting a grasshopper and was taken with the skill of the mantis. He caught it and brought it home, then spent hours prodding the insect with a small stick so he could study its movements. Wong Lon then blended the movements of the mantis with another popular system, monkey kung fu. The only kick used in the southern praying mantis style is the knee thrust, usually delivered to the groin. One of the most distinguishing characteristics of this school is that students always fight with their elbows tucked in close to protect their centerline—just like a praying mantis. The most prominent praying mantis kung fu practitioner in recent times was Lau So-i, who died in 1952. He has students all over China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Conditioning is important in this style of boxing. Its participants display great agility in their movements. That, combined with suppleness, makes the mantis style one of the most graceful and dancelike of the Chinese fighting arts. Law Horn Kun The first thing one notices about law horn kun is that it’s a spectacular fighting art characterized by high leaps and intricate footwork. It’s taken from the “lost track style,” one of the arts that emerged from Sil Lum monastery. The style is noted for its deceptive footwork. The practitioner may fake first with his left foot, then his right, constantly trying to catch his opponent off-guard. Then he might execute a sudden leap into the air before unleashing a series of rapid kicks. Law horn kun has come down to us in the traditional way of the Chinese martial arts—by being passed from father to son. Lately, however, interest in it has undergone a revival, and new books are being published. With any luck, all the Chinese fighting arts will experience a similar resurgence in popularity. Story by Anthony DeLeonardis • First published in the February 1968 issue of Black Belt

As important as having hands-on instruction is in the martial arts, so too is the ability to coach yourself. You may only be with your teacher for three or four hours each week, but, spoiler alert, there are many more hours to work with in every seven day span. While we go to class to learn and set our sights on what we need to work on, the development of our skills typically actually happens in our time outside of the studio. In order to truly improve, we have to be able to coach ourselves and put the appropriate work in. Problem is...well, it can be tough. It is easy–oh, so easy– to lose motivation and focus. Beyond that, it can be tough to know what to work on next. Seemingly at odd s with the slovenly state that is easy to slip into lies the fact that most of us are willing to do more for others than we actually do for ourselves. One of the most impactful pieces of advice given to me was, paraphrased, “To overcome the problem you are going through, think about what advice you would give somebody else going through it.” Simple enough, right? Perhaps you have even received similar words from a mentor, literature piece, or insightful figure in the past. It is all too often that we are more empathetic, and more wisely perched in perspective, when giving advice to a loved one than when striving to figure out the solutions to our own problems. In another way, as martial artists, it is also often that we harp on the mistakes of others while remaining blithe to our own performance and depth of understanding. If we truly desire an upgrade in our lives–for performance or for peace–we have to police our own actions just as keenly as we would another’s. If not, arguably, even more so. This requires a number of key components, none surprising however each important to remember and utilize. In order to self coach, we need an understanding of what excellence looks like; self-awareness over our own actions, thoughts, and abilities; a plan to connect where we are to where we desire to be; and the accountability and self-discipline to actually work towards that personal destination. If you are reading this, it is likely there is at least an ember of interest in pursuing further levels of ability, so let’s fan the flames and burn through your place of stagnation. Read on for a deep dive into everything you need to know in order to coach yourself towards excellence! Can You Handle The Truth? Coaching is about communication, often from one person to another. Communication, properly maintained, is built upon trust in the words and advice offered. Trust stands atop many important pillars, the largest one being honesty. If you are going to coach yourself, you have to be able to be honest with yourself, fully and in an unadulterated manner. That is to say, we can’t let narcissism or imposter syndrome skewer our perspective. Let go of ego and the distorted lens of yourself that often comes with it. As we constantly cast a genuine glance at our own actions and intentions, with neither a condescending nor rewarding appeal, we become acutely aware of what we can do to grow. If we only berate ourselves each day, we begin to lose faith in ourselves–and subsequently, our perspective and opinions. You can think of taking an honest assessment of yourself as laying down the proper soil before planting a seed and letting it be the germ of a powerful stalk. Before sprouting, a plant needs the appropriate ground. Before progressing forward, we have to know who we are and what we are currently capable of. After that, we can monitor our progress and begin to unlock a better version of ourselves. Let Motivation Ignite Your Planned Path Just as we need firm ground to stand upon in order to step forward with any significant progress, it can be helpful to have a goal in mind to run towards. To become good, we have to know what good is. Otherwise, like a man sprinting in abysmal darkness, it is possible to make little true progress forward and instead wear ourselves out while wandering aimlessly. Identifying what you are working towards is a good first step for pinning down your goal. Keep a list of martial artists who are or have performed at the level and in the ways you desire. Whether your list is composed of tournament competitors demonstrating forms or martial artists expressing visceral energy in self-defense tactics, seeing what high level skill in reality looks like is important. Sure, walk in their footsteps, but more importantly, seek what they sought. As you watch videos or train with your teacher, use what you see, hear, and feel to pave your path with a sense of purpose. We are only as good as we aspire to be. Alongside this is an audit of why you selected these resources as your motivation, your inspiration. Was it the speed they moved with? The precision of their speech and actions? The power and poise they moved with? Beyond that, why do you desire these traits? It can seem simple to just say, well, I want to get better, however the more detailed we can get with what gets us out of bed in the morning, the easier it will be to keep from crawling back into the sheets when the days get metaphorically dark, drizzly, and cold. Hold on tightly to the why which you determine, for it will be the hearth you come back home to each day. Whether it is in the form of a hectic morning, personal tragedy, or overloaded work life, hard days are a fact of life. We have to equip ourselves in a manner so as to be prepared for them if we wish to have habits that withstand them. The other half of motivation is accountability. If a mentality is to be sustained, it must be captured repeatedly. There is a scary thing we do that happens the day after the genesis of our motivation and excitement subsides: we begin to negotiate with ourselves. We tell ourselves it’s OK if we don’t follow through with what we said we were going to do, it is OK if we add one more cheat day or thirty more minutes of snoozing in bed. Do not waver. You cannot negotiate with yourself. A motivated mindset is great to have, however it is only natural that it declines over time. Rather than regress to your original problem state, use that initial spark to aim your sights and craft a plan so that discipline is easier to maintain. To stay on track, you can monitor your work and progress via weekly video, daily writing, or even simply task marks filling out a calendar. It’s all about continuing the positive momentum in life which your motivation birthed. A plan is better with accountability for it is accountability which reinforces decided action. Stay faithful to what you tell yourself you’ll do, you deserve no less commitment and respect than you would give another being. The Problem With Help I must confess. I’m in a love/hate relationship–with mirrors. But it isn’t only mirrors, mind you. I have thoughts and feelings on anything that allows you to become over reliant on external feedback, be it the visual cues of a reflection or the verbal cues of a hovering coach. While these are helpful, and I daresay important, tools for reviewing and correcting your actions, it is easy to become simply great at just following along. At some point, we have to be able to get out of our mind and become immersed in the action. This is where recording video comes in. If you have a phone, you have one of the greatest tools for building your abilities already. Simply secure it into a tripod or in the environment and hit record. When I first started teaching martial arts, I used this feature to rehearse the communication skills I would need in order to present material appropriately. In another way, it helped me prepare for competing as well. When a tournament was nearing, I would find an audio clip with background noise of a crowd, preferably of a sports stadium or similar venue, and blast it while recording my forms. This was to replicate, at least to some level, the roaring of an excited crowd and the watchful eyes of spectators and judges. When you are finished, you can review the footage to identify the small details we easily lose track of during full intensity motion. Watch for hesitation, appropriate timing, disconnect in your movements, unconscious actions and telegraphing, and overall what works well and what doesn’t in a sparring match or performance. If you have footage of yourself actually in competition, all the better. You can shift your attention to the crowd and judges to see what moments in your forms really land well for them or study how your best sparring moves get set up well. Just as we can become over reliant on mirrors and coaches, we can also become over reliant on recorded footage however. Over time, elevate your awareness to the point where you can be conscious in an action and properly feel it throughout your entire body. Feel the stretch of your fascia, the engagement of your diaphragm and pelvic floor, the intention projected by your eyes, and the sensation across your skin. Similar to a subtle breath, these things can be difficult to discern in a video. All the more reason we must combine the various feedback methods with rehearsals intent on feeling the differences we need to make. External feedback can be a great help, however the ultimate goal is to be able to recognize our mistakes and weaknesses in real time. Your actions are your responsibility, govern them appropriately. Rest easy knowing that you have all of the tools you need in order to level up your life. The first step is often the hardest, but also the one most important to take. Take control of your actions and grow your success. When you learn how to coach yourself, you will forever be able to grow as a student.