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Body kicks are the most consistently scoring technique in all of Muay Thai, yet the average hobbyist or beginner competitor struggles consistently with kicks. Kicks take up a lot of energy and many are left completely exhausted after only one round of pad work.So how can we improve our fitness and conditioning to kick for 5 consecutive rounds? Today I will take you through some simple (but gruelling) kick conditioning exercises. For Muay Thai Workout, first we begin with a warm up. Dynamic Stretches Before any kicking session it’s essential to warm up with dynamic stretches. By swinging your leg through various planes of motion, you train the muscle to stretch while in motion. This is preferable to static stretching such as the splits, as while the splits are helpful for overall flexibility, it’s not suitable for a warm up. Over doing it with static stretching will cause your muscles to fatigue and relax too much while training and open the door for injuries. Place your hands on a wall or hold the ring ropes and while facing that wall, swing your leg from left to right, rotating the swinging leg to ensure that you get the maximum amount of movement. Do this for 30 seconds then change sides. Next stand with one hand on the wall facing forwards and kick your leg as high up in the air as you can. Do this for 30 seconds and change sides. Your body/ muscles should feel more loose after doing this exercise. Glute Bridges Glute bridges are a simple but important exercise. It trains you to engage your hips and glutes in the same way you would when throwing a round kick or a knee strike. This is only a warm-up to get your body engaged, so one set of 30 should suffice. Mobility The final warm up exercise is to place your kicking leg on a waist high surface, be it a table or the top ring tope. With the support of this leg pivot on your standing leg and turn your hip over in the same way you would if you were kicking. While you kick, remember to either swing your arm back and forth for momentum or keep it out in front of you, as if obscuring an opponent’s guard. Either one is correct, and which ever one you choose is just preference. This exercise will get your body moving along the same plane as it does when you throw a kick, and helps you develop the mobility and co-ordination to turn your hip over into the round kick. Hop back and forth for thirty seconds, then change side. Speed Speed will come first for this workout, as it’s easier to train speed while fresh rather than when you’re tired. Using either a heavy bag or a very generous pad holder – you should aim to for 50 kicks each side in as short a window of time as possible. Keep a timer and see what you get! Do this for three rounds on each side. Aim to beat your time next time you do this drill. Even a second less in time is an improvement, so don’t worry if you’re slow to speed up. Power This will be the main bulk of your session. For three rounds of three minutes, you should aim to hit the bag or pads with as much force as possible on every kick. Old school Muay Thai is about having maximum power on every shot. This will be a test of endurance and cardio as each kick will progressively get weaker. There is no secret, cheat code, or mystery technique; you just need to power through and make every shot count. You also need to land at least 50 kicks in each round. This gives you time to prep in between kicks, but forces you not to take too much time off in between them. Otherwise it can become very easy to kick, then wait ten seconds and kick again. By the end of the third round, you will have thrown 150 kicks. Next weeks session you should aim for 160 kicks, and add ten kicks each session. Eventually it will become impossible to add any more, and you will have to add a fourth round. By the end of your first attempt of this workout you should have thrown in total 460 kicks. That might not sound like much, but consider that if you do this routine twice a week you’ll have thrown 3680 kicks that month. In a year you will have thrown over 44,000 kicks. As we all know, Bruce Lee said he feared the man who practised a single kick 10,000 times. In one year you’ll have practised your left and right round kick double that amount. To put this into perspective, this is only the training that you’re doing to specifically condition your body to be better at throwing kicks. It’s not including general training and sparring. The beauty of Muay Thai is it’s simplicity, and with Thai boxers training twice a day, six days a week, it’s no wonder they develop into kicking machines so very quickly. While it’s a tall order to keep up with the Thai’s – I think it’s possible if you put the work in and practise. Best of luck.

What does the cliché “they stayed too long at the party” mean to you? Everyone probably has an understanding in life of what it means to overstay their welcome. Of course there are the oblivious friends or family at holidays or gatherings who can’t seem to get the hint from the fake yawns, looks at watches, talk of early mornings, etc. That is another story and completely different training regimen than the much easier life of a Mixed Martial Artist (sarcasm intended). It is often hard for fighters and fans of MMA alike to see or be able to gauge when a fighter is far enough past their prime and clearly not in a place to be competitive. Sometimes it is very easy to tell though. Sometimes a string of losses or specific type of losses, e.g. multiple knockouts, can give more than a clue that it is time to hang up the gloves. But something strange happens in that weird limbo when it is not clear. When our favorites show flashes of their previous brilliance in a twilight fight. When everyone thinks, “They’re back!” Usually those ecstatic notions are short-lived though and a fight reminds or a fighter is reminded that MMA is an absolute beast of a mistress. She is all too happy to chew up and spit out even the very best combatants. What can be odd is the language of amateur commentators (fans) when this shift happens. The language can take hard left turns when a fighter goes from being “back” to being “done.” The fan can cheer a brilliant performance and literally moments after a shocking loss be speaking like a family-member giving an intervention. The question is, does the fan (or even pro analyst) in the sport see this in themselves? Not the fighters. It is clear that fighters are many times unable to see it. Why would we expect people who step into a cage with tiny gloves and not much else on to fight for a living to be able to know where a finish line is? Is it not strange that we can be happy to watch a fighter like Tony Ferguson get absolutely bloodied and battered for years – well, years plus one more round (the first against Michael Chandler) – and then turn into a protective parent who watches through their fingers as their kid falls off the jungle gym? From one fight to the next it is, “he is in line for a title”, or “he is always dangerous” and then “someone needs to tell him it’s over.” Who really needs to be talked to? The fighter who has always had some semblance of invincibility and addiction to greatness, or the fan that cheers when the literal physical future of a human being is being altered in prize fights for that fighter’s whole career – then feels the need to talk them off a cliff? Sometimes both of those things are said in a single evening! It is granted that how the exit from combat sports is done is at the very least tough to navigate for the fighter. You can add to the confusion stew the weird realm of social media and the endless armchair voices who think they know best. It can be a cacophony the fighter him or herself has to try and hear through in addition to their own voice to get to a good answer – an answer that seems to not come more than it does. But can we admit it is weird how many of those voices turn on a dime – from adulation to criticism? Can we see the paradoxical nature of watching our favorite fighters grind and bleed for a decade or more while we cheer and pine about their greatness, and then in a quick blink lament their downfall as they cross some invisible threshold of oblivion? A threshold that nobody every clearly defines? It is strange that fighter and fan alike embark on a journey with no clear end. Fighting is weird.

We live on a planet hurtling through space at 67,000 miles per hour to make it around our sun every 365 days, not to mention our solar system (earth and all) whirls around the center of our galaxy at some 220 kilometers per second, or 490,000 miles per hour. This alone is a very, very good reason to meditate! But that’s a lot to take in, so let’s slow this way down and begin with the basics. We can jump into the cosmos once we’ve taken some deep, grounded breaths. Meditation, like martial arts, dates back to 5,000 years before the “common era.” This places the roots of both disciplines in ancient China and India. In fact, some archeologists have linked early forms of meditation to our early hominid ancestors telling stories around the fire. Meditation contributed to the peak fitness found in our ancestral hunter and gatherers. Both martial arts and meditation require discipline, dedication, practice, willingness, and humility. These character assets are refined through many, many hours of repetition.They may have emerged from different causes and for different reasons but now, hundreds of thousands of years later, the two practices cross paths and unite more than ever before. Today, we can say the practice of martial arts is the best form of meditation. Let’s look at this diaspora of both disciplines and where the crossing points may have emerged. Why did early humans meditate? What was the purpose and what was the practice? How did our ancient ancestors know to sit quietly to “clear the mind?” The concept of “survival of the fittest” may be applied here. Just as Confucius developed stances and strikes in martial arts practice to heal. - Confucious internal organs, early humans used brain training and mindfulness meditation to help heal the sick and improve memory. This is one of the beautiful aspects of evolution: what may have been developed early on for a particular purpose (meditation for memory, martial arts for defending, both for healing the sick) has changed over time to a practice of general well-being. According to fossil records and modern-day brain research, meditation strengthens parts of the brain involved in memory. Today’s neurological studies show increased thickness in the brain around memory centers of those who meditate vs. those who do not. (Not to be confused with new studies showing the thickness in the brain due to the 5G iPhone!) Anatomy on-the-goWe often forget that the brain is an organ. This means it has glands, like the pituitary for example, and nerves, that regulate hormones and keep us alive. The heart is a muscle and an organ and supplies a giant electrical field throughout the circulatory system. The biceps and glutes are muscles. They are nice to have and help us walk and pick things up and are guided by the brain and central nervous system, which happens so fast that we can’t see it real time. Go ahead and pick up a pen. Did you tell your hand to pick it up? Are you aware of the subtle nano second nerve response from thought to action? Given this quick anatomy refresher, let’s now look at the practice of martial arts, or what I like to call moving meditation. We do not practice today to defend our kingdom (although if we look at the fighters now supporting Ukraine we can see instances where their martial arts practice helped). And how many of us sit down and say, “Ok, I want to train my brain to enhance its memory centers so I will meditate?” I think it is more common that we meditate to “calm the mind”, to “relieve stress” and to help take the nervous system out of its fight or flight sympathetic mode, into a calmer parasympathetic state- right?

Today we talk about the true tragedy of combat sports. That being the majority of fight fans have virtually no awareness of what actually goes into a match up. Audiences are accustom to one fighter winning and will say that it’s because ‘they are on another level’ or that they are ‘too good’ – and have no understanding of why a fighter is dominant or how that dominant fighter can lose. Take for example Ronda Rousey’s first loss against Holly Holm. I had rather unpleasant comments sent my way when I expressed the opinion online that Holly Holm was most likely going to beat Ronda Rousey. My reasoning was that Ronda habitually ran straight at her opponents and Holly was particularly good at lateral movement. Despite being completely correct (and we all know I was) fight fans frequently said that Rousey was a ‘bad match up for Holm’ for seemingly no reason other than she had name value and was the more popular fighter, who happened to be champion. The irony was that Holm was actually a bad match up for Rousey, and anyone who actually had a proper understanding of how styles make fights, should have been able to tell this a mile off. Another great example would be the multiple Conor McGregor losses, he is somehow the favourite to win in every fight he has, despite having very little success as a lightweight. He may have held the title, but he was gifted that shot, and went on to be 3 and 3 at lightweight (and that’s if you don’t consider his rematch with Diaz a loss). "Kelly McCann Combatives 2: Stick & Ground Combat | Buy at $59.99" The reason for this fight illiteracy comes from one major source. Fans do not know how to break down fights. It’s not even a matter of being trained, as professional fighters frequently make baffling predictions and statements that make you wonder what their training is really for. Watching a fight is a skill in of itself, and someone who dedicates time to actually watching how two fighters come together will have much greater success at predicting future bouts. So how do you watch and break down a fight? Step ONE: Watch the Middle It’s very easy to fall into the trap of watching the fighter you’re most interested in seeing. Doing this means you only really notice what that one fighter is doing, and unless they are on the receiving end of a one sided beating, you will likely assume they’re getting the better of most exchanges. Instead you should be watching ‘no man’s land’. The space between two fighters. By studying no man’s land you can see every attack and forward step both fighters make. This helps you better identify who is getting the better of exchanges, and also typically who is the aggressor stepping into that space more often. Step TWO: Look for Patterns and How they are Broken? All fighters have signature moves. Frankie Edgar likes to step in with quick one-two’s and exit. When you notice a fighter repeating the same technique throughout a fight, you’re seeing a pattern emerge. That pattern, when established by a good fighter, only exists to be broken. So if you see a fighter stepping in for a 1, 2, repeatedly, you should be ready for them to step in, and then change up that pattern. For example, they might throw a 1, 1, 2, catching the opponent off guard. When you see how the patterns are broken you can better understand the relationship between the two fighters competing. Once that pattern is broken, you should be paying attention to see if the opponent is able to adjust to the new pattern that is being established in time – or if they continue to be tripped up. Sifu Harinder Singh JKD for Black Belt Attack Strategies. Buy at $97.99 Step THREE: Look for Habits This is the other side of the coin. You should also be looking for habits that fighters have. This can come in the form of particular patterns they always make use of, or it could be a quirk in their technique. For example, Conor McGregor, though known for his left hand, always leans too far forward on it. This is a habit that’s so firmly rooted in his muscle memory that even training professional boxing couldn’t get him out of it. That forward lean was exploited by every fighter that beat him, from Nate Diaz and Khabib out jabbing him as he over committed, to Poirier outright countering it with heavy shots. Another example would be Rumble Johnson, who (save for one eye injury) was exclusively beaten via rear naked choke. Because while he was powerful, he had a tendency to give his back – meaning that every time he was beaten it came from the same habitual mistakes. Habits aren’t necessarily bad things, but they’re always exploitable things. If you know how a fighter likes to attack, even if they have success with it, you will know how to exploit it. So someone watching at home can make an educated guess on how a fighter will exploit another’s habits, based on their own tendencies. Step FOUR: Look for Feints I was once talking about McGregor’s statement that timing beats speed, every time. It’s a statement I agree with – and a friend of mine said that I should watch Amir Khan vs Devon Alexander, to see speed beat timing. His reasoning was that Devon Alexander had great counters but Amir Khan’s hands were simply too fast for him to counter. I replied that I didn’t even need to see the fight to know that wasn’t true, as while Amir Khan is fast, he’s not The Flash. I said that Amir Khan was almost certainly feinting and catching his opponent off guard. When I actually watched the fight, this was of course, exactly what he did. Feints are the part of fighting that casual will over-look the most, which is funny because they are the reason the greatest fighters have so much success. A good place to start looking for feints is to simply watch Israel Adesanya, who feints for entire rounds to set up his attacks. These are just some beginner steps, but the sooner more people start watching and breaking down fights, the sooner we can have better discussions about the sport we love so much. The quest to end fight illiteracy starts now.

Growing up, did you often hear that you’ll grow up to be like the people you surround yourself with? That advice is something that is stuck in between the ears of many of us and yet, it has more depth than many at first notice. First, yes – it is important to bear in mind the company we keep. If we surround ourselves with high quality people, we often unconsciously elevate ourselves to the same level of excellence. Of course, the unfortunate opposite can be true if we carry the company of lazy and sloven folks. Here’s where it gets tricky however. We don’t just assimilate to the people we hang out with on the weekends. We assimilate to our environment – the media we consume, the thoughts and words we entertain, and the places we frequent. To send our improvements into hyperdrive, we have to take stock of what we are unconsciously digesting and ensure it is high quality and aligned with what we desire. With that being said, it can be so hard to find the gorgeous treasure of helpful information when there is so much to sift through out there in the wide world. Breathe. Wipe the worried sweat off of your forehead. I’ve got your back! Listed below our five written resources you can delve into to kickstart the elevation of your environment. Sword and Brush by Dave Lowry This book is something of a modern classic – the type of book I would recommend for every martial artist, regardless of where their style originated. The book starts off by covering the mentality of what makes an art, the history of both the blade and the calligraphic art, the evolution of the poetic mentality in Japan, and the cultural backdrop of feudal Japan. Following the introduction, the book dives into forty-two Japanese concepts, each chapter consisting of one to three pages. Despite the short length of the book, you can tell that each concept was well researched and understood. Even the most complex concepts, the ones which easily could have had a whole book dedicated to them, felt as if they were an appropriate size. Each page’s prose is amazingly concise and no chapter feels rushed. Each chapter cuts right to the heart of the matter, wasting no words to give you a crash course into the creation and purpose of the character. Every chapter is headlined by the Kanji character(s) for the martial art concept, illustrated in both the sōsho style (the artistic and quick drawn “cursive” writing style) and kaisho style (the modern style of writing that is standard nowadays). Following the calligraphic art, the book delves into the philosophical, cultural, and historical roots of each martial art concept. Despite the book’s usage of Japanese terminology and intention to relate primarily to Japanese arts, a good martial artist will be able to easily find the relation of each lesson to other culture’s arts. The book often goes beyond the literal translation, delving much deeper instead into the picture the character is trying to impart on your mind. Sometimes the chapter will simply be a descriptive read on the radicals comprising the characters. Sometimes it is something more, however, such as a parable about a master teaching a senior student how to help his younger classmate gain more benefit from his training. The bite-sized chapters make for an excellent morning meditative read, a five-minute session that will give you something to ponder for the remainder of the day. Refining Jin by Philip Starr It is an absolute delight to see quality instruction on the internal martial arts written for the public. Author Phillip Starr has an engaging style of writing that communicates his high level of knowledge in a fun manner. Few people attempt to write professionally on the details mentioned in Refining Jin and fewer still can do it successfully. Refining Jin takes the smart approach to imparting skills; Phillip Starr gives you a few basic movements and builds on them each chapter. This method allows for tacking on many details of how to move your body without seeming overwhelming. Refining Jin finishes by showing common places within the three popular Neijia where you can apply the ideas mentioned. That’s not to say that you can’t apply these ideas in any other martial art styles however. Act like a scientist and explore your style. After reading the book, I’m sure you will be able to look back at your martial art and find places to incorporate what was written. Research of Martial Arts by Jonathan Bluestein Jonathan Bluestein’s Research of Martial Arts is an impressive compendium of martial arts theory, discussion, and overall knowledge. The beginning of the book states that everything written between the covers has meaning. After finishing my first read-through, I have to concur—the prose of each chapter feels very purposeful and guides you into thinking deeper about its contents. The amount of heart stuffed inside the large book is enormous! Jonathan Bluestein’s Research of Martial Arts presents many different approaches the various arts take to applications and training and treats them all fairly. While you can tell he has preferences and deeply enjoys the Eastern Internal arts, you can also tell he doesn’t disregard an idea simply because it is occidental or External. Case and point, at times you can read a passage about Taiji principles and theory and the next passage can point you towards studying the works of security specialists such as Gavin de Becker. The contents of Research of Martial Arts are akin to something you may hear in a personal session with a modern master, the type of info rarely found in published works. Philosophy of Fighting by Keith Vargo Keith Vargo’s Philosophy of Fighting is a very unique treasure to add to the book collection. The book itself is a compilation of the many “Way of the Warrior” columns Vargo has written for Black Belt Magazine. Topics range from psychoanalysis of the warrior ideal, Hindu epics, Balintawak history, no-holds-bared fighting tournaments, and much more. Even as a short read with fewer than three hundred pages, there is plenty of information to indulge in. As should be expected from a compilation of magazine columns, readers get a deep dive into the author’s unadulterated mind. This makes for a very engaging read. Transforming the written words on the page into something akin to a conversation between two martial art classmates. When you read the author’s words, you realize something extremely important; he is a passionate and appreciative martial artist quite like you. Even if you don’t have the same interest in sport combat that Vargo has, his passion is infectious, pulling you into the pages regardless. Beyond that, the depth of which he examines everything brings to light many ideas all martial artists can benefit from hearing. Ninja Fighting Techniques by Stephen K. Hayes Simply said, this is a book dedicated to understanding yourself and, by that introspective glimpse, understanding those around you. This is to know the conflicting and complementary aspects of who you are so that you can better communicate with those around you. These tips apply whether you perceive the person in front of you as your enemy or your ally. Ninja Fighting Techniques segments into three pieces. The first segment gives you a brief overview of what to expect as you delve deeper into the book. The two chapters that compose it give readers a glimpse into the principles the book founds itself on: being a positive warrior who can protect that which is truly important, the Japanese view on the Classical Elements and their connected differences, and the many ugly faces violence and aggression can take. The second segment contains chapters for each of the five elements in Japanese philosophy as well as their corresponding tactics. The five classical elements in Japan, known as the Godai, are recognized as Earth (地 Chi), Water (水 Sui), Fire (火 Ka), Wind (風 Fu), and Void (空 Ku). Author Stephen K. Hayes takes each of these elements and puts them on full display for the reader. The elements show in emotions, tactics and interactions, attitudes, and even postures and movements. The applications of the Godai extend from daily living to a life-or-death struggle. The third segment is dedicated to the overall protection against violence and human ugliness. While the preceding segments focused on cultivating the ninja mentality and how to utilize it best, the final segment focuses on how to maintain and keep that noble spirit alive. This is a book on how to live a better, healthier, and safer life by following the principles of Japanese philosophy and ninja ideas. ~There you have it. Five must-reads for every martial artist. It is said that a good book can transform decades into days, funneling the ideas accumulated by others over a long period of time into your brain with the flip of a page. Are you ready to seriously upgrade? Time to open up a book and transform your world!

In my previous gym, one of my absolute favorite courses were the womens-only classes. Not only did I have a regular group of intelligent, accomplished, and kind students - but I truly felt I was helping those who needed it. Every woman had either been attacked or knew someone who had. I couldn’t protect them myself, so it was my mission to arm them with the necessary Krav Maga skills. One of my foundational rules in Krav Maga training is that it must be as close to reality as safety allows. When I teach attacks like chokes or bear hugs, I insist that training partners start slowly, so that they can learn the defense. As they become more familiar, I insist that the challenger (partner playing the role of the attacker) live up to their title by steadily increasing the pressure on the defender. After all, an attacker choking you won’t stop and stand still because you broke the choke. They will go in for a second attack. This means reacting more and more like a real attacker and not cooperating. For example, if I grab someone in a bear-hug, I make it dynamic. I will lift them up or attempt to take them to the ground like a real attacker, instead of standing there like a scarecrow. If I am sitting in mount on an opponent, I won’t let them buck me off easily. My personal favorite is that if a student turns their back to an opponent during a drill (and has trained enough to be able to handle it) I will execute a quick rear-naked choke before immediately letting go, to give them a cue of what an actual attacker will do. Making it too easy for the defender is unrealistic training, which builds no skills, only false confidence, and an inability to actually use those skills if they are actually needed. This is not always easy, as it means leaving the comfort zone and struggling against stronger opponents to progress in skill level. Many times, I’ve noticed that a major struggle many of my female students face is a fear of working with male partners. They work hard to only partner with other women. Many prefer women-only self-defense classes and female teachers where they feel safer. When I ask them why, they tell me that they want to train safely, and training with men feels above their level. I understand their concerns, but I really agree with the advice Krav Maga instructor Avivit Cohen gives to her female students. “If they really want to progress and feel realistic training they have to train with men. Men are stronger, more aggressive, and will push you to your limits. There is no shortcut here, it's a must. I didn’t get to where I am today while training only with female training partners.” The reality is that for women, an attacker is statistically far more likely to be a man. Therefore, the most realistic way to train is with a man, so they can prepare their techniques against the pressure, as well as overcome any fear. However, what if they are too scared to work with a male student? How do we as self-defense teachers help them transition to a higher level of training? I accept that many women will want to start out in a female-only environment, and I actually think it’s a good choice. If that’s helpful to them to begin the self-defense journey, I’m glad those classes are offered. I also know this is a deeply emotional and triggering experience. Being grabbed and attacked is terrifying and I’ve seen so many students break down in tears, reliving the trauma. They may feel safer doing that among their peers, and I wouldn’t want to intrude on the process. However, at a certain point, the training does reach a plateau if women don’t get to train with men. In order to have effective training, we must make the training more realistic and even the strongest women don’t normally elicit the same fear reaction as a regular man. I think a great compromise for female self-defense instructors is to invite male instructors to serve as guest instructors a few times a month. This is especially important in ground combat, as I can understand this can be a deeply triggering exercise that requires a safe environment. This allows for a hybrid model, where pressure can be raised by a trained professional who had experience working with students and can adjust to their level.This allows them to at minimum pressure test their skills properly and hopefully help some transition to work with other men on a regular basis. I have seen so many times female students practicing with each other and feeling confident, only to have me play the role of challenger and see them freeze up at my touch. I understand that fear isn’t a compliment or a testimony to my talent. It’s the result of the fact that violence against women is done primarily by men. The fear I see in their eyes is a stark reminder of the impotence of the work self-defense instructors do. I wish I had another solution. It is not an easy process. This process should be a slow and incremental one, always one inch outside the comfort zone. Instructors should be vigilant to make sure their students aren’t being pushed too far and to know when it’s time to take a break. Good communication and patience are key here. I also highly recommend that students see therapists and mental health counselors help them as well. However, if you push through it, the results are incredible. One of my favorite moments in teaching is watching a student do their first buck-and-roll and realize that they are capable of getting a mounted opponent off them. A light sparks in their eyes as they suddenly seem so much more confident. As terrifying as the process of getting them into mount was, showing them that they aren’t helpless is the best feeling imaginable. Students of mine who have been through trauma have said that the hardest thing for them is reliving the helplessness of the experience. Now, when they remember the incident, they focus on how they could possibly prevent it in the future. No, the odds will never truly be fair, but that doesn’t mean we can give up. We must find ways to challenge students so they will be prepared for whatever life throws at them.

You work hard during every training session. Whether practicing katas, techniques or freestyle sparring, your physical efforts are an outward attempt to maximize your combative abilities. But have you taken a moment before class to really analyze the goals you wish to accomplish on that particular day? You are obviously practicing and building your skills. However, allow me just a moment to suggest you consider whether your training is dedicated to your overall growth or simply your survival for the workout session. What am in driving at with this question? I train in multiple Marital Arts disciplines. During a recent BJJ class, this question flashed into my mind while struggling with all my might to avoid being choked out by a superior grappler. With only a couple of years of BJJ training under my belt, I am a relative novice in the grappling arts. I find that I frequently revert to survival mode when up against a training partner on the mat with considerably more experience. The goal becomes making it through the round without tapping. Surviving the round is important but surviving the round “at all costs” stunts the opportunity for growth. Clinging to our old tried and true techniques that enable us to survive is not exclusive to rolling. It’s also something we tend to do in stand-up striking as well. We know what has worked for us in the past, which is why we lean on it like a comfortable old cane that is always there for us. In doing so, we may survive the session. However, allow me to suggest that it is this practice of simple survival during training that keeps us from growing. Why do we do this? Well, the desire to survive is innate and it makes sense to cling to what works. But, in a training situation we intellectually know that we will “survive,” so what is really holding us back? I believe a big part of what’s halting our growth is our ego. The desire to maintain our self-esteem or self-importance forces us to cling to hanging on for dear life in training rather than taking a chance on a less than perfect technique that’s sitting on the shelf in our arsenal collecting dust. It is the practice of these alternative techniques we must employ to ultimately grow. Again, this isn’t limited to any particular Martial Arts discipline. However, it becomes increasingly apparent in a pressure cooker like situation. For example, when performing techniques in a controlled manner where our training partner allows us to practice without threat of retribution, we can build a skill and glide through it efficiently. But when we are in the high-pressure circumstances of a live roll or sparring session, we clam up and are unable to draw upon the technique. There are of course practical and technical considerations that may hold us back. But it is at this point, when we must force our ego’s firm grip to let go and simply go for it. Training is meant to challenge us and at the same time give us the freedom to try new things. This is the time to apply the lessons learned during the technical moments in class. I’m not suggesting that I am a master of letting go of my ego and always going with the flow. However, I can relay that many of the most significant advancements I make in any of my training sessions come when I let go of trying to win and instead work to grow . Ultimately, isn’t this what our Martial Arts training is about anyway? Before your next session, I challenge you to ask yourself if you are training merely to survive the class or training to grow as a Martial Artist? Whatever happens on the mats, when we put our ego aside and train for growth we ultimately win. Salute, Ian Lauer

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” This well-known quote by Bruce Lee is as true for the grappling arts as it is for the striking arts. While learning cool throws and exotic submissions is great, drilling down to master every nuance and application of one particular technique is powerful. Each of the latest books by grappling coach extraordinaire Steve Scott — The Juji Gatame Encyclopedia and The Triangle Hold Encyclopedia — is dedicated to just one technique. Recently, I spoke with Steve Scott, who has an eighth degree in judo and a seventh degree in shingitai jujitsu, about his books, his videos and his dedication to being an outstanding instructor and coach for so many years. Focusing on One Thing Flipping through most martial arts books, one is usually struck by the sheer number of techniques being taught. Steve Scott questioned why there needs to be more than one item on the menu. “There are a lot of good books and a lot of good videos out there — good information — but they will give you just a bit of a glance at a subject,” he said. “Just a bit of a look.” He chose to focus on specific subjects. Since there is only one topic in each of his books, the subject matter is very organized, and the subtleties of the versions of the techniques are carefully explained to show the distinctions. Steve Scott explained his method for showing set-ups and variations: “It’s not just the shotgun approach — here’s this, here’s that. We tried to give it some system of basis so you could study it more effectively.” The text, while full of detailed information and tips, also provides plenty of gems of practical advice on the psychology of combat that Steve Scott acquired during his years of training, such as this one from The Juji Gatame Encyclopedia: “People sometimes say that they will ‘rise to the occasion’ under a stressful situation. That’s not true. You rise to your level of training. The better you prepare in your training, the better you will do under stress.” Grappling on YouTube While books are great, especially for reference, with our screen-centric culture, videos are something that students often seek out to see how things are done. This is precisely why Steve Scott has not just one but two YouTube channels: JBBA Judo Education Channel and Welcomematstevescott. They are filled with hundreds of free videos covering just about every aspect of grappling from standing to the ground. “The videos have been the main focus lately,” he said. “And that’s what they’re going to be probably for this next year.” With content varying in length from seconds to several minutes, the material suits the needs of dedicated students as well as those who are just grappling-curious. If you want to catch Steve Scott in person, head to the JudoCon, which will take place in Olathe, Kansas, on August 6-7, 2022. The JudoCon will feature speakers and coaches including Patrick Burris (ninth degree, two-time Olympian and Olympic team coach) and AnnMaria De Mars, Ph.D. (seventh degree, world judo champion). After years of teaching and coaching, why does Steve Scott still do it? “I love seeing my guys stand on the podium,” he said. “Getting that gold medal, that’s great. Silver, bronze, whatever it is. But to get there, I love that just as much, the process of getting them there.” Steve Scott’s overarching commitment to teaching is exceptional whether in person, on the page or on the screen. His mission is to help students understand. “If we can be a positive approach, a positive addition to the world of martial arts, then I guess I’ve done my job.”

Good strikers know that having good power means having optimal posture and structural alignment in the middle of striking and that feinting or baiting poor alignment in your opponent can steal his or her power. The wise combatant trains assiduously for structural perfection whether in motion or stock-still. Nothing I’ve said so far should foster disagreement. Veteran martial artists, please stay with me a wee bit longer as I outline a thought experiment that easily can be taken to the real world. The preceding may be obvious, but even obvious hypotheses should be put to the test to ensure that what’s obvious is also true, as more often than we realize, obvious is sometimes just legend, dogma or simply familiar “truths.” OVERHEAD “LOCKOUT” TEST: For this hypothesis test, you’ll require a partner and a barbell. Load the bar with approximately one-third the body weight of the partner. Have the partner clean-and-press it almost to the locked-out position overhead.(By the way, make sure your partner doesn’t lock it out. Keep a quarter of an inch of muscle cushioning or “play” between the position and true skeletal lockout. The old-timers were scrupulous about this. Why? Ask anyone with arthritis in the knees, elbows, hips, etc.)Once the weight is comfortably controlled overhead, stand behind your partner and slowly use the finger of one hand to push on the right side of the person’s head. Do so until he or she says, “Stop.” If you’re using bumper plates and/or have a safe drop zone, you can go harder and the partner can pitch the weight forward to escape. Taking the head out of spinal alignment, even in slow motion, alters the body’s structural integrity and reduces the person’s ability to perform the lockout to full strength. You can repeat the single-finger push on the left side of the head, or you can push on the back of the head to move it forward or even push on the forehead so the chin is raised. All will result in reduced stability and reduced ability to handle the locked load. If you were to skip being gentle and shove the head, the drop would be exceptionally dramatic — and dangerous. This experiment demonstrates that strength is more than a function of muscles, tendons and ligaments; it’s also a function of alignment. The lockout proves the ability to handle and control a given load, and the shove proves that alignment plays a large part in what we do in most acts — from locking out a weight to sitting in a chair. The single finger did nothing to alter the strength of the muscle; it merely altered a corresponding vital factor. APPLICATIONS IN COMBAT: A good grappler mitigates the power of the person he or she desires to crush by altering alignment in the same way you just “stole strength” in the lockout test. You use a deliberately placed elbow pry to steal resistance to the top wrist lock, you alter the orientation of the radius and ulna to “eat” the strength of the arm that’s stronger than yours, you pronate the foot to make locking the powerful leg a literal snap and so on. Submissions are more than cool moves. When performed scientifically, they are exercises in destructive structural alignment. In striking, particularly for the old-timers and those who desire to save their fists on the street, the incessant probes to the head are less about the intent to connect bone on bone than to inspire head movement that steals power from the opponent’s strikes and opens the way to soft targets.(It is for this very reason that “head movement” in the striking arts is a misnomer. It is actually upper-body movement with the head acting as a structurally locked section of the spinal column. Head movement steals only power and balance, whereas upper-body movement that takes the head with it, well, now you’re talking!) ALLOW ME TO REPEAT The title of today’s topic: “Combat Conditioning: Are You Training for Weakness?” I’m not asking if you’re practicing your combat tactics correctly; I will assume that you are. I am asking if your conditioning is weakening those tactics. Keeping in mind all I’ve discussed regarding the value of alignment, peruse the following questions:• Do you dip your head while doing push-ups, particularly those last few painful ones you squeeze out?• Do you tug your head forward on sit-ups, crunches or SEAL-style flutter kicks?• Do you lean that head side to side while cranking out reps on those heavy hammer curls?• Do you lift your chin on pull-ups?• Do you allow your head to sag on the down portion of burpees?• In short, do you break head-neck alignment while performing any conditioning drills? Likely the Special Forces dictum “How you train is how you will fight” is at the forefront of your mind more often than not, and if it’s not, it ought to be. Often, though, you might get a bit slippery about being scrupulous with your mechanics when what you do doesn’t resemble the fight itself. That’s unfortunate because you presumably are engaging in combat conditioning to better your fight game and your survival chances, and if you choose to steal your own power while you train, what exactly do you think will happen under combat stressors when you require all that sought-after power? How you train is how you will fight. Old-school boxers, wrestlers and combination fighters all stressed proper alignment and scrupulous head positioning. There were precious few exercises in which they permitted the altering of head position, rare circumstances in which it increased power. Follow in their footsteps. Remember that wise martial artists seek to steal power and alignment from their opponents and preserve their own power or increase it, even in endeavors that in no way resemble a fight. Those stress-under-load moments you encounter and the minor corrections you make to reduce their impact can spell large differences in your manifestation of power. Mark Hatmaker’s website is extremeselfprotection.com .

But Peacock has an enduring love for nature and a strong connection with it. After the war, he realized that he needed to get closer to nature to heal. He started going on life-changing solo adventures in the most remote areas of the United States. He believed that the wilderness possesses an intrinsic trait that could restore his belief in himself and, possibly, in humanity. It became his remedy for his broken soul. It enabled him to find a way to hit his reset button in an effort to center himself and deal with the complexities of life. In the spring of 2021, I desperately needed to find my martial arts reset button, get my martial arts motivation. Like most people, I knew that COVID-19 was having a detrimental effect on my life. My mental and physical health had waned, and I became impatient that my “normal” wasn’t returning quickly enough. One noticeable change was my enthusiasm for practicing my forms. It became arduous to work through them, and it felt like a chore, not a passion. Like Peacock, I needed a way to get over this obstacle and revitalize my enthusiasm. I decided to take a reflective sojourn, a short journey designed to help me restore focus and foster relaxation. However, my sojourn would take on a slightly different perspective: It would revolve around revitalizing my martial arts. I choose Estes Park, Colorado, to serve as my residence for three and a half days. Located 90 miles from my hometown, Estes Park sits outside the breathtaking Rocky Mountain National Park. Mountains soar to 14,000 feet, and the 360-degree vistas overload the visual senses. The YMCA of the Rockies would be my abode there. Initially, I wanted to stay in a tent, but the weather in April is unpredictable in the Rockies, so I opted for a bit of climate-controlled comfort. Purposefully, I chose a meager room with a bed, a small table, two chairs, a bathroom and no television. The room resembled a bachelor hovel devoid of individuality and charm. It was perfect. We’ve become a society dependent on electronics. Gazing into our phones, computers and televisions has numbed us. I wanted my senses to come alive again and dance exuberantly with interest. Distractions had to be minimal. My days needed to be full and exhausting so I wouldn’t be tempted to check in with the world. My days started at 6:30 a.m. with a brisk hike on the trails. The bite of snow was hanging in the air, a constant reminder of how quickly nature could flex her muscles on the unsuspecting. After each hike, I stretched and proceeded to practice my forms. The morning sessions were devoted to my color-belt forms, and the afternoons were for black-belt forms. I did each one three times: at half speed, with maximum tension and at full speed. If I struggled, I would focus on the specific problem, breaking down that section of the form and practicing the pieces to exhaustion. Much of what we do in life is dictated by the hands of a clock. I vowed not to fall victim to this societal constraint; instead, I practiced until I was content that I had solved the problem. My days were also filled with meditation, journaling, reading and writing. Moreover, the YMCA of the Rockies has a swimming pool, where I could supplement my workouts. I ran through my forms — as well as my kicks, punches and blocks — in the water. It garnered some bizarre glances, some laughs from children and a few fingers pointing with curiosity. Some people approached and asked what I was doing. Once I explained that I was practicing martial arts, the adults weren’t so wary of letting their kids get close to the “strange man in the pool.” A few of the children worked out with me, awkwardly mimicking my moves while standing on their tiptoes in the deep water. It made me miss my family and reminded me of the aim of my sojourn. On my final night, I was restless and couldn’t sleep. Around 2:30 a.m., I rolled out of bed, got dressed and went outside. I walked until the parking-lot lights were behind me, at which point I was in complete darkness and solitude. Being surrounded by pine trees and aspens made me feel small and insignificant. The sky was filled with bright stars with a hint of dark indigo. A slice of the moon added a trace of light that filtered through the trees. The only noise came from coyotes wailing in the distance — and my heavy heartbeat. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and started my favorite form. As my foot softly landed to the left, I could feel the crunch of the frozen grass underneath. The smell of the forest and the light breeze striking my face invigorated me. My senses were elevated, and I was in a state of absolute single-mindedness. Being alone and vulnerable awakened something primal. I felt alive. At the end of my sojourn, I noticed that my focus, attitude and vigor with respect to my forms had changed for the better. It was refreshing to be taken out of my comfort zone and do something so different. As with most endeavours in life, the anticipation is more daunting than the event itself, which proved quite manageable, even enjoyable. If you feel like your martial arts practice needs a reset, I encourage you to consider taking a reflective sojourn. Yours can be completely different from mine. For instance, you might go to a spa or hotel, stay overnight in the dojo, take a road trip with workout stops or go on a backpacking adventure. The options are unlimited; it just takes some creativity and initiative on your part. The most important aspect is finding a sojourn that works for you. As Doug Peacock stated, “Sometimes you have to get out to get back in.” He was profoundly correct.

You don’t have to spend much time on social media before you stumble across videos of people performing martial arts techniques, specifically their interpretations of kenpo. The demos are frequently done with poor form and lacking intent, and sometimes they are completely unrecognizable. When these exhibitions pop up online, it doesn’t take long for the negative comments to roll in. At times, the quips are warranted. Other times, not so much. For today’s purposes, let’s focus on properly executed kenpo techniques with solid stances, power, focused intention and superb control. The first and most common judgment posted in the comment section is, “It would never happen that way.” In fairness to the trolls, they are speaking the truth. For the techniques to work as written, everything from strike impact to reaction to terrain would have to play out perfectly. There is no way all the variables will transpire in real life as practiced in the dojo using techniques that are longer than just a few actions. So why do we even bother practicing techniques? Techniques are tools to teach movement and not necessarily a ready-made prescription to handle every threat. For example, the kenpo technique known as “five swords” is not guaranteed to work against a big righthand haymaker. It does, however, show us how to move in and stifle an attack. It teaches taking the foundation away from an adversary with a leg check. It opens our eyes to the principle of rebounding as a means of creating of velocity and power in our strikes. Five swords also shares insight into creating force through simple footwork and stance changes. These mini-lessons are packed into this kenpo technique. In fact, similar lessons are hidden in each of the 154 techniques and their extensions. It’s up to us as martial artists to uncover the lessons and assimilate them into our understanding of movement. So how do we find these lessons and make them part of us? This is where the three phases of training in kenpo come into play. Phase 1 This is known as the “ideal phase.” During ideal-phase technique training, we move with intent while working to perfect our stances and movements. We focus on this because our actions will degrade from the ideal when we’re pressured in a real-life situation. If we practice sloppily in the ideal phase, what happens in real life will be even worse and likely ineffective. And that’s, well, not ideal. Phase 2 Next, we step into the “what-if” phase. It is here that we literally ask ourselves, “What if?” to prepare for the unexpected. If the attacker responds with something other than a typical ideal-phase reaction, what do we do? This is where our imagination and problem-solving skills are tested at “thinking speed.” I refer to this as thinking speed because we take the time to literally think our way and problem-solve as we work through possible solutions to an attacker’s reactions. During the what-if phase, we continue to train our subconscious to deal with anything that may come at us in real life by formulating responses intellectually. Phase 3 The final phase is the “formulation phase.” In it, we generate physical responses to non-predetermined actions. If we wish, we can practice these responses at different speeds — although it’s a good idea to practice a good percentage of the time at close to real-life speed. This is where we start to see which pieces of our kenpo training have taken hold and are readily available for our bodies to call on when needed. When our bodies produce an effective spontaneous reaction to any attack that comes at us in the formulation phase, we are truly enjoying the fruits of our labor in the ideal phase and the what-if phase. Final Thought The more effort we put into practicing our ideal-phase techniques with power and precision and the more intelligently we work through questions in the what-if phase, the greater the chance that when we’re forced into the formulation phase in real life, our bodies will respond in an effective manner.

The first time I heard of Sun Tzu and his classic treatise The Art of War was in the hit movie Wall Street (1987), which perfectly encapsulated the 1980s. Michael Douglas, as Gordon Gekko, quoted Sun Tzu often throughout the film. At the time, it was in vogue to equate business with war. CEOs and executives were reading ancient books on strategy and trying to use martial arts tactics for corporate takeovers and market domination. It shouldn’t be forgotten, though, that The Art of War is a book of strategy regarding war specifically, and even though its lessons can be applied to other subjects, it is first and foremost instruction for winning a conflict — and that is why you should read it. “All warfare is deception.” — The Art of War, Sun Tzu The concept that all war is deception is one every martial artist should take to heart because it has so many applications. Here are three ways you can implement this bit of wisdom in your training: Don’t telegraph your strikes or intentions. Fake high and go low; fake low and go high. Use facial expressions to hide your true feelings. In other words, develop a “poker face.” There are endless applications of the notion that you can cloak your attacks by never letting them be known. The strategic use of purposeful deception is a powerful tool. “Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” — The Art of War, Sun Tzu This maxim advises readers to see their opponents and themselves honestly. In a world of photo filters and exaggerated claims on social media, knowing others and oneself is virtually alien, and it may require some extra effort to achieve an honest assessment. Here are some things you can do: Know your enemy Replace the word “enemy” with “opponent” and learn about the people you train with in your martial arts school. What are their favorite techniques? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Is a tournament coming up? Are there any past matches you can study on YouTube to know how your potential opponent(s) might attack? Know yourself Make a list of what you are bad at doing and practice those things. Are your punches too slow Do you need to improve your application of that submission you know but never practice? Get to work. What are your weaknesses? Procrastination? Fear? Stop making excuses. Write them down and eliminate them. Meditate. It doesn’t have to be for more than a few minutes, and it will do wonders when you can see yourself from within with no external interference. The ideas and concepts presented in The Art of War have endured through the ages because they are useful and they are sound. Whether you practice karate, kung fu, jiu-jitsu or anything else, you will benefit from reading The Art of War . So train hard, practice your techniques with intention and stream the movie Wall Street as you pick out pearls of wisdom from the master.