I felt very honoured to be asked to teach the technique section at the 2nd South West and Wales 40+ BJJ Open Mat this weekend at Bristol Dojo. It's a group set up by a couple of older BJJ players who just want to organise some get-togethers for people to train BJJ in an open … Continue reading I had a great time teaching at the 40+ BJJ Open Mat, South West and Wales, September 2023
Injury
How I popped my SI joint back in, using baduanjin
A couple of months ago I put my Sacroiliac joint out doing Jiujitsu. Typical symptoms are pain walking, standing in one spot and generally everything involving being alive. I didn’t know it was out initially so carried on training for a couple of days, but the pain steadily increased until I sought help from a … Continue reading How I popped my SI joint back in, using baduanjin
Stephan Kesting on the martial arts life
In the latest episode of the Tai Chi Notebook podcast I’m talking to the man, the legend, that is Stephan Kesting. Stephan has taught thousands of people martial arts through his famous website grapplarts.com which, back in the day, was one of the first sites to put out quality Brazilian jiujitsu instructional material and is … Continue reading Stephan Kesting on the martial arts life
Pressure point striking is back!
Dim mak, pressure points, high kicks and nerve strikes! Along with permed hair, styled into a mullet, and blue jeans, these were part of the staple diet of kung fu magazines in the 1980s and 1990s. But pressure point striking quickly became something of a running joke once people found out that it couldn’t be … Continue reading Pressure point striking is back!
The best martial arts instructionals you’ve never seen
Photo by Nafis Abman on Pexels.com Regardless of what style of martial art you do, there are some things that are common to "the fight" that anybody who is doing martial arts should learn. Most people in the internal martial arts (Tai Chi people, I'm mainly looking at you) are obsessed with body dynamics, mechanics … Continue reading The best martial arts instructionals you’ve never seen
All’s Well that Ends Well
So, the NHS came to my rescue and after the previous two cancellations and phoned me up a couple of days ago to offer me the operation the next day on short notice. I went for it and this time it actually happened! I went in at 11 and it was still touch and go … Continue reading All’s Well that Ends Well
The NHS is broken – part 2. One thing that should change.
Lots of great reactions to my post yesterday about my experiences with the NHS. I contacted a nurse who works at the BRI, but will remain anonymous, and got them to read it. They were just as nice as all the staff I've talked to before, and very sorry about my situation. It was interesting … Continue reading The NHS is broken – part 2. One thing that should change.
The NHS is broken, and so am I
Just before Christmas, I accidentally clashed heads with somebody while doing sports so hard that I broke the orbital bone underneath my right eye. This is called a “blowout fracture”. He effectively headbutted my eye. Yes, it hurt. A lot. And bled from my nose. I didn’t know anything was broken at the time, I … Continue reading The NHS is broken, and so am I
The Tai Chi Notebook 