Photo by Artem Podrez on Pexels.com We often label other martial arts groups as a cult, and laugh at their silly behaviour and rituals, but at the same time we are a bit blind to the cult-like aspects to the things we do, because that’s ‘normal’ to us. I went to a different BJJ school … Continue reading Don’t be that guy – Blind spots, martial arts and cult-like rituals
Self defence
Choke theory
N.B. This does NOT look like a very well applied choke at all, but it's the only free photo I could find! (Photo by Kampus Production on Pexels.com) Disclaimer: Please only take medical advice from a qualified doctor. I am not a qualified doctor! One of the things I find quite astonishing amongst 'martial artists' … Continue reading Choke theory
Episode 19: Salvatore Pace on the evolution of Brazilian Jiujitsu
Salvatore Pace, or Salvo for short is a 3rd degree black belt in Brazilian Jiujitsu and owner of Gracie Barra Bath, the Head Quarters of Gracie Barra in the South West of the UK, Gracie Barra West Wilts and co-owner of Gracie Barra Gillingham. He is a two time NAGA European Champion and Grappler's Quest … Continue reading Episode 19: Salvatore Pace on the evolution of Brazilian Jiujitsu
Podcast Ep 4: Discover the link between martial arts and Shamanism with Damon Smith
What is Shamanism? And how does it relate to martial arts? In this episode I catch up with my old, friend and teacher Damon Smith to answer some of these questions. Damon is an incredibly experienced martial artist with a background in various Japanese and Chinese arts including Karate, Kempo, Xing Yi, Baji and Choy … Continue reading Podcast Ep 4: Discover the link between martial arts and Shamanism with Damon Smith
The current state of martial arts, with Dan Hardy
I've been listening to, and really enjoying, Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy's recent interview on the Raspberry Ape podcast. With a background in traditional martial arts, Dan was a pro MMA fighter and official UFC commentator. Warning! It's long. Over 3 hours, in fact, it's almost 4 hours long. The issue of how long a podcast … Continue reading The current state of martial arts, with Dan Hardy
Is Chinese wrestling the root of all Chinese martial arts?
An interesting video has surfaced that links the guard postures used in Shuai Jiao (Chinese Wrestling) with postures in various Chinese martial arts. The premise of the video is that Shuai Jiao is the root of all the Chinese martial styles. The text accompanying the video says: "Guards in traditional Chinese wrestling are meant to … Continue reading Is Chinese wrestling the root of all Chinese martial arts?
Do traditional martial arts need to ‘worry’ about MMA?
With the explosion on the Internet of videos of MMA fighters knocking out traditional martial artists I think that internal martial arts are feeling (rightly) like they’ve become the undeserved butt of a joke, while at the same time the older generation of teachers is passing away without enough new students to carry on their … Continue reading Do traditional martial arts need to ‘worry’ about MMA?
Review: “Nonstop Jiu-Jitsu” by Brandon Mullins and Stephan Kesting
A rare and welcome return to dead tree media for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fans everywhere. Since the advent of DVD, and easily downloadable video tutorials from the likes of Kesting’s own Grapple Arts website and sites like BJJ Fanatics, new books that teach you BJJ techniques in a step-by-step manner have dwindled to the point of … Continue reading Review: “Nonstop Jiu-Jitsu” by Brandon Mullins and Stephan Kesting
The First 6 BJJ Techniques Everyone MUST Learn
Apologies for the click-baity headline, but: i) it's true and ii) that's what the video was called 🙂 This is a video created by the Gracie Academy, it's pretty long, but it's got the essentials of BJJ for self defence in there, and why not learn it? What have you got to lose? "But all … Continue reading The First 6 BJJ Techniques Everyone MUST Learn
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
The Tai Chi Notebook 