fiction

All your questions about my new book answered

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My co-author, Seymour Yang, and I have written a brand new BJJ book: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, The Ultimate Illustrated Guidebook, which will go on sale very soon.

If you want to see a free preview chapter, sign up to the Meerkatsu newsletter by visiting the website (Meerkatsu.com) and filling in the details in the pop up box.

The next newsletter will be released tomorrow (Wednesday 21st May).

Q: When will the pre-order go live?

A: Next week, exact date tbc very soon

Q: Where can I buy the pre-order?

A: Through the website, Meerkatsu.com

Q: How much will it cost?

A: Not confirmed yet but we will try to make it as affordable as possible for a premium independently published hardback book.

Q: How long will the pre-order last?

A: The pre-order window will last two weeks, then we send to printers to make the book (about two weeks), then we ship it out to you.

Q: What if I miss the pre-order?

A: We will print a few more books as spares and have them in stock but once they sell out, that’s it, they’re gone.

Q: Do you ship international?

A: Yes we do, see the drop-down list of destination countries in checkout.

Q: Shipping is gonna kill me, right?

A: See the shipping fee at checkout, it should cost no more than when ordering a kimono (it is calculated by weight).

Q: Will the book be available on Amazon?

A: Not in hardback form. This format will be exclusive to my store and when it sells out it sells out. But we may launch a softback version at some point later on. And this may or may not go on Amazon. We will see.

Q: Will you do an e-book version?

A: Maybe, we’ve not decided yet. We want this to be a tangible physical beautiful object you hold in your hands and cherish for years.

Can traditional martial arts fight?

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A video that brings into question the legitimacy of traditional Chinese martial arts as real fighting styles was brought to my attention recently:

The video by Rantwo is called “No, Pak Mei is NOT For Fighting”. And here it is:

It’s a breakdown of a recent video by the Karate Nerd about sparring with Pak Mei expert.

Now, you can agree or disagree with Rantwo’s opinion on whether the Pak Mei guy can fight or not. Personally I think Rantwo brings up some good points, but I’ve heard other people argue that he’s kind of missing the point – sparring never looks good.

Anyway, I don’t want to get into that. My comment on the video would be that Rantwo is making the classic mistake that a lot of people make when looking at videos of traditional master getting beaten up by average/bad kickboxers and then deciding that martial art XYZ must be no good: It’s always a reflection on the person involved, not the whole style.

I don’t think you can view a couple of videos of Pak Mei guys then decide the whole style is “not for fighting”. I can guarantee you there are Pak Mei guys out there who have no problem throwing down. To just dismiss a whole style like that seems to be incredibly naive.

When it comes to sparring, I don’t think there are styles, there are just individuals. At least that’s the way I look at it.

The King’s longsword duel, revisited

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Happy Father’s Day, UK! There are three Euros matches on today, including England, so you’re probably not looking for a film to watch tonight, but if you do then I’d recommend The King (2019) on Netfix.

The King trailer.

I loved this film, which I reviewed when it came out. It’s the story of Henry the fifth, not the historically accurate story, the Shakespeare version, but presented as if it was the historical version, which is a bit confusing, but that didn’t bother me. The acting is great (it stars the unfairly good-looking Timothée Chalamet), the story is top notch (er, thanks, Shakespeare) and the battle scenes are really well done.

But it was the solo duels in particular caught my attention for having a realistic quality, which is why I greeted this video breaking down the first longsword duel in the film between Harry ‘Hotspur’ and Hal with interest.

When you’ve been doing Asian martial arts for a while you have to remind yourself that the term “martial arts” also applies to European martial arts too, the sort of thing that HEMA is busy reviving, and Longsword is one of the things they practice. I really like the discussion of longsword technique in the analysis of the video, and the reference to historical fencing manuals (fight books), and how it gives you more insight into what’s going on in the fight.

My one criticism of the breakdown is that it completely ignores the excellent little ankle trip takedown right at the end that gives Hal the win. That deserves more credit! Anyway, here’s the video: