Muay Thai Elbows

Muay Thai Elbow Knives

Muay Thai elbow knives are one of the hidden secrets of Thai Boxing/ Muay Thai. The masters of Muai Thai elbows are the Muay...
Woman Performing Pressure Point Technique

Yin and Yang: The Significance of Gender in Karate Pressure Point Fighting

One day George Dillman called me and said, “Weave been teaching women incorrectly!” Most martial artists will only reluctantly admit when they are wrong;...
Shime Waza Choke

Shime Waza – The Techniques of Constriction

Basic Concepts The art of karate is a brutally effective method of self-defense characterized by grabbing, squeezing, pressing, twisting, bending, leveraging, breaking, and chokes and...
Chris Thomas Teaching

Don’t Mislead Me: Inadequate Explanations For Kata Movements

The question showed that this student was troubled by the woefully inadequate explanations for kata movements that he had been given over the years. Since...
Handcuffed

Sudden In Custody Death Syndrome (SICDS)

Introduction What is Sudden In Custody Death Syndrome (SICDS), or Positional Asphyxia, and why is being knowledgeable about it important to my department and its...

The Other Way of Sanchin Kata

Many karate systems teach the Sanchin kata as an external training method to strength-condition practitioners with a series of breath-controlled tensions. This mainstream understanding...
Thomas Kurz Stretching

7 Stretch Yourself: High Kicks with No Warm Up – Roundhouse Kicks

High Kicks with No Warm-Up: The Right Body Alignment for Great Height and Power in the Roundhouse Kicks This is the seventh installment of my...
How to Fold Gi

How to Tie a Martial Arts Belt, Fold a Uniform and Tie Uniform Pants...

Here are videos that will help you learn traditional ways a to tie a martial arts belt and fold a karate gi for different...
Masters Mark Giambi and David McCloskey

Closing the Gap in Fighting

The most important space for any fighter is the distance that separates them from their opponent.  Closing that gap is the key to executing...
Judo Throw

Adding Judo to Your Self-Defense Toolbox Part 1

Judo is arguably the most underrated fight sport for nonweapons self-defense. For years it’s been overshadowed by striking-based martial arts. It wasn’t until the...
Bare-Knuckle Boxing and Si-Gung, Karl Godwin

The Revival Of Bare-knuckle Boxing

Most people today think of fighting systems as Asian. Some also even think of Brazil or Israel, but most don’t think of martial arts...
Evan Pantazi Kyusho

Kyusho is Real and Simple

Most Martial Artists today spend decades of their life researching and practicing the physiology of a punch, kick, grab or manipulation of the human...
Iain Abernethy

Kata: Why Bother

There are many differing views on the value of kata. Kata is regarded by some to be the very 'soul' of the martial arts....
Thomas Kurz Stretching

2 Stretch Yourself: Difficulties Doing a Side Split

Stretch Yourself: Difficulties With Doing a Side Split This is the second installment of my column on training that appeared in May 1999 issue of...
Grip on a 6½” mumyou-ryu shuriken

Shuriken Throwing: Forensics

One of the best-known weapons in the martial arts is the shuriken. Historical accounts of shuriken throwing can be found in Japanese martial arts history....
Ed Sumner Sensei and Teruo Chinen Sensei

Training With Teruo Chinen Sensei

Ed Sumner Sensei's Training With Teruo Chinen Sensei: The first time I met Teruo Chinen Sensei was at the annual college tournament, held that year at Washington...