Riding the Strike of the Cobra: The Softer Approach to Blocking
In this series of lessons, we want to explore several advanced principles of soft blocking. The hard approach to blocking is designed to use...
De Ashi Harai is like the Judo Jab
Just as in boxing, where it is said that "Everything works off the jab", in Judo it might be said that "Everything works off...
A Karate Chop Offers Proof of the Power of Physics
A karate chop, or shuto strike, is one of the few things in life that offers visceral proof of the power of physics. If you are untrained in the martial arts and you karate chop a brick, you may break a finger or worse. But if you karate chop that brick with the proper force, momentum, and positioning, you’ll break the brick instead. “Amazingly, there are no tricks involved,” says Michael Feld, a physicist at MIT. “What you have here is one of the most efficient human movements ever conceived.”
The Best Block is No Block
The best block is no block at all!! With that said, it is well known and documented that if you try to block an...
Jump Kicks
Jump kicks are one of the most popular martial arts techniques. Various martial arts experts agree that these kicks are one of the most...
Punching Power
Punching and striking speed are tantamount to success in competition and on the street. But throwing a punch too fast, with no control, will...
PPS Kicking and the Balance Paradigm
"Balance is a necessary ingredient for optimal martial arts performance."
Two masters of the system, Progressive Protective Systems (PPS), disagree with the above statement, at...
Young Bo Kong Taekwondo Counters
Take Kwon Do Grand Master Young Bo Kong as spent a lifetime perfecting his skills in the ancient art of Korean hand and foot...
High Energy Strikes
High energy strikes must be relaxed and fast. The emphasis has to be on speed. If you double the speed, you will create four...
How To Throw A Knock Out Punch
It’s a relatively well known fact that to throw a knock out punch you should put your body into it. This might sound simple...
Footwork Training In Martial Arts – An Introduction
In response to a comment a respected martial arts teacher recently made to me that he felt that footwork training was becoming a lost...
Jeet Kune Do Knock Out Potential: Developing JKD Power in Your Punch
We have all observed students execute a punch or strike but upon contact there was just no impact power. When I was involved in...
Kuntaw Foot Sweeps and Blocks
Kuntaw translated means “fist way” or “way of the fist” and dates back to the mid 1300’s. Over the centuries the style has evolved...
Putting Your Best Foot Forward: Using The Lead Leg Attack
Why is it generally so that using the lead leg attack is so ineffectually by the majority of martial artists.
Using the closest weapon to...
