Next entry in the Chronicles. The UWM event had now finished; where to from here?
Leading up to the Unified Weapons Master event, I had put as much focus as I could on my training. This enabled me to get into good shape and a decent technical level, which was obviously of great value to me when the time came to fight in the VTC (Vital Target Combat) event. However, this gain came at a price – for some time I had barely scraped by at work and at home, as the training and diet often left me mentally and physically drained. Continue reading →
Remember the first couple of UFC events? They remain my favorites, as for the first time you had a televised event with traditionally trained martial arts purists facing each other on neutral ground. No more talking about how the superior ‘Eagle Claw’ style would rip out hearts, or how the ‘Dim Mak’ strike would immobilize any opponent. It was time to put your gloves where your mouthguard was. And boy, was it showtime.
UFC 1 – Savate vs Sumo. Lasted all of 26 seconds.
In a few short matches, the martial arts world was given a collective ice bucket wake-up call and the legendary black belt turned out to be just that – a belt, with the color black. It was clear that many of the traditional martial arts had flaws that were readily exploited by the more pragmatic styles like Muay Thai (Thaiboxing) and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and as a response the hybrid style of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) exploded in popularity.
Fast forward two decades, and every event is largely the same; two MMA fighters facing each other, both trained in the same tried-and-tested repertoire of grappling and striking techniques. Frankly, it’s boring me to tears. That said, I appreciate what events like UFC provides – a pragmatic testing ground with agnostic rules that allows for sports-oriented martial artists to try their mettle.
Now, Australian-based Unified Weapons Master (UWM) intends to provide a similar arena for any and all martial arts that use weapons. Continue reading →
My own thoughts on one should handle injuries and incidents in martial arts training. If you have any advise of your own, feel free to add it in the comment section! For more secrets, read here.
As we dedicate ourselves in a field of inherently violent nature, it’s pretty unavoidable that you will at some point get injured or unable to train. That said, I consider martial arts generally speaking to be a relatively safe hobby. I base this statement on that the average student gets an acute awareness of the risks involved in the regular training, which makes him both wary of getting hit or accidentally hurting a fellow student (or at least it should be that way). Normally, a martial arts school also promotes control, discipline and self-restraint which make it a fairly safe environment. In addition, any teacher worth his salt will ensure that students are built up gradually and not exposed to violent situations that they can’t handle (especially nowadays when students might sue the school).
Nevertheless, sometimes misfortune rears its ugly face and something happens that takes us out of training for a while. But with so many other things in life, being aware of this risk makes you able to prevent it or at least handle it in ways that gives you less grief – so read on and get empowered.
To quickly summarise my attitude to training:
Fight like you could die today, but train as if you’d live forever. Continue reading →
This is a follow-up piece on Arnis, check out the main article here.
On the last day of my honeymoon in the Philippines, I found myself wandering the Quezon Memorial Circle on a very early Sunday morning. Thanks to a fellow blogger (check out her site here) I had been able to get in touch with an Arnis teacher in Manila and would now be able to participate in one of his classes. Continue reading →
Disclaimer – The advice in this post is purely based on own experience, one student to another. Check out the 10 tips for beginners here, as well as 10 tips for intermediate students here.
Congratulations! At this stage, you have considerable experience and solid skills in your style of martial arts. Undoubtedly this comes from consistency and motivation, channelled through dedication and hard work. Well done. Watch out though, as you now face the higher level aspects such as rivalries, politics and raised expectations. You may also have reached a skill level that demands constant maintenance in order to stay sharp, which is not helped by the boredom that may kick in from doing the same thing for years on end. Hopefully these ten tips will help keep you moving forward. Continue reading →
Second part of the motivation post, with concrete tips on how to keep yourself fired up. Click here to read the first part, and feel free to add your own tips in the comments section. Also, have a look here for more secrets.
In the first part of this post, you saw the run through of defining your current situation followed by setting an end goal along with the steps necessary to get there. To many of us that is all common sense – simply having a goal will do wonders for your focus and drive. But over time the end goal may not be enough, and we find ourselves struggling. In the moments of exhaustion, when you’re all out of energy, when the obstacles are simply overpowering your resolve, it is easy to give in.
But remember that accepting defeat and giving up your dreams is easy; living with a lower sense of self-respect isn’t. Better to try and fail gloriously, than to let others convince you that you are less than what you could become. Continue reading →
Motivation is the ideal partner ofConsistency – make good use of both and chances are that you will one day fully realise your potential. This is part of an articles series on advise on how to keep progressing in martial arts.
In your average school, you normally find that some students stand out from the rest. It becomes noticeable that there is a fundamental difference in how these individuals go about their training, even whilst doing the same exercise as everyone else. These students tend to develop their skills faster than the others, ever growing in ability and appetite for more. You find them working harder, being more focused on the exercises, always showing up for class and never giving up in spite of any and all obstacles. The difference between these individuals and the other students often lies in motivation rather than actual talent or potential. Continue reading →
I have touched on this subject in past articles, but it deserves more attention. As always, this article is based on my own reflections. See here for more secrets to Martial Arts progress.
Throughout the years I’ve seen what seems like a countless stream of fellow students start training, all eager to learn. Most throw themselves at the training with the strongest of convictions, and quickly grow in skill and fitness. Every student brings his own talents and inherit potential (some stronger than my own) and most people could go far in martial arts if they stuck to it.
Disclaimer – The advice in this post is purely based on own experience, one student to another. Check out the 10 tips for beginners here.
So now you’ve been doing this for a while, and you’re picking up some decent skills. As your confidence grows, so does your appetite for more challenges. But beware – the initial honeymoon is now over, and the early spike in your skills as a beginner is now starting to level out. To keep developing your martial arts you will need to work harder and take a more active part in your development. Continue reading →
I realise this article may make me come across as elitist, pretentious and uncompromising – but honesty is a virtue.
Over the years I have always been passionate about martial arts, for different reasons. As a kid I found it to be the most awesome type of action ever, but as I grew up I also came across a number of personal lessons hidden within the exercises and trials you would face as part of your training. Even later as I took a further interest into martial arts in general I came to realise how each style has always been deeply intertwined with the culture and history it comes from, and how martial arts have come to walk hand in hand with human civilisation.
This has all left me with a profound respect for martial arts and the heritage it has amassed over centuries of human history. To some degree I see the same reverence in my fellow students (and more so in my teachers) but not so much in others. Society in general seems to be constantly losing respect of what came before us, which is a shame. Just compare classical music to what’s being created today and my point should be proven.
I realise there is hardly anything I can do about this, but at least I can define a code that I believe should be followed by all martial artists. Maybe others will agree or take some inspiration from it.
Lobo's Blog 