Putting the spotlight on a good friend of mine – Glenn Chow is a long time martial arts student (Wu Shu, Capoeira and whatever else he hasn’t told me) that has ever since I got to know him worked hard to become a stuntman. 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.
But most don’t. Continue reading
Just recently I lost my father, who passed away from natural causes. There are many things I will always regret not coming to pass between us – thoughts unspoken, feelings unshared and stories untold. By writing these chapters, I hope that at least my own son will one day know the story of his father’s journey in life through martial arts.
This is the part of my story where I grow my foundation as martial artist, and meet my oldest brother-in-arms. For the rest of the story, click here.
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
For those who are wondering what a ‘capoeirista’ is, read up on Capoeira here.
This footage is from back in 2007. An old friend needed to do a project for her graphics course, and she had a vision of a fighting game-esque scenario with an intro, followed by a match between two capoeiristas of different styles and outfits. So she assembled some of her friends and recorded a number of solo routines as well as an improvised Capoeira game. Turned out to be a good experience, bringing together students from several different groups. 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.
This is the second part of the article about doing better at martial arts through healthy eating (and also look good naked).
In the first part of this article, I listed the rules and principles I live by nowadays – a change of lifestyle that took me from being fairly fit to feeling and looking great. Getting fitter purely from improving my eating habits helped me take my martial arts to a higher level and gave me an edge while I was undergoing the trials involved in getting my black belt.
In this second part I will be going through what measures I took to change things around. I’m hoping you will find it helpful, and that it saves you time as well as enables you to make the changes stick. Everyone is different though, so find your own way. Continue reading
Disclaimer – I’m not a professional dietitian. In fact, I’m not even a nutritionist. That said, I firmly believe that following the guidelines in this article will make you perform better in martial arts (and yes, look good naked) as it has given awesome results for myself and they are general enough to benefit most people. Continue reading
Now this is how you make a montage – find a song about martial arts, then tailor your footage to it. See the lyrics below and be inspired!
The truths revealed through daily dedication
How I got interested in Martial Arts and my first period of training – and crushing defeat.
Looking back, I was a really physical kid. As in, really physical – I taught myself how to cartwheel when I was five, based on the pictures in a dictionary for kids. When I wanted to be alone, I would climb the 20 meter tall conifer tree on our front lawn. At age 10 I could cartwheel across a soccer field (without throwing up) and around that age I also taught myself how to do a kip-up from watching action movies. Continue reading
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