The Right Attitude

     Today's MMA crowd is notorious for its ego. Im sure we've all seen the guy at the bar wearing his Affliction T shirt with that face on like he just smelled a fart. Or the guy at the dojo who you don't even wanna train with because every time he tries a technique he forgets that you are his workout partner and not his opponent. What these people are lacking is humility, respect and love. Yes, thats right love. When we train, we train to better ourselves and our partner, which is much different then competing in a tournament. If we hurt our training partner than he wont be back the next day to help us get to the next level. So wether you are light years ahead of your training partners or have a lot to learn from them Love them, because they are the hand that feeds you. 
     Now when it comes to competition we are talking about a whole other realm of action. You are there to win, and martial arts is a combat sport so we don't hold back. However, there is still a place for love, humility and respect in competition. No matter the outcome we must always remember we agreed to take on this challenge to learn and better ourselves. So even if you lose, you must find a way to transmute your feelings into positive ones. Remember Martial Arts training is not just a physical exercise to strengthen our bodies, it is a path to enlightenment. So if you consider yourself a real martial artist, leave your ego at the door when you come to train or compete. 
     Here is a great example of the right attitude after a loss, as told by Forest Griffin after his loss to Anderson Silva. http://youtu.be/V1R50LpFh_M

Basic Krav gun defense

     I found this video recently while searching for unarmed gun defense techniques. Here is a great example of how someone with unarmed combat training can overtake a fool hardy or unskilled attacker with a gun. For those of you who don't know anything about defense against a gun, the theory goes like this. If the gun is within reach (that means you do not need to take the time to step forward to reach the weapon) on average your action to grab, deflect, or take away the gun will be faster than the attackers reaction to pull the trigger. The focus here is that you the defender makes the choice to act fist, forcing the attacker into a position where is one step behind, and now reacting. 
     What i like most about this clip is that the lead instructor points out the footwork in the drill, making the motion the most efficient and in a martial sense the most effective. Now i know many of you who watch this will see flaws in the technique such as; the attacker still has the gun. But bear in mind this is what is called an entry move designed to set up a series of different option for continued striking and gun take aways. 
So with no further ado. http://youtu.be/kVtEpqLC0uU

Need A Laugh?

If any of you out there think Martial Arts is all serious and based solely on structure and discipline, fortunately, you're wrong. The Martial Arts community is full of people who love to laugh, entertain and also poke fun at each other. With all the bumps and bruises you get while training you learn pretty quickly that laughter truly is the best medicine. Another thing you can learn from a few years of real training is how  many schools out there are training a bunch of garbage that could get someone seriously hurt in the street, or worse.  There is a great sight to look over these schools and make sure that your training does not become what the founders of this website call, Bullshido. On this site you can find instructors teaching the art of Qi power which is believed to give you the ability to put some one to the ground without even touching them (BULSHIT!) ::cough cough:: as seen here. http://www.bullshido.net/forums/vbtube_show.php?do=tube&tubeid=961#watch

So please take some time to browse the site Im sure you'll get a laugh or two and also keep your eyes peeled for special event like my personal favorite, Tae Kwon Do sucks month.

http://www.bullshido.net/

A Great Sight You Should See

Good morning everyone!


     Im running a little behind on my posts for the day, so this will be short and sweet. For any Martial Arts enthusiast who are interested in the art of Wing Chun Kung Fu I have the site for you. Inside you will find a wealth of links to videos, schools, forums and much more. For those of you who are not familiar with Wing Chun Kung Fu it is a close quarters, high intensity and highly intricate striking art most recently made popular by Donny Yen in the Films IP MAN 1 and 2. Wing Chun is also the first Martial Art to be excepted on any substantial level created by a woman. This style uses proper bone alignment and economy of motion to make it possible for a person of small stature to be able to defeat a much stronger opponent. I love this discipline of Martial Arts and I am sure with a little research you will too. This site does not spoon feed the links to you but with a little searching you will find links here you can not find any where else on the net. Enjoy.  http://www.wcarchive.com/

Aging vs. Growning

     Through my experiences in the martial arts field i have noticed that age is not as much of a factor there as it is in other parts of our lives. People who do not train or have some regular exercise seem to age more rapidly and experience more strain on their bodies. The best way to relate this with the theory that "an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted on by an outside force." 
     For about four years i competed in national Karate and Kenpo tournaments and to this day one of my favorite sparring partners is an over 50 year old man we can just call Wolf Larson. His age seems to be one of his greatest allies, because people often underestimate his speed and skill. I enjoy training against his experience and furthermore love to laugh at myself when i fall into one of his traps. The man is a walking bag of bricks, yet he has the fluidity of a man half his age. The point Im trying to make is that it is his choice to train that has halted this aging process. However nothing can take away his life experience or undo his years of training. So with no further ado here is a glimpse of the man himself.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=150646421636328

Be Thankful

Its Thanksgiving everyone. Once again its a time to calm your mind, surround yourself with the people you care about and remember to appreciate all the things that might have slipped your mind. Wether you are a genuinely positive person or someone who is down and out, this holiday is a chance to reset the computer. A chance to shake off the burdens of your day to day stress and even if life is kicking you in the teeth, just say "thank you, may i have another" Because in all reality our lives could be much harder to deal with.


http://youtu.be/kY1vEqmLNgk