Sunday, January 10, 2010 at 2:13PM 2010 will be an amazing year in training. I have so many things planned, new podcasts, weapons and sogo seminars, forming new training groups and more. Please join me in realizing all of your training goals this year!
Great 2010 first class with the San Francisco Okinawan Karate Club
Friday, August 21, 2009 at 8:31AM I often get asked what to look for in choosing a martial arts program. Most of the time it is parents looking to put their kids into something. Some of the factors for kids are heavily based on age but overall the items you need to look into are primarily the same.
Below are some common ones
Before beginning to look at schools you need to answer and prioritize your goals. For example, some schools are a much better choice than others if your goal is self defense.
This is probably one of the most important decision making factors. The sad facts are that 95% of martial arts instructors in the USA are not truly certified or qualified to really be teaching. There is a big difference between being a black belt and being a truly qualified professional instructor. You need to interview many of the instructors, observe classes and research their backgrounda. Unlike Aerobics, Yoga or other physical training programs that are generally regulated and have consolidated government bodies, martial arts is a fragmented wild west. Because of this the level of true competency varies greatly from the guy who watched some videos and read some books then started a school to a highly trained pro that came up through a well structured curriculum with some sort of instructor training program. Watch a few classes at each school you are considering, see how they interact with students, especially if you are thinking about putting your kids into their hands.
Ask:
There are many things to consider when budgeting for martial arts training. Here are the questions to ask:
Assuming you have defined your goals it becomes really important to choose a school that teaches what you are interested in. Say for example you want to learn self defense, just about any martial arts school will claim they teach self defense but the truth is most of them teach a sports version of martial arts and not true life and death set of techniques. If self defense is your goal you should seek out a traditional school that teaches techniques exactly the way they were developed on the battlefields in ancient times versus a version of the techniques that work in a ring with rules. If you enjoy the sports aspect of training then you should look at schools that have and participate in tournaments and team competitions. Maybe you just want to learn something that teaches you a lot of cultural knowledge while you learn the art such as sword training. Ask lots of questions to determine if the school offers something that appeals to your interest. Additionally look for curriculums with depth that allow you to continue training and learning long term. There are way to many “black belt factories” out there and schools that teach you a condensed program probably because it is all they know. Be careful most programs are terrible. Watch for things like spending the first 20 minutes of class doing non martial arts related exercises like push ups, situps, jumping jacks and things you should be doing on your own time to get strong. I am big believer that all your time should be spent doing martial arts training in class. If they do exercise related drills then they should be designed to address a true martial skill or movement. Time wasters are a good indicator they don’t have a truly structured curriculum.
Lets face it, most people lead busy lives. The schedule is important if you want to succeed and enjoy your training. At minimum you should train at your school two days a week but three is better. Look at their schedule and decide if you can attend regularly. Things to watch out for:
In addition to their group schedule do they offer private lessons and if so what are the costs?
If you are considering a school for kids keep in mind their age. 3-6 year olds aren’t really going to learn self defense yet, you just want them to have fun, learn to interact with other kids in a respectable way and gain some coordination through exercise. If they get older and still want to learn martial arts then you can work with them to define their goals and ensure they are in the right school.
Try schools out, see if they will let you take a sample class or two. This will give you a better feel for knowing if it is a fit for you.
Martial Arts, School, Self Defense in fighting, martial arts, mma, self defense, ufc Wednesday, July 15, 2009 at 11:12AM In simple terms the difference between a warrior and an athlete is that the athlete knows he/she is going home alive at the end of the day. The warrior may die any minute. There is a big difference between a soldier in Iraq and an MMA fighter for example. The public generally categorize martial arts as a sport, athletic event, competition or spectacle. And for the most part martial arts have been reduced to a reflection or shadow of it’s true self. I used to get really upset when I would get into conversations with people about martial arts and hear the dumb things they would say until I realized the frame of reference from which they derive their statements. They are bombarded with a long history of misinformation coming movies, television, tournaments, demonstrations and the internet. Sources that are all labeling or branding things under “martial arts”. It is no wonder most people think the best martial artists in the world are from the UFC or MMA variety. Let me be clear, these guys are talented and tough athletes that train hard to achieve a world class level of athleticism and success but they are not warriors and they are not what I would call martial. They are athletes in a sport, period.
You want to consider them warriors or martial artists? The only way you can do this is by changing and removing the rules. Give them weapons, swords, and the ability to kill and be killed and just as importanly, a cause other than themselves. Many people will argue with this and claim the top MMA guys could fight anyone in the world and kick their butt. What happens when they person they are fighting pulls out a knife and stabs them in the eye and there is no ref in place to stop it or bell to end the round?
Look at the word martial, meaning war like or military in nature. True martial ways evolved in various countries through individual or military conflict as a need to defend lives. Centuries of constant training and real battlefield experience molded various styles into true, efficient killing systems. The countless individuals that died in war and conflict developing the best fighting techniques faced the ultimate consequences. Today the athletes that compete in a ring with rules and rounds have taken a small sampling of the endless techniques developed and paid for by others to defend life and cherry picked the things that work best within the context of the rules they play within. Sure they can go into the ring and get bloodied, hurt, or injured but they leave each contest to train for the next with a different motive than the real warriors who developed the techniques they are not profiting from. Athletes want accolades, sponsorships and profit. Warriors want to see their families another day. Big difference!
I am not trying to slam the UFC or the MMA fighters or any sport competition that uses the word martial arts in it. But I do think that pointing out that what is popularized today are not true martial ways or sciences. The best martial sciences teachers and practitioners in the world are anonymous, have not egos, and pass on traditions and depth that is far removed from the media. I for one want to keep them that way. Let the public have their spectacle and believe all the nonsense they see. I will sit back and enjoy knowing better.
MMA, Martial Arts, UFC, Warrior Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at 12:50PM 
Friends and students of mine have been asking me to write a martial arts related blog for a few years now and I am finally getting around to it. For a long time I struggled with which topics I wanted to cover and the direction I want to take a blog related to martial arts. I tend to be strongly opinionated when it comes to the subject and tend to overly subjective but now I realize it is exactly my subjectivity that makes the subject matter more interesting, even to readers that might disagree. All of that said I thought I would start my first entry related to the projects I am working on now because most of them will actually feed my blog content.
In the works:
Since connecting with the team at "This Week In Media" and the Pixel Corps I now have great resources, experience and connections to begin a series of podcasts that can be produced exactly the way I have envisioned it for years. The plan is to begin with a weekly audio podcast with a panel of martial arts instructors, enthusiasts and experts discussing a wide variety of interesting martial arts related topics. The goal is to educate listeners on their misconceptions, debate current methodologies, news and events and develop an audience out of the huge number of people with various levels of interest in Martial Arts.
Phase II will build into a video based series focused on the science, applications, origins and education of the martial sciences. I am excited to be working with the Pixel Corps and some amazingly talented individuals and finally have the ability to communicate and demonstrate in a way that would have been difficult or cost prohibitive even five years ago.
I am very excited to finally implement a program I have been designing on and off for several years. I have named my personal combat training program Battle Training and am now just starting to work with individual students. I really enjoyed running my own school in Atlanta for a long time but find the scheduling commitment is too difficult with all of my other life responsibilities. The problem is I still have a desire to teach, train and help people with individual growth and achievement.
