A Warrior's Thougts on the Martial Arts

They say that speed is king. I agree. Up to a point, that is. Speed is good to have but I've seen the slower fighter take home victory on more than one occasion. Even for the faster guy, there's a better way than just going 100% all the time. I believe that most of the time in training (unless you're specifically training for speed) and combat, you should move well below your speed limits. This might contradict common sense at first glance, but let me get into this a bit. First off, I'm a huge believer when it comes to mixing things up. That being said, I think that having two ways to go is better than being stuck with one, especially when it comes to speed and rhythm. If all you do is move at top speed all the time (which you can't and shouldn't do, anyhow, as I'll explain later on), all you can do to surprise your opponent is to slow down. Nothing bad with that, really - sometimes, lower the pace of the game might be just what you need. Also, pausing for h

At first, everyone's interested in defensive stuff, blocks, counters, evasion and the like. It's understandable, really, as many people aren't so much looking for competitive combat sports but rather wish to learn an effective form of self-defense. That's ok - in fact, being able to take care of yourself, no matter what, is one of the biggest benefits the martial arts can offer. Still, a strong defense ain't enough. That's for two reasons: For one, at some point you've got to finish the fight. From a combat sport perspective, this one's a no brainer, so let's examine a different scenarion. This might not apply to true self-defense situations so much - after all, self defense is all about finishing the fight with your first counter. Still, while I do not condone violence, I believe that there are situations where striking first and decisively can be the best form of de-escalation and violence prevention. An unconscious attacker can cause no more h

So over the course of the last weeks, I've been dealing with all kinds of counters to standard attacks in the classes I taught. Countering goes well beyond the defensive side of things, though. Even and especially pressure fighters need to be able to counter any potential counters (here, fighting becomes a game of chess, huh?) and quickly regain initiative - otherwise, they might get beaten at their own game. So, without furter ado, let me present to you a short series of drills I use with my fighters to boost both their offensive and defensive skills. Enjoy! Going through each of these for a three minute round, followed by 30 seconds rest gives you a 22 minute workout. Alternate with a partner (each does the whole thing) and you're at 44 minutes, in the best case. Toss in some proper warmup, for example, the [Warrior Warmup Routine] , and you've got a structured, highly specific class all laid out. Feel free to use as-is or adjust to your needs. If you'

Ok, so as usually, here comes last Saturdays sparring session. By the way, I'll be on my way to Linz in a couple of minutes, where I'll spend another week at the olympic center in pursuit of my state certified trainer's diploma. Hence, there could be another post today - stay tuned! So long, take care

Without further ado, this was yesterday's sparring class. Enjoy! So long,  take care

Yesterday's sparring session. Enjoy! So long, take care

Yesterday's sparring session - enjoy! I'm proud of all my students- everyone has progressed so much... Looking forward to the next sparring session. So long, take care

Lately, I've been playing around with AviSynth a bit. When looking for clips to edit, I stumbled upon old recordings of our outdoor conditioning sessions. Good old times... So long, Take care

So... been busy lately. Lots of stuff going on atm. Not in danger of dying from boredom... Anyhow, I'm experimenting with a new (simple) loading protocol for my S&C training so hopefully I'll come up with a time-effective, easy to implement in-season routine anytime soon. Which brings me to the point that I'll define a season for myself and my students. During that season, there'll be fights. In the off-season, no fights. Simple stuff, really, most other sports have been doing it this way forever. No point in re-inventing the wheel. The whole idea of "constantly being ready for battle" and whatever not is lame anyways. Yeah, maybe the Samurai thought that way, I would too, if I was preparing for war - but for an athlete, this just doesn't work out. For the first time, I'll take my fighters and students abroad for a fight camp come august. Hungary. Lots of sun, lots of training, good food. Looking forward to it. Bought a chest-and-tigh-protector for

Just returned to Vienna after spending another week at the olympic center in Linz. Got to think about some stuff, there might be more to learn from that week than meets the eye. I'll keep you posted. So long, take care