A Warrior's Thougts on the Martial Arts

So last weekend I took the [FMS] (functional movement screen) certification course. Still need to take the online exam to actually get certified, but I don't believe that'll be much of a big deal. After all, I worked through the book a couple of times and I guess I got most of what Gray and Lee are saying. In case you've been living under a rock for the last decade, the FMS is a simple screen that aims at establishing a (more or less) objective measure regarding movement quality, a minimal acceptable baseline against which individual can be evaluated and scored. To achieve this goal, a battery of seven simple tests is performed, with each test being scored from zero to three points. Three points means perfect movement with no compensation whatsoever. Two marks acceptable yet somehow compromised movement. One is dysfunctional movement. Zero is pain. Obviously, a zero would mean referral to a healthcare professional, this is where my job as a trainer ends. As soon as som...

In December, before going on [my trip across Florida] , I took the [T36] instructor course with [Andreas “Andyconda” Schmidt] . The course was a great experience and, although I’m certainly not fit to teach a full-fledged grappling class at the moment, vastly expanded my knowledge about the ground game. Besides being a great learning experience, the whole thing also made me re-think some didactic matters, which I may or may not cover in a future post. In a nutshell, the T36 system is a [luta-livre] based grappling system of combat. Combat, as in street fighting for law enforcement and military. It’s all strictly no-gi, with the ultimate goal of every action being a swift and clean choke finish. Obviously, most of that stuff is pretty close to what you’d find in a BJJ or Sambo curriculum, only it’s all a bit different. After all, we know that rules make styles and in a no-gi setting that allows for heel hooks, neck-cranks, spinning knee bars and the like (even in competitions like...

Disclaimer : Pictures and links are to follow soon. Also, most of that text was written when I was still in Clearwater, so half the trip is not yet covered.  On December 24th I hopped onto the plane and took off for the US. Just as with [China last year] , we're not staying in one location but rather go from place to place. So far, the journey took us from Miami to Key West, Key Largo, the Everglades, Okeechobee, Orlando, Saint Augustine, Crystal River and now, Clearwater. Just before the trip, I strained my right calf, so during the first week of the trip, Training was pretty much out of question. By I was more or less pain free at the beginning of the second week, however, I went back to business. First, I had the opportunity to train with [Phil] at the Renzo Gracie Jiu Jitsu Academy in Crystal River. The class was No-Gi, which obviously is a topic of special interest to me. Phil had is go over a couple of his bread and butter moves, such as the cross coke to...

Well,so it's been a long time again since my last post.You know, life has a habit of getting in my way when it comes to writing articles. There's always stuff that needs to be done, rather than written about. And it's really been a ton of stuff lately... Amongst other things, the Shinergy[supreme team] competed in the NMAC Bregenz open and scored big time. Also, I took the [T36] instructor course and exam. Both events will be covered in blogs as soon as I get a chance. Then,  on December 24th I hopped onto the plane and took off for the US. Of course, I have some pictures and impressions to share with you, so stay tuned. Finally, I've been working on some neat combinations and set ups in preparation of this year's summer camp, so there will be some of that as well. I'm back, so better renew that RSS feed and watch out. So long, Take care

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'...