Martial Vitality

In Five Tips to Maximize Private Training , I blogged about how I returned to my Kung Fu school near Boston to relearn material I first practiced in the 1990s. I wanted to concentrate on forms, which are sets of techniques and movements performed in a specific manner. Most if not all "traditional" styles practice forms, also called kata, patterns, and the like. In this post I will document the process I have been following to maximize the results of this training. For me, success means I am increasing my capability to execute forms properly. "Perfection" is not the goal -- consistent improvement is my target. 1. Begin with in-person lessons.  It is simply too difficult to begin learning a form in a completely solo manner. You are likely to make mistakes without realizing it. You need an instructor to teach you the form, and then monitor your progress as you learn it. As with any martial arts activity, you are going to need some small, some medium, and perhaps even s...

This week I had the chance to share a few Filipino martial arts (FMA) sinawalis with fellow students at my Krav Maga school. A sinawali ("weaving") is a training pattern one can perform solo or with a partner. I promised I would share what sort of sticks I use and where I buy them. My oldest pair of sticks are rattan, slightly more than 28" long and 3/4" in diameter. They are fairly light and are good for solo speed and demo work. One of my instructors, Mr Jim Conklin , advised me to not use them for partner work because they are more ornamental in nature. I listened, so you won't see them here. My primary sticks (shown at left) are rattan sticks, roughly 26" long and 7/8" in diameter. I bought them from Kombat Instruments Limited .  I really enjoy these sticks. They are heavier than my 28" sticks and are great for partner work. I wrapped the top, or striking portion of the sticks, with green electrical tape from Home Depot. Why green? I figured ...

Does your martial arts school run using systems? I was unfamiliar with this approach until I attended the Martial Arts SuperShow earlier this month. I participated in several excellent business-oriented seminars designed to help martial arts school owners and instructors improve the quality of their operation and offerings. I took pages and pages of notes, and here I will begin converting them into coherent posts that I hope you will find valuable, either as a martial arts school owner, instructor, or student. The term "systems" refers to methods of conducting business or offering services to prospects and clients. In my military and corporate lives I've heard the terms "playbooks" or "standard operating procedures" (SOPs) as synonyms. The idea is to define sets of actions that you purposefully implement in order to maximize your chances to accomplishing a desired and explicit goal. For example, your school could establish systems for any or all of th...

Many of us have participated in tournaments, seminars, and workshops, but have you ever attended a martial arts business event? Earlier this month I attended my first Martial Arts SuperShow . I wanted to learn more about the business side of martial arts, and the SuperShow seemed to offer exactly what I wanted. The SuperShow is the annual conference presented by a partnership of the Martial Arts Industry Association and Century Martial Arts . It combines business-themed seminars on attracting, retaining, and developing students and teachers, with physically-oriented training by well-known martial arts and combatives instructors. What really sealed the deal for my attendance, however, was the prospect of two of non-business seminars. The head of Krav Maga Global (KMG), Eyal Yanilov , was scheduled to teach a three hour session on one day, and a separate one hour session on a second day. The chance to train personally with Mr. Yanilov was too good to pass up! My plan for blog posts dur...

Martial arts provide a gift that many desire, yet can be difficult to find. The present is "presence," also called "being present." A search for those terms yields many articles about presence. For example, the Huffington Post offers tags with links to dozens of articles on the subject. They extol the virtues of being truly integrated with your immediate surroundings. In brief, it's possible to be happier and more productive if your mind is on the task and environment at hand, rather than elsewhere. I experienced the gift of presence earlier this month at my Krav Maga school 's "Friday Fight Night." (See my Februrary post Back to Sparring for thoughts on my first experience with this tradition.) There is no opportunity for "being absent," the opposite of presence, when you are sparring. If you check out from the immediate environment to think about problems at work, or an upcoming vacation, or your favorite TV show, you are likely to be...

If you've heard anything about Krav Maga, you've probably heard about the need for groin protection. This Simpson's video , starting at the 45 second point, makes that requirement abundantly clear! When I started training in Krav Maga six months ago, I realized I needed to upgrade my personal protection. I had relied on my old hockey cup and strap when practicing other martial arts. For Krav Maga I decided to do some research, buy some gear, test it live, and let you know my findings! The first product I bought was the Shock Doctor Core Compression Short with Bio-Flex Cup . At the time of writing, the Web site shows this product for $29.99. Using compression shorts was a new experience for me, but I quickly adjusted. This product relies on a pouch positioned inside the shorts to hold the cup in place. While this system seemed to be an upgrade from the simple cup and strap I wore under my hockey equipment, I didn't stay with it. The cup was not comfortable and it did not...