Martial Vitality

2017 was my second full year practicing martial arts, since my return in January 2016 . About a year ago I posted my 2016 Martial Arts Year in Review , reporting some statistics on my training and how I spent that time. Because I have no official training scheduled today or Sunday, it's time for me to analyze how I practiced in 2017. For comparison's sake, in 2016 I spent approximately 300 hours in formal training. About two thirds involved Krav Maga. Less than one sixth involved other martial arts, such as Kali, combatives (including my first serious ground work), and Kung Fu. The remainder involved fitness (Jungshin and Ground Force Method) and firearms. Krav Maga In 2017 I began my second year of training at First Defense Krav Maga in Herndon, VA. I started the year as a P-2. Prior to my P-3 test in March, I participated in 50 formal Krav Maga classes. (I had trained 94 hours since my P-2 test.) Between my P-3 test and my P-4 test in September, I participated in 50 Krav Maga...

On Wednesday night I logged my 100th hour of training at One Spirit Martial Arts , the home academy of Prof Pedro Sauer. We sign into a computer every time we visit the school, so I have a record of my "official" training time there. My trial class happened Monday January 30th, and my first official class happened January 31st, 2017. At the time of writing, I have a little over 10 months of time at the school. As of Wednesday, I spent 52 hours in Gracie Combatives, 34 hours in Pedro Sauer Fundamentals, 11 hours in open rank classes, and 1 hour each in a Gracie Reflex Development class, a morning open rank class, and an evening "lab" class. In terms of actual training time, I've spent more than 100 hours doing Jiu-Jitsu in 2017 -- but not much more.  My trial class was an hour. In March I spent two hours with Rener Gracie at his seminar in Leesburg, VA. May was busy: I spent two more hours with Rener at his seminar in Baltimore, MD, two hours with Royce Gracie in...

Last week Professor Sauer taught the mixed level Jiu-Jitsu class Monday night at his school in Herndon, VA. I took the Fundamentals class at 6 pm and decided to stay for Professor's session. We spent time addressing a position Professor had been asked about during his recent seminar tour. The position isn't that important for this post, but it involved escaping a foe on your back. He has hooks in, ready to apply a rear naked choke. To make matters worse the opponent traps one of your arms, using his leg. We practiced escaping when the opponent traps your right arm. Professor showed how to escape the situation. Basically, fall to your left side to avoid getting your right arm caught under your opponent. Use your right leg against his right arm to help free your trapped arm. Finish with a variation of the normal curriculum escape to eventually achieve side control or mount. The end of the instruction had the most impact on me, however. As he has done many times during class, Prof...

Life is a series of choices. Like the philosophers in Rush said, "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice." Last month I decided to leave the path towards becoming a Krav Maga instructor. Instead I will focus on progress towards Practitioner 5, and then Graduate 1. At this point I am not sure what I will do after that, assuming I can continue training in Krav Maga and pass the promotion tests for both ranks in 2018. Accordingly I will not open a Krav Maga school in 2018. Now I'm looking more closely at the path to becoming a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor. I hope to test for blue belt some time in 2018, and perhaps begin the Gracie Instructor Certification program later that year. My home school, One Spirit Martial Arts lead by Professor Pedro Sauer, also offers an instructor certification within the Pedro Sauer Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Association. I do not plan to open a Jiu-Jitsu school any time in the near- to mid-term. It takes at least ten years to earn...

Last weekend I traveled to Atlanta, Georgia to attend Jiu-Jitsu seminars on Saturday and Sunday. The instructor was Henry Akins , a Rickson Gracie black belt known for his concept of hidden Jiu-Jitsu . Ryan Ford, host of the Grappling Central podcast , organized the event. Day one lasted for three hours and covered passing the guard. Henry assumed that an opponent in closed guard has already had his guard opened. We started with one person on the ground and the guard passer standing up. The goal of guard passing is to close distance with the opponent and eventually make chest-to-chest contact. Henry built his guard passing approach on something Rickson told him: "Guard passing is weight distribution and angles." It took Henry a long time to figure out exactly what Rickson meant, and he ended up in a lot of people's closed guards trying to practice this approach. However, having experienced Henry's method, I believe it makes a lot of sense. When an opponent uses his le...

This week I was on the official instructor roster at First Defense Krav Maga for three noon classes. I wrote last week about how I was managing my nerves in preparation for the classes. I'm happy to say all three classes went well! I taught the first class with a ground focus, the second had a kicking focus, and the third involved striking and striking defenses. I designed the classes to meet requests from students I expected to attend the sessions. I was pleased to hear that they appreciated the coverage for their topics. I took three lessons away from teaching these classes. First, it pays to prepare solid class plans. I spent a lot of time preparing my lesson plans for each class. I estimated the time for each activity and added options in case we ran through it faster than expected. I also imagined how to cut material in case we progressed slower than I expected. A combination of each situation occurred during the course of the week, but I was ready for each case. Second, it ...

Last week I taught the noon Krav Maga class at First Defense Krav Maga . Our head instructor was out, so rather than cancel he asked if I would like to lead. I decided to focus on the ground techniques in the Krav P2 curriculum, and add in some "white belt Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu" flair. I added the Gracie punch block series (from guard). I also taught how to transition from mount to an S-mount as the opponent tries to roll under you. If the opponent continues to roll, you can let them and then take their back. The students liked the class. As a result, I think, I am teaching again next week. Our head instructor is flying to Las Vegas for nine days of national training and meetings, so I'm teaching all three noon classes next week. I'm nervous, but as I told a friend, feeling nervous confirms three facts: 1) I'm alive; 2) I'm growing; and 3) I care. I could give a talk to an audience about my cybersecurity  methods with little to no preparation, but I've been ...

Who needs a hobby, or even a lifestyle, that requires getting punched in the mouth? We do! We martial artists are likely to be intentionally or unintentionally smacked in the face many times over the years. We owe it to ourselves to protect the investment our parents made in our braces and trips to the dentist! If you managed to avoid the orthodontist, you have an ever higher duty to protect what your creator gave you! Throughout my martial arts career, I've worn the same mouth gear. When I entered basic training at the Air Force Academy, military dentists took a cast of my teeth and made a form-fitting guard. It sat on my front teeth and helped me avoid injuries during the basic assault course, boxing, and combatives. I was not smart enough to wear it playing pick-up ice hockey (or a helmet, for that matter), resulting in some damage that is a story for another day. (I gave the other guy a scar, too.) Last month I decided to upgrade my protective gear. My old mouth guard was servi...

Saturday afternoon First Defense Krav Maga hosted GM Jeff Smith , a karate and TKD practitioner from the "blood and guts" era of full contact kickboxing. Krav practitioners spar, but not competitively. Our head instructor Nick Masi brought Mr Smith to the school to share his knowledge of movement, striking, and tactics. Here I will try to capture some of his drills and key themes. Mr Smith began the seminar by explaining his key principles: footwork, distance, accuracy, timing, and speed. We worked movement drills and relaxed our shoulders to avoid wasting energy and losing speed. Mr Smith said skipping rope was a great way to practice relaxing shoulders while developing endurance. If you constantly trip on the rope, get rid of it! Just work the movements. You generate the most striking power in a stance, not while moving. Therefore, we drilled moving, striking, and moving again. Mr Smith led us through a series of attack sequences. From a left foot forward fighting stance, ...

I've been enjoying the Jiu-Jitsu Brotherhood podcast , hosted by Nic Gregoriades. Nic brings a deep philosophical approach to his jiu-jitsu, and his podcast reflects that thinking. In episode 10 he interviewed Matt Thornton, the famous coach known for his concept of "aliveness" in training. Nic asked Matt for advice on how to be a better martial arts coach. Paraphrasing Matt, his response was the following: When teaching, ask yourself "what does the student need from me, right now, to succeed?" Matt's question really resonated with me. In jiu-jitsu I'm a student, but in Krav Maga I'm a student and a member of our instructor development program. I help teach kids and adult fundamentals classes, and I'm available for private instruction. Matt added that instructors should worry less about "looking good" in front of students, or demonstrating the latest and greatest flashy technique. Instructors should concentrate on getting through to th...

Last weekend I tested for Krav Maga Global Practitioner 4 ("P4") rank. I had last tested in March, for P3. This test taught me a lesson about resiliency and keeping calm in the face of adversity. To grade those of us testing for P4 and above, my head instructor flew in a former student now living in Austin, TX. Will is an Expert 1 known for being a serious grader. We heard he had failed 5 of the last 7 people he tested for Graduate rank. I had trained for a while with Will before he moved from northern VA to TX, so I knew he was tough but fair. The first hour and a half went well and soon it was time for me to demonstrate "stop kicks." You have probably seen these in Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do -- using the lead or rear leg to intercept and block an opponent's low kick. I had just worked on these with our kids classes that morning, so I felt ready to go. It was not meant to be! I couldn't stop a single kick my partner threw at me. Will even swapped out my o...

I've been a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner since the very end of January 2017. I listen to several BJJ podcasts, and I sometimes hear participants critique Krav Maga. Some of the popular comments include the following: Krav Maga is mainly groin kicks, eye gouges, and palm strikes.  You don't need a long time to learn Krav Maga. In fact, you could learn the system in a week. If you practice authentic, self-defense Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, you don't need to learn a so-called "reality-based self-defense system" like Krav Maga.  Krav Maga students say their techniques are too deadly to train against live, resisting opponents. Yet, "aliveness" is the key to training. Therefore, Krav Maga is of little use in real confrontations. I've been training in the Krav Maga Global system since January 2016. I'm a "practitioner 3" who has completed the first five days of our 24 day General Instructor Course. I'm no expert but I'd like to offer my rea...

Have you seen this chart, or have you heard about the topic it describes? (Scroll to the very bottom of the post for TL;DR if you like!) From "On Combat", as rendered by Amazon.com. Not for commercial use. In brief, as I have heard it taught and as this chart explains, the higher your heart rate, the worse your physical performance. This idea has implications for anyone in a physical confrontation, where an increased heart rate seems to mean an inability to perform self defense actions. When I first encountered this concept, it did not make sense to me. In my teens I was a high school cross country and track runner, and I frequently elevated my heart rate over 200 bpm. I did not encounter these symptoms. In my twenties and thirties I played men's league ice hockey and managed to perform complex motor skills such as skating, puck handling, and shooting, all while my heart was racing.  Now, encountering this chart and its ideas as a martial artist, I'm learning that I s...

Do sore wrists and fingers interfere with your martial arts training? I stopped training martial arts training in 2001 after I broke my wrist in American Kenpo class. I didn't know I had broken it until several weeks later, when a doctor took an X-ray and saw the wrist was healing. I had "protected" it using the sort of wrist brace you use for carpal tunnel syndrome. The doctor said "that's going to hurt again in 10 or 15 years." Here we are in 2017, and I don't want this old injury to hold me back! My family also has a history of developing arthritis in the fingers, so I am doing what I can to avoid that situation as well. Earlier this year I felt wrist pain when doing Krav Maga striking drills, and finger pain doing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I decided to fight back with a multi-pronged approach. Let me share the drills I do to relieve martial arts wrist and finger pain! 1. Wrist strength. I was inspired by my StrongFirst training to focus first on wrist s...

I'm reading Kendo: Culture of the Sword by Alexander C. Bennett. I started reading it to better understand the history of Kendo, which I've mentioned a bit here. As you might imagine, Kendo started as a battlefield practice. It was one manifestation of the combat art employed by sword-wielding Japanese warriors. Over time, as the leaders of Japan sought to reduce bloodshed, sword combat became less common. Swords were used in warfare, but as Japan became more peaceful, the numbers of "sword battle veterans" diminished. Various parties sough to continue to infuse the spirit of sword fighting in certain elements of the citizenry, leading to the development of Kendo and its sport elements. I'm currently reading the part of the book that deals with the re-militarization of Kendo, due to the wars Japan fought in the first half of the twentieth century. This is a fascinating phenomenon which I have not encountered (yet) with other martial arts. Following World War II,...

Last night Mrs B and I were fortunate to attend the U2 concert at FedEx Field in Landover, MD. Between the opening act and U2's first set, I enjoyed observing the physical security arrangements and seeing them in action. Shortly before taking the photograph at left, I saw a probably intoxicated fan run towards the mass of general admission attendees in the center of the photograph. He was pursued by a yellow-shirted member of the CSC Event Staff. The man either fell or was pushed to the ground by the CSC staffer. Shortly afterwards a few of the orange-shirted "Apex Security Group" approached the scene. The CSC and Apex crew removed the fan from the field, one person on each side, slightly behind the fan, each holding one arm behind the fan, at the wrist. A few minutes after the fan was escorted from the field, a few Prince George's County uniformed police officers spoke with other CSC staffers, then followed the path taken by the man escorted from the field. They were...