Martial Vitality

Last night I returned to Jiu-Jitsu training at One Spirit Martial Arts , the HQ for Professor Pedro Sauer's association. I had suspended my membership in August last year in order to concentrate on my KMG G1 grading . It was very good to be welcomed back to OSMA. Several of my old training partners and instructors were there, and it was good to catch up with them. We started the class with some functional movement drills. We started in cross-mount, then moved to mount, then moved to cross-mount on the other side. We then moved to the opposite side in a reverse motion. The goal was to be as technically correct as possible and capture all the details that make life difficult for the person on the bottom. For techniques, we worked a standing self-defense move against a thumbs-down grip, transitioning to a standing arm bar. On the ground, we worked on the arm bar from the guard. My partner was a blue belt who helped me with the movement mechanics for transitioning from the guard to a p...

2018 was my third full year practicing martial arts, since my  return in January 2016 . About a year ago I posted my  2017 Martial Arts Year in Review , reporting some statistics on my training and how I spent that time. Krav Maga In 2018 I began my third year of training at First Defense Krav Maga in Herndon, VA. I started the year as a P4. Prior to my P5 test in March, I participated in 29 formal Krav Maga classes. (I had trained 58 hours since my P4 test.) Between my P5 test and my G1 test in December, I participated in 91 Krav Maga classes. After my G1 test and through the end of December, I participated in 3 Krav Maga classes. That is a total of roughly 123 hours of regular Krav Maga classes, down from 130 in 2017 and 144 in 2016. In addition to regular classes, in July I attended a seminar with Master Eyal Yanilov on countering active shooters. That is a total of roughly 3 hours of special events, down from 93 in 2017 and 73 in 2016. Combined with my formal classes, I sp...

In this post I would like to share a few thoughts on self-publishing a book , in case anyone is considering that option. As I mentioned in my post on  burnout , one of my goals was to publish a book on a subject other than cyber security. A friend from my Krav Maga school, Anna Wonsley , learned that I had  published several books , and asked if we might collaborate on a book about stretching. The timing was right, so I agreed. I published my first book with Pearson and Addison-Wesley in 2004, and my last with No Starch in 2013. 14 years is an eternity in the publishing world, and even in the last 5 years the economics and structure of book publishing have changed quite a bit. To better understand the changes, I had dinner with one of the finest technical authors around,  Michael W. Lucas . We met prior to my interest in this book, because I had wondered about publishing books on my own. MWL started in traditional publishing like me, but has since become a full-time autho...

Sunday I successfully passed my Graduate 1 ("G1") test within the Krav Maga Global system. I last tested for P5 in March 2018 . I wanted to share a few thoughts on how the test went. If you review the krav maga topic link on this blog you will find many posts about my training and philosophy. I started training in the Krav Maga Global system at First Defense Krav Maga in January 2016. My 2016 year in review and 2017 year in review posts document my Krav Maga training journey. As we near the end of 2018, however, I can note that as of this post I trained exactly 120 class hours at First Defense (29 prior to the P5 test and 91 prior to the G1 test), plus 3 hours during the summer in a seminar with master Eyal Yanilov . Thus far I am 6-for-6 with passing scores, having tested roughly every 6 months since starting at the school. The first exception was my P1 test, which occurred in April 2016, 4 months after I began training. The second exception was this G1 test. I had plan...

Tuesday I was happy to attend another Krav Maga Global seminar by KMG lead instructor Eyal Yanilov. Master Eyal was visiting my hometown KMG school First Defense , which hosted him for their grand opening at their beautiful new location. I first trained with Eyal at the Martial Arts Supershow in 2016 . Eyal was my instructor for the Combat Mindset and Mental Conditioning Class later that year. I also trained with him at the fall 2016 KMG camp  and in the spring of 2017 . When I heard Eyal was going to teach a three hour seminar on countering active shooters, I knew it was a must-attend event. Eyal started the seminar with his perspective on KMG and active shooters. He talked about the inherent conflict between the three KMG missions -- self defense, protecting others, and combat fighting. In self defense, running away may be the best option. When protecting others, sacrificing yourself may be necessary. When fighting in combat, your goal may be to kill the enemy. Knowing the missi...

Today I attended a Jiu-Jitsu seminar by Professor Ryron Gracie, hosted by Professor Marco Moreno of The Basics Gracie Jiu-Jitsu . I want to share a few thoughts on the seminar for anyone who wants to attend one in the future. I always enjoy visiting Marco's school. I was last there in February for a seminar by Grandmaster Relson Gracie . Today I was happy to see several of my teammates from Professor Pedro Sauer's school in Herndon . Ryron offered three sessions for attendees. The first lasted 9-11 am, and focused on self defense. The second last noon - 2 pm and focused on cross chokes. Students who attended both sessions could attend a third session from 2-3 pm, where Ryron would roll with attendees. I decided to only attend the first session, which cost $70. I believe about 40 people participated. Ryron brought one of his purple belts, Jordan, to assist, although Ryron demonstrated techniques with a wide variety of people. I was surprised early in the seminar when he called m...

It's been a rough few months! My last post talked about how I worked through a back injury and managed to pass my Krav Maga Global P5 test. I planned to get back on track in April, but I ran into more obstacles. More specifically, an obstacle landed on me. While on a business trip, I dropped a table on my left foot. How does such a thing happen? Take a weird retro table with three legs on wheels, what looked like a concrete top, and a thick carpet, and try to move it away from you. You quickly learn that such a contraption isn't stable, when it lands on your foot! I lost about 3 weeks of training time due to this accident. I returned to Krav Maga before trying Jiu-jitsu, because I could protect my feet with my wrestling shoes . My big toe still isn't healed, but it's manageable. I've been back to Jiu-Jitsu a few times, including 1 1/2 hours at Professor Sauer's spring camp last night. I'm glad I had decided prior to the injury to not try testing for my Jiu-J...