Failing to Learn

Encouraging Failure in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, MMA & other Combat Martial Arts to Fuel Success

Randy Brown 2024

ABSTRACT FOR THE 9th Annual MARTIAL ARTS STUDIES CONFERENCE - CARDIFF, ENGLAND, UK

Since it burst onto the public scene in the early 1990s, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has garnered immense respect worldwide for its efficacy. BJJ later gave rise to the entertainment industry known as MMA. However, adult practitioners of BJJ and other combat sports have an exceptionally high attrition rate.

Why does BJJ succeed at producing high levels of skill, but only for the select few who survive the gauntlet? Why is the retention rate so low, and what causes students of this esteemed art to fall by the wayside without achieving empowerment, fulfillment, and skill?

A structural flaw in the training approach is frequently the primary cause alongside the many other reasons they may have. In contrast, an analysis of modern Eastern Martial Arts training methods that employ non-contact exercises, or cooperative/semi-cooperative drills such as push hands or sticky hands found in Chinese martial arts, frequently hold a higher retention level primarily mitigated by reducing the "cost of failure," but are not heralded for their efficacy in today's combat arenas.

The teaching concepts presented will demonstrate efficient ways to support students' failures during the learning process, coach them to view failure as a learning opportunity, and, indirectly, positively impact the atmosphere, culture, and degree of success that each student experiences when learning a martial art. Additionally, the concepts will highlight and/or eliminate elements that are highly detrimental to the teaching of practical self-defense techniques, student retention, and the empowerment of those who seek out martial arts instruction.

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DISCLAIMER: The following paper was written for publication in 2024 based on personal experience in training and teaching kung fu, tai chi, tae kwon do, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, 1991 to 2024. Attendees who were present for the 9th Annual Martial Arts Studies Conference in Cardiff, England, UK requested that I share this as a written paper. Although this was originally intended solely as a presentation, I was convinced by their strong voices that this information, and my reflection upon years of coaching and teaching would serve the broader Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, MMA, and martial arts community at large. The following version is written for warriors and coaches. Those on the mats everyday who need this the most. A second scholarly version co-authored with David Glover, PhD., is in the final review stage. It will hopefully be coming out later this year (2026).

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INTRODUCTION

Failure is a necessary component to human learning (Zhou, Q., Mao, J. Y., & Tang, F. 2020), we require it in order to find the optimal solutions and paths to navigate subjects we commit to learning. However, when we pull back the veil of excitement of said practice, and take a closer look at the martial art Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), and the intense training regimen commonplace in many gyms, it raises the question: 1) is there far too much failure baked into the learning process?, and 2) Is the training too costly physically, or emotionally to those who undertake it?

When examining the high attrition rates found within the style, especially when compared to traditional martial arts such as kung fu, karate, and taekwondo it exposes legitimate evidence indicating such. If this IS true, how can we still benefit from the use of failure in the learning process, but lower the physical and emotional cost, thereby helping more people reach their goals and enjoy the art?

BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU RANKING STANDARDS

The following data is from my own gym. It is comprised of a relatively small sample size. I began tracking this data 8 to 10 years ago for the purposes of belt promotions. The data is incomplete. At times people joined my gym and left before I had updated my roster. The real numbers, are significantly worse than what I will show, yet these liberal numbers still lay bare a distinct problem that reaches well beyond my gym, and across the wider martial art world.

What caused me to examine this data, was a video with Rener Gracie discussing how only 10% of white belts achieve their first rank in BJJ - the Blue Belt. This encouraged me to look at my own data in comparison. It is important to recognize that this problem is not unique to BJJ but rather, any style of combat martial arts that introduces students to sparring at an early stage.

The  ‘time in rank’ for Brazilian jiu-jitsu is based strictly on ‘minimum time in rank’ standards established by the IBJJF (International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, 2024) for their competitions, combined with arbitrary averages within my own gym and those I trained in on my way to black belt. ‘Time to promotion’ however, is completely subjective from coach to coach, gym to gym, and student to student.

The average time to achieve each rank:

• Blue Belt - 2 to 4 years

• Purple Belt - 3 to 6 years

• Brown Belt - 7 to 8 years

• Black Belt - 8 to 10 years

BJJ ATTRITION RATES

Attrition from rank to rank is seen in the chart below using the data from my own gym. These are the rates of attrition for each rank from white to black:

• 22% of white belts made it to their first rank of blue belt.

• 11.7% of white belts made it to purple belt, or 53% of blue belts.

• 6.5% of white belts made it to brown belt, or 56% of purple belts.

• There was zero attrition from brown to black.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS FOR PERSPECTIVE - US ARMY SPECIAL FORCES

The US Army has a branch of special forces known colloquially as the Green Berets, named for the color and style of cap they wear with their uniforms. During the green beret selection process there is a phase of training designed to weed out and eliminate those who are unsuitable for the job. The success rate of people who pass this phase of training is, 40% on average (Pavelko, Jeff Lieutenant Colonel, 2017).

These are frontline war-fighters who use their combat skills day to day, often fighting when the rest of us are unaware battles are even underway. Juxtapose that with the average martial artist, who is undertaking their training as a hobby more than for immediate survival. Although survival and self-defense are still at the forefront of goals established by many practitioners, the necessity of using these skills in day to day life is often less imperative.

When we compare and contrast, Special Forces and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, it certainly raises a legitimate question – why are those who are using combat as a job, and going through a training phase designed to eliminate inadequate candidates, encountering a higher success rate than those engaging in the ‘sport/hobby’ of Brazilian jiu-jitsu? And by a magnitude of two to four times the success rate.

This observation, while idealistic, is based on the assumption that each professional Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach, those performing their duties for monetary gain, 1) by and large wishes to retain as many students as possible so as to make a living, and 2) help as many people as possible achieve their goals.

WHY DO PEOPLE START BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU?

When interviewing new students, there are several reasons for individuals starting BJJ: self-defense, confidence, fitness, cool factor, friend, or family member showed them an inspiring technique, or ‘Joe Rogan told them they should’ on his highly successful podcast. Based on personal Interviews conducted with new prospects and students from 2011 to 2024 who came to my gym, the primary reason is for ‘self-defense’.

THE PURPLE BELT

At the rank of blue belt the average practitioner can do things in singular form in various instances in the fight – 1 submission, 1 escape, 1 guard pass, etc. However, when faced with adversity, strength, resistance, or an opponent who outweighs them or is much larger and/or stronger, the singular technique often fails to work and a backup is necessary.

The rank of purple belt is where we see the ability to adapt and overcome begin to really take hold. The ability to do things in series – a submission is countered, they have a back-up. The first escape attempt fails, they try another. They lose the dominant position, and immediately switch to a new position without hesitation, maintaining control over their foe. Boiled down, upon hitting a wall they are able to find another solution or, the capability to exhibit a level of control over an adversary and purchase ‘time’. Time to observe the problem, orient to a new position, decide, and attack. In my opinion these are necessary skills to adapt to the chaos of a violent attack.

Using the purple belt as the measure of success for helping students reach their goal of self-defense from BJJ training, we see that less than 12% met this goal.

WHY DO PEOPLE QUIT BJJ?

In exploring Brazilian jiu-jitsu we can separate the reasons practitioners quit into two larger categories: generic, and those specific to combat sports. The ‘generic’ category is comprised of attrition factors seen in any martial art or hobby. Especially ones that require such a lengthy commitment to achieve a high level of skill. These include:

• Employment factors such as job relocation, promotions with larger time commitments, demotions, or job loss.

• Family factors such as marriage, divorce, having children, or a family member who becomes ill and requires more care.

• Financial factors like buying a home, or losing a home.

• Declining health of the participant due to illness, or injury sustained outside of training.

• Experimented with something new and decided it was not for them.

The reasons above are not of interest to us at this time for the purposes of this paper. The next category is of serious importance and central to the use of failure in the learning process of martial arts.

INJURIES - THE HIGH COSTS OF FAILURE IN BJJ

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Injuries or, the fear of being injured, are primary culprits for people quitting and leaving BJJ. Even if they enjoy it. When we look around BJJ gyms, we see a bevy of taped fingers, braces for knees and elbows, and the odor of sports medicine sprays as ample evidence in support of this argument.

If a direct or severe injury is not sustained, it is the intensity in which some individuals train that causes the fear some individuals experience — a fear of getting injured. This will drive people to quit, or sit on the sidelines. Due to a majority of gyms taking a — ‘sport’ focus (no striking), it is commonplace to see aggression and intensity increased due to a false sense of security that is born of an environment free of strike-based attacks.

In other words, people take more risks (Risk Homeostasis), and execute the art with more strength and speed than they should. Falsely believing it is ok to execute sparring hard and fast because they’re not hitting one another. No one had a parent or driving instructor tell them when learning to drive, “Put the car in gear, now push that pedal on the right all the way to the floor.” This would quickly and magnificently end in a catastrophe. Going fast and hard on the mats creates a similar risk, albeit one that often takes longer to manifest into serious injury than doing so in a car.

BEHIND THE CURTAIN

My own injuries (of the more serious type), include — torn supraspinatus tendon, torn shoulder labrum, dislodged bone fragments (shoulder), advanced arthritis (shoulder), broken toes, ripped ear, crushed trachea — all before I officially began BJJ training. These were my first three attempts at finding a teacher/gym. Once I found a gym that was of a higher caliber, the injuries lessened.

Over the course of the next seven years working toward my Black Belt in BJJ, in my primary gym that I trained at, as well as the team trainings around New England, and including camps, and competitions, the following injuries happened — torn left Lateral Collateral Ligament (down to fishing line), several broken toes, HPV contamination, broken teeth, numerous neck injuries. I later ended up with a torn right LCL after this period.

In comparison, decades of mantis boxing/MMA landed me some scrapes, bruises, and a few concussions. Hang-gliding/Para-Gliding since 2001 (arguably far more dangerous), has resulted in only a few minor injuries more akin to scrapes and bruises than anything severe.

Why I Should Have Quit BJJ

The following essay details my initial, and catastrophic attempts at starting Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This is why I strongly advocate that you choose your martial arts based on 1) the coach, 2) the students/community, 3) the style. In that order. The essay provides insight into my motivations to being a better coach, and trying to share the art of BJJ with others, while reducing injuries and the fear of injuries.

A CURE, OR A POISON?

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics which tracks victimization statistics in the USA annually, the likelihood of being the victim of stranger violence in 2026, is .0108%, or roughly 1 in 93.

With commonly accepted training practices found in BJJ gyms that include routine sparring, we can refer to studies done on ‘injuries in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’. These show that we have a 68% of being injured within a three year period (31% chance annually). Injuries that keep you from training for 2 weeks or more. This is further broken down — 79% of all BJJ injuries happen while sparring.

If the goal is self-defense, and the training has a 30x greater chance of hurting someone than they have of being the victim of a violent attack, it would indicate that the cure is worse than the disease, and that you are safer not training BJJ for self-defense purposes. It is my firm belief there are other highly important reasons to train BJJ and other combat sport martial arts aside from self-defense, which is beyond the scope of this paper. Comparing this data however is a reality-check when it comes to how we train, and should serve as the impetus for all of us who are coaches to do better at increasing retention and reducing injuries on the mats.

*This is a recent addition to the paper and links to the studies will be added shortly.

“BOYS DON’T CRY”

Humiliation is an often unspoken and more emotional reason practitioners have for quitting the art of BJJ. Tapping out, an action we perform when caught in a submission hold, is an admission to another person that they defeated us. While this is a necessary part of the learning process, so we may ‘learn from failure’, when an individual is first introduced to any combat art, but specifically Brazilian jiu-jitsu, “this can be an extremely humiliating process for those not accustomed to ‘failure as a learning tool’ modality.” (Eskreis-Winkler, L., & Fishbach, A. 2022). It offers further damage to the psyche if an individual is using everything they have, and it conjures nothing but defeat.

The following behaviors were witnessed when observing classmates in several BJJ gyms over the years — indicators such as – people repeatedly sitting out from rolling/sparring rounds any chance they can get, some leaving the mats rushing to the bathroom holding back tears, or at the outset of sparring rounds; asking another person — “Can we go really slow?” Expressing hesitation to spar/roll with certain individuals.

Another meme source in the BJJ online world — those who begin a round by listing several injuries they have, the purpose of which being — to secretly express a desire to not get hurt or humiliated, or a passive request for the other person to treat them with more care; especially when facing someone they perceive to have superior size, strength, skill, or aggression.

These factors are more emotional than physical, but become extremely important when presenting the argument that there is ‘too much failure’ in the process of learning BJJ. What is even more evident, is these last two examples often result in the person requesting to “go slow”, or listing their litany of injuries, goes into full attack mode as soon as the bell goes off. This is a clear sign of a lack of emotional control, and fear taking over, rather than some Machiavellian plan to defeat all teammates they encounter.

“Constant persistent failure is counter-productive to the learning process. If failure is persistent, especially when undertaking an activity with a high cost of failure like combat sports, then the probability a person will quit is exponentially higher.” (Lee, S., & Park, J. 2024) Pain, whether it is physical, mental, or emotional, is a natural enforcer to ‘stop’ the thing which is causing the pain.

Persistent failure falls in the mental and emotional categories, and therefore it is often overlooked by coaches, mentors, and even the individuals themselves who do not want to appear weak in the eyes of their peers, or mentors. This makes it extremely difficult for coaches to know the true reason a person has for quitting, as the individual is often reluctant to admit this, or they may not have processed exactly why in their own mind.

DEFENSIVE REACTION

A coach or mentor can easily dismiss a student as weaker, or too weak to handle the training, due to one or more of the factors above. Even becoming defensive when faced with this criticism or behavior rather than empathetic. Perceived more as a threat to their status, teaching method, and livelihood rather than a cry for help.

Appearing indifferent to the plight of the majority, one can see coaches and senior practitioners, myself included, entrench themselves in ideas such as: “It works for me.”, or “This is the way I was trained.”, or “This is the way we’ve always done it.”. Without realizing how many injuries we ourselves have sustained over time. Or recognizing that we are one bad injury away from being in a similar situation, or unable to do what we love. If a gym is successful financially, and their roster is full, there is little to no incentive to peel back the layers and look for a problem, or address these issues.

HIGHER RETENTION WITHIN TRADITIONAL CHINESE MARTIAL ARTS

If we contrast BJJ with traditional Chinese martial arts training, which typically includes the use of forms training (tao lu), shadow boxing, sticky hands (qi shou), and push hands (tui shou), we see much higher retention rates in the classes. The focus on solo skills training, movement patterns, or partner exercises produces an environment with a very low cost of failure. By and large when people quit in these gyms, it is due to one of the generic reasons above in my experience. Providing it is not an issue with the instructor or teammates. However, despite having a better retention rate there is an inherent problem with the transmission methods of Traditional Chinese Martial Arts. For that we first need to define what martial arts is.

WHAT IS MARTIAL ARTS?

To define Martial Arts we should consider Paul Bowman’s thoughts from his keynote talk at the Martial Arts Studies Conference 2024, Cardiff, UK that the definition of martial arts itself is arbitrary, and subject to the viewpoints of the practitioner, training group, and coach. (Bowman, MAS 2024) Before delving into the deficiencies and failures of the modern-traditional Chinese martial arts curricula, I’ll establish a measurement criteria by defining what martial arts means (to me), and why the aforementioned goals individual students establish for beginning their martial arts training, are not being met according to these standards.

As a coach and practitioner I define martial arts using the following three criteria:

1. SEEKING WEAKNESS - the constant and never ending quest to find our own weaknesses in — skill, technique, timing, etc., and the overarching goal of shoring up these weaknesses once found. The mats/dojo/wuguan/training hall/garage/backyard, or wherever we train, this environment informs us of where we are deficient not only in hand-to-hand combat, or weapon combat, but likely it reflects and translates directly to psychological and emotional weaknesses we have off the mats in our day to day life. This constant struggle and exploration allows us a vehicle to continue to improve and strengthen who we are as human beings.

2. ORGANIZING CHAOS - the idea of a martial art itself as the ‘organization of chaos’. Fighting another human being can be defined as — ‘chaotic’. This word describes succinctly the randomness, challenges, and disarray that happens within combat with another human being. During the engagement we cannot possibly know what the other person will do, or how they will go about attacking us. Through training martial arts skills and techniques, controlling ourselves, our actions, tactics, positions, and emotions, we can limit the options available to an opponent. Thereby reducing the number of possibilities they have to attack us and organizing the chaos into a more manageable state.

3. INOCULATION TO METHODS OF VIOLENCE - the third definition of martial arts is the ‘inoculation to methods of violence’. Through trust in our partners and teammates we engage in the act of inoculating ourselves, and one another, to the wide range of possible attacks that could happen to us in a real world situation. This exposure allows us to learn and adapt appropriate responses to these acts of violence through repetition, and control failure. Training effective means of mitigating and possibly dominating these risky scenarios. Martial arts training halls ‘should be’ a safe environment where we can engage in such practices so as to build skills to deal with circumstances that could otherwise kill us outside of the training hall where ‘TAP!!!’ is no longer an option.

A martial art that fails to meet any or all of these criteria leaves the practitioner feeling insecure in their abilities, or provides a false confidence in one’s capabilities. Creating a ‘skills fantasy’ versus ‘skills actual’. When practitioners engage strictly in solo and restricted partner training routines found in Traditional Chinese Martial Arts (and others), they fail to achieve the goal of learning ‘self-defense’, as is evident by the lack of participation and/or success of Traditional Martial Arts in modern combat sport arenas, challenge matches by amateur fighters, and sparring.(See early UFC/MMA fights, challenge matches versus traditional ‘masters’ in China, et al Personal Experience sparring with taekwondo and kung fu from 1999 to 2006, and versus practitioners of these arts from 2006 to 2024)

These failures are not exclusive to specific styles, or schools of Asian martial arts. The same outcome can be reproduced when sparring with practitioners of combat sports such as: boxing, kickboxing, etc. from gyms that focus strictly on bag and mitt work, kickboxing workout classes with ‘no partner work or sparring’, and any other martial art style focused on technique and void of sparring.

To be fair, combat sports suffer their own inherent weaknesses due to overly specialized training. Training modalities that lock practitioners into sport rule-sets, reducing their exposure to the chaos they will likely face in a real world self-defense scenario.

“When faced with a situation outside of their specialty, an attack the martial artist has not been inoculated to, the fighter often hesitates, or pauses to question what is currently happening, or why they are not effective at their skills, etc.” (Buonomano 2012) This can place the combatant ‘behind in the fight’ versus an aggressor, who shows no such reluctance or hesitation in the battle.

Examples:

1. A boxer facing a kicker. Each time the boxer approaches, they get blasted in the leg. Unfamiliar with this attack due to sport rules, they hesitate, and question what just happened. 

2. A Muay Thai fighter with a light fighting stance for mobility and kicking facing a Greco-Roman wrestler only interested in shooting the takedown. The muay thai fighter suddenly finds themselves on their back while getting smothered with pressure. With no tools to deal with this, delay, and likely panic sets in.

3. A BJJ Purple Belt with a focus on sport rules fighting a striker. They pull guard on the striker ready to go to work. The strike begins to ground and pound and the BJJ practitioner is now in uncharted territory with no map.

All of these scenarios reproduce similar outcomes. The mind of the fighter facing an unfamiliar, unscripted condition they have not been inoculated to. The fighter/grappler/wrestlre now falls back on whatever tools or attributes they had prior to gaining skills — speed and power. It is observed that quite often after being indoctrinated into sport fighting, the practitioner even forgets basic fighting and survival tools they may have used before taking up martial arts training e.g., hair pulling, groin strikes, eye pokes, etc.

WHY DO PEOPLE GET INJURED IN BJJ?

When people start Brazilian jiu-jitsu or any martial art, especially individuals with no prior training, there are two phenotypes, or innate attributes that have dramatic effects on sparring — 1) power, and 2) temperament, which manifests as speed (Naureen, Perrone,  Paolacci, Maltese, Dhuli, Kurti, Dautaj, Miotto, Casadei, Fioretti, Beccari, Romeo, & Bertelli, et al, 2020).

When a student is faced with stress, fatigue, fear, a lack of skill to deal with a situation, or the aggression or speed of a partner, or the perception of such even if it is not happening, then they will inherently fall back on using one or both of the aforementioned attributes as a survival mechanism. Therefore, the introduction of speed and power into the act of sparring in a gym is the primary culprit that leads to injuries and such a high cost of failure in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and other combat sports such as MMA.

WHEN SUCCESS IS NOT SUCCESS

The use of ‘strength’ and/or ‘speed’ to bring success to prevent a ‘TAP!’, a hit, or a takedown, only “reinforces to our brain that we are using the correct behavior/response” (Russel, Stuart; Norvig, Peter 1995) to help us not just succeed, but more importantly — survive.

Example: A practitioner taps out a teammate four times in a rolling session. The following week the victim decides they are not going to get caught again by this person. They approach their next sparring session with all the resistance they can muster. If they are successful they reinforce the use of speed and power as behaviors, rather than skill. This delays the learning of skills. Additionally, they are vastly increasing the likelihood of injury as the person who was tapping them out is receiving that speed and power, and adds speed and power of their own. Couple that with some amount of skill and this leads to catastrophic injuries in a ‘learning’ environment.

THE FALLACY OF — ‘ALL OUT’ WAR

An all too common misconception with BJJ training that ripples throughout the community is as follows:

“What’s great about BJJ is that we can go 100%!”

This is categorically false and one of the primary culprits that leads to torn ligaments, shoulder injuries, blown knees, back hips/backs, and accidental collisions, e.g., when a knee is suddenly smashing in one’s face in an unintended transition. We only need to look at sports science for the first indication that this is the wrong way to approach training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Good training is pushing an athlete into a 60 or 70% range, rather than trying to ‘max’ every workout.

This brings us to how to train in healthier ways not only for the body, but for the mind and spirit.

SOLUTIONS

How can we encourage failure in learning to fight while lowering the cost of failure, allowing students the freedom and enjoyment of training and gaining new skills? The following methods have been found in my own gym, to increase retention, drastically lessen injury and the fear of injury, as well as build improve teamwork and camaraderie on the mats for everyone in the class.

Although new numbers will take years for an accurate comparison, the following guidelines are the principles I use in my gym which have been successful at affecting positive change that was evident within months, and continues to show promise after now 4 years of using these methods:

1. PROBLEM SOLVE APPROACH (Halloun, Hestenes 1985, et al) - Present students with problems not solutions. Avoid over-coaching. Let people work together to solve problems and embrace the struggle together. This has shown increased ownership over the learning process and increases enjoyment of successes when they achieve them. We can accomplish this with a variety of methods: 1) show a move, let others figure it out, 2) set up a situation and ask them to try and solve it before revealing answers. Provide hints where needed, or to prevent massive detours down non-productive paths. Use a light touch.

2. CURRICULUM - Build a curriculum to teach by. An outline is sufficient, and does not need to be specific down to the lesson plan which can often put the teacher into a cruise control mode. Preventing innovative thought or organic evolution to the process that may spawn from a looser structure each time the same subject matter is taught. If I teach the same curriculum I developed 15 years ago, then I am failing to share 15 year of further growth, knowledge, development that I can bring to bear to help people avoid pitfalls and mistakes.

   • Brazilian jiu-jitsu is quite easy to build a curriculum for, especially for white belts. We use the 4 Dominant positions template - mount, side mount, back mount, guard (closed/open) as a platform. We add how to control someone, or positional control, a handful of submissions from each position, and then how to escape said position.

3. STAY ON TASK - Once we have a curriculum stay focused on each ground position for months before moving on. Start with solo drills to give students a way to practice off the mats, then introduce ‘one’ submission. Add from there week by week, all the while the student is getting reps on the moves they have already learned establishing pattern recognition (what to use where), gaining coordination, strength in the right places, learning to relax in the moves, and becoming adept at the technique while being exposed to other submissions they may never otherwise see. Repetition is the mother of all skill.

4. STRESS TEST - Prior to leaving a position behind, spend 1 to 2 weeks stress testing the position — ‘positional sparring’. Each student starts in the position and tries to pull off the submissions when the person under them, or in their guard, is non-compliant. Escapes work the same way. Using resistance to test the escape to see if they can still get out, or at least apply the correct principles under duress. While success here is welcome, it is not the point of the test. The goal here is to give the person exposure to what a resistant adversary feels like. Helping them understand that things are not always as easy as they appear without the risk of full on sparring.

5. NO STRINGS! - Avoid showing off some fancy move, or a high level sequence to set the person up to pull off a submission. After introducing a technique in this way, most students cannot execute the submission when the time comes in live rolling. All of the time and repetition was spent on the chain, or sequence that lead up to the submission or sweep, rather than on the submission itself. By showing chains of movements to arrive at the point of the lesson, we are only distracting them and inhibiting learning rather than instilling how to finish the move in the first place.
   
   Example: We start our lesson off with something like — “Today we are going to work on the keylock (americana) from side control. Start in your opponent’s guard then grab the belt —> walk the knees back —> round the back to break the guard. Now knee slice pass to the side mount —> execute the keylock.”
   
   This can be drilled for the usual 10 to 20 minutes before rolling begins. As soon as it is time to roll the outcome is more like this:
   The student starts in guard, grabs the belt as they were shown, and the person under them punches them in the face. Now they are asking themselves what the hell just happened, and why the coach didn’t talk about that.
   
   We can use sport rules only for the example:
   The student starts in guard, grabs the belt to start their break, and the person on the bottom reaches into their collar and starts choking them. The same questions arise: “What do I do now?”, “Why didn’t the coach talk about this?”
   
   Did the student go home that day remembering the keylock and how to execute it from side control? No. They instead went home thinking about all the times they were tapped out in the subsequent X number of rounds of sparring, and wondering what they can do to stop that from happening the next time. Are they learning through failure, and coming up with questions? Yes, but we’re not providing a new skill, but rather constantly putting out fires, and reinforcing the use of primitive skills, or attributes.

6. DELAY SPARRING/ROLLING - Remove sparring for white belts until they have gone through the entire curriculum one time. For my gym this takes roughly 2 years for both the Mantis Boxing, and BJJ cycles. There is still periodic and strategic pressure testing with resistance drills, and positional sparring as I mentioned. This is by far the most important piece, and was the hardest for me to institute. I was not taught this way and refused for years to institute it in my own gym even though deep down I knew it was the right call. Once I took this step, change began almost immediately. This action allows for:

   1. Ample time for students to replace ‘power’, and ‘speed’, with skill so when it comes time to spar, they do not fall back on the fight, flight, freeze response and rather, institute the new responses with the skills they’ve invested two years into learning.

   2. Builds trust and camaraderie amongst teammates. Martial arts is an individual sport/activity vs a team sport like soccer, or football. However, we need a team, or partner(s) in order to progress and evolve. Without such we have very limited chance of successfully understanding these arts we practice. By removing sparring, and thereby developing skills and trust, the next step is possible. The introduction of sparring will require ultimate trust and strong bonds within teammates, or we risk backsliding into raw emotion and out of control bouts within the gym.
      

7. MENTOR SPARRING - Once a student has gone through the curriculum one complete cycle institute mentor sparring to help them achieve pattern recognition and acclimate to all the moving parts working together. Mentor sparring is established with the following parameters:

1. One-Offense / One-Defense: Before the round starts establish ‘one person on offense’, and ‘one person on defense’ parameter. This can be determined by the participants or coach, and allows each person to know what their primary role is. This prevents accidental clashing where both sides are competing for position and are failing to help one another, increasing the likelihood of injury with those new to sparring.

2. Setups: The mentor sets up opportunities for the newer individual to apply skills they have learned. Examples of this are: they are in the mount and they leave their arm out so the person sees the arm bar. Another would be rolling to the turtle to give the person an opportunity to take the back, and then execute the lion killer choke after rolling them. Dropping a hand to leave the head open for a strike. This is done in a variety of situations on an as needed basis.

3. Pauses: The mentor pauses in positions their partner fails to recognize, or when a mistake is made, giving the student time to recognize the pattern and take action. The lower the skill level the longer the gaps. A purple belt may still need a pause to assimilate a new skill learned, but likely the gap will be much smaller than that same move for a white belt. No matter what rank or skill level, if the fighter is not recognizing the pattern, and definitely does not know what to do in that situation, the mentor can then give them a nudge, or a hint as to what they are missing so they can recognize the next time. Good practice is for the mentor to set up that same situation a couple more times (if time allows in the round), so the person can repeat the correct solution.

4. No Gear!: If striking and kicking are part of your training, remove all pads and gloves from the sparring rounds. Gloves, helmets, pads result in people taking more risks in sparring. This is known as ‘Risk Homeostasis’ and is well studied in football and driving. Additionally, within combat sports, it is my experience that helmets, pads, and gloves cause people to hit harder and go faster. Each time they hit someone, they do not get the expected response (pain and disruption), so they naturally add more intensity in order to compensate. Not only do helmets specifically, encourage injuries (concussions & CTE), the use of them retards the learning rather than encouraging it. People take more risks and eat more punches, mistakenly thinking they are ‘protected’.

5. Speed: In BJJ I recommend 40 to 50% as the upper limit of intensity and speed for high level practitioners to avoid injuries and keep the stress level low for optimal learning. This is what is often referred to as ‘flow rolling’. With newer practitioners lowering that to 20 to 30% is better for their experience and progression. When people begin sparring, it may be necessary to keep it to 5 to 10% in order for their minds to catch up.

   1. White Belts — 5 to 10%

   2. Blue Belts — 20 to 30%

   3. Purple Belts — 30 to 40%

   4. Brown/Black Belts — 40 to 50%

6. Stress Test: Slow to learn, fast to test. When do we go 100%? In competition or real-world altercations ONLY. In the gym? Never. When striking, kicking, and throwing — Full power/speed can be viewed as the equivalent of training with live bullets. When ground grappling — during positional sparring stress testing, with caveats. When the practitioners are isolated and there is less movement involved it is possible with good teamwork to push the edge and maximize resistance. If executing escapes from an inferior position for example, upon successful escape the position is ‘reset’, the test is started anew. There is no opportunity for continuation and therefore it reduces the likelihood of accidental injury.

7. De-escalation Method: Even under the best circumstances humans have bad days, or there is something in our past that is revealed on the mats and causes us to overreact, or unintentionally speed up or use more force. While slowing ourselves down can sometimes be enough, there is a safety risk in doing so and we must be careful when attempting that. The preferred method is:
   
   When faced with a teammate showing clear signs of duress, the following ‘unorthodox’ technique is used to bring them back to center. Start talking to them while sparring, or say you need a break for a minute. Begin small talk such as — “What did you do this weekend?”, “Seen any good movies as of late?”, or “Is this a busy time of year for you?” There are many such questions, the key is to take their mind off of the current fixation and allow them to relax and use skills.
   
   We have used this heavily in our gym over the years. This tool is used more frequently when trying to get people sparring earlier, before they have had time to replace instinct with skill.

RESULTS AND CLOSING STATEMENTS

In closing, I challenge that we must ask ourselves who is setting these standards of what Brazilian jiu-jitsu training looks like? Who is running classes and coaching others? Whose job is it to help the students reach their goals? Who continues to perpetuate this ineffective cycle? It is not the 94% who quit along the way. It is not even the 6.5% that made it to black belt as not all of them go on to teach. It is the even smaller percentage that go on to coach. Change must start with us.

A majority of practitioners are not trying to be the best competition jiu-jitsu grappler in the world, and yet our training practices and sparring formats exhibit such patterns, and our attrition is worse than the elite military units. Without self-reflection, interviewing students who leave, or taking stock of retention data, we as coaches can become entrenched in the status quo.  “It worked for us so why is this a problem?”

We made it through the gauntlet, and it feels good to be a member of such an elite group of people that made it to the highest levels of BJJ, one of the few who overcame a monumentally difficult task over such a long period of time and in the face of extreme adversity. Yet, is the destruction of bodies, minds, and spirits, in our purview of coaching and teaching others the art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu? Or is our objective to help students achieve success and reach their own goals of learning to defend themselves?

It is unrealistic and idealistic to believe we can eliminate all injury from martial arts training, but we can vastly decrease the propensity for such, while reaping the benefits from sparring. Over the past two years I have instituted the changes I laid out above. It has shown my students, those who I am fortunate enough to get to teach, that sparring can be fun. An activity we enjoy and learn more from than any other part of our training. It is the glue that binds our skills, teaches us to adapt, and produces confidence in our abilities. And we have shown it can be done without compromising efficacy, while also reducing injuries, improving confidence, and building solid skills across the entire team.

We have witnessed an epic change in the atmosphere of the team these past couple years. We graduated a crew of 5 new blue belts, all with increased competency. Each of them acclimated well to the sparring classes, and rely on skills when they spar rather than using speed and power as their primary tools. Camaraderie is now the norm, rather than competition. Team members have become invested in one another's success, not just their own and by proxy the failure of others they train with, and constantly compete against.

We replaced power and speed with skill, and skill is the new normal. Knowledge, understanding and abilities have gone up drastically, and retention, even though it will be years to compare the data, has flipped 180 degrees.

References

1. Zhou, Q., Mao, J. Y., & Tang, F. (2020). Don't Be Afraid to Fail Because You Can Learn From It! How Intrinsic Motivation Leads to Enhanced Self-Development and Benevolent Leadership as a Boundary Condition. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 699. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00699

2. International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) (2013-2024). Graduation Standards. https://ibjjf.com/graduation-system

3. Pavelko, Jeff Lieutenant Colonel (2017). US Special Operations Command, USSOCOM IMPLEMENTATION PLAN PROGRESS, 6 (SFAS Table 2012-2015 et al).  https://dacowits.defense.gov/Portals/48/Documents/General%20Documents/RFI%20Docs/June2017/SOCOM%20RFI%202.pdf

4. Eskreis-Winkler, L., & Fishbach, A. (2022). You Think Failure Is Hard? So Is Learning From It. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 17(6), 1511-1524.https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916211059817

5. Lee, S., & Park, J. (2024). Giving up learning from failures? An examination of learning from one's own failures in the context of heart surgeons. Strategic Management Journal, 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3609

6. Russel, Stuart; Norvig, Peter (1995) Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, Prentice Hall. 

7. Ibrahim Abou Halloun, David Hestenes; The initial knowledge state of college physics students. Am. J. Phys. 1 November 1985; 53 (11): 1043–1055.https://doi.org/10.1119/1.14030

8. Ibrahim Abou Halloun, David Hestenes; Common sense concepts about motion. Am. J. Phys. 1 November 1985; 53 (11): 1056–1065.https://doi.org/10.1119/1.14031

9. David Hestenes; Toward a modeling theory of physics instruction. Am. J. Phys. 1 May 1987; 55 (5): 440–454.https://doi.org/10.1119/1.15129

10. Hanford, Emily (Host). (2012) Physicists Seek To Lose The Lecture As Teaching Tool [Audio Podcast]. National Public Radio.  https://www.npr.org/2012/01/01/144550920/physicists-seek-to-lose-the-lecture-as-teaching-tool

11. Buonomano, Dean (2012) Brain Bugs: How the Brain's Flaws Shape Our Lives, W.W. Norton & Company

12. Bowman, Paul (2024). Opening Talk Martial Arts Studies Conference 2024, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK. https://youtu.be/PuTWMS0z1XQ?si=hsdyKJsFjbpAiZnS

13. Naureen, Z., Perrone, M., Paolacci, S., Maltese, P. E., Dhuli, K., Kurti, D., Dautaj, A., Miotto, R., Casadei, A., Fioretti, B., Beccari, T., Romeo, F., & Bertelli, M. (2020). Genetic test for the personalization of sport training. Acta bio-medica : Atenei Parmensis, 91(13-S), e2020012. https://doi.org/10.23750/abm.v91i13-S.10593

14. Varillas-Delgado, D., Del Coso, J., Gutiérrez-Hellín, J., Aguilar-Navarro, M., Muñoz, A., Maestro, A., & Morencos, E. (2022). Genetics and sports performance: the present and future in the identification of talent for sports based on DNA testing. European journal of applied physiology, 122(8), 1811–1830. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-022-04945-z

The Kicks of Mantis Boxing Training Course

Confuse. Overwhelm. Destroy.

Kick with Balance. Kick with Precision. Kick with Power.

Kicks are devastating. The power we can generate with the leg far outweighs the potential with our arms, and they provide a distinct reach advantage as a long range weapon. However, kicking requires far more energy which is in limited supply. Launching kicks creates weaknesses in our defense that allow for counter-attacks by our opponent. Kicking causes potentially catastrophic imbalances when we go to one leg. And kicks are only useful in very specific ranges of hand-to-hand combat; improper timing leads to unsuccessful attacks, or our own demise. Using one of the best weapons on our body that requires the most energy consumption to execute and failing to connect with it, is a bad equation in my world.

I’m Randy Brown, and after 21 years of martial arts training from tae kwon do, to kickboxing, to multiple styles of Chinese boxing (to include 3 styles of mantis boxing), I have developed a system of kicking to help you succeed where most kicking fails.

In my kicks of mantis boxing course you’ll learn:

• The basic kicks of mantis boxing.

• How to properly execute your kicks without losing balance.

• Kicking strategy to maximize destruction, confuse and overwhelm your attacker.

• Power generation.

• Warm-ups for pre-training and increasing flexibility.

• Proper range to throw each kick. And more importantly, when and how to switch gears and go from striking to kicking, or kicking to striking. A critical skill when it comes to any boxing art.

Take the mystery and confusion out of creating your own drills, or figuring out what to work by following my simple, easy to follow, training missions after each lesson. Curated by me personally to help you to integrate these powerful kicking methods into your skillset.

Includes:

• 14 Video Lessons shot in HD video

• Training missions to get your repetition and skill training

• Warm-ups for Kicking and Improving Flexibility

• PDF download - Beginner’s Guide to Kicking by Randy Brown

*course included with Legacy Boxer and Supreme Ultimate Boxer memberships

Summary Boxing Set - Training Course

Advance your skills, coordination, balance, reaction speed, and more.

Learn my Mantis Boxing

A friend of mine, another martial arts instructor, asked me a question a few years ago during a lengthy debate on ‘forms in martial arts and their efficacy’. A conversation we later recorded for everyone’s benefit.

He asked,

“if you die (I’m quite sure he was plotting to kill me), how will your students know what your methods, or system was?”

His argument was accompanied by a challenge to create my own form. A boxing set that represents all, or at least most, of my mantis boxing methods for all of you.

So I took my experience learning over 50 of these boxing forms early on in my training, and used this to lay the framework for my very own set. My Summary Boxing Set, or Zhāi Yào 摘要. Which literally means a summary.

This set is comprised of a wide variety techniques hailing from the 4 pillars of mantis boxing - strikes, kicks, throws, and submissions. Includes combinations & counters. Trips, takedowns, chokes, and locks. All methods that I use in sparring. Tested for years on my mats by me, and my students.

This is a perfect way for you to practice these techniques on your own, or with a partner and continue to advance your skills, coordination, balance, reaction speed, and more. Training your body to recognize and tweak these movement patterns (fighting techniques) so when it comes time to use them for real, your body is not stopping to ask your mind - “how do I move my arm, leg, etc to pull this off?”

Isn’t this Free?

Sneak peek of a few of the exciting mantis boxing moves you’ll learn in this course!

Buy Now

You may be asking yourself, “Didn’t you release this boxing set for free to the entire world on YouTube? What is the point of this course?”

Good question. One I would be asking in your shoes. The answer is simple.

Combat Applications!!!

Any martial art form, kata, taolu, boxing set in and of itself, is an empty shell. Without the functional component behind the parts and pieces inside the shell, it is nothing more than a nominally useful martial dance routine.

Know the WHAT, and WHY!

Inside this course you will not only learn my summary boxing set, you’ll see what the moves do in combative applications and how to apply them. In my experience, an invaluable treasure. A storehouse of knowledge for you to refer to as you train with me. Something I ‘never’ had in my years of training all manner of styles of Chinese boxing from a variety of teachers. In that time I only ever had one mantis boxing coach that carried form and fighting together under one roof.

A fact that may seem inconsequential to many of you whose first martial art experience was training with me, where your in-person classes are filled with drilling application with a partner, followed by sparring. This lexicon is something I believe you will come to appreciate over time and will help you to visualize what the moves do as you practice, or to train them with a partner and learn how to really use mantis boxing.

One last thing - I hope you enjoy this set as much as I did creating it for you.

Randy

*course included with Legacy Boxer and Supreme Ultimate Boxer memberships

The Plum Blossom Connection To Mantis Boxing

Symbolism

Plum Blossom - logo design - Randy Brown - 2006

The plum flower (méi huā 梅花) is a prolific symbol in Chinese culture. The flower is one of the very few blossoms to appear in the early spring when snow is still a possibility. There are countless images in Chinese art culture depicting the plum blossom emerging through snow covered branches. The symbolism of this particular flower is powerful, a metaphor for ‘strength through adversity’, or ‘overcoming hardship’.

Upon close inspection, Praying Mantis Boxing (táng láng quán 螳螂拳), a style from Shandong province in northern China, has a deeply rooted past that intersected and conjoined with plum boxing, another popular style of the time and region. There are a multitude of references found within names of mantis boxing sets, specific movements within forms, and even branches/lines of the mantis boxing style that split off from the main line, going on to brand themselves as ‘plum blossom’ praying mantis boxing. This goes beyond mere symbolism and speaks to something greater. To understand this we have to delve deeper into the region, politics, and time period where the style originated, and discuss another style of boxing known as, Plum Boxing.

Plum Flower Boxing

Plum Flower Boxing (méi huā quán 梅花拳), or méi quán, is a folk style of boxing from the border regions of Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, Henan, and Hebei province in northern China. It began during the Qing dynasty, and by the collapse of the Qing in the early 1900’s, it had thousands of followers; although this description is rife with technicalities.

For one, the word styles is in question. In the early and mid Qing dynasty boxers rarely stayed with one teacher for any significant length of time. ‘Styles’ as a construct were few and far between outside of family units. A boxer’s repertoire was an amalgamation of techniques from various teachers and counterparts across the north China plains. Joseph W. Esherick writes of this in his book on the origins of what is commonly known as the Boxer Rebellion, which he more aptly describes as a series of ‘uprisings’.

As we get to the late Qing, when plum boxing is gaining in popularity, we see more styles begin to take significant roles in the Yellow River region in the 1860’s. Esherick notes,

Boxing was particularly popular in this area - both as recreation for young men, and as a means of protecting one’s home in an increasingly unstable countryside.

He also quotes a Linqing gazeteer. They said,

The local people like to practice the martial arts — especially to the west of Linqing. There are many schools: Shaolin, Plum Flower and Greater and Lesser Hong Boxing. Their weapons are spears, swords, staff and mace. They specialize in one technique and compete with one another.

Shaolin boxing was tied to the ‘bandit-monks’ as Chinese historian Peter Lorge describes them. Temple monks hired local ruffians and bandits to protect their land holdings and crops. They were monks only in title and appearance, but more accurately put — armed enforcers for the temple.

Red Boxing (Hong Quan) was the preferred boxing methods of security guards, escort masters, and family bodyguards in the northern provinces. Albeit this was not the style of origin for a bodyguard who began the 6 Harmony Praying Mantis Boxing line in the generations to follow.

Plum Flower Boxing has a variety of descriptions tied to it, all of them accurate in their own rights. The synopsis - a ‘style’ only in the loosest sense of the word. More accurately - a series of boxing methods used for self-defense, but more for exhibition in village marketplaces. It was named not for a style so much as the time of year these exhibitions normally took place — in early spring before the field work began. A period during which, spare time was more plentiful for the agrarian society, and the plum blossoms were appearing on the trees. The ‘plum boxers’ would arrive in the markets touting their skills. (Esherick, 1987)

Dr. Peter Lorge, a Chinese historian wrote

“many local styles [of Chinese martial arts] subsumed themselves under the rubric of Plum Blossom Boxing when it became famous [due to its association with the Boxer Rebellion] at the beginning of the twentieth century” (2012:208; see also Zhang and Green 2010)

Dr. Tom Green, and Dr. Zhang Guodong write extensively on the folk aspect of Mei Boxing in their research (Zhang and Green 2010) on the style, and its integration in local villages that survives even to today.

By the end of the 19th century plum boxing had thousands of practitioners. Shandong, the birthplace of mantis boxing, was replete with plum boxing practitioners, and the now known style was taught by one of the famous patriarchs and leader in the boxer uprisings - Zhao Sanduo. Esherick writes heavily on Zhao and his role with the rebellion. Ben Judkins follows up in great detail as well.

The significant point of immediate interest for our purposes, is to note the popularity of the style as well as its migratory nature. This was not simply limited to one small region in China. The style spread from village to village, city to city as the 1800’s progressed on towards the turn of the century. If we stick with the concept of styles being a construct of a series of techniques learned from multiple sources, or as Green puts it - “a common vernacular in the region”, then we can understand why one style or boxer, would absorb the methods of another so seamlessly. As with modern day martial arts, and the popularity of videos on fighting technique for almost any style you can think of - we practitioners seek out and use what works. Efficacy is at the forefront. This concept is not unique or exclusive to human beings in the 21st century, and it would be hubris to believe so. It would be especially present when dealing with violent and chaotic regions where your life and the life of your family depended on these skills, as existed during this time period.

The Collapsing Empire

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Crane on a Snow-Laiden Plum Tree - ink on silk - Attributed to Lu Fu, second half of the 15th century -after 1505

There are questions as to the ‘true’ age of praying mantis boxing. For now we’ll assume that mantis boxing was an actual ‘style’ prior to the late 19th century.

Liang Xuexiang, the lineage holder in Shandong Province, China during the late Qing dynasty. Liang returned from Beijing in 1855 to his village in Laiyang county (Yushankuang) two days walk south of Yantai. At this time the region to the west of the village was in the fifth year of catastrophic flooding of the Yellow River. The Taiping Rebellion was raging in the south. The second Opium War, known as The Dart War would begin the following year in 1856.

Liang Xuexiang was a biaoshi (escort master) prior to retiring, and possibly a soldier in the Qing military (although I have yet to verify this with more than one source). I am told by another credible source that he was a silk merchant in Beijing prior to returning to his village. It is worthy of noting, according to Chircop-Reyes and his paper on Merchants, Brigands, and Escorts, a biaoshi was hired based on factors which included their martial arts lineage.

In 1875, Liang was in his mid 60’s when his life intersected with the next (4th) generation of mantis boxers. The boxers who would then go on to diverge the style from it’s core lineage, and propel it onto separate paths into the present day. Liang, with his experience as a biaoshi, may have been considered a village protector upon his return, or just passing the time in his later years teaching for fun.

During 1875, a majority of the Shandong province was gripped by severe drought that had begun two years prior in 1873, and was still ongoing. Four years of mass famine would follow this drought claiming the lives of 9.5 to 13 million people within five northern provinces of the north China plains which included Shandong. An estimated 8 to 12% of the population.

Opium was ravaging the populace, as well as continued western encroachment and pressure. Yantai was home to one of the treaty ports that was forced open by the western powers at the Treaty of Tianjin (1858) following the Dart War. The White Lotus Rebellion was off and on in the border regions of Shandong, and banditry was a significant problem in northwest and southwest of Shandong. Militias were growing in popularity to quell these threats.

The Qing rulers were meanwhile engrossed in fending off a multi-pronged attack on their rule from outside powers and internal rebellion, as well as corruption which all told, compromised their ability to maintain power. An economic fallout from the catastrophic floods, major rebellions fought in the south and the west that sapped their military strength; foreign powers beating down their door, and the eventual Japanese invasion during the Sino-Japanese war (1894-95). This invasion included battles in Shandong next door to Yantai, in Weihai Wei.

The Qing military at it’s apex was remarkably powerful and adept with the 8 banner armies of the Manchu. By this time however, they had become lazy and unkempt. The Green Banner army, comprised of Han Chinese, not Manchu bannermen, was now the leading force to deal with rebellions and fight off foreign incursions with any significant effect. The Qing military lacked technological advancement, and the western powers made short work of the Qing army in any altercation. Likewise, Japan during the Sino-Japanese war, sunk the much larger Chinese fleet in its entirety in a single day.

The intrusion of Catholic and Protestant missionaries, their willfulness at not only converting villagers, but influencing the political establishment, caused a growing resentment toward these religions, their leaders, and their followers alike. Thus was the climate of Shandong during the 1800’s as Plum Blossom Boxing spread, and mantis boxing was branded.

The rise of Méi Huā Quan

As mentioned, méi quan was the name of a growing martial art in northern China well before and during the lives of the 4th generation of mantis boxers that followed Liang Xuexiang. Liang is noted as training under Zhao Zhu, who trained under Li Bingxiao - known as ‘two hooks Li’, the likely progenitor of the mantis boxing lineage around the turn of the 19th century, if there was one. His existence is difficult to verify, and his name has questionable translations.

Those who would become the fourth generation of mantis boxers, to teach others, were the following: Liang Jingchuan (Liang’s son), Jiang Hualong, Song Zide, Sun Yuanchang, and Hao Lianru. They were all friends with one another in Yantai.

How were these boxers tied to Liang Xuexiang? They are claimed in the mantis oral records as being students of Liang. Upon deeper inspection though, this is a more difficult question to answer. At the time they met Liang they were the following ages: Hao was still a child at 11 years old. Jiang and Song were 20 years old; both had experience in other boxing styles prior to meeting and ‘training’ with Liang, according to their biographies.

Is it possible Jiang and Song, and the other boxers their age, were in Liang’s employ as escort guards rather than martial arts students? That is, if Liang was still operating as a security boss at this time. There is no known evidence of when Liang ended his service in this career so this is difficult to answer.

Another possibility is, they were bodyguards for Liang and his family, who was now in his 60’s during an extremely chaotic time in Shandong. One experienced in the field of protective services would certainly recognize the need for such in times of strife.

Militias were also becoming more and more commonplace in Shandong due to the growing criminal activity. Was this group a militia? Was their symbol the mantis? Was Liang the militia leader? He was a respected escort-master who may well have been looked to as a local leader. More questions, few answers.

Another question, were they a gang of hoodlums brought together by ill circumstances to bully and harass others? Asserting their will over those weaker than themselves? This last part is doubtful due to Song, and another friend of theirs, Wang Rongsheng, being from wealthy families.

Perhaps, during the height of a major catastrophic event, and surrounded by a collapsing dynasty, Liang was simply teaching martial arts to this next generation for a hobby? Silly, when we lay it out that way, but entirely possible.

We have no definitive reason why any of these boxers, with the exception of Wang Rongsheng came to claim Liang as their teacher. We can however look at the obvious connection to the plum blossom society, and how this popular boxing wave came to influence mantis boxing as it progressed toward the 1900’s. Possibly determining when praying mantis boxing began to change.

The Boxer Uprisings

Plum blossom boxing was highly popularized by the time these 5 boxers were in their 30’s and 40’s. The style was also directly, or indirectly tied to the Boxer Uprisings many years later. According to Dr. Peter Lorge, and Dr. Tom Green, méihuāquan was a popular style, or group of martial artists of the time, which also held a folk religious element along with it.

Plum blossom boxing was spread through marketplaces when their followers/practitioners visiting villages and cities in the northern regions of China. Said boxers would meet up with other martial artists and share techniques in a cross collaboration. The art spread through various provinces such as - Henan, Hebei, and Shandong [Green 2016].

Dr. Ben Judkins mentions these plum boxers in his extensive writings on Martial Arts as Brand. Judkins writes, “Talent attracts talent.” which could help explain why these younger, accomplished boxers with prior experience in other styles, ended up tied by lineage, to two biaoshi (escort masters) that came before them - Li San Jian, and Liang Xuexiang.

Judkins further writes -

“However it would appear that there have been numerous cases where local martial artists wished to capitalize on the marking[sic] power of the dominant style or “brand” but for one reason or another could not officially enter the new institution or retrain.  The very rapid spread of Plum Blossom Boxing across northern China in the late 18th and 19th century is a good example of this.

Members of this style, sometimes associated with millennial folk religious movements, were a common fixture on training grounds and at village markets in a number of northern provinces.  Today there are a very large number of “alternate lineages” within the Plum Blossom tradition, some of which share more commonalities than others.  Practitioners of the art occasionally point to this proliferation of clans as evidence of the great age of the art.  However, we actually have some good documentation on the history of this particular style.

It appears that in the second half of the 19th century a relatively large number of small local fighting styles, some of them more closely related than others, started to declare themselves “Plum Blossom” schools by fiat, essentially appropriating what was a regionally very successful brand, without having to totally overhaul their teaching structures.  In this way the total number of unique local styles in the region was reduced, and the relationship between the name “Plum Blossom” and any fixed body of techniques was stretched and twisted”

Jiang Hua Long and his friend Song Zi De were the first to claim the moniker of the plum blossom, branding the style as ‘Plum Blossom’ Praying Mantis Boxing. Hao Lian Ru was the blood brother of Liang’s son, Liang Jingchuan, who was much older than him and the 1st disciple of Liang Xue Xiang. Hao later went on to distinguish his line of mantis as something different than the others - Tài Jí Méi Huā Táng Láng Quán, or ‘Supreme Ultimate Plum Blossom’ Praying Mantis Boxing.

Tai Ji is oft used as a way to define something as ‘the source of all things’. This was likely a way for Hao to declare (or brand) that he was in fact the 1st of Liang’s disciples. The closest to the core. However, when this happened is debatable. Such political pettiness is likely to have happened after Liang Xuexiang’s death in 1895 at 85 years old.

If Lorge is correct that much of the plum blossom moniker came after the Boxer Rebellion, then we can narrow this down to sometime after 1902. If Liang Xuexiang was the bearer of the mantis torch prior to all of these boxers, and it was not a brand invented after his passing, then it is likely the plum blossom blend of techniques also did not appear until after his passing, and after the boxer uprisings.

The references to the plum blossom go deeper as we explore a few of the mantis boxing tào lù (forms, or choreographed boxing sets). Although this is subject to debate, these boxing sets are the commonly believed ‘older’ sets from mantis boxing. They exist in all of the main lines with the exception of 6 harmony mantis, which came later in the 5th generation by conjoining with a different boxing style altogether (Liuhe).

Mantis Boxing Sets -  Tào Lù

A note on these boxing sets before we establish their plum blossom connection. The common forms that exist between the lines of — plum blossom praying mantis boxing, supreme ultimate praying mantis boxing, and qī xīng (Seven Star 七星) praying mantis boxing, are all different from one another in execution. None of them have the same moves/patterns within the choreographed set of fighting moves. This makes it next to impossible to tell which version is ‘correct’, or an original, and further solidifies the fact that boxing techniques and styles of the time, were fluid.

We can however rule out seven star mantis as being the original, since Wang Rongsheng never studied under Liang Xuexiang. Wang’s claimed teacher, Li Sanjian practiced Red Boxing (Hong Quan), not mantis boxing. Li San Jian was in his 70’s in 1888 when Wang started training with him, and died a few years later in 1891. So it is difficult to assess how much ‘knowledge’ was transferred to Wang from Li in that time, and if fighting was the true nature of their relationship.

It is also important to note that Wang was from a wealthy family, and thereby did martial arts as a hobby rather than as means of employ. Li San Jian however, was a famous fighter and biaoshi. Wang, also ‘purchased’ his degree in the 1890’s (a common form of corruption taking place at this time due to the imperial examination system being extremely difficult to pass). Wang failed the exams three times previous to purchasing his degree. Wang, and his family quite possibly hired Li Sanjian for his protection services/knowledge, and Wang could have studied with him during this time. But their relationship is unknown to us, and not relevant to our current, and further exploration of the plum blossom connection to mantis.

Ultimately, finding the original quickly narrows down to — Plum Blossom Praying Mantis (Jiang and Song), Tai Ji Mantis (Sun Yuanchang), or Tai Ji Plum Blossom Praying Mantis (Hao Lianru). Perhaps Hao and Sun’s ‘taiji' mantis is closer to the true mantis, if there ever was such a thing. Or, at least closest to Liang Xuexiang’s teachings? Perhaps this is why they named branded it with the taiji? As in ‘closest to the source’.

The fact that the forms (taolu) from each of them is also different, tells us that even within this ‘style’ of mantis boxing, the forms were subject to independent interpretation rather than a dogmatic system of practice. Due to the appearance and consistency of all three of the core boxing sets (albeit executed differently from one another) in ‘seven star’, ‘taiji’ and ‘plum blossom’ lines of mantis boxing, allows us to trace the forms Luán Jié (Intercept 攔截), Bā Zhǒu (8 Elbow 八肘), and Beng Bu (Crushing Step 崩步) at least as far back as this 4th generation of boxers.

I have no known record of who created these forms at the time of this writing. There is uncorroborated claims that Liang Xuexiang wrote three manuscripts and listed some of these sets within. Until I can verify that, it is unsubstantiated. We may never know.

Because these boxing sets show up in plum blossom praying mantis, supreme ultimate praying mantis, and seven star praying mantis, we can conclude that they either a) existed prior to this generation, and were taught by Liang Xuexiang, or b) were created by this generation and spread down each branch from there; each style having different versions of the form based on the boxer teaching it. Having no verifiable written records makes it difficult to pin down an absolute origin, but it is important to note Esherick’s writings again here as a refresher - ‘boxers and their methods were more fluid and subject to variation from boxer to boxer.’

Wang Rongsheng, the founder of the seven star praying mantis branch was close friends with the ‘plum blossom’ praying mantis boxing founders, and around the same age. Wang assuredly learned mantis boxing from these boxers, his friends, since he did not learn it from Li San Jian. This we can discern from a close study of our mantis boxing timeline, and exactly when he is noted as meeting his claimed teacher, Li San Jian.

Since the boxing sets Crushing Step, Intercept, and 8 Elbows are often the topic of discussion when it comes to ‘original forms’, I’ll focus on these in more detail while additionally notating other forms that offer significant points of interest, if in name only.

Note: These observations are based on the versions of the form(s) that I learned and witnessed via other boxers. Mantis forms are ripe with variations from one line to the next, even at times within the same branch/line. Thus making it extremely difficult to make any statements in absolute terms.

Lán Jié (Intercept 攔截)

The same double block is found in Gongliquan.

The version of Lán Jié that I learned, as well as others I see out there, is precipitated by a strange movement pattern performed in the air. This pattern makes little sense out of context, but the pattern in the air is clearly a plum flower. An homage to plum blossom boxing and a strong indication that this set was assembled by this 4th generation of boxers, or at least this was tacked on.

The opening move of the form that follows the salutation is synonymous with a version of the plum blossom boxing set -> double rising hooks followed by double palms/waist chop. This is the same opening move of the plum blossom form/boxing set that still exists today. Instead of hooks (another brand as I discuss in The Mantis Hand was nothing more than a Mantis Brand) the plum blossom version uses two upper blocks with fists. Similar to gongliquan (power building boxing).

By itself one could argue that this was just a technique that was common to the region at the time. However, when placed immediately after the opening symbolism and combined with other factors that follow, it stands to reason that it came from plum boxing rather than the other way around.

Other common techniques overlap with plum boxing as well: crashing tide, closing door kick, recede/block/kick, block/circle/trap strike, seize leg, lifting hook to the topple, and more. All show a) there was a common vernacular, or library of techniques, (see What Can BJJ Teach Us About Qing Dynasty Martial Arts? - Randy Brown - MAS Conference 2019) in the region at the time, and b) given the redundancy of these two sets and plum boxings popularity compared to mantis, that Lán Jié was likely created after the plum blossom boxing craze.

Given the heavy influence and symbolism of plum boxing within this set, it is far more likely this form was created or altered after the boxer uprising when forms proliferation truly began. However, this is difficult to know for sure without documented dates of creation. Another commonality with this set as well as other mantis sets like crushing step, and others (yet not Ba Zhou), is the repeated engarde position found in the meihuaquan (see photo).

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Bēng Bù (Crushing Step 崩步)

Bēng Bù (Crushing Step 崩步) is a prevalent tào lù (boxing set 套路) of praying mantis boxing. It stands as one of the more popular fighting sets on record for the style. It is also a common boxing set practiced by a few of the branches. Although the name translates as 'Crushing Step', this is a bit of a misnomer. 

This form also embodies the influence of plum blossom boxing. The ‘engarde’ position known as ‘mantis catches cicada’ shows up in bēng bù right at the beginning — second move. In Crushing Step as well as in other mantis sets, this engarde position is branded with the mantis hooks instead of the signature open palms found in plum blossom boxing as seen above. This clearly disrupts the idea that this was a combative move in and of itself. A heart crushing blow to many of us who spent great efforts trying to ‘decipher’ the fighting application of that move.

In the end, it is nothing more than a branded engarde position taken from plum blossom boxing. It could also be commonly used by boxers from varying styles accustomed to duels at the time. Although, in my experience with studying over 50 forms from a variety of northern Chinese boxing styles, it does not appear that often in other sets/styles.

Additionally, the end of Crushing Step, and Intercept, both have a 180 degree turn to this ‘mantis catches cicada position, or engarde with hooks. The plum boxing set ends with the exact same 180 degree turn, the exception being the use of open palms vs hooks. 

The Tiger Tail Kick

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Plum Flower Maiden Dancing from Pole to Pole. Circa 1880. Source: Wikimedia (though I believe that Stanley Henning was the first person to publish this image in his essay for Green and Svinth.)

At the end of the first road of bēng bù, there is a move often referred to as a ‘tiger tail kick’. There are versions of crushing step with one instance of this move as you start the second road, and other variations end the first road with this move, and then repeat it in the opposite direction before heading into the second road of the form. Regardless, its roots lie in plum boxing.

Thanks to another article done by Ben Judkins on his Kung Fu Tea blog, I found a drawing of this exact same move. The article - “Research Notes: “Background of Meihuaquan’s Development During Ming and Qing Dynasties” By Zhang Guodong and Li Yun” discusses the influence meihuaquan had on the area of Shandong during the late 1800’s. This same ‘tiger tail kick’ move, as seen in the drawing from 1880, is inside the meihuaquan forms as well as Crushing Step.

This influence on a staple mantis boxing form such as bēng bù draws into question the age of the form, and perhaps points to a newer origin story for this boxing set thought to be at one time over a thousand years old.

Bā Zhǒu (8 Elbows 八肘)

Bā Zhǒu is claimed to be one of the older sets in the lineage. By outward appearance, although mutated from line to line, it seems to be one of the only forms consistent among seven star, supreme ultimate plum blossom, and plum blossom mantis. It would therefore hint that this form [whichever version is original], is handed down by Liang Xue Xiang, and perhaps those before him.

Additionally, and perhaps more significantly — in review of the various versions of this form ascribed to the different branches of mantis boxing, there is a distinct lack of the ‘plum blossom influence’ in the set unlike crushing step, and intercept. In a closer look at this 4th generation of boxers when they fractured into separate lines, based on this evidence it is highly likely in my opinion that this is the oldest mantis boxing set.

Bēng bù and lán jié are suspicious when we see the heavy plum blossom boxing influence represented within them. In both seven star, and plum blossom mantis boxing lines. This can further be brought into question as we look to what other significant geopolitical factors took place in this region/time period.

Rebel Boxers

These plum boxers were subsequently connected to the Boxer Uprisings as we travel closer to the turn of the century. Zhao San Duo, a famous plum boxer and rebel of the time, they were connected to the uprisings not necessarily in ways that would seem obvious. Judkins writes regarding the plum boxers/sect in his article on Zhao San Duo, “the group expelled anti-Christian, and anti-Qing extremist factions.” They were, as well as other martial artists of the time, called upon to engage as a militia group in times of need.

However, Judkins cites the work of Joseph Esherick on the Boxer Uprisings and goes on to further mention the following specifically about Zhao San Duo -

“Esherick reports one very interesting example of “image policing” in his discussion of the relationship between Plum Blossom boxing and the aftermath of an outbreak of anti-Christian violence in 1897 (The Origins of the Boxer Uprising.  California UP, 1985. pp. 151-159.).

Zhao San-duo was a noted local Plum Blossom teacher who had a few thousand students and disciples (including many yamen clerks and secretaries) in the Liyuantun region of Shandong.  He was probably not a wealthy individual, but his father was a degree holder and he seems to have had some amount of local influence.  While he initially resisted being caught up in local events, he ultimately could not withstand the demands to back his fiends and students in the face of persistent communal violence.

During the spring of 1897 he was effectively pressured by his students to become involved in a dispute between the local community and the area’s Christian population. A church (still under construction) was attacked, homes were looted and many people were injured in the clash (one person was reported to have been killed). The Christians were effectively driven out of the local community and the site of their former church was reallocated as a village school.

This action was well received locally and local officials were sympathetic to Zhao and his cause. However, from that point forward he increasingly aligned himself with radical (and sometimes even anti-Manchu) figures. This trend worried the other elders of the local Plum Blossom clan. They did not want to be associated with community violence, anti-Christian violence or even the suggestion of sedition.

These elders met repeatedly with Zhao.  However, when it was clear that he would not change his path they agreed to part ways, but forbade him to teach or practice under their name.  In effect, worried about the damage and disgrace that he would bring to a very successful brand, the Plum Blossom clan excommunicated the increasingly revolutionary Zhao.

He selected a new name for his style, the Yi-he Quan (Boxers United in Righteousness).  This should sound very familiar to students of late 19th century Chinese history.  Just as the elders feared, the subsequent actions of the Yi-he students in the Boxer Uprising severely damaged the fortunes of martial artists around the country.

The above is a significant indicator as to not only the popularity of plum blossom boxing at the time, with Zhao having “a few thousand students”, but what would ultimately also come to affect our mantis boxers in Shandong.

We see not only the influence of plum boxing on mantis boxing, but this further evolves into a new intersection with the Boxer Uprisings and the political leanings of at least one of our boxers. As the Righteous Harmonious Boxers as they were called, grew in popularity, so too did their influence on Jiang Hualong. Was Jiang involved in the uprisings? Or was he just an admirer of how they stood up to the western powers who were forcing their way into China, and specifically Shandong? Or was Jiang a supporter of the yi-he boxing movements anti-Christian agenda?

The following forms are noteworthy due not only to their connection to the plum blossom, but the boxer uprisings as well. Whether this is due to religious, cultural, or rebellious reasons is unknown, but it offers further evidence of our boxers being influenced or connected with meihuaquan.

• Plum Blossom Fist - creator unknown

• Plum Blossom Road (Meihua Lu) - Jiang and Song

• Righteous Harmonious Fist - Jiang Hualong

• Flower Arranging - Wang Rongsheng

• Double Flower Arranging - Wang Rongsheng’s forms

Of particular interest is Jiang Hualong’s set - Righteous Harmonious Fist. According to Brian Kennedy and Elizabeth Guo in their book ‘Jing Wu The School That Transformed Kung Fu’, any association with the boxers involved in the Boxer Uprisings in the early twentieth century would have been considered detrimental to one’s reputation. While we have no record of what year this form was created, if it were prior to the reformation period and the creation of Jing Wu, it raises an interesting question as to why Jiang would keep the name, given any association with the Rebel Boxers was perceived as negative.

Jiang died at the age of sixty-nine in 1924 during a period when Jing Wu was battling the disparaged reputation of Chinese martial arts, and attempting to shed negative associations and convince the public that any black marks such as the boxer rebellion, outlaws, bandits, and overzealous warlords of the past, were not the true martial arts of China. Whatever was going on in the mantis boxing sub-culture in the early 1900’s, it did not affect Jiang Hualong enough for him to shed the name of his set and associations it may conjure in the minds of the public. This could lead us to believe he had strong associations himself with the boxer uprisings, their charter, or anti-western opinions.

Conclusion - A chronology of strife

If we look at the ages of our boxers and the regional and political conflicts they intersected with, we can begin to see a pattern evolve. These boxers met Liang Xuexiang as young adults and became branded as ‘mantis boxers’. Perhaps they were attracted to him due to Liang’s status and reputation carried from years of running escorts/bodyguard services. Liang’s reputation appears to be significant at least in his village/county.

Liang’s home in Laiyang/Haiyang is now a nationally protected treasure. The village sees visitors from around the world that come to see Liang Xuexiang’s dwelling and grave site, and to meet his descendants.

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Liang Xuexiang’s house/courtyard. 2020 - https://kuaibao.qq.com/s/20200103A0GKCS00

Article on Liang Xuexiang’s home

After meeting Liang Xuexiang our boxers experience (in chronological order)

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• Continued western encroachment in Yantai, and across Shandong

• Catholic and Protestant interference in politics on a macro and micro level causing great upset in the populace of Shandong.

• An opioid epidemic - by the 1890’s the once proud and famous Manchu Bannermen that were some of the strongest military in the world, were now reduced to corrupt drug addicts.

• Drought across the plains wiping out crops for years to follow.

• Mass famine following the droughts

• Another famine

• Japanese invasion/war on the Shandong peninsula.

• Another famine

• Boxer uprisings

• National restrengthening movement

• Collapse of the last remaining dynasty in China’s history

As our mantis boxers age they likely pick up the plum blossom banner to become part of the growing popularity of this quasi-religious movement. And yet in aligning with this banner, do not discard the mantis boxing brand. This could indicate the power of the mantis brand handed down by Liang, or his influence alone. The mantis was obviously a valuable enough symbol to our boxers that they continued to carry this banner as they adopted new branding and grew their influence in Shandong and beyond.

As we reach the end of the 19th century we see rebellious factions appear. One of our boxers is somehow directly or indirectly linked to the more extremist part of the plum blossom society, the yi he boxers who are ultimately exiled for their actions against Christians and converts. Was Jiang Hualong the one naming forms afters these boxers and their movement a part of uprisings? Further study of Jiang Hualong is required to try and answer this question.

Once the Qing dynasty collapsed we are now in a time period where martial arts in China undergoes a significant reskin. No longer a fighting art, now a form of physical education. Teachers vie for commercial students, popularity, reputation. Mantis boxing is propelled on a path to become a worldwide martial art as it travels south to Shanghai and enters the now infamous - Jin Woo Athletic Center to become a part of China’s national movement to regain face. From there to Hong Kong and half a century later it traverses the globe.

This southern migration was spearheaded by a student of a student to mantis boxer Wang Rongsheng who started the Seven Star line of mantis boxing. This 3rd generation ‘seven star’ student was Luo Guangyu. This lends itself to yet another question — Wang was not part of the original group mentioned above who trained with Liang. Yet his mantis, not the mantis of those who studied under the direct descendant was the branch/style (Seven Star) chosen to go south and represent these mantis boxers from the north. Why?

Wang’s version of mantis also carries with it hallmarks of the plum blossom boxing style. It is therefore conclusive that this integration with mei boxing took place before mantis reached Jin Woo in 1913. Due to none of the orginal sets matching from one branch to the next, it is difficult to ascertain an exact point in time when these two ‘styles’ converged. Quite possibly it was even before Wang adopted the mantis brand from his friends.

---

Bibliography

• Esherick, Joseph W. The Origins of the Boxer Uprising. University of California Press, 1987

• Lorge, Peter. Chinese Martial Arts from Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge University Press, 2011.

• Guodong, Zhang & Green, Thomas & Gutiérrez-García, Carlos. (2016). Rural Community, Group Identity and Martial Arts: Social Foundation of Meihuaquan. Ido Movement for Culture. 16. 18-29. 10.14589/ido.16.1.3.

• Judkins, Ben. Lives of Chinese Martial Artists (13): Zhao San-duo—19th Century Plum Flower Master and Reluctant Rebel - https://chinesemartialstudies.com/2017/04/20/lives-of-chinese-martial-artists-13-zhao-san-duo-19th-century-plum-flower-master-and-reluctant-rebel-2/

• Guodong, Zhang & Green, Thomas (2018). “I Am the Greatest Boxer”: Articulating Group Identity through Chinese Folk Drama - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326005437_I_Am_the_Greatest_Boxer_Articulating_Group_Identity_through_Chinese_Folk_Drama

• Research Notes: “Background of Meihuaquan’s Development During Ming and Qing Dynasties” By Zhang Guodong and Li Yun - https://chinesemartialstudies.com/2015/06/01/research-notes-background-of-meihuaquans-development-during-ming-and-qing-dynasties-by-zhang-guodong-and-li-yun/

• Kennedy, Brian, Guo, Elizabeth Jing Wu The School That Transformed Kung Fu, Blue Snake Books 2010

Crushing Step (Bēng Bù)

Crushing step is a mantis boxing sequence of hand-to-hand combat moves that is all too often handed down without the fighting applications included (empty shell). Or, the set is taught with ineffective fighting methods that do not function when pressure tested against even the most novice resistant, non-compliant partner, never mind a highly trained martial artist.

In this course I’ll be taking you step-by-step through not only the boxing set known as crushing step, but the self-defense applications of each move. Striking, kicking and grappling methods that have been resistance tested in a crucible of live sparring by myself and my students for years.

Whether you are already a mantis boxer that previously learned this set, but lack the fighting applications that go along with it, or a beginner boxer looking for a functional form of martial arts and self-defense, this course will fulfill your goals.

Join me as I give you an in-depth view of how these striking, kicking, and takedown applications work, and how to practice each of the moves on your own, or with a partner.

More on Crushing Step…

Bēng Bù (Crushing Step 崩步) is a prevalent tào lù (form 套路) of tángláng quán. It stands as one of the more popular fighting sets on record for the mantis boxing style, and is a commonality between a many of the branches of mantis boxing after it split during the turn of the 19th to 20th century.

Although the name translates as 'Crushing Step', this is a bit of a misnomer. Bēng means - ‘to collapse and fall into ruin’. Rather than an actual crushing ‘step’, Bēng Bù is more specifically about the ‘steps to Bēng’. The set is a series of techniques leading to the ‘collapse and fall into ruin’ of our opponent. This can be represented at times with single moves in the form such as crazy ghost fist, but there are many interconnected sequences of techniques as well. A series of counters to counters, ultimately leading to the enemies collapse. Think about Rule of Three from our 12 boxer principles.

While execution and power generation of a bēng dǎ (crushing strike 崩打) is riddled throughout the set, the overarching theme is…

Complete Course Releasing Soon

Mantis Boxer Meets A Karateka - A Chat with Iain Abernethy

I have a great first-time conversation for all of you today. I’m joined by Iain Abernethy, a karateka from the UK. Iain runs a popular YouTube channel known as PracticalKataBunkai, is the author of multiple books, and DVD’s, and travels the world teaching Karate.

Over the past year or two, many of you have reached out to me urging Iain and I to connect due to our similar approaches to the martial arts. Well it finally happened, and we have you to thank for this exceptional conversation. Thank you and enjoy.

If you haven't already - I highly recommend you follow Iain @ -

Website - https://iainabernethy.co.uk/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/practicalkatabunkai

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/iainabernethy/

Fight Chat with Jerry Liu of Fight Commentary Breakdowns

Jerry Liu of 'Fight Commentary Breakdowns' & 'FC Chats' stopped by for a great discussion. Jerry runs some popular YouTube channels but has been a life long martial artist from Kung Fu as a kid, to Kempo, Muay Thai, and BJJ as he continues his journey. Join us as we go the rounds and attempt to change one another's minds, or agree on topics such as:

• ‘Teacher : Student' ratios in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

• Emotional Control and Sparring with Wild Partners

• Concussions | CTE in Combat Sports

• How to Spot Bad Self-Defense Courses

You can follow more of Jerry's content here:

-Fight Commentary Breakdowns - https://www.youtube.com/c/FightCommentaryBreakdowns

-Fight Commentary Chats - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPLNOnmT8MtZJzIMCElyHMg

-Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/fightcommentary/

-Fight Commentary Grappling - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQfBeZEQXbiGfgR_BEySSPQ

The Strikes of Mantis Boxing Training Course

• Stop someone in their tracks.

• Gain Knockout Power!

• Prevent damage to yourself when you hit.

In this course you will execute the 3 palms and 5 fists of mantis boxing. Acquire proper technique and alignment to prevent injury to yourself when striking. Integrate stance and footwork training to begin laying the foundation for power generation in your strikes to maximize your damage potential. Increase your skill and power with your striking arsenal.

Finalize the course with 'precision strike training' - learn soft targets - where to hit, and how to hit someone to knock them out or shut them down.

Take the mystery and confusion out of creating your own drills, or figuring out what to work by following my simple, easy to follow, training missions. Curated by me personally to help you to integrate these powerful methods into your skillset.

Includes:

• 1.1 GB - 35 minutes of HD video.

• Training Missions.

• Excerpts on the importance of striking

• Article on Effective Strike and Soft Targets

*course included with Legacy Boxer and Supreme Ultimate Boxer memberships

His Dark Roots - Interview with Stephen Kesting

For this podcast my friend and BJJ Black Belt Stephen Kesting stops by to chat about his background in Judo, Kung Fu, and his eventual shift to BJJ. We also discuss the current state of BJJ, where it is heading, and wrap up with some technical advice for beginners and where to focus your efforts in BJJ early on. A great conversation that I know you will enjoy.

Stephen started his website grapplearts.com back in 2003 to share his passion for BJJ and help others learn through systematic practice and easy to follow instruction.

If you like this podcast with Stephan and I, you can listen to his podcast when I was a guest on his channel:

Podcast Episode 128: Can Kung Fu and BJJ Coexist, a Conversation with Randy Brown from Mantis Boxing.

You can find and follow Stephan @

GrappleArts - Stephan’s website

Stephan on YouTube

Instagram - Stephan on Instagram

Check out Stephan's latest book - Non-Stop Jiu-Jitsu

Pandora's Box of Podcasts - Martial Arts Psychology with Sensei Ando

Today's podcast is with my good friend and martial arts aficionado, Sensei Ando of SenseiAndo.com, and Happy Life Martial Arts. We may very well have opened Pandora's Box here with this discussion. In his first appearance on my podcast, Sensei Ando and I discuss a variety of topics from fitness in martial arts, training failures, martial arts psychology, dissecting frogs, serial killers, bad teachers and whatever other manner of odd conversation that happened to introduce itself to this conversation. As always though, a rich and enjoyable conversation with Ando and something I'm sure all of you will enjoy.

If you liked this podcast, you might like a few more collaborations Ando and I have done:

#58: Randy Brown Interview [Podcast]

Tips to Manage Distance in a Fight with Randy Brown

#82: Are Forms and Kata a Waste of Time in Martial Arts? [Video + Podcast]

Clinch Escapes for Self-Defense

Coach Holly from Mantis Boxing working Scissor Clips with Ando

For more good stuff from Sensei Ando:

Find him on YouTube -

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA-fjIPMlUThsqi4mX_tDNw

Find his website and podcast -

https://www.senseiando.com/fight-for-a-happy-life/--

Instagram -

Sensei Ando

Video Courses -

Ando on Gumroad

10 Principles of Success for Boxers

So often in the fighting arts, we lack principles or framework to improve our skills through critical analysis. A few artists/fighters/boxers, mainly those willing to take some beatings, are able to improve their skills, while others are left feeling like they just don’t have what it takes.

When we take our training to the sparring phase, whether on the mat, in the ring, cage, or a backyard, if we find that we are not getting better, that we are simply not improving as fast as we’d like, this manual and the tools enclosed, can make all the difference. Enjoy.

• Understand the liabilities and gains, advantages and disadvantages, and the compromise of each position and movement in combat.

• Increase your level of skill through easy to understand diagnostics that help you to improve and implement immediate corrective action.

• Turn your failures into success.

James ‘Jocko’ Sutton’s gloves - 3x Golden Glove Champion

photos by Max Kotchouro

5 Tips to Setup Your Home for Martial Arts Training

Here are 5 tips to help you with setting up, and training martial arts (boxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, wrestling, judo, etc.) at home. Today I'll go over good training practices to make sure you stay with your training, ideal locations and how to adapt to what type of space you live in, types of heavy bags and how to size them, throwing dummies, grappling dummies, and type of mats you want to look for if you do any ground work/takedowns/grappling or wrestling.

My favored training products:

►Mats -
Training Mat - (best mats hands down) - https://amzn.to/3eKfrqM
Crash Mat (I use this. Highly recommend) - https://amzn.to/2U5jk1J

►Gloves RevGear
Challenger MMA 4oz Gloves - https://amzn.to/2YN06Ri

►Heavy Bags/Hangers
Heavy Bag - 4' (for shorter spaces) - https://amzn.to/371uIRt
Heavy Bag - 6' (for longer spaces) - https://amzn.to/301Duxt

Heavy Bag Hanger 1 (wood beam - I use these) - https://amzn.to/2zVolTF
Heavy Bag Hanger 2 (wall mount) - https://amzn.to/2U1s1Kf

►Timer
Round Timer - https://amzn.to/3dt75n7

►Grappling Dummies
Budget Canvas - https://amzn.to/2XGr7UX
My personal recomendation - I use this one

►Pads/Shields
Punching Pads (these are the best I've used) - https://amzn.to/2zNi4tn
Kick Shields (have not used this brand but fair price) - https://amzn.to/2MqJKqm

►Ropes
Jump Rope (the one I use) - https://amzn.to/2MmYGWq

What is Active Recovery? w/ Dr. Kate Kelly - Training Tips, Injuries, Training for Women, Aging/Adapting

Today I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Dr. Kate Kelly of Active Recovery Boston [ https://www.activerecoveryboston.com/ ]. Dr. Kelly has helped me work through a myriad of injuries over the past 10+ years. She is one of my first stops whenever I have something getting in the way of my training.

We had a great discussion on ‘What active recovery means', and how it can interplay with injury prevention and recovery; strategies to apply it, and why it is important to athletes and non-athletes alike. We also delve into the differences in training for women and men, and the affects of ageing on athletes and how we can keep training smart well into our twilight years. Join us for this excellent conversation.

Active recovery activities include - walking, swimming, tai chi, qi gong, yoga, stretching, and more.

Qi Gong

Check out our new Qi Gong course here for an excellent active recovery training program that I have used for years.

Scholar Warrior Interview - Dr. Peter Lorge

Delve into the history of Chinese boxing, famous generals, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, UFC leg locks, gunpowder, and all things martial arts, as I interview Dr. Peter Lorge, author of Chinese Martial Arts from Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century.

Part 2 - A continuation of our discussion on General Qi Ji Guang, Sun-Tzu, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, teaching methods, and...INTERNAL vs EXTERNAL nonsense!

Using Chess to Solve Martial Arts Problems

Latest podcast on tackling and solving difficult problems we have in martial arts forms/kata/tao lu. Check out these tips I used to improve, that are found in Chess.

"How Long Does It Take To Be A Black Belt?"

Let’s answer this common question in martial arts with some good ole fashion math!

Guest Appearance: Are Forms/Kata a Waste of Time in Martial Arts? w/ Sensei Ando

Guest Appearance: - Episode #82

with Sensei Ando of Happy Life Martial Arts

Do you practice forms or kata? Are they worth your time? Join Ando and Sifu Randy Brown for a lively discussion about the good and bad about forms. ►SUBSCRIB...

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I had the great pleasure of returning once more as a guest on my friend Sensei Ando’s channel Happy Life Martial Arts. We had an amazing, and thought provoking discussion on martial arts forms training, solo training, and more. We even threw some virtual punches, and a shadow boxing Heimlich maneuver was almost necessary. Check out the video for a great podcast.

I highly recommend following him on his YouTube channel, as well as his podcast. Even though he is famous enough now with over 249,000 subscribers, a few more can’t hurt!

You find more of Sensei Ando here:

Sensei Ando

Sensei Ando YouTube Channel

Our Brain on Solo Training

How our brain and body benefit from solo training in martial arts. But there are pitfalls too.

How to Train Martial Arts on Your Own

These times require us to innovate and adapt to the changes in our lives, routines, and day to day activities. For weeks many of us have been without a class to attend. The good news? We can still train martial arts without a class or partners, and continue to develop our skills and improve.

What does it take to make this happen? You can watch this video I made this week telling a story on why I had to learn to train myself in martial arts, or you can skip below and jump to the bullet points so you don’t have to wait any longer to train.

Either way, rest assured whether you are the student, or your a parent of a child that trains a martial arts, I am here to help you navigate this process and I have plenty of experience with self-training to be able to give you advice. Keep training!

Randy

[special section for parents further down]

How to Train Martial Arts on Your Own

1. Routine
   To be successful with training martial arts on your own, you MUST have a routine. This is the most important aspect of self-training, and even group class training. It is too easy to say “I’ll do it tomorrow.” Tomorrow turns into next week, and then next month. Set a schedule for your training times at times during the week you know you can adhere to.

2. Agency
   This block of time is yours, and it must have agency. It is not something that we allow to be swayed or taken away by trivial distractions [such as a binge watching session on Netflix]. We treat these blocks of time as sacred, and do not allow ourselves or others to sideswipe them. If we do, we will do it again and again and never train. So treat your own class, just like a scheduled group class at your gym, school, dojo.

3. Place to Go
   Try to find a place outside, in a garage, barn, basement, or a separate room in your house/apartment if you have one to spare, that can be used for your training. During these time blocks, this is your dojo/place of training. Other people are not in here unless they are training with you, and others know to leave you be during your session.

4. Frequency
   This is up to you, but it should be consistent from week to week. Try to start out with something similar to what you were doing at group classes. If you were training 2 hours per week, then try to set up two 1-hour blocks each week, or four 30-minute sessions instead. If you trained more than that, then add more slots in. If you trained more than one discipline, like my students who train mantis boxing and jiu-jitsu, then have separate blocks of time to focus on each. Again, consistency, agency, private space are all a priority, but this step is important to establish from the beginning as it helps reinforce ‘routine’.

5. Plan of Attack
   This is a critical stage and just as important as any of those above. We have to know what we are going to train. This is probably one of the largest failures we have going to a big box gym - “what do I do next” If I can find it, I’ll add a picture to this article later showing you some of my routines/schedules I built for myself years ago when I had no choice but to train alone. Have a log, notebook, where you set aside what you specifically are going to do for each session. Update it weekly.

6. Family Unit
   If you are at home with others during this time, have them join you and if they have no experience, you teach them. Teaching others is one of the best ways we get better. We learn what we know and do not know (do not worry, you do not have to have all the answers or know everything to show someone newer than you). This is such a powerful tool, you will be surprised how much it can help. If you are trying to train your kids - focus less on ‘teaching’ them, and more on doing. If they see you enjoying yourself and having fun, they will follow along. Forcing them is counter-productive. See below for more parent tips.

7. Wear your Uniform
   This may seem like an odd one at first glance, however, this has more significance than you may guess. The act of putting on our uniform, commits us mentally to the act of training. This is part of the discipline that you exhibit week after week showing up for class. Continuing this ritual on our own puts us in the same mindset and lets us not only commit to training, but keeps us on the rails as we stick to our planned training time. With that said, do not wear your uniform all the time. The act of putting it on, and taking it off when done, keeps that box cordoned off in our mind. We know when we wear it, that this is a sacred time that we need to respect for ourselves.

Parents

See everything above before reading this. Those items are still relevant and will help you in setting up a plan of action for your child.

1. Routine
   I know I mentioned it above, but I can’t repeat this enough. No video games, movies, toys, etc can get in the way of ‘time to train’. These are hard and fast blocks and they should know they have to go to a certain place to train. Consistency is key, so if you are able to set the same time block aside for each day of training, this will be a big help to you in getting them to train. If it is arbitrary or day to day, it is difficult for any of us to become mentally engaged off the cuff.

2. Videos

   Use video training [preferably from their school/style] as ways to promote interest and learning. This can be part of the training block i.e., 15 minutes of watching lessons, and 30 minutes of training. As the parent, you may not know what they are working on in class, or where to focus, but asking for help from their teacher, can help you build a lesson plan for them. In some cases, the video may be useful throughout the entire session so it is good to have access to a screen so they can rewind or pause as needed (as long as it is not a game they switch too).

3. How Long Does My Child Train?

   This is based entirely on age. The younger they are, the less time you should expect. A 10 to 12 year old might be good for an hour of training 3 or 4 times per week and have the discipline to stay engaged. A 5 year old however may only work in 15 to 20 minute blocks and need more frequency such as 6 to 8 blocks per week.

4. Ask for Help
   If you need ideas, or direction, ask their instructor to help guide you, or provide a lesson plan for each week so it eases the process and all you have to worry about is the tips we mentioned in the beginning.

5. Older Teaches Younger?
   If you have siblings that all train together, this common purpose creates a strong bond where they can help one another get better. If you do not train yourself, it is important to sit back and allow them to teach one another. At times the eldest child will guide and teach, but the younger child may know something they do not, so it is important this is not authoritarian by the older sibling. Keep in mind the parent can become the inhibiting factor in these training session rather than a positive influence. Our job is to make sure they do not hurt one another, or get out of control, but otherwise we keep quiet and give them the autonomy to teach/train together. If they are mature and show positive results with this, then you can run test sessions where they are allowed to spar/roll with one another for short rounds of 3 minutes at a time.

Good luck!

I’ll add more tips as I think of them, but hopefully this is enough to get you started.

Are Head Hits in Boxing/MMA Good or Bad? The Truth...

Is getting hit in the head bad for us when we train in martial arts such as boxing, MMA, kickboxing, karate, muay thai, etc.??? Here is how I see it, and what I did to my students to make them train smarter. Being educated on the truth can keep us training safe for years to come.