Mantis Captures Prey - How to Stop the Underhooks
The underhook is a powerful tool in the hands of an opponent who knows how to use it. They have leverage, control, and setups for numerous takedowns. So how do we stop our opponent from getting the underhooks? With this awesome move from Taijiquan called Fist Under Elbow, and what I like to call Mantis Captures Prey.
Martial Superiority: The Silent Assassin
When we look at one school versus another, and determine that one of them is promoting people to Black Belt with far easier requirements than we ourselves went through, or they are expecting less of their students than what we expect of our students, we can climb on our rickety soap box and take a stand against them, railing at the injustice of it all, or we can look at it like this...
Defending the Worst Position Ever!!
The High Mount combined with striking is a deadly combination. This is by far, one of the worst positions you can get stuck in on the ground. The traditional BJJ escape for mount - bridge, trap, and roll doesn't work quite yet, and meanwhile our opponent is raining punches on us, and bringing the thunder like Poseidon.
All too often, we panic in this situation and end up flailing, or trying to grab arms. Here we show a technique we call - 'Shield Up / Shimmy Up' to help you deal with this problematic position. We have to work from where we are, not where we want to be.
How to Escape the Bow and Arrow Choke
BJJ Mount Attacks For Smaller Fighters
Fighting bigger opponents can be frustrating when we try and control the mount position. I know I avoided the mount most of the time as a BJJ White Belt after getting tossed around repeatedly. After a while, I started using the high mount to setup some attacks. Here's are two videos highlighting some attacks from the mount.
5 Reasons Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is THE Best Martial Art for Kids
Striking arts, whether they be Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Boxing, Kickboxing, etc. - all require high degrees of focus on multiple facets of fighting, & self-defense (you can read more on this in my 2015 blog post).
I have spent the past 18 years practicing Mantis Boxing, and the past 5 of those also practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I also spent years teaching kids both Kung Fu, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. My first love will always be Mantis Boxing, but frankly speaking, it is not for kids.
How to Start Martial Arts
Emotional Control - A Core Fighting Principle
‘Emotional Control’ - this often sought after, and rarely attained, side effect from martial arts training. We envision the wise old master sitting quietly in meditation, only to turn into a verifiable badass the moment the movie needs an action star to save the day.
What we don’t see, is that emotional control doesn’t really come for free, or as an automatic trait of just taking martial arts classes a few times per week. It doesn't come with...
Inner Demons #1: "Why Do I Suck At This?"
Another article on the ‘inner demons’ that hinder our training. “I’m not getting any better…”, or “Why do I suck at this?”
I want to take a few minutes today and try to shed some light on this obscure 'suck zone' we go through, and perhaps offer you some perspective to help you not only get through it, but optimize your progression. “Arrrrgghh!!! Why Can't I Get This!?!?!", "Why is that person getting this so much faster than I am?", "Why do I feel so stupid, or uncoordinated?"
These are common questions I hear, or see, as a coach/mentor/instructor. In order to understand why martial arts, or any
The Truth on Effective Strike
Effective Strike (Xiao Da), is the Chinese principle of striking to vital targets, or targets that have more destructive impact than other areas of the body. This is a common concept in many styles of martial arts. I recall the first time I showed up for Tae Kwon Do/Hapkido class back in 1991 - my teacher said - "Want to kill a man? Hit here, here, here, or here." I was happy, but stunned.