Episode 32 - What is Martial Arts?

What is martial arts? Is it simply the practice of methods of violence? Or dancing around in costumes? What does it mean to you?

Episode 31 - Inside the Minds of Black Belts with Roy Dean

Today's special guest is my friend Roy Dean. You may know Roy from his Brazilian jiu-jitsu DVD's, online courses, YouTube videos, or books. Roy and I tried to connect for another ordinary martial arts podcast interview, but technology squashed our attempts and we ended up chatting for an hour anyway. This was serendipitous as we ended up on topics with the makings of a great podcast. Things often not talked about by black belt instructors in the martial arts. We linked up a week later and recorded this intriguing discussion for all of you. Join me today, as I welcome Roy Dean and we take you on a journey inside the minds of black belts.

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend following Roy here:

Website: https://www.roydean.tv/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/uchideshi

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roydean_/

Books and Videos: https://roydeanacademy.selz.com/

Episode 30 - 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/

Episode 29 - 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

If you enjoyed that chat with Jerry and I, check out the video we did together for his channel before this:

Fight Commentary Chat - Conversation With Randy Brown (Mantis Boxing)

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

Episode 28 - 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.

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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

Episode 27 - 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’s Online Courses

Episode 26 - 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

►Throwing/Grappling Dummies
Throwing Dummies - Cannot recommend. Mine are discontinued.
Grappling Dummies - See video for recommendations. I do not use these anymore so I cannot recommend a specific brand.

►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

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Leave your comments and questions below. Want more videos like this? SUBSCRIBE and GET HOOKED!

►Train with me online. Get access to 100+ private videos on mantis boxing, jiu-jitsu, and more. Plus training missions to help you reach your goals, and online coaching sessions held weekly. Contact me for details - https://randybrownmantisboxing.com/coming-soon

Episode 25 - 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. 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.

Episode 24 - 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. In the second hour we continue our discussion on General Qi Ji Guang, Sun-Tzu, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, teaching methods, and...INTERNAL vs EXTERNAL nonsense!

Episode 23 - 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 to tackle and solve difficult problems we have in learning and practicing martial arts forms/kata/tao lu. Check out these tips I used to improve my own forms training that are found in the classic game of chess.

Episode 22 - "How Long Does It Take To Be A Black Belt?"

Watch the video version here

"How long does it take to receive your first black belt?" A common question in the martial arts world that comes up in conversation with bystanders, at family gatherings, and in the workplace. Listen in on this podcast as I share my thoughts on this question after working to receive black belts from two culturally, historically, and functionally divergent martial arts styles myself.

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

Episode 21 - Our Brain on Solo Training

How our brain and body benefit from solo training in martial arts. But there are pitfalls too. In this latest podcast we’ll discuss the nuances with this style of training, which can have many positive benefits.

Episode 20 - How to Train Martial Arts on Your Own

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.

Episode 18 - What Style of Mantis Do I Practice?

Forms are windows to the past. They can show not only a fighters techniques, system, and series of counters, and counters to an opponent's counter. They are a fascinating anomaly. Are they worth the mining for these techniques and sequences within? Today I'll discuss my thoughts on this, and hopefully shed some light on this facet of Chinese martial arts training.

What Can BJJ Teach Us About Qing Dynasty Martial Arts? - Randy Brown - MAS Conference 2019

This podcast is an ‘audio-only’ re-recording of a talk I gave at the 5th Annual Martial Arts Studies Conference held at Chapman University in Los Angeles, California in May 2019. I do recommend viewing the full video version so you can see the slides.

The event was hosted by Dr. Paul Bowman, and Dr. Andrea Molle. A two day extravaganza of martial arts history, politics, and culture. There is amazing research into the martial arts taking place around the globe today. It was an honor to be a part of this significant event, and contribute in some small way to the Martial Arts Research Network. Below is a copy of the abstract submission for my talk at the conference to help lay context before listening.

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Abstract

What Can Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Teach Us About Qīng Dynasty Martial Arts?

The continually evolving art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and the journey of this style throughout the 20th century can provide insights into key elements of the Qīng dynasty Chinese martial arts, helping to demonstrate similar developments in the ‘Chinese Boxing’ systems of that era. Specifically, by following the modern evolution of BJJ, it is possible to gain insights into the sudden appearance of totem styles or subsets across China, how these anomalies become styles in their own right, and how they survived and thrived for over a century. A martial arts cross-cultural comparison of style subsets within BJJ, which have developed since the early 1990s, can be juxtaposed with the pre-modern development of comparable ‘subsets’ within Qīng dynasty ‘Chinese boxing’. On the other hand, the survival and globalization of this stylization in China differs with how developments within BJJ propagate, where instead changes become rolled into a pool of common knowledge and do not take hold as independent systems or alternative styles outside of the core art. A question needs to be asked, did ‘Chinese boxing’ of the era, have a similar common pool of knowledge? Qī Jì guāng’s manual would hint at such. Within ‘Chinese Boxing’, attributes, feats, or skills defining one fighter over another became definitive styles of their own right due to events of the time, compared to a failure in modern times for these subsets to survive independent of BJJ, even though properly vetted in the crucible of worldwide tournaments. In the Qīng dynasty a confluence of events which included rebellions, opium wars, global humiliation and the collapse of a dynasty, began to solidify these subsets as styles in China. Eventually, cultural industrialization of Chinese martial arts, notably through the Hong Kong movies, ingrained these styles into popular culture with the result being securing their legitimacy to the public eye without any evidence of martial prowess.

Keywords:

Chinese martial arts, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Qīng dynasty, animal styles, Chinese boxing

Episode 16 - Mining Junk - Are forms worth mining for techniques?

Forms are windows to the past. They can show not only a fighters techniques, system, and series of counters, and counters to an opponent's counter. They are a fascinating anomaly. Are they worth the mining for these techniques and sequences within? Today I'll discuss my thoughts on this, and hopefully shed some light on this facet of Chinese martial arts training.

Episode 15 - What is Xing Yi Quan?

Forrest Chang and I discussed at great length a style of Chinese boxing known as xingyiquan. I thought I would add a follow-up explaining what Xing Yi Quan is, and share with you some of the history I uncovered while researching another project. Listen and find out more...

Episode 14 - Are Chinese Martial Arts Still Relevant? A Conversation with Forrest Chang

Are CMA (Chinese martial arts) still relevant in modern times? Are they worth saving? Over the winter, I had a chance to sit down and have a conversation with Forrest Chang of the Chinese boxing style known as xingyiquan. Forrest and I discuss the issues plaguing Chinese martial arts styles often referred to incorrectly as Kung Fu. We tackle this topic, what produces better results, along with current CMA disruptor and MMA fighter Xu Xiaodong, the Shuai Jiao paradox and other changes happening in Chinese martial arts.

Episode 13 - Is Boxing Good for Soldiers in the U.S. Military?

Out of all the martial arts available, should ‘Boxing’ be used in hand-to-hand combat training for American soldiers who occupy combat arms roles? These are military occupations that have direct contact with enemy combatants. This especially pertains to infantry, military police, and special forces. While there are certainly benefits to boxing, here are my thoughts on why this may not be the best fighting style for troops to train, or even practice.

Episode 12 - Your 'Tai Chi' is not 'Supreme Ultimate'

I read a great article the other day on how improper the words gi and no-gi are in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. it was quite educational, and I highly recommend checking it out. I learned something myself. It also spurred me to finish putting together some thoughts on how WRONG it is to say Tai Chi. The actual term is Tai Ji Quan, or taijiquan. Check out this podcast, as it’s pretty funny when you dig into the meaning and how it is being used, errr, misused by us today in the west.