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 19 - 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.

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 01 - Hitting Plateaus in Martial Arts

Hitting plateaus in our training comes with the territory. There is no avoiding them. The longer we train martial arts, or any sport/activity that requires long periods of intense practice, we are destined to hit these stale periods in our progression.

Over the years I have hit many of these, the longer I trained, the longer some of these lasted. Join me as Max catches up with me training behind the school to ask how I deal with these roadblocks.

I'll share with you my methods for dealing with these, shortening the time I’m stuck in them, and making the best of them as we go.