This is part three of a series of articles where I look at the elements needed for a self defense or self-protection course to be of real use. In a previous article I listed the required elements as follows: Awareness Avoidance Pre fight indicators (pre-fight rituals) De-escalation Adrenaline effects And last, actual physical skills Pre-fight…
Month: February 2012
Overlooked Self-Defense Elements 2: Avoidance
This is part two of a series of articles where I look at the elements needed for a self-defense or self-protection course to be of real use. In a previous article I listed the required elements as follows: Awareness Avoidance Pre fight indicators (pre-fight rituals) De-escalation Adrenaline effects And last, actual physical skills Avoidance. Men…
Overlooked Self-Defense Elements 1: Awareness
This is part one of a series of articles where I look at the elements needed for a self-defense or self-protection course to be of real use. In a previous article I listed the required elements as follows: Awareness Avoidance Pre fight indicators (pre-fight rituals) De-escalation Adrenaline effects And last, actual physical skills In a…
Hollywood Misconceptions
The scene is in nearly every martial arts movie out there. The martial artist is alone. He isn’t wearing a shirt or shoes, so we know he isn’t on his way to the convenience store. He is training. He assumes the splits, possibly up on chairs or the railing of a balcony. He starts to…
We Sharpen Saws: An essay on the truth of self defense classes
In the mid 90s, I had a martial arts club that was doing well enough that I was able to move out of the rec center where we were holding classes and into a storefront space. Like anyone starting out, I had little money, and more ideas than I could ever hope to bring to…
Use and Training: Understanding a Dichotomy
When we practice martial arts, we must always keep in mind two very different concepts. These concepts are use and training. In this article I am going to look at the two concepts, and try to walk away with a better understanding of both. While the old adage states, “The way you practice is the…
A Martial View From Beyond 40
When a martial artist reaches the age of 40, does everything really change that much? I turned 42 last year. I don’t really feel all that different from how I felt even five years ago. So it is not really the actual number 40 that matters, but age happens and things do change as we…
Why every child needs martial arts.
Due in no small part to the fact that I work for KICKSTART KIDS, I am asked on at least a weekly basis “should my child train in the martial arts?”, “Would martial arts help my kid with…(insert childhood challenge here)?”, and so on. In this article I am going to list the…
Wallace Smedley 