I’ve spent a lot of time thinking. Stressing too! I managed to get my blood pressure all out of whack again, so there’s that. I don’t intend to get political here, no matter what I say in that realm, I will lose half of my audience. And people are on edge these days too. But…
Tag: Kung FU
The Free Course is almost here!
I have long promised a free online self-defense course, and the wait is almost over. The biggest issue was in finding the right platform, and once that was solved, the work began. After a lot of back and forth on the issues of what should be covered and what could be left out, I have…
An Interview with David Rogers
I asked David if he would do an interview with me for the series. He agreed, and the result was amazing. He is the head of the Rising Crane studio, and he tells his story much better than I can. Please read and enjoy! Wallace: Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! I…
An Interview with Sifu Onassis Parungao
I have thought for a time about doing a series of interviews of some of the interesting people I have met in or through the martial arts. The biggest thing that held me back was confidence. I am, after all, not really a journalist. But…I have published books and I am not really a writer!…
Violence and Conflict: Thinking of the children
Violence and Conflict From our earliest days, humans have had to live a life of violence and conflict. Whether we were hunting for food, defending a tribe or village, or marching to war, violence and conflict were there. We are, as a species, adaptable and violent. And we always have been. In our modern world,…
Reality Check: Kids and the Future
I work with kids, almost exclusively. As a T.E.A.M. Member for KICKSTART KIDS, I work in a public middle school, and the vast majority of my students are in the 6th, 7th, or 8th grade, with the rest of my students being former middle school students who are committed enough to continue training with me…
The Misunderstood ‘Stance’
Stances, at least from my point of view, are grossly misunderstood in traditional martial arts around the world. In this article I am going to give my view on the topic. Like so many other aspects of the Asian martial arts, when they arrived in Western Countries, the first thing we did was misinterpret everything….
Important and Ignored Self-Defense Topics
When we discuss self defense, there are a few things that must be kept in mind. In this article I am going to look at a few of these facts. A lot of what is sold as “self-defense” is not going to give most of this information more than a passing mention, but they are…
A Blending of Styles
I received a comment to a post made a few days ago. Naturally, as comments on the posts are so rare, this was a bit of a thrill for me. When I read the comment, I started a reply, that got longer and longer, until, I thought (and quite possibly said out loud…to myself), “This…
Is Hung Gar a ‘Practical Martial Art’?
I receive a lot of email related to what is published on this blog. I think it is funny that people express themselves so freely in the format of an email, but few people comment on the actual articles themselves in the space provided. But that aside, I did get a few emails covering the…
Overlooked Self-Defense Elements 3: Pre-Fight Indicators/Pre-Fight Rituals
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…
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…
To McDojo, or not to McDojo? THAT is the question.
I often joke that “if I had it all to do over again, I’d open a McDojo.” The truth is not really all that far from the statement. See, for years I took an almost masochistic pride in NOT being successful in my commercial schools. I taught, and made little to no money for it,…
New Book
Within the next week or so, my latest book will be available. This one, titled “Kick it to the Next Level, Improve your martial arts instruction without selling out” is not about Hung Gar specifically, but is a collection of articles on teaching martial arts. I will post the link once it is available!
Another GJFFK Update
I have received an number of emails from people asking questions about what I am doing with the GJFFK form, and what these changes are. As stated in previous entries, I am going through that form, as well as the 8 trigram staff form, and simply working the form. I am not looking for hidden…
More Changes to GJFFK
Well, it has been happening again. In my research into the GJFFK form, and the in depth training of the form that I have been involved in, my form is changing a lot. Personally, I have never felt that there was any reason to take an over reaching pride in the “my-form-has-not-changed-in-6,000-years” mentality. I know…
Wallace Smedley 