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Belts for Sale

Today, it's not difficult to obtain a Black Belt as any martial arts store will sell you one and nobody really cares if you buy one anyway.  Has it lost its value?  I remember the days when you walked into the store and a Black Belt was something which had to be brought out from […]

Out of the Blue

When you have spare time you do catch-ups or do the other things you wouldn't normally do. Out of the blue, I thought I would drop in and see an old student and very good friend of mine who I trained for 6 or more years in Karate and Phillipino Martial Arts. When I moved onto […]

Dojo – Right Place, Right Time

If you're old enough you might remember the days of the black and white TV.  If you saw one in a museum you may be forgiven to think it is just as amazing the first day it came out.  The question is why would such a useless, outdated and worthless piece of junk would still intrigue some […]

Hit two Birds with one Stone

I went in for a little knee arthroscopy today.  I had butterflies in my stomach last night to the point of freaking out.  I spoke to John and Melissa Will last night who calmed me down.  John said the reason for the nerves, for such a minor op, is a long history of my negative […]

A Step in the Right Direction

It is an amazing feeling when people notice and try to do something for you when you’re on a handicap.   That is certainly is the case when you’re on crutches.  You are the first one to enter the elevator, cars stop for you to cross the road (even though you were just standing around with no […]

Let the Blog Wars begin!

John Will may have started up a craze when he got into blogging many years ago (at least for me, anyway).  I don't mean the facebook type of stuff but something meaningful about martial arts and life matters.  It was John who told me that I should start up my own blog.  Around about that […]

Fantasy Island

Imagine jumping into a ring and giving a boxer a beating without him hitting back.  Your effort increases, at least tenfold, once he starts moving, blocking and hitting back.  Use the same imagination with a ground fighter and you’ll soon find out that it is not a blow up doll you’re on the mats with.   All it takes […]

‘a job well done’

Words which inspire, encourage, support, compliment, reward, acknowledge, give confidence are all a big part of building a person’s character; this also reflect the person employing these words. This is the best medicine for a patient, in time of need, despite the odds against recovery. We all know it too well, words of encouragement, have proven a positive outcome […]

All Padded up!

It’s becoming popular to see personal trainers (PTs), in parks, providing some form of fitness to people who lack motivation or don’t seem to have time to attend a gym, etc.  The PTs probably do a pretty good job for some or most of these people, but how ordinary it looks to qualified and trained Martial Arts Instructors, when […]

Double or Nothing

I had a look at an interview with Geoff Thompson, the ‘boy from Coventry’ who invented Reality Based Self Defence.  He did it because of necessity to ensure survival working at the doors of the toughest nightclubs of England in the ‘70’s & ‘80’s.  My son, Jonathan, and I were talking about this and he said […]