“Secrets” of the Filipino Fighting Arts
Words from a Modern-Day Warrior

One of my frequent debates is over the subject of self-defense. In this series, I’d like to introduce my basic approach to preparing students for Street Self-Defense Dominance. We often get potential students who will come in and tell us something silly like, “I’m not looking for a full martial arts program, I’m just looking […]

I have long held the opinion that the best teachers train his students to beat him. Many take pride in saying that they could never best their masters, as if to say that “My teacher was so good, even as an old man–he could beat me and all my classmates.” Supposedly, this meant that because […]

I was in the East Bay last week looking for a place to open a satellite class. It is a challenge because for the last 13 years, I have made Sacramento my home and I kicked off my school in 1999 by fighting in tournaments and building my reputation first. Today, at age 43, I […]

I have long said that the real skill in the martial arts will not be developed in a class. We must differentiate between learning, practice, testing, and training. Let me restate for emphasis: Learning Practice Testing Training These are not the same, and if the martial arts teacher, student or fighter does not understand this–they […]

I recently reconnected with an old friend from the DC area who is planning to begin teaching the martial arts soon. We had not seen each other since the late 90s and have been catching up with each other, in between classes and the time difference. A few weeks ago, we were discussing what I was […]