My Martial Arts Blog (MMA Blog)

Sep 20, Karate For Kids - What All Parents Ought To Know

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 06:05:50 -0400

Attending karate classes at a young age not only help children build a strong body and improve resistance, it also helps improve self-discipline.

Sep 20, Karate Weapons - Self Defense With An Edge

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 06:02:29 -0400

The term weapon in martial art does not indicate an actual weapon but it is a hand held weapon either with an edge of metal or blunt wood.

Sep 20, Karate vs Street Fighter - Can You Use Karate Against A Real Attacker?

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 05:59:03 -0400

How effective is your Karate skill when used against a street fighter or brawler?

Sep 18, Kissaki basic Karate moves and how we train strikes and blocks

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 02:38:02 -0400

Issues on basic Karate moves from the perspective of Kissaki Kai Karate and Kissaki Defensive Tactics. Focus on free Karate moves that have high probability of working in the ring or street

Sep 18, Achieving Mushin – Level Of Martial Art With No Mind

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 02:34:45 -0400

Mushin is a Japanese word, which means in English “without mind’. The expression also denotes a state of “no-mindedness”, a mind not focused or fixed on any thought or emotion.

Jul 19, Hanshi

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 11:49:02 -0400

In the interests of safety, there can be no such thing as 'pressure point fighting' because in the heat of combat they are designed to kill, and that is

May 9, What Can Traditional Karate Kata Do In A Street Fight?

Wed, 9 May 2012 23:03:42 -0400

What can daily practice of Karate Kata do for you in a street fight? It will, for one, increase your reaction speed.

May 9, SureFire flashlight - a versatile self defense weapon

Wed, 9 May 2012 22:59:51 -0400

A SureFire flashlight can be a powerful tool to not only find and identify an opponent in the dark, but to momentarily blind them as well

May 9, A Black Belt Must Register Himself as a Deadly Weapon

Wed, 9 May 2012 20:28:58 -0400

Is a black belt registered as deadly weapon by the government? Is this the Law or just a myth?

Jan 12, Learn street fighting moves from Shotokan kata

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 03:42:12 -0500

Even the 5 basic Heian kata have some of the meanest street fighting moves in them. Visualize applying these street fighting moves in all kind of scenarios while performing any particular kata

Jan 12, Real Street Fighting - 8 Fighting Tips You Can Use Right Now

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 03:02:46 -0500

The following are 8 real street fighting tips which you can use right away when confronted on the street.

Jan 12, Pressure points fighting - linking bunkai to Karate pressure points

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:57:11 -0500

Naihanchi or Tekki kata contain lots of pressure points fighting techniques. There is no need to rely on raw strength or brute force if you can strike certain vital Karate pressure points

Jan 12, Old Karate video clips - free download of old Karate kata videos

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:52:39 -0500

Here are the old Karate video clips showing Shotokan kata performed by Japanese Karate masters after WW2. Free download of Bassai Dai, Kanku Dai, Hangetsu, Empi, Nijushiho, Unsu and many others...

Jan 12, Subscribe to Fight Club Library - support this website

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 01:05:45 -0500

Download many exclusive martial arts videos and books from our Fight Club. See Kissaki-Kai Karate rules of combat, Naihanchi kata applications, Aliveness training, military manuals and many more

Jun 18, Quotes for Father's Day

Sat, 18 Jun 2011 15:49:33 -0400

Today being Father's Day, I thought I'll share a few quotes below regarding how martial arts can help transform someone into a better person. "Strength is necessary, strength of character, strength of defense of those we love - but it is how we use that strength that matters most - does it destroy or bring about life?" "Martial Arts...is about finding balance. More than that it is about pursuing excellence. Excellence cannot be found in effectiveness. However effectiveness can lead to excellence." "You will never find excellence as a martial artist or human being if all it is about is the fight. It is very sad in this day and age that we no longer want to call ourselves martial artists, but the irony is that without the balance of martial and art, one can never truly embody what it is to be a warrior!" "I am referring to a warrior, not purely in the sense of someone who goes out to wage war against others, but rather one who has the courage to wage war against himself, his inner dragons, and his shadow." "..any focus on the martial to the exclusion of the art, brings about dysfunction". "..the other part is just because one seeks the art in the martial does not mean you don't keep it real." "To find balance, one is required to embrace both sides. Martial and Art when explored together, brings about a balance, a harmony of character. In the very paradox we can find inner peace." Courtesy of Rodney King, founder of Crazy Monkey Defense Program.

Apr 3, PERFECT ME

Sun, 3 Apr 2011 14:13:44 -0400

Started training karate late last year and have had a lot of interest in becoming the best at what I am doing. By studying and knowing more about pressure

Mar 16, Explosive power does NOT come from sudden burst of speed.

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:32:37 -0400

Explosive power comes from sudden burst of speed. (quote from article) sudden burst of speed = acceleration This is the biggest myth in MA due to the

Feb 13, I am Karateman

Sun, 13 Feb 2011 14:40:35 -0500

My name is Haydar Beldjoud and I love this sport since childhood, and practice Karate with love and mastery. My parents encouraged me and pushed me to

Feb 6, Girlfriend Fight

Sun, 6 Feb 2011 12:42:26 -0500

Got my lip cut in a fight but knowing Karate I took it and did not get knock out. But it was still a painful experience. Hopefully with more training I

Jan 11, Bunkai of Nijushiho

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 00:51:22 -0500

After relooking at Shihan Vince Morris explanation of the bunkai for the kata Nijushiho, I realised that our Kissaki Kai Kanku No Kamae & Frisbee uke are very effective defenses against the huge haymaker. By blocking and striking to the vital points at the same time, an attacker can be incapacitated instantly. Shihan Vince Morris mentioned that bunkai don't have to resemble kata movement 100%. They are mere shorthand version for you to remember the moves. "If you understand one kata, you'll understand all kata..." Wise words indeed. Do ponder over it, or share your views at the bottom of any pages here. If you like to see the bunkai video for Nijushiho, please go the wall on our Karate page in Facebook below.

Jan 6, The Legendary Knockout

Thu, 6 Jan 2011 12:42:32 -0500

This story is about Grandmaster Lee of Japan. He is a very skilled fighter. However it seemed that even he met his match when he faced Ho Chang at a champion's

Jan 2, Pressure points striking is a better alternative

Sun, 2 Jan 2011 08:46:43 -0500

As founder and chief instructor of K.R.J. Karate I always look for alternatives to dealing with potentially lethal situations. Being in the security industry

Jan 2, Kushinda-Ryu Karate style

Sun, 2 Jan 2011 08:45:30 -0500

This is a great topic. I am the chief instructor of the Dojo listed above. My foundation is also Shotokan Karate, however my chief instructor Kushinda

Jul 13, MMA Rules Blog

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 15:14:43 -0400

Check out my other blog, MMA Rules - Chronicle Of A Layman on my training in Crazy Monkey Defense Program (CMD), BJJ & mixed martial arts. You can find out more about CMD program here. VISIT MMA RULES BLOG NOW

Jul 2, Mike Gong blog

Wed, 2 Jul 2008 13:44:32 -0400

Guess who's the dude in brown?

Mike is an old buddy of mine who train in the same place as I do, KDT Academy. To me, he's the perfect example of a guy whose passion and love for martial arts (MMA, BJJ, Judo etc) remains consistent through the years. My coach Vince is an exception coz he ain't human. ;) We've been through many changes in our gym and I really enjoy chatting with him about our training and martial arts in general. Mikey's passion for training and discovering how different martial arts work the way they do intrigues and motivates me to seek out my own "journey" in martial arts, especially from the standpoint of a student. Mike has recently started blogging and I've discovered that he's prolific blogger too. I particularly enjoyed his entry about the mentality between BJJ and Judo training. Click on the link below to visit his interesting blog.

Jun 27, CMD Drills

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:57:16 -0400

Lately the Crazy Monkey Program here in KDT Academy has been incorporating many drills covering more than boxing: punch-kick combos, takedown defense, sprawl, escape from sprawl and recover to standup.

I found these drills to be great introduction to MMA techniques and I realised what I thought I knew (from BJJ, Boxing and watching too much UFC) were quite different when tried, bringing the old adage to mind: it's easier to say than to do. For me, it's ten times of that coz my cardio is crap (isn't it always) and I haven't been training regularly this year. Perhaps it's better if we spend more time drilling on a single aspect of MMA, eg. sprawl to recover and sprawl escape instead of doing the whole standup, clinch and ground within an hour. Nevertheless, these drills brought to life what I imagine MMA training to be: functional, complete and thoroughly enjoyable. Can't wait for us to try all these techniques out when we spar. For my buddies who have done it while I was away: save some fun for me ya. ;) PS. For those who are wondering, I'm the clumsy dude in the white shirt.

May 10, OK folks, I agree - MMA works!

Sat, 10 May 2008 16:03:30 -0400

While attending Bert's wedding dinner tonight (which was one of the best I've ever been), my buddy and gym mate Mike (you too coach) lambasted me for blogging about the "ineffectiveness" of MMA training for self defense (see my previous entry). I came home, re-read my blog (see, this is why we blog, to capture our thoughts of the moment for reflections later), and decided I will NOT delete that entry, but instead removed my comment on BJJ vs armed felon coz I felt I did not have enough experience nor expertise to make such a comment.

Or perhaps you guys have missed my point. I was just suggesting to our coaches to better explain or demonstrate HOW the CMDP training can be used for self defense applications, as opposed to merely dispensing principles, strategies and techniques alone. For eg. what are the dos and donts when confronted by an armed felon. I know we discourage training from a fear-based perspective, but I was hoping we could articulate more on self defense applications within CMDP context. So I'm not saying in any way that MMA-based training is useless for self defense, but rather what are the best ways to teach self defense using MMA training regimen and techniques. Or it could be I just missed scenario-based training for self defense, as compare to what we are doing now. Honestly, I not sure. I'm sure though that I enjoy the CMDP program and happy to pick up the some useful skills. I'm also sure that training with aliveness is the best way to impart such knowledge and skills. So there you go Mikey bro, MMA rules. Cya on the mat. ;)

Mar 28, MMA vs RBSD

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:57:13 -0400

The Head of Security (private guards) in my residential area fractured his hands after punching a suspected burglar he was trying to apprehend. When the burglar fell, he realised he did not know how to effectively subdue and restrain him. This incident prompted me to think on my current training consisting of mostly boxing (CMDP) and I realised it might not be "suitable" for situations like this. Although I do know some clinches, takedowns and submissions, the training in our place focus mainly on an athletic, functional approach. Not really for sport or competition per se, but embracing it's direction.

This means we hardly address the variables between functional training and self defense situations, eg. when is punching appropriate in a real fight. I believed the mental and emotional states of a real fight are quite different compare to say a full contact bout or competitive sparring. The tools might and might not be the same, but you need to be aware of the differences eg. you won't have handwraps and gloves to protect your wrists and hands in a real fight. In short, there is a need for one to know WHEN to adjust accordingly. Well, since I'm taking 2 months off training again, it'll be a good time to ponder about some of my objectives of doing martial arts (Karate, Boxing/CMDP and BJJ). More to come... PS. Sorry if you find the title misleading, it's the simplest I can think of. ;D

Mar 4, Parrying and Counterpunching

Tue, 4 Mar 2008 20:42:58 -0500

Picked up something interesting from Bert on Mon nite. When I sparred with him, he surprised me when he parried my jab downward instead of employing our standard CMD (Crazy Monkey Defense using the forearms).

I then copied his method and used it successfully against few guys later. I threw a quick counterpunch everytime I parried away my opponent's punches. When my counterpunch connects, it stumped my opponent's momentarily so this is best time to unload combos, and kicks if he's backing up. I've to be mindful of parrying it just straight downward without lowering my hands too much, or it will compromise my defense and ability to counterpunch. Works great when mixing it up with basic CMD. Neat repetoire to add in my arsenal. Will experiment with using parrying to secure the clinch, overhook and underhook. And also to add more offenses (hook, cross and uppercut) after the parry.

Jan 9, Sparring - defense or offense first

Wed, 9 Jan 2008 13:38:00 -0500

Attended my first class on Mon. I've gained 5 kg, became slower, and forgot my few favorite combos. Despite the long holidays, Vince ran the first class like a regular one, with drills and 5 rounds of free sparring (which seems like 5 years) at the end of the class. I realised a few things from this first lesson of the year: 1. Basics first - hunchback, tuck in chin, look in front, hands up, push off from the rear leg. 2. Maintain posture, look in front when doing the modified duck or bop and weave. Never look down, or I'll eat uppercuts and knees. 3. Remain calm, find openings, and use angles. The last part is kinda dodgy because I think I was too eager to "win" (see my entry on Feb 10, 2007) so much so that I neglected my defenses in the pursuit of strikes that connect. There were many occasions I felt like a sitting duck with gaps all over that my opponents can easily take advantage of. And I ate some nasty shots when I stand still to slug it out, zero footwork. I guess it boils down to one thing: must improve my mental game, ie. Defense First. Yes, I did use the clinch successfully but in the process of gaining the clinch, I saw so many lapses in my defense that even a 10 year old can KO me given the chance. From now on, I'm just going to go slow even if I got hammered, and slowly work on my defensive skills first. Note to self: must discover how the mental game and defensive approach fits in different types of fighting styles: eg. jabber, counter puncher, slugger, southpaw and etc.

Dec 29, Reflecting 2007 - thank you guys!

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 15:22:03 -0500

Been away from training last 2 months. Although I welcomed and enjoyed the change of pace and scene, I missed training terribly. Then I realised that my MA training has helped me in more ways than acquiring a few rudimentary fighting skills. It has given me a completely new healthy lifestyle: both mentally and physically. I've become fitter and stronger than most guys my age (still lotsa room for improvements) and it has been SUPER training with a bunch of like-minded fine folks. KDTA coach Fitness & MA training from an empowering approach: encouraging people to discard their fear and worries by adapting a healthy lifestyle and developing a positive mindset. Learning functional self defense skills is simply a natural by-product from our gym. So to my gym buddies and coaches - Vince, Sam, Adam, Mike, Fidael, Thong, Albert, Laurent, Leon, Imran, Alex, Tommy and everyone in KDTA: Thanks for the great fun and company. Happy Holidays and see you guys in 2008!

Oct 21, Karate to Crazy Monkey to Open Mind

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 15:25:52 -0400

Last week I had a long chat with Yeap, one of the new student in our club. He asked how do I find certain techniques and approaches in the Crazy Monkey Defense Program (CMDP). In the process of sharing with him, I discovered that although I'm absolutely comfortable with the CMD Program at the club, there were certain instances that I referred back to my Kissaki Kai Karate training, such as certain parry, grab & strike techniques and weapons disarm methods to illustrate few points to him. While this in itself is NOT a critique of what the CMDP has to offer, it made me realized that my Karate background do contribute immensely to what I'm learning now, making things more complete for me, be it for fitness, sparring, competition and self defense.

Being so, I hope to find some ways and avenues to continue my Kissaki Karate training, especially on areas that I personally enjoyed and found the CMDP does not offer at the moment. It's best to keep an open mind with regards to what and how I train. For those who are wondering, Kissaki Defensive Tactics Academy (KDTA) has been offering the Crazy Monkey Defense Program in Malaysia since 2005.

Sep 21, Bernard Radin - Malaysia Ultimate Warrior 2007

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 09:37:53 -0400

Congrats to Bernard Radin for winning the Malaysia Ultimate Warrior 2007. Although not a full fledge NHB or Value Tudo competition, Malaysia Ultimate Warrior is slowly transforming the landscape of our martial arts scene as a platform to allow any martial artists regardless of their background to compete and test their skills against one another, reminiscent of the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the early 90s.

This competition forbids wrestling and grappling; so BJJ guys, submission fighters and wrestlers are not allowed to do what they do best but takedowns and throws are allowed. I’m not sure whether clinching is allowed although I did saw some body clinch and throws in this video. I also heard the organizers are prone to change the rules according to their whims and fancies (or whoever they fancy). ;) Nevertheless, this competition augurs well for the MMA scene in Malaysia and I’m hopeful we will be able to see a full NHB competition similar to Pride and UFC in Malaysia soon. Read the interesting report by my fellow KDTA mate Alex Lim (who also trains in TNT and under Sak Nayagam in Malaysia) below.

Aug 25, Flash Point - first HK MMA movie

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 10:54:10 -0400

Took a month break from training for some R&R. Went to Genting Highlands for a short holiday and watched one of the most anticipated action movie I've been waiting for. Ever since I saw Donnie Yen in SPL: Sha Po Lang (2005) showcasing a departure from the typical HK movies fight scenes, I figured it's a matter of time before good ole Donnie the maverick would do a movie featuring fight scenes utilising MMA moves. Well it's all here now: Western Boxing, Muay Thai clinch, knees and elbows, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu armbars, kneebars, ankle-locks, triangles, rear naked chokes, Judo throws, Wrestling takedowns and sprawls, TKD turning kicks, Kung Fu overhand strikes and so on... truly MMA (mixed martial arts). Enjoy the final fight scene below, and see which disciplines above are featured in it:

Really looking forward to Donnie's next movie "Painted Skin" again directed by Wilson Yip. Finally found my liking for HK action movies. :)

Jul 2, Proper MMA punching techniques

Mon, 2 Jul 2007 14:34:37 -0400

Vince told me I'm still telegraphing my punches too much. So I gotta to practice more shadow boxing.
Few points to note when sparring: 1. Keep your chin down and look into opponent's chest. Punch from your forehead, elbows pointing down.
2. Visualize your opponent in the mirror. Your mirror image becomes your "opponent", aim for your opponent's chin when punching. Visualize making contact with the knuckles of the index and middle fingers.
3. There should be 95% extension of your arms with the straight punches. Remember to tuck your chin in under your arms when firing straight punches - diving board punching.
4. Retract your punches back to your forehead fast.
5. Do not telegraph your punches. Never allow elbows to go behind your body, particularly with uppercuts. KEEP ELBOWS IN FRONT OF BODY ALWAYS.
6. Always keep your lead foot pointing toward your opponent and rear foot visible in mirror (when shadow boxing) - square on to him.
7. Never bring the feet together when punching, don't cross your legs. Rear leg on your heel, ready to push off when firing jabs or combos.

Now if only I can find some time to practice shadow boxing, been so busy with work lately. :(

May 28, MMA footwork and movement - CMDP

Mon, 28 May 2007 15:54:05 -0400

Today sparring session reminded me again to pay more attention to my footwork and movement.

For MMA, it's better to have a wider stance in anticipation of any shoots or takedown attempts. It's also easier to sprawl with a wide stance. The instructor in this video, Vitor Belfort is my favorite MMA fighter. Although lesser known, I admire his lightning fast boxing skills very much. He can be considered one of the first person to mix and use Boxing with BJJ successfully in many UFC matches, compare to the more preferred mix of Muay Thai and BJJ common in today's MMA training. 1. Always square-on to your opponent (turn to face him with both your hips).
2. Keep my rear leg on my toes pushing off my whole body when firing punches.
3. Always circle away from the opponent strong hand (normally his rear hand in a boxing stance).
4. Push off with the rear leg when moving forward, and push off with the front leg when moving backward.
5. Move the rear leg first when circling away.
6. Avoid sloppy movement and crossing your legs.
Hope to improve with more practice.

Apr 22, Adam Kayoom in The Star

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 08:01:31 -0400

Well, Adam finally made it to our national newspaper, The Star. It's a long overdue recognition to this great fighter and coach who made many phenomenal successes in the martial arts arena without any sponsorship or government funding. It's awesome to have him around the gym before he embarks on another professional tour again, whether to fight in Thailand, Australia, Brazil, US or Japan. His mere presence alone instill so much motivation in the gym that all those present will automatically train harder and fight better. Of course, yours truly here bruise and ache more when he's around... (I'm getting too old for these strenuous workouts). Still, I have to thank Adam for all the wonderful stuffs that he taught us and for being a great motivator and friend.

Apr 9, Muay Thai Clinch

Mon, 9 Apr 2007 01:34:26 -0400

Learned a basic Muay Thai clinch last week from Adam. The clinch is one of the skill I've yet to learn or experience. Although we did a bit of clinching during our Karate randori sparring and nage-waza (throwing or takedowns) training, it was quite different from the Thai clinch.

Adam taught that the clinch can be used to:
1. Disable your opponent momentarily so that you can rest awhile.
2. Unbalance your opponent to slip in your power shots.
3. Gain a position of advantage where you can hit him more.
4. Safely disengage to a good position while slipping in a few parting shots.
I found the clinch to be useful when I sparred with Laurent. I was exhausted and I used the clinch to catch a breather while minimizing his shots to him. Cool! Going to train more on this area.

Feb 10, The Mental Game

Sat, 10 Feb 2007 06:34:19 -0500

After many relatively "bruiseless" sparring session, I bumped the bridge of my nose against Leon 2 weeks ago. I literally walked into his ducked head and that left me with a bloodied painful nose. Why did I do that? After all, I've been training in Crazy Monkey Defense Program (CMDP) for sometime now, and one of basic defensive posture of CMDP is to hunch our back and duck our head in. Well, it was pride and ego, both "destructive" emotions to me.

Ever since I found my skills (both offensive and defensive) improving, I've taken many things for granted: like letting my defense down during sparring and underestimating my opponents. But the worse enemy is my pride and ego. When my buddy Imran bombed me with penetrating combos that nite, I was so eager to hit him back that I neglected my defense totally (head out, hands down, charging in blindly etc.), and in the process got beaten more. So the more emotional I got, the more I got hit. Bad bad... By the time I finished sparring with Imran, I was so eager to "win" my next bout that I walked straight into Leon's headbutt. Ouuch! The price of letting pride rule my head. That's why it's so important to stay calm in a fight: whether it's in the ring or on the street - a simple lesson many of us forget. I'll strive to be more mindful of my emotions from now on, whether in the gym or outside. It's best not be attached to winning or losing, but just focus on developing my skills, and having fun along the way. ;)

Jan 6, Sparring with Shan Shou guys

Sat, 6 Jan 2007 04:16:44 -0500

Had few light sparring matches with 2 Shan Shou guys. Glad to see my Crazy Monkey defense working well. Generally there is not much difference in their offensive tools such as the jab and cross but they do like to block punches by extending their forearm out or simply covering up their head with both arms (not sure if this is a technique or just a reaction). The more experience guy, Ooi likes to jab, cross then disengage (by stepping back). When I crash the line to unload, sometimes he simply turn his back when overwhelmed. He told me that in Shan Shou competition, contestants are not allowed to hit anyone who turn his back. I find this kind of approach and rule might expose a person to dangerous risks in a self defense situation. You certainly do not want to turn your back on someone attacking you for real, esp. when he's armed. I'll need to brush up my offensive tools vs. someone who hit and run. Too bad we didn't try clinching. It was a great experience for me and I made a few new friends. The Net is real slow these few weeks due to the broken links in Taiwan. Will be updating the website once speed has been restored. Happy New Year folks!!

Nov 10, Rodney King seminar in Singapore 2006

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 14:36:52 -0500

Just came back from a seminar by the founder of Crazy Monkey Defense Program, Rodney King in Singapore.

Here's my take on his seminar: 1. Initially I was kinda intimidated by the majority of participants who were there: those mean MMA types with their "dun-F-with-me" look. I wasn't sure if I could measure up or if their light would be too heavy for me during training. 2. Rodney is a great coach who delivered his points with gusto and he constantly challenged us to test his points/principles/techniques with a training partner thoroughly augment our understanding of the Crazy Monkey Defense Program. 3. I think two of the most overlook aspects of my game are balance and footwork. Although I'm still not 100% clear on these, I now realised how important it is to maintain balance in a fight, and why we must eliminate risky stances such as crossing our legs and lunging forward. Closing my eyes when shadown boxing really bring home this point, great practice. Rodney had said even the most conditioned or experience fighters got KOs in fights due to wrong footing or lost balance, that is scary indeed. 4. I particularly like his breakdown of CMDP into 4 main pillars: Balance ~ Crazy Monkey Defense ~ TES (Tight Economic Structure) ~ Conditioning. The last part is another harsh reminder for me to get back in Vince Core Strength workout classes. 5. This seminar also shown me the difference between Crazy Monkey Level 1, 2 and 3. Personally I like CM2 - crashing the line with a tinge of CM3 since I prefer to counterpunch. 6. Although I prefer Mark Hatmaker's definition of fighting ranges: either feeling (not fighting) or fighting (just 2 ranges) compare to the typical kick-punch-clinch-ground ranges, I realised we end up on the cross-sword position more often than we wanted to. Now we know what to do - use the pop & drive or squat & push combos. 7. Since I like to crash the line (and setup for the big right), now I've learned it's much better to shove & cross/elbow/headbutt - a very intimidating move. 8. Despite what Rodney said, I felt that practicing drills, training with focus mitts, medicine balls, shields and punching bags still have their usefulness. Perhaps Vince can enlighten us on how to reconcile Rodney's approach of learning by sparring entirely compare to our gym current approach. Overall, it was a superb seminar, beyond my best expectation. I came back recharged with many new ideas, principles and few awesome techniques.

Oct 20, Dynamic punching drill

Fri, 20 Oct 2006 02:38:28 -0400

Did some great drills with the humble medicine ball last few classes. Few things to bear in mind:
1. Must pace myself properly.
2. Retract my arms fast after punching.
3. Keep my arms close and tight.
4. Focus on footwork and distance.
5. Improve my angle and accuracy.
6. Change combos when one is not working.
7. Do more uppercuts before overhands.
8. Practice more jab-lead hook.
I think the drill also help condition my abs and allow the holder of the ball to practice better defensive footwork/movement.

Sep 27, Joint-locks for knife defense

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 14:16:15 -0400

During a practice session with Raj (the BJJ giant who also has a background in Jiu-jitsu), I realised my knife defense techniques are rather sloppy (probably due to long break from practicing such techniques).

I learned a few things from the gentle giant: 1. Make sure I control the arm tightly.
2. It's better to block (or jam), then lock his arm to the back than overhooking it (forget the Thai clinch for this).
3. Remember to head-butt, knee thigh, or sweep to take out his CNS (mind) from hurting me.
What I learned from Alex: 1. Jam and move off the centerline.
2. Strike with whole forearm to attacker's chin/throat while breaking his elbow with my chest.
3. Knee to thigh or sweep to unbalance and control.
Practical and nice. Thanks guys!

Aug 30, Never underestimate anyone

Wed, 30 Aug 2006 13:40:11 -0400

Sparred with Rosi, a visitor from the UK recently. She was sorta like the first woman I sparred with for years. Like most newcomers to the gym, I gave her to chance to throw the first few strikes to gauge the kinda level I should go. I sensed that she had some training background considering how relax she was and when she threw her first couple of shots, I knew she is good (but not how good). What I didn't knew was she's a 6-0 MMA women's champion in the UK. So I kept it light and the few rounds ended without any fireworks. Couple of days later she went hard on the other guys in the gym in my absence and I lost my chance to "test" my skills & learn from such an accomplished fighter. She must have thought I can only take "light contact" in view of my laidback approach during sparring. I resolved not to underestimate any opponent man or woman in the future and to improve my communication so that my training partner really knows how hard to go. To Rosi, it was really cool to train with you and hope I'll get the chance to do so again in the future.

Aug 8, Ground and Pound

Tue, 8 Aug 2006 11:23:05 -0400

Think you can throw decent strikes? That's what I thought. Well, try that on the ground and the whole thing changed. After going through few sessions of ground and pound, this is what I learned: 1. Being pounded on from the top is terrifying - think he's the hammer and you're the nail, or Thor raining thunderstorms on you.
2. Striking him from the bottom is really tough, and exhausting.
3. It's very hard to defend strikes from the top, esp. from an open guard.
4. You need to be very fit to do ground and pound (from whichever position).
To defend from the bottom:
1. Keep a tight close guard.
2. Cover your head with your hands.
3. Sit-up to left or right whenever he pound down and grab his arm, one at a time.
4. Grab down to his wrists.
5. Pull his hands under your knees as you change to open guard (or butterfly guard) by resting your feets on his hip.
6. Work your escape once you have controlled his arms this way.

May 17, Lead hand to combos

Wed, 17 May 2006 14:02:55 -0400

Well, like the often quoted business strategy: 20% of your techniques should reap you 80% of the results you wanted (stunned, disabled, KOed). I remembered reading Mark Hatmaker's book, No Holds Barred Fighting, the most often used striking arsenal in NHB fights are hand strikes. That means it's only logical to devote most of our training time to learn how to strike with our hands. But a Karateka is often overwhelmed by the vast arrays of hand strikes to learn and master: Kizami-zuki, Choku zuki, Gyaku zuki, Shuto and etc. My take on this is simple: just focus on your lead hand strikes, then slowly work your combinations. Find your personal bread and butter combo, and train hard to be good at it. Mike Tyson used to KO many fighters just by using his lead hook alone. Try this nifty combo:
1. Make the opponent think you have a static striking pattern, eg. by punching lead-cross repeatedly.
2. Then level change to strike him with a low lead.
3. Feint a cross by staring at him and moving your shoulder.
4. But WHAM! strike him with your lead again.

Apr 7, Fighting tall opponent

Fri, 7 Apr 2006 06:59:58 -0400

Fought with Leon, a 6ft. tall Dutch guy who has a background in Kickboxing and Jiujitsu. I knew he was good the moment I stepped into the class. Funny thing with martial arts, you can easily distinguished someone who has some skills from a newcomer if you have some experience in MA yourself.

Things to note when sparring with a taller opponent: 1. Level change when hitting them lower.
2. Duck the head in the arm when punching.
3. Work on overhand combos: lead jab up-down then overhand right is a good combo against a tall opponent.
4. Put bodyweight behind my punches by taking a step forward when throwing cross and overhand.
5. Counter-punching seems to work with proper defensive timing.
6. Stop sparring with them to prevent painful injuries and damage pride. ;)
I also need to decide whether a defensive game, attacking game or counter-punching is the most suitable style for me. Hopefully, I'll make a good decision after sparring with more people from diverse backgrounds. Overall, it's a good experience for me. The more different people I spar with, the more exposure I get.

Mar 25, Fighting a Southpaw

Sat, 25 Mar 2006 13:05:58 -0500

Yesterday was another first for me. I was almost KOed by Vince when sparring with him. We went for three 2 mins round and on the third round, Vince caught me with a vicious right hook. For few secs, it was lights out for me, I dropped my limbs and went down on my knees. Later Vince revealed that I threw too many telegraphic haymakers, esp. the right and I dropped my hands too much. But to me, my main problem fighting Vince is that he's a Southpaw, ie. someone who use his right hand/leg as lead boxing hand/stand. And worse, he's a right-hander who fights Southpaw. That means his lead punches are real fast and hard-hitting. Vince then taught me to:
1. Counter his right lead hooks with my right cross immediately after I managed to block it crazy monkey style.
2. Throw more crosses and straights instead of wild haymakers.
3. Move away from the strong left hand when fighting a real Southpaw. At least make keep moving to make yourself a hard target.
Must make a mental note not to feel overly intimidated when fighting my instructor or any opponents perceived to be better than me.

Mar 14, Bladed stance and jab/cross

Tue, 14 Mar 2006 02:33:06 -0500

It seems that the typical kumite stance works really well esp. when you put your hands up to cover your head and ribs. A bladed stance provide less targets for your opponent to hit and is much easier to defend against his strikes. From this stance, you can counter-punch with fast jabs (oi tsuki) alternating between his head and ribs, or cross punch (gyaku tsuki) his head/chin when your opponent try to left hook you. Of course, you must provide a visible opening (in your right chest/head) to lure in his left hook. Once your opponent launch his left hook, quickly counter with your right cross. Boom! Counter-punched and KOed (hopefully). Mix it up, mix it up!

Feb 21, Watch out for the hook!

Tue, 21 Feb 2006 03:15:49 -0500

Last Friday sparring and training was another eye-opener. Having incorporated some western boxing into our training with advance techniques as taught by Rodney King and Mark Hatmaker, we find them especially useful against a typical Shotokan sylist, esp. the hook punch. Called kagi tsuki in Karate, the hook punch is seldom taught in most Karate schools who prefer to focus on straight punches like oi tsuki, choku tsuki and gyaku tsuki. This blends well with our Kissaki Kai approach of moving 45 degree into the opponent or quarter turn facing the opponent. It'll often open up a gap in the opponent's defense for you to throw in the hook. I need to polish up my hooks on the bags and ensure proper alignment of my elbows when I throw my hooks to generate enough power for a KO and to prevent injuring my elbows. Next stop, combos and mixing it up!