Why We Do What We Do

Why We Do What We Do

When you are doing Self Defense focused Jujitsu, you should always remember that every technique you do has a combat reason.  This means there should be no techniques that are “just good for competition.”  I cringe when I hear instructors say “I...

Martial Academics

Part of your martial arts journey involves academics. Training is more than just physical, especially if you are considering teaching someday.  Knowledge of history and the technical nuances of strategy and tactics is important to the overall development of the...

Survival is Everything – All else is Trivial

    I was speaking with another martial artist recently, and we began to talk about what was really relevant for survival.  After some discussion about martial arts techniques, what really works and what doesn’t work so well, we came to the...

What Martial Art Is Best For Self Defense?

“What Martial Art is best for self defense?” a student asked me.  As a Jujitsu instructor who has been doing this for 32 years, I actually get this question quite a bit.  One would expect after dedicating an entire martial art career to one martial art,...

Shibumi

Simplicy as a way to manage the complex.  Complexity and nuance as a way to manage simplicity.  Clarity of thought and design.  Silence as communication.  A single purpose or function so clear that is needs no embelishment. Shibumi. There was a time where there was...

The Toughest Journey

In the Jujitsu world – the journey to Blackbelt is one of the toughest journeys you will ever make.  To put it in perspective – more people have climbed Mt. Everest than have achieved a Jujitsu blackbelt!  Does that mean the journey to Blackbelt is tougher...