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Keep Swinging, pt II (How to Make Video Training Work)
If you are an FMA veteran, even if only a veteran student, you may walk away from today’s article feeling cheated. Please don’t, though. Because although much in today’s discussion is common sense and...
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Why the “Perpetual Student” Is Misguided (10 Steps to Expert)
There is a concept often thrown around in the FMA/SEAMA circles (mainly, seminar circles) that I must challenge. In the hopes of maintaining one’s appearance of humility, many claim to be “always a...
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How to Beat an FMA Guy – For “Wolf” Soderstrom
My Kung Fu brother from another brother (Sifu Randy Bennett, my older Kung Fu brother) is competing in a televised weapons-based tournament called the UWM. His name is Martin Lobo Soderstrom, and his...
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Thoughts on FMA Empty Hand: The Doubter (for Mike Jolly)
Ah, that “Fallacy of FMA Empty Hand” article… I thought my Hermit article would be my defining article, yet the Empty Hand article seems to be the one that endears me to my readers–or make me the FMA...
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Thoughts on FMA Empty Hand, pt II: “Translating”
This article is a continuation of yesterday’s article, answering a reader’s question about the effectiveness of FMA empty hand. If you haven’t read it, please do, because you will need to understand...
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Fighting Advice from Mustafa Gatdula
One thing that the modern FMA man tends to neglect in his pursuit of martial arts ability is the study of fighting strategy. This is not a flaw in the tradition of Filipino martial arts, but a flaw in...
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To Master or Not to Master
What type of Filipino martial artist are you? How far do you want to take this thing? What are your goals in the arts? Is it necessary to complete curriculums, teach the art, fight in matches, cross...
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My Thoughts on Rousey-Nunes (and Cross Training)
Let’s take a break from our discussion of FMAs and turn our attention towards MMA for a second. Because of the nature of the modern FMA man’s martial philosophy–one of “learn what works, discard what...
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Personal Combat Styles
If you’ve been around for a while on the non-seminar side of the FMAs, you may be familiar with this term, the “Personal Combat” style. Other terms you may hear are something like “Combat Arnis”,...
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Time for an FMA Revolution, Part II
This is a continuation of an article I wrote last year introducing a few suggestions about an “FMA Revolution” I thought should take place. If you hadn’t read it, follow this link and take a look. I...
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The Devastation of Eskrima’s #1 Strike
Most styles of Eskrima have as their #1 strike an out to in strike to the temple or a downward strike to the crown, nose or collarbone. Both of these strikes, in my opinion are underrated and can be...
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Mastery and Innovation
In the path to mastery of the martial arts, including especially fighting arts such as Eskrima and Arnis–one must have a certain degree of innovativeness. While not absolutely necessary, for most...
View ArticleThe Wayward Branch
“Listen 10 times, ponder 1,000 times–speak once.” –Turkish proverb One recurring theme you will see repeated on this blog is the idea that martial artists too often fail to think for themselves. Over...
View ArticleMissing Pieces of Modern Eskrima Practice, pt II
I am the world’s biggest procrastinator, I swear… So I’m doing a little maintenance to the site, which I haven’t done in a few year actually, and I come across my folder of unfinished “articles”. I put...
View ArticleFMA Practitioners vs Eskrimadors & Arnisadors
The best of us can learn something new, regardless of how advance or knowledgeable we believe we are. For growth in the martial arts, it is important to be highly competent, highly competitive, highly...
View ArticleThree Paths Up the FMA Mountain (for Jason Spotts)
I’ve recently relocated back to the Philippines; so good to be back! Aside from getting reacquainted with long-seen family–some cousins I hadn’t seen since childhood–and seeing how the many towns and...
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