It was yesterday evening, during a blade class, that a student asked me a very deep question. I enjoy these very much as they free me from what I am doing into something new, weather in thought, movement or both. The questions was, “Is this movement for attack or defense?” and here is my answer.… Read More The sword and the spear
Some people are stiff. Some are on the other end of that spectrum and require work to reach higher joint stability. The work is easy but consistency is required to achieve success. Here is an example for loose shoulders: Place yourself in a push up position, you can begin against a wall and work your… Read More Loose joints
Repetition is important but so is intensity. Here is a ten minute well spent: It is not the repetition that creates the change, it is the focus that each one brings. Moving slowly increases awareness to positions within the movement and helps build better tendon and joint strength. One push up – moving one minute… Read More Ten minutes of movement
I love movement and awareness but it is all for nothing if the thoughts and feeling running through the brain and the endocrine are not out own. It is easy to follow and even easier to drift in the current. The best medicine for that is to climb on a rock in the stream and… Read More There is no self without solitude
A mans substance can be felt and though flash and pose is shiny, it is not lasting. Books to build character: Beyond Band of Brothers by Richard Winters. The Doctor and the Soul by Victor Frankl Westward the Tide by Louis L’Amour Inside Delta Force by Eric Haney Maps of meaning by Jordan Paterson The… Read More Books to build character.
In this online video class, we start with body awareness, tension and release and the shifting of mass and how this translates to more and more movement but without tension and excess. Join me for more classes online and in person, here.
There are times where training in a school is forbidden or not possible. There are always ways to hone the inner blade as many cultures have shown us before, from adopting agricultural tools into weapons to masking fighting moves in dance and song. Here I focus on the family unit. Here are twenty drills or… Read More Solo and Partner home drills/games
There are many questions martial arts aim to answer. One of the deeper ones is, how we face fear. Only someone who passed through the masks of technique and strategy can face the real questions that in turn, unmask the fog of the battlefield. Fear is a terrible master and a powerful servant. It is… Read More Embracing fear
An interview and bits from a seminar held in Frankfurt. Thank you to http://www.FrancoisHagdorn.com for creating the interview and the seminar footage. Thank you to http://www.SystemaSchule.de for hosting the seminar
Cutting something off or trying to stop a behavior usually does not work out smoothly. The reason to that is we subtract without addition and thus create a void in our, movement, thoughts and feelings One way to remove the unwanted habit or trait without creating a void is to replace it consciously with another.… Read More Avoid the Void
