Commentary

Creativity to Stagnation If you have read any of my previous articles, you know that I always encourage martial artists to find what works for them and to create their own art. In so doing, I am careful to emphasize the continuing search aspect of creating one’s own art. This [Read More]

Many of the survivors I have worked with over the years have asked me: “when will it stop?” When I ask them what they mean, they say, “when do you stop seeing everyone as a threat?” I survived physical abuse as a child; I understand the question. My Krav Maga [Read More]

After the army, I transitioned back to becoming a civilian instructor. It was not exactly a smooth transition. I was forged in the military Krav Maga that was geared to take teenagers and turn them into warriors. Now, I was back to teaching regular civilians. Gone was the discipline and [Read More]

If I did a good job last time talking to the hosts and instructors, hopefully before long there will be a Martial Arts Seminar near you. Hopefully you’ll know about it.  Hopefully you’ll be interested and able to attend it. If no one attends seminars, seminars tend to not happen. [Read More]

This is the third in a series of six articles on things I have learned from High-Intensity Resistance Training that have influenced my approach to martial arts. If you missed the previous articles in this series, you can find them here: High Intensity Resistance Training and Martial Arts – A [Read More]

“Be a calm beholder of what is happening around you.” ~Bruce Lee Here’s a hypothetical dialogue between two friends. One that, though hypothetical, represents something that happens to every one of us almost daily at work, at home and throughout the various interactions of our day. A: “Let me show [Read More]

I’ve been training for nearly 40 years at this point, and have never tired of it. I love getting on the deck and learning/practicing/refining ways to ruin the day of some miscreant who intends harm on me, mine, or some bystander I can protect. Most martial artists (and most people [Read More]

I’ve left and returned to taekwondo three times in my life: Once as a pre-teen when other interests eclipsed taekwondo. I returned at age thirty-three as a desperate wreck looking for a fresh start. Once as a jaded black belt leaving a toxic environment. I returned a few months later [Read More]

As a martial arts teacher, it’s our job to sometimes be the bad guy and give a little taste of harsh reality in a controlled environment. The mat is a safe place to learn lessons that would keep them safe in the real world. Those lessons can sometimes be very [Read More]

This is the second in a series of six articles on things I have learned from High-Intensity Resistance Training that have influenced my approach to martial arts.   When it comes to exercise, martial artists have a tough question to answer: “How can I fit exercise into my schedule when [Read More]

The Martial Arts have always been present in my life, as far back as I can remember. As I prepare for my 48th birthday, I sit and ponder on this amazing journey that has been, and continues to be, the Martial Arts. Both the study and training of the Arts [Read More]

  1. Pragmatism Krav Maga has been called the deadliest and most effective self-defense system because its roots lie in a pragmatism forged in response to an ancient hatred. In the 1930s, when national socialists began a series of antisemitic riots that targeted Jewish communities, Imi Lichtenfeld knew that a [Read More]

Students have an opportunity to train and to learn every time they attend class. What makes a martial arts seminar worth the time, effort, and resources required for it to be successful? Why is it worthwhile to have a different face in the front, or maybe even the center, of [Read More]

Teaching at Free Training Day I have wanted to write about Whistlekick Free Training Day since the day I came back, but it’s only now that I’m finally taking a trip home to Israel that I’ve had a second to breathe and process the amazing experience. I decided to pause [Read More]

I don’t remember the first time I was placed in full mount, because my mind shut down completely. I was frozen in terror. Everything faded away, and all I could think was that I was about to die. It didn’t matter that the person on top of me was my [Read More]

If you read my stuff you might’ve noticed I talk a lot about different styles of kung fu. And if you’re not into Chinese martial arts you might be having some questions. Such as: what are they really? why are there so many? And maybe some more. So for those [Read More]

This is the first in a series of six articles on things I have learned from High-Intensity Resistance Training that have influenced my approach to martial arts.   As he was for many, Bruce Lee was my gateway into the world of martial arts. Actually, the first movie I ever [Read More]