Commentary

Learning to Live… Again When Steven Tyler yelled in 1976 that he was back in the proverbial saddle it was without any inclination what the year 2020 was going to have in store and how hard it would be to just jump back on in ‘21. I have heard the [Read More]

A 21st Century Instructor The world since the pandemic has changed. The very nature of martial arts instruction has changed in many aspects. When confronted with Covid-19 martial arts instructors all over the world were subjected to the ultimate test. Partner work was gone, in-person instruction was gone and that [Read More]

I’m a nerd. Jeremy’s a nerd. My favorite sparring partner is a nerd. There’s a lot of nerds in martial arts, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. I personally suspect that’s because of the following common process: Step 1: Nerdy kid gets bullied Step 2: Nerdy kid takes martial arts lessons [Read More]

Always respects others and their decisions   “What is this guy doing?” The words are said in the privacy of my car, and do not really reach the driver of the vehicle they are aimed at. I am on my way to my regular training session when I say these [Read More]

I saw a friend at school I hadn’t seen for two years. I was so happy and excited, I couldn’t wait to hit the mat with them. “Wow, what rank are you now?” they asked.  It didn’t feel comfortable to tell them that despite stellar attendance and a lot of [Read More]

Disclaimer I am a white male living in an area of the UK that is not known for cultural diversity. I have recently had my eyes opened to the cultural impact of subversive racism. The same subversive racism that permeates most of western culture and am trying to reflect on [Read More]

Any competitive sport brings on strong emotions. In many martial arts, those emotions are compounded by the intense physicality of the sport and the fact that it puts us in positions and situations that are uncomfortable, if not painful. As competitors we no doubt have experienced a sense of self-doubt, [Read More]

Taekwondo is translated as “the art of kicking and punching.” But what is that exactly? Yes, the translation is from the Korean language but wouldn’t ALL martial arts fit in this category? Agree with me or not, it’s just an opinion/observation. Forward all hate mail to doni@keepittoyourself.com. For the past [Read More]

I met a guy once (no, it’s not THAT kind of article) at a bookstore (see?). He was a cashier at my favorite haunt in Dallas, Half Price Books. I had been perusing the martial arts section in my latest attempt to get on up, get into it and get [Read More]

Krav Maga can be boiled down to a few key concepts. One of them is that we must live outside our comfort zone. I was never someone who enjoyed writing as a hobby, and suddenly, I’m committing to writing an article a month here at Martial Journal as well as [Read More]

As a kid I spent hours drawing with crayons, tongue out of the side my mouth in thought, left hand cranking out masterpiece. My brain couldn’t count as high as the 48 colors in the box but I took a crack at using everyone one of the options offered on [Read More]

***Big Ole Reminder*** Forty eight hours left to get your votes to us and secure your place for issue 2 of Martial Journal Print Edition. If you’ve been living under a rock, we dropped a magazine (YAY!) and to secure your limited-run print copy, you need to vote for best [Read More]

There’s this old show, a Britcom called Coupling. It’s a relationship and sex comedy mostly centered around the courtship and eventual marriage of two characters. It’s a solid B+ as TV shows go, but the very final moments stick with me. The last episode of the show happens while the [Read More]

“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.” ― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching   Why do you train? This is a question often asked of us as martial artists, and I believe it is one of the hardest questions [Read More]

One of the Boys I started learning Karate when I was about 11 years old. Little did I realize that my martial arts journey would impact my understanding of being a woman. I wanted to do what my brothers did. It was important to me to hold my own amongst [Read More]

“That’s not fair!” I can remember my friend’s words echoing in my ears. We had been sparring, full contact. No matter how we started, we tended to get in a clinch and I felt him pushing me back. My body told me, intuitively, to pull back, to go with that [Read More]

“Relax!” As I strive to punch my teacher in the face — at his insistence, mind you — I not only find myself unable, but somehow my body ends up turned away from him, unable to reach him, while he is facing me and punching me twice on the chin. [Read More]

The Nature of the Job Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has always been my best tool as a bouncer. “If she lets go of you, will you calm down?” Our head of security was reasoning with an intoxicated female patron. I was in the process of ejecting her from the bar in [Read More]