Confessions of a Failed Martial Arts School Owner: Part One Lifting the red and black puzzle mats off the floor, revealing the empty and imperfect vinyl imitation hardwood floor is more painful the second time around. While they only had students on them for a total of eighteen months over [Read More]
Perseverance and Indomitable Spirit Throughout my forty-two years on this planet, I have experienced many successes and even more failures than I would have ever thought possible. Having taken the time this year to reflect and take inventory on my past, in hopes to shape my present and future, I [Read More]
“I don’t have time to train” is something parents end up saying at some point in their martial arts and parenting journey. They have a point. Parenthood drains almost all of our personal resources. It takes time. It takes energy. It takes money. It takes focus. It takes attention. Since [Read More]
The training methods of Dekiti Tirsia Siradas Kali are derived directly from its name. The language is of the Ilongo dialect of the Visayan region of the Philippines. The word Dekiti means close range, or tightly close, which is the combat range preferred by the DTS combatant. Tirsia is close [Read More]
Karate uniforms, also known as gi or do-gi, are an essential piece of equipment for any martial artist. The karate uniforms not only provides a sense of professionalism and respect but also serves as functional attire during training and competition. Like any article of clothing, proper maintenance and care are [Read More]
By Jenni Nather, StaciAnne Kaeleigh Grove, and Joshua Blum The movie that will go down in history as the first appearance of Steven Seagal’s iconic ponytail is a 1990 release from Director Bruce Malmuth. In addition to The Ponytail, the film also stars Steven Seagal in his second major theatrical [Read More]
April is Stress Awareness Month. A way to combat stress is by developing resilience. For more resources on managing stress, visit the American Psychological Association’s resource page on resilience. John Coyle, Olympic medalist, author, and public speaker, has presented to leaders in my organization over the last year as part [Read More]
Have you ever seen the movie Best in Show that came out in the early 2000s? Have you heard of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show held in New York each year? If you have, you’ll understand that until 2019 that was my knowledge base for the world of dog [Read More]
One of the most valuable lessons of martial arts is how to persevere when you make mistakes. Many feel like giving up. It is so easy for people to give up when they feel exhausted, and to refuse to push through. This is especially important in self-defense training. When someone [Read More]
Do you ever feel like you’re wearing a mask or must put on an act in front of certain people? Do you feel like the world has impossible expectations for you to meet—or do you put impossible expectations on yourself? Do you feel like you can’t be honest about what [Read More]
Are you finding yourself skipping the gym because you have a newfound excuse of training martial arts? It is really easy to tell ourselves that the gym is no longer important because we are taking some kind of martial art, but we are here to tell you this should not [Read More]
All martial arts are a set of basic rules that the practitioner must learn and apply to progress in their style of martial arts. In this aspect of training, Dekiti Tirsia falls in line with all the rest. We have spoken of these three many times not being more insignificant, [Read More]
Many martial artists attribute Bruce Lee as a source of inspiration for getting into Martial Arts. Recently I had the privilege of talking to Michael Robishaw, who saw the Legend perform at a tournament, and was privilege enough to talk to him. He then moved on to take lessons from [Read More]
Grandmaster Imi Lichtenfled, founder of Krav Maga broke some of his ribs while training for the 1935 Maccabiah sports game. He was not able to compete. He promised himself a key part of his training would be to always avoid all injuries if possible. As my first instructor, Alon Dagan [Read More]
Martial artists carry themselves with self-respect, honor, and grace. They temper their emotions and never fall prey to the temptation of envy…Or we could just cut the bull and stop romanticizing the myth of the martial artist with the unflappable humble heart. Jealousy is a natural human emotion, and it [Read More]
Although known primarily as a blade/weapon art Dekiti Tirsia has numerous empty-hand techniques that it can call upon in an instant for use in self-defense situations. The Philippines is located right at the juxtaposition of many Asian/Southeast Asian countries that each have a unique martial art. There has always been [Read More]
I know that TV has very little to do with reality, but sometimes, stupidity hits a new low. One of my students showed me a clip from an old TV show, “Prodigal Son.” In one episode, one of the villains was an evil Krav Maga instructor, who beat up students [Read More]
In part one of this series, I talk about Kung Fu Hustle and its martial arts that come from the real world. In this second part, I’ll try to cover all of the fictional styles and their respective origins in kung fu films and literature. This second post will have [Read More]
If you want to get your body ready for martial arts, the best warm-up is one in which you move how you’re going to move during class. This might seem like common sense, but sadly you will sometimes find in life that common sense is NOT so common. (Maybe they [Read More]
A couple of months ago, I received a spirited message from Martial Journal writer Elke Weiss–she had just finished an incredible Krav Maga class led by a young instructor who greatly impressed her and who she knew would have many more great thoughts they could share on website. With that [Read More]
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