Free Martial Arts Articles

One of the fun things about martial arts is that it teaches you a bit of history as you go through it, and the bull sessions after a good workout are great. One of the bull sessions that Steve, Aaron and I had recently, after closing down the dojo, was sort of like fantasy league baseball, only for shaolin kung fu masters. Now, in fantasy baseball (another avocation of mine), one of the positions you can fill is ?team manager?, and the team manager helps your stats. For ...

In 1957, I was studying Judo and Karate at the Abbe School of Budo at the "Hut" in Hillingdon, Middlesex, a suburb of London. My teacher was Ken Williams Sensei, and we were all students of Kenshiro Abbe Sensei (8th dan in Judo, 6th dan in Aikido, and 5th dan in Karate and Kendo). At that time, very few people in the United Kingdom had heard of Aikido.

Your hands might get damaged or broken if you don?t properly take care of it for boxing. This process initiates by wrapping your hands with lengthy strips of cloth called ?hand wraps?; this is followed by digging the hands into the boxing gloves. Here are few steps mentioned below which one should follow before putting on the boxing gloves.

Muay Thai began as a fighting discipline for Thai people well before the 1500s (the exact date is unknown). As a means of self defence, it was used by a Thai person to either defend their plot of land on which they lived, or to defend their country from foreign attack. Therefore, from layman to nobleman, Muay Thai was practiced by virtually everybody at every level of society.

Being psychologically prepared is critical for self defense during an assault in the street. It is very important to be ready to repel the assailant (assailants) using all the means you have. Note that even being in not very good physical shape these means could be quite sufficient to disable your enemy (enemies). For example, if you wear hard sharp-toe shoes, then kicking your enemy in groin or shank with the toe of such shoe (even if there are no years of practice behin...

Karate class gives children an outlet for life?s daily stress. Children today have too much stress with unstable family units, bullies, peer pressure, and financial worries. The Karate studio serves as a bridge between academic school and the family unit. Children have a safe place to ?vent? their frustrations, when they come into a Karate class.

Can you imagine giving your child a gift that has twelve valuable life skills and one more benefit - on top of those twelve skills? As you already know, it's not the latest ipod or Xbox, but your child will be very successful in life, as a result.

A brief history of the formation and development of Karate.

Another day, another great workout. Since I had started kickboxing, I had kicked and punched my way to a great summer body. The results showed at the beach, in the club and in Shana?s eyes. I loved the way she looked at me nowadays. I had a date with her after my kickboxing routine and I was just driving the car around the block to pick her up. ?Hi!? I said as she opened the door. ?Hey? she gushed effusively. Then a quick peck later, we were on the way to the car. She had ...

For many years The British Aikido Board ( BAB ) have shown no interest whatsoever in the true history of British Aikido, to be fair to the BAB, they have in the recent past shown a great deal of interest and support for the false history of British Aikido for which they have now publicly apologised, the apology to Henry Ellis by the chairman Mr Vincent Sumpter can be viewed on this site. www.geocities.com/britishaikido

The Aikido Controversy is now a part of British Aikido History. It was a long and difficult fight to protect the true history of British Aikido from the false claims of Mr Jack Poole and The British Aikido Board. Sport England totally exonerated Henry Ellis. The BAB were instructed to give Henry Ellis a full public apology after admitting that Mr Poole had received an award to APPEASE him. The BAB also admitted that Mr Poole could only substantiate his history from 1968.

One of the ongoing things we?re trying at the dojo is broadening our student base. Lots of students get a little upset at punches flying at them, and the like, so we?re evaluating some of the softer styles for an introductory class. I?m looking at turning Wing Chun forms into the basis for a practical martial arts style, and helping with the instructions with it. First, I learned Wing Chun as a ?recuperative? style ? I needed some time off to let my feet heal from doing ...

So I?m watching this nature channel special on television, right? This one in particular is all about tigers and their hunting habits. It seems these guys are super aggressive when it comes to hunting their prey. First off, this animal is the biggest feline in the world. I was surprised when I heard that fact. I always thought that lions were the biggest cat out there, you know? Boy was I wrong! These tigers are huge. The Siberian variety can be up to twelve feet long...

Most of the people who learn self defense techniques through martial art training do so in order to be able to defend themselves. It?s a wild world we live in and self defense skills are important to prevent potential attacks and to give yourself enough self confidence to survive. Although people are looking for martial art training for self defense reasons, most martial arts are based on ancient practices and techniques.

One of the many things that can stop someone with a heartfelt desire to study authentic martial arts under a qualified teacher is that the teacher or program is nowhere near where they live. One way to get the best training available is to simply go where the teacher. For many students, martial arts and ninja camps and seminars fill the void.

There are many myths about martial arts training, and the general public accepts some as fact. In the following article, I have outlined general guidelines, and precautions, for parents who are considering enrolling their child, or children, into martial arts.

Teachers must set an example for their students by being an excellent one themselves. This level of modesty takes years to cultivate through proper etiquette - and is one of the ultimate goals of our training.

Mixed Martial Arts legend Randy Couture faces Tim Sylvia in Columbus Ohio on March 3rd, 2007. Expect an exciting fight between two champion calibre UFC fighters.

With only 2 losses in his last twenty Mixed Martial Arts fights; there is little doubt that Chuck Liddell is the best light heavyweight fighter in the world. Still, fans of the UFC always want to see good battles, so it?s worth looking forward to those fighters, UFC, Pride or elsewhere who might give Chuck Liddell a run for his money.

Reprinted with the approval of the magazine from the April 2006 issue of Martial Arts Illustrated and the magazine?s Aikido correspondent Keith Morgan Sensei. Sorry this is not a dedication to Lennon / McCartney, but continuing the theme of early pioneers of the martial arts in the UK. It gives me great pleasure this month to talk to Henry Ellis, pioneer of Aikido, International teacher and author.

Originally called Hark Fu Moon or Black Tiger System, Tiger Claw Kung Fu or Fu Jaw Pai was renamed by First Generation Grand Master, Wong Bil Hong in honour of his master, believed to be a Shaolin monk. At the time, there was Manchurian persecution of the Shaolin order so the name of his master was never revealed. Wong Bil Hong was not eager to share the knowledge he had learned and during his lifetime only ever took on two students. One of which was his nephew Wong Moon Toy...

Martial arts are a sport that combines a variety of different methods of combat. In some cases, martial arts are used only for use, in other cases; martial arts are used in head-to-head combat, in generally controlled situations, such as matches or shows.

1. While polishing your technique you should never stick out your chest or stomach either when fighting or practicing. It stiffens your body and makes your movements awkward. As a result, you are losing control over your body. While practicing always make sure to keep your back bent outward and chest incurved. This is the right sign to distinguish between Kung Fu masters and Kung Fu athletes. 2. Despite the fact that the back should be a bit bent outward, you have to maint...

In modern Aikido circles and probably more so on the various forums there is a kind of competition going on of who knows the most Japanese terminology. I am sure that most of their Japanese would not be understood or recognised by many Japanese . I do however accept that the modern Japanese teachers do speak very good English and can therefore instruct the students in both English and Japanese. Where as in the early days when the Japanese teachers spoke very poor English a great deal of instruction was by indication or the use of a shinai rather than verbal. Non the less we did use a great deal of Japanese terminology.

Karate-do is a way of life that teaches one to be the best he or she can be, in spite of and because of the worst situations that one faces. Karate is a code of conduct that avoids conflict; its level of force is only stepped up if absolutely necessary. In this way, karate may be used to defend oneself and others without striking a single blow.

Iron Thread is a complex of exercises developed by Shaolin Temple monks during centuries. Practicing Iron Thread exercises Shaolin Temple monks achieved amazing results in Kung Fu and became invincible fighters. However, besides the fighting aspect, Iron Thread is a powerful health improvement method. With the help of isometric exercises and breathing techniques, Iron Thread fills all internal body organs with Qi energy and increases internal body reserve. As a result, org...

There are a few theories about the origins of the fighting arts that later became collectively known as Karate-do. However, it is certain that many notable Chinese kung fu practitioners settled in Okinawa, the capital of the Ryukyu kingdom.

According to the FBI, four women die everyday as a result of domestic violence and about 130,000 women report that they?ve been victims of rape or attempted rape annually. Because of statistics like this, many women enroll in self-defense classes to learn the skills they need to defend themselves.

Children learn much more about violence on the television, playing with video games, and dealing with daily life, than they will ever learn in a karate class. Even if a Karate teacher was the classic ?evil sensei,? that you may have seen in the Karate Kid movie or on Kung Fu Theatre, most children can think of far worse violence.

Martial arts have developed over a period spanning centuries, skills and techniques passed from teacher to pupil transcending time and passing through generations.