The Martial Art of Natural Laws
When training you will want to try various methods that can improve your skills and knowledge over time. In this article we will discuss many different ideas that can help you achieve increased understanding and insights into the various skills you study. Try to incorporate these considerations into your training over time as each will Read More …
In this article we will discuss some general conceptual knowledge that is likely to be of benefit to you over time. This information is a bit eclectic, but it is nonetheless worth reviewing. Hard vs. Soft Martial Art Styles It is quite common for people to classify a particular martial art as either a hard Read More …
There is a great deal to think about and study as you work toward achieving the Purple Belt ranking. Here are many of the general knowledge skills you should consider or adopt as you work toward your next ranking examination. Chiken
Awareness involves remaining focused on what is currently happening around you. If you are walking to your car and looking down at your cell phone you are aware of your phone and the virtual world it represents, but you are likely not aware of what is happening nearby in the physical world. This could result Read More …
As your skills develop you increasingly become more of a physical threat to others. This requires us, as martial artists, to consider how we interact with others on a daily basis. There are some things we need to systematically avoid in order to ensure we remain productive members of society and so that we do Read More …
In this article we will cover various aspects of movement. We will discuss how to move appropriately in some situations and how you might employ movement strategically. This article will not cover every possible movement concept, but we will cover many that we hope you find both interesting and beneficial. You will want to consider Read More …
refers to the engagement distance between yourself and an opponent. How you might elect to move can be determined by the magnitude of this distance. There are three primary distances that we consider when deciding how to move. Chikama Chikama (or Chika Ma) refers to a short distance. This usually means that the opponent is Read More …
This concept suggests that if you move a person’s head then their body will move in the same direction. If you move the head back, the body will go back. If you move the head forward, the body will pitch forward. The same applies if the head is moved to the side. This concept is Read More …
The stepping patterns introduced in this belt deal with remaining at a neutral distance from your opponent. Using a pattern will place you in a different position, but at roughly the same distance as before you moved. This can be useful if you wish to stay out of the range of an opponent (or a Read More …
We begin to study movement much more thoroughly within the Purple Belt curriculum. It is a critical part of your martial arts studies to which you should devote significant time and contemplation. We study not only how you move, but how an opponent moves. This leads to consideration of how both of you move concurrently, Read More …
Indirect movement is the process of causing some specific part of the human anatomy to move by moving some other part of the human anatomy. You move Part B in order to indirectly get Part A to move in a known and specific manner. Indirect movement is a specific form of manipulation which is fundamental Read More …
refers to male percussive striking techniques. A male percussive strike typically involves the following elements: Significant rotation or movement of the body to develop momentum for a strike Whole body involvement such that the arms, legs, and torso are all involved in the strike delivery process Contact using a hard surface area of your body Read More …
involves the use of female percussive striking techniques. Female strikes are not simply the opposite of . Nor are they intended to be dainty or effeminate strikes. Onna No Atemi Waza is used for the following purposes: To cause pain and/or injury To move an opponent into a more advantageous position To control an opponent Read More …
By this point in your training you have learned the majority of the hand strikes that you will ever employ in your martial arts efforts. To be sure there are other hand strikes that you can learn and we encourage you to always look for new and interesting ways in which you might strike. You Read More …
The word “Hontaibu” means body part. So, refers to techniques that target specific parts of the body. Each part of the body is affected in a different way by strikes, and of course different strikes can affect a given part of the body in different ways. This section discusses various areas of the body that Read More …
You should study and practice the following leg blocks. Sometimes using the legs is the only effective way to limit or prevent an attack from an opponent. There are quite a large number of these blocks, and many more that you could imagine. Study and practice these blocks often. A Note on Soto and Uchi Read More …
Students studying to achieve the Purple Belt ranking focus primarily on learning to block using the legs. Various blocking maneuvers using virtually every part of the leg are studied throughout the Purple Belt curriculum. Students should keep in mind that blocking actions can have multiple purposes. The first and most elementary, of course, is to Read More …
In this section we will discuss triple kick combinations. Let me begin this discussion by saying that most of the kicks in this section are completely impractical. They will not work as advertised. Why are they impractical? Primarily because your opponent (or opponents) is (are) unlikely to stand in one position while you deliver three Read More …
A habit that begins to form with students as they approach the mid-belt rankings is that they assume once they have taken a training partner to the ground that their task is complete and they have somehow won the competition. This is not a valid way to look at things. Once an opponent is on Read More …
In this belt you will begin to notice a transition in kicking skills. No longer are we simply learning the mechanics of a new kick. Instead, we are learning to apply kicks you have already learned in different ways. The kicks in this belt can best be described as moving kicks. These kicks will be Read More …