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A Mind-Body Prescription for Fatigue
October 2, 2023
To relieve, deal with and eliminate fatigue, YMAA Author Ramel Rones has created a Mind-Body routine based on the Eastern health and martial arts philosophies, Chi Kung, Tai Chi, and Meditation.
Meet The Author: Ramel Rones Talks with Gene Ching About Bringing Tai Chi into the Medical Community (video)
February 2, 2022
YMAA author Ramel Rones talks with Gene Ching about his pioneering work bringing tai chi and qigong into the medical community for decades.
Fighting Range Strategies
November 15, 2021
If you cannot overwhelm the attacker and end up temporarily disengaged facing him, you should keep moving to prevent becoming a static target and to camouflage any additional tax you must unleash as you launch into retzev. (Retzev is a Hebrew word that means continuous motion.) In short movement from movement is more difficult to discern then movement from a stationary position.”
Anatomical Targeting Strategy: Works for Both the Attacker and Defender
October 11, 2021
Keep in mind that you don’t want any type of fighting chess game; instead, the goal is to eliminate any and all of his future counter-movement and counterattack capabilities. In other words, achieve checkmate with your first or second optimized combative as soon as possible.
Understanding Physiological Reaction to Threats and Violent Conflict
July 12, 2021
The Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) mobilizes your body’s nervous system fight-or-flight response. Immediate SNS activation occurs when you recognize and face imminent violence. Once activated by the perception of possible impending bodily harm, the SNS in turn activates immediate physiological changes by flooding your body with stress hormones. Your freeze, fight, or flight response hits full throttle
Push Defense: Police Hold Number Eight - June 28, 2021
As with all self-defense combatives there is a legal side, should you apply a joint lock on someone. Not only do you risk civil and criminal charges of battery, you might also face the risk of being convicted of false imprisonment.
Handling Aggressive People - May 31, 2021
Obviously, you cannot simply wish away a possible violent episode to avoid it. Silent hoping has little chance of removing the threat. This form of denial lands people in deep trouble when they are attacked and freeze, thereby absorbing the assault. Recognize there are violent people who will attempt to harm you. Sometimes, fortunately, you can change this dynamic by providing a non-violent solution.
Krav Maga: Lower Back Combatives - March 29, 2021
You can perform krav maga kicks at low, torso and head-level heights. To deliver head kicks, you'll need flexibility, balance, and enough strength to lift your leg. The Israel Defense Force, (IDF), in developing its krav maga program, set up tested candidates, many of who were talented martial artists, to run extensive distances with full combat loads. After an exhausting run in combat gear, the candidates were told to defend against an attack using whatever techniques they felt most comfortable. Few test candidates favoring high kicks could perform them. Their physical exhaustion prior to the fighting tests made high kicking extremely difficult.
Preparing Some Herbs - July 6, 2020
Your best bet is to have pots dedicated just 
to working with herbs. In fact, if you
 are going to work with herbs that
are toxic, it’s a good idea to dedicate some of your pots and utensils exclusively to topical and/or
toxic preparations. Sure, you’ll
 clean them well after each use, 
but there’s always the chance of a bit of herb impregnated wax sticking to the inside.
 The last thing you want when you’re making a nice stew is
 bits of arnica or menthol getting into it.
Mind Body Exercise for Relaxation, Health & Strengthening Your Immune System - April 20, 2020
Physical tension usually turns into mental tension. Mentally you think you are “relaxing” on the sofa but actually, physically, you are collapsing. Over time you find yourself sore and stiff and not relaxed at all. Tight muscles pull on the bones which restrict the movement of your skeleton and over time cause physical discomfort and pain.
Takedowns and Throws - February 3, 2020
The Israeli krav maga curriculum incorporates several core throws. Founder Imi Lichtenfeld was awarded a black belt in judo by Moshe Feldenkrais, who trained in Japan directly under the legendary Kano Jigoro. At the green-belt level (third belt level in the official krav maga curriculum) Imi incorporated several of judo’s most accessible and effective throws and takedowns.
Not All Krav Maga is the Same - October 21, 2019
I am concerned for the future of krav maga. Imi Lichtenfeld created too formidable a fighting method for it to be relegated to the pile of self-defense and exercise fads. Grandmaster Haim Gidon has spent fifty years enhancing Imi’s teachings and producing several generations of instructors who have both become and helped train some of Israel’s most capable and finest warriors.
Krav Maga: Developing Power and Balance for Maximum Effect - September 16, 2019
The following emphasizes the how of effective krav maga, in terms of how you use your body for the best outcomes. Israeli krav maga is designed to work for anyone regardless of athleticism, skill, size or gender. There are a few elementary techniques that you can perform instinctively and apply to a wide variety of situations. Importantly, you need not master more than a few combatives to become a kravist or competent krav maga fighter capable of defeating any type of unarmed or armed attack or threat.
Krav Maga Control and Disengagement Strategies for Social Violence - July 8, 2019
A moment of anger leading to violence can cost you everything, literally.  When facing the specter of social violence – a confrontation you can avoid and escape – how do you best opt-out? How do you walk away without feeling emasculated or that you blinked first? Ultimately, how do you disengage convinced that it was his lucky day?
The Legality of Protecting Yourself with a Martial Art - June 1, 2019
If avoidance, de-escalation and escape fail, the goal is never to waver about resorting to counterviolence in the face of violence. True self-defense focuses not simply on survival, but rather on how to neutralize the aggressor. There is no pity or humanity in a, perhaps, desperate visceral self-defense situation provided the counterforce is legally justifiable. Legally, you must be able to articulate what you did and why you did it. Your actions must be objectively reasonable to allow for an affirmative defense, should you face legal inquiry.
Defending Against Multiple Assailants Part 2 - July 25, 2016
The axiom that street violence is volatile and unpredictable could not hold truer than when facing multiple assailants.  Facing multiple assailants, let alone multiple armed assailants, is an extremely dangerous proposition.  Try to recognize the situation as soon as possible such as if two people are walking towards you and they suddenly fan out to your left and right.  Running and escaping is your best solution.
Defending Against Multiple Assailants—Part 1 - July 18, 2016
Street violence is volatile and unpredictable.  An attacker will seek every advantage including ambushing you in concert with multiple confederates.  You may well find yourself in a "negative five" position or initially unprepared for the fight of your life.  Krav maga (Hebrew for "contact combat") developed for the Israel Defense Forces will provide you with the instinctive tools and ability to fight for your life and win.
Optimizing Force Using Krav Maga - April 12, 2016
A combative strike will have optimum force if you accelerate your strike in combination with correct body mechanics. Principally, this involves a total body weight shift through the target. Physics teaches that acceleration times mass equals force. Your strike will generate more force if you accelerate your speed as you extend your arm and put all of your body weight (mass) behind your strike. This requires proper body positioning and technique.
The Krav Maga Advantage - March 29, 2016
The key is your mind-set: to neutralize an opponent quickly and decisively. In fighting sports, the following tactics are generally banned: eye gouges, throat strikes, head butting, biting, hair pulling, clawing, pinching or twisting of the flesh, striking the spine and the back of the head, striking with the tip of the elbow, small joint manipulation, kidney and liver strikes, clavicle strikes, kneeing or kicking the head of an opponent on the ground, and slamming an opponent to the ground on his head. These are exactly the combined core tactics krav maga emphasizes.
Some Krav Maga Guidelines - February 22, 2016
Footwork and body positioning combined with timing, whether standing or prone, allow you to simultaneously defend and attack, leading to seamless combative transitions essential to retzev or "continuous combat motion."
Krav Maga's Training Philosophy - January 25, 2016
Krav maga is designed around a few core tactics to counter a myriad of attacks. Defenders get tools for their toolboxes along with a general blueprint for how to use them. Imi's goal was survival in any defensible situation. While there are no set solutions for ending an armed confrontation, there are preferred methods using violence of action combined with retzev, or "continuous combat motion."
What's It All About?  Tai Chi - May 25, 2015
Each day, millions of men and women worldwide practice the Chinese martial art Tai Chi Chuan (taijiquan), which has been known for centuries to promote deep relaxation, excellent health, and to prevent injuries and illness. This gentle moving meditation teaches you to find balance between strength and flexibility, increases bone density, while involving all of the various soft tissues in your body: muscles, tendons, ligaments, fasciae, and skin.
Action of the Five Building Blocks of Qi (Energy System) - August 25, 2014
In order to achieve a strong energetic system, we must fine-tune each of the five building blocks until fine-tuning is not necessary.
Empty and Full Moon Breathing Exercise for Abdominal Muscles - March 17, 2014
For this exercise, we will focus on the physical muscles surrounding the lower energy center area. This skill, coordinating the movement of the abdominal and back muscles with the movement of the lungs and diaphragm, should be practiced and emphasized on its own. This exercise is one of those pillar principles that should eventually be incorporated into every mind/body prescription throughout the Sunset Tai Chi program. It is ultimately used with every breath you take.
Teaching Kung Fu to Kids and Teens - January 6, 2014
I teach primarily in my own kung fu studio. I am the owner, head coach and program designer. I pay the bills, open the doors in the morning and lock them at the end of the day. It's very much 'my house'. More recently, I've also been teaching classes at a local middle school.