April 22, 2024
No one has ever walked onto a judo mat and immediately became an elite-level athlete. Anyone who thinks otherwise will have a short and limited career in judo. 6 Min Read
February 26, 2024
With the abundance of martial arts resources and the power of today’s communication technology, YMAA staff writer Gene Ching ponders what effect it might have on the traditional arts for the next generation. 5 Min. Read
August 1, 2022
So, for the purposes of understanding how the triangle choke has evolved and how it will continue to develop, it’s best to say that it is an offspring with many parents come from many parts of the world.
March 14, 2022
Now that you have provided us with some fascinating background details dealing with family, studies, and work, I'd like to focus on your martial art studies. What exactly got you interested in these arts? Please provide some details about your very first teacher.
March 7, 2022
The name Dr. Yang Jwingming became known to many because of his early publications dealing with Taijiquan. Despite some editorial faults expected in early works by a native-Chinese speaker who was a novice to publishing, his pioneering volumes offered insights and experience into the art that captivated thousands.
I was parked alongside a major street in downtown Seattle. My hands were full of boxes and the mid-afternoon sun was glaring in my face, making it hard to see despite my polarized glasses, so it took a couple tries to get my key into the lock. I awkwardly dragged the door open, nearly dropping some of my packages, and began shoving my purchases in to the car.
About 2003, the training unit at my old agency got some pretty disturbing numbers. Assaults against staff and hospitalizations had increased dramatically. The programs taught at the academy and approved by our agency weren't cutting it. The Training Unit tasked a few of us to redesign the Defensive Tactics program from the ground up.
A lever is the simplest of machines, which utilizes a rigid bar to rotate around a fixed pivot point called a fulcrum in order to exert force on an object (load). If the resistance or load exceeds the strength of the bar, the bar will break. Biomechanically speaking, the arm is a bar, and when the fulcrum is at or above the joint, breakage can easily occur.
Working with a good partner to practice and perfect weapon defense techniques is instrumental to your development as a kravist. The force and speed of the mock attacks should be gradually built up over time as your defensive skill sets improve.
Jian is the king of the short weapons. Skill in the use of the Jian is built on a foundation of skill with the saber, which is called the root of the short weapons. Any martial artist who wants to master the Jian should first master the saber; otherwise it will be extremely difficult to understand the applications of the techniques and the source of the power in sword practice.
Chinese martial arts have evolved in China for over 5,000 years. This evolution has been experienced not only by the many schools of barehanded fighting, but also by a wide variety of weapons practitioners. As various types of weaponry have evolved, so have the materials and techniques for their fabrication.
It was the first time I’d ever made it to the finals. Win and I’d take home the first place trophy; lose and it’d still be a pretty cool piece of hardware. I’d come in third a couple of times, but the little statues weren’t nearly as prestigious as the big ones. And I really, really wanted to earn one of the big ones.
The Raiders fan had biceps that could put Hulk Hogan to shame and a physique that was nothing short of awesome. He stood out in a bar full of average guys, not only because he was ripped, but also because he was the only person cheering for the other team, the only one doing it vociferously anyway.
At some point in my stay, a potential five-year candidate named, Nathan Rosen, flew in from France for a short stay. I drove with Dr. Yang and Jonathan Chang to pick him up.
It was a quiet Monday morning in Bronx, N.Y. at 5 a.m. when I made my usual stop at the deli by the local train to New York City. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the former UFC Lightweight Champion, Frankie Edgar, alongside the Bellator Lightweight Champion, Eddie Alvarez, featured on the cover of Black Belt Magazine.
I began training in the martial arts in the summer of 1965. Months earlier, I had broken my lower back in a weightlifting contest and the doctor told me to stop lifting weights and to try something less violent on the body. Therefore, I began karate training.
Don’t over-romanticize guns. A handgun is a nifty machine that throws a hunk of metal in a straight line. No more, no less. A .45 caliber bullet, unless it hits bone and sends fragments spinning, does just as much damage as driving a blunt 45/100 of an inch-diameter stick into the body.
While handguns, shotguns, rifles, and carbines can all be used in self-defense, it can be very challenging to justify anything other than a handgun in court, save for in your home (or some places of business) where castle laws might apply.
Estoy muy feliz de decir que hoy se celebración 30 años de la YMAA. Desde enseñar a 5-6 alumnos en mi estacionamiento, hacer mi primera visita a Polonia en 1986, hasta ver como YMAA International (YMAA Internacional) crecía país por país y funda YMAA Publication Center (Centro de Publicaciones YMAA), publicando muchos libros, videos y artículos, han sido 30 años lleno de hitos.
The three golden rules, first written by Dep. Paul McRedmond of the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, must be the basis of all officer training. The fact that they exist, that they are explicitly taught, and that they needed to be stated so clearly says something about the profession.
Gary Fadden was a salesman for firearms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. On February 24, 1984, he and his fiancé were driving their Ford pickup along Route 50 in Virginia. This was before cell phones became ubiquitous and he had no communication device inside his vehicle.
I don’t shoot targets. I shoot men. Honestly, I figure I owe them that much. I know that when I kill someone I am doing to their family-their mothers and sisters and brothers—what the assh*le who murdered my sister did to mine. My mother will never recover all her sanity from that. She won’t ever stop grieving.
Even if you have never completed a woodworking project, you probably know that you could pound nails with a drill. You also know that it’s not a horribly effective method of doing it. And it is really tough on the drill.
I am happy to say that today is YMAA's 30th anniversary. Today, we are an international organization with over 50 schools in 18 countries, and we are recognized by people all over the world. I would like to thank the many YMAA teachers, students, and supporters for all their support throughout the many years. I believe that together, we will be able to successfully propagate the healthy lifestyles of Qigong and the hard-working culture of traditional martial arts.
Fights are dynamic and chaotic situations. A simple escort hold, walking a drunk off the premises can turn into a knife fight or a struggle for your weapon in an instant. Or you and several other officers could be fighting against a large, vicious threat who is acting completely inhuman and have him suddenly go limp.