Historian and Writer
Marvel Studios released the series Iron Fist on Netflix on March 17, 2017. The series based on the Marvel comic about Danny Rand, a young man presumed to have died in a plane crash. Rand is rescued as a child by monks, who teach him martial arts in the Himalayas. The series contains a number of great martial arts
Last week, it was testing preparation at Willow Martial Arts. We went through the walking drills, forms and self-defense required for Taekwondo testing. As I observed the students preparing, I remembered a statement Master Pat Weseman often told me when I was a colored belt preparing for my next Taekwondo test. “Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice
After you earn your Green Rank, you will have completed your first year of training. Congratulations. On average, 75 percent of students who started with you have already quit training. Lucky for you, they will be much better targets for criminals. A humorous anecdote is told about two campers worried about a bear attack. One of the campers tells his
One of the biggest arguments in martial arts is still whether grappling or striking techniques are best for self-defense. Unsurprisingly, grappling arts advocate grappling techniques, while striking teachers hold up striking as the best method to defend yourself. The argument ignores the best self-defense technique in martial arts. Do not put yourself in situations, where the need for self-defense techniques
While many of the martial arts originated in Korea or Japan, the societies in these countries and the United States are very different. Yet, many American instructors continue to have students line up by rank and sex with men first, boys second, women third and girls last. While this line up would be normal and expected in Korea, it does
As a taekwondo stylist, I spent my first few years of training trying to develop high kicks. I could throw crescent kicks head height pretty easily and even an occasional side kick. For the most part, my kicks tended to land on the body not the head. However, high kicks are still beautiful to behold and with several spectacular head
Spike TV began to broadcast a show that would put mixed martial arts on the mainstream map. 16 fighters lived in a house and competed in a tournament to see which two fighters would win a six figure UFC contract. The Ultimate Fighter would change television and the UFC for good. At one point during the Finale, ten million households
Orange Rank is the next step on the path to obtaining a 1st Degree Black Rank in the Zimmerman Self-Defense System. You will continue to learn new techniques and start to figure out what you are naturally good at and what you need to work on more. Orange and Green Ranks sometimes trouble students because the novelty of training in
In the past, I’ve discussed the good and bad of the current situation in the American martial arts scene. While my base style was Taekwondo, the challenges are found throughout the traditional American martial arts community. I believe it is worse in the older styles of Karate and Kung Fu, where tradition is so heavily valued. When I started a blog
Taekwondo stylists and other strikers need to develop competency in ground fighting and getting back to their feet to maximize their arts effectiveness. We fill so strongly about teaching students how to get back to their feet that we teach the Oompa Drill below during a student’s first lesson at the academy. Usually after developing competency in the Oompa Drill,