Einstein on Learning

Ditto!

Eclectic Buzz

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Two sticks…many memories.

Sounds like true oneness with your weapon!

Carving Another Path

Two sticks, covered with tape, and splintered at the end.
Two sticks, that have witnessed my anger and rage and frustration
Two sticks that have been with me from boy to teen to man
Two sticks carved from rattan that have witnessed my fights
Two sticks that have always followed me.
Two sticks that remain a companion.
Two sticks that know the pain from giving up
Two sticks that have always been by my side.
When I pass, I will have many possessions but I wish to be buried with those two sticks, because they were my first real weapon.

I don’t remember what I learned, or who I learned it from but I will always remember that I have those two sticks

When I was a kid, I took Escrima at the local YMCA. When it got too challenging, I quit, but my mom had already purchased the two…

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Citizen Martial Artist

Systema (Photo credit: vissago)

There are some mistaken ideas out there about martial arts practitioners, like the one that to be interested in the martial arts you must have been bullied as a child, or had to  be an underachiever who needed focus, or you are uber aggressive and need discipline.  The worst one, I think, is that you have to be, or want to be, this Super Soldier, a tall, lean mean, tough, super strong and fast as lightning man, for whom nothing is impossible and everything he does is right and perfect, and is out to get the bad guys.

Mere mortals need not apply, unless you are a wimp who needs this guy’s rigorous guidance to try to be like him.

I’ll tell you something I heard from Vladimir Vasiliev, the head of Systema, the Russian Martial Art, a practice that has influenced me a bunch.  He explained that in ancient Russia, being a very large country, there wasn’t a standing army available to protect every village, especially in remote areas.  There were however, bands of outlaws, looters, citizens of other villages who might attack your community for its resources or any number of causes.  With no military garrison stationed in a fort, who could come to their aid?

Well, the villagers had to be ready to defend themselves; the herdsman with his whip, the farmer with his rake, the hunter with his arrow, the butcher, the baker, the women who spun cloth, the brewer! people who already had full-time, demanding jobs. These were people who were not, and could not be full-time martial arts professionals. Yet, each knew enough to defend themselves, they had training modules that fit their time and lifestyles, and when banded together, they were able be their own spontaneous, military force.  When the threat was over, they returned to day-to-day life without missing a beat.  What an amazing concept, ordinary, everyday, working people, capable of defending themselves.

That was then, this is now.  Marc Denny, the current head of a martial arts group called the Dog Brothers, has said he believes (and I agree!) that individuals should have enough training to be able to form “a spontaneous militia” to combat terrorism if it presents itself in our midst.  Consider this; there were four or five terrorists with box cutters on a plane on 9-11, and how many passengers? Can say 15 men take on 4?  Fear is a powerful thing, but it goes both ways, you can be frozen by fear, or launched by it.

Someone else has already used the line “passengers of flight 93, you are my heroes.”  They acted martially, and saved lives, though they lost their own.  At that moment they were more martial artist than the guy with the cool uniform and thick belt with tons of stripes.

The Base

(Photo credit: jimmedia)

I believe there is a martial arts and self defense base suitable for most people.

Lots of people enjoy painting, not everyone is on Picasso‘s level, but can enjoy the activity nonetheless.  You may step into mastery and excellence along the way, but the base is there for everyone.

The base training I suggest

Hand Wrapping

I sometimes wrap my hands for training, sometimes not. When I don’t it has to do with training myself to punch properly with or without a wrap. Good tutorial, thanks!

7th Fenix

How To Wrap Your Hands:

For Boxing, Kick Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts, Karate and Other Contact Punching Arts

By Christopher Caile

Hand Wrapping isn’t for cushioning the hands. That’s the role of a glove or hand protective equipment. Wrapping’s  role is one of support – to secure loose joints and moveable bones to limit possible injury, particularly of the knuckles, long bones along the back of the hand, and other small bones, especially in the wrist.  Wrapping helps distribute the shock of impact across the entire hand and wrist. This also helps limit strains or tears of the ligaments that connect the bones of the hand. Skin too is protected from bruising or tearing.

“When properly wrapped, as fingers close into a fist, the hand tightens into a solid, unified unit.”

The fact that your wrap doesn’t mean you can’t break bones or injure your hand upon impact. It only…

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Training Visit – Black Lightning Martial Arts

Thanks to Instructors Chris Radabaugh and Joe Cueva for letting me take part in class tonight.  My first workout with others since getting here.  I appreciate the hospitality and courtesy, thanks guys!

Black Lightning Martial Arts

 

Training Group Forming In Deltona, FL

Kali Silat – This is martial arts from the Philippines and Indonesia, adapted for today, here and now. 

Fun and easy to learn.   Super Graceful.
Timeless self-defense and personal protection skills.

Fluid and fast.
Specifically focused on self-defense effectiveness, and survival fighting. Where else do you start your training by learning to use and defend against a weapon? We use the stick as our starting point, but cover other weapons, empty hands training, and combination’s of it all.

Watch the free Kali Lesson video below, and check the Flow link to see a double stick flow (all spontaneous) in a tournament (took first place over bo, sword, and kama katas).

Men, Women, Adults of all ages encouraged!
However, it is not kid stuff.  Adults preferred, 16 – 17 with parental consent and waiver.  Instructor reserves full right to accept and decline participants.

Learn to defend yourself or your loved ones, and truly have fun learning.
Reply via email if interested to:  rickva.sr@gmail.com

Very Small Group Training only.

To enrich lives through martial arts principals…

Hello, and welcome to this blog.

I am a Personal Martial Arts Coach, now living in central Florida. My purpose is to enrich lives through martial arts principles, self-defense training, and modern personal development tools. In coaching martial arts on a personal basis I want to go beyond teaching the strikes and strategies of fighting and self-defense.  As a “Personal Martial Arts Coach” it is your consciousness, your personal growth and potential, that’s important to me.  I want you to get a greater vision of yourself and life.

It doesn’t matter if you are athletic or not, younger or older, male, female, highly educated or not.  We can truly start where you are and with what you have.  What I offer goes beyond storefront karate and kung fu classes.  Here, I’ll share with you as much as I can apart from us being in a more personal setting, and even if you’re a million miles away, you can apply some of this in your home or martial arts school, even if your school or instructor doesn’t care to go beyond punching and kicking.

Martial arts teachings and practices, well-directed, are conducive to living a fulfilled life. They will lead to greater self-confidence, better intra-personal relationships, and a satisfying personal sense of growth, success and achievement. It is truly an area where the journey and the destination are one. Lets journey together.