MartialArts Professional Magazine

I attended two National Traditional Karate tournaments one summer, while a friend attended a national “open” tournament. Our experiences were quite different, and I think it’s appropriate that professionals in our industry discuss those differences.
The referees at the tournaments I attended were in complete charge of their rings, including the surrounding area, whether it was […]

Creating a long-term fitness program in your martial arts school is not as hard as you think. Most likely, you already have one in your conventional martial arts program. All you must do is sell it differently to the adult fitness market than you would to typical prospects looking for conventional martial arts.
Fitness students want […]

Trying to counter an attack when a fighter should be leading the attack. Counter-attacking, like faking, is a very advanced art form. It requires knowing three things: the lead of the opponent, your method of avoiding his lead and the exact method to execute the proper counter shot.
Failing to step in when punching. Whether jabbing […]

You became a martial arts instructor because you believed in a personal philosophy or vision. Your grandfather, aunts, uncles and parents didn’t push you into this career. If your relatives and friends did, then your experience is unique. Most of us believed in “something” that we wanted to pass to a younger generation.
Some of us […]

Driving north along the coast of California to San Francisco is an experience rooted in Zen. There’s virtually no traffic, and the scenery is refreshingly bucolic, with a landscape so green it rivals bank vaults. I’m not a big fan of driving, especially after years of my nerves being worn to stubs in Los Angeles […]

In this series of columns, I’ve addressed the topic of so-called controversial exercises that many martial arts instructors have been doing for years, but those exercises may lead to student injuries. Now, I want to address, perhaps, the most controversial exercises of all, “ballistic stretches.”
Ballistic stretches can include the swinging leg-lifts to the front and […]

I want to relate some of the very powerful effects that adrenal stress has on the human mind and body. As an instructor, you must understand how the adrenal reaction can affect a student’s ability to defend himself during an actual encounter.
We ask applicants to our RMCAT self-defense course if they have ever been assaulted […]

The biggest misconception about martial arts fitness programming is that it’s not possible to retain students or to upgrade them to higher priced programs. The reason is that students’ needs are not being served-and those needs are very different than a martial arts student’s. You must convince fitness students that your program provides many long-term […]

Screen new students before you allow them into your school. To qualify for Black Belt, one must demonstrate skills and possess the right attitude. To gain membership to a school, however, the only standard seems to be money.
Organizations, such as the elite military and the FBI, require high qualifications before accepting new recruits to assume […]

If you’ve been a martial artist for very long, then you know that many of the “old-timers” seem to have bad knees. Some of these problems stem from dramatic injuries, such as a strike to the knee joint (like my ACL tear several years ago) or an attempt at a jumping or spinning kick. Some […]

Some years ago, I was at a major “contact” Karate tournament that had attracted fighters from across the country for many years. More than a few of the matches are decided by knockouts, and the action is always hard and fast. The rules allow for full-contact kicking to the head and body, but hand strikes […]

When promoting your fitness-kickboxing program, don’t make the mistake of promoting what students won’t want, instead of what they do. The more you promote the activity of kickboxing, instead of the results, the fewer students you will attract.
If you ask 100 adults, “Would you like to do martial arts or fitness kickboxing, or lose weight […]

The air on the Santa Monica pier is usually alive with the emissions of countless biological organisms, giving it that fresh, faintly fish-smelling sourness that lets you know that you’re in the midst of life; and this despite the fact that tons of raw sewage are dumped from there into the Pacific Ocean every day. […]