Powerful Morning Ritual To Start Your Day
Here is a great way to set yourself up for success on a daily basis. Spend the first hour of each day working on your own personal development. Discipline yourself to get up earlier and work on yourself each morning – This powerful practice will literally transform your life! The Hour of Power Step…
Why Body Skills are Critical to Martial Arts
Body skills are the foundation of ALL martial and athletic movement. In fact, in my mind, they are the foundation of all good, powerful, pain-free human movement! What are body skills? They are the qualities that connect, support, mobilize, and strengthen the body from the inside out. They create a highly resilient, dynamically stable body…
21 Day Wuji Standing Meditation Challenge
21 Day Wuji Standing Meditation Challenge Why Wuji? The health preserving and sustaining effects of Wuji Standing have been documented in hospitals and medical clinics across China. The reason this practice has such a profound impact on health and recovery from exercise is that the standing meditation acts like a system-wide reboot for the whole…
Musashi on Posture in Strategy
In his classic work on the art of strategy, Go Rin No Sho, Musashi gives the following instructions on Posture in his art. “Keep your neck straight, putting some force in the hollow of the nape; lower your shoulders, with the sensation that the torso from the shoulders down forms a unity; keep the back straight,…
5.5 Principles for More Effective Striking in ANY Martial Art
Part 1 of this series, Conditioning the Fists for Striking can be found HERE. Being able to strike with power and precision involves a lot more than merely knowing the technique. Practice must include these principles of effective striking techniques for all martial arts… 1. Whole Body Power All movement in real life happens in…
Conditioning the Fists for Striking
One of the most underdeveloped aspects of the martial artist’s arsenal is the conditioning of his fists for striking. The tendon strength, wrist strength and flexibility, and the overall structure of the strike is an exploitable weakness that needs to be addressed. In this article we will examine several different push-up variations and isometric exercises…
The Strength of Structure (and How to Train It)
As we discussed in the previous post (see here), all martial movement must be based on a platform of both mobility and stability. Today we will discuss stability. Kamae is much more than just a stance or ready position. It is the platform from which all movements are made and from which all techniques are…
Be Dangerous to be Kind
Inside the heart of every man lives a warrior waiting to be unleashed. Unfortunately, this fierceness, for the majority of men, lies dormant and untested. But, I assure you, it is there. As boys we pretended to be superheroes, Jedi knights, or ninja warriors. I know I did all 3 with matching costumes, capes, and…
10 Books Every Warrior Should Read
I am what you would call an avid reader. Some would even say my reading habit borders on a reading obsession since at any one time I can be found to have at least three, sometimes four books going simultaneously. I have several on my nightstand next to my bed, a couple on the coffee…
The Process of Becoming Masterful
“Remember that mastery is not attained once after a lifetime of practice, but earned every day.” – Jon Haas Usually when we think of someone who is a master, be it a master martial artist or the master of some other craft, we think of them as attaining mastery at the end of a long…
Lost Empire Herbs
