Which Warrior Fitness Program is Right for You?
I get asked this question all the time – Jon, which one of your programs should I start with? And the answer is, it depends on your goals. So in this article I’m going to give you a set of general guidelines to help you decide which program is right for you. Quick disclaimer before…
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…
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…
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 Top 3.5 Reasons Training is Hard
The other day a student said to me during training: “This is hard.” My reply was, “Well of course it’s hard. You don’t come to me to learn how to do things you’re already good at, do you?” But why is this difficult? In my experience,training is hard for approximately 3.5 main reasons… 1. You are…
Kata (Alone) Will Never Build Internal Power
Trying to develop Internal Power by training kata (alone) in martial art is problematic. On one hand, you may inadvertently have minor success in creating some internal connection over the course of 20-30 years of training, but you will most likely have no idea how you did it, no idea why it worked (minimally at…
Gyokko Ryu’s Internal Power Training
There is no doubt in my mind that Hatsumi Sensei possesses unusual power in his budo. Anyone who has trained with him can tell you that! But what is it and where does it come from? More importantly, how can YOU develop it as well? Soke’s martial movement displays many of the characteristics associated with Internal…
We Were Once Warriors…
We Were Once Warriors… For centuries the warrior has been the archetypical model of physical fitness and power. This is due to the extreme nature of their training and overwhelming odds that they must have had to go through waging war in the ancient world. The multifaceted development of skills required for the warrior’s brand…
Training Through Injuries
Four weeks ago I injured my ankle. The diagnosis? Peroneal tendonitis. Walking was painful. Squating was painful. Lunging was out of the question. Heck, even balancing on my injured foot hurt.
Lost Empire Herbs
