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As a part of my own training and development as a martial artist, I have spent the last few years researching the history and techniques of different systems. To better understand my roots it is important for me to know what techniques and principles other styles of martial arts use. Many of the same techniques appear in every system, just tweeked a bit to suit the style. A widely used kick (especially in the old style systems) are the leg kicks. Made famous by the Thai Boxing and MMA sports these kicks are found in all styles as an effective...

Stretching is one of those things that martial artists always want to improve.  We mistakenly assume that our warm up in class is stretching, well it kind of is, but it won't  really improve your range of movement unless you stretch separately.  I put this video together for my own students to help them improve their legs apart stretch. It is very simple and you can do things at your own pace. The beauty is, your stretching the correct areas of the hip, which improves your range of movement.  The thing with stretching is there are so many different ways to...

I have been a Karate Instructor for 25 years and developed numerous different ways to help students improve their kicking and flexibility. The round kick is most peoples kick of choice in sparring, so being about to control it is so important. A lot of times our hips will limit the height and range in which we can use this kick. A common mistake for beginners is drop the knee when trying to kick above the waist. The angle of your hips, knee and supporting leg are so important. If one of these 3 elements is wrong it will limit...

If you practice Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, you will know white belt can be an information overload. Having trained in Karate and Muay Thai suddenly I was thrown into whole new world, where I was completely out of my depth. I trawled the internet for help and discovered lots of tutorials but for my experience level I couldn't make them work. There are  thousands of techniques in BJJ , so it can be confusing knowing what to try. I found the key really is simplicity and understanding how to keep your posture when opening the closed guard. I have trained with some really good...