Saluki Shotokan Ryu Karate

08/26/2026

Improve your Yoko Geri

Sensei Chinzo Machida shows 5 ways to practice Side Thrust Kick!Le...

08/25/2026

08/24/2026

Jumping the guard = jumping your basics

If you don’t break the opponent’s balance you don’t have the throw. Jumping the guard is a hack around that which works if you can do it without braking your opponent or training partner’s knee which would likely cripple them for life.

Aside from the morally bankrupt idea to destroy someone’s life in exchange for $5 dollar plastic trophy/medal the reason it “works” is that your opponent is not allowed to slam your head against the floor. In a self defense situation their instinct will certainly be to drop you forcibly against the pavement and try to break your neck.

In Japanese martial arts if you don’t have your opponent’s balance or blind side then it is the toss of coin, you might get them or not but it is not reliable. The more consistent approach is to break their balance and deploy a technique that is suitable. Even in Sutemi Waza which are the techniques where you sacrifice your stance going to the floor to land a big throw you have to compromise your opponent’s balance and or ride the momentum of their attack to deploy it into the throw.

On the grander scheme of things if someone agrees to tussle with you so that you can compete and or train respect the opportunity instead of behaving like a rat.

Senpai

08/24/2026

Safety while training

We are the karate program at SIU Rec Center. We serve the community free of cost. If you have a membership or day pass we have a class for adults that is free.

Today we are discussing safety in martial arts. While it seems like the fellas in the video were just joshing it all ended in a catastrophic injury. Unfortunately speaking from what I saw myself as an apprentice this is far too common in BJJ stateside, the disregard for practitioners safety is a constant.

How much money do you think the white belt will have to spend on medical treatment? How many hours would he have to invest? Will his arm ever be the same? Will it affect his work?

Contact sports like any sport carries a risk of injury. People practice anyway because on a normal basis it is not that different from pursuing any other sport otherwise people would not do it.

My introduction to BJJ happened in Brazil where the connection to the old samurai roots was not lost. They bow to their partners, know the Japanese names to the techniques and the technical concepts behind those names, they teach break falls, rolls to keep students safe and they favor technique over trying to muscle a technique. The instructors do supervise the class and have assistants instead of filling up a mat, have the students kill each other and hope for the best.

The sad spectacle of the video above is not something you commonly see at Japanese or Okinawan schools as the idea of combat carries certain cultural and historical connotations and as such it is not a jesting matter.
More so before every interaction people bow. The action is linked to a word called “rei” which means respect. It means that I show my respect towards my training partner for entrusting me with their personal safety so that I can improve myself through training. As such that gift is not treated lightly but rather with humility and gratitude. If you listen to the Brazilian instructor reacting to the video he says the same thing: “tatami não é coisa de brincadeira” or “the mat is a not something to joke around with” and he places the responsibility on the instructor for such behavior and also injuring the apprentice.

Having studied various martial disciplines I believe that every tradition carries something precious that goes far beyond the act itself of fighting however there are somethings to do when finding a school. Martial arts provide us with community, discipline, health and an active outlet for self improvement.

If you are looking for a place to train or want to learn martial arts find a place and ask to observe a class. Observe if the students have supervision and receive hands on technical corrections. Look at how the practitioners carry themselves if they are posturing or if they are well mannered and approachable. Obviously look at the quality of their technique, does it seem effortless or do they seem somewhat obtuse or struggling?

As a next step I would suggest having some lessons as a participant. Observe if practitioners are respectful to each other. Is there a proper warm up before class? Is there a curricular structure for the students in various levels or do they have everyone doing the same thing ? Definitely when you see people that employ a somewhat loose terminology or things that sound made up that is a red flag as well.

There are franchises with varying levels of success. Some guarantee some standard quality while others are somewhere between a fast food chain and a tele evangelist’s sectarian network of support.

Success in martial arts requires the instructors having successfully completed a thorough apprenticeship and certification process, knowledge of physical training, coaching and curricular design. When you see someone improvising I guarantee that your personal safety is not even an after thought, is just not part of the plan at all . You deserve better, walk away and find something better.

Senpai

08/24/2026

This is an interesting exchange between two fantastic martial arts teachers. Hartman comes from Filipino martial arts background and also trains BJJ as to complement the ground combat aspect of his practice. Malachi Friedman comes from an MMA career with a foundation in BJJ.

The Filipino systems, BJJ and MMA are all fantastic. However the focus of the system dictates much of the nature of the interaction, how techniques are deployed and what techniques are favored.

To put it in a way that make sense . Throws where you go to your knees carry a lot of power and effectively transmit your whole body weight behind the technique. They work well when you are in a mat like in an MMA class or BJJ however it is not your to go to move in a street altercation as you risk getting the take down but blowing out your knees in the process. I could do a flying triangle in a BJJ match as the rules will impede my opponent from slamming me head first against the ground however in a street fight that is exactly what anyone even if they are inexperienced would try to do instinctively.

Then there is what happens when more than one person jumps in, it they pick up a weapon which happens on street fights all the time. That is where the difference lies. A punch is still a punch, a throw is still a throw but when you have these other considerations the choices change or are adapted. It is not something automatic, it needs to be trained. It is not a question of capability as all these disciplines are effective but one of preparation.

Senpai