The Essence of JKD

Couldn't Resist!

Movie Night?

In Case You Missed This The First Time...

Really?

The concepts behind fighting multiple attackers are pretty universal in most combat systems.  Line them up, engage them individually if possible, use terrain to your advantage, crowd them and make them fight themselves to get to you, use one as a shield against the others, etc.  I'm not sure this video exemplifies any of those principles but it is entertaining nonetheless.

Soldier of Steel - Episode 4

Great Prank... that almost worked!

300: Rise Of An Empire

Zack Snyder, the director of "Man of Steel", "Watchmen", and "300", is the producer behind the sequel of "300" entitled "300: Rise Of An Empire".  On top of being a talented director and writer Zack is also a student at the Inosanto Academy and has tapped from their talent pool on several occasions to provide technical and fighting expertise to his productions.  Mark your calendar: March 07, 2014.

Do You Have a "Kill Face"?

Status of MAK Classes

I am going to be taking a break from teaching for an unspecified period of time in order to take a close look at the curriculum and class structure.  I intend to start teaching again with a new focus on developing skills in a linear or compound manner in all of the arts we train in.  This will entail some retooling on the part of some people as well as a lot of new material to be introduced.

I have been teaching several times a week since 1980 and I don't intend on leaving this behind.  It is imperative that I reassess the direction I want Martial Arts Koncepts to go in so that it will be a viable entity for an additional thirty years.

Thanks for your patience and support.

Who was Henry Slomanski?

Most of you don't know who Henry Slomanski is, and that's unfortunate.  He was one of the foundational instructors for Guro Dan Inosanto and was also key to the inclusion of combat effective martial arts in our armed services.  The following video is from the television show "To Tell The Truth" in 1959.  If you want to learn more about Sergeant Major Henry Slomanski and his Chito Ryu roots do a web search ... or ask Guro Dan the next time you see him.

A Martial Arts Master on Strength Training

Those of you who have been around the martial arts for a couple decades might recognize the name Don Draeger.  If you don't you'll need to jump onto Google or Bing and do some research.  Draeger trained during a period of time when training in traditional martial arts (in his case Japanese) was not only frowned upon by the Japanese, it was downright dangerous to your health.  Draeger's physical presence and mental intensity served him well and allowed him to rise pretty high in a Japanese dominated environment and to eventually gain the respect and admiration of his peers.  His keen intellect also allowed him to write and publish several books (I have several copies that are over thirty years old) on Japanese and Asian martial arts.  NOTE: he was also the fight choreographer on the James Bond 007 movie "You Only Live Twice".

Check out this article from the StrongFirst website on Don Draeger and his thoughts on strength training that are still valid today.

Following is some rare footage from a Jo Jutsu demonstration with Draeger. Note the size difference between Draeger and Kaminoda Sensei