Pure Martial Arts

"There are no pure martial arts, purity happens when pure knuckles meets pure flesh no matter who delivers or receives"

The above quote is a slightly altered version of an Ed Parker (The founder of American Kenpo Karate) quote. In the original it had the word karate instead of the word martial arts.

There is no such thing as a pure martial art, there never has been and never will be. Each and every martial art or fighting system was created by an individual. Once that person teaches his system to someone it immediately changes. No two people move, think, or act the same way. This is a fact not an opinion. When learning a martial art your entire personality comes into play your likes, dislikes, strengths, weakness, all physical and mental attributes. The way you apply a strategy or technique may be similar to others; however it will not and cannot be exact. Many fighters/martial artist want to move or fight like...Bruce Lee, Randy Couture, etc. There is only one Bruce Lee or Randy Couture...period. Just as there is only one of them there is only one of you as well.

Train with what you have and to the very best of your ability and you will become the very best martial artist/fighter you can be.

Basics, Basics, Basics

I just don't get it...seriously... Every time I watch the ultimate fighter it amazes me to see so many aspiring fighters that have almost no strong foundation. I will say that Danzig, and George are both very good in my opinion, which is due to their understanding of the fundamentals of fighting.

Distancing, Timing, Rhythm control are basic things that most people learn in the very beginining of stand up or ground game. One of the most basic things there is that I see done very poorly is proper footwork. It takes more than being able to "walk" around the ring or shoot on an opponent to effectively dominate or win a fight.

Proper footwork must be trained by itself at first before it is integrated with other skills. Isolation is the key to skill development regardless of your chosen fighting style. In order to become good or great at anything you have to isolate specific skills then progressively integrate them into your arsenal.

When in doubt.... go back to training the basics....

Bruce Lee and Jeet Kune Do

What follows is something I posted on a forum in regards to Bruce and Jeet Kune Do. There are those that believe that you should train exactly like he trained so that you can become as good as he was. Which of course is contradictory to what Bruce Lee wrote and taught during his life time. He is one of the greats but as I respond below there have been and there are many great innovators in the martial arts.


There are so many variables to consider when thinking about personal training protocols. Your goals in martial arts should dictate your training practices, you also have to take into account available training time, current physical attributes, strengths, weaknesses, your level of dedication and discipline..and so on.

You can mimmic Bruces training practices, routines, techniques and so on. NO ONE WILL EVER BE LIKE BRUCE LEE EXCEPT BRUCE LEE.

I have often seen people write that to get Bruce Lee like results you have to be put in Bruce Lee like hours...or something similar to that. His methods and training protocols are not a universal "mold" that everyone can fit in. Look at the Art of Expressing the Human Body...there have been so many advances in the science of strength training, supplementation, and so on since he was training in the 60s and 70s. It would be nuts for anyone to follow any of his training programs....that is just one example.

His research, notes, books, and his system of JKD have alot of value for anyone wanting to be the best martial artist they can be. But to soley do what he did or to train exactly like he trained does nothing but make his art and teachings "traditional" and "classical". He is most definetly not the only great and innovative martial artist to have ever lived...and he won't be the last.

Tuesdays 9 PM Class Outline

15 min of conditioning drills

• Partner Carries for time
• Guard Carries for time
• Isometric Guard hold for time

Technique work and Sport Specific Conditioning

• 8x1 min rounds of technique specific bag work.
• 8x2 min rounds of free flow bag work.
• 8x2 min rounds of ground n pound sparring. Alternating partners every 2 min.

Great Class

Thursdays 9PM Class Outline

Worked on a basic Arm Bar from the Guard position.

• Went over the submission step by step, then worked on it with partners.
• Went over a couple of things that could happen when attempting the submission and trouble shooting them.
• Put gloves on and did rounds of isolation ground sparring. Working on capturing the arm and attempting the Arm Bar.

Great class...everyone did fantastic.

Tuesdays 9PM Class Outline

Emphasis on Sweeps from Guard.

Scissor Sweep Set Ups

• Over Hook and Single Neck Tie
• Over-Under Hook
• Double Over Hook

Elevator Sweep when the opponent has a leg posted out widening his base.

• Over Hook and Single Neck Tie
• Over-Under Hook
• Double Over Hook

Skill Development Drills

• 8x1 minute rounds of working for the sweeps with resistance. Punching allowed for every round. Focusing on securing an Over Hook Position and working for a sweep if the opportunity presents itself.