Hello All,

This morning I went to Sensei Erik Paulson’s site (www.erikpaulson.com) and found this video clip. I am consistently amazed by Sensei Erik’s ability to take simple drills and come up with little tweaks to them that if you use them they will take your Martial Arts skills to another level.

In this video he shows speed reaction drills with the mitts that will help with one of the biggest issues I see in Martial Arts the completion of your techniques. Quite often after the a Martial Artist completes his technique they will get really sloppy on the return of the technique to completion. This is a great place for your opponent to counter you because he is capitalizing on your mistakes. Sijo Bruce Lee really stressed that this is one of the most important aspects to training.

Here are some highlights from the video

• Proper delivery of your jab and cross
• How not to get caught at the end of your technique
• Drills to help you avoid getting your leg caught during kicking
• Drills to avoid a shoot or tackle

 This is very important if you are the pad holder make sure that when you hit the your partners strike that they return it with good form. Remember you and your partner need to practice the way that you want to play!!!

One of the big reason I feel that focus mitts can be one of the biggest tools that you and your training partner can use to help you improve your game is because of the influence of Sensei Erik and drills like this.

Enjoy : )

Shawn

The Sanctuary is set in the year 1897, a clan successfully broke into the royal palace of Thailand to steal the Royal Antiques which the King intended to give to America as a reward for its help in negotiations that avoided Thai territorial cuts. They broke in, but didn’t make it out alive. Before they died they hid the valuables somewhere in the palace. Fast forward 110 years or so, the descendants of that palace guard, twin-brother fighters, are digging in the yard of a Buddhist temple and one of them unearths the antique valuables. Which proceeds to start a manhunt trying to retrieve the prize.

You’ll notice that in a lot of recent Thai action movies, the plot is set up by some evil baddies trying to steal some Thai treasure. Hey, it works, as seen in every movie starring Tony Jaa so far. The trailer highlights lots of slow motion and a few interesting stunts that are completely undermined by lack of impact. For example: A guy goes flying out a window, bounces off a sign and is about to fall ten feet onto a car….then we cut to three different angles before finally ending on a close up of the car as the guy hits it. I have a funny feeling that it may have been done in one take, but the excitement and “Holy Shit!” factor is lost if you play it up as a trick in cinematic editing.

The exposition in between the action is also sparked by enjoyable performances and even a girlfight between the two veteran Thai actresses. Since the movie is just a platform for crazy martial arts anyway, why spend too much time coming up with an original plot? The fight scenes are awesome and if you enjoy a good violence movie then this should be right up your alley.  The film co-stars Russell Wong as the evil American sent to steal the precious Thai stuff. I’ve been a fan of Russell Wong since his “Vanishing Son” days, but unfortunately he’s been typecast as the evil martial arts guy in way too many action movies.

This movie was pretty sick with the fighting moves but too much Tony Jaa like movements makes it feel like a rip off film. I don’t really have too much to say about this film, you’re either going to hate it or love it and I didn’t particularly love it. The action scenes of course save it from being a total dud. Bootleg it if you can and just skip to the action sequences. Thailand needs to step its game up if they want their movies to keep appearing on this website.

The first UFC gym opened last week so KNOXX and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson decided to take a trip to Concord, CA to check out the facility!

Wow!! We were quite amazed with what this gym offered…. For more information check out their website at http://www.ufcgyms.com/

They said their goal is to open ATLEAST 150 UFC Gyms worldwide within the next 5 years!!

Anthony “Rumble” Johnson will also be training at this UFC gym with trainers, Jimmy Greninger and Allan Maravilla, for his morning training sessions while continuing his training with Cung Le and Josh Thomson at Universal Strength Headquarters in the evening.

Rumble workin those ropes!

The plates on their free weights have the UFC Gym logos on them!!

We would like to introduce Muay Thai t-shirt in most famous Muay Thai brand such as Fairtex, TWINS, TOP KING and Gigantic Muay Thai on Yakthai store. Please visit and choosing this item on our store: Click

VIP Karate held it’s first ever Black Belt Extravaganza in Florida and we were contracted to film the event, create a promotional video, edit the Black Belt Extravaganza for DVD retail, as well as create the cover art for the DVD. Stay tuned for the DVD artwork, but in the mean time enjoy the promo.

On Tuesday we all sort of split up, so I was left to my own devices, which in all sincerity is not a good idea.  So after completing my normal routine, I got a quick massage and again jumped on a motorcycle to make my way to MBK for some business.

I lost track of time and realized that I had to shoot back to help Mehdi train.  I was going to be late so again I jumped on a motorcycle.  It is so exhilarating to weave in and out of traffic, accelerating to smash through intersections, and sucking in diesel fumes.  Ok maybe that last point is not cool. Anyway we were weaving in and out of traffic and a pick up truck blindly switch lanes.  At the last minute the driver recognized his error and switched back, but he still clipped my shoulder with his side view mirror., torquing me hard in my seat.   This was followed by a litany of curses from my driver.  But I was ok, as long as my Oakleys and Maxpedition bag was still with me .  But it pays to have a good core, otherwise it could have been worse getting torqued like that in my seat.  However I really enjoy the motorbike, so I will still keep using it.

Dinner was amusing.  I had Persian food, in Thailand   Tomorrow will be cool as I booked in some time with a private coach to work some clinch.  This will be painful   Here is another video for you guys, please enjoy, Jd

On December 5, 2009 Roxy “Balboa” Richardson is going to fight at WCK Full Rules Muay Thai event. Unfortunately her original opponent – Yannan Zheng broke her hand, and the promoter found a replacement – Christina (Martin) Riddering. Christina agreed to 3×3 minute rounds for a non-title fight.

Roxy writes in her training blog: “I actually fought Christina 3 years ago in an amateur title fight, but lost by decision. Since that fight I have had 7 fights: 6 wins (3 by KO) and 1 draw. Christina, who turned Pro with an MMA fight in November of 07, took time off to have a baby and is now back after 2 years. There’s no doubt that Christina was a tough opponent for me 3 years ago, but I am a different fighter now. Stronger, more focused and I carry more tools in my tool box than before It should prove an exciting fight as I expect we will both come strong and prepared for battle.” Read more>>>

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Here is a short clip of a round from a Thai boxing match held at Studio 7.  Please enjoy.  I will post more later.  I have also posted another video of Mehdi and I training.  It was funny because there are 3 Thai instructors in the ring and me the only Filipino.  Hey I sort of fit in .  The camp is getting busy.  Everyday more people arrive.  We have had guests here from Australia, Russia and the Philippines.

The day was low key.  I woke up, meditated and followed a Yoga routine that I had downloaded on my I Pod.  I felt great even though last night I had that MMA, Muay Thai, Thai Massage combo.  After I had breakfast, a cappuccino, read my book, while listening to Christmas songs outside on the cafe’s patio.  Pretty neat huh?  Afterwards we jumped on some motorcycles and went to MBK, one of Thailand’s largest malls.  You guessed it, more shopping for the guys, than off to Black Canyon for some top notch coffee.

Back on the motorcycle to get back to training.  It was hot to train, but the cool wind really helped.  Than again back to Lumpini Bazaar for more shopping.  This night, like all nights here, we have been staying up to 3.00 AM watching soccer.  We have to stay up pretty late to keep Mehdi company.  He fights on Dec 4 around 11.00 PM, so we are trying to get him used to being active at that time.  Good nite Kombat Arts, I miss you guys Jd

Hello All,

During my Youtube search yesterday I came across this video of Sensei Erik Paulson (www.erikpaulson.com) teaching this drill. In this drill he goes from Ju Jitsu to Wrestling and back to Ju Jitsu again and I believe that it is a great drill to teach you the following.

• How to transition from Wrestling to Ju Jitsu mindsets
• Using the Granby Roll to not get caught by your opponent
• A drill that can be done many times to get you lots of reps
• Adaptable enough to let you scale your progressive resistance as you & your partner get better
• A drill that teaches you both offense and defense

I have long been a fan of Sensei Erik Paulson, I first saw him in 1996 when he was traveling with Guro Dan Inosanto. During the seminar Guro Dan gave Sensei Erik about an hour to go thru some grappling drills. In all the years that I have seen Guro Dan, the only person that he has ever given time to in a seminar was when Sensei Erik was with him.

 Sensei Erik has an amazing ability to develope drills that are simplistic in nature but if used can have a dramatic effect on your Martial Arts skills. I have used his material not only for my own personal developement but for the developement of my students. We use his Technique, Repetition, Isolation and Go (TRIG) training method in every facet of our curriculum. It is a great format for not only grappling but for striking, clinching and stick work as well.

I hope that you watch this video and you can add this drill to your training.

Friday I signed up for Muay Thai kickboxing classes at Positive Impact Mixed Martial Arts in Fredericton. My first class is November 29^th. Also known as Thai boxing and “The Art of Eight Limbs,” Muay Thai is the national sport of Thailand.

Today was HOT!  It was hot enough to respect the heat, but pleasant enough to appreciate the other options: cold rain back in BC where I am building an Ark.  Today I got up late.  Needed the rest and I was ONE big sore muscle.  I started off the day with some quick meditation, breakfast and then I was off to the Channel 7 Studios.  Every Sunday the channel 7 studio shows fights.  Thanks Pak for getting us in!  There were 6 fights and all of them were good.  I have recorded a couple of rounds here and there.  Please be patient as the internet connection here sucks and it takes me awhile to upload.  Please watch them.  I risked life and limb to get them to you; if I don’t make it out, please tell my story.

There were some rounds were all they did was elbow and knee each other.  And when a kick landed it was clearly audible to the whole crowd.  The crowd itself was a spectacle, with betting and cheering going on, it was like a scene from Bloodsport.

After the fights, we went off to eat and hit some weights.  After all of that we hooked up with Cartoon, a good friend of Mehdi’s.  Cartoon produces some pretty awesome Thai shorts.  Her second specialty is finding us the best places to eat.  When I met Cartoon 1 year ago we had the BEST sea food ever.  Tonight we were not disappointed.  She just kept feeding me!  This is one of those rare times were I had to say “no more.”  I was so stuffed.  But in all sincerity it was really good sea food.

After that awesome meal I dragged myself back home.  It was approximately 10.30 PM; time for a traditional Thai massage.  I spent 300 baht for an hour and a half massage.  This is approximately $10 Canadian.  A Thai massage is like MMA, Thai boxing and a massage mixed together!!  No seriously, these little Thai women use their whole body (elbows, knees etc) to find every trigger point in your body.  I came so close to tapping out.  I wish I brought my mouthpiece with me.  It was mind boggling how strong they can be.  I forgot how much I love / hate Thai massages.  So now I sit here back in my apartment at 1.00 AM, Monday morning, drinking Singha, typing this blog, while the rest of my team watches soccer on my TV.  Have a great day Kombat Arts!!! Jd

Today was a day to get used to everything again in Thailand.  I was totally lethargic today.  The day started off with some miscellaneous errands here and there.  The highlight of the day was the night time training.  There is something really cool about training outside in the night.  This set the mood for our movie: Ninja Assassin!

Ok off to Center World to watch Ninja Assassin.  Man it was good to see a movie on traditional martial arts.  The Thai’s have it right when it comes to their movies.  First of all you have to select your seating; you can’t just sit anywhere.  And in our case, we got a couple of reclining coaches.  Luxury!

Afterwards we went back to Patpong for the guys to do more shopping.  I found myself really dozing off and I can tell you I was SO HAPPY to find my bed at the end of the night.  Tomorrow we go watch some fights! Jd

Ok, I’ve finally made it here!  It took us awhile, but when we landed we found Pak (he coordinates Mehdi’s training in Thailand) and we were whisked away to our accommodations.  Before we got there though, we had to stop off at another hotel and grab Fred, one of Mehdi’s students on the way.  We are staying at the President Park Ebony Wing.  I attached a video showing my room:

After getting situated in our rooms we HAD to eat.  Mehdi wanted a chicken sandwich.  So we have travelled all this distance to eat chicken sandwiches!  That’s ok, we will have traditional Thai food tonight.  After we ate we went to check out the new site of Pak’s new training camp which was next door.  It’s pretty exciting to see the camp start from bare bones.

We wanted to work out tonight, but we needed pads, so we decided to go to Lumpini stadium to do some shopping for gear.  In order to beat the traffic Mehdi suggested that we hire motorcycle drivers.  I was a little skeptical of the safety factor, but it was an awesome drive!  There is nothing more exhilarating than speeding along the highway precariously between vehicles.  There were times when my legs almost scrapped against the sides of idling vehicles!  Shopping for gear was a blast and we eventually made our way back to camp.

Back at the camp we started Mehdi’s training.  We are the 1^st guys to work out at the camp.  Mehdi did 10 rounds of 3 minutes, with 1 min rest.  Pak was on hand to guide the training.  That was pretty cool.   I learned a lot from Pak in the few hours we were there.  Check it out here:

While we were training we drew a large crowd.  It felt neat to train outside with spectators.  Eventually some other fighters showed up, and soon we had good energy as the athletes banged away on pads and on each other.

A quick shower after the training and then we took the train to Center World for an actual Thai dinner.  From there we jumped into a cab and made our way to the Patpong Bazaar.  Here we continued with more shopping and browsing.  We are going to finish our day by going back to the airport to pick up Ramin, one of my students and a good friend of Mehdi’s.  Tomorrow we have to do more training, shop, watch movies and get an adapter for Mehdi’s XBOX.  He actually packed his XBOX in his carry on!  Mehdi and I have got about 6 to 8 hours sleep in the last 40 hours!  It is time to sleep-Jd

Hello All,

While doing my Youtube searching today I found a great video of Sensei Erik Paulson (www.erikpaulson.com) and Dog Brother Eric Knaus aka Top Dog (www.dogbrothers.com) teaching stick grappling. You can see why I believe that Sensei Erik Paulson is one of the most well rounded Martial Artists around these days and why the Dog Brothers are regarded as some of the best Filipino Martial Artists around.

I was introduced to stick grappling by my Sifu Dave Hatch (www.attributivemartialarts.com) years ago and it is something that I really want to explore. I think that it is very practical and can be used by a wide variety of people including Law Enforcement and Military Personal.

Enjoy

Hello All,

I hope you looked @ yesterdays post… It had Ajarn Chai holding focus mitts for a 6 yr old boy. Well they are back at it again only this time the boy is 7 yrs old now. You can see how much bigger he has gotten and how his skill level has improved. I am still amazed the level he performs @. I have stood in front of Ajarn Chai and it is no easy task.

If this does not make you want to improve your Boxing skills I don’t know what will!!!!

Enjoy

MAN, THAT WENT FAST! 

Here we find ourselves at the end of the year already,  December!  Before you know it we’ll be out shopping for those O so special people in our lives.  Which reminds me…Gift Certificates are available from Iron Monkey and punch cards also make excellent gifts!  (sorry, had to do it!) 

UPDATE FROM LAST MONTH 

Some people were sick (Chris – how could you!), some people were not (me - WOOHOO!).   

UPCOMING EVENTS 

Depends on who’s sick but… Mitchell is geared to fight muay thai on December 4th in Lambton County. 

I.C.A.D.S. is scheduled for December 13th at Caged Dragon in Brantford and if you happen to get this in time, there is a Sid Vanderpool Boxing Seminar tomorrow at 1, same bat place. 

CHALLENGE OF THE MONTH 

Here it is:  Jenn did 100 double kettlebell swings and 50 burpees (advanced) in 9 minutes 15 seconds!  

BEAT THAT! 

This is how it works:  10 swings, 20 burpees, 15 swings, 15 burpees, 20 swings, 10 burpees, 25 swings, 5 burpees, 30 swings.  

Don’t even think about doing lame-ass burpees either!  Squat, pushup, tuck jump. 

It’s all about the time!  How quickly can you get it done?  Are you a conditioned machine? 

Jenn seems to be the one to beat, no one has topped her time holding a kiba-dachi stance either. 

HOLIDAY SCHEDULE 

The club will be closed on Christmas Eve, December 24th and Christmas Day, December 25th and Boxing Day, December 26.  Other than that the class schedule remains the same.  We hope each and every one of you enjoys the holiday season with an abudance of cheer and good will.   

FESTIVITIES 

While you’re enjoying all the benefits of the season, keep in mind that I like an assortment of Christmas cookies and you’re more than welcome to bring me some.   After such gorging occurs, the Womens Kickboxing class regrets every morsel I eat since the workouts reflect how many calories I need to burn.  This inturn benefits them as well so it’s a win/win situation every time! 

KEEP IN MIND 

Iron Monkey T-shirts are for sale and make great gifts.  

Gift Certificates are available in different denominations. 

Punch cards are wicked convenient. 

I like cookies 

And… 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! 

Hello All,

I have watched this video a number of times and everytime I watch it I am amazed by this it. Ajarn Chai and this boy are amazing. Big props to his parents and Instructors for teaching him the fundamentals, discipline and respect to have the talent level that he already shows.

This boy has better form & mechanics @ 6 than Martial Artists that I have met who have trained for 20 years. Enjoy this video clip it is awesome!!!

Hello All,

This is a question that I am asked quite often by my new students and people who have not trained. My interest level in Martial Arts began when I was around 9 years old. My Grandfather was a huge boxing fan, he and my Dad would watch boxing on TV and I would watch it with them as a way to bond with them. My Uncle was learning Tai Chi around this time and when he would visit from Connecticut he would show me some pieces of the Forms that he was working on.

As I grew up in the 1980’s Martial Arts was exploding, fueled Sijo Bruce Lee’s influence. I remember watching the Karate Kid movie and being so excited by it. We watched movies with Martial Arts movie stars like Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal and many others. The Ninja craze was also going on then as well and for my 10th birthday I got a Ninja uniform complete with authentic Ninja Tabi boots.

As I got older my interest in Martial Arts died down some but was always in the background. I had a friend in High School that trained in Tae Kwon Do and that started to refuel my interest. In 1992 I began training Karate through a Community Ed program and my interest started to take off. Though I enjoyed the training the material didn’t seem to  fit what I was looking for. What I was really looking for how to protect myself and more importantly my brother Colin. He was having some issues with a group of kids who were ganging up on kids randomly. Colin always seemed to be on their radar, though in the end thankfully they never did anything to him.

This lead me to look into other Martial Arts styles including Tai Chi, Isshin Ryu, Boxing, and Bruce Lee’s Martial Art Jeet Kune Do. I was having some trouble finding a Martial Arts School that taught one of these styles in Livingston County. By sheer chance in the summer of 1994 I met John Noonan (http://www.independentmartialarts.us) who was studying Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do and Filipino Martial Arts. I trained with John for about 1 year.

In the spring of 1995 John and I went to Sifu Dave Hatch’s (www.attributivemartialarts.com) house for a private lesson. Sifu Dave at that time was an Apprentice under Guro Dan Inosanto (www.inosanto.com). I began training with Sifu Dave in fall of 1995 and he has been my primary Instructor since.

From 1995-2000 I put in approximately 12,000 hours of training in through training with Sifu Dave, teaching Cardio Kickboxing, private and solo training and seminars. During that time my friends would ask why I trained as much as I did. I would respond ” This is what I love to do, I get to meet and train with some of the best Martial Artists in the world!!!”

Like I said in the beginning I wanted to train to learn how to protect myself and my loved ones. Today I feel that I can do that and now I teach others to do the same. During the time I have trained I have learned a lot about myself, I feel that if I had not began training Martial Arts I would not be the person I am today. Martial Arts has helped me improve my self-confidence, self-awareness and helped me relate to people better.

I train now for the love of learning my Instructors are always learning new things and it inspires me to do the same. I have met people from Indonesia, Thailand, Brazil, China, Japan, Korea, the Philipines and many other countries. From them I have learned so much about the history and culture of their home land it is amazing. This diversity in training and understanding has gone along way to teach me that we are really all just people and at the core we are all looking for the same things.

One of the other huge benefits in training is my understanding of my body. Martial Arts has taught me much about how and why I move the way that I do. When I am teaching I feel that I am not just teaching them how to protect themselves and their loved ones I am teaching them to understand and accept their bodies better.

Thank you for taking time to read this post, I would love to hear what you have gained from training Martial Arts. If you have not trained then what you would like to gain from training.

Shawn

Ok I made a little mistake.  I will elaborate on this later on.  My day started off with my 3^rd private lesson in Power Yoga with Lori.  It was AWESOME!  Not only did I do the usual Sun Salutations, I also got introduced to some really cool standing poses and some hand stand poses.  Handstand stuff, neato!  Again thanks Lori for the great experience.  I am definitely going to check out this Power Yoga stuff when I get back home.  Namasta Lori.  Again good luck to you, your husband and your baby!

After this I made my way to the academy to give Mehdi a hand with his training.  Mehdi had already completed 15 rounds of boxing with Perry when Josip and I got there.  I held Thai pads for Mehdi for 5 three minute rounds.  Again Mehdi was on the ball!  This is going to be a great fight.  Then I held some pads for Josip.  Josip man you look sharp!  We finished off with some bag work and some plyo ab work.

I was talking to Mehdi about our flight arrangements to Thailand and he made me realize my MISTAKE.  I thought I was leaving Thursday midnight; nope BIG mistake.  I was leaving Wed midnight; tonight.  LOL.

I rushed off to cram some Persian food down my throat, get home, do 2 loads of laundry, pack my gear in the suitcase (I did an AMAZING JOB!), packed my amazing Maxpedition sling bag, with the Jack Bauer patch, handled banking and credit card authorizations, bribed my cab driver to speed to the airport, and I MADE IT!  I did 24 hours worth of crap, in about 3 hours.  Not bad.

Mehdi just shook his head as we checked in.  This was my 1^st time flying with Eva Airlines.  This is a Taiwanese Airline (Hector and Ivano you have to come).  I actually felt pretty tall.  I was actually taller than quite a few of the passengers.  Sitting in the Deluxe section, I was treated to huge chairs, that reclined like Lazy Boy chairs, complete with foot rests, an actual glass for my wine, an actual cup for my coffee and a remote for my TV!  Heaven!  Got to kill 12 hours on this flight, so I am going to watch the Ugly Truth, Up! and Ghajini, a really awesome 3 hour love story with action (this will be the 2^nd time I have watched this good foreign film).

I did not get to say a proper “good bye” to my bro Josip.  I hope you read this guy.  Again thanks my friend for putting me up at your house, showing me a good time, eating and drinking with me (I know you gained a lot of weight because of me) and for helping me out in a lot of immeasurable intangible ways.  You’re a great friend and brother to me Josip, again thanks.

The second leg of my journey has begun.  I’m off to Thailand guys to help Mehdi as he prepares to defend his championship belt.  I’ll be back soon guys, have a good one for me-Jd

PS.  Quick update: I’ve stopped off in Taipai, Taiwan.  ALL IS GOOD

There are many times in my life (and in fact during each day), when I have doubts about my capabilities and abilities. These fences are all in my mind. Yet, it causes me to worry and self doubt. It limits my ability to go out and achieve my potential. Today, I came across this short writeup about how to break the fence down. Read it. It is really good.

In retirement, there are also fears or doubts. Our health, our physical ability, our exercise program, our social life, our nest, our finance, our travels, our pains. There are so many of these self doubts. Read the following and go tear down the walls. Tell me what you think..

++

Living a Five Star Life
by Betty Mahalik

I’ve watched the movie Chicken Run at least a half-dozen times. Just beneath the surface of its simplistic look and story line lie a number of wonderful messages told through the eyes of a bunch of Claymation chickens trying to break out of their chicken-wire world to escape their fate at the chopping block. Their freedom leader, a feisty little hen named Ginger, comments profoundly in one scene: “the fences are all in your mind.” She reminds her fellow chickens (and us), that a bigger obstacle than the physical fences they’re surrounded by are the mental fences that hold them captive.

It’s been a good reminder for me on those occasions when I’ve been dealing my own mental fences…those created by self-doubt, uncertainty, fear. Can you relate? Where have you fenced yourself in mentally in recent days or weeks? Perhaps your mental fence is procrastination, a deadening habit that keeps you stuck. Maybe yours, like mine, is related to self-doubt, and the on-going internal noise it produces that keeps you immobilized. Perhaps yours is the belief that you don’t deserve success, so you sabotage yourself to avoid having to find out how successful you could be. There are a million variations of the theme, but the result is still the same: we stay stuck like the chickens in the movie.

One of the key questions in the Best Year Yet® program is: “How do I limit myself and how can I stop?” Those limitations are never external. They always live inside us. The antidote to being trapped by our mental fences is to create a compelling enough vision that, like Ginger and her flock of chicken friends, we’re willing to resort to amazing measures to break out. The formula:

VISION + CONSISTENT ACTION = FREEDOM!

I challenge you to take some bold, even outrageous steps to break free of your mental fences. If it’s procrastination, declare a “freedom day” and take action on everything you’ve been putting off: from cleaning your office to making phone calls or responding to emails you’ve avoided.

If it’s self-doubt, sit down and write out everything you value and why it’s important. Then challenge yourself to eliminate anything that doesn’t absolutely reflect your values, or add something that is a profound statement of who you are.

FREEDOM IS JUST THE OTHER SIDE OF ACTION.

Recognize that your mental fences can only keep you stuck as long as you’re looking at them. They can only contain you as long as you’re not taking actions consistent with your vision. Go ahead, take the action you’ve avoided and leap into a future filled with possibilities. And remember, the fences are all in your mind!

Hello All,

Well it’s the Holiday Season and you know what that means… Lots of shopping, going to parties, and the hustle and bustle of the season. I don’t mean to be Scrooge but here are some very important safety tips to keep you safe for the Holiday Season.

• Being on your PHONE IS NOT SAFE!!! It is a huge distraction when you are distracted that is a great time for MR. BAD GUY to ATTACK you.
• REMEMBER where you parked your car and AVOID using your KEY LESS ENTRY to find your car. This is a great way to let Mr. Bad Guy where you are at and how to plan his attack.
• If you are out enjoying some HOLIDAY BEVERAGES keep your INTAKE LOW and remember to keep track of your drink. It is very easy for someone to slip something into your drink. Also drink lots of water and eat consistantly this will help you moderate your alcohol levels.

I hope that these help to keep you and your loved ones safe. We have ongoing Self-Defense classes on going during the holidays!!! Not only will they help you to be safe they can also help you avoid adding any extra holiday goodies to your waistline.

Happy Holidays,

Shawn

READ THIS FIRST:

What I am trying to show you how I use photoshop to enhance the image. I think the image that comes out from the camera is already okay to use but if i can make it look even better, why not. Lightroom can be use to enhance up to a point but to complete the transformation, photoshop is needed. When view the image below, please look at them slowly, think to yourself it was you, will u be happy with the image and leave it as that.

Hello All,

In this video clip Sensei Erik Paulson (www.erikpaulson.com) is teaching defending standing guard passes. He shows how to use your feet and hips so not to get your legs controlled, how to use your knees so that the person that is standing can’t punch your head and also he shows how to use an axe kick from your guard!!!

Also don’t miss the last submission combo he does it is pretty cool!!!

Enjoy

One of the greatest Muay Thai fights of all time.