Samurai Sword Facts

The first samurai swords we’re actually straight bladed, single edged weapons imported from Korea and China known as chokuto, which were later replaced with the curved blade variety at the end of the 8th Century. The name of the curved blade swords which replaced them was Tachi. The reason for this transformation was samurai found that a curved sword could be drawn from the scabbard more swiftly and provided a far more effective cutting angle.

Dermot Michael (Pat) ONeill

Dermot O’Neill was born in 1905 in County Cork, Ireland. As a teenager he traveled to China, and settled in Shanghai. In 1925, at the age of twenty he joined the Shanghai Municipal Police. This police force comprising of 9000 active and reserve officers was task with bringing law and order to the International Settlement.

I Know Karate and Kung Fu and Lots of Other Foreign Words!

Martial arts have become incredibly popular in the US. Drive through any little strip shopping center in nearly any city and you’re likely to see a martial arts studio. There are dozens of styles to choose from. Karate, jujitsu, aikido, kung fu, qi gong, taekwondo, tai chi. How did that happen?

I think it’s partly because Americans are so competitive.

Who Created Tai Chi Chuan (Tai Chi Boxing)?

I have read a number of books, articles, and novels, and have watched movies and television series that touched on the origins of Tai Chi Chuan (Tai Chi Boxing), and the question, "Who Created Tai Chi Chuan?" made me concern very much!

Although knowing the origins or the source of Tai Chi Chuan is not going to have much effects on your learning and practicing of the art, it is my responsibility to share with the masses of what I have found out.

Benefits of Martial Arts Training For Kids

Admit it. When the going gets tough at home, we’ve all plopped the kids in front of the television and breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, we can get started on dinner, maybe check email or sort that massive pile of laundry.

But when your five-year old yells at you "Mom, Kids Rule!" or your ten-year old horrifies you with language that would make a sailor blush, you realize there must be something amiss with what these "family programs" really teach our kids.

Choosing a Self Defense / Martial Arts School: A Parents Guide

"Daddy, I want to take Karate!"

"Mommy, Jimmy on the bus hit me again today"

There are many reasons why parents want to sign their children up for Self Defense or Martial Arts classes. Once you have made the decision, now you are faced with many different options and questions. What style? How much does it cost? Is my child to young?

Martial Arts and Self Defense Styles

There are as many different styles of Martial Arts as there are religions in the world.

Grown Man Quits After 3 Mat Pulls!

A matt pull is the simple act of lying on flat on your stomach, reaching in front of you and pulling your self across the mat. This is one exercise that helps develop your muscles for grappling. We do these as a part of our warm up.

The other day, I was beginning a prospective student and when we got to mat pulls, this man does three of them and then pulls up lame.

Makiwara Training

Shigeru Kimura Sensei 9th Dan Tani-Ha Shitoryu Shukokai had a punch that was like getting hit with a cannonball.

Kimura Sensei had won the All Japan Karate Championship two years in a row. His technique was lightening fast, crisp, and decisive. There was a problem however. Tani Sensei, top student of Mabuni Kenwa and founder of Tani-Ha Shukokai was a firm believer in the age old concept of IKKEN HISSATSU or “One Fist - Certain Death”.

Sensing Intention

One of the ‘mystical’ aspects of the martial arts has always been the ability to feel another persons intention.

Sensing intention gives a person the ability to be in instant control of a potentially violent encounter, and it’s one of the ways we use the martial arts to test our energy work and meditation skills in Hoshin.

Women in the Martial Arts

1st Lady Assistant to Sensei Henry Ellis
Ellis Schools of Traditional Aikido

I was born in West London in 1963, my father was very involved in the martial arts and a dan grade in Karate he was also a dealer in ancient Japanese arms and armour, although my father has an antiques shop in London’s Bond Street, my home was more like a samurai warriors dressing room, with original suits of Japanese armour complete with very frighting face masks that would frighten the life out of my friends when ever they came to visit, there were also very many valuable swords yari and naginata spears.