Since posting the Stretching Challenge, I’ve gotten some good feedback and comments. I really appreciate everyone sharing their own experiences here. On the challenge post, I embedded a video of me performing and explaining the essential components of my current stretching routine. As I wrote then, all of these movements (and more) are included in Paul Zaichik’s Elastic Steel course,…
ungi include all jumping techniques and are probably the simplest to perform from a mechanical standpoint. here i have simply listed the defining characteristics and some examples of untai technique. doko go kai untai gekiro — become as a wave crashing onto the shore. you should feel as if you are being swept up by a wave and thrown onto your…
“I’m a professional educator.” That’s what teachers say when they want to sound like experts. I don’t know if I’m really an expert — there are a lot of variables involved depending on how you define the roles of teacher, instructor, and coach. I’ve played each role in a variety of academic and sports environments, and I’m always learning and…
Most martial arts (of which I am aware) are essentially technique-based. By this, I mean that they were synthesized from groups of existing movements. Demonstration: Many martial arts use the exact same mechanics for deploying a front kick. It would be ridiculous to assume that each art’s creator independently designed a kick that looks exactly like every other front…
A little before the end of 2008, the World Taido Federation published the first issue of The Taido Times. The Taido Times is set to be a twice-yearly magazine full of interesting news, history, and training ideas from Taido dojo all around the world. If you’re part of an organization that is in the World Taido Federation…
