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People are always asking me about Martial Arts Weapons. Why are they funny shaped and how do they work? What’s the best Weapon in Tai Chi Chuan Karate, or Pa Kua Chang, or whatever.

The truth of this matter of sharp and shiny things is expressed in a concept so simple that most people never really figure it out. There is, you see, an easy way to understand what the swords and knives and things are, and this will give intuitive grasp as to how they are used. That simple notion is…geometry.

A killing implement, no matter what the shape, is generally based on the idea of a straight line. The simplest and most basic straight line is a pole. The pole is designed for two specific things, poking and bashing.

Put a knife on the end of the pole and you have a spear. This is a pole with a sharp end. It is used for poking, and more delicate bashing.

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People may wonder if they can really learn appropriate and effective self defense through self defense videos.In fact, this method of learning is very accessible and affordable.

Lack of time is one reason why many people will never learn self defense aside from lack of interest.Even if they consider the essence of learning it, they will always find a reason not to take time.The opportunity for a lot of people to learn the important skills to remain protected has been obtainable because of self defense videos being sold online or everywhere.These self defense videos were actually made for people who are a little busy to visit the training places.

What you Get from Good Videos

There are some easy to learn self defense techniques from home.Most videos on the market should be able to teach you techniques that are easy to learn and remember.In what way should you avoid possible unsafe circumstances, areas and reduction methods should be included in the video as well.

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Classical Martial Arts against MMA, this is an fascinating question. On one hand, we have the classical practitioner, as in Krav Maga or Tai Chi Chuan and that sort of art. On the other hand we have the people who praise the UFC and regimens such as one would see on Strikeforce.

Now, obviously, we are going to have a difference of opinion, the main thing is can we come up with some facts, or at least opinions so well grounded, that there is a clear winner? I believe we can.

First, there is sport versus art. In a sport one fights somebody else. In an art, one is in conflict (attempting to resolve conflict) with oneself.

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Within the world of Aikido a variety of styles exists. The major ones include Aikikai, Yoshinkan

Yoseikan, Shodokan Aikido, Ki Society and Iwama. Aikikai is a style led by O-sensei’s decendants and remains to be the largest Aikido organization.

Meanwhile, Yoshinkan was founded by Gozo Shioda and is known for its rigid practice of being precise or accurate. The Shodokan Aikido use to train with sparring and rule based competitions. The Ki Society in the meantime focuses on special training or programs for developing the ki. The Iwama style gives more attention to integration of weapon and barehand techniques. These are just a few of the major schools of Aikido. Let us focus on one: the Yoshinkan style.

Gozo Shioda, like most of the founders of the major Aikido schools, was a student of O-sensei or Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido. Most of the students of O-sensei built their own schools of Aikido based on their understandings on the teachings and basic principles of Aikido that O-sensei taught them.

Shioda’s Aikido Yoshinkan focuses on the basics of Aikido. The six basic movements or the kihon dosa are taught repeatedly to Yoshinkan students. Students of this style spend a considerable time of their training regimen repeating basic movements in Aikido techniques.

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There are a lot of suggestions out there telling you how to defend your guard. Some of these are: do not allow the other fighter to get a hold of your knees, find an angle, or drive your legs to the ground. However, there is one suggestion that I often see novices failing to do. Head control is critical in retaining guard.

You see, as an opponent passes their head will generally go to one side and they will move their hips to the same side to reach side control. If they are smart they will control your legs and/or hips to prevent you from hip escaping away. However, if you are able to take control of his advance, you won’t even let him pass at all.

As your opponent starts passing to the right, push his head in that same direction. That will both create a large amount of space between you but also not allow him to progress into side control. You don’t have to be rough and go MMA on him, but you can be firm with a palm to the cheek or a forearm to the neck.

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Shotokan Karate is one of the four major karates styles in the world, so many systems are derived from this style, and thus are contaminated with some very incorrect concepts. Thus, whether you study Shito ryu, Isshin Ryu, Kyokushinkai, or any system that has the Heian forms as a base, you probably are making the errors I am listing in this article. It doesn’t mean your karate stance is bad, it just means if you make a couple of tweaks you can make it better.

A proper karate stance should be a perfect mix between mobility and solidity. Mobiity is when one can launch their body quickly. Solidity is when one can grip the ground with their feet and not be moved.

In the Shotokan kokutsu dachi stance, however, the mix between mobile and solid has been unbalanced. If you study the legs you will see that they are angling more than 90 degrees apart. This means the stance is more solid than mobile.

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