All Questions

I've recently taken up goju-ryu karate. In sparring, I'm often matched up with someone significantly taller than myself (by a foot or more), and find that I have trouble finding openings due to their ...

I am 75 and just passed a few weeks ago the second dan shotokan exam, with I admit a bit of leeway for my age. I have several back issues, stenosi, herniated disks pain and some numbness of my legs. ...

I am 17 and I do Karate. My knee keeps buckling whenever I am in horse stance, or doing a front thrust kick. It is almost like it's going backwards. My instructors ask us to go as low and wide as we ...

Hello martial artists from all around the world! I am training in Kickboxing. I have a problem with my front leg and my kicks, for which I would like to get your help. Two months ago or so, my coach ...

I remember someone once told me to never open up the eyes of the blind. Does anyone remember that saying? How do we explain this to others in a way that beginner's understand it?

Mandatory disclaimer: I know, and respect, that martial arts are not about just stepping into a fight but there's a lot more to it. On the other hand, I'm a complete zero on the topic, so asking here ...

I don't have Bruce Lee's book, so maybe I just need more context about what he meant. But as both a student and instructor, I'm bemused by the possibilities from this oft-quoted saying. What does it ...

What is a good way to stop people from talking to me & correcting little flaws in my technique when I'm trying to concentrate on fixing larger flaws in my technique? I know that some gyms don't ...

I remember reading somewhere that, way down the line, the Kodokan offered Helio Gracie a high dan ranking, and to absorb what had become BJJ back into the world of Judo. Helio refused, presumably ...

do we need to step with the lead leg while throwing a jab to add some power? I personally step with both feet for the sake of a strong base, also not to be vulnerable for an inside leg sweep to the ...

I am new to boxing and my instructor tells me to keep my hands high near my cheekbones at all times, but I've noticed that many boxers keep them lower. Is this just something that all newbies must do?

I know a self-defense fighter who broke both fists fighting. What self-defense techniques would everyone recommend to a fighter forced to fight with two broken fists?

Recently I started fighting with a group of people every weekend, it's been a few months. I learned a lot and my pain tolerance and flexibility but more importantly speed increased immensely. But ...

I have just started learning Tai Chi as my first martial art. I’m following group lessons so the instructor cannot always follow everyone’s doing. Could you please suggest a good book for a beginner ...

Really... how do you know when to call it quits? How to recognize in someone else that they should see a doctor and consider the rest of their life before something bad happens? Is there a set ...

So I've been trying to strengthen my tibia by round house kicking heavy bags really hard without shin guards, but I've always been getting huge bruises on both of my legs. I think something is wrong ...

What's Qi Gong? Is it just deep breathing? Everything I see about it, it's just people moving in a certain choreographed movements, while breathing. How is that possible? People say that Qi Gong is ...

Last week, I started to go to a new BJJ academy after a while without any training. When we started rolling, I asked to the guy that was rolling against me for how much time he was training. Since he ...

I have been researching several martial arts facilities in my area. I am looking for something that will help me in real life situations, become more disciplined mentally and psychologically, get into ...

This is an extremely educational, humbling and interesting MT fight/technique breakdown video. It shows the ferocity of Samkor Kiatmontep's Left Roundhouse Kick from the southpaw stance against ...

I recently passed a Dan exam and would like to get rid of my old, cheap belt. I would like to buy a higher grade belt and have some inscriptions on it. I plan to take a kusakura obi with the Kodokan ...

This is in regards to boxing. Background: Height: 5.9 | Build: Fat | Fitness: Poor | Stance: Orthodox I am working on my fitness. I used to be fit but I got out of sports for a while due to ACL ...

I kind of hate holding the Muay Thai style kicking pads that most people seem to use for training punching and kicking combos. I much prefer the boxing style focus mitts with an open hand like these ...

In the game Mirror's Edge Catalyst, there are opponents called Sentinels; they are an elite type of enemy in this game. They rely on hand-to-hand combat to beat the player. Most of their techniques (...

First of all, I'm a beginner. White belt (not even a month of practice). At wikipedia, they said Judo literally is "gentle way". My sensei told me so too... When I do randori with higher rank, they ...

Might be irrelevant but I don't know where to ask other than here. What is the name of this temple and the mountain behind it on Taekwondo forms educational videos: Is this temple of any importance ...

What stretches are the best for being able to do the split and the side split? I'm already very close.(like 170°-165°)

I Want to train inside the shaolin temple for a year, but I'm afraid there aren't a lot of english speaking people training there. So are there a lot of foreigners training inside the shaolin temple?

I am 28 years old. It is embarrassing and very demoralizing that I can't jump-rope. I see all the boxers in my gym do that. I also cannot swim, ride a bicycle, or run more than a mile continuously (I ...

I want to study Shaolin kung fu in China after i finished my school. My first choice is inside the Shaolin temple, but I don't know if that's possible as a foreigner. I would also like to know on what ...

I am new here. When I am working on the heavy bag (hangs from the ceiling) I find it incredibly hard to throw my kicks after punches. My kicks get jammed up. Say, I throw a Jab, Cross, LHook and then ...

Why do some handheld target pads have a double-layer design? I remember using a single layer pad when I was a kid. Since then, the double layer design has been introduced. At best I can tell, it ...

Wrestling is one of the self defence martial arts and also a game where audiences sit and watch them. Even karate is same , but why karate is not considered as a game and only in martial arts .?

Have been training Muay Thai for about 4 months, yet I still find myself struggling with almost all the Muay Thai kicks - especially the low and body kick. My kicks happen to be weak as I often lose ...

I've spent a some time searching for a manuscript that covers things like fighting with large shields like kite, heaters, tower, etc., but I can't find anything. Where can I learn about HEMA shields?

In forms of Taekwondo, for example the 1st form, when the left foot is stepping forward, i.e. Wen-Ab-Sugi, and the left hand is punching, i.e. Mumtung-Jirugi, the movement is named: Wen-Ab-Sugi-...

My son attends a taekwondo school, who in my opinion is a diploma mill. I have seen many students with black belts who are lacking skills that are fundamental to earning a black belt. The dilemma is, ...

Are you allowed or permitted to have a black belt at an ITF affiliated school, and also train for a black belt with a WTF affiliated school? With the differences l have read on this site between ITF ...

I've never been in a fight in my life and never had interest in any form of contact sports before. Something about BJJ really interests me. Maybe it's the self-defense aspect, or making myself ...

After more than a year and half of use my shin guard are becoming smelly. I let them dry out and never keep them in my bag but now they begin to stink. I can't put them on the wash machine as they ...

I am looking for some shin guards and gloves for full contact (Kyokushin) sparring. Is there anything I should be looking for / avoid when buying these pieces of equipment?

While learning Kalaripayattu in a city, it was not done in a traditional mud-based basement, but in a school hall. So there were fans available. When we used to perspire profusely from an intense warm-...

Background: I am a teenage white-belt 2nd stripe training in BJJ for almost a year now. I feel like I have some fundamental errors in my overall game and am seeking to remedy them. Question: One of ...

I've been reading about the old days of UFC and came across a fighter named Joe Son. If you look at his MMA record on his Wikipedia page, you'll notice that listed under method for his losses are: ...

I have issues with my nasal breathing; I had an operation, which didn't work. I have been experimenting with nasal dilators for running and cycling and find them to be quite helpful. https://www....

A little backstory: I'm a relatively lightweight guy (126 lbs) and have been training BJJ for almost a year now. I tend to struggle in a few departments, and the second most terrible one is when I ...

Presumably people in Okinawa didn't walk around barefoot. If the original purpose of karate is self-defense, wouldn't it make more sense to train in similar clothing to what you'd be wearing if you ...

I just had another calf injury a couple of weeks ago. I am turning 60 this month. I want to keep trainning and practicing my forms, up to and including Koryo. I have been trainning with 54 year old ...

Toshiro Daigo's book Kodokan Judo Throwing Techniques published by Kodanasha International, Tokyo 2005 lists 67 throwing techniques. As Daigo is the chief instructor at the Kodokan, I took this as the ...

Is it possible to start Kungfu, Taekwondo or Karate at the age of 15? I am asking because I don't practice any sport.