The MartialBody Blog

One thing that always struck me about some of the old body training methods was how simple they looked. Someone would just move their arms a certain way, take some simple steps or even just stand there with their arms in a static position. It all looked so very simple, so very normal. That was until you came to practice them, really practice them, and like the layers of an onion more and more complexity, challenge and difficulty would be revealed. This is part of the paradox of Body method train...

In this article I am going to explore one of my favorite joint and tissue rehabilitation techniques, one which can be used in addition to modern rehabilitation and physiotherapy techniques. This is a method that I have used for several serious joint and tissue injuries over the years and one which I always turn too first whenever an injury occurs.For many injuries, usually caused by hard sparring or competition, the time frame quoted for recovery has been cut in half as a result of this approach...

Movement is the bedrock of martial arts, whether looking at footwork, how we punch or kick, how we move another person or even how we stand still (paradoxically!). There are, of course, many ways that we train to move that are specific to our martial practice, in this article we will briefly look at the merit of deviation away from the standard or common patterns of a Martial Style of movement. Every martial art, under examination and through a specific lens is simply movement, movement in assoc...

An integral part of body method training, regardless of origin or source is the process of ‘embedding’. Even if we look at modern strength training methods, there is a period of training where embedding the correct technique occurs prior to the increase in load. But this idea is never truer than when looking at attribute training like that found in MartialBody. Without this idea at play in every training session, it would become easy to be disheartened or worse still, not actually de...

Welcome to the first video in the 'Context' Series. A series of videos where Coach Chris outlines how attributes developed in MartialBody training can aid us in a variety of martial Scenarios or situations. The aim of this series is not to teach technique, but to show how a trained body can benefit Martial Artists of all styles. In this video we examine the way that the trained body can help us to slow down the progress of a determined grappler trying to throw or take us down. These attr...

In this final article on the subject of ‘training’, we are going to look at some of the ways in which we avoid the difficulties inherent in Martial Arts training. Some may strike a cord with you, some might remind you of training partners current or past. It is important to point out that I have personally done many of these things, especially early in my martial arts training life. So this shouldn’t be read as preaching but as coaches guide from my experiences and observations...

Leading on from my last article on the challenges of solo training, now I would like to look at the topic of ‘stagnation’ & the linked phenomena of ‘plateauing’ in Martial Arts training. I think it would be fair to say that for almost all martial artists who have trained for some time, in any style or method, this feeling will crop up from time to time. Unfortunately, I have seen it be the undoing of many a talented individual. Hopefully this Article will serve as a b...

For over 20 years now I have been immersed in training for the creation of the MartialBody. Until I crystallised the process of attribute training, this work was done under many other names, Nei Gong, Jibengong, Tanren, Tenko-no-Jutsu to name but a few. But regardless of the label placed on the methods one undeniable fact remained about these methods, the work is largely done alone.In the martial arts there is often a focus on training with the partner. Of course, to be an effective fighter it i...