Zen In The Martial Arts

by admin on September 14th, 2010 No Comments

It has been a while since I last posted an article; but I was having a read through one of my favourite books the other day called, Zen In The Martial Arts by Joe Hyams and after reading a few choice quotes I  just could not resist posting a few of them for you to read, so enjoy!

For the uncontrolled there is no wisdom,
nor for the uncontrolled is there the power of
concentration; and for him without concentration
there is no peace. And for the unpeaceful,
how can there be happiness?

- BHAGAVAD GITA

& another great one:

Flow with whatever may happen
and let your mind be free: Stay centred
by accepting whatever you are doing.
This is the ultimate.

- CHUANG TZU

If you have any great quotes or interesting stories that you think are worth posting please send them in by clicking here.

Teaching Martial Arts to Children

by admin on March 11th, 2010 No Comments

I grew up living on the tallest hilltop in Johannesburg, South Africa – Melville Kopje. I used to ride down the hill to take Judo lessons; and remember every time I entered the dojo, or passed another school as a special time – steeped in the mystery and respect that surrounded these places. On occasion I would travel with my family into the center of Johannesburg, Hillbrow; we used to enjoy visiting ‘Exclusive Books’ a late night bookshop, and one evening I bought the first book on Martial Arts I’d ever seen: ‘The Martial Arts’ by Michel Random.

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Jose is my Hero

by admin on March 2nd, 2010 No Comments

Jose Rizal Jose Rizal is recognized as a national hero within Filipino culture. Born in 1861 he was educated in Europe and Japan – he wrote two books Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo; and is widely seen as a figure head for his political actions within the Philippines, during the Spanish occupation of the Islands. Rizal developed renown for being widely travelled, well educated and also for his intellectual pursuits within: the sciences, arts, literature and languages; he was an eye doctor by profession, an avid player of chess and master swordsman. Jose also enjoyed a strong relationship with the creative, and was close to what for a better term – we could call Yin.

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The Chi Kung Teacher

by admin on February 23rd, 2010 2 Comments

james-macritchie-and-stephen-joffe At the time I was training cage fighters inside of Amal Easton’s Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Boulder; I recognized within the continual fighting amongst powerful young men, the harboring of energy that was not mine. Fortunately, I had been exposed to ‘sport’ at the highest level during my time coaching Olympic level Gymnasts and in teaching them the ‘life art’ of Muay Thai or Siamese Kickboxing; from this position, I decided to seek help in understanding the technical aspects of this transference phenomena.

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Advanced Defensive Tactics

by admin on February 19th, 2010 No Comments

The Martialworks Advanced Defensive Tactics (MADT) program has been developed at the interface of the powerful weapon components of 3 major South East Asian boxing systems; it is largely influenced by Pekiti Tirsia Kali, the pre-eminent blade fighting method of choice for Philippine Government.

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Upcoming Events / Missions

by steve on October 28th, 2009 No Comments

swordsmenMartialworks Kalista will be visiting Philippines in March 2010; we’re already deep in preparation for Jungle Survival School and the endless exercise of ‘bridging skill’ on the beach ~ the Filipinos are best at this = find 2 palm trees + hammock, learn to relax!

Kids Update

by admin on October 28th, 2009 No Comments

The Children have just completed their ‘1st Season’ of training; we covered a lot of territory! This included: tours through the long histories and deep cultures of the martial arts traditions we practice; meditation for health; stretching routines from Muay Thai Kickboxing and the Olympic Rhythmic Gymnastics team; Taoist Yoga; Chinese Boxing; stick-fighting and much more… even the big Kids had fun.