Using the hips is probably the most important part of making your martial arts techniques effective. Many people will punch and kick and only think of the hands or feet. This is essentially the same thing as focusing on the arrow while having a poor bow at the same time. No matter how nice and sharp your arrows may be, without a good bow to launch it, it will be useless. That's why we always emphasize the hips and feet for proper movement as well as power and health benefits.  

Bagua (or Baguazhang) is one of the key internal martial arts. The other two well known ones are Tai Chi Chuan and Xingyiquan. Internal martial arts are generally referred to as such because they don't use hard blocks or force against force. Instead they tend to use angles, positioning, and deflections. Rather than doing a hard block, we yield to the force and then counter attack from a different position. It also refers to cultivation of Chi or internal energy. This is done through Qigong breathing methods combined with movements. However, when you understand this, then many martial arts can…

Working out can be an addiction. We love the way it makes us feel. We love the way it makes us look. We love the increase in strength, speed, flexibility, etc. But unfortunately like any addiction, we can often push too hard for too long a period of time. And doing this can lead to burnout and overtraining, the complete opposite of why you started!   One thing I'll always be grateful for is the training I had in Powerlifting. In Powerlifting we understand that you can't train all out all the time. That's why we train in cycles. Typically these are…

This is a workout I call Triple Threat! Take three exercises, do each one for three reps, and do it three times. All this counts as one set. Repeat for as many sets as desired. It's tough but effective as always!   For this example I'm doing Squats, Pushups, and Chin Ups. But you can pick any exercises you wish! Here's a link for the video. https://youtu.be/vPj8o5nXT-A

The centreline is one of the most important concepts in the martial arts. People use it and are aware of it even if they don't realize. There are actually three separate centrelines and each one has its importance.    MIDDLE CENTRELINE - This line runs right down the front of your body and it's the line along which many of your vital organs are located   MOTHERLINE - This line runs right down the middle of your body and is responsible for your balance. Leaning too far forward, backward, or sideways will compromise this. You must always by balanced even if your weight is not…

Suspension training is a really great way to exercise. One good thing about it is that it allows you to easily control the difficulty of the movement depending on where you place your feet. There are many angles and exercise variations you can do. For this full body workout I went through some of my favourite moves to give you a full body workout. Give it a try!  

The weapon is an extension of the person who wields it. This is an extremely important concept in the martial arts. After all, hand to hand fighting systems have their origins in weapons. You can take straight punches, hook punches, and uppercut punches, and you can see all of them in the staff. The key difference is that with weapons, everything is larger. Steps are larger, body rotation is larger, etc. But when we switch to hand to hand fighting, things become much tighter and closer. This is why we sometimes like to say "TRAIN BIG, FIGHT SMALL".   Take a look…

"Real World Strength" is a term that Chinese martial arts icon Bruce Lee used. He didn't believe in simply building up the body to look a certain way or to only lift weight in a specific way. He believed in training in a way to build your strength and fitness that would translate to real applicable situations. Machines have their place of course, but nothing can truly replace free weights, bodyweight exercises, and functional movements.    That's the purpose of this video is to cover some ways to develop this. For this exercise, I'm taking a punching bag and doing squats and…

Personally I love smoothies. From a very young age, I've always associated smoothies and various shakes with vibrant health. You can mix it up in so many ways, there's just no limit to the possibilities. In fact, it's possible to replace some of your meals with smoothies. A good protein powder mixed in with plenty of fruits and vegetables is tasty, nutritious, and it will prevent you from giving in to hunger and going for junk food. There have been many times when I knew I wouldn't have time to sit down for a meal, so I just drank a good…

The centreline is one of the most important concepts in the martial arts. Particularly in the Wing Chun system, the centreline is the key to everything. Unfortunately there are so many people out there practicing these arts who have no clue about it. It may sound ridiculous, but it's true.    The stance from Wing Chun known as Yee Jee Kim Yeung Ma (or Character Two Adduction Stance) is the primary method for training this. Every Wing Chun practitioner learns this on the first day of class and shifting follows soon after. As crucial as these things are, very few people actually…

It's a fact that Roman Gladiators were some of the most legendary fighters in history. Typically they were slaves or prisoners of war. Some free Romans also chose to become gladiators to pay off debts or perhaps for the thrill of the arena. One thing that was common among all gladiators was their hard training. Yes it was tough, but at the same time their trainers understood the importance of rest and cycling intensity. They couldn't always train all out at full intensity. They knew that recovery was important. Things like Interval Training, Weight Training, and Weapons Training were all…

The weapon is an extension of the hands. This is a very common understanding in the world of martial arts and one particular weapon where this applies perhaps more than others, is the Wing Chun Butterfly Swords. They essentially resemble large butcher knives with hand guards. Basically every technique you can do with your hands can be done with the swords. In fact, I don't think it's possible to truly understand the proper energies of Wing Chun without the swords.    When you look at empty handed techniques, they're done with what we call a small frame. Everything is tighter and more…

Setting up a good home gym can be one of the most rewarding things you can do. No longer do you have to worry about driving to the gym, changing into your gym clothes, working out in a crowded gym only to change back into your street clothes and drive back home. No longer do you have to worry about when the gym is open. Your home gym is always open no matter what time of day you choose to workout. But what do you need for a good home gym? Of course it's possible to get a great workout…

I believe meditation must be a part of your health and fitness program. It can help teach you proper breathing, help deal with stress, balance the body with softness in contrast to hardness and tension, and much more. There are different types of meditation that can be done, but by far my favourite type is moving meditation. This is also called Silk Reeling in the Internal Chinese martial arts. In this video, I cover the basics of moving mediation of this type.   A few things to remember is a simple formula 1. ROOT 2. BREATHE 3. CONNECT   So looking at these one at a time, ROOT refers…

One of the worst effects of stress is excessive tension. And with that comes neck pain along with pain in other areas. The focus today however is on the neck. These particular neck exercises are from the Cambodian martial art of Lethwei. It is a very unique art in that the headbutt features prominently. And because of this, strengthening the neck is essential. There are three exercises. The first exercise is Nodding Yes. The second exercise is Shaking No. And the third exercise is touching your ear to your shoulder. Watch the video to learn more!  

Here's a circuit workout for you to try. I just did this yesterday. It's a combination of dumbbell and bodyweight exercises and the exercises are all done back to back with minimal rest. The entire circuit is done three times. There are a total of nine exercises. Try to keep the reps on the higher side between 12 and 15. For the Crawls however, they're done either by distance or by time. 30 to 40 seconds each is ideal. The exercises are arranged in such a way for you to alternate between an upper body and a lower body exercise. This…

"COMPLICATE THINGS AND YOU KILL IT". This is an expression that's particularly true when it comes to strength training and fitness in general. There's just so much confusion and excess information out there that people don't know who to listen to. It's much better to simplify things and break things down into its simplest form. Look at the basic functions of your various limbs and construct your workout accordingly.   Here are the SIX MOTIONS FOR STRENGTH TRAINING 1. SQUATTING (KNEE BENDING) 2. BENDING (DEADLIFT OR HINGING MOTION) 3. UPPER BODY PUSH 4. UPPER BODY PULL 5. CORE STABILITY (PLANK) 6. CORE CONTRACTION   And that's really all there is…

In celebration of my 50th birthday, I chose to do 50 consecutive pushups! I often hear people refer to "older people" as being 40 or 50 and over. I can truly say that I'm in the best shape I've ever been in! When I was younger, I was stronger in terms of lifting sheer weight, but my flexibility and endurance was nothing compared to now. Balance is key and in truth, although it may be a bit of a cliche, age is just a number!   For information about personal training, click here   

The sledgehammer is one piece of equipment that may of course seem very unconventional. But it does have numerous benefits. Although regular dumbbell and barbell training is extremely valuable, the sledgehammer allows you to train along angles and planes of movement that aren't possible with conventional weights. These movements come from weapons training and in the ancient world, weapons training was the primary form of strength training for soldiers. Take a look at the video to see what it's all about!  

One of the negative effects of this pandemic has been the fact that people are sitting more than ever before. This can lead to a whole ton of problems including poor posture and back pain. Thankfully there are some exercises we can do to help target these things. One of my clients works as a lawyer and sits for many hours a day. By doing these exercise, she's been able to mostly eliminate her back pain. Check it out!