Teaching Martial Arts by Combat Learning

Join the email list now: combatlearning.com/newsletter --- Today I'm joined by Todd Fossey, founder of Integrated Defensive Strategies and a leading figure in the combatives community. In this episode, Todd unpacks how to systematically inoculate yourself against the stress caused by the fight or flight state during high pressure situations. We also discuss the problems with typical reality-based...

Join the email list now: combatlearning.com/newsletter --- Today I'm joined by Alan Dunton, a PhD in skill acquisition, human performance specialist, and lecturer at TUDublin. He also has a background in ITF taekwondo. In this episode, we discuss a couple important studies done on self-organization and how to simulate a more realistic level of anxiety to competition. Then we discuss how the point...

Join the email list now: combatlearning.com/newsletter --- In part 2 of 2, Scott Sievewright returns to discuss the opportunity cost of traditional training methods. For those who haven't heard that term used for training, opportunity cost basically refers to the benefits to learning that we're potentially missing by spending time that *could* have been used on live training methods to do dead, fo...

Join the email list now: combatlearning.com/newsletter --- Today we're joined by Scott Sievewright, host of the Primal MMA podcast and an MMA striking coach who teaches a striking program almost entirely on an Ecological Dynamics or constraints-led approach to motor learning. In part 1 of 2, Scott and I work through why Ecological Dynamics is so hard to get the hang of. We have a discussion on how...

Try Martial Arts on Rails -- the easiest gym management software you'll ever use -- 30 days FREE, no credit card or sales call required: combatlearning.com/rails --- Join the email list now: combatlearning.com/newsletter --- Daniel Marino, 4th dan in tang soo do and founder of The Naihanchi Project, returns today to talk about training progressions in traditional martial arts. In part 2 of 2, we s...

Try Martial Arts on Rails -- the easiest gym management software you'll ever use -- 30 days FREE, no credit card or sales call required: combatlearning.com/rails --- Join the email list now: combatlearning.com/newsletter --- My guest today is Daniel Marino, a 4th dan in tang soo do, and the founder of the Naihanchi Project. In part 1 of 2, Daniel and I discuss our process of coming up through the...

To end season 2 with a bang, my guest today is Stuart Armstrong, who is well known in the sports science and skill acquisition community through his podcast, "The Talent Equation." Which is highly recommended. Stuart thinks of himself as a "pracademic" -- a practitioner with an academic background focused on the practical application of the science of coaching to real-life coaching. We've touched...

My guest today is Les Bubka, a thoughtful karate instructor out of England and a contemporary of Iain Abernethy. Les employs a different approach to teaching karate that he calls the "inverted pyramid," a way to teach minimal techniques to beginners, grow their technique base as they progress through the intermediate stages of training, but then narrow their focus again as they become advanced int...

Today BJJ black belt Jestin Icasiano returns once again to discuss getting back into training after a long break. Coronavirus has caused a lot of us to have spotty or no training over the last year, and many of us are just now getting back into the swing of things. We talk about what to keep in mind so you don't hurt yourself or burn out too quickly. We also talk about what's working for us in ter...

My guest today is Master Greg Koval, a 6th dan black belt in taekwondo and BJJ purple belt. In this episode, we compare and contrast different training styles across the spectrum, debate the merits of traditional training, and find common ground between new and old methodologies. Greg is a veteran instructor with diverse martial arts experience, so no matter who you are, he has something of value...

My guest today is Matt Thornton: a 4th degree black in BJJ, founder of Straight Blast Gym international, and an influential thinker in the world of martial arts training methodology. In this episode, Matt talks about the concept of "aliveness" in training, and how you can start to train with aliveness immediately, even as a total beginner. He also explains why he does not believe there is any such...

My guest today is Mo, a two-time national collegiate sparring champion in taekwondo for Cornell University. He also operates a sparring-only taekwondo club. In this episode, we explore how Mo structures training and promotions without using formal methods like poomsae (which are kata) and one-steps. Instead, he takes the extra curriculum space this affords him and builds his taekwondo into a robus...

In this episode, Mike Massie combines his knowledge of curriculum design and business development to show why you should implement a rotating curriculum and how to do it. Properly applied, a rotating curriculum makes your life as an instructor easier while driving greater business value to your students. Mike is well known for the business resources he has produced. Stay tuned til the end to find...

My guest today is Dr. Robert Rosenthal, an eminent psychologist and researcher and Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside. He's best known for his work in researcher and teacher expectancy effects, known more commonly as the Pygmalion effect. In this episode, Professor Rosenthal explains how teacher expectations on their students affect how well those stud...

In bonus episode 3, I look at Dr. Rob Gray's Perception Action Podcast episode 323 for wisdom on how to approach economy of motion, or efficiency of movements, from the viewpoint of the constraints-led approach to motor learning. This is very counter-intuitive to how martial artists have traditionally approached developing more efficient movements, but research seems to show that it works much bet...

My guest today is Iain Abernethy, a well-known expert on practical karate training and kata application, and an advocate of traditional martial arts practice. In this episode, Iain presents his own view of kata as a process of 4 inextricable stages: 1. Solo Practice 2. Functional Application 3. Principle-based Partner Practice 4. Live Partner Practice or "Kata-based" Sparring While most other trad...

My guest today is Steve Kwan, co-host of the BJJ Mental Models podcast and a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu black belt. In this episode, Steve reveals how the universal principles from the so-called "Lean Startup Methodology" can vastly enhance not only your ability as an instructor but your your ability to do self-directed learning, too. This episode has very unique subject matter and is a blast to think ab...

My guest today is Craig Douglas, an interdisciplinary defensive training instructor operating globally under the ShivWorks brand, specializing in meshing wrestling-based combatives with close quarters shooting. In this episode, Craig unpacks what it means to take an "andragogical" approach to teaching coursework and why its a more effective way to help students learn. He also explains why he belie...

My guest today is Ben from Redbeard Combatives, a 2nd degree black belt in BJJ in the Carlson Gracie lineage and an experienced trainer for both the U.S. Government and Private Security sectors. In this episode, Ben draws on his 15+ years conducting trainings to reveal the potential weaknesses of what's often called "real world experience" -- and how proper training environments can fill in the ga...

My guest today is Ward Hiney, a self-defense instructor at Endeavor Defense & Fitness and a Krav Maga black belt. In this episode we discuss why combat sports are not bad for self-defense. In fact, we go a step further and argue that combat sports are better for self-defense than standard traditional martial arts and "reality-based" self-defense training, even potentially for weapons defense. This...

My guest today is Jestin Icasiano, a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu black belt and instructor under Tony Pacenski. In this episode we explore the power and importance of self-guided learning and discuss the phenomenon of BJJ purple belts going "ronin." This episode will step on some of your toes, but I'm not sorry. If you're excited to jump in, hit subscribe on your podcatcher now! --- Join the CLP Newslette...

My guest today is Master Thomas Huskey, a 4th degree black belt in taekwondo under the Kukkiwon. He is VP of Operations for the NC TKD Federation and the founder of Cyber Taekwondo. In this episode we talk about State Governing Bodies and how they can help coach and student development in the martial arts, with emphasis on the importance of continuing education for coaches. We also talk about how...

My guest today is Bruce Hoyer,  Head Coach at the Next Edge MMA Academy and an innovator in BJJ practice design. In this episode we talk about his unique "flipped classroom model" approach to running BJJ classes and designing curriculum as well as how coaches can use technology to enhance their training programs. The material in this episode is a lot of fun to think about. So if you're excited to...

My guest today is Dr. Rob Gray, the associate professor and program chair of human engineering at Arizona State University. He's also the host of my favorite show, the Perception & Action Podcast. In this episode we talk about the role of vision in motor control and how you can harness the power of the Constraints-led Approach to Motor Learning to improve your martial arts training. This one is pa...