The military is often thought of as a man’s world, with the majority of personnel in military branches across the globe being men. However, in a select few countries, the statistics are far more equal. One of these is Israel, where both men and women are required to serve in the military. Women serving in…
Do the fight scenes in Black Panther have any basis in real-world African martial arts? Is it completely based on any martial arts in real life? No. Is there a correlation? Yes. Most of the fight choreography is “movie-fu” – a combination of camera-friendly techniques drawn from a wide range of mostly Asian styles such…
Many of our articles have spoken of great masters who have long passed, and famous fighters who are currently rising to great fame today in martial arts competitions all around the world. But, until now, we had not talked about one of the best known and imitated judokas. Toshihiko Koga was born in Fukuoka on…
You’re out and about at night, walking home from the pub and suddenly someone rushes up and grabs you from behind. In a moment of panic, you realize that you cannot see your assailant and have no idea how you are going to fend him off. With your arms basically tied behind your back, you…
That loud, sharp shout that you hear when watching martial arts movies is not just for show. Sure, it adds to the atmosphere of any movie as Jet Li flies through the air fist first or Tony Jaa dishes out another knee to the kidneys, but this shout or scream ‘kiai’ is more than theatrics,…
So to those of you who thought that the next Jean Claude Van Damme movie out was Black Water – think again. Our beloved JCVD is back, this time looking a bit like a Sith Lord on the poster of Lukas, an action thriller directed by Julien Leclercq. Lukas (aka The Bouncer) is a story…
A young man from Coventry, UK, was jailed after he launched a completely unprovoked attack on a man walking in the street, hitting him with a martial arts rice-flail, also known as a nunchaku. The man, 22-year-old Macaulay Jackson, was chucked in a cell for a total of 12 months after pleading guilty to charges…
There are so many great martial arts out there, all teaching their own interpretation of self-defense through moves, stances, punches and grapples. In the real world, the fights get a little more serious, and unpredictable, so we thought that we’d bring you the seven most vulnerable spots on the body that you can aim for…
Imagine yourself in the ring, faced off with your MMA opponent who suddenly takes a spin in the blink of an eye, leaving you not time to react before a foot or shin is colliding with your abdomen. A heel digs into your kidneys and bone on bone contact causes a snap. Before you know…
Picking the right martial art can be difficult, and people often find themselves six months deep into training before they realise it’s not the one. Whether it is self-defense or fitness you are going for, or just to look cool in a fight, you need to make sure you pick the right one for your…