When was the last time you faced a fear? Have you recently left your comfort zone and entered your discomfort zone? What are the things that you know you should do, but your uber-sophisticated excuse-making machine talks you out of time after time? These are questions we all must ask ourselves if we are serious about achieving growth in any area of our lives. All growth and development, from training martial arts, studying for a qualification or learning how to surf, all of it happens when we face some form of fear and move beyond our comfort zone. In this article I’ll be examining fear, its ..read more

Is this true and how do these two great arts compare in the arena of modern combat sports? Back in 2013 a young and fresh-faced Khabib Nurmagomedov entered the stage before his fight with Thiago Tavares wearing a T-Shirt that said “If Sambo was easy, it would be called Jiu Jitsu.” Given the illustrious record of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in the history of the UFC, and given that Khabib was fighting a BJJ black belt on Brazilian soil, this felt to many as a direct attack on the art that had proven it’s effectiveness against other arts, time and time again. Needless to say, Khabib went on to dismantle ..read more

On a superficial level, martial arts although universally revered and respected, are simply a set of techniques and training methods which teach its proponents how to kill and harm a fellow human being. From learning the simplest punches and kicks, to throwing, locking or choking an opponent, not to mention the innumerable systems which involve blunt, bladed and projectile weaponry. So why is it that these killing systems are so highly regarded, from young to old, across cultural boundaries, even amongst more pacifistic societies? Could there be other benefits for both the individual and socie ..read more