One thing that I love about the Filipino martial arts is that they require mindful practice in order to avoid a stick to the face. As much as I wish it didn't, my mind wanders frequently. On my blog, I give six steps that I use to be more in the moment during my martial arts training.…

If we want to get stronger, we add resistance or weights to our training regime. We can do the same to increase our martial arts skills. No, not add weights, by adding resistance. This doesn't necessarily mean increase your free sparring, though.

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Martial arts and engineering have a lot of overlap, and engineering concepts are easily applicable to the martial arts. With a sophisticated art like the FMAs, problems can become complex right away. Engineers have developed a robust process to get to the root of complex, difficult problems. This year, I'm adding a new monthly feature to my blog where…

Over the past five years, I've really paid attention to martial artists of various skills and levels of commitment. With all of that research, I've distilled the five easy steps that anyone can apply on their martial arts journey. Please,…

Part of my goals for the second half of this year has been to work on my footwork. I started a blog series about FMA footwork with a new entry every Friday, but when I started, there was no organization or progression to my entries. So, in this latest article, I utilized the concept of block curriculum to group similar footwork patterns. Note that this…

Counterpoint Tactical System testing took place on three days over the course of the 2015 Iron Mountain camp.

Day three of camp was dedicated to Master Whitson's gun versus knife curriculum. With the 21 foot rule in mind, Master Zach Whitson of…

Day two of the 2015 Counterpoint Tactical System Iron Mountain camp was dedicated to panantukan level three. The first level of panantukan is taught to beginning students, and it is revisited in level two a few years later at the first class brown belt. Level three is required for fourth…

The 2015 Counterpoint Tactical System Iron Mountain camp is done, and I have started my annual review of what Master Zach Whitson covered. This is the ninth annual gathering of the CTS students. Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, North and South…

The ninth annual Iron Mountain instructor training camp is approaching. This is my sixth time attending the camp. This year is a special one for me because I will be testing for first degree black belt. I wrote about preparing for the camp.…

Jonny Lacey is a black belt candidate in Counterpoint Tactical System, and he recorded some double stick solo practice. I couldn't figure out how to load the video on my blog here; so, here is the link to my blog post with Jonny's great work. Wish him luck on his test this October. Check it out…

At STL Counterpoint, we've spent the second half of the summer focused on footwork. I've also committed myself to a deeper study of footwork by posting up a blog entry every Friday about a different aspect of Filipino martial arts footwork as taught to me by Master Zach Whitson. I'm four…

Occasionally, I get asked if I teach the whole Counterpoint Tactical System curriculum, or if I will teach knife material only. In an effort to maintain a level of quality instruction, I teach from the curriculum, and my…

This past weekend, May 1st-3rd, Master Zach Whitson, founder of Counterpoint Tactical System, was in St. Louis, MO to conduct training. Friday afternoon we had an advanced class on double stick tactics and sparring. Saturday was the seminar. The morning session was dedicated to trapping in corto range sparring from Cacoy Doce Pares. The afternoon session was…

I get stuck on the phrase, "It Doesn't Work." I think the phrase is missing a few words. It's one that makes me think about my art. If something doesn't work, why is it still taught? I wrote up my thoughts, and you can check it out…

I have spent half of my life studying engineering, and the Filipino martial arts appeal to me because they fit hand in hand with certain engineering concepts. I learned early on in my life that memorization wasn't my strong suit, but if I could learn fundamental principles, then I didn't need to memorize thousands of things. When I found that FMAs operate under the same philosophy, I…

Counterpoint Tactical System uses a belt ranking system as part of its organization. This year, I am training for my first degree black belt in CTS. Read here my thoughts on what a black belt…