Cover Reveal and Launch Date - The Essence of Martial Arts: Special Edition

In 2009, I had already started penning notes for a book that was to be entitled The Essence of Martial Arts. I called it that because it's not really possible for one book to contain everything about martial arts.

So I focussed on what I had trained in, and still train in - Kung Fu, Jeet Kune Do, Tai Chi and Karate.

In 2011 it was published.

So why the new edition? :-

Well. The publisher was concerned about some of the content. Who knows? Maybe they are / were right and the bits I was advised not to include last time, I should not do on this occasion either.

However, I really don't think what I wanted to include last time should upset anybody, and in any case, the new edition features an expansion on some of the chapters, plus new chapters too.

This edition also pre-empts a much bigger non-fiction book that will really drill down and explain in a lot more detail on the individual moves and why they are important.

Who should buy this edition:-

• People who bought the first edition, liked it, and want to know more.
• Here are some reviews of the book on Amazon , iBooks and Barnes and Noble.
• People who are interested in martial arts and didn't buy the first edition
• People who may not like strict martial arts programs but want to know how to defend themselves in today's (sometimes violent) society

To date the book, across its various editions (hardback, paperback and e-book) have sold over 4,500 copies. That's pretty awesome for a rather niche subject and I'm thankful to everyone who bought it.

So I really hope you will give the new edition (e-book only for now) a go. It will be available from Monday 9th December 2013. Originally was going to be 25th November, but I have to tweak it a bit further!

The photo above is me, but I'm much less scary in real life!

Interviewed in 2011 on a local radio station, you can tell I am right out of my comfort zone! Still, you can listen to part one here and part two here if you want a laugh. I don't think I can cut a living on a radio station so I had best keep on teaching!

Why Losing Your Job (and finding Martial Arts) could be the best thing that ever Happened to You

After nearly ten years in the same company, you'd think I'd be in the pot for an Omega watch, or a significant pay rise.

No.

There had already been warnings, back in 2005, that some of us were going to lose our jobs. Not because we'd done anything wrong, exactly. We had just gotten too big as a company, and the powers that be decided to slim us down.

The sales force were exempt from this, even though it could be said that they played some part in the company losing sales. They were referred to by one outgoing sales account manager as a 'sales prevention force'.

That may seem cruel, but it was at least in part, very apt.

I had already been teaching martial arts on a part time basis when the threat of redundancy loomed over me in 2005.

I hadn't necessarily done anything to warrant this, but our department had spent budgets out of existence. I was not happy with how things were, but the manager crushed dissent from me - or at least attempted to, because I wasn't part of her original crew, and so, I was easy to attack if the manager happened to be having a bad day.

Still, I avoided the chop back in 2005, only for her to leave soon afterwards, and I set about defining myself with a  career in marketing. I was now in charge of marketing, though in essence, I was 'it'.

Despite getting funding in from our partners to do campaigns, the management were unwilling or unable to back me and I became increasingly frustrated with the role.

I continued to work hard at my job, but also worked hard to become the best martial arts instructor I could be. Just a year from my actual redundancy in 2009, I took the decision to stop competing in martial arts tournaments in 2008.

Martial arts had been very good to me. I could see that my place of work was very much on a downward trajectory. The management seemed rather listless, and offered no real 'vision' for the company, except for 'we will survive'.

Well, a mayfly can survive for a day, but that's because it is constrained by it's biology.

So, through martial arts, was that the best I could do? Survive?

If in a life or death situation, I'd say survival was a pretty good thing.

Back at 'We Don't Know What We're Doing' plc, I thought survival, even if I survived 'the cut', was not likely to be a good, long term thing.

I had a mortgage to pay. I had to eat. When you have 'a job' and people ask you what you do, and you say 'oh, I'm in sales,' or 'I'm an accountant'....listen to the lifelessness in their voices.

I really did enjoy my role. Some of the people from there, I actually miss.

But I would not let it define me. It's not an ego thing either, but it's nice to say 'I teach martial arts, or 'I'm a writer', depending on who I'm talking to - sometimes both.

Like most things, we are more than the sum of our parts.

If you've got a job, do it well and be the best at that job. So if the one you work for doesn't appreciate that, move on to somewhere, someone, or in some manner that makes sense to you.

Because honestly, redundancy was probably the best thing that happened to me. It's not always easy, but teaching, and also writing, helps me change things. I feel like I'm doing something rewarding. Making a difference, and in a good way too.

Anyone who reads this, and finds themselves constrained by circumstances, or is working for a We Don't Know What We're Doing plc, just need to look at what else they can do - right now. Today. To change that.

Your boss ultimately doesn't care how you live, how you eat, what your dreams are, or whether or not you can survive. We are the mayfly in his world. But we still have value. Outside of his very small world, we can make it.

So. Find your passion, and be the best at it. I don't think I am the best martial arts teacher in the world, and I know I am not the best writer in the world. You know what? That doesn't matter.

I resolve to be the best I can be every single day. If I had kept my job back in 2009, I would be fulfilling someone else's dreams.

No. No. No.

Why martial arts (and not governments) will keep people safe

This week saw a man admitted his guilt of the manslaughter of 16 year old Christina Edkins. She was stabbed in the chest whilst on a bus in Birmingham. She was just on her way to school, that's all she was doing.

Her killer was a mental patient on release from hospital. Clearly, he has his problems, and he knows that he shouldn't have been amongst the general public.

Mental? Perhaps by some definition he is - but it's interesting to me that he chose to attack a young school girl, as opposed to someone his own size. Yet he chose not to, which says to me he knew what he was doing. Is it still manslaughter then?

Yet the authorities involved say 'we will learn the lessons', 'this won't happen again under our watch', 'we will get rid of knife crime in this country', and so on.

I'm sure they believe it when they say that, but really? A girl lies dead, and it wasn't like there weren't warnings. This guy had form. I wish he had gotten the help he needed, and that Christina could have just gone about her business that day. 

I have tried to strike a balance in lessons between the Art side of martial arts, and the Reality or self defence aspects.

Too  much of one or the other isn't good, and as instructors, we should be aiming - always, for that balance.

I never offer a 100% guarantee that students will survive an attack by someone thrusting a knife in their face. 

But we do work on aspects of the training so that in scenario one - where they can turn, move, but are not allowed to block - it is likely that the knife will get through.

Scenario two does allow them to block, and by and large they do stop the knife hitting vital areas.

For reasons known only to them, the current UK government cut funding of sports to schools. Martial Arts teaching was a major casualty of this measure. 

I know football, netball, gymnastics, basketball et cetera are all fun. But give the children a life skill - isn't that what martial arts should be viewed as?

Schools, governments and authorities wouldn't need to 'learn the lessons' if they just put what is needed in place instead of what's easy to do. 

I was often shocked at the lack of fitness - and discipline at some schools when I taught there.

I do hope that for some of the children I taught, that they got enough from it to pursue martial arts in their life outside school.

The world isn't necessarily more dangerous. We just need to recognise what we can do to help ourselves.

Christina Edkins should have had that help and the basic right to enjoy her bus ride in safety. 

I hope people do take up the chance to learn an effective martial art that keeps them safe within the law. 

If they do, a repeat of Christina's case may never happen, and I will campaign in my own way to make sure our streets are a safe place to be.

Reading, Writing, Martial Arts - what else is there?

Well, of course, there's many things out there. I try and write about what I know, what I have learned over the years. So as much as I enjoy reading, writing and reviewing books I have read, I will share with you some views I have about martial arts too.

I **might** just drop in the odd movie review as well. I hope you'll have a view on it too!

The Mentality of a Martial Artist

As some of you may know, I teach martial arts on a full-time basis. What is most important then, as an instructor, and indeed, as a student, is the mentality.

If you are an unwell, ask yourself can you push yourself through your training, even if you have no idea what the lesson on that day may entail.

If you are injured, how did this happen? You know, most of my student's injuries have come via the gym, where abnormal weights were lifted. Or it might have been at the football ground.

When I was aged 19, as well as training in martial arts, I also played ice hockey for a 'B' or reserve team. I was never professional. I played for the enjoyment. We were a team that provided the warm up for the crowd whilst they waited for the main event to start.

They would cheer us on, all the same, because some of that team played in the senior A team, and others dropped back to the C team level.

That year, in 1992, I suffered my worst injury to date. I was in a collision at high speed with one of the opposing team. I smashed into the barrier at rink-side, thinking my leg was broken but actually, my knee had been all but shattered. This shattered my theory about the knee being the hardest bone in the body.

Seven operations later, my knee was functioning again. During that time, I had many highs and lows, but I never stopped training, even from the hospital bed. I would do all manner of punch drills, blocking techniques.

I never gave up. Especially when the doctors told me I would not play ice hockey again, or throw a punch in a martial arts tournament.

And you can't, when something inevitably gets in your way.

The mentality to win, to come through, to see a future where you'd like to be, is what should consume martial artists on a daily or yes - hourly basis!

On that note, I'm off to teach now.

Book Review: Instant Health: The Shaolin Qigong Workout for Longevity

Instant Health: The Shaolin Qigong Workout For Longevity by Shifu Yan Lei
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This utterly superb book not only beautifully details how to do the stretches, but has many pearls of wisdom littered throughout the book.

I don't think this book is aimed at beginners, though they could pick up much from this.

As a huge fan of Bruce Lee's 'Tao of Jeet Kune Do' and 'Fighting Method' books, it is no small matter finding a fine martial arts book.

The book is a work of art - but it has the substance to back it up and that is a major achievement.

Shifu Yan Lei is the real deal - you can tell that. So many 'master's prefix their name with such titles and in some cases, they are great at what they do. This man is a case in point.

If you are a martial artist, or just want tips to stay healthy and strong into old age (as opposed to just living to an old age) - buy and learn from this book.

Highly recommended.



View all my reviews

A rainy day - perfect for writing / Challenging Facebook

I used to hate the rain a lot, but given that I did (and still do) a lot of martial arts training in all weathers, and I have to say, my students too, that well, you have to make your peace with it at some point. Since I started writing in earnest over two years ago, I find that I enjoy the rainy days more and more.

I'm also re-evaluating my on-line presence via social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and so on.

I've had a Facebook account for nearly two years, but after the second security breach, I decided I was going to pull away from it. I haven't deactivated the account, but I'm close to doing so. I just wanted to let those who do contact me via Facebook that I wouldn't be sticking around there.

For the time being, that is truly how I feel.

Back to writing then :)

UPDATE: October 2013...despite not really using it much, I have retained the Twitter account the publisher set up two years ago. I haven't returned to Facebook, and do not intend to!