My Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu teacher (Andre 'Dedeco' Almeida) showed me this awesome Side Control drill when I was a new White Belt. It is one of the best drills I've seen for…

The Scraping Fist - like a low uppercut, or body shot. One of the advantages of this punch, is the fact that unlike throwing a straight punch…

One of my favorite choices for a delicious healthy breakfast, lunch, or a snack. Occasionally it works as…

I had the honor of being invited onto Fight for a Happy Life martial arts podcast with host Sensei Ando. The episode just released today. 

Check out our conversation on topics like - freedom, defining success, barriers to students progress, living life, and weird questions about what I want on my deathbed/tombstone (is this guy planning to kill me???), and lots of laughter.

Falafel - a deep fried chickpea fritter with lots of spice and flavor inside. This is a food that I wish I had discovered many, many years ago. I first discovered it about 15 years ago while working in Boston. It was hard to find, and after years of sporadically coming across it in...

This is my homemade lemon garlic hummus recipe. Easy to make. Quick. Fresh. Goes great on salads, wraps, or use it for dipping veggies in, or your very own Mezze Platter. The best part is you can store it in the refrigerator for a couple weeks and use for lunches, dinners, snacks.

Note: I use dried beans in the soak method versus canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans). I recommend sticking with this unless you are in a hurry. The difference is immense, and the dried beans create a fresh lightness to your hummus. Enjoy.

Fingers hurt after training? Grips not strong enough to hold on when grappling? Check this out.

Grip strength and health can be a really important thing for martial artists. Grip intensive arts such as Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Shuai Jiao, and other Grappling Arts, all require/build grip strength, and put a great deal of wear and tear on the fingers. Today I'm going to show you the methods I use to keep my grips not only strong, but healthy. For strengthening: exercises like rope...

On the latest episode of his podcast - 'The Strenuous Life' - BJJ Black Belt and founder of Grapplearts, Stephen Kesting and I debate the value of Kung Fu, and if it can coexist with BJJ and MMA. I think you are going to like this! I highly recommend his channels if you haven't already found him!

"Can Kung Fu, BJJ and MMA coexist? Maybe they can, and maybe they can even learn from each other.

This is a conversation I had with with Kung Fu stylist (and BJJ brown belt) Randy Brown in which we touched on the history of Chinese martial arts and what made them less effective over time, what traditional martial arts look like when you start training them with resistance, and much more. I think you’ll like this one!"

This is by far one of my favorite exercises for building core strength. When we're boxing, grappling, we use our core constantly to twist. In boxing, it is to assist in power generation in a punch. In grappling, it is to throw someone, maneuver on the ground, or twist our way through an escape. 

Transverse core rotation is a term thrown around a bit, and in Mantis Boxing, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, we do a ton of that! The Russian Twist is a low tech exercise to do at home, or add to your gym routine, and can help us with...

Wicked (Diāo刁) is the seventh of the 12 keywords of Mantis Boxing. The keyword formula houses the principles that define the art. They have been passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years.

Diāo 刁 translates as Sly, Tricky; Wicked. Seems pretty vague, I know. However, when we're fighting, the use of deceptive tactics becomes part and parcel to the art we are doing.

If we are a Boxer, we'll rely heavily on fakes and feints to expose weaknesses, or create weaknesses in our opponent.

If we are a Grappler, pretending to go for a choke in order to get someone to expose their arm so we can apply an Arm Bar, is another variation of this theme.

Musashi, the famed Samurai of the Book of Five Rings fame, used deception to defeat opponents, or fluster them, and it is a common tool of strategy in order to win a battle, or fight. 

One of the many ways we use this keyword in Mantis Boxing, is...

Looking to improve your cardio on and off the mats? This is one of the best exercises for increasing your cardio. The Jump Rope is a phenomenal tool for this, but getting to the Double Under ramps it up to a whole new level.

Hang (Guà 掛) is the sixth of the 12 keywords of Mantis Boxing. The keyword formula houses the principles that define the art. They have been passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years.

Hang (Guà 掛) wears down our opponent, and forces more... 

Here is a No-Gi variation for the Sneaky Americana (Keylock) I've been using from under the head. Using the shoulder to crack open their frame, can help me pry my opponents arm up closer to their head, where I can snag ahold of it to go for the Sneaky Americana. 

Be sure to...

Here is another attack using the same sneaky Americana I've been using from under the head. In this example, we go from the Ezekiel Choke and our opponent defends it. Because my weight is side shifted, my savvy friend will feel my opposite leg go light, and try to push my knee into half guard to gain a better position. 

Rather than stay there and let them get half guard, we skip over to position 2 of Side Control. Now they defend the position by trying to build a frame. This presents the arm in a vulnerable position to grab it from...
 

Team Note: I know many of you who train with me will enjoy this video. Truth be told, I wish we had done it years ago because it is so fundamentally important. There isn't enough time in the day to practice everything, so feel free to take this and practice it whenever you can, and as much as you want.

Video Description: Whether we like it or not, sometimes we end up on the ground in a fight/altercation, or just a dangerous situation. When and how we stand up, can mean the difference between success and fail. Here are some tips for standing up when someone is waiting to pounce. 

Thank you everyone who has helped encourage the growth of our YouTube channel. You are amazing and we are humbled by your support!

Special shout out to our Mantis friend in Brazil (Aves P.) who has been translating our videos into Portuguese with his own free time; making it easier for others to benefit from our work. Thanks for joining our team! You rock!

Thanks to our stunt team (Holly, Vincent, Thomas, Allen, Chris, Max) who are always there to help me with these videos and take some abuse for everyone's benefit. Special thanks to Max for all of his camera work, editing,  laughs, and Directorial Harassment when he is behind the camera filming. ;-)

Do you hate being crushed in your opponent's side control? Here's something I've been working on in my game that will hopefully help your game. Building a mountain under your opponents crushing side control can give you space and mobility for countering their attacks, and possibly bringing us to a better position.

The Straight Punch - devastating and destructive! Forward and Reverse punch are a good place to start when learning to punch in Mantis Boxing, or other striking arts. They are destructive, and can easily be modified to open hand strikes if necessary. 

The following video shows the in's and out's of...

Having an improper structure, leaving a finger misplaced, or snapping our elbow, can all cause lasting damage, injuring ourselves more than the object we are trying to hit.

Whether we are hitting bags, pads, mitts, makiwara boards, or sparring partners, it's important to keep these tips in mind to keep us punching without injury for years to come.

Pluck (Cǎi 採) is the third of the 12 keywords of Mantis Boxing. The keyword formula houses the principles that define the art. They have been passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years.

With Pluck (Cǎi 採), a short sharp pull down, or powerful snap, we can feed our adversary into a disadvantaged position. Commonly used after Mantis Catches Cicada, and White Ape Invites Guest.

Basic Footwork is pivotal in understanding how to move when fighting/sparring. Bad footwork creates vulnerabilities in our game that our opponent can capitalize on. Once we have an understanding of our basic footwork skills, Mirror Drill becomes a great tool to help train fluidity and responsiveness, as well as range sensitivity, and neutral position; where our guard/blocks work best.
 

Grapple (Lǒu 摟) is the second of the 12 keywords of Mantis Boxing. The keyword formula houses the principles that define the art. They have been passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years.

Grapple is when we move from kicking and striking, to being tied up in the hooks, body clinch, rear clinch, underhook position, etc. This is where elbows, knees, takedowns take precedence over striking, but also where we are vying for control of our opponent's body and limbs...

The Leg Hook is a great easy to use takedown, but sometimes our opponent steps out on us on our first attempt. Here, Thomas helps demonstrate how we use a combination of Mantis principles (strike, hook, pluck, hang, lean) to execute our initial outside leg hook attempt, and then a follow-up inside leg hook if they step out. 

Afterwards we tackle the ground component and what happens if they immediately try to pull guard.

Here we help you set up the round kick without getting hit, run over, or shut down. Check out our video on Advanced Footwork if you need help with some of these angles. 

This is an extremely powerful kick. It's like getting lashed by the tail of a dragon. When fighting, getting hit here can be a huge game changer. Whether we take our opponents leg out from under them, or we weaken/injure the leg to get them to change sides. 

"I'm not ready for that." is a healthy approach to training things that overwhelm us.

Here are a couple of counters to the standing guard pass to help your game. Years ago I learned the second of these moves at a workshop with Renan Borges. I was still a white belt at the time, and even though I really liked the move, it wasn't something I was ready for. 

Hook (Gōu 勾) is the first of the 12 keywords of Mantis Boxing. The keyword formula houses the principles that define the art. They have been passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years.

A Praying Mantis seizes it's opponent with it's large arms and hooks. It pulls it's prey off balance and devours it on the ground. When observing the mantis against a larger foe, one can see the mantis pounce, take the back, use it’s legs to hold on, and continually gain control of it's opponent while it bites and gains better hook positions to keep it safe.

Today we're going to show advanced footwork drills to help you with your countering capabilities. These will help position you for counter-strikes, counter-kicks, takedowns, etc. 

WARNING - start with Basic Footwork before attempting to use this in sparring. It's better to understand the liabilities of each position before going live.