Stone warrior performance conditioning is a method of combat athletic fitness conditioning and cross training that focuses on a variety of effective & proven training methods that improves a warrior’s reality based self- defense & combat sports conditioning, performance & abilities.

This method has a “health first” and injury preventative mind-set. What good is a system of conditioning & fitness if you train at all cost and get injured or cause progressive trauma or damage to your joints & soft tissue.

A combat athlete is a modern warrior who is prepared & conditioned for either reality based combat or sports combat. This includes law enforcement, military, personal protection or MMA.

Stone warrior conditioning is a blending or cross training of Western & Asian methods.

This method focuses on attributes development that include: strength, explosive power training, agility, mobility, balance, flexibility, cardio, sensitivity, body hardening (Iron body/Iron palm),  mental engagement, nutrition & supplementation.

I titled this article practical self defense or self protection because there is such a thing as impractical self defense. By this I mean things or techniques that won’t work in the street.

• Punching someone with your fist to the frontal or side portion of the skull. The human fist was not made to hit a round solid object. The hands have some of the smallest bones in the body (smallest are in the ear) and the skull has the hardest bones in the body. So it doesn’t take a black belt to figure that one out.

Side bar:  The temple is the only area of the upper skull that should be struck with a fist, and a raised knuckle should be used. When hitting to the head it is always best to use an open hand. Always use your rotational or whipping power when using the hand. The ears are one of the best targets if a circular strike is the best option.

Warning: Striking someones ear canal could lead to permanent injury so use proper discretion and always try and talk your way out of an altercation if ever possible. Even if you have to apologize for something you didn’t do. Don’t let ego and pride get in the way of common sense.

• Fighting three or more people at the same time. Even fighting two people runs a high risk of getting your head kicked in but fighting three or more with out a weapon only works in the movies.

Question: How do you fight two or more if you are being attacked and have no choice.

Answer: Run if at all possible if not, use a weapon if you have one or pick up an improvised weapon from your environment. Try and keep your attackers lined up by using footwork so that one attacker is in front of the other. Never let two people flank you. Bad balance and poor footwork will get you taken down very quickly in a street attack.

• Grappling against multiple attackers. Don’t clinch or tie up with someone if you can help it. Try and keep kicking distance between you and your attacker. It only takes a second to be punched so keep your hands up in a non threatening manner and control the distance to your opponent. Stay off angle and don’t stand in front of a person if at all possible. Stay away from their right side. Most people are right handed but some are left so stay aware.
• Wrestling or trying to grab a knife from someones hand. Follow the answer from # 2 in this article. Get some distance from the person and take off your jacket or belt and use this as a source of defense.
• Doing fancy moves and techniques. Let’s keep it practical and basic. Use your low lines kicks as a first line of defense. Control the distance and use a downward stomping kick to the knee, scoop kick to the shin or front snap kick, Savate style with the toe of your shoe to the groin or inner thigh. These kicks take practice but are safer and more powerful then punches. You must develop the attributes of good balance, accuracy, speed, non telegraphic movement, deception or distraction.

• One rape or sexual assault occurs every two minutes.
• One violent crime occurs every five seconds in the U.S.
• 172 Women are physically and/or sexually assaulted every hour
• 261,000 rapes and sexual assaults occurred in the U.S. in 2000.
• 90,186 forcible rapes in 2000 as reported to police.
• In the year 2000, 2.8 % of college women experienced rape in a six month U.S. Department of Justice study.
• 17% of rape or sexual assault victims were victimized by someone they knew!
• One murder occurs every 34 minutes.

Statistics from the National Center for Victims of Crime – Year 2000

The proceeding statistics bring light to a very serious issue that exists in all societies, and specifically in the United States.   Please look again at the alarming statistics presented here, because I don’t know about you the reader, but as a husband and father of two girls, the fact that a rape occurs every two minutes, and that 172 women an hour are assaulted in some manner is unimaginably frightening.  Further as a self-protection specialist and reality and combatives martial arts instructor, the fact that a violent crime occurs every five seconds, and a murder occurs every 34 seconds is also quite jarring to consider.  It amazes me how many people still ask me if the manner of “hardcore” martial arts that I teach is even necessary in today’s society.  Obviously they are even more in need now than ever before. 

Society may appear more civilized in some areas of this great Nation, but in far too many places that go forgotten about and unseen, violence is still a normal and regular part of life.  Quite honestly in my own neighborhood, which is less violent than where I grew up and lived as an adult for many years, I still see/hear at least 3 violent altercations a week.  Usually it’s heated arguing and pushing and shoving.  However, I still see fights frequently and honestly hear gunshots at least 4 times per month (I can’t say it happens once every week, but it averages out to be about that). 

All this brings me to the point of this article.  I must honestly say that I am shocked and saddened by what I see being taught as “self-defense” and more specifically “women’s self-defense” programs.  Often these programs involve either instruction in fine motor martial skills (which CAN be used effectively after YEARS of regular instruction and regular adrenal stress training and sparring; and training that causes intense and spontaneous adrenal dumps), or techniques instruction in attacking vital points and organs of a would-be assailant.  The problem is that this is techniques-based instruction, and these techniques are taught VERY specifically, with no room for adjustment or alternating based on potential attacks/attack variations. 

Further, in the heat of an assault most people, even supposedly high-level martial artists revert back to their base instincts, and their supposed skills deteriorate exponentially based on the intensity/severity of the assault.  This is because while they are used to pulling off their high-level techniques, under non-stressful conditions, in friendly confines with cooperative teammates/classmates; a real-world assault involves none of these variables.  Additionally, the immediate adrenal dump that most people (especially those inexperienced in adrenal stress response training) experience, totally shuts down the part of the brain that allows them to control and execute these high-level, fine motor skills. 

The programs we teach at Delaware Combat University (www.delawarecombatuniversity.com) are first of all principle-based.  This means that while specific techniques are taught, it’s the principles that allow the techniques to actually work, and allow the practitioner to compensate for unplanned/unexpected variables in conditions and attacks.  Students are taught in a high-intensity environment (at times with variable conditions).  Essentially wearing “street” clothing (anyone who’s ever experienced an adrenal dump will tell you that even the clothes you wear, certain smells, and other environmental cues can actually impact the way you perform when you need to protect yourself or your loved ones) and training begins with moderate cooperation so that skill-sets can be ingrained into muscle memory.  Soon training involves increasing levels of REAL resistance, and students learn to MAKE their skills work both in ideal conditions AND when things go wrong, and how to immediately improvise without “hitches” or “hick-ups”. 

This is reality and this type of training and combative sparring is what leads to real-time, real combat effectiveness and success.  This is what teaches students to fight through surprise, shock, and pain.  This is where they learn to not shut-down, to never give up, and to persevere until they escape or prevail.  This is where they condition and harden themselves for the rigors of real world combat. 

Finally to more specifically address the type of training women receive, I again, am saddened.  Women are taught to box/kick-box with a male assailant; to try to place rear-legged power kicks on a man’s groin with no instructions in setting this technique up; to attack an assailant’s pressure points, again with no set-up, or striking instruction so that they learn how to open and activate these pressure-points, to apply very fine joint locks/manipulations, and other basically ridiculous tactics that will get them killed. 

Before I go any further, I must be clear that I truly mean no disrespect, and I applaud both the women who realize that they need to acquire adequate self-protection skills and have a willingness to do so, and the instructors who are honestly trying to teach the skills they feel will help these women.  Also, some instruction and training is absolutely better than nothing.  Now here’s my issue: no matter how strong or skilled a women is, any male assailant truly bent on completing his assault is at least wired on natural adrenaline, and usually other things, and he WILL overpower you, so grappling or fighting/striking with him is a blueprint for pain and failure, and potentially much worse.  Also, being totally honest about what a women can and should expect from a male assailant needs to be made clear from the beginning of the program.  THIS IS REALITY. 

With all that being said, it is entirely possible and plausible for a woman to defend herself against a male assailant; and fending off a male assailant is an entirely winnable scenario.  However, the right attitude, principles, and techniques must be taught to female class participants.  These techniques must begin with gross-motor skills, and be taught in adrenal stress response type, and scenario-based training.  This does not mean teaching “kick him in the groin!” 

Examples of actual gross-motor skills that work very effectively are palm heel strikes, ear/eye slaps, eye rakes/gouges, vital point bites, skin tearing, ear tearing (takes very little pressure to tear an ear off of someone’s head), stomps to feet (ankles and knees), close quarter (and therefore disguised) groin strikes, properly set-up and executed groin kicks (this is actually a bit of a higher level technique as men learn from birth, essentially, to protect themselves from direct hits to the groin, and really, only direct hits work), and use of tactical flashlights and kubotans, chemical weapons (mace, pepper-spray), improvised weapons, and even knives if necessary. 

I teach my wife Filipino kali, and I believe this system (both empty-hand and knife techniques; though it would be higher level training, after someone has already shown proficiency in utilization of base gross-motor skills and techniques), along with Filipino kino-mutai, and a mixed bag of truly (high stress situation) applicable jujutsu techniques, as well as the aforementioned specific gross-motor techniques from a variety of other systems, are tailor made for women to effectively and decisively, and TRULY  protect themselves from any assault, but only when combined with proper, principle-based instruction.  This is real self-protection training.  THIS IS THE TRUTH IN COMBAT!

It is often very evident that people forget that the meaning of the word “martial” is military or combative.  This Means that many martial arts were taught for the purpose of allowing practitioners to excel and succeed in combative endeavors (though not all “martial arts” that exist today were in fact historically “martial” in nature).  It is understood that some people, in joining a martial arts school/gym, are just looking for something to do; a potential belt to gain; or a club; gym or group to belong to; or they have some other non-combative purpose for enrolling in and participating in martial arts programs. 

However, the vast majority of the people, looking to enroll, in any true Muay Thai class are more likely to be interested in acquiring true combative skills for self-protection, and competition/fighting, and it would be a disservice to them to merely learn traditional techniques, that have no modern-day efficacy (especially in today’s landscape of MMA gym’s and in some cases “traditional” martial arts school’s now cross-training in other complimentary styles), that won’t lead them to being successful in competition, or especially on the street. 

The other thing to remember, especially when talking about Muay Thai is that it’s not an art based on showy techniques, or belt promotion.  Muay Thai is, historically, primarily a combative art; where your progress, skills, and success are solely measured by your ability to fight.  Success in Muay Thai is based on learning to have an aggressive, dominant, destructive, fighting mentality; and the willingness to damage and dominate/“destroy” another living being. 

 In Thailand, traditional Muay Thai stylists began training anywhere from ages 7-10, and spend years banging and beating on each other for no other purpose than conditioning their bodies to withstand the pain and punishment that can potentially be dished out by another human being.  That’s the mentality of Muay Thai, not just sport, but combat; destructive painful combat. 

I have therefore set about to create a Muay Thai system non-traditional in nature but still able to impart all the necessary skills and mentality to be combat successful.  In America, it would be nearly impossible to teach “traditional” Muay Thai, because we all know that Americans don’t want to learn (or voluntarily agree to subject their children to the kind of long-term abuse described above) this way, and don’t have the mentality to allow this much punishment to be inflicted upon them. 

They’d never again show up to train if this was the manner in which they were being instructed.  And, because the vast majority of the beginning Muay Thai students I’ve encountered don’t have much, if any combat or martial arts experience at all, they’re really not ready to have their bodies “conditioned” in this manner.  So how do you get around this “traditional” Muay Thai teaching mentality, without cheating my students out of body conditioning, and technique training?  And how do we bring our students to proficiency in the techniques we teach, and get the light to go on for our students so that they will understand when and where to apply these techniques.  That’s where good curriculum modification comes in.  Here are some key areas where Combat Muay Thai differs from traditional Muay Thai.

 1. STANCE – Blended Stance which is mostly traditional Muay Thai, but the body is more bladed than squared – head, hands, and shoulders squared/semi-squared to opponent, and standing on the balls of the feet, lead hand a little further away from the body, than the rear hand – this stance has a lower/more squat center of gravity (which will help in takedown defense…i.e. the Muay Boran Stance), and footwork borrowed from western boxing to allow for more mobility.  The toes are turned 45 degrees, instead of facing the opponent (compared to traditional Muay Thai).  The turned in toes allows for easier and faster defense of leg (inner and outer) kicks, and for better takedown defense.

 2. FOOTWORK – A) “Step and Glide” (front and back, side to side, and diagonal).  B) Circular stepping; both types of footwork are borrowed from Western boxing.  C) Pivot stepping.  D) “V” stepping.  E) Pendulum Stepping.  F) “Switch” stepping.  Constant, consistent footwork drilling is an absolute necessity.  Consider that in “traditional Muay Thai there is not a lot of footwork or movement.  Fighters, due to their supreme body conditioning and hardening, often stand directly in front of one another, and strike (mostly the more devastating techniques of roundhouse kicks, knees and elbows) until one fighter is unconscious or otherwise unable to continue fighting. 

Thai fighters train for this type of conditioning for decades, but the downside is that they are forced to retire, nearly crippled and have a very poor quality of life (often by around age 35), due to this extreme body conditioning.  In recent years, some of the more progressive Muay Thai schools in Thailand have been brining in western boxing coaches to teach their fighters better footwork, to improve movement in the ring, to cut down the beatings their fighters take over the course of their training and fighting careers, and thereby hopefully improve their quality of life after fighting.

 3. PUNCHING – Jab (quick, and lead straight/power jab), Cross, Lead Hook, Rear Hook, uppercut, overhand, and shovel punch.  Students learn strikes in singles, and in combinations (traditional and random/non-traditional combinations).  This sounds more like western boxing techniques, but not only have many traditional karate schools started incorporating these techniques(and been doing so for many years), but also the most highly rated Muay Thai school in Thailand and most highly regarded around the world has been bringing western boxing coaches for past few years. 

This is the Fairtex Academy, and they as well as most good Thai schools realized years ago, that Thai Boxers would lose to western boxers, because the other primary weakness of “traditional” Thai boxing has always been the arts hand skills, or lack thereof.  Despite Muay Thai being the art of the eight limbs/appendages, the hands are weak in the traditional art.  Therefore most good schools have brought in the hands of western boxing, and modified the skill-set as necessary for their combative sport.  This is also what I’ve done in Combat Muay Thai.  Punching with precision, speed, and power will be emphasized as well as fighting “in the pocket”, and throwing multi-punch, multi-level combinations.

4. DEFENSE – A) Blocking/covering (both traditional boxing covers, and a modified Thai covering which allows the defensive cover to be used very effectively as an offensive maneuver).  B) Parrying/“hand-tapping” C) Slipping/“head movement” D) Ducking E) Bobbing and Weaving F) Static “Thai”/Shin-check G) Moving/Dynamic “Thai”/Shin-check H) Knee destruction (“Thai” Leg-Shielding, but instead of using the shin to block and parry, the knee is used to destroy the incoming attack/kick, and to totally shut down your opponent.

 5. CLINCH– Traditional “Thai/Plum clinch”, and a modified “Dirty Thai clinch” to deal with wrestlers and other grapplers, and to not only defend and take away their preferred methods of generating offense and getting takedowns, but to use their methods against them and capitalize on their attacks which will open up lines of attack and striking for the modified (prepared) Muay Thai fighter. 

Proper clinching techniques, when and where to clinch, using the clinch to throw and lock, and takedown, and striking from within the clinch will be taught.  Further, students will learn to strike when entering and exiting the clinch, a crucial and often overlooked skill in both Thai boxing and MMA.  Students will also learn kick catching, which is not an accident as many people assume, but an actual skill, with technique and proper applications. 

This will be taught as part of the basic curriculum clinching skill-set.  As with the traditional Thai clinch, kick catching is a traditional Thai technique based on good, explosive footwork and timing, which can be used to set up nasty and devastating strikes and takedowns (and takedowns into strikes/ground and pound; this will be taught in advanced classes)

 These are the basic techniques for Combat Muay Thai.  In the basic instruction, students will build the foundation for becoming high level strikers/fighters.  They are also going to be taught how to control the distance and spacing in any fight, depending on their individual range, ability, likes, and dislikes.  Muay Thai is a nearly complete fighting system which encompasses striking, clinching/grappling, and throwing/takedown skills, and with proper modification, ground fighting/striking skills can just as easily be added in. 

Therefore if students already have a proficiency/background in another art, they don’t have to lose, forget, or ignore that skill set to ingrain this  Muay Thai skill-set (the way we teach it) into their fighting style.  What they learn in this system will allow all of their skills and abilities to compliment and improve upon each other.  So, even if students like to grapple or have some sort of grappling background, or whatever background they may already have coming in to their training they can use their newly acquired Thai boxing skills to enhance and supplement their original skill set. 

Our combative philosophy is to only learn, and then teach skills that are functional for any and all combative encounters, and to impart an aggressive mentality that will allow those skills to be utilized as effectively and efficiently as possible.  Our students will gain skills, attitude, and confidence to be able to survive, thrive, and succeed in any combative encounter (street or ring) in which they may find themselves.

 At the advanced level, students will learn to seamlessly blend in and flow through all the techniques of all fighting ranges (kicking, punching, grappling, and ground-fighting) in their arsenal; they will move from one technique to the next without any “hitches” or “hick-ups”.  The advanced training program involves further reinforcing the basic level curriculum lessons. 

Further the advanced level techniques are taught, and worked in with the previously acquired techniques, to enhance fighters various combat attributes (speed, power, accuracy/precision, balance, timing, etc.), and give them a more diversified and unorthodox array of attacking techniques. 

Fighters will be taught advanced fight strategy, how to launch unorthodox attacks and counter-attacks, and how to deal with and re-direct unorthodox attacks and counter-attacks.  Students in this program will never remain on the defensive.  An aggressive attacking mentality is taught, and students will learn that remaining defensive will get you beaten and potentially hurt in any combative encounter, but attacking without strategy or intelligence (just brawling) will also get you beaten and potentially hurt. 

Students will learn to be aggressive, but simultaneously controlled, and focused with pinpoint accuracy on what they need to do in any combative encounter to turn the tide of battle in their favor, and end the fight as quickly (and potentially as brutally) as possible (I call this “Controlled Focused Fury”).  Further, students involved in an actual fight training program (Muay Thai, Boxing, and MMA), will learn how to absorb and re-direct attacks within the confines of the ring/cage. 

Fighters will be taught how to use the ropes/cage as an obstacle that can be used to trap opponents, and set up devastating fight ending techniques and combinations, and how to avoid and get off of the cage/ropes so that they are not in turn set up for such techniques.  Advanced, and blended clinch work and strategy will also be taught, as well as nuances of clinch fighting that basic/beginner level students simply won’t be able to understand until they reach a more advanced level. 

At the advanced level fighters should have most of the techniques not necessarily mastered, but be very comfortable using their techniques without having to think very much; the techniques should be ingrained and instinctual.  Therefore, instead of focusing on techniques and proper technique application, advanced level students can now focus on actual fight strategy, and setting up techniques and their opponents.  Good, high level, striking instructors will tell you that a fight involving high level strikers, is just as technique oriented, and just as  much of a “chess match” as any BJJ/Jiu-Jitsu fight. 

Stand-up fighting is just as beautiful and artistic as ground fighting has come to be recognized. Throughout their training under students will learn this fact, and emphasis will be made that good striking is nothing at all like the brawling, simplistic, all-out mere kicking and punching (without much strategy) evidenced in most matches seen on television today.

The Truth in Combat is a martial philosophy and concept. This truth mindset is crucial because most people only think about their personal reality and experience and not truth.

The word reality is being used all the time now in martial arts and combat but most people only have a partial understanding or a perception of what is really true.

When mixed martial arts (MMA) events first started in the U.S. many spectators including myself thought that the striker would just knock-out the grappler and not be taken down and submitted. Well this was not a true assumption.

The reality was that in the close quarter closed cage/padded ring environment the grappler had the advantage. This advantage was due to the fact that the striker had a false mindset, underestimated their opponent’s abilities and were unprepared for the strategy of the grappler. Improper conditioning also played a major factor also.

Fast forward to today’s MMA competitions and we see that striking is the most common way to defeat your opponent or that striking is used to set up a takedown for ground-in-pound or submission. It’s the integration or mixing of these styles that make for a true mixed martial artist.

The truth is that only a mixed martial artist (someone who knows striking, grappling, conditioning, fight strategy and has a finishing mindset) can prevail in today’s events. Cross-training and mixed martial arts have been around for thousands of years. The Greek Pankration events from the early Olympics and Greco-Roman is a great example of blending cultures and fighting styles. Russian Sambo and Systema are also hybrid systems taken from European and Asian cultures and modernized for today’s sport and military combat needs.

What is the difference between reality and truth?
Reality is truth and truth is reality, but reality is subjective and truth is absolute. We can have a perceived reality of something but this does not make it true. We can also believe that something is true but in reality it is a false belief.

“And isn’t it a bad thing to be deceived about the truth, and a good thing to know what the truth is? For I assume that by knowing the truth you mean knowing things as they really are.” (Plato)

Definitions of truth: (Dictionary.com)
A. Actuality or actual existence
B. Conformity with fact or reality
C. That which is considered to be the supreme reality and to have the ultimate meaning and value of existence.

Definitions of reality: (Dictionary.com)
A. Resemblance to what is real
B. Something that constitutes a real or actual thing, as distinguished from something that is merely apparent.
C. The state or quality of being real.

Combative truth:
Following are a few examples of how people’s realities can be self deceived.

A. Most people when asked, think they are good looking and attractive.

B. Most people believe they can sing well. (If you don’t believe me, just watch the first few episodes of American Idol).

C. Most people believe they have lots of friends but the truth is, when you are really in trouble and need help there will only be one or two people that you can truly count on. This is where the term “true friend” comes from.

D. Most people lie to themselves and don’t want to know the truth.

E. When people are asked to give their eye witness testimony about what they saw many times the reports conflict with what actually happened.

Reality is subjective:
Some people argue that what you believe is real, is real for you. This is perceived reality or false reality, but that does not mean that it is actually true.

Truth is based on facts, evidence and collaborating witnesses but reality many times is based upon perceptions, false beliefs and traditions. Many times people believe something to be true but after they gather more information or practical experience they come to the realization that what was real to them was actually false.

Summary:
There are many misconceptions in the martial arts world today and we must be clear about what our objective for training and study is based upon. If we are studying a sport based MMA or traditional sport based art like Tae Kwoon Do then we must understand that our training is for the cage, dojo or arena and this is fine but let’s not deceive ourselves and believe that our Kickboxing or grappling will be effective against multiple attackers or a weapons attack.

Just like the striker against the grappler we must not under estimate our opponent or over estimate our training and abilities. A Karate practitioner or full contact boxer who does not condition their hands against impact or who only spars with protective gear will be in for a rude awakening when they hit with maximum power and break their hand against an attacker’s skull. Or when an experienced wrestler or Ju jitsu man goes to the ground and gets stabbed in the gut or head kicked by a bystander or accomplice.

The solution:
We need to base our training on what is true and real and not let false information such as advertising, the movies, certain so-called experts who recommend submission ground fighting for the street or sports competitions that make us believe otherwise.

Bruce Lee said it this way;

“If you want to understand the truth in martial arts, to see

any fight clearly, you must throw away the notion of

styles or schools, prejudices, likes and dislikes, and so

forth.  Then, your mind will cease all conflict and come to

rest.  In this silence, you will see totally and freshly.”

– Bruce Lee

This article is an overview of the Free eBook entitled Six Key Strategies Every Martial Artist Should Know (But Most Don’t) that I recently wrote on how a martial artist can greatly improve his or her performance in any martial arts style or method by adding these techniques and focusing their training around these six key strategies.

The six strategies are:

1. Principles: A principle is a primary or general law and fundamental truth

In this chapter we focus on how to generate maximum force and power for your techniques. How to use an attackers force against them, how to intercept an attack, how to destroy the attacking weapon and how to defuse an attacker.

2. Attributes: The body mechanics (movement) and mindset skills that make techniques work effectively.

This chapter explains why certain fighters and athletes dominate in their chosen sport and battlefield. If you don’t master this one key area then your martial ability and skill will always be average.

3. Sparring: Without combative practice you are only learning an art NOT a martial art. Martial means To War and your skills and techniques must be tested and proven in real time against a resisting opponent. Forms and Kata, point fighting, and one step sparring won’t prepare you for the real thing.

4. Conditioning & Nutrition: Combat athletes put conditioning and health at the top of their training list. Techniques and strategies are crucial but if you don’t have the strength, cardio and mental fortitude your techniques won’t work for very long.  

5. Training Equipment & Tools: Body weight exercises, calisthenics and running can only take you so far for combat conditioning. All great champions and warriors use equipment and training tools to take their physical conditioning, sparring ability and body toughening to the ultimate level. 

6. Weapons Training: This one area is the difference between training for sports, art or real combat. All great past and present masters trained in the use and defense of weapons. This is one of the keys to developing blinding speed and agility.

Reviews & comments: After reading the six key strategies eBook please post your comments at the end of this article and tell us what you thought of this eBook and how you liked it. We would also like to hear what other information you would like to read about.

Download this FREE e-Book here!

“In my five years of training in Jeet Kune Do Concepts in particular, martial arts in general, and fitness concepts and techniques, I’ve grown physically and more importantly mentally.  Coach Bruce Pahl has taught more than physical techniques and concepts; he has taught me and all his students how to look beyond what we are training, in and to learn how to “think outside the box”, and to apply this different thinking to a variety of martial and life situations.  I have learned martial principles, that apply well to general life. Bruce has been as much a martial arts/fitness coach  and instructor as he has been a life coach, and valuable friend”.  Curtis Russ, Wilmington, DE

Anyone who achieves the skill level to teach a martial art does not necessarily mean that they are capable of doing so. It takes a special person capable of understanding how to teach in a manner that a pupil can comprehend and attain their true potential.

Through the time I have spent with Bruce; he has explicit the right mannerisms needed for me to increase my strengths and reduce my weaknesses to become a martial artist.  He creates an encouraging atmosphere that boasts nothing but positive results.  Bruce is a remarkable teacher and a spiritual inspiration. Not only, do I presently learn martial arts principles, but values of life associated with Christianity”. Tony Washington, Smyrna, DE – Warrant Officer candidate US Army National Guard

Bruce was aware of and highly skilled in the use of kettle bells, club bells, plyometrics, fast-twitch muscle fiber training, resistance bands, body-weight resistance exercises, traditional weight training exercises, muscular endurance training techniques, and many other fitness routines/regimens, which many highly touted gyms/clubs/trainers are only now beginning to implement. 

And when it comes to Bruce’s martial arts instruction I feel he is even more ahead of the game.  Bruce’s techniques expertise and instruction is second to NONE.  In all my time training, both under and with highly regarded instructors, it has been Bruce’s instructions, and techniques training, which took my game to the next level and which still astounds others.  I’m always asked where I learned any number of techniques that other’s think are “hidden” martial arts techniques, or secret techniques. 

There’s no secret, just phenomenal, and top-notch (and correct) techniques instruction, with an emphasis on perfection of the techniques being taught.  In conclusion, as I first stated; my time in training with Bruce has made me the martial artist that I am today.  He took what I already knew and refined those techniques, and made sure that all techniques I learned under him were perfected.  Bruce’s technical expertise, allows his students to take their martial arts training to the next level, and beyond”. Grant Bacon Full Instructor Truth in Combat Method/Jeet Kune Do Combatives.