Month: February 2025

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Nebulous Principles, Ideas &Strategues

Steve Rowe

Student: Is it like this or this? Me: Yes. Student: how can it be both? Me: because it’s not what you do but how you do it that counts. If you are following the ideas and principles, depending on the situation, a technique can be done in a variety of ways. People want ‘easy’ and ‘simple’, they want rules. If you advertise ’easy to learn’, ‘simple steps’ and lay down a simple framework to follow, people will buy into it. The essential underlying principles, ideas and philosophy to a good martial art can be quite nebulous and require considerable study … Continue reading Nebulous Principles, Ideas &Strategues

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Loneliness

Steve Rowe

Some people see everything differentThey can’t understand why others can’t see the sameOthers can’t understand why they are the way they areLike oil and water they can’t mixIt’s a lonely place when everyone misunderstandsWhen they don’t talkWhen they’re just being themselvesOthers think they’re being awkwardThe truth is they’re born that wayThey can’t help itThey don’t mean itThey can’t be differentThey just need toleranceUnderstandingCommon groundThis is the role martial arts can playIt’s called inclusion. Continue reading Loneliness

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There Is No ‘Us & Them’

Steve Rowe

There is no ‘us’ and ‘them’. Because we have tribal origins it’s easy for people to be divided, fear, anger and hate engendered and we then don’t see those pulling the strings. We have the power at the polls, but even then we’re asked to vote for one party against another and most voters don’t even know the policies that they’re voting for, they’re just voting out of fear and tribalism. We should have grown out of the man made divisions of ‘them and us’, the illusions of boundaries, countries, religions and cultures, we should not see differences but that … Continue reading There Is No ‘Us & Them’

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The Power Of Wriggling

Steve Rowe

The power of wriggling. We teach our children that if they can wriggle, they cannot be held. It saved the life of one our small 10 year olds when two adults tried to abduct him from the park. Done skilfully, with the joints connected, the power can be transferred through the entire body from the feet and discharged at the hands, this is a form fajin that you can see in breakdancing as well as martial arts. It can also go from hands to feet to stop the opponent being able to lock joints or hold on to unbalance us. … Continue reading The Power Of Wriggling

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One Handed Typists

Steve Rowe

The great thing about social media is that everyone can voice their opinion. The worst thing about social media is that everyone can voice their opinion. An opinion only has the value of the experience and intelligence of the person giving it. The problem is that the most vociferous commenting on martial art posts are those of little experience and intelligence. I call them the ‘one handed typists’ (you can guess what they’re doing with the other one). “That would never work on the streets” and “you have to make it work against non-compliant partners” are the classic idiot speak. … Continue reading One Handed Typists

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Explore Your Darkness

Steve Rowe

Do you feel that if you surrender to your darkness that you won’t be able to find your way back? Do you repress and try to ignore it? If you’re always trying to be happy instead, you’re not happy – and the lurking darkness is permeating your soul in a negative way. We all know the ‘positivity’ people always trying to convince themselves and those around them that they are happy and positive but that veneer is thin and the tortured soul behind is obvious. The darkness needs to be explored and understood as it’s the balancing factor to the … Continue reading Explore Your Darkness