Category: Articles

ArticlesLeave a comment

Arousal In The Martial Arts

Steve Rowe

  Whenever I mention the world ‘arousal’ in our training we inevitably get lots of smirks and sniggers because it’s a term that most ‘normal’ people only associate with sexual activity, but understanding arousal is very important to the Martial Arts practitioner.  The terms that Instructors tend to use are too blunt, they talk about ‘adrenaline dump’, ‘anger’ ‘aggression’ and ‘freezing’ when it’s far more complex than that. Arousal can be trained at many different levels and can make a considerable difference to performance under stress and the learning environment.  Wikipedia explains arousal as: “Arousal is a physiological and psychological state of being awake or … Continue reading Arousal In The Martial Arts

ArticlesLeave a comment

Are Fighters Born Or Made?

Steve Rowe

Fighters are born and made better. Many people are born fighters even if they and their families and friends don’t realise it, many martial artists think that they are made, but a good coach finds those instincts and brings it out in them.  Some people will just never have that instinct in the first place and will spend their life as a victim and/or too weak and lazy to fight. Just look into a persons eyes, watch how they move, not what they are doing, but how they move, you can tell a lot about someone from just these two … Continue reading Are Fighters Born Or Made?

ArticlesLeave a comment

Are You Really Trying?

Steve Rowe

“I’m really trying…” This can have more than one meaning – and therefore what’s in your head is really important.  Are you ‘trying’ to attempt to do something with failure already written into it?  Are you seeing it as difficult and frustrating?  Are you ‘trying’ because you think it’s difficult or hard’? These are all responses that we commonly get from students and the problem can lie with our upbringing, as a child we are constantly told that we must ‘try’ and are told off for ‘not trying’, my school report often said ‘must try harder’, meaning that I needed … Continue reading Are You Really Trying?

ArticlesLeave a comment

What’s Wrong With The Martial Arts?

Steve Rowe

I have yet to see anyone identify or address where the real problems are in the Martial Arts. Most Martial Artists are too close to the problems and view them  subjectively, forcing their ideas of standards, what should be taught and how they should be administered, but this has only added to the confusion because Martial Arts truly are a broad church. We need to take a good few steps back and take a much broader view and see how they can fit safely and effectively into the structure of society. I will lay this out as simply as I … Continue reading What’s Wrong With The Martial Arts?

ArticlesLeave a comment

The Power Chain

Steve Rowe

You are only as strong as the weakest point in your chain of power through the body.  Below is a condensed description of that chain as taught in my last seminar and will serve as notes to those that attended. Mind The mind needs to be trained to be aware, focused and sensitive to be able to feel and know every part of the body and get accurate neural feedback of the positioning and productive use of each part, it’s surroundings and that of the opponent. Feet and Legs The feet give mobility, distance, angle and direction of power.  The … Continue reading The Power Chain

ArticlesLeave a comment

Who Are You Kidding?

Steve Rowe

After 40 years of training nothing anyone says surprises me anymore.  However all through that time I have been constantly amazed at how easily people write failure into their training ideas and schedule without even realising it. I thought it might prove useful to pick up on the most common misconceptions I have heard and seen during those years. Success in the Martial Arts is no different to success in any other sphere of life.  If you practiced swimming, cycling, ballet dancing, gymnastics, guitar, piano, archery or any normal skill based art or sport you would have to go through … Continue reading Who Are You Kidding?

ArticlesLeave a comment

3 Most Important Points In Martial Arts Training

Steve Rowe

If you had to name the 3 most important things to remember in the Martial Arts that would the biggest difference to your training what would they be? When teaching beginners what are the 3 most fundamental things to stress and continue to stress so the student doesn’t ever forget? Number One:  Stand straight – good postural alignment is essential!  The body must be pulled up to it’s full height, the classics say that the head should feel ‘as if suspended from above’, for every inch the skull moves off the top of the spine it doubles in weight, as the head … Continue reading 3 Most Important Points In Martial Arts Training

ArticlesLeave a comment

Grading At Shi Kon

Steve Rowe

I am often asked why we grade differently to many others in the Shi Kon Training System.  I have trained in the Martial Arts for over 40 years to very high standard by top International Masters and have graded thousands of people all over the World, hundreds through to Black Belt – and a Shi Kon grade is recognised Internationally to be of a good standard.  I don’t set the bar too high or low, it is exactly right and in keeping with any good club. First of all, the standards are very clear and the same for everyone. There … Continue reading Grading At Shi Kon

ArticlesLeave a comment

The 13 Dynamics Of Tai Chi

Steve Rowe

Often called the ’13 Techniques’ or the ’13 Postures’ this list can really confuse Tai Chi practitioners and therefore they often get sidelined or bypassed, but when understood, they lie at the heart of Tai Chi practice.  To understand that they are ‘fighting’ dynamics that are held in the mind that are trained with the potential to be used instantly, reflexively and spontaneously in response to the opponent’s actions at any time  and although some are linked to certain techniques they are not the techniques, they are fighting strategies of ‘aliveness’ and are therefore dynamic because they are used to … Continue reading The 13 Dynamics Of Tai Chi

Articles3 Comments

I Only Wanted To Be Kwai Chang Caine…

Steve Rowe

Why I only ever wanted to be Kwai Chang Caine. I was a typical South London council house boy doing Karate until that first Sunday afternoon in 1973 at 3pm when I watched the first episode of Kung Fu that turned my life upside down. Here was a Martial Artist and Buddhist priest that had nothing and yet had everything. How can that be? Listening to the wisdom dispensed from the Buddha I realised that suffering came from ownership, if you owned nothing you had everything. Happiness was simply an internal habit and unhappiness came from wanting to possess, keep … Continue reading I Only Wanted To Be Kwai Chang Caine…