Armidale Martial Arts Academy

28/05/2026

Copied from Mid Coast Martial Arts Academy - a good way to think about the Karate journey

24/05/2026

I'm looking for up to 10 young people and 10 adults to trial an online Boxing/kickboxing program designed to increase fitness and strength. This is available to everyone, not just in the local area.
Minimal equipment needed, just a phone/tablet/laptop with stable internet connection...and maybe a pillow or cushion to throw around.

There is NO cost associated for the trial, however you must be able to commit to 2 weeks to allow for training, feedback and incorporating feedback.

If this is something that would be of interest to you or your young people, please comment whether this is for you or a child, and what times would be ideal.

For more information about the trial, or to be part of the program when it goes live, please visit the MARS Martial All-Round Solutions FB page

12/05/2026

I got over 20 reactions on one of my posts last week! Thanks everyone for your support! 🎉

03/05/2026

23/04/2026

Get comfortable with being uncomfortable – that is the road to greatness, if you choose to take it.

Imagine this: you were born into a poor family and a rough neighbourhood, with father figures largely absent. Your mother was left to raise you with your two siblings. However, your mother was never proud of you or built a close bond with you. You were small, overweight and illiterate, often a target for bullies. To survive, you got into fights, gangs, crime and drugs…and 2 years into your teens was arrested over 30 times.

You are sent to a reform school and given a counsellor. Your counsellor, you learn, was an amateur fighting champion. You and your counsellor make a trade: he agrees to train you on the condition that you work harder on your education and stay out of trouble.

The opportunity sets a spark off in you. You study hard, keep out of trouble and work on your passion. Your efforts pay off, and eventually get introduced to the trainer that not only takes you to the next level in your training, but becomes the father figure you never had. In 7 short years, you become the youngest heavyweight champion that has ever lived – and still holds that record today.

That person? Mike Tyson.

There are innumerable stories of people who grew up with every possible disadvantage, yet seized opportunities to become successes in their field: from living out of their cars (Steve Harvey, Jim Carrey), to single parents on welfare (J.K Rowling), and learning difficulties (Richard Branson).

If you’ve read this far, it’s possible you share the same qualities as these people: you weren’t born into privilege. You may even share some of their early situations in your own personal life. But they weren’t comfortable being where they were. Many didn’t get their big break until they were adults – Samuel L. Jackson didn’t get his until he was in his 40s!

Don’t believe me? Here are just a few articles about people who overcame adversity, with many becoming household names:
https://www.moneymade.com/careers/incredible-stories-people-who-went-extreme-poverty-unimaginable-wealth

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zw9fg2p

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-13/breaking-cycles-of-disadvantage-isnt-easy-but-it-is-possible/12041452

They had - or developed - a passion and continued to work on it when they had every excuse to give up. They kept grinding, and seized opportunities when they came up. They didn’t let their situations define them.

Will you let your situation define you, or will you define your situation?

Try something new. Build your skills and work to your strengths. Learn from the people that came before you not only from their successes, but also in their challenges and lessons learned. Don’t just be unhappy with where you are – HATE it, and let that hate drive you to where you want to be instead of lashing out at what’s around you. No excuses.

You don’t have to become world famous to be successful…but you can get to a place where you are healthy, happy, and can provide for yourself and those you love. That, in itself, is success.

Talk to us today about how we can help you improve your health goals.

www.marswarriorfit.com

Discover M.A.R.S Martial All-Round Solutions in Armidale, offering expert training in fitness, personal safety, and performance.

16/04/2026

Many people are too complacent when it comes to awareness in public during the day.

I was driving home the other day, and I saw a guy riding a bicycle, leaning over the handlebars going through his phone riding in the opposite direction. And I instantly thought it wouldn't take much for him to come to a bad end. Poor bike control, no helmet, relying on peripheral vision, riding with the traffic so cars can come up behind him. Very risky.

But it isn't just this isolated case. How many times have you seen people looking at their phones while walking...even worse, wearing headphones? How easy do you think it would be for someone to sn**ch that phone and run? How much awareness would you have if you were going to be assaulted?

Before you've even registered the phone has been stolen and decided to chase, your thief has at least got a 10 metre head start and adrenaline pumping with the objective of not getting caught. Meanwhile, your bank balance is at risk - all it takes is to tap your phone to any EFTPOS device. All because the phone was your priority at the time.

Awareness in public means keeping your eyes and ears open at all times, paying attention to sights, sounds, and even your gut feeling. Take the call or send the text, by all means if it's safe to do it...keep scanning your environment and stop your vehicle (including your bike) unless you have handsfree capability. Otherwise, treat your phone like you do your wallet. Prevent the phone being a thief of your senses and helping an opportunistic thief steal your property or risking harm to yourself and/or others.

05/04/2026

How did Okinawan and Chinese martial arts develop leg strength before the invention of commercial gyms?

Both Okinawan and Chinese martial cultures built extreme leg strength, stability, and endurance through daily life, structured training, and very specific conditioning methods. It wasn’t “gym strength”—it was functional, isometric, and tendon-driven strength.

Yosh*taka (Gigo) Funakoshi was instrumental to incorporating longer and deeper stances to Karate. Prior to this, Okinawan 'te' systems used higher, more natural footwork to complement close-range fighting.

Here’s how they did it:

1. Deep Stance Training (The Foundation)

Systems like Karate and Kung Fu placed huge emphasis on holding low, demanding stances.

Key stances:
* Horse stance (Ma Bu) or half squat
* Front stance (Zenkutsu Dachi) or lunge
* Back stance (Kokutsu Dachi) used in games like tug-o-war
* Sanchin stance (Okinawan tension stance)

How it builds strength:
* Long-duration **isometric contraction**
* Massive load on quads, glutes, and adductors
* Builds joint integrity (knees, hips, ankles)

👉 Fighters would hold these for minutes at a time, sometimes while being corrected or even pushed.

2. Repetitive Kata / Forms Practice

In Okinawan Karate and Chinese systems, forms weren’t just choreography—they were strength training under tension.
* Slow, controlled movement = time under tension
* Low stances maintained throughout
* Thousands of repetitions over years

This builds:
* Muscular endurance
* Coordination under fatigue
* Structural strength (posture + alignment)

3. Natural Resistance Training (Pre-Gym Equipment)

Okinawan and Chinese martial artists absolutely used resistance—it just didn’t look like a modern gym.

Okinawan tools:
* Chishi (levered stone weights)
* Nigiri Game (load carried in stances)
* Stone lifting, sand buckets

Chinese methods:
* Carrying water buckets over distance
* Stone locks (ancient kettlebell-style tools)
* Weighted vests or ankle weights (rudimentary)

👉 These heavily trained:
* Grip + forearms
* Legs under load
* Core stability

4. Walking, Farming & Daily Labor

This is often overlooked—but probably the biggest factor. In the modern era with more sedentary lifestyles and careers, it can be difficult to replicate the physical endurance and mobility received from living in agrarian communities.

In places like Okinawa and rural China, you were:
* Constantly squatting (resting posture)
* Carrying loads (water, crops)
* Walking on uneven terrain barefoot or in sandals - no sneakers!

👉 This created:
* Strong feet and ankles
* Natural squat mobility
* Endurance-based leg strength

Their “baseline fitness” was already high before training even began.

# # 5. Explosive Repetition (Striking & Kicking Drills)

They built power through repetition, not machines.
* Repeated kicking drills (often chambered and slow at first)
* Stamping, stepping, and driving into the ground
* Heavy bag work (or makiwara for striking)

👉 This developed:
* Rate of force production
* Hip drive
* Ground reaction force (key for striking power)

We see this practice continued today through methods such as speed-strength and plyometric training.

# # 6. Dynamic Tension Training

Especially in Okinawan systems (like Sanchin practice):
* Full-body tension while moving slowly
* Controlled breathing + muscular contraction

This builds:
* Tendon strength
* Neuromuscular control
* “Rooting” (ability to stay stable under force)

# # 7. Partner Resistance & Conditioning

Training wasn’t solo only.
* Push/pull drills in stance
* Leg sweeps and balance breaking
* Body conditioning (including strikes to legs)

👉 This created:
* Real-world usable strength
* Stability under external force

# # 8. Time + Consistency (The Real Secret)

No shortcuts:
* Daily practice
* Years of repetition
* Gradual progression

This is where so many so many students give up: executing techniques in class without appreciating how the basics contribute to overall strength, power, and body mechanics.

👉 Instead of “progressive overload” via weights, Okinawan and Chinese fighters used:
* Lower stances
* Longer holds
* More repetitions
* Added instability or resistance

What Made Their Leg Strength Different?

Compared to modern gym strength:

| Traditional Training | Modern Gym Training |
| --------------------------- | -------------------------- |
| Isometric + endurance | Max strength / hypertrophy |
| Tendon + connective tissue | Muscle-focused |
| Multi-directional stability | Often linear |
| Built daily | Built in sessions |

---

How You Can Apply This Today

If you want that “old-school” leg strength for striking:
* Add stance holds (2–5 mins total per session)
* Use slow, controlled reps in shadowboxing/kicks
* Carry weights while walking or in stance
* Train barefoot when possible (safely)
* Mix isometric and explosive work

03/04/2026

We are available for weight training and self-defence training PT sessions all Easter weekend!

31/03/2026

Karate is like life - we adapt and evolve.

We are accepting new and previous students for one-on-one/small group training sessions, moving away from static class times.

This means you:
* Receive expert training tailored to your individual needs and preferences - the only person you compete with is yourself
* Can train in safety and privacy
* Can train at a time that works for your schedule - even if it's 5AM or 9PM
* Train where you want - we can come to you if you live in the local area or access our facilities
* Access online, email and phone support - it's like having your instructor on hand all the time!

Visit www.marswarriorfit.com for more information on our pricing and services. We remain a satellite dojo for Mid Coast Martial Arts Academy https://www.midcoastmartialarts.com.au for our traditional Japanese Karate and Okinawan weapons training systems.

Mid Coast Martial Arts Academy's Karate and Teens Karate programs are the premier fitness and self defense classes in Port Macquarie NSW, Australia.Try out a class and get started today!

20/03/2026

If you happen to be one of those people who go on social media and say "if a person breaks into my house, I'd do this" or "if someone did this to me, I'll do that"... unless you want to spend time in jail, STOP!!

Australia has no official 'stand your ground' rights, and are only just talking about Castle law in QLD only in the past couple of years. Australia is not America (yet), so until then, you may need to be able to defend yourself in Court... and by posting your proposed actions, this can be seen to be premeditated action/intent, potentially costing you WAY more in legal fees than you need to.

Self-defence is about winning in ways before, during, and after having to use fists and feet... ideally not having to use them in the first place.

New England Martial Arts Academy is now M.A.R.S Martial All-Round Solutions, providing individually tailored self-defence training using the Ken Sei Shoto Ryu Karate system, Combatives, and physical fitness training to improve personal performance.

Visit us at marswarriorfit.com for more information.

Discover S Martial All Round in Armidale, offering expert training in fitness, personal safety, and performance.