Keep It Real Self Defense

09/18/2026

Congratulations Amelia, Hudson and Logan for your promotions in KIRSD Karate Jutsu!

09/14/2026

I’ve been thinking about traditional martial arts training and the relationship between the student and the teacher.

A traditional martial artist who is a good student listens to Sensei, follows the curriculum, does what they are told, and works hard to learn the techniques the way they are being taught.

But I think there comes a point where you have to be able to think for yourself.

I sometimes compare it to music.

A classical musician can become incredibly good at sight-reading. They can take a piece of music and play exactly what is written on the page. That takes a tremendous amount of skill and discipline.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean they can improvise.

A jazz musician has learned the fundamentals too, but they understand the principles behind the music well enough to adapt, improvise and go somewhere that wasn’t written down.

I think martial arts should eventually be the same way.

You learn the techniques. You learn the kata. You listen to your instructor. You develop discipline and fundamentals.

But eventually, you should understand the principles well enough to adapt when things don’t happen exactly the way they did in the dojo.

The goal shouldn’t be to spend your entire martial arts career waiting for Sensei to tell you what to do.

At some point, you should understand the music well enough to play it yourself.

09/12/2026

The Myth of "The Cage": Real self-defense is about situational awareness, boundary setting, pre-threat indicators, and explosive, decisive action. Uncontrolled gym sparring mimics a competitive sport (consensual dueling), not a street encounter.

Attributes Can Be Trained Safely: The true benefits of sparring are timing, distance management, and managing your adrenaline dump. You can train every single one of these attributes to an elite level using highly structured, high-variable drills instead of a free-for-all.

09/06/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1JqeXYtGbJ/?mibextid=wwXIfr

09/06/2026

https://www.commonsfit.com/services

09/05/2026

Japanese martial arts tend to emphasize preserving and transmitting a system. Filipino martial arts tend to emphasize adaptability, practicality, and personal expression within a system.

Japanese mindset:

“Master the system.”

Filipino mindset:

“Master the principles and adapt the system.”

09/04/2026

Do you have to be a martial artist to be able to defend yourself?

Can all martial artists defend themselves?

The short answer is: anyone can learn to defend themselves, and there are many martial artists who either cannot—or have no real desire to—learn how to defend themselves.

Many martial artists spend years going through the motions of perfecting kata and technique. Perfecting kata and technique alone do not automatically translate to real-world self-defense.

Self-defense is a different skill set. It requires understanding awareness, decision-making, timing, pressure, unpredictability, and how techniques actually hold up when things don’t go according to plan.

Being a martial artist and knowing how to defend yourself are not necessarily the same thing.

09/03/2026

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Grab your gal pals and join us for a fun night of fierce girl power! Women's self defense class is October 7th @ 6:00 pm. Ages 14-17 are welcome to attend with a parent or legal guardian!

09/03/2026

Your body should not conform to the system. The system should conform to your body. It should take advantage of your strengths. If something from a system doesn’t work for you it should not be part of your expression of the system.