https://aninix.net/mediawiki/images/9/9b/MartialArtsIcon.png https://aninix.net/mediawiki/images/9/9b/MartialArtsIcon.png 2013-12-31T12:00:02Z Connor Ford https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml https://aninix.net/martialarts/classes2019p2 Connor Ford 2019-02-26T00:00:00Z 2019 Session 2 links are now available on the homepage. Please register to keep the cost low and ensure we keep the space! https://aninix.net/martialarts/classes Connor Ford 2018-08-15T00:00:00Z AniNIX Martial Arts is now open for business again. We are accepting registration through our wonderful hosts Belleville Community Education. Cost is $45 for adults ($35 ages 14-18) per session of 7 or 8 weeks. That's $4 per hour of training for a great program in a great space. We need YOU, though: 10 adults to hold our times. Register today -- links on our homepage! https://aninix.net/martialarts/ https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/cardillo Connor Ford 2018-01-09T00:00:00Z One of the greatest gifts of the martial arts is that they ultimately guide us to new levels of spirituality. -- Joseph Cardillo https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/hiatus Connor Ford 2017-11-27T10:44:00 We are on hiatus for the winter -- we didn't have enough support to hold our space at VACT. We're in talks with Iron Pagoda and may have options in Belleville. Keep in touch -- we'll post any seminars we'll be attending. If anyone is looking for an immediate martial arts home, please join #martialarts on IRC, and I'll help you find a place. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/paulatted Paul McCarthy at TED 2016-09-07T06:00:00Z I just came across a TED talk from a martial arts instructor I’ve had the privilege of training with a couple times, the last time in a seminar of mental plasticity and martial arts. In this talk, Mr. McCarthy posits that martial arts (or dance or music or any other art that encourages movement and creativity) is a key part of your health and that it has a place in the healthcare industry. As we also work in the healthcare industry, I thought folks might find this interesting. Enjoy! https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/may16sem Epic Martial Arts Group 2016-04-19T06:00:00Z New seminar details have been posted to the seminar page. We have a HapKiDo/Silat seminar available May 7th. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/s16sem Epic Martial Arts Group 2016-03-02T06:00:00Z New seminar details have been posted to the seminar page. We have Arnis and HapKiDo seminars available April 9th. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/irc Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-11-02T06:00:00Z We now have an IRC channel, #martialarts, on irc.aninix.net for anyone who'd like to come by. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/pacq Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-11-02T06:00:00Z In honor of Manny's recent bout, I offer a quote from him. "Life is meant to be a challenge, because challenges are what make you grow." https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/napoleon Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-04-06T06:00:00Z Napoleon: "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/twowolves Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-04-06T06:00:00Z ONE EVENING, AN ELDERLY CHEROKEE BRAVE TOLD HIS GRANDSON ABOUT A BATTLE THAT GOES ON INSIDE PEOPLE. HE SAID "MY SON, THE BATTLE IS BETWEEN TWO 'WOLVES' INSIDE US ALL. ONE IS EVIL. IT IS ANGER, ENVY, JEALOUSY, SORROW, REGRET, GREED, ARROGANCE, SELF-PITY, GUILT, RESENTMENT, INFERIORITY, LIES, FALSE PRIDE, SUPERIORITY, AND EGO. THE OTHER IS GOOD. IT IS JOY, PEACE LOVE, HOPE SERENITY, HUMILITY, KINDNESS, BENEVOLENCE, EMPATHY, GENEROSITY, TRUTH, COMPASSION AND FAITH." THE GRANDSON THOUGH ABOUT IT FOR A MINUTE AND THEN ASKED HIS GRANDFATHER: "WHICH WOLF WINS?..." THE OLD CHEROKEE SIMPLY REPLIED, "THE ONE THAT YOU FEED" https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/roosevelt Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-04-06T06:00:00Z Theodore Roosevelt: "Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit softly." https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/ Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-04-06T06:00:00Z Ip Man: "We all have inner demons to fight. We call these demons 'fear', and 'hatred', and 'anger'. If you don't conquer them, then a life of a hundred years is a tragedy. If you do, a life of a single day can be a triumph." https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/anger Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-11-02T06:00:00Z Koichi Tohei in "Ki in Daily Life": "Pour some water into a tub and stir it up. Now try as hard as you can to calm the water with your hands; you will succeed in agitating it further. Let it stand undisturbed a while, and it will calm down by itself. The human brain works much the same way." https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/gandhi Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-09-07T06:00:00Z "I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence... I would rather have India resort to arms in order to defend her honour than that she should, in a cowardly manner, become or remain a helpless witness to her own dishonor. But I believe that nonviolence is infinitely superior to violence, forgiveness is more manly than punishment. Forgiveness adorns a soldier...But abstinence is forgiveness only when there is the power to punish; it is meaningless when it pretends to proceed from a helpless creature." ~Gandhi https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/canvswill Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-08-31T06:00:00Z "It's not that I can and other's can't; it's that I will and others won't." What makes an exceptional martial artist is not his innate talents. It's his or her constant drive to improve, to never settle for what is. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/weakestofall Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-08-24T06:00:00Z Mark Twain: "The weakest of all weak things is a virtue that has not been tested in the fire." Motions in space do not improve our knowledge of martial arts, if they are not also tested with people you can trust and train with. This working with people is the best way to increase our understanding of the form, function, and interactions. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/persistence Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-08-17T06:00:00Z Calvin Coolidge: "Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." Something to ponder. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/helpingweakness Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-08-10T06:00:00Z Jackie Chan: "We learn martial arts as helping weakness. You never fight for people to get hurt. You're always helping people." This must be the foundation of our martial arts; even the most destructive martial technique must be based in the desire to improve the lives of others, or we become no more than brigands. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/nations Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-08-03T06:00:00Z William Francis Butler: "The nation that will insist upon drawing a broad line of demarcation between the fighting man and the thinking man is liable to find its fighting done by fools and its thinking by cowards." https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/learningandpain Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-07-27T06:00:00Z Anonymous: "Learning is a gift, even when pain is your teacher." https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/sphereofstrength Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-07-20T06:00:00Z Morihei Ueshiba in "The Art of Peace": "Even the most powerful human being has a limited sphere of strength. Draw him outside of that sphere and into your own, and his strength will dissipate." https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/whatsuseful Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-05-11T06:00:00Z Bruce Lee - "Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, and add what is uniquely your own." This should be everyone's approach to our practices. The techniques that work for me may not work for you, so you will always need to adapt your martial arts to fit what is useful for you. This is why none of our sessions are required - I want you to train what will help you grow, not what I might think will be helpful for you. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/cliff Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-05-04T06:00:00Z "To follow the path of Martial Arts is like climbing on a cliff that never ends. It demads absolute devotion for the task to be executed." -- Masutatsu Oyama, founder of Kyokushin Karate. As we've learned with groundwork, martial arts is a never-ending process of learning, self-dedication, and refinement. Let's not forget to maintain our drive for perfection, whether we have three weeks or thirty years experience. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/ueshiba Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-04-13T06:00:00Z "Those who are skilled in combat do not become angered, and those who are skilled at winning do not become afraid. Thus the wise win before the fight, while the ignorant fight to win." -- O Sensei Ueshiba, founder of Aikido. This one is a thinker, and I'll let you come to your own conclusions. Hint: calm beats rage. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/swingsword Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-04-06T06:00:00Z "It is easy to kill someone with a slash of a sword. It is hard to be impossible for others to cut down" - Yagyu Munenori. In the same vein as the pacifist quote last week, we want to remember that our goal is not to be as destructive as possible; the goal is to be as indesctructible as possible. We want ourselves and our loved ones to be safe; the reason we call our fighting stance our "fence" is because that is limit in which I care what other people are doing. Inside my fence, I have myself and my loved ones as my priority. So long as what happens outside my fence does not affect what is inside, I need not use martial technique. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/pacifism Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-03-30T06:00:00Z Another informal tag line in some martial arts is "only a warrior can choose pacifism." There is much debate among different martial arts about this, but to my mind a warrior is the only person who can choose not to fight. They have the option of using combative technique, and that alone is often enough of a deterrent to combat to allow a warrior to never need to fight. That being said, someone untrained in combat will always be at the mercy of those who are trained, simply because they have no leverage against such foes. Something to consider. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/blackandwhite Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-03-23T06:00:00Z There's an informal tag line that's occasionally thrown around martial arts: a black belt is a white belt who never quit. Everyone who's ever earned a black belt started as a white belt, and they decided that any weakness in their technique, conditioning, or personality wasn't going to keep them from reaching the level of a black belt. Make sure you do the same -- the journey begins! https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/seals Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-03-16T06:00:00Z The US Navy SEALS have a motto: The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle. The Israelis take a similar approach with Krav Maga, and I am a firm believer in it. Regardless of one's experience level, the harder you train and the more you prepare for what the fight will actually be, the easier the fight will end up being. True, there will be always be someone better, but this is your best way to minimize that gap. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/discipline Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-03-10T06:00:00Z "Self-respect is the fruit of discipline." - Abraham J. Heschel. I know we do a lot of push-ups, crunches, cardio, etc. And we spend a lot of time doing reps on a given technique, almost to the point of boredom. We come out every week and grind away on these techniques. The primary reason for wanting to do this is the technique's becoming ingrained in muscle memory. However, the discipline required of this pursuit is valuable. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/lion Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-03-02T06:00:00Z Anderson Silva raises a valid point about the application of strength in martial arts. "I don't think strength plays that big of a difference. If it's that big of a difference, then the elephant would be king of the jungle, not the lion," he says. The value of this is that in martial arts, it's the proper application of a technique that contains our opponent, not the raw application of force. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/walk Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-02-23T06:00:00Z Rickson Gracie of the Gracie brothers is one of the founding figures in modern Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I admire one of his quotes, because it should apply to all martial arts, regardless of creed. "The biggest gift I received as a martial artist is without a question the capacity to be in peace," he said. This is something we should all take to heart. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/krav+founder Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-02-23T05:00:00Z Imi Lichtenfeld founded Krav Maga. Growing up in Germany in the 30's, he was in danger of attacks by the Nazis. He said, "I began fighting anti-Semitism in the '30s. When the Hitler youth gangs used to single out Jewish young men on the streets, it was either hit or run. I found the hitting more satisfying." This philosophy became Imi's focus when he began training the Israeli military, and now it is the foundation of Israel's hand-to-hand combat system. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/combat+and+art Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-02-16T06:00:00Z This week's quote is from the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks. One of the martial masters in that book said, "[Hit] a man twenty times ... and let him collapse. Then finish him. We're making [defeated enemies], not art." While I would not want this to be a primary philosophy of martial concepts for our group, it speaks to a very real martial truth: that on the combat field, once engaged, we have to be first and foremost taking care of ourselves. This means taking the safe strikes, rather than going for the one-thrust finish. If you can hit without being hit, you will win. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/ali Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-02-09T06:00:00Z This week's quote is from the great boxer, Muhammad Ali. "Float like a butterfly; sting like a bee." This applies to all martial arts -- fluidity and relaxed muscle groups respond faster both to throwing strikes and grabs and to allowing the feet to move to fit the situation. The sting is from explosiveness -- good technique launches from good footing and quick reflexes to land where it needs to. Try thinking about that when you're working on your fence -- relax the shoulders, and get that back heel off the ground. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/safe Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-02-02T06:00:00Z This week's quote builds on the last: "No place is more dangerous than a place of safety." We tend to go into "White" mode when we think we're safe, and this can make us complacent. Complacency is not our friend. This quote comes from Robert Ferrigno's "Prayers for the Assassin", found on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Prayers-Assassin-Novel-Robert-Ferrigno/dp/141650768X/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_z https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/awareness Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-01-26T06:00:00Z In all CCW classes, we are taught the Cooper Code, pioneered by Jeff Cooper. "White" is no awareness of one's surroundings at all. "Yellow" is casual alertness -- one is neither actively looking for a threat nor easily blindsided by one. "Orange" is being aware of a specific threat and analyzing ways to avoid or defeat it. "Red" is engaged in fight. Code "Yellow" is where we want to stay: unthreatened but alert. Since martial artists have the training to deal with threats on some level, there is no reason for us to ever be caught at "White", nor should we be finding ourselves in "Red" too often. Something to ponder. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/learning Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-01-12T06:00:00Z Today's quote is about the value of learning. In Book 2 Chapter 11 of the Analects, Confucius says that "if a man keeps cherishing his old knowledge so as continually to be acquiring new, he may be a teacher of others." This is a reminder that we are never perfect and must always seek out new knowledge. Every art has some lesson to teach and some concept we can integrate into our own knowledge. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/feints Epic Martial Arts Group 2014-01-05T06:40:31Z This week's quote is a little more literal than those previous. In all his travels and with all the martial arts he studied, Bruce Lee came to a simple conclusion: "Between two evenly-matched fighters, the one is the master of the feint will be the winner." Feints are a use of one of the most basic tactical concepts: action beats reaction. So, if you can make your opponent believe something and then hit him before he realizes his error, the victory is yours! https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/humility Epic Martial Arts Group 2013-12-30T06:40:31Z This week's quote comes from Confucius's "Analects". In Book 3 Chapter 7, it is written, "The Master said, `The student of virtue has no contentions. If it be said he cannot avoid them, shall this be in archery? But he bows complaisantly to his competitors; thus he ascends the hall, descends, and exacts the forfeit of drinking. In his contention, he is still the Chun-tsze.'" The term Chun-tsze is used to the Confucian concept of the master-scholar, which also applies to martial arts. In our martial arts, when we are training, we should give it our all, but when we run into a constraint, we should understand this is to improve our character and help our growth. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/vessels Epic Martial Arts Group 2013-12-18T12:00:02Z Our quote of the week comes from the "Tao Te Ching": "vessels are fashioned from empty clay; it is on their hollowness that their use depends." Just a small reminder that going into a fight with a specific plan usually starts more problems than it solves. Being fluid, flexible, and responsive is your greatest asset. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/final+goal Epic Martial Arts Group 2013-12-10T12:00:02Z The quote this week comes from the 17th-century Japanese text, the "Shoninki", by Natori Masazumi. It states that "destroying a man takes us away from the goal we seek to achieve". This statement is deceptively simple but very nuanced in its context; it is not saying that one shouldn't cause damage in the pursuit of self defense. What it is saying is that we should only supply enough force to stop the threat to our person. Once that threat is eliminated, we should make sure to supply aid and rehabilitation where the situation allows. Not only does this help to reduce future attacks, it will help you if you have to appear in court ((read this as "when you appear in court")). Something to think about. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/water Epic Martial Arts Group 2013-12-04T12:00:02Z Yes, yes, this is the generic Bruce Lee water quote. "Be like water, my friends." Despite how oft-used this quote is, the beautiful simplicity masks a martial arts truth -- relaxed and fluid beats stiff and strong in every engagment. That same fluidity applied mentally will give you an edge in learning and retaining new techniques. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/protracted Epic Martial Arts Group 2013-11-25T12:00:02Z The quote this week is again from Sun Tzu in the "Art of War": There "has never been a protracted war from which a country has benefited." This reminds us to neither start a conflict nor protract it when we should be able to leave. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/martial+scholar Epic Martial Arts Group 2013-11-19T12:00:02Z Confucius leaves us this in his "Analects": "The scholar, trained for public duty, seeing threatening danger, is prepared to sacrifice his life. When the opportunity of gain is presented to him, he thinks of righteousness. In sacrificing, his thoughts are reverential. In mourning, his thoughts are about the grief which he should feel. Such a man commands our approbation indeed." Confucius wrote of the merits of the education, discipline, and wisdom; these are needed even in martial arts. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/armed+and+unarmed Epic Martial Arts Group 2013-11-12T12:00:02Z This week's quote is from Machiavelli's "The Prince", Chapter 14. "It is not reasonable to suppose that one who is armed will obey willingly one who is unarmed, or that any unarmed man will remain safe among armed servants." In the case of a martial artist, the weapons is the martial artist himself or herself. Training hones that weapon to efficiency. On the other hand, this should remind us that we should not rely exclusively on others for our safety, which is yet another reason we train. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/brandishing Epic Martial Arts Group 2013-10-21T12:00:02Z The martial arts quote of the week is by Inazo Nitobe, who wrote the book "Bushido". "A dastard or a braggart was he who brandished his weapon on undeserved occasions." I've given you gys some small tricks to talk about martial arts with friends and such, but the main point of our discussion was that we shouldn't train martial arts looking to start fights, end fights, go out to bars and join fights, etc. Martial arts are comprised of many devastating techniques, and so we must be careful of when we use it. Moreover, from a tactical perspective, using martial arts publicly too often, without cause, or any combination thereof can cause the martial artist to become a target for challengers. We should train hard and often but fight rarely and only in the required defense of ourselves and those we care about. Just my two cents. https://aninix.net/martialarts/maqotw.xml/i+have+gung+fu Epic Martial Arts Group 2013-10-14T12:00:02Z The quote for this week is from Bruce Lee: "The baker has gungfu; the butcher has gungfu. Everyone has gungfu." As a commentary, remember that gungfu means mastery; the challenge for this week is to search for the mastery in others this week.