http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk en-gb healthandcombat.co.uk 2012-2-21T00:00:00Z healthandcombat.co.uk http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#112935 So all in all my first venture into film making was a really enjoyable one. We had lots of laughs throughout and the whole experience was an honour to be a part of.The film has just been uploaded onto my new YouTube channel and I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed making itwww.youtube.comuserHealthandCombatCreditsShaun Milburn Editor Cameras Twitter HeadstockFilms YouTube www.youtube.comuserHeadstockFilms Gary J Armstrong Music Cameras Twitter gja32 Web www.garyjarmstrong.com 2012-2-20 22:46:01 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#112911 Well its been another week with another brand new experience which as youve probably guessed from the title of this blog involved a bit of filming I mentioned the idea of doing some sort of promo clip on Twitter a few months back and was surprised again at all the support and interest it generated. Although encouraged by this I didnt get that gut feeling that Ive learnt so well to trust and didnt act on all the names and advice that were given to me... That all changed though once I was told by a close friend of mine about Shaun Milburn at Headstock Films Hes a bit like you Steve loves what he does and gives 100 to getting results. I didnt need to hear any more than that and I got straight on the phone. After several conversations we found a date that suited us both and pencilled it in. We didnt have a clue what we were going to do or where we were going to do it but we agreed to just leave it to the gods and see what comes out. The day came and well it a... 2012-2-20 18:15:39 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#112024 A few days ago I taught at a fantastic martial arts event in Solihull alongside some of the countrys top instructors. It was the first time that Id ever taught outside of HCA and as ever when facing the unknown it brought me lots of discomfort and fear as to whether I could give the same amount of value that I give my own students to this newer bigger audience. Its the same feeling that Ive had every single time that Ive made this step of leaving the familiar and believe me when I say that it is getting easier each and every time I do it. But it is still there and actually I am so grateful that it is because without it I would not be growing... And if Im not growing then Im not increasing my ability to serve and help improve the life experience of all my students and family. In case you are wondering the seminar was a huge success and went far better than I could have ever wished for. I received some excellent feedback and comments from not only the students that att... 2012-2-7 19:15:35 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#111569 Chasing our dreams and trying to create a life where we are healthy happy and free is always going to be difficult but the things worth fighting for always are. This series of blogs has been purely to provide food for thought about how all of us can use the martial arts as a vehicle to live our dreams. Going back to the very first part of this series I began by saying that people who can fight the real fight give me much more inspiration than the people that only excel in the physical fight. My reasoning for this is only because of a deep belief I have in making our daily practice benefit us in all areas of our lives I have no interest in practicing simply to pump up my ego. This is just my opinion and I am certainly not suggesting that this is the only way it just works for me. I should offer a note of caution here though especially for those just starting out on their martial path. Remember that the concepts I have described in this series are meant as food for... 2012-2-1 16:28:59 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#110878 With honesty and awareness we find the hard truth in what is holding us back in our search for happiness. As I mentioned in the previous blog this truth can be hard to face and will always bring fear and discomfort. The problem is when we see this as a reason to turn back and head for the comfort of what we have always known when instead we should be reminding that scared voice in our head that if the known was genuinely comfortable then surely we would be happy there Fear and discomfort are simply signs that we are doing something new and exciting and lets be honest here who doesnt want new and exciting We know that to reach a higher level in the martial arts we have to stretch ourselves and leave our comfort zones through pressure testing etc so why is applying it to everyday life any different Recognise what needs to be done and start making the steps towards doing it. Bite down on the ego ignore what others might think and follow your own path as long as you ... 2012-1-22 12:25:13 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#110481 The idea of principles over techniques as with most things that bring change is of course easier said than done. We can all very easily list a ton of principles that our practice has within it but more often than not these are not congruent with the principles of the real fight... in fact more often than not they arent even congruent with each other This is where honesty and awareness are clearly essential because without these we could quite easily be hiding behind our own bullshit and doing the single thing that this series of blogs is referring to i.e. avoiding the real fight In my system I stress so much importance on the need for honesty and awareness that I place it at the centre of the wheel on which all other principles revolve. It is not my intention with this series to list and explain the principles of my system at HCA. My intention is simply to give you food for thought that you can take into your own practice and with skilled guidance go on and find yo... 2012-1-16 14:21:58 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#109368 So how do we use the martial arts to aid us in the real fight Well the essential thing is that our practice is based on principles and concepts rather than techniques. Techniques in martial arts and life lack heart. The depth of understanding and feel is severely lacking which usually results in a robotic nonfluid application. Look at the absolute best in any chosen field and note how effortless their skill appears to be and note how it appears to be a part of them and not just something that they do. This deep understanding cannot come purely by technique.Dont get me wrong technique does have its place paintbynumbers is what we give to a child learning how to paint but they will unlikely become the next Da Vinci if they dont move past this and understand the principles of painting really its just a starting point. Im sure this sounds like common sense to you and thats fantastic if it does but the truth is that many people in all walks of life are just adding... 2011-12-30 12:48:02 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#108919 Being a real fighter someone who can fight the real fight of life should surely be the main focus of our training... If it isnt then why train in the martial arts I do it for self defence Good reason... but you can be street safe without being a good fighter. I do it for fitness Another good reason...but you can get just as fit by joining a gym. I do it for confidence Yet another good reason... but confidence in what The ability to hurt people I could go on but Im sure you already know there would be no end to it. The truth is that with good self protection training a real life confrontation can and should be easily avoided or dealt with. The need to fight using the word in its usual context is actually quite rare and when we do find ourselves fighting at a deeper level this is often simply due to our own behaviour andor lack of awareness. The real fight the one which we all have to fight is the one with everyday life. ... 2011-12-18 21:40:07 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#108193 How would you define a real fighter Is it the world champion boxer that has gone through endless amounts of blood sweat and tears to perfect his craft making himself seemingly unbeatable in the ring Is it the people that work in our armed forces who volunteer their own lives purely to protect others in the face of attack Well of course both of these examples have my highest respect and you can be pretty certain that the people in these positions have an enviable level of both physical and mental strength but I feel that being a real fighter requires more than that. Can you really call yourself a fighter if youre allowing your mortgage payments to bully you into doing a job that you cant stand Can you really call yourself a fighter if you allow your addictions to bully you into submission Can you really call yourself a fighter if your whole life is being dictated by a bullying wife husband The answer is a clear no. Its not about how many people you ... 2011-12-5 15:27:09 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#107391 Whatever your goals are and whatever you seek from life the only thing that is stopping you is you. Anything else is just an excuse because wherever you are it is your choice. You dont have to be thereBut... we want more we want to grow... so why would we stop ourselvesWell thats just it. Its not intentional and we very rarely recognise that we are doing it. The good news is that there are many training methods that will bring these things out and this is one of themPyramid Pressups 450 Pressups 1520minsThe Warm UpStart with a minute or two of light jogging and then intermittently bring your knees to your chest in sets of three 10 reps. Follow this up with bringing your heels to your glutes using the same methodology as the knee raises.The WorkoutContinue the light jog and dropping to the floor do two wide grip pressups then immediately get back on your feet and continue the jog.Repeat the last step this time with four wide grip pressups instead of the two.Continue building up th... 2011-11-23 13:54:10 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#107056 He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough Lao Tzu Lets be honest. Most of us want more from life. Whether its more money more happiness more love more experiences or whatever... most of us want more. The shame in this is that if we are looking for more it can only imply that we feel we dont have enough already and this definitely is not true What is true is that we all have it inside of us to be completely happy and live the life of our dreams. We dont need more. All we need is to remove the restrictions so that we can get to the core of who we are learn about our weaknesses our fears etc and then face them without making excuses. Dont get me wrong its quite a daunting task to undertake and its important for us to find good progressive instruction before doing so but it is something we need to be doing if we genuinely want a happy life. The good news is that we have many methods available to fast track this journey of self discovery and usi... 2011-11-17 20:29:48 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#106208 I gave myself a rare treat of switching the TV on last night to watch a new show by Derren Brown called The Experiments. This particular episode was all about guilt and what it can do to your mental state. To be honest I found it quite difficult to watch. Over the course of a weekend the victim was gradually influenced and manipulated from being an extremely honest caring person to eventually becoming an unconfident guilty mess of a person who ended up confessing to a murder that he obviously didnt commit Im a big fan of Derren Browns work and I respect his openness on displaying how easily our minds can be led astray. Its because of this that I focus 100 of my teaching and practice on Living Life the Martial Way and on showing how martial arts concepts and principles can be used positively to enhance our lives. Think about it for moment if Derren Brown can make a decent innocent person confess to a murder that he didnt commit during the course of just a single weekend then what... 2011-11-5 15:09:51 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#104501 Following on from one of my previous blogs where I described the importance of making your solo training drills progressive I will now continue the theme and look at an example of how I apply this into partner drills. The first and most crucial part is to ensure that each person is fully aware of both the purpose of the drill and the role that each of person plays within it. To determine the purpose we need to learn which attribute the drill is designed to enhance and then knowing this we can ensure that our partner is being given the correct energy andor position to develop their skill. Try starting the drill from a fixed position to ensure a strong foundation is gained and then introduce a workable stepping pattern. Once comfortable begin to introduce variations to the drill. It tends to be more productive if a single change is introduced first and then later moving on to having several randomised changes of shape and line of attack. After a period of practicing the above sta... 2011-10-12 16:36:50 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#103883 I can remember the incident which made me decide that I wanted to become a better person quite clearly. As to why I stuck with the process for the last 12years or so thoughIm not so sure. I suppose it just became a part of who I am and for that reason will be something that I continue to do for the rest of my life. Ive not achieved anything to shout about far from it I have however transformed myself from a place where I always felt there must be more to life than this to a place where I am now leaving conventional employment and starting a new chapter doing nothing but the things that I love with the people I love. To me it really doesnt get much better than that. So whats this blog about Well its certainly not about me it never is. Its about you. Its about what you can do with your life. It doesnt matter what your goals are. Nor does it matter what your interests are. The only person that can stop you is you. It is this realisation which makes all the differenc... 2011-10-4 14:48:27 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#103107 Next weekend Ill be giving a celebratory seminar on the day of what would been Grandmaster Ip Mans 118th Birthday. My goal for the seminar is to run through the whole of the open hand aspect of the system in the traditional manner in which it is meant to be taught and practiced. But what exactly do I mean when I refer to a traditional manner Well its actually quite a difficult one to explain. It is my belief that the art we practice should eventually become an expression of the self and if this is to be the case then is it reasonable to keep calling the art traditional So why teach the system in this manner Why not mix it up with a bit of Muay Thai and BJJ Well this is one of the reasons that I believe strongly in teaching the principles and concepts behind the art rather than use a monkey see monkey do approach I suppose this might also be the reason that I dont teach monkeys. In all seriousness though once we get down to the principles of effective martial arts practice th... 2011-9-23 06:42:01 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#102484 Drilling all aspects of your art is essential in order for the movement to become natural and spontaneous. The problem with drilling is when the practice never goes beyond being just a standard fixed drill. If you want to continue reaping the benefits from practicing this way then you have to make the drill progressive. In HCA Wing Chun there are 6 basic punching methods and 6 basic stepping methods. An example of how these aspects can be drilled in a progressive manner is detailed below Drill each of the 6 stepping methods individually in a linear method. Next try drilling each of these stepssimultaneously with all 6 punching methods. Once this becomes comfortable try randomising each step with a specific punch and afterwards randomise each punch with a specific step. For the next stage try randomising all steps and punches in any direction taking care to use the most suitable punch for the step being taken. Once comfortable try working the same drill in time with a beat to... 2011-9-14 08:28:30 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#102137 Whenever I begin to teach the Wing Chun forms to a new student I will often begin with explaining how the practice of Siu Lim Tao the first form is essential and how paradoxically it is unlikely that they will realise just how important it is until many months down the line. At HCA the lessons in Siu Lim Tao are many and include how to build correct body structure along with rooting issuing etc how to relax the body into the centre how to open up the joints and how to work them independently as well from the feet etc. After learning the Siu Lim Tao the student is taught the following forms which each build on the last one and as a set show the combative method in conjunction with the internal aspects which can also be used for health maintenance. In other words the knowledge found within the forms is vast and if they were simply looked at from a technique point of view then only a surface level of the art can ever be found. So here comes the thinking part If a student... 2011-9-8 13:20:54 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#101653 Training in the back garden the other day I felt the presence of my daughter standing in the doorway behind me. As I was deep into the Qi Gong set that I was working through I carried on my practice. This turned out to be more difficult than Id hoped though as she suddenly asked Daddy What are you doing. Now this seems like a reasonable question. After all I dont think most adults really understand the necessity of this sort of practice so I cant expect a preschool child to know any better. The problem is the way in which she asked me. If it was just a straight what are you doing it would be easy a direct answer with no explanation would probably end the questioning. However because she said it in a sarcastic tone one that really is too advanced for her age it got me thinking. To me it sounded as though she was actually asking why I am doing it This is something a very close friend and student of mine discussed in a blog of his recently please give it a read if you ge... 2011-9-2 12:48:05 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#100787 OK I admit it and if it hadnt have been for you pesky kids Id have gotten away with it I didnt have a sudden flash of enlightenment and or a magical epiphany. There is no secret to success just a simple formula If theres something you want to achieve you need to invest in your self to get it. So here are my top 5 methods for doing this. Ill start with the most obvious and the easiest to get peoples backs up Money. If you want to achieve something you need to invest your money into getting the best training experiences to aquire the necessary skillset. If you dont have enough money then find ways to get it. Time. There is always more time Dont fall into the trap of thinking that you dont have the time to do that. There are 24hrs in a day. Monitor your time usage for a single week and review it at the end. There will be wasted time that could be used more effectively. Energy. Its no good spending your time and money on extra skills knowledge if you a... 2011-8-19 12:13:37 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#100708 Ive just had an epiphany Can you believe it Seriously Im not going mad This is not just another of the usual enlightened moments that we all get where something becomes clear and then slowly slides away after about 24hrs. This is an actual god given epiphany Are you ready to hear it Actually... Before I tell you I need you to give the above question some serious thought because what Im about to tell you is the secret that we all want to know Its the actual secret to achieving massive success in absolutely anything you desire So I ask you again are you ready to hear it Do not read on if you have any doubts as to your readiness. This information could hurt as much as it could help. So here it is The secret My magical epiphany The answer weve all wanted to hear Invest in yourself. Wow I really cant believe Ive just shared that with you J To be continued. Happy Training Steve Hodgkinson 2011-8-18 12:50:08 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#100288 I wrote an article for a magazine recently about awareness. Although awareness is not the first lesson I teach in how to live the martial way it is certainly the most important. With awareness we can learn the real and usually hard to hear reason why we arent achieving success in whatever we pursue. Its very easy to get so focussed on ourselves that we lose an awareness of where we are in relation to others andor our goal. With awareness we can understand the real reason that a relationship we have is struggling. Its very easy to get so focussed on the hurt being dished out in whatever form that may be that we lose an awareness of how the problem started and what should have been done differently in the first instance. With awareness the riots that weve just seen would never have started Food for Thought Steve Hodgkinson 2011-8-11 09:05:42 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#98799 Ive been working a lot lately on refining the kwa lik found in my Wing Chun body structure and testing it through various footwork transitions in my Silat Fitrah practice. Kwa lik is a term used in HCA Wing Chun for the energy that travels along the inside of both legs and links in to the other four important aspects of our frame. I love the martial arts for everything that they offer and I genuinely see them as a tool for a better life. Very little else will offer the same level of selfmastery and with correct guidance and instruction they really can improve everything around us. From this love of the martial arts its very easy to want to learn more and more and to keep casting the net further. Were absolutely blessed in the UK to have such a large number of world class practitioners in each and every style and usually all it takes is a decision to go and do it. It can be very easy to feel like a kid in a sweet shop and want it all This of course is where balance pla... 2011-7-20 13:00:51 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#98476 I was behind a car at the traffic lights earlier that had a rear window sticker saying back off I stick to limits. I realise that it was reffering to speeding drivers but away from that what a sad thing to hear In my opinion the idea of sticking to limits should never enter our head because they really dont exist we can always get more out of something no matter where we are at and no matter what restrictions are placed upon us in fact try this Choose a punch that you wish to develop. Do 20 reps of it on a punch bag in a relaxed but heavy manner. Whilst doing this try to feel your whole body movement from the floor through to the impact area. Take care not to stylise the movement and instead just feel it when done correctly you should be able to replicate the same internal feeling without having to move. Using this same level of awareness do 30 reps at full power. Take each shot at a time and dont dwell on the previous punches. Next try doing the punch whilst lay on your bac... 2011-7-16 13:27:24 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#97715 I had a message from Guru Tua Chris Parker last Friday saying that he would like me to meet him in Birmingham 36hrs later to be graded under him. Knowing that I had plans with my wife and children for the day he asked why not bring them along. Luckily I have an amazing relationship with my wife and she excitedly agreed as well as suggesting ways that would allow us to still have a great family day in and around the grading. So whats the problem Well what this meant is that not only did I have the worries of whether I can do what is asked of me in the grading whatever that may be but I also now had additional worries such as whether the kids will get upset watching and whether my wife be put off when she hears my teacher saying to my grading partner try and knock Steve out if you hit him youd better knock some teeth out or you will fail your grading. How can I possibly perform well with all this worry going on Well the truth is that experience has taught me not to worry an... 2011-7-5 13:55:12 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#97403 The Justice Secretary Ken Clarke gave some clarifications today regarding the existing laws surrounding the usage of reasonable force when acting in self defence. The comments were made following an incident last week where a householder was arrested for stabbing a burglar at his home near Manchester. Mr Clarke stated how home owners and small shopkeepers who use reasonable force to defend themselves or their properties will not be prosecuted and made reassuring comments such as If an old lady finds she has got an 18 yearold burgling her house and she picks up a kitchen knife and sticks it in him she has not committed a criminal offence and we will make that clear. The above is old news to many but never the less as martial artists who hope to be able to protect ourselves and our families its great to hear it said so plainly by someone of his position. There are a couple of things that come from this though... Firstly once its commonly known by Mr Burglar that the residents may ... 2011-6-30 17:47:28 http://www.healthandcombat.co.uk/page16.htm#97381 Welcome to the all new blog page My aim is to supplement the writing that Im doing for Martial Arts Illustrated etc. with extra bits on here the blogs will be either as a Thought of the Day or as a Training Tip so keep checking for updates Dont forget that another way to get in touch and keep up to date is by joining the facebook group or by following me on twitter Links to both are on the homepage All HCA Events and news items will be sent out to the mailing list as usual so stay subscribed if you dont want to miss out Thanks for visiting Steve Hodgkinson 2011-6-30 12:32:52