When I began studying the martial arts, it was a brand of karate much like shotokan, I was fascinated by the tales of one punch one kill. The idea that you could drop an opponent with one punch was absolutely fabulous! And that you could actually kill somebody with a karate strike, well, that was more than just a TV show, you know?

Then, along came gung fu and the concept of the death touch, the idea of killing merely by touching with the fingers. Man, now this was something that was right up my alley, and I know it doesn’t speak well of my maturity, but, man! To actually just touch someone,just put a finger on them, and have them drop dead, yowza kabowza!

I don’t care if you study Uechi ryu or shotokan or kenpo, or whatever, you’re going to need a powerful fist. I don’t care if it is boxing or Krav maga or tae kwon do, you’re going to need a fist that knocks them down the first time! Even if you’re in Aikido or Tai Chi, you’re going to need some kind of real power, or at least know what power is so you can properly handle it.

The martial arts, if you want to be really honest, were developed in third world countries. Of course, a few centuries ago, let alone a millennia or two, every country was a third world country. The unfortunate truth this fact of reasoning leads to, however, is that the martial arts are taught using old, ancient and outdated methods.

A fellow is told to practice the horse stance. He is given horse stance forms to do. And, after a few years, sure enough, he becomes able to grip the ground pert good.

The Israeli military’s official self defense system is called Krav Maga. A method of hand to hand combat that was born from the need to have an easy, effective method of self defense that could be quickly learned by any solider, without having to undergo years of martial arts training.

Developed by Imi Lichtenfeld in Czechoslovakia during world war two, Krav Maga quickly learned the reputation of being fast, effective and brutal. After the war, Imi continued to hone his techniques until it was eventually adopted by the Israeli defense forces as its official self defense system.

Krav Maga is the official method of self defense for the Israeli military. They needed a self defense system that was easy to learn, (didn’t require years of training like traditional martial arts) and effective.

Originally created by Imi Lichtenfeld in Czechoslovakia, Krav Maga was initially used by the Jews to help protect themselves during the second world war. After the war, Imi continued to develop his system until it was eventually adopted as the official hand to hand combat system for all Israeli military and police forces.

A Martial Arts class is a place to be strong and healthy. It is filled with hard working, dedicated people. The five following items are what you don’t want to hear in a martial arts class.

Hearing any of these five things interrupts the class, slows it down and breaks the pacing. Hearing any of these five things reveals an innate weakness that should not be manifested, but rather squashed quickly and fast. Hearing any of these things destroys the rite of passage that any good and serious martial arts class is.

Hate to be the one that points it out, but both Bruce Lee and Michael Jackson happen to be dead. Period. End.

And, the burning question left in their wake, which one of these superstars had more impact on the world. It doesn’t matter that they were in different areas, they can still be compared. So, here we go.

Bruce Lee wins when it comes to acting. Heck, Michael gets a big zero because he didn’t make much in the way of movies. On the other hand, Bruce made several movies, and they are watched avidly to this day.