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Hi All,
Welcome to the latest newsletter! I hope you’re all well
and managing to train consistently and creatively as we navigate the pandemic.
Lots of positive news on the vaccine front so it looks like we are seeing light
at the end of the tunnel. This trying time will therefore become another obstacle
we navigated and overcame soon enough. To more positive things …
It’s nearly Christmas! Work on the traditional end of
year podcasts will therefore be starting soon! As always, I need your questions
so please see Section 2 if you want to contribute. Thanks in advance!
Speaking of podcasts, I have several lined up and have
set time aside to do then over the next couple of weeks. You are therefore going
to have a lot of listening over the festive period!
It’s also been a DECADE since I shared the Martial Map
Podcast / Audio book! I know, right?! I regard it as one of the most important
things I’ve done. It remains very popular and influential, and I see a growing number
of people referencing it. I therefore decided to upload a version to YouTube to
make it even more accessible (Section 1).
The final thing for this introduction is it’s Christmas
and I’m skint. It’s been a lean year for international martial arts seminar
givers :-) I’m therefore running a sale on everything in the shop for the next week.
How’s that for honest and unpretentious marketing? :-) 20% off everything. You
get a bargain and I get a little income boost. Everyone wins! (See Section 3).
A huge thanks to everyone for your support, enthusiasm
and inspiration! I’ll be back with the end of year podcasts soon, so get your questions
sent over!
All the best,
Iain
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CONTENTS:
1) The Martial Map (10-year anniversary YouTube version)
2) HELP WANTED: End of year podcast questions?
3) 20% off everything for the next seven days!
4) Recent live online classes and news of upcoming ones!
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1) The Martial Map (10-year anniversary YouTube version)
Welcome to the YouTube version of The Martial Map!
Originally, this was an audiobook / podcast that I shared in January 2011. I
believe it to be one of the most important things I’ve produced, and it’s
certainly been one of the most popular. Now that we are at its ten-year
anniversary, I thought it would be a good time to share it here too. I also see
a growing number of people referencing it so a YouTube version will no doubt
help with its accessibility.
The Martial Map discusses martial arts, fighting,
self-protection and their relationship to one another. Many martial arts
instructors see martial arts, fighting and self-protection as being one and the
same with all distinctions between them being completely lost. I find this lack
of clarity to be highly problematic and it is arguably the biggest problem in
modern training and teaching.
We train most effectively when we clearly define the
objective of that training. However, it is my view that most practitioners and
instructors are unclear what they are training for. That uncertainty leads to
ineffective and unfocused training.
In the Martial Map, I put forward a simple model to help
people refocus on the distinctions and similarities between various areas of
study. Focussed thinking will lead to more efficient training.
The Martial Map is not the definitive solution to the
problem of unfocused training, but I think The Martial Map is a very useful way
of framing the question. I firmly believe that those who apply this way of
thinking to their training will become better fighters, better martial artists
and better able to protect themselves from society’s violent minority.
The Martial Map will also be useful for instructors by
helping to ensure their teaching is objective driven, their students remain
clear on the purpose of all forms of training, and there is no confusion on
when any given method is applicable and when it is not.
I hope you find it a thought provoking and enjoyable
listen.
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2) HELP WANTED: End of year podcast questions?
It’s that time of year again! The bumper end of year
podcast – complete with the usual sponsors / adverts (if you’re new, you will
see!) – will be out in a couple of weeks. As you will appreciate, they take a
while to record, so if you could get your questions to me in the next week or so
that would be great!
We can chat about martial history, kata, bunkai, self-protection,
fitness and conditioning, teaching, anything you like! Just email them over and
I’ll include as many as I can!
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3) 20% off everything for the next seven days!
For the next week you can get 20% of EVERTHING in the store
by using the coupon code below:
Coupon Code: iain20
Offer ends on the 14th of December.
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4) Recent live online classes and news of upcoming ones!
For the last month the app users have been gathering
online on a Tuesday to train. We’ve had participants from the USA, Canada, Australia,
Denmark, Germany, Finland, Mexico, UK, etc. It’s been great! Thanks to everyone
who took part!
Full footage from all classes can be found in the “Almost
Live” section of the app should you wish to do the training / workout “on demand”.
More live classes will the scheduled soon!
I’m also keen to do an end of year session so we can
collectively give 2020 the send-off / #### ###! it so richly deserves. The plan
is for a fun train – based around the number “20” – which I hope you’ll find interesting
and rewarding.
Please keep an eye on the weekly video messages and push
messages for updates!
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I’ll be back with more soon!
All the best,
Iain
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