Over the last two blocks of 10 lessons, we narrowed the focus to elbow strikes. We covered the main elbow methods found in Muay Thai, then used mixed martial arts training ideas to test them against movement, clinch pressure, grips, and resistance. Then we came back to karate. More specifically, we came back to naihanchi.

You can show a tidy elbow application from the kata. You can drill it compliantly. You can hit pads with it. All of that helps. But if the other person is gripping, framing, blocking, turning, and trying to hit you back, the elbow has to earn its place. That’s where cross-training becomes useful. Muay Thai gives us a living model for elbow striking under pressure. Wrestling gives us gripping, posture breaking, and body control. Put those together carefully and you can buil

My client from Cotswold Karate School has been taking several months of Muay Thai cross-training lessons. The aim has not been to replace karate with kickboxing. The aim has been to use kickboxing and Muay Thai as attribute training, so certain ideas already present in karate can become more alive under pressure.

My Martial Arts Teacher Training client returned for the fifth hour in this particular course. The head of Cotswold Karate School in Chipping Campden, this client books me to not only increase his martial arts skills but also to consult on improving his teaching syllabus and curriculum. As a martial arts cross-trainer, it's always very encouraging to see teachers reaching out in the consistent drive to better their knowledge and the skills of their students.