t's funny how 50 used to sound a long way off, but now it's coming up pretty quickly. That said, when I think about it, four years is still a long time. You can learn new skills, build a business, improve your health, make new friends, and completely change the direction of your life in four years. Sometimes we underestimate what can be achieved when we stay consistent and keep moving forward, even if it's only one small step at a time. So while 50 is on the horizon, I'm looking forward to seeing what I can build, learn, and accomplish between now and then. Here's to another year around the sun and making the next four count. 🍻

While cleaning out my dad’s attic, I came across something incredible — an original British Army manual belonging to my Great Uncle Joe called Methods of Unarmed Attack and Defence, issued in June 1917 during WW1. This wasn’t just a random book… it was an official hand-to-hand combat training manual used to prepare soldiers for close quarters combat during trench warfare. Inside are illustrated techniques covering: Striking Wrestling and grappling Defences against weapons Restraints and controls Close combat drills Even using a steel helmet as a weapon What’s really interesting is how familiar some of the movements still look today. You can see early influences of boxing, wrestling, military combatives, and even old jiu-jitsu concepts that would later shape modern self-defence systems. As someone passionate about martial arts, combat systems, and the history behind them, it’s amazing holding a piece of history like this and realising soldiers were learning structured unarmed combat over 100 years ago. It makes you appreciate how martial arts continue to evolve, while still being connected to the past.

I just want to say a massive THANK YOU to every single one of you for being part of this community. When I started this, I honestly didn’t know how many people would be interested in training, learning, sharing ideas and helping grow the Filipino Martial Arts together… and now we’ve hit over 100 members. That’s 100 people from different backgrounds all connected through Eskrima, Kickboxing and martial arts. What makes this community special is the interaction: 🥋 Training clips 🥋 Questions and discussions 🥋 Sharing drills and combinations 🥋 Supporting each other’s progress 🥋 Keeping the arts alive and growing Whether you’ve been here from the beginning or only joined recently, thank you for coming on this journey with me. We’re only just getting started. There’s a lot more coming: ⚔️ More live training ⚔️ More breakdown videos ⚔️ More drills and combinations ⚔️ More community interaction ⚔️ And eventually some bigger plans for the future… I’d love to know: 👉 What has been your favourite part of the community so far? 👉 What would you like to see more of going forward? Thank you again everyone. Onwards to the next milestone 👊”

This drill focuses on boxing reflexes using a partner attack-and-defend flow. Great for developing reactions, timing, defense and coordination in a controlled format. More breakdowns and syllabus content coming soon.

Another request from the community—and this one’s a great concept to level up your training 🔥 In this video, I break down a simple but powerful way to train in a group of three using a triangle formation. We start by feeding techniques between two partners on a count, then transition into a circular flow where the same techniques keep moving around the group. This method builds timing, awareness, and flow while keeping everyone active. In this session, we cover: - Double stick sinawali in a rotating triangle drill - A smooth transition into single stick sumbrada flow - How to keep the drill continuous and engaging for all three people Perfect if you’re training with a small group and want to add structure and movement to your sessions.