Matthew Sylvester
Taekwondo
Beyond the obvious in search of excellence
Bill Burgar is not someone most Tae Kwon Do practitioners will have heard of. This is mainly because he’s a Karate guy. Bill has done what very few people in modern martial arts do today. He spent 5 years looking at one pattern and seeing how he could apply the moves in a street self-defence … Continue reading
Pressure Testing
Pressure testing is a buzz word right now along with ‘reality-based’, ‘pressure points’ and ‘cross-training’. Just as with the other buzz words there is some misconception as to what pressure testing is. Most people seem to think it involves blood, sweat and tears in copious amounts; somewhat like an MMA fight actually. This isn’t far … Continue reading
Applications – They need to be Practical
When looking for applications in your patterns, it is important to always be critical. When you’re doing this from a Practical Taekwondo perspective, it’s vital that you also be practical. Take the picture below. Normally you see this sort of thing performed by people wearing doboks. I took it with us wearing street clothing to show just … Continue reading
Why charity so often starts at home
A few years ago, more than a few actually, probably around 1995, my father was diagnosed with Cardiomyopathy – basically his heart was wasn’t beating correctly and getting the blood to all the places it needed to be quickly enough. It isn’t a curable disease, but it’s one that can be lived with, with sufferers … Continue reading
The Olympics gave us REAL ROLE MODELS
So, with the Olympics over, I’m feeling strangely conflicted. On the one hand I’m feeling totally inspired by the effort that all of the Olympian put into their performance. Whether they came first or last, every one of those people did their utmost to represent not only their country, but themselves and their loved ones. … Continue reading
Matthew Sylvester 