Blog & News
Castles Made of Sand: Why Footwork is the Foundation of Great Shadow Boxing
"Castles made of sand fall in the sea, eventually."– Jimi Hendrix In martial arts, as in life, everything begins with a foundation. It's tempting—especially for kids—to want to jump straight into the fun, flashy stuff: throwing punches, landing kicks, sparring like...
It’s Hard to Fight With No Knee!
Low kicks to the knee are among the most effective and devastating techniques in martial arts. Utilized in combat sports, self-defense, and street encounters, this strike is often overlooked in favor of high kicks and flashy combinations. However, a well-placed low...
Muay Thai: The Brutal Ballet
I love this reel. The cockiness. The swagger. The fun. The guy is no doubt hard as nails but also a dancer and a joker. When most people think of Muay Thai, they picture bone-crunching kicks, elbows sharp enough to carve the Sunday roast, and knees that could fold a...
My Freedom is Not Independent of Everybody Else
I've got a lot of time for Ram Dass. He was a deep dude with a lot of great teachings. I love this quote of his. It resonates a lot with my journey in martial arts and why I run my martial arts classes in Berkhamsted. When I first stepped onto the mat as a beginner in...
Midnight Zen: Know Your Limits by Joe Hyams
The 4D Combat system we train and teach at the academy is an evolution of Bruce's Lee's philosophy of Jeet Kun Do. I almost wrote "Bruce Lee's system of Jeet Kun Do", but JKD is in spirit anti-system. Sure he had techniques that defined his art but much of what made...
Boxing clever in Berkhamsted: how more girls and women are putting on the gloves
I'm really happy with this write up in the Berkhamsted and Harpenden Times on women and girls taking up martial arts and kickboxing with us.As Dolly Parton famously said: “I’m not going to limit myself just because people won’t accept the fact that I can do something...
The Power and Grace of Muay Thai
Power without grace is like a war horse without its knight. Lots of people can hit hard but if they are rigid, tense and predicable, then what use is it. Of all the martial art sports Muay Thai is perhaps the most powerful and brutal and one of the greatest Muay Thai...
What’s The Most Important Thing A Boxer’s Gotta Have? Rythm Man, Rythm!
Sugar Ray Robinson is often touted as the best pound for pound boxer ever. And for good reason. He was Muhammad Ali's idol. The man who could deliver a knock out punch moving backwards. He also happened to be a bad ass dancer. Watch this video of Sugar Ray and the...
Women’s boxing just went Kaboom!
When I was growing up in the 80s and 90s women's sport always played second fiddle to the mens' game. The women's final at Wimbledon was in the shadow of the mens final. Womens football was a cute little afterthought. And women's boxing, well that wasn't really a...
Mastering the Art of Ageless Vitality
If you want to know how to age well then look at this video of an 96 year old Filipino woman. At the core of the 4D system we train are the filipino arts of Kali Arnis Escrima, which is what this phenomenal old 'gal is in flow with. It's a unique system with profound...
Francis Ngannou – An Inspiration In Chasing Your Dream
Francis Ngannou. A true inspiration in following your dreams. As a child Francis dreamt of being boxing champion of the world. He had a poster of his childhood idol Mike Tyson in his room. But that was a world away. He was raised in severe poverty in rural Cameroon. A...