“The goal of sparring is enlightenment through getting punched in the face!” That’s how Masters Academy Essex Head instructor, Matt Chapman, puts it. And despite his colourful language, Matt is completely right. Sparring is one of the most beneficial parts of martial arts training. It will teach you so much more about yourself and your...

3 Stretches To Improve Your Hip and Hamstring Flexibility I’m want to share with you 3 stretches that have dramatically increased my hip and hamstring flexibility. But before I get into that I want to share two flexibility concepts that have helped develop my flexibility consistently. The first concept is let your body tell you...

Hand Wraps for Boxing and Muay Thai Kickboxing What is hand wrapping? Why should you do it? How do you do it? Coach Louis answers all these questions and demonstrates how he likes to wrap his hands in this short video. For more information about Boxing or Muay Thai Kickboxing classes in Plymouth call 01752...

Mastering Martial Arts #2: Showing Up To Class Most people understand that consistency is essential in getting good at anything. However, how you think and feel, and act will have a dramatic impact on the speed at improve. In the video (1 min 51 sec) Masters Academy coach, Tom Barlow, shares the concept of showing up...

The Thai Rhythm Drill muay thai /mūaj.tʰāj/ noun 1. a combat sport of Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. The Thai Rhythm Drill is great drill that teaches you how to combine the punches and kicks, and develops good hip dynamics. Using your hips correctly is essential if you want to...

Kick This Summer Off With A Bang   Whether you want to lose weight, build muscle, learn self defence or just get out of the house and do something good for yourself, our Kickstart Programme will help! We’ve put together an 8 Week Adult Programme to encourage people like you to get into martial arts...

UFC 175 Predictions The latest installment of the UFC will take place this weekend on the 5th July 2014 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. At UFC 175 there will be not one but two UFC titles on the line. Current middleweight champ Chris Weidman will face Lyoto Machida, and Womens Bantamweight...

UFC 173 Predictions & Preview UFC 173 takes place this week at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The main event features Renan Barao vs TJ Dillashaw for the UFC Bantamweight title. Here are my predictions for the main card of UFC 173 Jamie Varner vs. James Krause Krause is boast an impressive...

UFC 172 Predictions UFC 172 is fast approaching, and looks set to be a great mixed martial arts event. The main event features Jon Jones vs Glover Teixeira for the Light Heavyweight crown. Here are our predictions for the main card at UFC 172; Max Holloway vs Andre Fili These guys are near carbo copies...

UFC 170 Predictions UFC 170 takes place this Saturday 22nd February 2014 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas Nevada. The headline event for this highly anticipated Mixed Martial Arts show features Ronda Rousey verses Sarah McMann for the womans Bantamweight title. Here is the full fight card for UFC 170 Main Card...