Martial Arts

ATHLETES AT RISK: Time to Hold Abusers and Enablers Accountable

Final in a 5-part series COMMENTARY by Cathy Chapaty It’s time. It’s long past time for the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) and USA Taekwondo (USAT) to admit...

ATHLETES AT RISK: 7 Tips to Prevent Sexual Abuse, Misconduct

Fourth in a 5-part series By Cathy Chapaty I’ve made a plethora of mistakes in my martial arts teaching career that horrify me today. Years ago,...

ATHLETES AT RISK: Education, Boundaries Key to Ending Sexual Abuse, Martial Arts Leaders Say

Third in a 5-part series By Cathy Chapaty Yudit Sidikman was 12 years old when a sexual relationship began with her temple’s cantor. It lasted until...

ATHLETES AT RISK: The Evolution of Abuse of Power

Editor’s note: Pronouns and adjectives in some areas of this article are in the feminine for the sake of simplicity. It’s important to note...

ATHLETES AT RISK: Convincing Olympic Athletes to Report Sexual Abuse, Misconduct a Hard Art

First in a 5-part series By Cathy Chapaty Eight years ago in Las Vegas, I volunteered for USA Taekwondo (USAT) during its annual U.S. Open Taekwondo...

Enough is Enough: Instructors, it is NOT okay to have sex with your students

Brass tacks: if you see the people you teach as potential sex partners you're a sexual predator.

The No-BS Guide to Gun Control and the Second Amendment

Photo by Sara Liberte. So, let’s start with an agreement. Before you rush to the comments section to whine, cry or blather on about the...

The Ongoing Shame of Brazilian Jiujitsu Instructors Promoting Sexual Predators to Black Belt

Here's the $50,000 question: Do Martial Arts instructors have any duty to screen their students before teaching them the skills of physical violence? For outsiders who...

The solution to bad people being violent is making good people better at violence

We need to talk about Victim Blaming, and that's not going to go over well with certain people. Of course, it is terrible to tell...

Latest articles

44 Gabe Pearlman on BJJ and Full Contact Training for a Meaningful Life

Gabe Pearlman is a BJJ Black Belt under one of the first Americans to receive a black belt in the sport, Tim Burrill. We discuss the role training in a full contact style plays in having a meaningful life at all ages, the differences between BJJ gyms, and the value of a BS-free training experience.

43 Dungeons and Dragons and Viruses

Dr. Jason Goldsmith (MD, PhD) and attorney Dante Bradley, join us to discuss the massive drama and BS in the... *checks notes* world of Dungeons and Dragons.

42 Matt Thornton on the Nature and Reality of Violence

Matt Thornton of the Straight Blast Gym is an icon in the martial arts world, and in particular, has been beating the drum about functional training even longer than we have. In this conversation we discuss violence, how it is an unavoidable part of the human experience, and how to ensure good men are better at it than bad.

3 Concepts to Get Your Thought Processes Jacked, not Hi-Jacked

Three concepts to help keep your brain from getting sand kicked in its face.