One thing people notice immediately when they look at our syllabus at Voracious Karate, and within the style of Jissenkō Ryū Karate, is that there is a lot to it. That observation is fair. The syllabus is large, detailed, and demanding. But the reason it is big is often misunderstood. The main and overriding focus of our syllabus is self-defence. Real self-defence. Not point scoring, not choreography, and not training that only works inside a dojo with rules and predictabilit

Recently, I spoke with a 12-year-old lad I know through a friend. He’s creative, patient, and incredibly skilled with his hands — building detailed models of trains, buses, ships, planes, houses, and more. He shares this work online, proudly and openly, as many young people do. Instead of encouragement, he’s been met with cyberbullying. People have left nasty comments on his videos and sent abusive private messages — swearing, mocking his work, and trying to tear him down. I

This might sound obvious — but surprisingly, it still isn’t treated as standard everywhere. Over the years, I’ve seen far too many martial arts classes run without a basic first aid kit present. Not forgotten. Not misplaced. Simply not there at all. And that is something that needs to change. Martial arts is physical. That’s the reality. Even in the safest, best-run classes, things happen: a nosebleed a split knuckle a twisted ankle a head clash a slip, fall, or accidental im

One of the most common things I hear when I stress the importance of fitness in self-defence is this: “I’d just run.” Good. Running is often the smartest option. But here’s the part people conveniently ignore. You don’t magically become fast, explosive, coordinated, and stress-resistant just because you decide to run. And real life doesn’t pause to let you warm up. Running Only Works If You’re Fit Enough Yes — running away is a perfectly valid self-defence strategy if it work

I’m often vocal about where I believe traditional karate struggles in the modern world — particularly around realism, pressure testing, and self-defence in 2026 Britain. That criticism is intentional and, I believe, necessary. But criticism should never mean blindness. Styles such as Shotokan Karate , Wado-ryu Karate , and other traditional systems have survived for generations for a reason. They do several things exceptionally well — and it would be dishonest to pretend othe

This is a question I’ve been asked more than once — sometimes genuinely, sometimes as criticism: “Are you too brutally honest about your views on the martial arts world?” My honest answer is: yes — I probably am. And I’m aware of it. But there is a reason for that honesty, and it isn’t ego, anger, or a desire to offend people. Yes, I Can Be Brutally Honest — By Choice I don’t soften my opinions to make them easier to hear. I don’t wrap criticism in tradition, hierarchy, or po

I often hear that traditional martial arts “teach patience”. I don’t agree — and this is why. It’s my belief that patience isn’t something you can teach or learn in the way people claim. Patience is a choice. You either choose to act patiently, or you don’t. No amount of enforced waiting creates that trait for you. Traditional systems try to manufacture patience in three main ways — and all three fail, especially when tied to grading. 1. Time-based promotion (forced waiting)

One of the biggest problems in karate — and traditional martial arts as a whole — is lineage worship. Not respect. Not history. Worship. You hear it constantly: “This is how it’s always been done.” “This is how the founder intended it.” “You can’t change it — it’s traditional.” These phrases are treated like holy scripture. They are rarely questioned, rarely tested, and almost never challenged honestly. And that blind obedience is exactly why karate has largely failed to move

When people talk about the Spartans, they usually focus on battlefield heroics, shields locked together, and dramatic last stands. That’s not what interests me. What matters isn’t just who they were — it’s how they prepared, how they fought, and why it worked. If you strip away the mythology, the Spartans offer some brutally relevant lessons for modern self-defence. Not techniques to copy blindly — but principles grounded in reality. How the Spartans Actually Fought Spartans

Questioning Is Not Disrespect — It Is Responsibility The idea that questioning a martial art is “disrespect to the sensei, master, or founder” is one of the most dishonest beliefs in modern martial arts culture. It exists not to protect students, but to shield instructors and systems from scrutiny and exposure. Martial arts were never meant to be protected from questioning. They were meant to be tested, broken, and refined through pressure, failure, and reality. When question

This is a question people avoid asking honestly, but it’s one that matters if karate is going to have a future. Karate isn’t dead. Far from it. But traditional karate is shrinking, losing relevance, and struggling with credibility, especially among younger adults. Meanwhile, boxing, MMA, BJJ, Muay Thai, and wrestling continue to grow. That contrast alone should make people stop and think — because karate should be thriving. So why isn’t it? The uncomfortable truth is that kar

One of the most important things we teach at our club — and one of the reasons head movement is built directly into our syllabuses — is a simple truth: You cannot block everything. Blocks are valuable. They have a place. We train them properly, pressure-test them, and expect students to understand when and how to use them. But relying on blocks alone is not realistic self-defence, and it never has been. That’s why head movement is a core part of our karate. Blocks Are Tools —

This is an uncomfortable question, but it’s one that needs to be asked honestly if karate is going to have a future. Karate is not being destroyed by MMA, boxing, or modern combat sports. It isn’t being erased by changing trends or younger generations losing interest. If karate is struggling at all, it’s largely because of how it is being protected, enforced, and frozen in time by some of its own practitioners. This doesn’t mean tradition itself is bad. It means that protecti

Which Model Was Right for the Past — and Which One Fits 2026? This is a topic I’ve spoken about many times, and I’ll keep speaking about it because it sits right at the centre of why traditional martial arts are struggling in the modern world. The argument is simple on the surface: Traditionalists believe rank should be earned by time served, age, and seniority. I believe rank should be earned by ability, contribution, and real competence — regardless of age. And after lookin

This wasn’t a rushed decision. It wasn’t made to be controversial. And it wasn’t made out of disrespect for karate. It was made out of honesty. After reviewing my syllabuses properly — not emotionally, not traditionally, but functionally — I’ve removed formal combinations such as junzuki lunge punches with mawatte gedan barai and jodan uke, including their kette and tsukkomi variations, from all grading requirements. These movements are not evil, dishonest, or pointless in th

We’re pleased to share that our head Sensei, Sensei Liam Musiak, is launching a new YouTube channel titled Sensei Liam. This channel is a personal education platform where Sensei Liam shares his understanding, experience, and approach to fighting, combat skills, self-defence, awareness, criminology, law, ethics, and training — the same depth of knowledge and principles taught at Voracious Karate, presented in a personal YouTube format. Voracious Karate is one way Sensei Liam

This is a question I’ve spent years asking myself — not out of doubt, but out of responsibility. Anyone can claim they teach “real self defence”. Anyone can show techniques, drills, or war stories. What actually matters is whether what you teach reduces the chance of someone becoming a victim, and whether it helps them survive without destroying their life afterwards. So I want to answer this properly and honestly. What I Mean by Self Defence Self defence is not about winning

While developing the syllabuses for Voracious Karate and Jissenkō Ryū, I made a decision early on: I would never ask a student to complete anything I hadn’t completed myself. Not once. Not partially. Not “in theory.” Every drill, every conditioning test, every pressure scenario, every written requirement, every mental demand—I completed them physically and mentally, to the same standard required of my students. This wasn’t about proving toughness. It was about integrity. Why

In Part 1, I explained how the ranking system punishes outliers instead of recognising them. In Part 2, I showed how unrealistic training leaves students unprepared for real violence. Now we come to the third major issue weakening traditional Karate in the modern era: instructors who stop training, stop learning, stop evolving — and yet still hold complete authority over those who do. This is not about every instructor, and certainly not a criticism of all Wado Ryu teachers.

In Part 1, I spoke about how the ranking system in traditional Karate was designed over a century ago for a completely different type of student and a completely different society. This second issue is just as serious — and just as damaging — because it affects every student, every dojo, and every instructor. If ranking is one of the top three problems in Karate, this is without question another: traditional Karate often fails to prepare students for real violence. For a syst