It's Louse Time! Concentrated Action

If you're new to my list of focused, motivated, self-starters, Welcome.

(if you're not jump right away to today's lesson below)

Every day I communicate to you the best ways to train and the kind of mindset it takes to get results either in your physical fitness or martial art training.

Friday is always what I call: "Louse Time". Modeled after Bruce Lee's strategy in Enter the Dragon. You know that part where he's having tea with the government agent but he's disturbed by one of his students and Bruce Lee tells the agent: It's Louse Time! The agent replies with his british accent: "yes of course".

Since I'm 6 years old that scene has always stuck with me and I'll be using that same strategy with You every week.

Friday is where I share with you Life Lessons and Direction given to me by my dad (and Sifu) every Friday.

Today's lesson was on Concentrated Action.

Yesterday we did just that. I'm not sure about you but last winter was hard on us.
One of our garage collapsed under the weight of the snow, our deck collapsed under the weight of the snow, one of our zip lines from our aerial park got crushed by an 80 year old red pine which snapped in half on it, our pool's outer wall ripped. Anything else?

Isn't that enough? What are you supposed to do in times like these?

Be resilient, take each problem and fix it.

Back to my subject of Concentrated Action. Do you often find yourself trying to do too many things all at once that nothing gets done?

Your day might start with you sitting down to continue work on a book you're writing, shortly after your cell phone rings then it's answering e-mail, then the delivery guy drops off a few packages, then you're off to a meeting. You never get in the flow of things.

The trick is to schedule your work day in 1 hour blocks. 1 hour of writing. 1 hour of reading. 1 hour of phone calls, 1 hour of alone time (meditating or training) with no interruptions. If you structure your day this way you'll get more done in half the time.

Yesterday was no different. Concentrated Action until 2:00 pm and most chores are done. Next week we'll start laying down the foundation for a new garage and getting the final preparations for Training Camp 2008 under way.

I write about a 100 goals a year and I never get tired of crossing them off my list and pencil in DONE on top of them. All that is possible because of this simple concept: Concentrated Action.

Master Yourself,

Sifu Martin

No Obstacle Big Enough

We're doing last minute preparations for our Saturday event held in Montreal.

Imagine removing all self-doubt, fear, and worry from your life.

That when you DECIDED to do something, you would, with total confidence and focus, no second guessing, no getting stuck in the paralysis of analysis.

How valuable would that be to you?

This Saturday we're holding our annual Focus On Results Seminar.

It's my favourite one and look forward to it every year. The energy contained between those 4 walls during the event is electric. The look on people's faces before the seminar starts and after it's done, you clearly see a transformation.

Your eyes are sparkling, your posture is stronger, your confidence level goes through the roof.

You feel like suddenly a switch has been turned ON inside of you. It was there all along and now you realize the kind of potential you have, that if you want to, you can do anything you want, there's no obstacle big enough and no amount of negative, discouraging, pessimistic people around you can change your focus.

You become accustomed to the words "I want","I must"and "I can" compared to: shouldas, wouldas, & couldas.

You need experiences like this one in your life. You need to impress your subconscious and prove to yourself that anything is possible.

The purpose of this meeting is to give each participant, tools to get a psychological edge in this ultra competitive, changing world. Being good doesn't quite cut it today. You need to be excellent, to stand out among other co-workers, to make yourself indispensable to your company.

If you own your own company then it means to stand out from your competition. To have that certain feel about you, a different energy that no one else has.

Be there in Montreal this Saturday May 31st at 2:00 pm. 6968 St-Denis (corner of Belanger).

Reserve your spot by e-mailing me here.

Master Yourself,

Sifu Martin

Secret Health and Longevity Training System

Yesterday I said I would go in more detail today about a secret, underground training I was exposed to last year.

I've been talking about this secret health and longevity training system for a while now.

The best way to explain it is to share my own experience with you.

It's an Internal Energy Training System that increases Chi Flow and promotes health and longevity.

You may of heard of Chi flow before which has to do with moving your energy inside your body.
Doing so should lead to greater health, strength, vitality and awareness.

I'm convinced that most internal arts fall short on their promise. You need to understand I'm a hard sell when it comes to something like this because frankly most of them don't work and believe me I've tried many of the so called best health and longevity system out there.

They work to some degree with mixed results. Nothing comes close to what I discovered using this secret system I've been talking about.

Most fail to open the meridians inside the body. As you may know there are over 300 pressure points on the body and several main meridians in your body. It's kinda like trying to know exactly how many roads, streets, side roads, and avenues there are in a city. We don't know for sure, although we know they can all lead you downtown.

If these meridians are blocked or severed, your chances of increasing your chi flow is highly unlikely even if you practice some other form of Tai Chi, or Chi Gong for a very long time.

Think of a meridian as a river and a blockage is like a dam.

If a meridian is blocked there are 2 ways to go about un-blocking it.

You can either increase the power of the water flow to bust through the dam or increase the water level so the water flows over it.

When you learn the different exercises you open up the meridians. When you first start, you feel pain. Pain is a sign of a blockage.

When will you have no pain?

When the meridian is fully opened.

Imagine the inside of a plumbing pipe after 25 years. Inside your body is no different.

It takes time to clear the channel.

Once the channel is open, the chi flows and replenishes you. Allowing you to sustain the exercise almost indefinitely.

Here's what happened to me 2 months ago. Previously, I'd been following the different training routines and exercises that were prescribed to me and couldn't help but to feel major pain in my right leg and foot anytime I did one of the lower body exercises.

Right away I realized I had a major blockage in that meridian but nevertheless kept repeating the exercises in the right order to eventually have a breakthrough.

And break through it did. I started the same way as I usually do, expecting to have to stop because of the pain but the pain never came. I kept going and going totally pain free. The meridian had finally unblocked. It really was an amazing feeling, I felt like I could go on for days.

Others have felt the same results and look forward to continuing my development in this virtually unknown, under-ground art.

Next time I'll let you know why it went underground for so long and how you can get your hands on this valuable information.

Stay tuned,

Sifu Martin

Best prices for kettlebells

Yesterday we held our Kubotan and Kettlebell Combo Seminar.

It's always a pleasure to work with dedicated students who take their training very seriously and show a genuine interest in improving themselves.

One weapon you must learn to use is the pencil size kubotan stick. It's legal. It's small and easily concealed. When applied in the correct pressure points will make any grown man scream for his mommy. Knowing you have it on you during a big concert, late at night or walking over to your car in an unattended parking lot is very reassuring.

It's also comforting to know you don't need to have it on you. A pencil, pen, keys, cell phone can be used similarly to protect yourself. Certainly not the flashiest of weapons, it holds its place in some of the most effective self-protection weapons available today.

From small tools like the Kubotan to BIG ones like the Kettlebells.

Kettlebells are a wonderful way to build grip strength, core strength, balance, body awareness, finesse, and skill.

To know how to move weight through space is an important element of being a martial artist.

Weighing in between 8 to 105 pounds, kettlebells can be twisted, lifted, turned and thrown in a variety of ways to train sport specific exercises or to re-habilitate an injured shoulder or back.

A perfect compliment to our already ultra efficient strength training system, kettlebells offer a progressive strength evolution. In order to build strength you need to constantly increase the level of resistance or weight you are moving.

How does kettlebells compare to standard weight machines?

The best way to explain it is kettle bells feel that much more alive. You need to constantly adjust and stabilize yourself, helping you use the whole body as one unit to perform the various exercises.

Compared to a machine where it isolates one particular muscle group and we all know that doesn't help you develop functional, useable power.

Your body needs to work as one unit, involving all muscle groups to kick in, if it's going to perform at a peak level.

If you're in the market to purchase kettlebells we're completing a big order right now and want to extend the savings to you.

Kettlebells are either not available at the local fitness store or way to expensive after you factor in shipping expenses.

If you find some for sale, they'll range between 112$ and 149 $ for a standard 36 pds kettlebell.

Ours are priced at 99$ and you can pick them up at any of our schools. You could actually make a profit re-selling them to the stores in your area, that's how cheap they are.

But I need to know by the end of the week. Send me an e-mail at montreal@fangshendo.com with your order and I'll arrange to place the order for you.

Until next time,

Master Yourself,

Sibok Martin

Geneva Police officer digs FSD

I'll be posting more pictures as the days go by from our trip in Europe. There's just so many to download and should be done in the coming weeks.

You wonder if our training principles of speed, intensity, power and attack are effective?

Well this guy thought so.

So much so that he didn't miss one of our seminars.

Geneva Police Chief Instructor

He isn't just some guy. He's one of the Chief Instructors of the Geneva Police Training Center.

I'll take that as a compliment.

More to come,

Sibok Martin

It's Louse Time! Vision

If you're new to my list of focused, motivated, self-starters, Welcome.

Every day I communicate to you the best ways to train and the kind of mindset it takes to get results either in your physical fitness or martial art training.

Friday is always what I call: "Louse Time". Modeled after Bruce Lee's strategy in Enter the Dragon. You know that part where he's having tea with the government agent but he's disturbed by one of his students and Bruce Lee tells the agent: It's Louse Time! The agent replies with his british accent: "yes of course".

Since I'm 6 years old that scene has always stuck with me and I'll be using that same strategy with You every week.

Friday is where I share with you Life Lessons and Direction given to me by my dad (and Sifu) every Friday.

Today's lesson was about "VISION".

"A man or woman without vision is like a great stallion without its legs, a lion without its roar, an eagle without its wings"

As a child, you have strong visionary tendencies. You have big dreams of what you'd like to be and ideas of how you might like to "change the world".

Now that you're older what happened to those dreams?

Many have locked those away deep in the back of their minds where they might stay for a very long time.

Have you given up on the foolish notions of youth and learned to be a good, responsible adult and all grown up, because your conclusions now match what the masses seem to have known all along:

"I, as one person, don't really have that much power to make a difference"

"People are lazy and irrational, and nothing's really going to change"

"We have what's given to us"

Have a clear vision for yourself and stick to it. Vision gives us confidence, power, and purpose. Vision gives us the power to venture into the unknown, to blaze new trails, to create what never existed before.

On some level, many people want you to fail, not because they are mean people, but because, if you fulfill on your dreams, they are going to feel even worse that they gave up on their own.

FSD started in my father's imagination when he was about 9 years old.

Make YOUR vision a reality.

Master Yourself,

Sibok Martin

P.S. I said I would give you more info today about a special 500 year old kind of training. The video is now complete and in the duplication stage. Once that is complete I'll let you know how you can get a hold of it.

He's 3 and he knows what he wants

This morning I drove my son Vincent to day care as I usually do on Tuesdays and Thursdays when he asked me a question.

When am I gonna do Kung-fu?

He's just a little over 3 years old.

He knows that Thursday is Kung-fu day for his sister Justine and he thinks he's ready to start.

So I said yes, I'll pick up a uniform for him tonight and pack the video camera to catch it all on film. We'll see how he does.

When driving back home I couldn't help but think of how kids know what they want and they'll do anything to get it.

Compared to so many full grown adults who don't.

Do YOU know what you want? Because if you don't, you're not gonna get anywhere.

Be clear on what you want to look like physically. How do you see yourself in 5, 10 years?

What line of work do you want to be in. Is it what you love? Is it easy and effortless for you to do?

The next thing I thought about driving back was the importance of being a good role-model.

Vincent wants to do kung-fu because he SEES me doing it.

Kids are like sponges and I must be careful to set the right example for him in all areas: from seeing me make physical health and conditioning a top priority, to how I treat my wife, to what I eat to fuel my body, to seeing me read and educate myself.

You don't need to be a father to do this. You can be a role-model to your friends, to your co-workers, or to your family.

Set the example of what having a balanced life should look like.

Inspire someone to master themselves.

Tomorrow I'll let you know when you can get your hands on that 500 year old secret I've been keeping locked away in the FSD vault.

Until then,

Aim higher,

Sifu Martin

P.S. This information was hard to come by and comes directly from the birthplace of martial arts. Stay tuned...

All the King's Children

The King had 3 children.

The first one runs long distances and competes in annual marathons.

The second is an aerobic instructor.

And the last one is a couch potatoe.

The king's assistant wanted to start a training program but didn't know how to get started. So she cornered each one of the children and asked them what they did to stay in shape.

The first one told her what he did and invited her to come train with him and his training partners later that day.

After seeing the other runners arrive she couldn't help but realize how "bony" and skinny they were. It wasn't quite the "look" she was looking for.

She remembered how most marathon runners are extremely skinny and don't look healthy. Plus she remembers the look on runners' faces while running, not quite the look of happiness and fun.

Next time you watch runners go by, see if you draw the same conclusion.

So she decides running marathons and long distances isn't her thing.

A bit disappointed, she goes to speak to the aerobic instructor.

He also takes the time to show her what he does. While he's talking she remembers seeing article upon article of experts concluding that slow long cardio is dead and has been dead for a long time.

There is no benefit to sustaining an exercise at the same pace for hours at a time. It actually weakens your heart compared to strengthening it. All it does is make your body very efficient at NOT burning fat.

She graciously thanks him for his time and pretends she's late for a meeting.

A meeting with the Couch Potatoe.

When she walks in she sees him sitting on...the couch. He doesn't seem to be doing much but she can't help but notice his lean physique.

"How do you stay in shape" she asks? You always seem to have that extra time to sit around and do nothing.

"I do have extra time" he replies but I don't do nothing. I use that extra time to educate myself, meditate, read, play, paint, and write.

"So how do you keep your body in such great condition?"

The secret is in the Intensity.

I complete my workout as fast and as Intense as possible. Almost as if there's a time bomb clicking away beside me forcing me to end my workout quickly before it goes BOOM.

That's one of the secrets, the others can be found here.


Sifu Martin

P.S. The moral behind the story is train smart, train fast and train with intensity.

Sibok Martin's Top 10

Top Ten Reasons for training in a Martial Art like Fang Shen Do:

1) It Challenges You

If something is too easy it's not worth doing it. When you're competing against yourself there are no sore losers only a stronger, faster, and more flexible YOU.

2) Gets you physically Fit quickly and efficiently

Benefit from over 35 years of experience training and conditioning people for maximum health & fitness. We know what works and most importantly what doesn't. Forget the slow, long cardio.
Forget the superficial gym. Forget the miracle supplements. Follow our strength training system for immediate results.

3) Builds Confidence

One of the most important "must-have" benefits listed on our class applications in 2007 according to our stats: CONFIDENCE.

Without confidence you cannot get anything done. Period.

It takes confidence to get your dream job or start your business. It takes confidence to approach a person you like and build a relationship with.

Why is confidence at an all-time low?

Self-Esteem

And we believe the first step to building self-esteem is through mastering your body. When you feel good inside it will reflect on the outside. Guaranteed

4) Strengthens your mind

You are your worst enemy and we will highlight that in your training. You'll learn how to control your mind when it wants to quit and drastically push it out of it's comfort zone.

One way we help you realize your true potential is putting you to the test through a series of different training sessions like firewalking which inevitably makes you a believer in...YOU.

5) Helps you set and achieve goals

Right when you start you're given a series of attainable goals you can focus on in the early stages of your training. That leads to a snow ball effect where you become used to following through on what you SAID you were going to do and staying true to it. Integrity is key.

6) Forces you to be mentally and physically flexible

A stiff body doesn't perform as well in any sport. Flexibility is at the corner stone of martial arts training especially in Fang Shen Do. Your body needs maintenance and re-alignment and all this can be achieved with an effective flexibility program offered in our schools.

7) Teaches you a valuable skill that could save your life one day

Although every aspect of martial arts interests us, like competitions, stunt man work, flashy demo moves, the art, philosophy etc...

Our main priority is on effective self-defense which boils down to a few principles you must respect and a handful of techniques that need to be sharpened and internalized for fast, natural reactions in a real confrontation. What you learn is Functional, Simple and Direct.

8) Increases energy and vitality

You want more of that?

Join millions of others who share the same aspiration. But most turn to energy drinks to get their energy boost. Not smart.

"That which comes to you quick and hard be careful", there are some serious consequences to drinking those high caffeine poisons, something I blogged about a few months ago.

With gradual, progressive training you'll feel 20 years younger and you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you did it all by yourself. But be careful, some exercises and training methods can leave you drained and tired. Make sure you know HOW to train so you feel the positive effects of working out.

9) Gives you direction and purpose

Something happens when you train in FSD. You strengthen your character. Your determination.
You learn to channel your energy. When your attention is scattered nothing gets done. In your martial art training, an attack without intent or purpose is a weak one and easily countered.

In your personal and professional life, a lack of direction and purpose is like rowing a boat with only one paddle. Where to you end up going? Nowhere. You end up going in circles.

Once you learn to direct your energy and thoughts inside the Dojo, doing the same outside of it will be automatic.

10) Makes you appreciate the present moment

Isn't that the purpose of Life? To be happy with every single breath? You reach this state many times during your training.

When a class flies by in what feels like 10 minutes.

When you finally "GET" a technique or concept.

When you just react without thinking.

When you meditate at the end of your training and feel the vibration of your heart beat making you realize how lucky you are to call yourself a martial artist.

Master Yourself,

Sibok Martin

Success is Revenge

Many people can attribute their success to proving someone wrong.

At one point maybe someone told YOU you couldn't do something. You weren't smart enough. You weren't qualified enough. You wouldn't amount to anything.

Maybe you were told to be REALISTIC and not dream so big.

No matter what was said use IT as fuel to reach for your goals and accomplish what it is you really want.

Show them they were wrong to think that about you.

Then once you get to where you want to go, release them and thank them silently for giving you that fire you needed in the beginning stages and to give you the courage to move forward with your goal.

One thing you'll find out though, you can never get rid of people who don't believe in you. That's fine, you know what to do.

The secret to staying motivated is to surround yourself with focused, positive individuals. To be part of a circle so strong that no negative influence can enter.

Become a part of the FSD Inner Circle, you've seen how negative influence can help fuel your goals and dreams but wait until you see what a positive one can do.

Master Yourself,

Sifu Martin

P.S. Be part of a Team. As Sijo once told me, TEAM stands for: Together Everyone Accomplishes More.

The next step in your training

Last April we held our Advanced Sifu Workouts seminar.

I didn't have a chance to post any pictures until, well...today!

The theme of the seminar was on introducing our Advanced Strength Training Kit coming out at the end of June and to remind everyone that our body is able to adapt itself to its environment and work conditions.

Whether you work with hot steel, in the cold, in hot humid weather, you strike a makiwara to strengthen your hand or kick a bag with your shin, your body will adapt itself quickly and efficiently to perform what you ask of it.

Remember it can go both ways. Your body can become very efficient at over-eating, sleeping, and sitting on the couch.

The same is true with your workouts.

If you fail to change your workouts and throw something different in the mix you might see yourself "plateau" during the course of your evolution.





The way our Strength Training kits are designed is very progressive. You'll see how one exercise you learned in the Basic Strength Training Kit prepares you for another in the Intermediate Kit.

Then once that exercise is strong and your body is able to perform it well, you'll see how it leads you to another one in the Advanced Kit. And so on and so on with every exercise.

The Basic and Intermediate Kits are comprised of over 136 different bodyweight and equipment assisted exercises.

I like this saying: "You are what you EAT and you are what you DO"

What kind of fuel are you pumping into your body?

Here's another saying I like:

"You can't out-exercise a bad diet"

Focus on Organic Grass-fed Meats, Vegetables, Fruits and nuts should comprise most of your daily food consumption.




There's no such thing as "Training Too Hard".

Your body will perform what you ask of it.

Set new limits for yourself.

Start using our Strenth Training System today.

Master Yourself,

Sifu Martin

The Eiffel Tour, My Anchor

Here's a cool picture of me and Sifu Patrick in front of the Eiffel Tour.

We did a quick demo in front of it.

You can't really tell but we were in the middle of traffic.

There must of been about 50 000 people in that area. Just simply un-real.

A special thank You to Aldo Visaggio, our film guy who did an excellent job capturing special moments during the trip.

You might of heard me talk about associations and anchors before, well this trip will be a major one for me.

Whenever you live an experience worth remembering, you make sure to associate it or anchor it.

That way you can recall that moment at any point in your life. Anchoring can be done through images, sounds, or physical anchors. You know how we all have a love song, we all have a break-up song, etc...

You can choose to have positive ones or negative ones. I prefer to focus on the positive.

Whenever I need to be reminded that what I do can influence people to reach their full potential and to realize there is no limit or barrier, apart from the ones that I impose on myself, I can accomplish anything.

In any moment of doubt I'll think of the Tower.

You too should Aim Higher,

Sifu Martin

What's Next?

Has to be one of the most important questions to ask yourself in any area of your life.

Following the concept of "Constant and Never Ending Improvement" will guarantee you keep on being creative and staying motivated.

In your training you should always set standards but not be limited by them.

Start small and expand from there. Avoid making the mistake of seeing how many potatoes you'll eat in one year. If you do you'll never want to eat a single potatoe again in your life.

It starts by setting measurable goals according to where you are right now.

If I tell a student they need to do 80 push-ups, 80 sit-ups in 2 minutes and run 1.66 Km in under 7 1/2 minutes when they first start, that might be what seems insurmountable right now.

Instead we slowly build up that number. Starting at 10 push-ups for White level. Then 20 for Yellow, etc...

But once you get to 80 you have to ask yourself: "What's next?"

Take some time to write stats about yourself:

Start by body measurements. Then make a check list of the following:

Max Push-Ups in 2 minutes
Max Sit-Ups in 2 minutes
Max Speed Mile Run (1.66 Km)
Max Over Head Press (Sand Bags or KBs)
Flexibility Level (beyond or below toes)
Max Squats in 2 minutes
Max 100 m sprint

And so on. Then do x 10% percent each exercise and continue pushing the limit.

There is no limit to what you can accomplish physically when you jot down stats.

If you need help we're offering our personal stat system for free when you order a copy of our FSD Training guide this month.

Aim Higher,

Sifu Martin

Become Flexible Now

Wish you could do this?

It's not as hard as you think.

The best way to duplicate something is by "Modeling".

Finding out what someone does then executing it the exact same way.

Just like this picture of Sifu Patrick holding a standing side split position in France.

Using chairs or in this case, pillars you can greatly increase flexibility in record time. But you need to follow a system or else you'll hurt yourself.

We've laid it all out for you on our Flexibility Series. 3 DVDs covering principles, recovery, flexibility and mobility, through easy to follow positions and exercises.

Make touching your head to your knees, touching your toes, raising your leg over your head, doing a full split, and holding a gymnastic bridge a very common thing.

Watch not to be a prisoner of your body but the master controller that can make IT do anything you ask of it.

Master Yourself,

Sifu Martin

More Updates Part 2

I had a chance to present some elements of Fang Shen Do during a 3 minute demonstration.

There were 1200 people there.

That is really my element.

Going on stage with no preparation really, apart from a few general ideas.

Just letting the Chi move my weapon where it wants to go spontaneously. In that moment I am totally happy.

I was assisted by Sifu Patrick from our Gatineau Kung-Fu Sc and Sifu Silvain from our Nepean Kung-Fu School.

I never get bored of doing Demos. Every demo is different and I learn something from each one.

We'll also release this demo on Youtube very soon. I'll give you a heads up when it will be uploaded.
It's not long but worth checking it out.

The biggest comments I got are related to Speed.
We have a very unique way of honing, sharpening, and developing speed.

Something no one was covering during our stay in France.

As you know, speed is everything. If you can't reach your opponent all your techniques are worthless.

If speed is on your mind (and it should be!) make sure to check our first of 3 speed products here.

Master Yourself,

Sifu Martin

More Updates Part 1

I'm finally back and I can give you the full scoop of our week long trip in Europe.

I'll have to lay everything in multiple entries or else it will be too long.

First of all, congratulations to my brother Sifu Stephane for winning his very first Kickboxing match with 3 weeks preparation. One must wonder how do you get ready for a fight in 3 weeks?

It has a little bit to do with something called: Strength training kit. If you'd like to find out, click on the link above for more information.

He delivered a nasty first round knock out. His opponent was given a L-O-N-G 9 count to recover. It ended in a unanimous decision after 3 rounds.

I enjoyed watching my brother give and take some shots.

We all need to challenge ourselves and he really stepped up to represent our system even though Kickboxing is not what we focus on, seeing the adaptability the system can give you is quite impressive.

Talking about being impressed, here's me talking to World Muay Thai Champion Nick Hewitson and Chief Instructor of Petch Yin Dee Muay Thai International.

"I see a career for your brother, he's very powerful"

A very nice man, we'll be working with him on some other projects in the future.

Here's another picture of my Brother with 23 time World Kickboxing Champion Jean-Yves Theriault.

My brother was on his team representing Canada during this Europe meets Canada Tournament.

A real class act and will also be working closely with him on

other projects.

We have it all on HD and will be releasing it on Youtube soon.

More coming up,

Sifu Martin

European Tour Update

Today was personal power seminars.


Here's Sijo pushing an arrow into Allan's throat, a young 15 year old.


It's a funny story.


As we were getting ready to start he got scared.


Allan did not want to participate in the firewalk. He was very afraid.


I told him not worry and to go along with the seminar and when the time came to walk he could choose to or not, his choice.



When we got to that point he was one of the first ones to walk. It was incredible to watch him transform.

His confidence went through the roof. It's an experience that needs to be felt that's for sure.


The participants can recall on this experience, 1 month, 6 mths, 1 year from now when taking on any challenge in the future.

Armed with this experience you'll never let fear hold you back from getting what you want out life or martial arts.

On another note, more weapon seminars today and we're getting ready for demos tonight.

The people are very serious and genuine, it will be a pleasure working with them next year.

I'll make sure to let you know how you can get to watch all of this on HD video very soon.

Until tonight (or maybe tomorrow)

Master yourself,

Sifu Martin

European Tour Update

Today was awesome.

Me, Sijo and our team trained lots of different styles today. From Shootfighting, Kickboxing, Brazilian Ju-Jitsu, Boxing, Muay Thai, Karate, etc...

Everyone has an open mind and they are there to learn.

One observation is the need for speed development and fluidity.

We focused on that today and we're already forging friendships with guys in Norway and England and should be going back there later this year.

Tomorrow we'll focus on weapon work. Something most people here are not trained in and are looking forward to learn this skill.

What does Fang Shen Do have in store in the futur?

Many alliances around the globe with professional, open minded school owners.

No one complains here.  No whiners.

It's nice to get feedback. Tangible, measurable feedback from masters & students from other styles. People we don't know who are complimenting us on our speed, explosiveness, energy and power.

There's alot of assholes on the net, people who like to bash us but over 350 people can't be wrong, these students  of martial arts have been around for a long time, trained with champions and know the good stuff from the bad.

It just strengthens our resolve to keep pushing ahead and sharing what we know and knowing that what we do deserves to be right up there with the rest of the top guys around the world.

More news from France

Here's a shot of Brussels before landing.

Beautiful scenery here in sunny south of France.

Being here is refreshing and we're meeting alot of influential people in the martial art world.

Yesterday we drove for 16 hours!

I went to bed at 5:30 am.

Even had the chance to drive on the autobahn at 180 km/h. 

Which seemed like I was going pretty slow compared to all the Mercedez, BMWs and Porsches passing me at well over 250 km/h.

You know being here is making me dream about all the possibilities that lie ahead for us.

The man we met yesterday was worth the cost of coming here alone. 

Seminars start officially tomorrow morning. 

They are being held at Place des Expositions.

The facility is well lit and huge with lots of room to train and work weapons.

Although my french is not the same as the spoken french here we'll manage to get our message across to the many participants attending.

We're also filming everything in HD. I'll let you know how you can get your hands on that footage in the futur.

We're all going to a local park right now to get to work and put in a training session.

I have other news for you but I'll keep that for the upcoming days 

Master Yourself,

Sifu Martin

Getting started in Germany

Here we are in Dusseldorf at the Nikko Hotel.

It has a Japanese feel to it and we're waiting in the lobby for our first interview with the chief editor of a very popular Martial Art Magazine.

Will keep you posted where you can find the article as soon as it comes out.

It's very exciting being in a foreign country, here everyone speaks German which makes it a bit challenging and fun.

Seminars start tomorrow and can't wait to get started.

Will definitely be back here and make this a yearly tradition.

Will post more pics tonight.

Sifu Martin

Live by this Code

I'd like to share with you this quote I received from one of my mentors.

It is profound, and if you follow these guidelines they will put you on the right path.

-To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

-To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.

-To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.

-To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

-To think only of the best, to work only for the best and expect only the best.

-To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

-To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

-To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

-To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

-To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble. Promise yourself these things. ~ Christian Larson

Jot these down and place them on your night table or read them aloud when you awake in the morning.

See what kind of effect it has on your attitude, your sense of purpose and the way you tackle daily chores and challenges.

This is exactly the state of mind you want to be in before starting your daily meditation.

Still unsure as to how to meditate?

You can get your meditation course right here.

Master Yourself,

Sifu Martin

Spring Cleaning benefits

We never thought it would happen but it did.

On top of that, there was only 2 weeks left to spring.

It had been there for over 20 years and last night we burned it.

When the roof of one of our garages collapsed in March under the pressure of the snow, we were shocked to find most of our heavy machinery and four-wheelers trapped under it and seemingly totalled.

Once the snow was fully melted and the ground dry enough we got to work this weekend cleaning and getting all of our stuff out of there.

To our surprise most of what was in there didn't take that much damage.

The fire was piled high and no scrap of wood was safe. We burned EVERYTHING.

It was quite rejuvenating and it felt like a weight was taken off of our shoulders.

Just like you probably felt if you did any kind of spring cleaning this year.

It's important to "remove messes" from your life. Once the mess is cleared and cleaned it clears the way and attracts more energy, opportunities and brings about much clarity.

Such is customary with our Fang Shen Do system.

If you trained with us or was still training 20, 10, 5, 1 year ago the system is always evolving.

Everything we do is revised on a constant basis, to make sure you get the very best training when it comes to strength and endurance work, martial arts and personal development.

A martial art system should be like you, always growing and learning.

There's always a better, faster way to do anything and we are commited to continue to bring you cutting edge, tested training techniques to get you results in the shortest time.

Come see what's been cooking in the FSD Kitchen. If you aren't a student yet take advantage of our free 30-day VIP Pass.

Master Yourself,

Sifu Martin

It's Louse Time!

This week my dad reminded me of the Dog story.

It goes kinda like this:

This salesman arrives at a farmer's house and notices the farmer's dog sitting quietly on the porch.

Salesman asks the farmer: "Is your dog always that quiet?"

"Oh, he's just sitting on a nail"

"A nail? Shouldn't we do something?" the salesman asks.

"Oh no, he's been sitting there quietly for a week"

"Are you sure he's okay?"

Farmer responds: "Well, I guess it doesn't hurt enough!"

How much pain are you supposed to endure before you actually do something about it?

Many people follow this weird behavior.

Some wait to be overweight before they start a fitness conditioning program.

Others prefer a lung cancer diagnosis to quit smoking.

Maybe it's failing to know how to defend yourself until you're a victim of domestic violence, rape or an unavoidable confrontation.

Why wait for so much pain before taking action?

Put physical fitness, self-defense and personal development at the top of your priority list.

If you've been procrastinating about something for the last few months or even years maybe it's time you got off that nail and took some constructive steps towards achieving it?

There's no good or bad time to take action, just as long as you start.

Master Yourself,

Sifu Martin

Fang Shen Do in Europe

I've always wanted to tour Europe. Not just for sightseeing but to have a chance to share our art with the Europeans.

As I've mentioned in past e-mails (Power of Dreams), you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.

As we've proven time and time again, we do what we say we are going to do.

If I'm going to say that our system helps people get what they want, get fit, have success in all areas of their lives, and live the life of their dreams well it starts with me and my family.

It all starts in your imagination, just like my dad went from hitch hiking to Ottawa with a gym bag and a dream to building the largest network of schools in Canada. From being literrally unknown in the martial arts to being featured in International Magazines and now a European Tour.

Publishing and selling well over 3000 of our own books (when it takes 1000 books sold to become a best seller in Canada).

Creating a slew of products for local, US and International clients.

My dad has a tag line: "If you can do it so can I".

So what are you waiting for? If we can do it so can you.

What do you want to look like physically and how fit do you want to become?

What kind of partner do you want?

Where do you want to live?

Who do you look up to, who do you consider a mentor and when will you meet them in person?

What would be your dream job or business?

Start dreaming. Dreams really do become a reality when you back it up with passion and commitment.

Something to think about today,

Aim Higher,

Sifu Martin

P.S During the next week I'll be keeping you posted on our travels in France.
I'll be filling the Blog section with pictures and updates. Stay Tuned!