I’m pleased to advise that issue 7 of Jissen magazine (for the Northern Hemisphere Summer of 2010) is now available for download (right click and download the image to the right).

Jissen (meaning actual combat) is published by Iain Abernethy, and contains information by, for and about martial artists interested the pragmatic applications of their art.

Issue 7 of Jissen contains a number of very interesting articles. As a kettlebell enthusiast, I was quickly drawn to the article Functional Training With Kettlebells For Karate’s Hojo Undo, by Chris Denwood, which contains a practical perspective on the role of kettlebells in karate training. I also enjoyed the interview with Gavin Mulholland, author of Four Shades of Black, an excellent exploration of some of the more functional aspects of Goju karate.

Other articles in Issue 7 of Jissen include:

• The Gurkhas: Masters of the Kukri
• Cross Training and its Relevance for Sport
• Functional Training With Kettlebells For Karate’s Hojo Undo
• Structure and Function of a Knife: Knife as Weapon Series
• Gavin Mullholland Interview
• Speed in Training
• Kyusho
• Ben Hockman Interview on Training in Urban Krav Maga
• It’s Hard to Fight When You Can’t See
• How Many Martial Artists Does it Take to Screw in a Light bulb?
• Martial Arts Scepticism: How Factual is Martial Arts TV
• Fighting Dirty: Karate/TKD’s/TSD’s Most Commonly used Technique
• Dead or Alive
• The Martial Arts Unanswered Question
• The Roundhouse Kick: Karate’s best Kick or a Threat to your Survival?
• Karate’s History

I hope you enjoy issue 7 of Jissen

Iain Abernethy Sensei recently released Issue 6 of the excellent Jissen magazine. Meaning “actual combat”, each issue of Jissen features a number of articles that discuss applied martial arts.

You can download the current issue and archives of Jissen Magazine directly from the Essential Karate News site, or you can visit Jissen directly

Issue 6 of Jissen features:

Contents: Martial Arts Scepticism: The Pornography of Reality-Based Self Defence – Never Give Up – Bouncer – How to Win a Bar Fight – Karate’s Holy Grail – Whiter Shade of Pale – Anatomy of Back Stance – Flow in Modern Karate – Oh S*it! Taking Chudan Uke to the next level – Stav – Karate Jutsu – Bunkai and the Horseman – The Innocent Walking Stick – Dave Turton Interview – Styles: Are They Killing Karate? – Transitional Aspects of Karate (Part 2) – Contact in Training (Part 2)

Contributors: Jamie Clubb – Lawrence Kane – Geoff Thompson – Rev. Art Chenevey – Michael Rosenbaum – Dave Turton – Andi Kidd – Chris Littlefair – Nikolaj Fænø Skarbye – Eric Parsons – Tony Brush – Kris Mansfield – Ron Briens – Ernest Tuff – Michael Rosenbaum – Iain Abernethy – Chris Denwood – John Titchen

How to download: Right click on the cover image and then select “save target as” (some times “save page as”). Then choose where you wish to save the file (normally the “desk top”) and download it.

I am late to the party here, but issue number 2 of the fantastic Jissen magazine published by Iain Abernethy sensei (guest on Episode 9 of the Applied Karate Show podcast) is now available for download.

Issue 2 contains a variety of great reading for the martial artist interested in the pragmatic aspects of their arts, penned by a range of wonderful authors including Iain Abernethy, Lawrence Kane, Kris Wilder (guest on episode 3 of the Applied Karate Show), John Titchen, Chris Denwood, Jamie Clubb, Dan Redmond and many more.

I highly recommend Jissen magazine, and as a free download, its got to represent the best value in martial arts media.