In this episode I chat with Dan Holloway, owner of the Empower Martial Arts Academy. Dan is also the author of The Martial Masters book. We talk about Dan's journey in martial arts from Aikido to self-defence. Dan also discusses his focus on empowering students and his family focussed academy. Dan also shares with me how he ended up interviewing masters for his book. I hope you will enjoy this episode. If you would like to connect with Dan please check out the links below: https://www.empowermar...
Feb 02, 2021•54 min•Season 2Ep. 5
In this episode I share with you my observations about the behaviour of the Karate community during the pandemic. Positive and negative aspects of training and interacting online. I have a look at what I have discovered in my own training and what changes I have decided to apply in order to improve the quality of my teaching online. Hope you will enjoy it. If you would like to support the show with no cost to you and you shop with Amazon, please feel free to use my affiliate link, for which I ge...
Jan 26, 2021•22 min•Season 2Ep. 4
In this episode I had the pleasure of chatting with Dr. James Hatch, and our chosen topic was books on training. As usual in our conversation we drifted over different subjects. I always enjoy talking with James as his depth of knowledge in Karate and many other subjects is just impressive. We have ventured into some very controversial topics, that might spark up some debate. I hope you will enjoy this conversation as much as I did. If you would like to support the show with no cost to you and y...
Jan 19, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 3
When I was establishing my club, I was looking for a meaningful motto, I looked around and could see that most people use the same quotes. Fall seven time get up eight, Black belt is a white belt who never gave up Black belt is just beginning etc. You get the idea what people use on their dojo walls, not that there is anything wrong with using them, but none of them really resonated with me. I was undecided what to use and was jumping between a few. If you would like to support the show with no ...
Jan 11, 2021•10 min•Season 2Ep. 2
In this episode you can listen to my take on Shu Ha Ri and how it was applied to my Karate. Hope you will enjoy this one. If you would like to support the show with no cost to you and you shop with Amazon, please feel free to use my affiliate link, for which I get a small commission when you purchase something - note that it is completely free for you! Please find the link below. https://amzn.to/3qqfuhy 🥋About: Les Bubka is an author, Karate coach, entrepreneur and creator of the #Hikite4ever T...
Jan 06, 2021•26 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Lengthy conversation with Rob Davis from Red Fish Karate, about all things Karate. Visiting the "dark place" enjoying the ride down the slippery slope of being different, and having ability to think. Exchanging thoughts and experiences about the techniques and our perception of them, exploring fear and our reaction to it. Contemplating lightening the fu.k up. Hope you will enjoy this one as much as I did. Come along and join us on the engineering side of Karate ( correction I'm only a technician...
Dec 29, 2020•1 hr 21 min•Season 1Ep. 52
Retrospection of the year 2020, I’m very proud what I have managed to achieve despite pandemic. If you would like to support the show with no cost to you and you shop with Amazon, please feel free to use my affiliate link, for which I get a small commission when you purchase something - note that it is completely free for you! Please find the link below. Amazon 🥋About: Les Bubka is an author, Karate coach, entrepreneur and creator of the #Hikite4ever T-shirt. Promoting inclusive Karate with a f...
Dec 23, 2020•29 min•Season 1Ep. 51
Wow it's the fiftieth episode of Accidental Podcast! In this episode I have the pleasure to talk with Jamie Gray. Jamie loves to engage in banter about my height, and I don't hesitate to give back to him about his. All round he is a great martial artist and great fun to be around, he is very open and friendly despite his size. Jamie seems to know everyone in Karate, he also has a very focused point of view on his club and who is allowed in. I bet I could sneak in into his dojo unnoticed via crac...
Dec 17, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 50
What a treat this week I had a pleasure to chat with fellow martial artist and musician Mike Clerk. Mike just realised his new single Keep Moving. Our conversation focussed on martial arts, music mental health and crowdfunding where Mike manage to raise funds to create his project. I thoroughly enjoyed talking to this Scot, I'm pleased that I could understand him, hope you will find interesting to listen to a mix of accents. Check Out Mike's social media below. Facebook You Tube Instagram If you...
Dec 10, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 49
In this episode I had the pleasure of talking with Sue and Greg from the Conversations on Karate podcast. We chatted about martial arts, podcasting and everything in between. If you are not familiar with their podcast you should check them out, really good to listen to! Conversation on Karate Facebook If you would like to support the show with no cost to you and you shop with Amazon, please feel free to use my affiliate link, for which I get a small commission when you purchase something - note ...
Dec 03, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 49
Few thoughts on social media and trying to fit in on TikTok . Will I succeed? Who knows If you would like to support the show with no cost to you and you shop with Amazon, please feel free to use my affiliate link, for which I get a small commission when you purchase something - note that it is completely free for you! Please find the link below. https://amzn.to/369jbki 🥋About: Les Bubka is an author, Karate coach, entrepreneur and creator of the #Hikite4ever T-shirt. Promoting inclusive Karate...
Nov 28, 2020•11 min•Season 1Ep. 44
In this episode I have a pleasure talking to my friend Leigh Simms. Author of best selling book - UK Self-Defence Law: A Practical Guide to Understanding the Law of Defending Yourself. Leigh is a Lawyer and a Karateka, I always so no surprise here that our conversation was revolving about self-protection and law. I hope you will enjoy this one. Please checkout Leighs' website for great content. https://www.leighsimms.com/ If you would like to support the show with no cost to you, and you are sho...
Nov 27, 2020•56 min
In this episode I talk with PJ Broomy, an independent Karate practitioner from Australia. We met via social media and have similar views on Karate. Paul was mainly answering my questions about living and training in Australia, correcting my misconceptions about being an Aussie. Hope you will enjoy this one. For more info about Paul and his club below please see the link below. http://www.cairnskarate.com.au/ If you would like to support the show with no cost to you and you shop with Amazon, plea...
Nov 19, 2020•58 min
This episode started unusually, it's not everyday that you meet a person who has a kangaroo in the house! My guest is Jamie Clubb, from Chimera martial arts. Jamie is an author, podcaster, online coach, and self protection instructor. Our conversation focused on self protection training, especially for children, and the misconceptions of self protection in relation to young people. We also talked about Jamie's experience of growing up in a circus and the mental health aspects of martial arts. I ...
Nov 13, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 44
Mary Stevens is a practical martial artist, club owner, writer, and charity worker. My conversation with Mary focusses on the empowerment of women and her charitable work for the Fair Fight project in India and Africa, where she manages Karate teaching. We also talked about mental health, inclusion, and story telling. Mary also gives us some insight into creating a world for her Warrior Monkeys book series. Please if you can support Mary's project at the Fair Fight website below. I hope that you...
Nov 05, 2020•55 min•Season 1Ep. 43
Some time ago I was listening to a a friend's podcast, Conversations on Karate, and they were chatting with a person that I had never heard of, Dr James Hatch. I really enjoyed hearing about his approach to Karate, weapons training and tradition. A lot of our views are polar opposite to each other, but at the same time I can appreciate his viewpoint and reasoning. Fast forward a few months and here we are talking with James Sensei and having a great time exchanging our views on mental health, tr...
Oct 29, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 42
Tracey Radley is a mother, martial artist and founder of the Kuroten Practical Karate club. Our conversation revolves around Tracey's martial arts journey, how she got involved in Karate and how she transferred into the practical side of this art. We explore female views on martial arts, for example the barriers and obstacles that women face in their practice. We cover mental health, inclusion and disability training aspects. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation and hope that you will find it i...
Oct 22, 2020•44 min•Season 1Ep. 41
This week was not great, my Karate for Mental Health project was put on hold. I hope all will be resolved soon and we can come back to teaching and supporting students. If you would like to subscribe to our newsletter please visit www.lesbubka.co.uk If you would like to support the show with no cost to you and you shop with Amazon, please feel free to use my affiliate link, for which I get a small commission when you purchase something - note that it is completely free for you! Please find the l...
Oct 19, 2020•15 min
Samantha and Paul Harrison are a lovely martial couple, Goju exponents and ever searching for knowledge. We met at a seminar and I immediately liked them, open, funny and eager to learn. Our paths crossed many time since then, and thanks to the lock down we have had the chance to train together and exchange views. In this episode we talk martial marriage, how it is to be married and run a Karate business. We talked about inclusion, equality, mental health and training. I hope that you will enjoy...
Oct 15, 2020•59 min•Season 1Ep. 39
I had a conversation with Jen Mok and Chris Hanson on the subject of what life is like being in a relationship with a martial artist. Jen is a school teacher and fitness instructor, and Chris is a teacher too and a martial artist. Chris has relentless energy and passion for the martial arts, promoting cross training via his Karate Unity platform. Our conversation focused on how marriage can be effected by a positive obsession, what challenges impacts this relationship, and what are the benefits ...
Oct 09, 2020•59 min
Life is unpredictable, we never know who we will meet, when and for what reason. My friendship with Keith is one of those cases. Keith appeared from seemingly nowhere to join our club and we have become friends. We discovered that we have similar interests in mental health, with us both doing our bit in different areas. I was intrigued about the hypnotherapy work that Keith does and I thought that it would be great to have a chat about it. After this podcast was recorded I did go under hypnosis ...
Oct 02, 2020•32 min•Season 1Ep. 37
John Titchen is one of those teachers that impresses with his methodical approach to every aspect of martial arts. It doesn't matter if its Karate or self defence, his program is very detailed, with every possibility covered. John is a world renowned author of books covering both Karate and self defence. We talked about mental health, his Pinan flow system, the evolution of DART, training methodology, Covid and future plans. I love talking with John as he always gives me ideas about how to impro...
Sep 26, 2020•56 min•Season 1Ep. 36
In this episode I talk to master calligrapher, Akemi Lucas. Akemi came to the UK from Japan and has set up a school of calligraphy, Koshu Japanese Art. She is a very prestigious artist and is recognised around the globe, her artwork is awe-inspiring and is being used at some of the biggest events on the planet such as the Olympics and World Rugby Awards. Our conversation focused on mental health, motivation, perfection and inspiration. Akemi also shared with me her future plans which sound amazi...
Sep 18, 2020•51 min•Season 1Ep. 36
In this episode of reflections over the sink, I rumble about anxiety. With every idea I have comes uncertainty, will people like it? Would they laugh? Fear of judgment is creeping in, but through the years I learnt to challenge those thoughts. Hope you will enjoy this one ☝️ If you would like to support the show with no cost to you and you shop with Amazon, please feel free to use my affiliate link, for which I get a small commission when you purchase something - note that it is completely free ...
Sep 16, 2020•17 min•Season 1Ep. 35
In this episode I talk to Andrew Mierzwa aka Sensei Ando, the creator of Happy Life Martial Arts. A YouTube sensation, podcaster and pie lover, with a super positive approach to life. In this interview we discover a few similarities between us, and we also talk about Andrew's approach to training, how to keep positive and stay motivated. I really hope that you enjoy this episode, it was a great pleasure for me to have Sensei Ando as my guest. Check out Sensei Ando here: http://www.senseiando.com...
Sep 10, 2020•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 33
Kris Wilder is a man of many talents. The more I spoke with him the more I discovered about his ventures. Funny, smart, thoughtful and kind, these qualities are the foundation of a good person and Kris has them all. We talked about many things, among them were Karate, mental health, history, archaeology, religion and ancient aliens! Yes you read it right, ancient aliens, I bet now you really want to listen to this episode! Hope you will enjoy, by the way drop in and visit this website: www.krisw...
Sep 03, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Few great things happened today that made me happy. New website is ready check it out 👉🏻www.lesbubka.co.uk if you like my work please subscribe and get free ebook 😍🥋. Polish edition of Anxious black belt come back to me with final corrections, soon should be available. Going back to dojo and expanding 👏👌🥳 and more thanks for listening ! If you would like to support the show with no cost to you and you shop with Amazon, please feel free to use my affiliate link, for which I get a small com...
Sep 02, 2020•12 min•Season 1Ep. 31
In this week's episode I'm talking with John Johnston Sensei. We discussed aspects of Karate, inclusion, mental health and methodology of training with students with various abilities . John is a head instructor of Adaptive Karate, we talked about John's view on kata application, longevity and how to stay motivated. . If you would like to get in touch with Sensei John please follow links below: http://www.adaptivekarate.co.uk/ If you would like to support the show with no cost to you and you sho...
Aug 27, 2020•57 min•Season 1Ep. 30
Reflections over the sink, this episode is sparked by my conversation with Sue from Conversation on Karate about Karate friendship requests on Facebook. If you would like to support the show with no cost to you and you shop with Amazon, please feel free to use my affiliate link, for which I get a small commission when you purchase something - note that it is completely free for you! Please find the link below. https://amzn.to/369jbki 🥋About: Les Bubka is an author, Karate coach, entrepreneur an...
Aug 23, 2020•8 min•Season 1Ep. 28
In this week's episode I'm talking with Don Came Sensei. We discussed aspects of Karate, inclusion, mental health and methodology of training. Don is a head instructor of Kissaki Kai method in the United Kingdom, we talked about what is that method and Don' s view on kata application. We had some technical problems but in a true spirit of Karate we managed to overcome it. If you would like to get in touch with Sensei Don please follow links below: https://www.doncame.com https://www.facebook.com...
Aug 20, 2020•41 min•Season 1Ep. 26
