I had the good fortune of spending some time with Kelly and Juliet Starrett, founders of San Francisco CrossFit this past weekend. They are some of my favorite people in the world and Kelly is a GENIUS of physical therapy and rehab. If you get hurt, you want it to happen near this guy. Kelly told me a story of one of his colleagues getting very upset at Kelly’s statement that the Swiss Ball has limited rehab value. Kelly made come cogent arguments regarding basic functionality, motor-unit recruitment, common sense and experience. This exchange did not start well and it devolved to the point that Kelly’s colleague, when feeling boxed in, I assume, made a statement to the effect “Show me your research. If you do not have research supporting this it CAN NOT be true.”

I imagine this scenario plays itself out in many arenas, but I have seen it particularly in medicine, strength & conditioning and martial arts. Medicine has played party to the lie that fat is the causative agent in diseases ranging from type II diabetes to cancer to Alzheimer’s. The Soft Science of Dietary Fat broke the seal on the medical establishment's denial of the role dietary carbohydrates play in modern disease. Things seemed to improve for a time, but the old dogmas have crept back in. The newest study is touted as being the most comprehensive to date… and shows NO benefit to eating a low fat diet for either body composition or health and longevity. No benefit. So the interesting thing is even in the face of insurmountable evidence, it appears to be fairly easy to spin or ignore the data to maintain the dominant paradigm. I guess that is human nature and to be expected. It is interesting that the market seems to sort this out fairly effectively as the Zone empire grows slowly but surely. This growth occurs because people try the Zone and it works. Personal experience wins out occasionally!

The martial arts have witnessed a similar avoidance of reality to that seen in the medical establishment. Pressure points, Kata and hierarchy have received greater value than conditioning, delivery system and progression. It took nearly twenty years for the Gracie phenomenon to convince most that a ground game was integral to effective combat. We see a decided advantage to those who embrace critical thinking and personal experience over those clinging to dogma and tradition.

This month we are proud to present an interview with Straight Blast Gym International founder Matt Thornton. Matt is a true pioneer in Mixed Martial Arts and has been somewhat of a controversial figure, particularly in the Jeet Kune Do world, because of his insistence upon authentic, alive training. Matt has a keen mind and his constant analysis of curriculum and teaching methods have created an environment where fighters competing at the highest levels of MMA are trained with the same methodology as children and grandparents. SBG modifies intensity and volume; they do not change workouts. Sound familiar?


Tell our readers about yourself including athletic, educational and martial arts background.

I started martial arts with boxing as a kid, and discovered JKD when I left the military, about fourteen years ago. I liked it because they used boxing hands. Then I had the privilege, of meeting Rickson Gracie, a year or so before the first UFC, and that got me hooked on BJJ. Our curriculum evolved over the decade to what we have today.


Matt, you talk at length about “Aliveness” on your website, in your seminars and other interviews… so much in fact that I feel guilty asking about it again! But here goes: What is “Aliveness”, who trains this way and how can our readers who may not be familiar with martial arts discern a school or group who trains this way?

Personally I think Aliveness is the most important concept within all martial arts. Without that concept as a core basis, everything else kind of just falls apart. So Aliveness needs to come first. It keeps everything authentic, functional, and above all else, healthy.

We put up a huge Aliveness Q & A at our website, www.straightblastgym.com, which anyone can access. It deals with nearly all the questions that come up regarding Alive training. But in short Aliveness means timing, energy, and motion, the three key ingredients to functional training. And when Aliveness is maintained, then everything else seems to come right in the end; it will fall into place if it's going to.


From your writings it seems you had some trepidation about switching your curriculum to alive training because your friends and instructors felt you could not make this type of training commercially viable. What was that process like? How does it feel now that SBG has grown so much?

I wouldn’t so much say trepidation, but more that I had resigned myself to the fact I would always have to keep a second job, in order to feed my family. And I believed that because at the time absolutely everyone told me that nobody wanted to train this way. That people loved dead patterns, and nobody would want to sweat. That was more or less where the JKD as a majority was at that time, and that was pretty much where traditional martial arts are in the country. So I just accepted it. I was actually amazed at the really positive influx of new students that kept arriving weekly when I first opened my tiny little gym. We were way ahead of the curve of MMA at the time, and I was, and am, happy to prove my old critics wrong. People do want to train this way, and yes, you can make a comfortable living if you work hard and are good at what you do. You don’t need any of those old dead patterns or methods. There is a better, healthier way.


Why do you feel that training Alive as an athlete helps in character development?

Great question! I think the key word is probably authenticity. It's authentic, in the sense that when you roll in BJJ, or box, or wrestle, the matches are not choreographed. It is not based on one and two step sparring patterns. It is real in that sense. It contains that combination of timing, energy, and motion. So as time goes by the athlete develops a real sense of self confidence, based on what they know their body can, and cannot do. And that can’t be faked. And I think that process can be an incredible form of Yoga. In the sense of self actualization that Yoga can imply.

I don’t think it is a given that training Alive will make people nicer human beings. I think that Alive training has to go hand in hand with a healthy environment, mature role models, and a caring community. The combination of the two can be really powerful in terms of the positive aspects it can have on people’s lives. People of all ages, by the way. And although I don’t think Alive training is enough alone, it is certainly is required within martial arts. Because if what you are doing is based on a lie, that is, it is not authentic, then I don’t think it will be useful as a tool for happiness.

That is why I am a big believer that the Alive training should go hand in hand with a really intense introspective process. And that is a very personal subject, so I speak about it in general terms, but I think it is crucial. It is an uncomfortable topic for many people. But I think it is so vital. All forms of Yoga contain both parts. A physical part, which has to be honored. And an introspective part, which also has to be honored. I think that when our intentions regarding the activity we are engaging in are clear, honest, and open, then that 'thing' (activity-event) becomes incredibly healthy. It becomes a kind of Yoga. But for that to occur we must be clear within ourselves about our own personal intentions. And although most people believe they already are, I think its pretty clear we usually are not. So that ruthless bent towards introspection also has to be there, I think. Again, it is all about authenticity.

The respect, humility, and honor of martial arts is actually, when we tell the truth, only ever found in Alive training. It's just imitated in the other kind of training. It's about being authentic. In other words, I can pretend to be humble, I can bow to you and all that, or I can actually be humble. But obviously, I can’t be both at the same time. Aliveness takes us there.

People who accuse Alive training of not having that actually have things completely upside down. Alive training has all of that, and recognition of it is what helps create that healthy culture we share together.


You have had success with the Zone in the past. How did you hear about the Zone and what were your performance changes while implementing it?

I was never really a jock. Boxing was the first sport which ever interested me. And at that time I did plenty of cardio, but not much else. And once I stopped going to the boxing gym, conditioning kind of took a backseat for me. It wasn’t until maybe the second year after opening my own gym that I decided I was going to get serious about my own personal level of fitness. I needed to in order to push my BJJ skills as far as I wanted to at that time. So I did tons of research on diet, exercise, etc. This was around 98 or 99. The zone made the most sense to me, so I stuck with that religiously for a couple Years. I may have taken in a few less carbs then normally prescribed within that diet, but all in all I stuck with it. I didn’t drink at all, and I was lifting heavy and doing anaerobic HIT cardio routines 2 – 3 times a week. I went from about 260 lbs, with a body fat in the high teens, to about 255, and 5-6% body fat, when I hit my peak period of emphasis on conditioning. My body, and its capabilities, completely changed.


How do you balance learning basic motor skills and aliveness? For example, when learning boxing and Thai boxing, how much emphasis is placed on basic combinations (jab, cross, right round kick)? Can you give an example of the progressions a beginner might see as they work their way through the SBG curriculum?

We don’t have a beginner, intermediate, advanced curriculum, in terms of technique. I am a big believer that there are only fundamentals, and those fundamentals when done really well, at just the right time, are advanced technique. So the progression then becomes one more of intensity, and levels of resistance, and not so much of technical movement. That said, a beginner will work out in much the same way and with the same skill sets and techniques. The only difference is how hard the practice is, and how loose or tight the drill parameters may be.

In terms of passing on a basic technique, any technique, be it from boxing, wrestling, BJJ or whatever, then the method typically used is what I call the “I” method. The “I” method is a three phase process. The first step is introduction, and that is where we work the basic mechanics of the movement without resistance. This usually takes anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes. This is followed with a drill phase, this is the isolation stage. Progressive resistance is used in various ways so that the feel and timing of the movement is acquired. We finish with integration, where we put that skill, technique, or tool, back into the complete game that they are training for. The really important part is that the isolation stage, which follows the introduction stage, is never skipped. I never teach a class that is just introduction stage. Even on day one, people train Alive when they are training with me.

The “I” method is the primary method in the beginning, but as the athletes progress we move into different types of curriculums, the progression I usually follow is as follows:

'I' method, which develops skillsets. Then a more conceptual method, which helps develop a well rouded game, and various types of pressures. The progression for that is usually objectives, concepts / pressures, and games… with emphasis being on creating a fun training environment that allows more freedom for the athlete then is always found in an “I” method type course.

The last method I use is the Inquiry method, and again this is a pretty simple three-phase process: objective (or challenge), questions define the games, and students discover & articulate concepts/pressures. This is a type of class that requires participation in the direction of what is being taught by every student present. So usually the athletes we coach using this method already posses a game.


Your writing alludes to a sense of obligation to be honest and seek the truth with regards to martial arts training and in fact all areas of life. What are your thoughts on this topic regarding strength and conditioning? What do you feel works when preparing for fighting or life?

That is potentially a huge topic, so let me answer as practically as I can. I think looking at the latest studies and ideas that are related to athletic conditioning is a solid thing to do. Especially for a coach, but I also believe that most of what we need to know, we already know. How to lift for strength, how to develop a large gas tank, and how to eat clean and healthy. Again I think it comes down to fundamentals, done well, and done regularly. That said, I still like to see what new ideas and innovations come around when it comes to conditioning athletes.


Matt, you said, "Fundamentals done really well… those are advanced techniques.” This is eerily similar to what some have noticed in athletic training. Fundamentals like the Olympic lifts, sprints, jumps, tumbling, rope climbs seem to deliver a level of athleticism impossible to obtain using the parts and pieces bodybuilding approach. Does this resonate with you? Share any thoughts you might have on this.

Exactly… that is absolutely my opinion. There are a few individuals that can get by with sloppy technical skill in any sport, by making up for it with superior attributes, drugs, or genetic gifts. But even these people would be better served by working on good, technical, core fundamentals, or whatever skill set they are trying to learn. So my focus as a coach is always on those with fundamentals, with all the athletes I work with.


Please take our readers through your “I” method. This seems deceptively simple yet it is rare in the teaching of martial arts. How did you come to it?

Most everything that I have come up with regarding the gym has been a description of what already was, and not something I created or invented. So I was teaching using an “I” method progression for years, and then when I started to receive attention, and promote the Aliveness concept, people would always ask me, “Well how do you teach someone the basics Alive if they don’t know anything yet?” etc., so I began describing what I was doing, and that description was given a name for sake of easier explanation. The same is true for Aliveness, adaptability, delivery systems, non-attribute-based training, and all the other terms which have been identified with SBG. It is a process of evolution in terms of language, for ease in communication and the sharing of knowledge and skills. Like everything else I suppose.


We have noted that the conditioning needs of military and law enforcement personnel are not met by conventional segmented training (bodybuilding M-W-F, long slow run T-Th) but rather by constantly varied mixed modal training. Do you see parallels here with regards to martial arts training in these populations? How has your ISR matrix addressed this issue?

ISR is the brainchild of SBGi VP Luis Gutierrez, and he put a tremendous amount of thought, effort, and experience into that program. I think it is light years ahead of everything else I have seen that is usually taught within those professions. The reasons are not just the techniques taught, though all of them are simple, powerful, and functional fighting fundamentals; the reason is the training method. Again, Luis brings back Aliveness into that training, along with cutting edge delivery system technology, so the classes, while staying safe, actually do teach these people how to control their suspects and stay safe.


In linguistics, the term "pidgin" refers to the overlap of two different languages and the initial incomplete integration of these languages. Creole refers to a much more sophisticated integration of the two languages, typically performed by the children of the pidgin speakers. The Creole is more advanced in both grammar and content and takes on the characteristics of a fully formed stand-alone language. Where do you see SBG with this regard if we use boxing, Muay Thai, BJJ and Greco-based clinch as the parent languages? Does this analogy work? If so, where do you see this process going in the next 5-10 years?

That’s an interesting analogy. I think, however, that the opposite is often true. I say often because there are always exceptions. But in general terms I think pure BJJ, or sport submission grappling, is more complex then MMA. The amount of technique variables actually increase. I think MMA, although it involves stand up skill, wrestling skills, and clinch skills, as well as BJJ or ground skills, is actually a simpler sport in that one specific sense. And by simpler I don’t mean less refined, or less technical. I mean simpler in terms of the volume of techniques and fundamentals that are needed in that arena. I actually think that sport BJJ, with the gi, is probably the most complicated combat sport that exists in terms of volume of technique required. Again I am generalizing, and there will people in all of the above that are exceptions. But speaking for just the delivery systems, I believe the above stated is absolutely true.

But that does not mean that BJJ is any more of an art then MMA is. Art can be defined in so many ways. As an example, just the mental preparation that goes along with training for an MMA bout can be an art in and of itself. And I am not talking about pop psychology or any particular technique even. But just the trials these athletes go through in terms of nerves, uncontrolled thoughts, anxiety, anticipation, and all of that. So in terms of art, I don’t think any one craft is inherently more artistic. Even the simplest tasks can become fantastic forms, or movements of art.


In closing, is there anything you would like to say?

I’d just say that loving whatever you are doing has always been the key for the moments of happiness I have had. So if you love MMA, or BJJ, then just relax and enjoy it for what it is in that very moment. And forget any destinations, goals, desires, or fears you have at the moment. Just be with that activity one hundred percent. Just try giving it that space. I have come to believe that this is truly honoring the process, and I believe that is a good thing. And I would encourage everyone to test that theory for themselves. To go into it themselves. And I would echo what the late great Tim Leary always encouraged: question authority and think for yourself.