Bunkherd Faphimal shows me a thing or two about Muay Thai kickboxing.

On the occasion of Christmas, I extend a thank you to some of the people who helped make 2009 active and memorable. Specifically, I’d like to acknowledge the dojos who offered their time and expertise for “Fighting to Keep Fit,” a story I wrote in the current issue of Men’s Journal.

Word counts are tight in magazines these days, and Men’s Journal didn’t have the space to acknowledge all of the gyms and masters who offered their time and facilities for this story.

Without further ado, I give the following dojos a respectful nod.

Krav Maga: special thanks to Idaho ATA Martial Arts in Boise, where I sweated through front kicks to a soundtrack of Metallica, and to the Academy of Self Defense in Santa Clara, CA, where Woody Mosqueda taught me how to defend against an attack with a bottle, and Everest Pepper showed me the fundamentals of stripping a man of his gun.

Woody Mosqueda winds up to clock me with a bottle.

Tae Kwon Do: A heartfelt thanks goes to Master Kim’s Martial Arts Academy in Sunnyvale, CA, and to Master Kim himself, whose most effective instruction was making me sit in his office for more than an hour as he explained, with great passion, how discipline and honor lie at the heart of martial arts.

Muay Thai Kickboxing: Thanks to Fairtex in San Francisco, where I learned to move on my toes, and to Fight and Fitness, also in San Francisco, where I enjoyed talking about the sport with Rocky at the front desk, and where Bunkherd Faphimal taught me a mean roundhouse kick though I couldn’t understand a word he said.

Karate: Thanks to Prodigy Martial Arts in Los Altos, CA, and especially to Dragon Bushido Dojo in Boise, ID, where Renshi Pon Inthathirath led me through my first kata and where I barked out one of those karate yells the way one is supposed to, from the diaphragm.

Mixed Martial Arts: The most eloquent, thoughtful explanation I ever got of mixed martial arts came from Alan Pagle at Modern Combatives in Berkeley, CA. Thanks also to Nakapan Phungepham at Beta Academy in Washington, D.C., for allowing me a week’s access to his classes in the church basement.

Eduardo Fraga squeezes me in a Mata Leon ("kill the lion"), cutting off the blood supply to my brain.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu: Eduardo Fraga at Ralph Gracie Jiu Jitsu in Berkeley, CA explained and also demonstrated some of the geometrically challenging moves that make BJJ such a ruthlessly effective art, and also complied with my odd journalists’ request for three Mata Leon in a row. I think I’ve recovered by now, Eduardo!

A Special Thanks to the Dojos is a post from: The Ferris Files

For this assignment, I got instruction in six combat-based martial arts to determine which best serves an individual’s fitness and sports goals. The six I chose were karate, Brazilian jiu jitsu, tae kwon do, muay Thai kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and krav maga. I drew on my fitness-training background to answer some questions that few have ever posed:

Which martial art helps drop the most pounds? Which is the best cross-training for a runner or cyclist? Which is best suited for a multi-tasker, or for a problem-solver?

I would tell you, but you’ll have a much more enjoyable and immersive experience by seeing it for yourself. Next time you’re at the bookstore or in the grocery line, look for it. It’s in the Mind & Body section on page 81.

New-Year’s-Resolution Story in Men’s Journal is a post from: The Ferris Files

The sport is called slacklining, and it really is as simple as these pictures make it look. Walk the line. No problem, right?

Damian gets high while Stephanie keeps it on the down-low.

I met with Damian Cooksey, who is one of the stars of this obscure sport. He is the first man ever to do a front flip on a slackline and, last year, did the longest slackline ever, 405 feet, in a park in Poland (and subsequently did another of 506 feet, in Germany this July).

Damian is an unpretentious guy with the slender, zero-percent-bodyfat physique of a rock climber, which in fact he is, as are most adherents of the sport. Slacklining began as a downtime activity among climbers in Yosemite Valley and uses the materials of climbing – specifically the inch-wide, flexible webbing upon which one walks.

Damian was kind enough to bring me and Jeffro, who are the rankest of novices, as well as Liz and Stephanie, who can already walk the walk.

We set up two lines. One hung a mere two feet off the ground and ran 30 feet. The second stretched 90 feet across a giant crease in the hillside and stood and 20 feet in the air. The latter is called a “highline.”

Damian demonstrates “slackline surfing.”

While Liz tried out the highline, calling out tremulously and yelping as she fell, I practiced again and again on the lowline. Here’s how it went: Step on, jiggle, fall off. Step on, wobble, fall off. Step on, wobble…pinwheel the arms…dodge hips to the left…ah, balanced!

Fall off.

Standing on that wobbly line is completely absorbing. Your synapses and muscles are entirely given over to the webbing’s bobble and sway. No question I’ll try this sport again.

Walk the Line is a post from: The Ferris Files

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