“The Martial Brain” is Jeff Westfall’s podcast series on the intersection between the martial arts, science, critical thinking, scientific skepticism, and that wacky organ that floats between our ears.  Each episode is a small nugget of thoughts on how these things relate to a particular element in the life of a martial artist.

PARENTAL WARNING:  Jeff uses occasional explicit language!  This podcast may not be appropriate for young listeners!

Episodes are available on iTunes, Stitcher, and other aggregators!

1 How Long Will it Take?
2 Martial Sports Vs. Martial Combat Arts
3 What is a Traditional Martial Art?
4 Are Martial Arts Seminars Worthwhile?
5 The Crane Kick Phenomenon
6 Does Practice Make Perfect?
7 What is a Master?
8 How Do You Know?
9 Is Grappling Training Necessary?
10 What is a Martial Arts Style?
11 Technique vs. Principle
12 Essence and the Martial Arts
13 Martial Arts and the Monkey Brain
14 The Myth of the Power of the Mind
15 The Last Samurai
16 The Elephant in the Room
17 What if Tokyo Never Rose?
18 What Belt Are You?
19 Realism in Sparring and the Scientific Method
20 Dude…That is Sick!
21 It’s a Natural Fact!
22 When is a Martial Arts Technique Practical?
23 Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock

24 Defeating the Straw Man
25 Nobody’s Perfect…and That’s Unforgivable!
26 The Student Shall Be the Teacher!
27 The Golden Age Fallacy
28 Logic is Like a Sword!
29 Stand Up Straight and Breathe, Grasshopper!
30 How Dare You Question My Omniscience!
31 Zen and the Art of Revisionist History
32 The Way of the Intercepting Myth Part 1
33 The Way of the Intercepting Myth Part 2
34 Drop and Give Me Fifty!
35 That’s Funny…It Worked on YouTube!
36 I’d Give My Right Arm to be Ambidextrous!
37 This Technique Always Works…
38 The Tao of the Perfect Collision
39 A More Precise Take on Precision Striking
40 The Five Levels of Commitment
41 The Dark Side of Genius
42 Martial Arts or Martial Science
43 The Dunning-Kruger Effect
44 Can Rocky Beat Rambo?
45 Weird Tales of the Rising Phoenix Martial Arts Academy Part 1
46 But Mommy, I WANT There to Be a Santa Claus!
47 Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc
48 Hacking Away the Unessential is Essential
49 Play is the Thing!
50 Weird Tales of the Rising Phoenix Martial Arts Academy Part 2