I thought it would be a good idea to list a bunch of useful resources instead of having them scattered all over my blog in different posts. Some of these are services/products I use, others are companies I know and like, still others are just cool. I’ll also link to specific blog posts because they expand into detail on the specific resource I mention.
As I will add to this list whenever I find something useful, feel free to bookmark this page and check it out from time to time. I hope you enjoy this resource page and find it helpful.
Disclosure: Some of these links offer free products and services but others are affiliate or sponsored links, which means I earn a little bit from them (at no additional cost to you). I add these because I like those companies and think you might find them useful, not because of the money I may earn from them. Before you buy anything from them, think about whether you actually need this product or service and if it will help you out.
Every Day Carry
I wrote a long and winding post about this article a few years back. If you’re interested in the reasoning behind my every day carry; you can read it here.
Photon Micro Light. It’s small, light and shines real bright. I’ve used it for years and it still works just fine. Love it.
Pepper Spray Kubotan A friend of mine gave me this and it’s proven to be a practical tool.
Serrated Knife This one can be used in self-defense of course, but mostly, it’s a great multi-purpose tool.
Martial Arts Publishers
Amazon Kindle Publishing I published my first solo book with Amazon a little while ago and it was a great experience. If you’re new to publishing, give them a try. It doesn’t cost you a thing and you have total control over your book.
Martial Arts Equipment
KarateMart Check out this shop for a wide variety of equipment and gear for all sorts of martial arts. If you use the code DEMEERE during check out, you get 10% off (excluding shipping). For the record: I don’t make anything off that. All the benefits of that discount go to you.
Martial Arts Supplies The people at MAS sell all sorts of martial arts gear and equipment. They cover all the big arts like, MMA, muay Thai, Karate, Judo and more. So head on over and give them a try when you’re looking to buy some gear at great prices and with good service.
Karate Depot Here you’ll find a one-stop shop for all your Martial Arts equipment needs. Loads of choice and good prices too.
Zengu Zengu offers wholesale Martial Arts supplies for a wide variety of arts. You can make an account for free and check out everything they offer; there’s a lot.
Samurai Sword Shop Dave is a fellow Belgian who’s been running this samurai sword shop since 2006. He’s also a passionate practitioner with decades of experience in the arts. You’ll find that he’s very accessible to his customers and will help you make the right choice when buying a sword.
Self-defense
Use of Force Brandon made a great website that covers the legal use of lethal force. This should be required reading for anybody who teaches self-defense or practices martial arts or combatives for that purpose.
Blogging
Aweber The company I use for my newsletter. They offer full service at cheap rates and prices stay reasonable, even when you reach lots of subscribers. Their reporting tools are bad-ass too.
iThemes I’ve used one of their themes (Flexx) on my blog and websites for several years. Very flexible, lots of customization options and great support.
WordPress This is the blogging platform I use. It’s free and offers a truckload of options to create an awesome blog. I’ve been making websites since 1999 and this is the best piece of software I ever used.
WordPress for Android A cool plugin to work on your blog with your Android phone. Probably the best one out there.
Books
Ender’s Game This sci-fi book describes the military training of a young boy in a future where aliens are threatening earth with annihilation. Sounds cheesy but the book is actually pretty good and is outstanding in how it describes the tactical and strategic thinking of Ender. For that reason alone, it’s well worth the read. I go into more detail on this book here.
The Dresden Files This urban fantasy series features a wizard-P.I. who gets into all kinds of trouble which leads him to get beat up, a lot. There’s lots of fight scenes and some martial arts as well. But most of all, Dresden is a dark character. He is not a shining knight, not by a long shot. He tries to do the right thing, but more often than not it backfires and there’s collateral damage. Loads of interesting topics re. self-defense and dealing with trauma. My all time favorite book series and it isn’t finished yet (there will be 20 or so books). Book 1 is Storm Front, start there and get ready to scream at the end of book 12… :-) But trust me, it only gets better from then on.
Technology
Galaxy TabPRO 8.4 I got this tablet as a gift August 2014 and have nothing but good things to say about it. It has an amazing screen and it’s blistering fast. On top of that, it has tons of business features I have come to rely on for every day work. I now not only use it to handle my schedule and client files but also for my training and teaching. Here’s a post I did about using a tablet for martial arts training. Lots of ideas there.
ASUS ROG G750JS-DS71 laptop I got this laptop to replace my old Samsung. It has a good 17 inch screen and specs more than good enough for all my writing, surfing the web and writing blog posts. And it’s not that heavy, so I can carry it anywhere easily.
Samsung Galaxy S4 I bought this phone in June 2013 and absolutely love it. It’s expensive but it works great and has an amazing screen. As I have big hands, the large screen is very practical. It also has a useful safety feature built in. Check out the apps I use here below.
Best Free Martial Arts Apps For Android These are some of the apps I enjoy on my phone. Some (like the timer) I use every day in my own training or when I teach students. Others are just for fun. But give them a try and see if you find them useful. They’re all free so no harm done if you don’t like them.
Gymboss Timer If you don’t have an Android phone or don’t like to use it for that purpose, try the Gymboss Timer instead. It offers lots of functions and works great.
Heartrate Monitor I’ve uses this one to fine-tune my own training for a while now and love it. It’s one of the cheapest ones Polar offers but it does the job just fine; I don’t need all those fancy options anyway.
Samsung HMX-R10 This is the camcorder I use to make my Youtube videos. It’s a no-frills camera but it shoots in full HD and works well enough for me. What I like most about it is how changing settings is quick and easy.
