From: Ultimate Defense System do check this site out
Back when I was about 14 years old, I had a serious problem.
You see while I was sweeping up the state and national tournaments for martial arts, I knew that I didn’t stand a chance to compete in the World Championships.
It wasn’t that I wasn’t good enough, not at all. My kicks were spot on, my punches and combination’s perfect to a “T”. I could even do all the fancy moves…flips, jump spin kicks, no problem.
What I lacked was jumping power. Sure I had the skill to pull it off, but the moves were just missing that extra “pop” that jumping 5 feet into the air gives.
Truth be told, I had a TERRIBLE vertical jump. I’m almost embarrased to say, but it was around 13 inches give or take.
However, winners don’t make excuses, they take action. So right then and there I decided I needed a plan to increase my vertical. Only problem was, between all my training, I didn’t have any time to dedicate to soly training my vertical.
So instead I came up with a wicked clever solution.
I designated a spot in the kitchen…a nice flat smooth surface where I would pass quite often.
And then every time I passed that spot, I’d give my hardest jump and try to touch the ceiling.
At first, I was nearly a foot away from reaching it.
Then, a few months later, it was only 6 inches.
Then one day I could barely brush it with my fingers.
And then, my palm.
It got to the point where I could nearly touch that same spot with the top of my head!
All it took was making a quick, simple, yet productive habit that I could repeat multiple times a day.
I’ve done this in a few ways since then such as…
…a bag of sand in my door way that I’d punch every time I walked through the door to toughen my knuckles.
…balancing on one foot when I dressed every morning, as well as when I shampoo’d and conditioned my hair.
…taking the stairs every day at work.
And most recently, it was installing a pullup bar in my hall, so that every time I passed I’d do one pullup.
Just like jumping, I saw phenomenal results. I started out doing just one pullup every time I passed.
But soon that number grew to 2, then 3, and 4…and now 10. EVERY TIME I PASS.
As you can imagine, that adds up pretty quickly.
The key here is that I’m not doing major activities such as going for a 30 minute jog or anything like that. I’m focussing on one quick and simple thing that I can do every day, and I know will give me great results.
And just like me, you can have great results by creating a simple habit that will better your life.
Below I’ve created a simple step by step plan on how you can take action and improve your quality of life. Read it thoroughly, and don’t hesitate. Who needs new years when you have today?!
No time like the present!
Step#1
Pick out a simple thing in your life you’d like to improve upon. Make it as specific as possible. Maybe you want to improve your foreign language vocabularary, so you go out and get a book on common spanish phrases. Maybe you just want to get ripped abs for the summer, so like me you get a pullup bar(yes you can work your abs on a pullup bar).
Whatever it is, think of it now. Make it as specific and narrowed down as you can.
Step #2
Decide how you will work on this specific area of your life. Get creative! You have lots of spare time where you could be multi-tasking. Showers, driving, think about all the unused time you could be more productive, and pick a way to do it. I’ve given you a few of my examples, but you have to come up with your own on this one, unless of course you want to do one of mine.
The key here is to make it a quick activity that you can do over and over. A good judge is that it should be a quick activity that takes anywhere from 2-14 seconds. Anymore, and you’ll find it a hassle rather than a habit. Note:This doesn’t apply if your doing it during otherwise wasted time IE: Showering or driving etc.
Step #3
Decide on when you will do it. Will you do it every morning drive? Every time you pass that spot in the hall? Every time you first sit down at work? Whatever it is, plan it out and decide how you can incoorporate it into your schedule.
Step#4
This is the hardest step! You’re going to have to actually *gasp* do it! Take action, and make it a habit of your life. Losers make excuses, winners take action.
The first few times you’ll forget it, thats ok. Persist! It can take up to 14 days to build a really solid habit, but once you do, the results will amaze you.
Step #5
Now that you’ve got your plan of action all mapped out, scroll down to the comments section below, and post it for the world to see! Posting a public commitment to bettering yourself lets you stay more dedicated, and serves as a gentle reminder to yourself.
I highly encourage you to give the system a try and see what it can do for you.
I want to point out that this is NOT an excuse not to exercise, nor is it a replacement. Instead, it’s just a way to get a little more leverage out of your day.
We all get 24 hours, but if you can squeeze a bit more productivity out of them, you’ll be amazed at how far it can go!
Best of luck,
Blake “The Rebel Martial Artist” Holloway
P.S. In case anyone was wondering, I have a 29.5″ vertical. More than double the average males vertical.
P.P.S. If your a fitness lover like me, I’ve got a special treat coming for you guys soon. I can’t reveal too many details yet, but look forward to it!
~武德为首, Martial Art Morality comes first
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Taekwondo - Seoul Olympics 1988 Opening Demo
Awsome coordination and discipline
~武德为首, Martial Art Morality comes first
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Black Belt teen strikes back at bully, rallies community against Racism
From: Globe Campus
KESWICK, ONT. — The 15-year-old black belt thought he was doing his tormentor a favour when he elected to fight back with his weaker left hand.
He had heard his white classmate throw an angry racial slur in his direction after an argument during a gym class game of speedball, and now the student was shoving him backward, refusing to retract the smear.
The white student swung first, hitting the 15-year-old with a punch to the mouth.
The 15-year-old heard his father's voice running through his head: Fight only as a last resort, only in self-defence, only if given no choice, and only with the left hand.
His swing was short and compact, a left-handed dart that hit the white student square on the nose.
The nose broke under his fist, igniting a sequence of events - from arrest to suspension to possible expulsion - that has left the Asian student and his family wondering whether they are welcome in this small, rural and mostly white community north of Toronto, one that has been touched by anti-Asian attacks in the past.
The 15-year-old, the only person charged in connection with the April 21 school fight, faces one count of assault causing bodily harm.
But a remarkable thing happened this week.
On Monday, 400 of his fellow students, wearing black in solidarity and carrying signs of support, walked out of Keswick High School to rally in protest in front of their school.
Organizer Mathew Winch, a Grade 12 student, said the school has fewer than 10 Asian students, but everyone wanted to stand up against bullying and racism. The story even hit the front page of local newspapers.
After the public outcry, the York Regional Police hate crimes unit reopened the case. Although the other student has not been charged, further charges are possible, a spokesman said yesterday.
The case is particularly sensitive because of a series of attacks on Asian fishermen in the same area in 2007 - given the name "nipper tipping" by locals - which led to a high-profile investigation by the Ontario Human Rights Commission.
Five such cases in 2007, ranging from violent car chases to fishermen on piers being pushed into the water, led to criminal charges. As a result of the publicity, many other Asian anglers came forward to say they had been abused or harassed while fishing in the Lake Simcoe area.
The Asian boy's father is a martial-arts master who trained with the Korean national team. He brought his family to Canada in 2004.
They settled in Keswick in 2006, and his son, who is still learning English, has studied hard to become a top student.
He proudly showed off a report card with a 90-per-cent average. The boy has struggled a little socially, his parents said, which makes the outpouring of support from his classmates all the more remarkable.
"It's the first time in my life I ever fought someone. I've been trained not to attack. It's total self-defence," the boy said. "I felt sorry because I broke his nose, but I can say he deserved it because he called me the racial comment. He started the fight, he punched me first."
He said the boy called him a "fucking Chinese," a comment he instantly knew was far from a joke.
"It's upsetting," he said. "I don't know how better to tell it."
For the moment, both students are suspended from Keswick High School, but the Asian student's parents have been told he could be expelled and forced to find a new school.
They are shocked and saddened by the ordeal.
The day after the fight, an older cousin of their son's antagonist approached him in the school cafeteria and uttered a similar slur, compounding their sense of despair.
"He said, 'You punched my cousin you Chinese fuck,' " the 15-year-old said. That student was overheard by a teacher and suspended.
His father explains that the easiest course would be to move somewhere else and get a fresh start for his son. But he can't do it.
"I don't want to run away. If another Asian kid comes to this school, what happens to him? Will he run into problems? Will they think they can just kick him out? I don't want to set that example," he said.
"Personally, for my kid, I should move. But as a Canadian I cannot move."
> Fight only as a last resort, as self-defence. This is what every Martial Artist should believe in.
~武德为首, Martial Art Morality comes first
KESWICK, ONT. — The 15-year-old black belt thought he was doing his tormentor a favour when he elected to fight back with his weaker left hand.
He had heard his white classmate throw an angry racial slur in his direction after an argument during a gym class game of speedball, and now the student was shoving him backward, refusing to retract the smear.
The white student swung first, hitting the 15-year-old with a punch to the mouth.
The 15-year-old heard his father's voice running through his head: Fight only as a last resort, only in self-defence, only if given no choice, and only with the left hand.
His swing was short and compact, a left-handed dart that hit the white student square on the nose.
The nose broke under his fist, igniting a sequence of events - from arrest to suspension to possible expulsion - that has left the Asian student and his family wondering whether they are welcome in this small, rural and mostly white community north of Toronto, one that has been touched by anti-Asian attacks in the past.
The 15-year-old, the only person charged in connection with the April 21 school fight, faces one count of assault causing bodily harm.
But a remarkable thing happened this week.
On Monday, 400 of his fellow students, wearing black in solidarity and carrying signs of support, walked out of Keswick High School to rally in protest in front of their school.
Organizer Mathew Winch, a Grade 12 student, said the school has fewer than 10 Asian students, but everyone wanted to stand up against bullying and racism. The story even hit the front page of local newspapers.
After the public outcry, the York Regional Police hate crimes unit reopened the case. Although the other student has not been charged, further charges are possible, a spokesman said yesterday.
The case is particularly sensitive because of a series of attacks on Asian fishermen in the same area in 2007 - given the name "nipper tipping" by locals - which led to a high-profile investigation by the Ontario Human Rights Commission.
Five such cases in 2007, ranging from violent car chases to fishermen on piers being pushed into the water, led to criminal charges. As a result of the publicity, many other Asian anglers came forward to say they had been abused or harassed while fishing in the Lake Simcoe area.
The Asian boy's father is a martial-arts master who trained with the Korean national team. He brought his family to Canada in 2004.
They settled in Keswick in 2006, and his son, who is still learning English, has studied hard to become a top student.
He proudly showed off a report card with a 90-per-cent average. The boy has struggled a little socially, his parents said, which makes the outpouring of support from his classmates all the more remarkable.
"It's the first time in my life I ever fought someone. I've been trained not to attack. It's total self-defence," the boy said. "I felt sorry because I broke his nose, but I can say he deserved it because he called me the racial comment. He started the fight, he punched me first."
He said the boy called him a "fucking Chinese," a comment he instantly knew was far from a joke.
"It's upsetting," he said. "I don't know how better to tell it."
For the moment, both students are suspended from Keswick High School, but the Asian student's parents have been told he could be expelled and forced to find a new school.
They are shocked and saddened by the ordeal.
The day after the fight, an older cousin of their son's antagonist approached him in the school cafeteria and uttered a similar slur, compounding their sense of despair.
"He said, 'You punched my cousin you Chinese fuck,' " the 15-year-old said. That student was overheard by a teacher and suspended.
His father explains that the easiest course would be to move somewhere else and get a fresh start for his son. But he can't do it.
"I don't want to run away. If another Asian kid comes to this school, what happens to him? Will he run into problems? Will they think they can just kick him out? I don't want to set that example," he said.
"Personally, for my kid, I should move. But as a Canadian I cannot move."
> Fight only as a last resort, as self-defence. This is what every Martial Artist should believe in.
~武德为首, Martial Art Morality comes first
Theives stoled 12year old kid's Martial Art Kit
From: Swindon Advertisor
THIEVES have stolen a 12-year-old boy’s martial arts kit which he saved up all his pocket money to buy.
The kit, worth around £400, was taken after the thieves broke into Bradley Simpkins’ mother’s car and, finding nothing of value, got into the boot and took the kit bag.
Now his mother Sarah, 33, is hoping that Bradley’s plight will shame the culprit into giving his prized possessions back.
Currently a blue belt, Bradley, of Kirkstall Close, Toothill, has been taking lessons at the Total Arts Academy in Toothill for the past year and a half, which covers a mixture of martial arts including kickboxing.
However, this belt along with most of his uniform, foam weapons and the protective gear he needs to attend classes has been taken.
“I’m a bit upset because I can’t do it and angry at the people that did it because obviously they wouldn’t like it if I came and did it to them,” said Bradley.
“They haven’t got anything better in their life to do than to nick people’s stuff.”
Police confirmed that the kit had been taken between 7.30pm on April 27 and 6.30am on April 28 while the vehicle was parked outside the family’s flat.
The Greendown School pupil had saved up his pocket money and birthday money to buy some of the equipment and clothing, but without the proper kit Bradley is unable to continue his lessons because single mother Miss Simpkins said she cannot afford to replace it.
“He’s bought most of it with pocket money and he’s quite gutted about it,” she said.
“It’s more sentimental for him.
“He said to me the only thing he enjoys at the moment has been taken away from him.”
Miss Simpkins hopes that she may be able to find some second hand replacements, but Bradley has already had to miss two lessons.
She appealed for anyone who has come across the distinctive kit to come forward.
The dark blue holdall-style bag with wheels contains the uniform made up of white trouser bottoms, which have badges sewn into the right leg, a white top with a red and black collar and sleeves and Total Martial Arts written on the back and a plain white t-shirt with Total Martial Arts and the logo on the back.
There are also red shin pads, gloves, pads and white body armour with a red and blue aiming circle in the middle, black foam weapons, one with a light brown wooden handle, the mid-blue belt and white Lonsdale trainers with red stripes.
“I’m hoping whoever took it may feel a bit guilty if they realise,” said Miss Simpkins. “They know it would be a kid’s because of the size.”
~武德为首, Martial Art Morality comes first
The kit, worth around £400, was taken after the thieves broke into Bradley Simpkins’ mother’s car and, finding nothing of value, got into the boot and took the kit bag.
Now his mother Sarah, 33, is hoping that Bradley’s plight will shame the culprit into giving his prized possessions back.
Currently a blue belt, Bradley, of Kirkstall Close, Toothill, has been taking lessons at the Total Arts Academy in Toothill for the past year and a half, which covers a mixture of martial arts including kickboxing.
However, this belt along with most of his uniform, foam weapons and the protective gear he needs to attend classes has been taken.
“I’m a bit upset because I can’t do it and angry at the people that did it because obviously they wouldn’t like it if I came and did it to them,” said Bradley.
“They haven’t got anything better in their life to do than to nick people’s stuff.”
Police confirmed that the kit had been taken between 7.30pm on April 27 and 6.30am on April 28 while the vehicle was parked outside the family’s flat.
The Greendown School pupil had saved up his pocket money and birthday money to buy some of the equipment and clothing, but without the proper kit Bradley is unable to continue his lessons because single mother Miss Simpkins said she cannot afford to replace it.
“He’s bought most of it with pocket money and he’s quite gutted about it,” she said.
“It’s more sentimental for him.
“He said to me the only thing he enjoys at the moment has been taken away from him.”
Miss Simpkins hopes that she may be able to find some second hand replacements, but Bradley has already had to miss two lessons.
She appealed for anyone who has come across the distinctive kit to come forward.
The dark blue holdall-style bag with wheels contains the uniform made up of white trouser bottoms, which have badges sewn into the right leg, a white top with a red and black collar and sleeves and Total Martial Arts written on the back and a plain white t-shirt with Total Martial Arts and the logo on the back.
There are also red shin pads, gloves, pads and white body armour with a red and blue aiming circle in the middle, black foam weapons, one with a light brown wooden handle, the mid-blue belt and white Lonsdale trainers with red stripes.
“I’m hoping whoever took it may feel a bit guilty if they realise,” said Miss Simpkins. “They know it would be a kid’s because of the size.”
~武德为首, Martial Art Morality comes first
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Pankration
From: Niagara This Week
Could pankration become the newest Olympic contact sport? If you ask Stephano Horianopoulos, the head instructor at the Spartan Warrior Fight Club, he’ll tell you he and his students are going all out to try to make that happen.
Derek Maurice and Dylan Clark, two of Horianopoulos’ students, just returned from the North American Pankration Championship competition in Wisconsin where both teens walked away with gold and silver medals.
Pankration is a martial art that combines the techniques of both boxing and wrestling, as well as additional elements, such as the use of strikes with the lower extremities, to create a broad fighting sport very similar to today’s mixed martial arts competitions.
In a competition sanctioned by the Ontario Jiu Jitsu Association, Clark, 17, won a gold and a silver medal, while fellow student Maurice, 18, took home two silver medals, after both were victorious over their U.S. opponents. Horianopoulos said the time has come to have pankration become an Olympic event once again.
There is evidence that, although knockouts were common, most early pankration competitions were probably decided by striking and submission techniques resulting from a variety of takedowns, chokes and punishing joint locks.
Greek mythology has is that pankration was invented by Heracles and Theseus, as methods used by each hero in defeating their most noteworthy opponents -- the Nemean lion and the Minotaur, respectively -- are strikingly similar to the submission techniques of pankration. In ancient Greece, in addition to being an Olympic event, it was also part of the arsenal of Greek soldiers, including the ferocious Spartans and Alexander the Great’s Macedonian phalanx. Pankration continued in popularity throughout the Roman Empire before being abolished by Emperor Theodosius I in 393 A.D., perhaps after one of the leading pankration fighters of the time won a match despite having succumbed to his injuries just as the referee raised his hand to indicate he’d won.
Horianopoulos said ancient pankration was a truly violent practice, a sport in which the only rules were no gouging or biting.
”There were no time limits or weight classes. People were killed,” he said. “It was the most spectacular sport in the Olympics and they usually saved it till the end.”
Over the past four decades, pankration has made a comeback, due largely to the popularity of mixed martial arts competitions featuring legendary fighters such as Jim Arvanitis, who introduced pankration to mainstream martial arts in the early 1970s, exceptional fighters, including Bas Rutten and Ken and Frank Shamrock, and instructors like Aris Makris and Angelo Melaragni, who pass along the tradition.
Horianopoulos said several of his students will compete in the 2009 FILA Pankration World Championships being held February in Lithuania. Better still, his club has been chosen to represent Ontario on the Canadian National Team. In addition to Maurice and Clark, fellow club member, 34-year-old Kevin Clow will also compete. In preparation for the competition, the 20-member club – which is run as a not-for-profit -- is organizing a series of fundraisers to cover the costs of the trip.
Anyone wishing to support the club or take up pankration, can call 289-213-4050 or visit the Lakeside Karate Club at 14 Charlotte St. Horianopoulos said there’s a concerted effort underway among pankration enthusiasts worldwide to have the sport reinstated at the Olympics, hopefully by 2012, perhaps as an exhibition, then ideally as an official event in 2016.
“We’re ready. I think we really have a chance to put together a national team for the Olympics,” he said.
~武德为首, Martial Art Morality comes first
Could pankration become the newest Olympic contact sport? If you ask Stephano Horianopoulos, the head instructor at the Spartan Warrior Fight Club, he’ll tell you he and his students are going all out to try to make that happen.
Derek Maurice and Dylan Clark, two of Horianopoulos’ students, just returned from the North American Pankration Championship competition in Wisconsin where both teens walked away with gold and silver medals.
Pankration is a martial art that combines the techniques of both boxing and wrestling, as well as additional elements, such as the use of strikes with the lower extremities, to create a broad fighting sport very similar to today’s mixed martial arts competitions.
In a competition sanctioned by the Ontario Jiu Jitsu Association, Clark, 17, won a gold and a silver medal, while fellow student Maurice, 18, took home two silver medals, after both were victorious over their U.S. opponents. Horianopoulos said the time has come to have pankration become an Olympic event once again.
There is evidence that, although knockouts were common, most early pankration competitions were probably decided by striking and submission techniques resulting from a variety of takedowns, chokes and punishing joint locks.
Greek mythology has is that pankration was invented by Heracles and Theseus, as methods used by each hero in defeating their most noteworthy opponents -- the Nemean lion and the Minotaur, respectively -- are strikingly similar to the submission techniques of pankration. In ancient Greece, in addition to being an Olympic event, it was also part of the arsenal of Greek soldiers, including the ferocious Spartans and Alexander the Great’s Macedonian phalanx. Pankration continued in popularity throughout the Roman Empire before being abolished by Emperor Theodosius I in 393 A.D., perhaps after one of the leading pankration fighters of the time won a match despite having succumbed to his injuries just as the referee raised his hand to indicate he’d won.
Horianopoulos said ancient pankration was a truly violent practice, a sport in which the only rules were no gouging or biting.
”There were no time limits or weight classes. People were killed,” he said. “It was the most spectacular sport in the Olympics and they usually saved it till the end.”
Over the past four decades, pankration has made a comeback, due largely to the popularity of mixed martial arts competitions featuring legendary fighters such as Jim Arvanitis, who introduced pankration to mainstream martial arts in the early 1970s, exceptional fighters, including Bas Rutten and Ken and Frank Shamrock, and instructors like Aris Makris and Angelo Melaragni, who pass along the tradition.
Horianopoulos said several of his students will compete in the 2009 FILA Pankration World Championships being held February in Lithuania. Better still, his club has been chosen to represent Ontario on the Canadian National Team. In addition to Maurice and Clark, fellow club member, 34-year-old Kevin Clow will also compete. In preparation for the competition, the 20-member club – which is run as a not-for-profit -- is organizing a series of fundraisers to cover the costs of the trip.
Anyone wishing to support the club or take up pankration, can call 289-213-4050 or visit the Lakeside Karate Club at 14 Charlotte St. Horianopoulos said there’s a concerted effort underway among pankration enthusiasts worldwide to have the sport reinstated at the Olympics, hopefully by 2012, perhaps as an exhibition, then ideally as an official event in 2016.
“We’re ready. I think we really have a chance to put together a national team for the Olympics,” he said.
~武德为首, Martial Art Morality comes first
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
A Brief History of the Kubotan
From: Japanese Jujitsu
Soon however, male officers and other security personnel began to utilise its strength in subduing uncooperative suspects.
~武德为首, Martial Art Morality comes first
Designed by Takayuki Kubota, the Japanese Kubotan became highly popular in the mid-1970s when it was introduced to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). The LAPD eventually began teaching female officers its proper use along with lessons in jujitsu and other martial arts.
Soon however, male officers and other security personnel began to utilise its strength in subduing uncooperative suspects.
Having a strong history associated with jujitsu and other forms of martial arts, the Kubotan works with the body’s abilities to bring about maximum efficiency in defense. The Kubotan is a Japanese invention that acts as a self-defense keychain. It can be used as a close-quarter self-defense weapon when such actions are necessary.
Used correctly, it can hold opponents in painful locks and strike at pressure points. The Kubotan has been affectionately called the “Instrument of Attitude Adjustment” by many of its users. Today, security personnel of all professions use Kubotans as a small defense mechanism. Mercenary operations utilize its pocket-size strength along with members of the Secret Service and FBI.
The device, as marketed by Takayuki Kubota, is a high-impact plastic rod measuring approximately 5.5 inches in length and a little over a half an inch in diameter. To the casual observer, a Kubotan appears to be merely a large keychain or a key fob.
Modern Kubotans, however, come in a variety of sizes and designs. Some are made of metal and spiked or pointed. Some include hidden darts or tear gas. Kubotans have a long history with law enforcement and defense personnel as well as those looking for convenient self-defense options.
~武德为首, Martial Art Morality comes first
Weird Asian Martial Arts Weapons
From: Weird Asia News
From iron claws and meteor hammers to deer antler blades and emei needles, ancient Martial Arts weapons range greatly in shape and design, yet all have only one purpose - to injure. In the hands of a skilled assassin, even the humble chopsticks can become savage weapons.
Brutal metal-link whips, miniature swords disguised as tobacco pipes, fans edges with razor-sharp blades and poison-tipped arrows are all lethal in their own right but pale in comparison with an almost mystical weapon of decapitation.
1. The Urumi
Also known as “chuttuval,” which means “coiled sword,” this flexible weapon is used in the South Indian Martial Art of Kalaripayatt.
The blade (or multiple blades, as in the urumi pictured here) is flexible enough to be rolled up and stored when not used, or even worn as a belt and whipped out on demand.
The blade or blades are typically razor-sharp and bad news for anyone standing in the vicinity of the person wielding the urumi.
2. The Tekko-kagi (”hand claws”)
Ninjas would use the tekko-kagi claws to guard against sword attacks, allowing them to swipe and potentially knock the sword from an assailant’s hands.
Or, ninjas could use claws the claws offensively against their opponents with devastating results.
Typically made from aluminum, steel, iron or wood, tekko weapons are believed by martial arts historians to have originated when the Bushi in Okinawa, Japan began wielding the steel shoes of their horses as a means of self-defense against assailants.
3. The Kusari-gama
Kusari-gama is a traditional Japanese weapon that consists of Scythe-like blade,Kama, on a metal chain with a heavy iron weight at the end.
This weapon came from the design of the farmer’s scythe but this was not a weapon that farmers used.
The art of handling the Kusarigama is called Kusarigamajutsu.
4. The Nunchaku
A nunchaku is two sections of wood (or metal in modern incarnations) connected by a cord or chain. Chinese nunchaku tend to be rounded, whereas Japanese are octagonal.
The traditional nunchaku is made from a strong, flexible hardwood such as oak, loquat or pasania. Originally, the wood would be submerged in mud for several years, where lack of oxygen and optimal acidity prevent rotting.
The end result is a hardened wood. The rope is made from horsehair, and was traditionally claimed to be able to block a sword. Finally, the wood is very finely sanded and rubbed with an oil or stain for preservation.
5. The Meteor Hammer & Rope Dart
This weapon is comprised of a long rope with twin metal weights, “hammers”, or darts on each end. When used as a weapon, the hammer or dart on the front end is used for attack and the other for protection.
The rope wraps around the neck, back, shoulder, elbow, wrist, thigh, foot, or waist. When the hammer or dart is released, it strikes outward with stunning and surprising speed. It is one of Chinese martial arts’ most unique and difficult-to-master weapons.
6. San-Jie-Gun (Three Section Staff)
The three sectional staff, is a historical weapon, which appears in the Chinese book “Sangokushi”. Its distinctive feature is three 70 cm sticks chained together making it much longer than a long staff.
It can be swung around, or as a staff, using one’s whole body space to fend off an attacker. A Chinese weapon constructed from three pieces of wood connected by metal rings at their ends. Lengths of the sections are roughly equal, each about the length of the practitioner’s arms (with the diameter around one inch).
The three sectional staff can be used as a long range weapon when held at one end and swung freely, or a short-range weapon when two of the sections are held and used to strike or parry.
7. Shurikens (Throwing Star)
One of the most popular weapons of the Ninja, the shuriken was used as more of a distraction than an actual weapon. Although they can hurt they rarely penetrate deep enough to kill. Shurikens come with anywhere from 4 to 12 points traditionally.
8. Tessen (Iron Fan)
Folding fans with outer spokes made of iron which were designed to look like regular, harmless folding fans or solid clubs shaped to look like a closed fan.
Samurai could take these to places where swords or other overt weapons were not allowed, and some swordsmanship schools included training in the use of the tessen as a weapon.
The tessen was also used for fending off arrows and darts, as a throwing weapon, and as an aid in swimming, like hand-flippers.
~武德为首, Martial Art Morality comes first
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
5 Things you don't want to hear in a Martial Arts Class
From: Slim Index
by - Al Case
~武德为首, Martial Art Virtue comes first
by - Al Case
A Martial Arts class is a place where you learn to be healthy and strong and fit. It is filled with dedicated, hard working, serious and intent people. The five following items are things that you don’t want to hear in any good and serious martial arts class.
Hearing any of these five things interrupts the class, slows it down and breaks the pacing. Hearing any of these five things reveals an innate weakness that should not be manifested, but rather squashed quickly and fast. Hearing any of these things destroys the rite of passage that any good and serious martial arts class is.
Number five: "That hurts."
Hey, a little pain is going to happen here and there, we all know that, but grunt and grit and get over it. If you need medical attention, crawl off the mat, find a telephone, call an ambulance, and check yourself in at the local hospital!
Number four: "I wasn’t ready."
Good friggin’ Lard on rubber crutches in a polio ward with a waxed floor…being ready is what the martial arts are about! Open your eyes and ears and turn your cranium on and get with the program!
Number three: "I’m sorry."
You’re supposed to be learning how to dish out pain! If you handed out too much pain, then watch him or her crawl off the mat, or, better yet, roll them off the mat, and get back to business!
Number two: "what if the guy does something else, like Oh, ow and..."
If he does something else that you didn’t expect, then you do something else that he didn’t expect…and, in the meantime…get with the drill or you won’t be able to handle the first thing he did!
Number one: and finally, amongst the things you don’t ever want to hear in a good and serious martial arts class is…me asking you why you were late! Get ready you good for nothing excuse for a turkey butt, because when I get done doing to you what I’m going to do to you you’re not going to be ready or able to crawl from what is about to hurt so bad somebody is going to have to roll you off the mat so the serious martial artists can get on with the show! I really and truly mean it, too!
The point of this is…always be ready, be careful with your matmates and try not to injure them or yourself, don’t interrupt or slow the flow of the class, and be on time. Sure, we had some humor here, and there should be humor when you’re learning to maim and dismember your fellow man. But…treat the art as sacred, and you will become as sacred.
~武德为首, Martial Art Virtue comes first
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