Martial Arts News 6.29.08

• In boxing Pacquia beats Diaz.

The shocking suddenness of the knockout appeared to surprise and even concern Pacquiao…

• Kim Coutre thinks that female MMA matches should last as long as those for her male counterparts.

Couture…to make her case that women should be treated the same as men inside the cage

• Taekwondo chest gear goes digital!

The electronic pads can be set according the ability of the fighter, so a flyweight will not have to hit them as hard as a heavyweight in order to score a point.

I know I’ve been robbed before and also seen other people get robbed. I’m not sure which is worse: Actually blocking something that a judge counts as a point or scoring and having the judge not count it!

• Deputy Sheriff teaches self-defense to women.

…but it’s better to learn how to react and what you can do to protect yourself than not know what to do should you find yourself in a threatening situation.

• Nebraska School of Martial Arts graduates many students at a recent ceremony.

Over 100 individuals graduated to a higher belt level…

• Teach yourself MMA? I think not! But at least two people did!

There are not many successful fighters who claim to have been self-taught. Kevin Ferguson is one and Evan Tanner another.

• One blogger thinks that karate skills translate to the road. That or they came up with a pretty good analogy!

Regardless of the vehicle driving is driving. Regardless of the art fighting is still just fighting. The presentation of driving/fighting skills might vary, but the underlying principles are the same regardless.

• Mr. Boggs tells you how to develop indomitable spirit.

I prefer to define one’s personality as their “indomitable spirit”. You may also have heard this called the “warrior spirit”.

• Dojo Rat introduces us to the colorful and controversial James Lacy.

This man may be the ultimate Dojo Rat. This is James Patrick Lacy, allegedly Grandmaster of the “18 Daoist Palms”.

All I know is if I was a coconut I’d be very afraid…

• Martial Development suggests that there was another side to Bruce Lee.

The entire contents of Tao of JKD pages 205-207 were copied verbatim from Eric Hoffer’s book, A Passionate State of Mind! Hoffer’s name is not mentioned anywhere in Tao of JKD.

• Finally, Pjstar.com has an interesting take on the recent Second Amendment ruling.

We have mixed emotions.

First, the Founders lived in an era when muzzle-loaded muskets were high-tech…they could not have imagined the firepower Americans have at their disposal today or the violence-as-entertainment culture in which we live.

Much of violent crime in U.S. cities is gang on gang. The presence of guns there don’t seem a deterrent.

Beyond what the Founders intended, which is open to interpretation, it is fair to question whether gun bans make Americans safer.

As Justice John Paul Stevens hinted for the minority, it’s clear that conservatives can be just as activist in making law as liberals. Surprise, surprise. Again, it’s why presidential elections matter.

I thought about commenting on this last one. Then I read the part of the article I made bold and changed my idea! There’s the rub: When the Supreme Court rules against something a liberal favors the liberal will blame conservatives if conservatives are in the majority. Same goes for conservatives. In fact, I’m surprised they are still not calling the court “liberal”. Party talking points aside, the truth is that sometimes the court rules a certain way because of partisan politics. Occasionally they actually try interpret the Constitution.

~BCP

Spin Hook Kick Patterson Style

I finally got around to reviewing the CD my instructor gave me. It has more “me” than I care to look at! Anyhow, included were all the breaks from my black belt test. I’ve already posted the concrete break but to be honest the one I’m most proud of is my spinning hook kick on 2 solid boards.

In trying to prepare for the big test all my “dream” breaks were failing miserably. So out of desperation we decided to try one of my least favorite kicks on the re-breakables. Naturally I nailed it. So with less than one week to go I had to practice this one nightly in my garage.

I was so nervous about trying this at a test that I staged my holders wrong. So about half way through you’ll see me move everyone so the judges can see. Oh well, my fat ass broke both boards and I did not knock any of my holders out!

~BCP

Striking Thoughts on Striking Thoughts!

A reader e-mail prompted me to do something that I’ve been meaning to do for a long time: Review Bruce Lee’s Striking Thoughts: Bruce Lee’s Wisdom for Daily Living.

Follow THIS LINK to order from Amazon.com. You can also follow THIS LINK to the Bruce Lee Foundation.

First I have to answer the reader’s question: No, I did not name this blog after the book. In fact what I thought was an original idea I later discovered was already taken by John Little and Linda Lee Cadwell!

There are no original ideas. Only original people.

~Barbara Harrison

Now on to the review…

First this is not a book Bruce Lee actually wrote. Rather, it’s a collection of his thoughts on various topics. The main person who did the organizing is the official Bruce Lee biographer, John Little. Mr. little was given access to Lee’s notes, books, journals, etc. The result is several books that relate to Lee’s personal philosophy–as interpreted by Little and Linda Lee Cadwell.

John Little has done a good job of organizing Lee’s thoughts. He has captured Bruce Lee’s “personal philosophy” in a manner that’s easily accessible by the layperson. Better still, these thoughts are organized by topics including life, death, ideas, etc. Here’s a few examples:

• Life itself is your teacher, and you are in a state of constant learning.
• The Moment is freedom. — I couldn’t live by a rigid schedule. I try to live freely from moment to moment, letting things happen and adjusting to them.
• Balance your thoughts with action. — If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.
• Don’t fear failure. — Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail.

Short and sweet: Little distilled Bruce Lee’s thoughts in a manner that results in a good introcudtion to Lee’s philosophy for life. The many examples can be applied to a martial artist competing in a tournament, a student in college, or even in the workplace. The book is full of similar thoughts, which, if studied and considered carefully, can help anyone find alternate ways of looking at life’s problems.

The two criticisms I’ve heard about this book are these:

1. That Lee took these ideas from Eastern and Western philosophy.
2. That this book is not philosophy from an academic sense.

Let’s take number two first: It’s a compilation of Lee’s thoughts that were put into book form. Lee never wrote it as a philosophy book or academic treatise on the topic. In fact, it’s main audience is the non-expert so this criticism is not fair.

As for point one; well, Lee was a philosophy major so what did you expect! By all accounts he was a voracious reader. He studied MANY martial arts and used their many parts to create Jeet Kune Do. So, it should be no surprise that he look at both Eastern and Western philosophy and took from them what he found valuable.

He applied this method to the martial arts and to philosophy. In fact, not many people can take ideas that already exist and transform them into something new.

Bottom line: It’s worth picking up a copy in my opinion. I thumb through mine every year or so and am often surprised at what I discover!

~BCP