Martial Arts News 7.31.08

• Martial Arts on Toplist hits 100 blogs!

I can’t think of a better way to kick off this weeks news than that announcement. I started that list with only one blog: Mine! Almost two years later and we hit 100. Big thanks to Bushido Code Club for helping me make 100! If you get a chance check out their blog. It’s got some very good writing and covers a wide range of topics.

Now, the rest of the story…

• Stevenson missed a bronze metal at the last Olympics by one point! Read how she’s hoping to right that set-back.

Stevenson has had enough sports psychology sessions to know that dwelling on failure does not get you anywhere in elite sport, but her Athens experience is not something that can easily be erased.

• N.Y. governor selects female boxing commissioner.

Gov. David Paterson has selected longtime boxing judge Melvina Lathan to head the New York State Athletic Commission, which regulates professional boxing in New York.

• FSN plans to air four EliteXC MMA matches.

FSN and ProElite, the parent company of EliteXC, announce today that FSN will telecast four one-hour special MMA cards Sunday nights at 9:00 PM local throughout mid-September and into early October.

Kimbo Slice fans should read this press release.

• If you’re in the Cambridge MA area and interested in Kung Fu you should check this out.

Wu Dao’s Shaolin Intensive Training from August 23 to September 5 is designed to provide martial artists with instruction on the fundamentals of Shaolin Kung Fu. Classes will be taught by Shifu Shi De Cheng.

• One boxer took up boxing to defend himself and is now poised to compete in the Olympics.

“I had been doing tae kwondo and I thought it was the best defence I had. Once, a group of friends and I were waylaid by rowdy youth in Old Kampala who beat us up. Among the youth were some boxers and they were far stronger than we. I took up boxing for that reason,” Serugo narrates.

• Karate camp begins in Pakistan.

A 15-day karate summer camp commenced here on Thursday under the aegis of the NWFP Karate Association at the Qayyum Sports Complex while 40 shortlisted probables reported.

• 12-year-old wins taekwondo championship.

Twelve-year-old Ashley Morris has won the title of 2008 California State Champion…

• Self defense class in a library? My stars and garters!

Ms. Lindstrom, of Norwalk Karate, conducted the program for a group of 40 girls.

• Two eighth-graders finish on top in karate championship.

The eighth-graders from Chelmsford turned in top-three finishes at the USA National Karate Federation national championships.

• UW Karate Club does well at state games.

Four members of the University of Wyoming Campus Shorin-Ryu Karate & Kobudo Club earned medals during the recent 2008 “State Games of the West” regional competition held at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

• High ranking judo official resigns.

A high-ranking U.S. judo official resigned amid accusations that nearly 30 years ago he molested teenage competitors he coached.

• Hawaiian-style martial arts offered in self-defense class.

Kumu (meaning “teacher”) Bob Kupihea is seven-eighths Hawaiian and one-eighth Chumash, and recently moved to the Central Coast from Las Vegas to work with his son, Kumu Harry Steele Moyer, and Steve Keele, a master of five different martial arts styles.

I’m a bit skeptical that anyone could master two styles–much less five!

• The Telegraph has a nice guide to helping you understand Olympic Judo.

Jigoro Kano invented judo (“gentle way”) and, in his later years, he had hoped to see the sport make its debut at the 1940 Tokyo Olympics, but those Games were canceled.

• MMA may put the proverbial kybosh on steroid use.

Credibility is also damaged irreparably. Royce Gracie tested positive for steroids after a fight that he had in California, now some speculate whether his legend is as great as it seems, or if he went to Japan only to enjoy lenient drug policy. These have all made Royce become an increasingly shady role model.

• Potatoe Fist gets bruised!

Oh how I ache…

Yeah it’s not really news but Potatoe is about the only other martial artist I know who posts bruised pictures of himself. It made me laugh so it makes the news!

Since self-defense seems to be a theme this week I’ll close with this video. (if you need it to stop playing just hit the stop button)

more about “Derrick’s Self Defense – CollegeHumor…“, posted with vodpod

Yet another fine graduate of the Bob Patterson School of Self-Defense!

~BCP

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Training update

Last night we did the usual warm-up drills in chin na class: Finger-tip push-ups, catching phone books, catching a bag of BBs, weighted poles, horse jumps, etc. Then we seperated into two groups: Beginners and advanced.

Us newbies reviewed Two Children Worshipping the Budda and Butterfly Bores Through the Flowers. Here’s a video of the second technique. It really does not do the pain of this techniuqe justice.

One thing that the video does differently is to not roll the elbow at the entry. At 0:16 you can see his entry and he basically shoots to the side. We are being taught to shift our elbows to our center when grabbing the fingers and stepping. It’s a subtle difference and I’m not sure which is better at this point.

Incidentally that video also shows Double Finger Split. I’ve been introduced to it once and have not seen it since. It’s a fun one to watch but not so fun when you are on the receiving end!

We’ve been shown 80% of the level 1 locks. I know there’s more to learn but to be honest I appreciate the review. This stuff is so much harder to practice at home without a partner. When I get time I try to work on the basic movements and can occasionally talk my wife into being a good sport. (she likes chin na even less than taekwondo!)

A few weeks back the instructor gave me a sheet that explains the level 1 locks in detail. He also recommend Yang’s Analysis of Shaolin Chin Na. The problem is I’ve been so busy I’ve not had time to print the sheet out or order the book! Perhaps this weekend. I think both will really help me to review.

~BCP