I have a busy day on Sunday so I need to knock this out today! Here we go…
- My Martial Arts TopList hits 125 blogs! It looks like there’s a few a spammers but I can say we are beyond 120 which is pretty cool. When I started that list three years ago there was only me! Maybe this weekend I’ll clean it up. I had one reader who was not aware it existed at all so I thought I’d promote it here in case I have any new victims folks who’d like to add their blog.
So far we’re still wedding dress free!
- Swedish boxing champ passed on to that Great Gym in The Sky.
Swedish Ingemar Johansson, who in 1959 became heavyweight champion of the world by knocking out Floyd Patterson, has died at the age of 76, a childhood friend said on Saturday.
- If you are near Wichita Kansas here’s a Karate tournament you may want to check out.
The annual Mickey Gomez Wichita Invitational Karate Tournament will be held Feb. 28.
- Kung Fu Panda director to direct a Masters of the Universe remake.
Based on the iconic ’80s toy line from Mattel, He-Man focuses on the adventures of a Conan-esque sword and sandals adventurer in the magical-land of Eternia.
- Bahrain now has one of only 300 JKA-approved dojos!
“Karate is becoming increasingly popular in Bahrain and we now have more than 100 members, with numbers growing by the month,” she said.
- No offense to the martial artists in this one but I have to admit that reading this made my eye twitch.
This is not a film plot but a demonstration staged at the World Taekwondo Federation headquarters in downtown Seoul. The combination of the Korean martial art and a musical has brought on a new type of fusion martial art.
- Ralph Macchio is not so sure about having Jacki Chan play Mr. Miyagi. Well I got news for Ralph: Neither am I!
Rumor has it that the new “Karate Kid” is giving Miyagi a massive overhaul, even going so far as to change him from Japanese to Chinese and moving parts of the film to China itself.
OK, my eye just twitched again…
- This video illustrates the dreams I typically have if I eat too much before going to bed.
Dicing its way into Asian territories February 19th is KUNG FU CHEFS, a culinary kung fu comedy starring martial arts movie great Sammo Hung…
- Helio Gracie passes away.
The local mixed martial arts community was saddened by the death of Helio Gracie, founder of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as it’s now commonly referred to.
- OK, I’m posting this one just for the fact that I’m surprised it made the news! Apparently running a dojang pays well?
Kelli Shoup and her husband, Keith, bought a 3.5-bath, 3,684-square-foot home at 620 Woodcrest Lane in Lemont from Suburban B&T Co., for $510,000 on Nov. 18… She holds a fifth degree black belt and is currently a master candidate.
- If you are in California here’s a chance to train with Shaolin Monks.
Shaolin monks are considered to be qi gong experts, and Aliotta has invited four – one from Los Angeles and three from China – to visit his martial-arts academies in Encinitas and 4S Ranch near Rancho Bernardo.
- UK martial artist credits Tae Kwon Do with giving him self-confidence.
Almost instantly after he began training, the bullying ceased. And Randall didn’t even have to raise a finger against his aggressors. It was the way he carried himself, the way he looked people in the eye. “All of a sudden, I felt better about me. I felt confident,” Randall said after a recent class. “I don’t get bullied anymore.”
From the blogs:
- I found this comic here. Pretty much sums up what I’d probably say…
- The Wise Grappler offers know-it-alls some sage advice.
My response was that being successful in BJJ really isn’t hard; the hard part is getting the students to shut up, listen, and do what they’re told to do.
- Tap or Snap gets to experience Modern Army Combatives.
Little did I know, it’s a little different than straight Jiu-Jistu.
- Ikigai has a two-part interview with Iado master, Nicklaus Suino. You can read part two here.
Suino Sensei Holds the rank of 7th Dan Iaido (Shudokan Martial Arts Association), 6th Dan Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu, and 5th Dan Iaido (International Martial Arts Federation – IMAF).
The videos:
- While preparing my Praying Mantis compilation I happened upon this very interesting site. For sure I suspect that many of you could make good blog fodder out of some of their videos!
Martial Arts View is the number one source for martial arts coverage on New York City cable… Join hosts Jim Leporati and Lynette Calabrese as they explore the world of martial arts every week on Martial Arts View!
- OK, last week I closed with a video of Ip Man (aka Donnie Yen) punching the stuffing out of Karateka. This week I’m closing once again with Karate vs. Wing Chun. The only difference is that this time the fight is not choreographed for a movie and the Karateka win.
Notice the Karateka’s respect for his injured opponent which is signified by turning his back to him? Also note that the same Karateka helps carry the defeated Wing Chun guy off the stage.
~BCP
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The Wing Chun vs. Karate fight was from the documentary “Fighting Black Kings”. They picked the wimpy-est Kung Fu guys they could find. They did suck. The Japanese guys were all Kyukushin-Kai trained under Mas Oyama, and were extremely focused and in great shape.
The American team did quite well by the way. I recommend renting the video if you get a chance, it’s a great period piece from the ’70′s.
“Fighting Black Kings”
If I can find the video here in The Land of Corn Dogs I’ll mail you a beer!
Yes, I agree. I one fight does not prove which art is better than the other. The other thing I noticed is the Kung Fu guys look like they might have been confined to Karate tournament rules: No punching to the face.
Those Kyukushin-Kai are infamous for conditioning their cores to take blows. So it almost wasn’t fair.
I think you both hit the nail on the head: wimpy kung fu guys who fight under rules that make their art a lot less effective.
This is one of my pet peeves. Take a fighting art out of it’s context and all bets are off. We accept this in other fields (nobody in his right mind expects a F1 Monaco GP winning race car to win the Paris-Dakkar Rally, yet both races involve cars and driving skills) without hesitation. But in MAs, practitioners expect it to be different. For the life of me, I don’t get it. The Wing Chun guy never should have accepted those Kyokushinkai rules.
Wim
Wim –
Sadly that happens in lot in MAs.
If that demonstration passes for Wing Chun, then just call me a Chinese Super Ninja.
The Ip Man video was actually more realistic than this one.
Chris –
In my mind YOU ARE a Chinese Super Ninja.
Without a doubt those WC players were set up for failure. Take mediocre WC players and make them fight with Karate tourney rules. Worse still, confine their punches to the body core where Kyokushinkai is at it’s strongest.
Kinda takes the wind out of those Japanense fighters “showing respect”, doesn’t it?
Since I have seen the whole movie in context, I can safely say they set out to embarass the Chinese. All the other competitors were in much better fighting condition.
By the way- I forgot to mention there were NO Korean fighters…
Wonder why? They would have done great under those rules.