Martial Arts News 7.5.09

Live from a hotel room in Norfolk Nebraska, it’s July’s first Martial Arts News!

News from Norfolk:

I’m pleased to see that Norfolk once again has martial arts.

Our Instructors are committed to providing quality martial arts instruction to each and every student.  We place a strong emphasis on discipline, courtesy and respect.

It looks like Norfolk now has access to tae kwon do and hapkido instruction. Back when I was growing up in this farm town martial arts were few and far between. Early on we had a judo school that lasted a few years before folding. At the time it sparked my interest but we were too dirt poor to afford the lessons. Later Norfolk had a run of tae kwon do. It was here I had my first experiences with TKD–some good and the rest mostly bad. During about that same time frame we had a Goju Ryu karate school hang it’s shingle downtown. It folded within a year. 20-some years later and I can honestly say that based on their credentials, these are the most experienced martial artists that have ever taught in this little town.

Martial arts news:

• Lesnar is a different breed of heavyweight.

The most recent word out of Lesnar’s camp is that he’s nearly impossible to submit, and he’s “basically a brown belt in jiujitsu defense.” He’s spent countless hours training submission defense.

What’s interesting about Lesnar is that his trainers have appeared to compliment his freakish size and speed with certain martial arts. He’s got his wrestling background as his base. Add to that Boxing/Mua Thai for strikes and defensive tactics from jujitsu. End result is a scary fighter!

• Speaking of where Lesnar trains…

“It comes down just to old-school hard work. Coming from the Midwest, you see how many guys … come from farms where they just work hard their whole life, lifting things, throwing things around. It all comes down to hard work, desire and having the discipline and patience to pursue a goal. That’s really what we’ve had our success based on.”

• Palm Harbor karate team does well.

The center brought 22 students to the event and won 34 medals total and nine national championships.

• Traveling and need a cheap way to exercise? You might try this!

Although you’ll have to leave the gloves and heavy bags behind, you can use boxing fundamentals to get a great workout in almost any environment.

• 25-year karate veteran reflects.

The fifth Dan black belt proponent was graded in Tokyo during the World Championship in 2007.

• Two martial arts centers win at the national level.

“It was a fantastic week for us,” said Sensei Moon. “I am so proud of everyone.”

• Chris Casamassa said to reprise role as Scorpion in Mortal Kombat III.

According to Casamassa, he’s set to start filming the third Mortal Kombat film in September.

• Former top cop turned to karate for stress relief.

Bernard Kerik, the former New York police commissioner, turned to karate.

• New details emerge on the death of Carradine.

Carradine’s family indicated that he may have been tangled in the shady martial arts underground — an interest that could have led to his demise.

• Kung fu killer strangles partner!

Alan Jermey strangled Kirsty Wilson using a martial arts technique that would leave barely a trace.

From the blogs:

• Hsoi talks about a systems approach to the martial arts.

All this talk of Jeet Kune Do. Of studying various martial arts. Take what is useful and discard the rest. How do you determine what is useful and what to discard?

• The Skeptical Samauri takes on dim mak.

Additionally, “no touch” knockouts do not exist.  Plain and simple, our current understanding of physics and the natural world make this claim impossible.

• Marks found a nice video on the ear slap.

The ear slap is one of the most underused and under trained self defence techniques. It is very simple to perform, requiring little training and can be very effective.

• Dojo Rat parts a horse’s mane.

As we know, Tai Chi Chuan (Grand Ultimate Fist) was once considered the most sophisticated fighting art in China…

The videos:

The first one captures the absolute boredom that is Norfolk. Ah, I remember the days of fishing, shooting, and treking through the local woods lighting camp fires…

The second one captures one of the many reasons I had to leave this farm town.

There’s nothing quite like a Nebraska blizzard!

The weeks ahead:

It’s unlikely that I’ll crank the news out next weekend. This weekend was a surprise–mostly due to the fact that I have wi-fi access. Next week I’ll be at a conference and doubt I’ll have time.

If some of the photos I took while in Norfolk turn out I just may assemble a “history of Bob” post, ala Dojo Rat. I’ll have to dust off some old photo albums, scan a few, and also use some of the more modern, digital ones. Give me a month and I’ll see what I can do.

~BCP

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