Chuck Norris:
- A strain of “medical marijuana” was named after Chuck Norris. Thus far Mr. Norris has not taken legal action.
TMZ has learned … the strain is being sold under the name, “Chuck Norris’ Black and Blue Dream” — apparently because it has a “real kick to it” …. ha.
JCVD:
- Jean-Claude Van Damme is willing to join The Expendables II — only if the Lord of Pasta is banned from the movie.
“JC seems to be leaning towards appearing in the sequel if Steven Seagal is not in [it],” he explained. “From what I’ve heard [Seagal] won’t be, not because of Sly, but because of producer Avi Lerner, who had a few bad experiences with Steven.“
Martial Arts News:
- If you are into theater and martial arts then you might want to check this one out.
“I think it is a great show, very ethnic and it shows us more about the Chinese culture,” said Mr. Eugene. “I practice martial arts so I understand it a little more. It’s very interesting, exciting and colorful.”
- It always seems to me that stories like these only do a disservice to both martial arts and organized religion.
Karate Dave is Reverend Dave Pearson, the founder of the Christian Karate Council and his own Master’s Martial Arts Academy, a traveling program based as much in Christian teachings as ancient Japanese martial arts.
- A judoka from Scotland receives an honor.
George Kerr, 73, has been practising the martial art since he was eight years old, and once taught Mick Jagger.
- One taekwondo player is dreaming big.
“I was really excited,” said the 21-year-old Chambers. “It’s just another step towards the big goal, which is the Olympics eventually.
- One taekwondo master benefits from the martial philosophy.
TRAINED in taekwondo since he was three, Dang Nguyen says the martial art spirit of “harmony and love” has taught him to give back to the community.
- A karate class conflict may have saved one parent from another senseless loss.
The mother of the youngest fatality of Saturday’s mass shooting said Sunday that both her children–a 9-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son– were invited to the outdoor rally hosted by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D- Ariz., but her son, Dallas, may have been saved by a conflicting karate practice.
- Here’s one reason that all martial arts schools should have you sign a waiver.
The call came in at 7:15 p.m., right at the end of the class. Paramedics said before he went into cardiac arrest, the man had sat down on a bench to recover when he felt tired.
- This one is from the “duh” department!
A Minnesota chiropractor and rising mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter says he was questioned by the Secret Service after declaring that he wanted to face President Obama in his next bout, MyFoxTwinCities.com reported Thursday.
- Another martial master passes on.
Beghtol started studying tae kwon do, the Korean form of karate, in 1960, and earned his first black belt in 1963. He was inducted into the World Martial Arts Hall of Fame in 1997.
He started teaching at night soon afterward, and trained more than 300 blackbelts and countless others at tae kwon do clubs in Muskegon, Grand Haven, Nunica, Holland and Grand Rapids.
- Here’s one story that should inspire us all.
A.J. Baldwin has to work harder than most to master Jujitsu techniques other students might learn in a matter of minutes.
“AJ it took 50, 60, 70 times of him reping it out and doing it over and over again of him to actually see the gains and see it work,” said Barent Bradt, Jujitsu Instructor.
The Blogs:
- Countdown to Shodan gives us some balance exercises.
On ‘My Journey to Black Belt’ I have just posted an article about the physiological basis of balance and how one can maintain good balance when executing martial arts techniques. Poor dynamic balance (Keeping balance when moving) is one of my bad points and correcting it is one of my training aims.
- For those into weapons you should on over to Mathew’s blog! He’s running a series on traditional karate weapons.
Kama are one of the classical weapons of Okinawan Kobudo. They are short sickles that have been developed from agricultural tools into cringe-inspiring weapons.
- Lori offers some safety advice for women.
Over the last year, I taught around 8 women’s self-defense classes in Vancouver. During that time, in nearly every group I taught, there was at least one woman who either knew someone personally who had had rohypnol slipped into their drink…
- Patrick Parker has had a great video series going. Those interested in aikido or judo should check out the last few posts on his blog!
Very nice bout of multiple randori here – particularly impressive because of the apparent youth of the tori. This young lady has apparently put in a lot of training.
- Zimmer takes on the power punch.
In this post I am going to discuss what punching through a target really is and why it is not used much today. Lets take a quick look at a video that shows some of the mechanics of how to surface punch a target.
- Bunkai reflects on the dark side of human nature.
The fact that some of us enjoy practicing the violent applications does not mean that we are violent people. However, to enjoy practicing them and to be able to apply them effectively, one must be able to dig down into the darker part of our human nature.
The Videos:
The first one comes from Patrick Parker’s latest series. I’m not up on the judo terms but I can spot practical and effective when I see it. This one is certainly not a finishing move but I could see security workers, mental health workers, or civilians using this technique to dump an attacker without hurting them too much. Since I like it I’m making it my new sidebar video. 
The second shows a very practical lesson from Systema: How to get back up! Pretty useful if you think about it.
-BCP
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Hey thanks for the weapons shout out!