Martial Arts News:
- One karate club helps raise money for the purchase of an air ambulance.
“We’ve done a few things at the club before for charity, but this time we decided to donate half to the Air Ambulance because of all the people they have to rescue. It’s an important charity to get behind.”
- Kimbo may be headed to professional wrestling.
Now he’s headed to the world of fake fighting. Kimbo has signed on for a pro wrestling event in Japan on Feb. 5.
- Since I’m in a hybrid system myself, I now pay more attention to stories like these. I wonder how many hybrids there are?
One night, the students might be working on kicks and punches; the next, they’ll be using a bow staff. The mixed martial arts instruction includes tae kwon do and jiu jitsu with emphasis on character development.
- Screen Junkies lists the 10 best Japanese martial arts movies.
10. “Shinobi: Heart Under Blade”
- Meditation may change brain structure.
“This study demonstrates that changes in brain structure may underlie some of these reported improvements and that people are not just feeling better because they are spending time relaxing.”
- Veterans of combat are using Second Life to work through their PTSD.
PTSD and depression are thought to affect 10 to 30 percent of the U.S. military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, depending on how you define the disorder.
- Well it’s nice to know that not only Christians use karate to promote their religion.
Aside for his Karate expertise, Rabbi Jacobs is a noted scholar and author who also serves as a chaplain in the Israeli jail system.
- Doug Cook wins a book award.
Warwick resident Doug Cook, owner and head instructor of the Chosun Taekwondo Academy in Warwick, recently received a finalist award for his latest book, “Taekwondo – A Path to Excellence,” sponsored by the Los Angeles-based online magazine, USA Book News.
The Blogs:
- Dojo Rat approaches the recent Arizona shootings from a slightly different angle.
Well, I’ve waited a while for the dust to settle from the tragic shootings of Representative Gabrielle Giffords, a Federal Judge and a number of civilians in Arizona.
- Bunkai considers how to control adrenaline.
But should traditional martial arts alone be enough to prepare us for the effects of adrenalin and what did the masters of old do about it?
- Rick shows us that the martial arts can help you fight many things.
Most people get into a fight once or twice in their life. But everyday they have to fight for their health, fight stress, fight sickness.
- Tater’s last few posts chronicle his adventures outside of Tang So Do.
I mentioned that before the degree of theatricality that seems to accompany Uke’s intended fall and I’m not totally over it even on a good day, but getting thrown by a little old lady certainly did lend credence that there discomfort in some positions.
- Sensei Strange makes my list twice. First because he’s running a nice series of interviews. Head on over to his blog to see the rest!
Today’s interview comes from Kyle Sloan Sensei. He is one of the active members of the Wind Song dojo in Oklahoma City.
- Steven Smith tells us what Tai Chi is.
If T’ai-chi was an accurate translation of the Chinese word, it seems inevitable to me that Tai Chi evolved from it.
- Colin offers some possible uses for the Tae Kwon Do kick.
So let me ask you, why don’t you just punch the opponent in the face, or finger him in the eye and be done with it?
The Videos:
The first video comes from a reader in England. Ian wants to know what I think about learning how to grapple via videos and a dummy. I think it’s a viable supplement to your training but not a substitute for the real thing.
The second video comes from Sensei Strange. We dabbled with a flow drill like this back in my Chin Na class. In addition, we occasionally do something similar to this in my current school.
I just love drills like these! One thing that caught my eye is the arm bar take down. I think the one in the video has an Aikido flavor to it (one example at 34 seconds). Back in the PPCT days we were taught a quick and dirty version of this. It does work and I’ve seen it used on inmates. (we used a very short circle to take them down)
The second thing that stood out is how the defender’s technique falls apart when the attacker speeds up his simulated punches. Notice after about 2:00 the traps and locks are abandoned because the incoming strikes are too fast? The cool thing is that the defender is still able to re-direct the attacks and remain in the game.
Sifu used to have us practice Chin Na on punches. However, he always cautioned that the likelihood of pulling it off were low. He had us practice against punches mostly as an exercise in dexterity. The fall back, of course, was to kick and punch. In the video it looks as if the defender is falling back on Aikido or something Aikido-like.
Cool stuff and there’s more of it here!
-BCP
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The “Path of rest” street video resembles the flow drills we do also.
My understanding about this type of flow (compared to traditional jujitsu) is that Wally Jay integrated the Escrima flow of Prof. Remy Presas into his joint locking.
It comes to resemble something Aiki-like as well as the softer Chinese arts. Notice how he seeks a superior position, centers on the opponents torso and pushes him away into his “dead angle”. Tai Chi Chuan push hands 101.
Definately the stuff I like to handle guys drunker than me. But your observation is correct – when the hitting starts these grappling techniques become more evasive.
Hey Bob, a little off topic here: in the day and age of video games and virtual reality, my one hesitation for using Second Life as a way to help treat PTSD is that people would become to overly reliant on it. Human interaction is the cornerstone of any rehabilitation process and to simply throw people to a computer game (literally) you run the potential of having soldiers getting hooked and reliant on it (like a junkie). What are your thoughts?
I’ve gone through my years of playing and games and I was extremely reliant on it despite not having any major mental problems!
DJR – Wally Jay’s stuff is on my short list.
AA – I am not sure. I too can lose myself in video games so I try to regulate myself. Maybe it’s just a place for soldiers to interact anonymously with other PTSD sufferers? Based on having worked in a treatment center with addicts I tend to agree. This may have it’s place but it’s no substitute for human interaction IMO.