Gaze in wonder at Jaden Smith (son of Will) and the once great Jackie Chan training on the Great Wall of China with no tourists in site.

Why on Earth does Jackie keep making stuff like this and The Spy Next Door? He should be making new, cool, films full of amazing stunts or maybe directing.

The film is out in June next year.

He may be dead a few decades, but he would probably still kick both the Rosses’ asses at the same time. Ross McD and Gordon Hayden from Spin 103.8’s We Love Movies discuss the martial arts movie legend who remains unchallenged in his genre…

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

RADIO BATTLES ARCHIVE

Good video about 20 common street fighting mistakes.

Learn from this from both sides. First, make sure that you don’t make these mistakes yourself. Second, look for them in your opponent and know how to captialize upon them.

The site it comes from, fighttips.com, has more instructional material. It also has a lot of fight videos. While I don’t find entertainment in watching street fights, you can learn from watching them (mostly about what really goes on and what not to do).

Last night in class we worked a lot of Muay Thai technique and I got to work with an instructor to address something I’ve wanted to address for a long time.

My kicking.

After all those years in Kuk Sool, I do my roundhouse kicks in a particular way. The way you do a roundhouse kick in Muay Thai is quite different. I wanted to get some good instruction on the mechanics of the Muay Thai roundhouse kick so I could start to break my old habit and start to learn new habit. I’ve got the basic idea of what I need to do, now I just need a lot of practice at it.

Of course, I hit the Internet to look for resources on the kick.

It’s not yet the Winter Solstice, the first day of Winter, but it sure feels like it. Night time temps are in the low 20’s, and the daytime highs are in the hi 40’s-lo 50’s. The air is so clean, and the stars so bright. The full moon that is now in the sky makes the night like day. You can even cast a moon shadow.

The camp is shuttered for the winter, but plans are being made for May, 2010 to October, 2010. We are looking to host our usual martial arts, and are expecting our Yoga friends to return.

Check with us for open dates for your group:

or

Redbelt es una peli de 2008 que me vi por casualidad en HBO, el fin de semana pasado. Pensando que era una serie, la empecé a ver y quedé atrapado en la historia.

Siempre me han gustado las pelis de artes marciales y su filosofía ascética de la vida y me pareció interesante que estuvieran haciendo una serie alrdedor del tema. El capítulo estaba largo y pensé que era un especial pero después de una hora y viendo que se estaba generando un nudo y su consiguiente solución, entendí que no iba a haber más capítulos en la serie y que era una peli cualquiera.

David Mamet, el director, es más conocido como director de seriados para TV, de pronto eso también me confundió. Y la peli es de excelente factura pero, en serio parecía una trama televisiva. En fin, un reparto bastante particular como por ejemplo Tim Allen o Joe Mantegna combinados con Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alice Braga, Emily Mortimer y Rodrigo Santoro, hacen una mezcla interesante entre experiencia y juventud.

La peli es buena en cuanto a cámaras, a textura y actuación. Es una peli normal de artes marciales y por lo mismo la hace entretenida. No se si hubiera ido a verla a cine pero para un domingo estuvo bien.

Hi Guys,

latest newsletter,  time to empty out your head…

Monster Newsletter #256–A Walk on the Weird Side!

The day is grim,
grey,
cold…
but,
above the grim, grey and cold…
the sun is shining!

Happy happy
I get to work out!

And…
so do you!

Now,
I am going to get a little weird this newsletter,
nice of me to warn you,
and the reason is that
I am working on Matrix Tai Chi,
doing real research,
and formulating actual concepts
to rule the universe,
and,
when I do this kind of thing,
I get a little weird.
I’m somewhere,
you know,
but I’m not quite sure where,
but I’m determined to bring something back
to this universe
for you to play with.

That said,
let me make a few left turns.
Hold on,
I’m not trying to buck you off,
there really is something here…

I was thinking about how many hours
I have worked out
this lifetime.
42 years X 1 hour a day= 15,000 hours (approx)
But,
add in a few of those ten hour days
researching and writing,
and I’ve probably worked out
50,000 hours.

And I started thinking,
what is the quality of my work out?
What is the dividing line
where I go from copycatting
and doing the same the same old
and actually
start learning something?

And this led me back to
one of my original thoughts
concerning the martial arts.
You’ll actually find this
written about in
The Master’s Handbook,
written some 40 years ago.

Karate means empty hands,
and you can’t have empty hands
unless you have an empty mind.

And,
I know this principle holds true
through all the arts.
No exceptions,
or what you are studying
isn’t an art.
It is something else.
A sport.
A war.
Up to you.

So,
to achieve enlightenment,
to find the true art
and get to the end of The Way
you have to ask yourself a question.
What makes an empty mind?

Applying Neutronics to the question
(For something to be true
the opposite must also be true,)
we must ask ourselves the question,
what makes a full mind?

Hmmm.

Now,
I know you’ve been stuffed with education,
politics,
TV programming,
and that sort of thing.

As for TV programming,
just go work out a few hours.
All that electronic paraphernalia will vanish.

As for your education,
I’d hold to the math, science, physics,
but throw the rest of it away.

science describes the universe,
measures it,
and is useful,
for it is a way of being sure of our perceptions,
of validating what we see
as real.

Economics?
Toss it.
The rule of economics is
make more than you spend.
You get that one,
and the rest will come true for you.

Philosophy?
I think therefore I am?
A word game.
If I don’t think will I not be?
Well,
that sure flies the wrong way,
when compared to emptying the mind.

Politics?
Ha!
Politics is the art of selling people problems
so you can take their money.
Apply physics to the measurement of money in politics
and this philosophy becomes so utterly plain
it is ridiculous.

Now,
having thrown away ninety per cent of western education,
we are left with the question
what’s in an empty mind?

Hmmm.
It’s not
I think therefore I am…
it is
I perceive therefore the universe is…

As long as I perceive
the universe will continue to be.

The more emptiness I create in my mind,
the more perceptions I will have,
and the more true the universe will be.

And we are left with an answer,
of sorts.

And the answer,
to phrase it as a question,
is
Who is perceiving?

Funny,
it is the same answer
I used to toss back and forth
with other drunken students
back in college.

But,
once you get an empty mind,
(a real one, through discipline, not a drunken one)
you aren’t so easy
to judge or be judged.
And,
your work outs become prayers.
Sacred spaces in which
you expand your perceptions,
become more you,
and the true art
becomes a never ending path
and
life becomes a joy.

Sorry.
Told you it was going to get a little weird.
Well,
scratch an Al,
and he bleeds.

So I will finish the Matrix Tai Chi
as soon as I can,
and try to hold the weirdness to a minimum.

No guarantees,
though.

I have to tell you
there is an utter joy
to being lost in the weirdness
and not knowing
how to get out…

weird

Anyway,
if you don’t want to be weird,
I suggest you grab ahold of Matrix Karate.

Use the graphs I show you
on that course
and you can matrix all of life.
You might go through a little weird,
but you won’t be lost in it,
and,
who knows…
you might like it…

Matrix Karate,
logic in a world of random tricks
it is the solution.
It will make sense out of any art you study,
and you will have taken your first significant step
on The Path of The True Art.

http://www.monstermartialarts.com

Now,
weirdness aside,
let me say,

HanaKwanMass

HanaKwanMass
is a put together of seasons greetings.
It is designed to please everybody,
or,
if you feel like it,
offend everybody.
Heh!

So you’re going to get a lot of HanaKwanMass from me
for the next month,
and,
the whole season is brought to a frothy finish
with my recitation
of what to do
when the big, fat, red intruder
tries to home invade
via the chimney…
oh, man…
we’re gonna be ready for that bozo!

So
work out,
my friends,
find an empty mind
make the universe real,
and
HanaKwanMass!

Here’s that link again

http://www.monstermartialarts.com

Al
=o)

PS–If you want the latest article, try googling ‘ The Secret of How Chi Awareness Works!’

One of the definitions of sanity is the ability to tell real from unreal. Soon we’ll need a new definition.
Alvin Toffler

November 27, 2009, Las Vegas, Nevada, TUFF-N-UFF’s Future Stars of Mixed Martial Arts: undefeated female MMA fighter LaTasha Marzolla defeated Revgear sponsored Kate McGray via unanimous decision.

November 27, 2009, Las Vegas, Nevada, TUFF-N-UFF’s Future Stars of Mixed Martial Arts: Revgear Sponsored Jordan Wright defeated Justin Rote by submission (triangle) in Round 1.

I know, the question is a bit bogus, as one should be comparing arts such as Karate and Aikido merely so as to make them compliment each other. Thus, with that statement made, let us discuss how the fist should wiggle into the glove. No pow and bam, just an honest, up front viewpoint for your edification and enlightenment.

Karate is supposed to be straight line, and Aikido is supposed to be the circle. Yet, if on looks at Karate, let alone the martial arts, one will see that perfection of geometric figure is loose, at best. If Karate could actually adhere to the perfect line, if one examines how the bones, joints, muscles and so on function, the body would probably explode, or, at least collapse upon itself.

And, on the other hand, if Aikido tried to adhere to the perfect circle, except in the most theoretical of classes, the art would not work. And, to be honest, aikido is not your best art for down and dirty combat. While Aikido is pure and wonderful, and can evolve the practitioner to high levels, one should use a martial art like Karate to enter the fight, then apply aikido.

Think about it this way, a fight is the collapse of distance. The length of the arm, and the circle being made, the lever of the extend arm is too long. However, if you want magic, use karate to kick, punch, find yourself on the inside as the distance collapses, and then use a shorter lever.

Instead of doing a two step and trying a three foot arm circle to a wrist twist, try a hard middle inward block, slide in, maybe with a short fist or elbow, then turn the waist. As you turn the waist, bring the arms up to a short position, lever the elbow, shove your shoulder in and pull. Go ahead, try this scenario with a friend, watch a little youtube to get the motions, and you are going to find an instant blend of karate, even the hardest of karate, like Shotokan, and with the purest of Aikido, even the soft of Morihei Uyeshiba.

Now, the above being detailed, the big weakness of Karate is that it is limited, in most modern formats, to destruction. It has been tailored for tournament, gloves put on for more violence, and given over to fighting for fighting sake. But while there is an art to destruction, the true art is in control.

Thus, a study of Aikido, with the advices I give you here, will enable you to confront the fiercest violence, and transmogrify that violence into the most magical and wondrous of techniques. You kick, you punch, maybe soften the fellow up, then you simply embrace the arms and learn how to go with the flow.

A last word about all this, don’t mistake the throws of judo or jujitsu for Aikido techniques. While techniques of the ju variety are wonderful, we want to move from hard to soft complete, and a certain amount of hard is still involved in ju techniques. That all said, I wish you the best with your new art, and a new art it is…karido…aikate…your choice.

Man, there’s gonna be a knock down! I can feel it in my bones! The question is, will Bruce knock down Mohammad, or will Mohammad knock down Bruce?

Okay, first things first, let’s talk about the physical measurements of the men. Bruce Lee was 5 foot seven, and Mohammad Ali was six foot three. The point goes to Mohammad on this one, though it really should only be a half a point, for Bruce’s legs made up for the discrepancy in reach.

Now, weight is going to be important in this match up, so let us take a look. Bruce Lee fluctuated a bit, but at his ripping best he was probably about 160 pounds, Mohammad fluctuated, also, but we can round it out to about 200 pounds. Edge goes to Mohammad in this area, for 200 pounds of flesh is going to have a sizable smackaroonie behind it.

One always has to consider speed in a contest, and here the edge goes to Bruce. Yes, Mohammad had an instant of invisible punch to his credit, but that was only once. Watch Bruce Lee, and even though he wasn’t wearing gloves or in a fight, his speed is a constant blur.

All around martial ability must be considered, and here, again, Bruce gets the edge. Yes, Mohammad was fluid, powerful, and unique, but he only used his arms. Honestly, though we are limited to one point here, I would like to give more to Bruce, for you would have to tie one of Bruces legs behind his back to get an even fight in this category.

One of the most important weapons in a fight is the mouth. Simply, if you talk the talk hard enough, you might not have to walk the walk. That said, in spite of Bruce’s movie inspired oratorical abilities, no one in the world could compete with Mohammad’s trash talk, why, you would have to tie one of Mohammads lips behind his back to get an even contest!

Now, Mohammad is slightly ahead, but the contest is about to be evened, for we are going to consider the most important question in the martial arts, what a person knows. Mohammad knew a lot, there is no doubt, but his was a natural talent, and limited by being able to use only his hands, knowing no grab arts, and so on. Bruce, on the other hand, not only knew an amazing amount of martial arts, he knew Mohammad Ali, he used to watch movies of Mohammad and study his technique.

In conclusion, I am not going to call a knock out, because these men were two fast to be knocked out. But I am going to give a decision to Bruce, this because he not only watched movies of Mohammad Ali, he used to watch them in a mirror so he could adapt Mohammads techniques to both sides! Now that is truly above and beyond, and it is for this reason I give the decision to Bruce Lee!

Official Myspace, LikE You And Me, People From The Streets BegiN To Understand That LIFE’s Not BeautifuL When Too Much Shared With ThE WeB: There IS A NEW STEP!!

If I Don’T BelievE In JESUS, You Don’T BelievE In GOD, If I Don’T BelievE In HEROIN, You DON’T BELIEVE IN DOPE! Life’s A Nightmare 4 Nobody!

ONE ONLY PLANET.

www.myspace.com/fredvidal

In philosophy, concept Yin Yang used 2 describe how seemingly disjunct or opposing forces are interconnected / interdependent in natural world

Fred Vidal Signals That Song B.L.A.K.E. Is A Post-Carpe Diem Style Of Music Journalism Composition, As Brainstorming Continues For The Screenwriting PATCHWORK/Melting Pot Of The Lyrics On Twitter/Intown, On A Very  Short Term Basis, Because ”It Must Be Perfect” According To ASCAP Insiders And Friends!

MYSPACE CULTURE Is A MUST DO CulTure Of Work & Love-a-Like Ties & Links That Can Be Real! POP culture ART show, Nothing Else than TRUE FEELINGS on A Screen Named Sky/Street! Pic: myspace-codes-posters-38

Article Follows.

From The Song’s Lyrics
(One Lyric, One Specie, One Newspaper,
One Study, One Serie…):

“SAY IT AND SO.

AS TEARS GO BY.

I’LL FOLLOW THE SUN.

SOME GIRLS.

THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD (with you).

APPLE or MSN?

MY SPACE dot COM.

THIS AIN’T A LOVE SONG And This YouR LovE, Song.

AND SO AND SO.

GOD ONLY KNOWS.

YIN AND YANG sounds FANTASY,

Talks And Dreams!”

Fred Vidal, PhD ASCAP, Text-Poem From SonG B.L.A.K.E.

First Words Selected For LYRICS Composition That Will, At The Contrary Of A CLICHE, Be PATCHWORK Of OuR TimeS And Puzzle riented In A TWITTTER Style Of Genius, Individual, Not intellectual, Collective for The words and Letters, Not The Content that Stays PrivacY Connected To Rock’n Roll Ambition. With And Without BRAINSTORMING.

The Team

Official Myspace, LikE You And Me, People From The Streets BegiN To Understand That LIFE's Not BeautifuL When Too Much Shared With ThE WeB: There IS A NEW STEP!!

 

ON TWITTER

THESE DAYS, It’S Difficult To Write An Original SonG, everything’s WaS Said/Written Before, FROM The 60’s/50’s, SO Let’s CITATION The WolrD

People Often Use Titles Song Of Parts LyricS To CommunicatE MESSAGES Or Signs (Of Love Or Biz Or SomethinG Else).

And…

DAMNED! Damned If You Love Me, Dammed If You Don’t! Damned If You Don’t Need Me, Damned If You Do! Article Newspaper Explains LYRICS Choice!

LYRICS or LYRIC? A Lyric, Specie, Newspaper, Serie! Probably! Lyrics, Series, Species, Newspapers: PLURIAL for 2

Q&A: Is FrEd GoinG To Call CENTRAL CASTING Today? Thank you, I’M A Fan And I want Him to Work (Songs not Enough)! What’s the Weather In LA?

XTRA-SMART LYRICS On WeB WorK Best Ever-Time SONG By FV. in progress L.Y.R.I.C!! http://fredvidal.wordpress.com Illumination! MY HEART…

11,111 Tweets!! TWITTER Games Are TruE Messengers! Alert!! (the reply is YES for Central) We need SoMeThInG To BELIEVE! www.fredvidal.info

Bat Quai Do: Taijitu with I Ching trigrams. Yin & YanG Martial ArT Is A PlaY Of GAME (Words GAME, Sounds SYSTEM Of Flavoring LifE).

MYSPACE FeatureD In NeW POST-ARTICLE LyricS PATCHWORK TwitteR WorK OrienteD FoR FederativE MESSAGE SonG 2 The World!!

If It’s What It Takes, It’s What I’ll Do!! SIGNAL: An indicator, such as a gesture or colored light, that serves as a means of communication

DIAMOND RING! red, red Roses! Great Article NEWSPAPER By TeamWork Fred KELLY/ + VIDAL RinG Web/Street. http://fredvidal.wordpress.com POEM!

Fred Vidal Signals Song B.L.A.K.E. Is Post-Carpe Diem Style a Music Journalism Composition As Brainstorming Continues 4 Screenwriting Lyrics

CyB, BurBanK: GivE Me SomethinG For The BLUES! SO Lyrics ARE MultI-MODES. It’s A MiX Of OtheR Lyric(s)? In A Bad Way, Meaning A GOOD oNe!?

ASCAP Insider: We UNDERSTOOD That. It’s Authorized If Mr. Vidal Explains And Confirms In The SonG That Patchwork Inserts Of Others Texts Are

It’S A Semiotic POST-POST-POST DoctoraL Attitude/WritinG Of SONG’s WoRdS (Of LoVe ObviouslY) With FLAMME More Than FAME, Already done By Us!

ASCAP Insider: SonG Patchwork Inserts Of Others Texts Are OFF-OFF BROADWAY style. CLICHES/Pop References Must Be Used As SecondarY ConTEXT!!

THESE DAYS, It’S Difficult To Write An Original SonG, everything’s WaS Said/Written Before, FROM The 60’s/50’s, SO Let’s CITATION The WolrD!

People Often Use Titles Song Of Parts LyricS To CommunicatE MESSAGES Or Signs (Of Love Or Biz Or SomethinG Else). And So And So. Means WORDS

SONG Demarch Process/Pre-Prod. Now Dedicated/Homage To SLASH HUDSON!

People Often Use Titles Song Of Parts LyricS To CommunicatE MESSAGES Or Signs (Of Love Or Biz Or SomethinG Else). And So And So. Means WORDS

THESE DAYS, It’S Difficult To Write An Original SonG, everything’s WaS Said/Written Before, FROM The 60’s/50’s, SO Let’s CITATION The WolrD!

CyB (in Space): SLASH! / Hudson? Yes, YIN And YANG Or YING And YANG! it’s interesting TO Me. MeaninG It’s ChineSe PhilosophY, NoT DEMOCRACY!

CyB (in Space): Not OnlY OnE WoRd Of A GUNS’ N ROSES SonG Will Be Taken For NeW FV Master-Piece, Too MucH Respect / OtheR UniversE SoNGS GR!

Doesn’T MEAN Fred’s Doesn’t Or DON’T Respect Other SONGS, BuT G’N R UniveRSE Too PARTICULAR To BE IncludED In FRED V. NEW RighT FAIRY TALE!!

Message 4 HANNAH MONTANA Fans: FRED KELLY Continues His Work Today, As He Gonna Call CENTRAL CASTING To Find Set’s Job ThaT’ll STAY Confid.!

Message 4 HANNAH MONTANA Fans: Fred VIDAL, Screenwriter Of SERIES FRED KELLY, In A CONVERSATION With Buddie (?) SLASH, A Guitarist FROM LA!!

Slash, the “/” punctuation character. Slash (musician) (born Saul Hudson in 1965), Velvet Revolver guitarist, former Guns’N Roses guitarist!

SLASH He’s CLEAN with Us LIke DUFF, Myspace & +, FrIeNdS Of All-Times (Old Times?) (CyB) Since 1973? They WenT 2 SCHOOL In The Neighborhood!

I HearD/ReaD HE HAS (SlasH) REAL ESTATE PROBLEMS (HollywooD HillS), HopE He’LL Have SOLUTION SooN, He’S A NicE GUY!! (Velvet Revolver FaN)

Everybody Has Problems, Yin & YanG, He Will Manage Them The Best He Can, It’s Problem WITH A BROKER, legal Issue, IN THE PRESS, Good Luck S!

Q&A: Q = WhY Already Registered ASCAP SonG B.L.A.K.E.’s FV, as LYRICS Are In Progress? (& SORRY 4 Victims FORECLOSURES And SLASH LaW Issues)

Entourage Fred / ASCAP Specialist: Basically ASCAP RegisTrations ON WEB Don’T NeeD RecordinG Song Lyrics And MUSIC still In DevelopMent Too!

YES! You/WE RegisteRed Title, IF ASCAP Asks, SONG’s READY In 10 Minutes BUT It’s In FRED BRAIN already, ASCAP REGISTRATION = protection OK!!

GURU: Yes, Song’s Already COMPOSED In Space And In Time (And Even Already In FV’s UFO as There must Be 3 Versions) + ASCAP registration WeB!

TAIJITU: Traditional Chinese: 太極圖; Simplified Chinese: 太极图; Wade-Giles: T’ai Chi T’u; Rough English translation: Diagram of Ultimate POWER!

ONEONLYPLANET. Bat Quai Do: Taijitu with I Ching trigrams. Yin & YanG Martial ArT, PlaY Of GAME (Words GAME, Sounds SYSTEM Flavoring LifE)!

Horace was the son of a freedman, who owned a small farm in Venusia, and later moved to Rome to work as a coactor (Wikipedia). Looser or Winner, He Was wrong To say CARPE DIEM, It Makes The Roman Empire Loose A Lot of Its prestige, Definitely, Until the Decadence.

BACK 2 SONG: Carpe Diem is phrase from Latin Poem by HORACE. It is popularly translated as “seize the day”, “Eat & drink 4 tomorrow we die”

BACK 2 SONG: POST-CARPE DIEM, Means we don’t Like That Carpe ThinG Attitude, even if smt It’s good to Have a BreaK, So P-CD Is AFTER-BREAK!!

IdeologisT: CARPE DIEM, I Heard That, In a WHATEVER STYLE, MeaninG Let’s FUN The WorlD + Forget TRUTH: Fun Can Kill The DREAMS Of A SoCietY!

TIMEFRAMES ideology: CARPE DIEM, HollyWood, You GO somewhere Else 2 Do iT! Bye 4 Ones WhO ThinK FILMS are JET SET, and ByE 2 OlD JETSET CD!

TIMEFRAMES: CARPE DIEM, when so many Companies In COUNTRY are In BankruptcY, It’s A SCANDAL! JETSET people Go On Island and Don’t COME BACK!

TIMEFRAMES historicity: CARPEDIEM / JET SET dead end 1980’s – New JeT SEt, We’re WorkinG On It! But Carpe stuff = Non-PRO BeHavioR, No MORE!

TIMEFRAMES: POST-CARPE DIEM, Let’s Be cooL, Time 2 work / What we Mean = HOLLYWOOD in crisis, Attitude No Future CD = Past / CORPORATE only!

Q&A: Are Discotheques CARPE -DIEM places?? (A LA-US Believer)

YES/NO, You Can Go 2 A DISCOTHEQUE, Being CORPORATE only, Not This CD decalage And DANCE, Not like the Others Do, Depends If You PRO-Hol.??

synchro TIMEFRAMES: A Lot Of People Go 2 DISCOTHEQUES Like In Theaters, To Have An Entertainment TIME/FRAME, Sounds OK 4 Hol. But BEST = DJs

BEST = DJs, PRO People Who PROGRAM Pro-MUSIC, Audience Appreciate without CARPE DIEM Secret Island In BRAIN syndrom. FOR DANCE the WORLD!!

BEST = DJs, PROS! DANCE is ANTI-CARPEDIEM, Post-CD smt But 1st, Mechanism Of BRAIN Intuition That EverythinG GOOD in World Must BE prepared!

Fred Vidal Signals That Song B.L.A.K.E. Is A Post-Carpe Diem Style Of Music Journalism Composition, As Brainstorming Continues FoR Lyrics!!

The History of Ho-Am TaeKwonDo

Ho-Am TaeKwonDo is the completely unique and effective martial art that we practice, but how did it start? What are its roots? Well, TaeKwonDo roughly started 10,000 years ago, when people migrated from central Asia to the peninsula, Korea, where they relied on hunting, swimming, and climbing mountains to survive. As time went by, these people developed strong bodies, fighting skills, and a sense of teamwork. Their knowledge is that of the beginning of our martial art.

In Korea, about 4,000 years ago, formal martial arts training began with simple basics, like punching and kicking, and added complex things like horseback riding and archery. In the 6th century (A.D) the Silla Dynasty ruled the smallest of three kingdoms in Korea, and during the rule of its 24th king, a group of warriors formed the Hwa Rang Do, whose victories over the dynasty united the Korean Peninsula. Afterwards, TaeKwonDo warriors were taught to balance the mind and body by reading, writing, painting, as well as other artistic activities, which continues today in the ITA.

During the Koguryo Dynasty, anything military was forbidden to be practiced from 1909-1945, but Tae Kyon was secretly practiced and taught by a handful of Masters and Instructors. When Korea was liberated in 1945, people were free to practice martial arts again.

Recently, Grandmaster Won-kuk Lee, who founded Chung Do Kwon, was the first person to organize and found modern Korean TaeKwonDo. On April 11th 1995, a board of instructors selected the word Tae-Kwon-Do, foot – hand – art, to represent the national martial art of Korea. When Ho-Am TaeKwonDo was founded, the Siberian tiger and the rock were chosen to represent our organization. Ho, or tiger, relating to the Siberian tiger, was chosen to represent our bravery and justice, while the rock represented steadfast and the immovable life spirit of Korean and Western civilizations. The tenets of TaeKwonDo were soon chosen over the years, and since, TaeKwonDo has developed and changed little to turn into what is now – the International TaeKwonDo Alliance – the ITA.

~Ryan Brandt

Thank You to all of those who supported me. Here are the videos from the test that many of you have been asking about.

James over at hellinahandbasket just posted his investigations into cane durability. This was something spurred by one of my postings, and it’s great that he sought to check this stuff out. Thanx, James!

It should be noted that James was looking at general durability for whacking someone with a cane. For many people, this is probably all they would do with a cane, using it to strike people in an untrained manner. Don’t get me wrong, there’s certainly nothing wrong with this. My personal goals are slightly different, being able to use a cane for locking, throwing, trapping, and other such things in addition to striking (my background in Kuk Sool and Kali give me many options). Nevertheless, if a cane can’t take a good whack against a tree, it’s doubtful it would be useful in any other way.

If you are going for a cane to just strike someone about the head and shoulders with, I would recommend a lighter cane. Yes more mass (at the same velocity) would yield more force upon impact, but more mass also means more momentum to have to bring to a stop, which you may well need to do to strike again especially if your first one missed. But exactly how heavy the cane should be depends 100% upon you, the way you’ll use the cane, and your strength and ability. Make sure you check this out and don’t settle on a cane until you find one that you can properly wield to suit your goals.

The lucite cane surprised me. But if it works, it works. I would want to feel it for heft and grip before I bought and/or settled on it, but the durability was nice to see. I wonder how easily you can trim the cane for a walking fit, or if it can be ordered to size.

On the other hand, the lack of durability in the rattan cane surprised me. I’ve used rattan staffs in Kuk Sool and we’ve struck each other at full force, no harm. I use rattan sticks in my kali practice, and we strike full force, no harm. I’ve struck the trees in my yard with these sticks, no harm. So I can only assume that it’s not rattan, but perhaps the construction of that particular cane.

In the end, James is right: some cane is better than no cane. Even those purely medical canes are better than nothing (tho they are certainly bottom of the list). But do you need to go out and spend big bucks on some specialty martial arts cane? Probably not. There is advantage there as they are certainly purpose-built (especially when looking at a training cane to ensure the “mouth” of the crook is wide enough to minimize chances of injury to a training partner), but they certainly aren’t a hard-fast requirement. I would also encourage anyone that opts to use a cane for self-defense to get some sort of training with it and to practice with it.

Thanx again, James!

“Respect the past in the full measure of its desserts, but do not make the mistake of confusing it with the present nor seek in it the ideals of the future.”

Since most of our experiences are rooted in cause and effect, we naturally want to justify our contentment. We envision grand circumstances, stating that if only we could achieve this goal or obtain that possession, we would finally be in a position to attain happiness. As a result, satisfaction is always just out of reach and the very notion of grabbing hold of it seems like nothing more than a pipe dream. But the truth is that sincere contentment and fulfillment are never wholly the result of external events or situations. Though life’s joyful moments can ignite the spark of contentment within us, that spark is fueled by serenity long established in our souls. When we forget this, it is easy to become stuck in “if only” patterns of thought. If we concentrate on the natural serenity that exists within us, however, we can move forward unimpeded by disappointment.

The circumstances you live through each day have the potential to bring both joy and despair into your life. Relying on the reactions they awaken within you to create an emotional foundation means living on a roller coaster of feeling whose course is determined by chance. Though you may yearn for the object of your desire—be it a new job, financial health, a spouse, or some other symbol of success—you have within you the power to be happy without it. Letting go of your “if only” thinking patterns can be as easy as recognizing that inward emptiness cannot be dispelled with outer world solutions. Try creating a list of your “if only”s. Then literally and figuratively let go of the items on the list by tearing it up or burning it. This simple action can help set in motion the intention to set you free, enabling you to make a fresh and balanced start in the present, unencumbered by regrets and unfulfilled desires.

There will likely be periods in your life in which you find yourself tempted to seek a magic formula for fulfillment that is centered upon a single goal or achievement. But the ingredients that come together to form the seeds of happiness that can sustain your spirit throughout the triumphs and trials of existence come from within rather than from without. When your search for satisfaction is focused on your soul, you will never fail to find the joy you seek.

All the best
Mark J. Speranza
www.MartialARtNy.com
info@MartialARtNy.com

]]> http://sanjurocommunity.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/use-of-energy/ Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:29:31 +0000 Glenn Delikan http://sanjurocommunity.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/use-of-energy/

Energy should always be measured against effectiveness. Why put 100% of effort into something that only requires 10%.

]]> http://fortresstakes.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/justice-league-the-new-frontier-2008/ Mon, 30 Nov 2009 03:22:22 +0000 Fortress Guy http://fortresstakes.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/justice-league-the-new-frontier-2008/ http://synergymartialarts.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/this-drill-will-help-you-improve-your-grappling-game/ Mon, 30 Nov 2009 01:39:04 +0000 synergymartialarts http://synergymartialarts.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/this-drill-will-help-you-improve-your-grappling-game/

Hello All,

During my Youtube search yesterday I came across this video of Sensei Erik Paulson (www.erikpaulson.com) teaching this drill. In this drill he goes from Ju Jitsu to Wrestling and back to Ju Jitsu again and I believe that it is a great drill to teach you the following.

• How to transition from Wrestling to Ju Jitsu mindsets
• Using the Granby Roll to not get caught by your opponent
• A drill that can be done many times to get you lots of reps
• Adaptable enough to let you scale your progressive resistance as you & your partner get better
• A drill that teaches you both offense and defense

I have long been a fan of Sensei Erik Paulson, I first saw him in 1996 when he was traveling with Guro Dan Inosanto. During the seminar Guro Dan gave Sensei Erik about an hour to go thru some grappling drills. In all the years that I have seen Guro Dan, the only person that he has ever given time to in a seminar was when Sensei Erik was with him.

 Sensei Erik has an amazing ability to develope drills that are simplistic in nature but if used can have a dramatic effect on your Martial Arts skills. I have used his material not only for my own personal developement but for the developement of my students. We use his Technique, Repetition, Isolation and Go (TRIG) training method in every facet of our curriculum. It is a great format for not only grappling but for striking, clinching and stick work as well.

I hope that you watch this video and you can add this drill to your training.

]]> http://taijiquestion.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/the-stuff-of-legend/ Mon, 30 Nov 2009 01:39:02 +0000 taijiquestion http://taijiquestion.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/the-stuff-of-legend/