Every few decades, an athlete comes along who makes us rethink all of our pre-conceived notions of domination in sports. Jordan, Gretsky, Montana, Woods, etc., all made it look easy. For another such example, check out the incomparable Usain Bolt:
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Georgia and the Nature of Man
I think Georgia was a wake-up call for many of us, for whom the sight of raw aggression has been limited to parts south and east of that small country. I often ponder, as I read the news, how many can still hold the viewpoint that man is essentially good. The sight of the Russian army rolling through the streets of Gori, expelling ethnic Georgians from their homes in South Ossetia, and stories of murder and pillage remind us of the dangers we face in the world today, and how thin a line there is between civilization and savagery. A governing principle in my understanding of mankind's dealing with one another is that there is evil in our hearts, evil which must be restrained. Were this not so, there would be no need for police, prisons, armies, or even governments, much less weapons and martial arts.
This should serve as a reminder to equip yourself to resist evil in all it's forms. Support and participate in civic activities like local and national elections. Arm yourself with education and information needed to make wise choices. Support the armed forces, law enforcement, and public safety by, at a minimum, reporting crime. Finally, learn to protect yourself, and if possible, put yourself in the way of those who would prey on the weak.
Nations and individuals seems to have an unlimited capacity to prey upon those weaker in strength or resolve. Be prepared.
Todays Quote: Chiron on Sacred Space
"What makes training sacred is that you cannot do it in the usual mundane haze of inattention." - Chiron
Very true. What Rory is describing is something that most of us miss during our daily lives - focus on what's happening, right now! I remember many training, sparring sessions, and even fighting, and once you get past the frantic beginning, there's a feeling of being there, a glory in what's happening at the very moment it happens. At a certain level of training and conditioning, what you're going to do, and what the opponent does just become what happens. Instead of struggling to make it happen, it just does. I miss it.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
The War at the Southern Border
Many aren't aware of the long-running war on our southern border. Read for some background, read this report by Jerry Seper of the Washington Times on Wednesday, August 6, 2008.
Border patrol agent held at gunpoint
A U.S. Border Patrol agent was held at gunpoint Sunday night by members of the Mexican military who had crossed the border into Arizona, but the soldiers returned to Mexico without incident when backup agents responded to assist.
Agents assigned to the Border Patrol station at Ajo, Ariz., said the Mexican soldiers crossed the international border in an isolated area about 100 miles southwest of Tucson and pointed rifles at the agent, who was not identified.
It was unclear what the soldiers were doing in the United States, but U.S. law enforcement authorities have long said that current and former Mexican military personnel have been hired to protect drug and migrant smugglers.
"Unfortunately, this sort of behavior by Mexican military personnel has been going on for years," union Local 2544 of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) said on its Web page. "They are never held accountable, and the United States government will undoubtedly brush this off as another case of 'Oh well, they didn't know they were in the United States.'
"It is fortunate that this incident didn't end in a very ugly gunfight," said the local's posting.
The NBPC represents all nonsupervisory personnel among the agency's 16,000 agents.
As usual, this is a political issue, and the Administration has nothing to say.
Border Patrol spokesman Michael Friel did not return calls for comment Tuesday.
State Department spokeswoman Nicole Thompson said Tuesday that the department had no information on the incident, and referred further questions to the Border Patrol. "It is not an incident that we are aware of," she said.
The money quote:
Since 1996, there have been more than 200 confirmed incursions by the Mexican military into the United States. [Emphasis mine - Nathan]
The Border Patrol and local law enforcement are no match for the firepower or numbers of the invaders, who are prepared to do battle. "Sheriff Gonzalez said three of his deputies in 2006 spotted 25 men dressed in military uniforms in the U.S. during a late-night patrol. He said the men marched two abreast and carried duffel bags and automatic weapons, and that his "outmanned and outgunned deputies" were forced to retreat.
______
My questions:
Why the silence on the part of most of the news media? I get my news from numerous sources, but they include a balance of perspectives, from USA Today (primary source), to the Washington Post, Washington Times, and Reuters. I don't see this covered much, if at all!
Doesn't a steady and consistent flow of drugs and illegal aliens, abetted by the military of a foreign nation qualify as a national security problem? I'd think that the Executive Branch's primary responsibility as spelled out in the Constitution (see Article IV, Section 4, among others) is to protect our borders from invasion.Why isn't it being done? The US military and National Guard should be on the border with sufficient armament to get the job done, and in plentiful numbers.
Doesn't this go beyond politics? I see it as a matter of national sovereignty, and security. How can our nation be protected from the drug trade or terrorism if we can't determine who crosses into our borders. The same issue is present on the northern border, but not in so blatant a manner.
I make no apologies for my support of our great nation's military in all the branches, and those serving in public safety. I am disgusted that a lone sheriff's deputy or border patrol agent on patrol may encounter a horde of well-trained men with automatic weapons and body armor in vehicles donated by the American public. A local law enforcement officer isn't equipped or constitutionally tasked with defending our border - the President and Executive Branch are.
Your opinion?
Image credit: Wikipedia Commons
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
THE MMA WEEKLY WRAP UP for the week of 8/4/08
Hello and welcome back to the MMA Weekly Wrap up. It's been a very exciting week... well, not so much for Combat Sports, but over here in Illinois, we've been battling tornadoes and power outages! I spent last night huddled with my family in the basement while Mother Nature did her thing, so this edition is a day late. Sorry about the delay.COMBAT SPORTS AGAIN TAKES STAGE AT THE OLYMPICS
Okay, when it comes to the Olympics, most people focus on the usual sports that get all the attention; gymnastics, track, swimming, volleyball, basketball, and ping-pong -okay, maybe not 'table tennis'... but you get the idea.
For MMA fans, it's all about the contact sports; wrestling, judo, boxing, taekwondo, and maybe even a little fencing. Sure, we have to set our VCR or TiVos to record 4:30 am events, but it's all worth it. NBC is doing a nice job of using all their stations to bring as much coverage as possible this year.
To find when your favorite sport is being televised, check out their website.
To get you juiced for some of the martial action, here's a quick clip on the Lopez family as they prepare to send 2 time medalist Steven Lopez along with his brother, Mark, and Sister, Diana, to Beijing.
Also making it's debut as a demonstration sport is Wushu. Although there don't seem to be any plans to televise the competition, it will be interesting to see how a Forms contest compares against other sports. The following video clip is a bit long, but it gives a nice introduction to the art and sport of Wushu for those who might not be familiar with traditional martial arts.
And of course, there's always judo, the 'original' grappling art... Judoka always know how to celebrate!
GSP READY FOR HIS FIRST TITLE DEFENSE SINCE REGAINING HIS BELT
After winning back the Welterweight title from Matt Serra, Georges St-Pierre claims that he's better prepared for his first title defense against Jon Fitch at UFC 87:Seek and Destroy, on August 9th.
Here's the official trailer for the event:
Also, a quick interview from MMARated.com where St-Pierre talks about how he's tried to prepare himself mentally for this fight.
UNFORTUNATE NEWS FROM THE QUINTON JACKSON SITUATION
As we reported previously, the former UFC LightHeavyweight Champion, Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson was involved in a Hit-and-Run accident in California where he was quickly chased and arrested by police.
CagePotato.com sadly reports that the woman who's car Jackson sideswiped in the accident was pregnant and suffered a miscarriage this week. This is unbelievably tragic news.
There has been a lot of Internet chatter about Jackson's mental state prior to the accident and arrest. State officials have cleared Jackson of any alcohol or drug use related to the incident.
Some people claim that he had earlier been hallucinating and claiming that he was 'God,' while others explain that he was on a fast to cut weight and drank one to many energy drinks. (Who fasts after an event?!)
The following clip shows Jackson picking up his truck from Street Image after having some audio work done. Rampage talks about his loss to Griffin, and for what it's worth appears rather coherent. (Warning there is a little bit of rough language in the interview and background music of this clip.)
We'll keep you updated on this story as more information is released.
LEWIS BLACK PICKS A FIGHT WITH KICKSBOXES!
I love Comedy Central's Lewis Black... but this time he's gone too far! On his show, Root of All Evil, Black has two comedians pick a couple of seemingly unrelated topics and debate which of them is worse for mankind. This week he chose MMA and Blogging as the topics.
Hey wait a second. I train MMA... and I Blog (or at least I try to). I'm beginning to think he's picking on me! What's the deal Lewis!?
Anyway, here's the rather funny intro to this last weeks show:
I guess I just can't win this one - either way I go, I'm 'Evil'.
So I'll just have to sign off now, and hope you'll return to this den of Blogging/MMA ill-repute next week when we bring you more of the 'Best of the Web' in Combat Sports
Respectfully,
Rick
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Colin Wee on Traditional TKD
A very nice interview of Colin Wee at Traditional Taekwondo Technique Workshop, one of my must-read blog buddies. Of note to me, he discusses the origins and recent history of TKD.
From what has been told to me by A-KaTo GM Keith Yates, A-KaTo’s Taekwondo was brought over from Korea in 1955 via the auspices of Tang Soo Do practitioner GM Jhoon Rhee. Note and compare this time period with the military martial arts demonstration for South Korean President Syngman Rhee in 1952, historically significant for Taekwondo as President Rhee who would then ask for all troops to be trained in that martial art, and the subsequent accepting of Taekwondo as the official name of that style in 1955. GM Jhoon Rhee’s early Taekwondo export, still used by A-KaTo, continued to be practiced in the Southwest USA separate from the Taekwondo further refined by the ITF and WTF organisations.
So where global Taekwondo embarked on rapid fire expansion, A-KaTo black belts continued early Taekwondo’s close ties with Karate, often cross training with Karate instructors and practicing Shotokan forms for their black belt gradings. In fact, you would be hard pressed to tell apart an A-KaTo Taekwondo practitioner from a Karate-ka, all of whom are clothed in traditional fold-over white Karate gis and whom practice ‘Taekwondo’ basics in a manner that Funakoshi Sensei, Father of Modern Karate, would be proud of.
This is of particular interest to me, as I trained in TKD for a number of years, and actively taught it until the mid-90's. Whereas I have mostly eschewed that particular style in recent years, preferring what are now called "reality-based" systems and ideas, Colin, a contemporary of mine (based on the interview's references to Bruce Lee) has stayed with it, developing and teaching.
Of particular interest is his mention of GM Jhoon Rhee, whom I have met. I came of age in the Washington, DC area, and for many years would see his TV commercials and hear the familiar closing words, "Nobody bothers me!" An honorable man, and a great ambassador for the best values and traditions of our community.
Check out the interview for more about Colin!
Saturday, August 02, 2008
TDA Training was down, not out - SiteMeter attack! Updated
This post at Hot Air caught my eye this morning because: 1) I use SiteMeter, and 2) I don't use IE7 anymore!
Starting yesterday, Sitemeter has caused thousands of blogs to fail in Internet Explorer 7 for some reason. Both Hot Air and Michelle Malkin sites have been affected. According to Charles Johnson, the problem exists on Sitemeter’s own website. It appears that Sitemeter changed its coding yesterday without warning its users, and without testing it before going live with the changes.
I checked, and, indeed, it wouldn't load. I quickly removed the SM code, and all is well. As of this writing, SiteMeter's blog had no mention of the issue.
More good advice from Ed Morrissey.
Even if you love IE7, it’s a good idea to have a second browser handy in case issues like this arise. Sitemeter will eventually get its act together, and we’ll have our sites back up shortly. Thanks for your patience.
UPDATE: According to SiteMeter's blog, the problem has been resolved.
We corrected a compatibility issue with our SiteMeter tracking code and IE7 and IE6 browsers that started last night.
The problem was related to some work we were doing on the backend system for our upcoming website launch.
We’ve identified and resolved two separate but related issues -
1 - IE Users viewing pages - The error occured when the SiteMeter tag was not a direct child of the body tag (e.g. if the tag was within a table or div). Recent changes we made created a failure for visitors viewing sites using Internet Explorer 7 and Internet Explorer 6.
2 - Accessing SiteMeter and Stats - Individuals trying to access or view their SiteMeter stats by clicking on their SiteMeter logo/icons were unable to gain access. This again appears to have affected only individuals using IE7 and IE6.
At this time both problems have been fixed and our services are fully operational.
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