Tuesday Martial Humor

If you are a Jackie Chan or Lord of the Rings fan (I am both), you will appreciate this! Make sure to watch the bloopers after the battle is over.

H/T: Miss Cellania

Even If You Are Not Catholic

... As I am not, if you've been to church, you may find this amusing.

My daughter is an Irish dance competitor, and this blog's author is a "Feis (Irish dance competition) dad." As my dear wife is a Feis mom, she turned me on to his amusing site, for your Sunday entertainment.

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Paring Away to The Essential

It seems to me, that what makes us better as we gain experience is not mastery of new techniques, but being able to better fit things into our base of knowledge. We are better able to pare down to the essential.

Thoughts?

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Showdown - The New Pursuit Vehicles Arrive for Testing

Detroit 3's Next Generation of Police Vehicles Tested - News - POLICE Magazine

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Today's Quote: Outlaw Josey Wales

"Now remember, when things look bad and it looks like you're not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. 'Cause If you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor win. That's just the way it is."

I can't say it any better than Josey.

Please comment.

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If you need some Sunday reading

... Make sure you check out Striking Thoughts' Martial Arts News 9.19.10 (bum neck edition). Our buddy Bob Patterson always does a great job of putting together interesting links, video, and his own commentary.

Check it out!

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Our Spirit Is Alive Still

On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was at work at the police department, and it was like any other morning. In Manassas, outside of DC, the weather was very good that day; it was sunny and warm, few clouds in the sky.

Shortly after 8 AM, my lieutenant called me into his office. "You've gotta see this. A plane hit the World Trade Center!"

Disbelief turned into shock, and we could only watch as the cameras, trained on the tower during the news coverage, showed a second plane strike the Trade Center. It doubled the sense of shock, which immediately turned into a realization that this could only be deliberate. We started calling others in the building, the chief, other command staff, and then waited and watched. That was all we could do.

The sense of dread and building anger at our helplessness grew as the news coverage reported that a third plan had hit the Pentagon. America was under a full-scale attack! These were no accidents, but a deliberate, and well-coordinated assault on the symbols of America's financial and military might. Who could be doing this, and why?

Fear filled me as our neighbors died that day. My mother was working on Capitol Hill in an elementary school as a teacher. If the brave souls aboard a plan over Pennsylvania had not fought back, she, along with many others in that area may not have made it home that night. I thank God that they did. And for my mother's life.

Thousands of innocent men and women died that day. American and foreigners, all races and religions died that day. We watched in horror as our people were burned alive, were crushed, or chose to rush into the inferno and smoke to save strangers. All of us died a little that day, and yet were inspired at how New Yorkers cared for one another. The brave legions of fire fighters that died that day are a part of the story of courage and power of America that was on display that day. That is what makes our country work - our spirit!

That day was a turning point for nearly all of us. Many, if not most, had a sense of righteous anger - our nation had been violated. The protection of the great oceans was no longer enough. Out thousands of men and women serving overseas, on far-away shores, and our technological superiority assured that no conventional army could prevail in an attack. Our mastery of the air and space via satellites and air power meant that no foe could take us by surprise. The recent defeat of the Soviet Union meant that we were that last, and only, great power standing, with the nuclear might that assured the destruction of any other nation foolish enough to attack in that manner. To all appearances, we were at peace - peace assured by outward and obvious strength. We could only be vulnerable from within, through our own self-assurance and confidence.

The opening in our defenses was our embrace of civil liberty - we had liberal freedoms and protections from overbearing government. That was to change.

In the days following the attack on our nation, we came together as I've never seen in my lifetime. We were united in the understanding that our way of life, even our existence as a nation was threatened. We had thought that there was a "peace dividend" now that the Soviet empire was no longer. There were no challenges on the horizon. Peace was at hand, right? No. A war had been declared on us since the days of the Iranian revolution, and attacks occurred with regularity. But they were overseas. Attacks in Europe, Asia, and Africa were in the news, but never affected us here, at home.

From September 12 on, men and women around the country, and those not yet citizens heard a call in their hearts - defend our homeland; defend our freedom! They carried the banner that has inspired patriots throughout our history. They volunteered to serve, not knowing whether they would return. All of the men and women serving in our armed forces have always had courage, but most served in peacetime. These brave souls knew that they would see the enemy, and went forward, one step at a time, into the fire of conflict.

As almost a decade has passed since that day, I've watched with concern and even disgust, as we have collectively decided to turn our backs on this recent history. It is obvious that the news media made a collective decision to suppress the footage of that day, as not to arouse our anger. Our president called the conflict a "War on Terror" instead of naming the enemy - radical Islam. We chose to fight each other politically, rather than the enemy, and at every turn there was an effort to return to the ignorant bliss of September 10. The battles raging on our behalf became political fodder for politicians appealing to one group or another. All the while, our brave, valiant soldiers were fighting, dying, and winning the fight. The news media only grudgingly told the stories of how our soldiers were magnificently winning the war by bandaging our enemies, feeding the hungry, building schools and hospitals, and teaching about something unique to few places in the world - freedom.

That freedom is alive here. These conflict have not weakened the spirit of America. It has only grown as we have realized that we need to fight in whatever way we can to keep the freedoms we have. We need to support our men and women overseas, vote, teach our children about our proud history, and act to keep America strong. Those sacrifices that have been made for our futures will not be in vain because I see, every day, that our young people aren't fooled. They know that we have something special, and it's worth preserving.

Never forget.

Awesome! FIREFIGHTERS RUN ACROSS US TO REMEMBER 9/11 VICTIMS

This is how it should be done! Click the picture to get the whole story.

H/T Blackfive

Politics Post of the Day – watch the video

Hilarious!

del.icio.us Tags: Chuck Norris,vote,NRA

Fighting is not for girls!

OK- that's a deceptive and controversial title, but it has a point. Please read on.

From When Old Becomes New in the Martial Arts:

One thing that was of particular interest to me from this training experience is the way that old becomes new in the martial arts. Knowledge is cyclical. Things go in and out of vogue over time and what was once old, can be rediscovered and re-popularized, making it 'new' again.

Jiu-jitsu Sensei Lori O'Connell mentions examples of techniques and arts that undoubtedly fit this thesis: BJJ and boxing, and their relationship to Judo and bare-knuckle fighting, respectively. She's right on the money. I remember musing (yes, I "muse" - don't make fun) about something along those lines a few years ago. Remember how the first UFC events featured everything but eye gouges and throat strikes? Stomping was OK. Kneeing a downed opponent was fine. Elbows to the back of the head were all in good fun. And... hair grabbing was VERY effective! Watch.

How many UFC fighters today have long Polamalu hair today? How easily did Gracie control the larger, more powerful Kimo with his hair? It became a trademark of "Reality Based" instructors to have a shaven head. And I remember reading a Hock Hochheim post lamenting that hair-grab techniques had fallen by the wayside as a result.

The lessons here?

1) Long hair can be grabbed, and can be used to control you. Make of that what you will.

2) You can use someone else's long hair to control them

3) Long earrings or chest hair can serve the same purpose.

4) On a serious note, don't ever abandon techniques without reason. Don't try to just learn what's in vogue. Discover the meaning behind what was taught before, and determine whether it is still of use. I realize that some Chinese fan techniques are pretty, but are they useful in a military combatives situation? Decide what you're training for, and design your training goals around that.

Any other lessons here?

Sugar Ray Training

Rosstraining has some good video of Sugar Ray Robinson training. Robinson is one of the all-time greats in boxing, if not the greatest.

We can all learn something from him.

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2011 Dodge Charger Pursuit

What do you think?

Chevy has jumped back in, phasing out the Impala (eventually), and reintroducing the Caprice, in truth the Australian-built Holden, and for is phasing out the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, with it’s replacement being the all-wheel drive, turbocharged V-6 Taurus SHO (rebranded as Interceptor). Take a first look at the response by Dodge, the Charger Pursuit.

Pioneer Jan Plas passes away

Wim has a nice post about the passing of Western Muay Thai pioneer Jan Plas.

One of my regrets with the timing of technology our culture is that we’ve lost some insight and history on how the martial arts have gotten to be where they are today. Many – I would guess, most – MMA fighters don’t have a sense of boxing, wrestling, kickboxing, or even BJJ history, except as they think it began in the 1990s. I know it’s a generalization, but I stand by it. In the recent past, I devoured every book, magazine, or story I could get my hands on or hear. We sat at the feet of our instructors and learned about the history of our forebears, ancestors, and standard-bearers in our respective arts.

We owe a lot to some of our recent pioneers, including legends like Kano, Funakoshi, and the Gracie family, as well as those who’ve had more media exposure like Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, and Bill Wallace, among many other. Those who’ve done more behind the scenes, though, are now unheralded as MMA has eclipsed many of it’s contributory sports, including Muay Thai.

Now, I see the newer generation ignoring the giants upon whose shoulders they stand, and they look ahead without looking back.

Thanks to Wim for the brief tribute. A taste:

He was at the birth of full-contact rings sports in Europe and largely responsible for the “Dutch school” of fighting. He founded the famous Mejiro Gym and trained a truckload of European, world champions and other great fighters: Rob Kaman, Peter Aerts, Fred Royers, Lucien Carbin,  and a lot more. Today, Mejiro gym is still one of the best gyms worldwide, training fighters like Andy Souwer amongst others.

Every time I read or heard about Mr. Plas, the feedback was always the same: he was an exceptionally gifted trainer and teacher. But he was also able to analyze a fight and coach fighters to victory by telling them exactly what they needed to do to beat their opponent. So it’s a terrible shame he passed away.

Check it out here.

Wait! Come back! You weren't so bad!

Works and Days » ‘Bush … Come Back, Bush, Come Back’

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Todays Quote: Jimmy Vo on leg kicking

Yes! “Nothing like leg kicking someone and watching them wobble around.” Let’s all imagine it, and enjoy the mental image. Sigh…

Follow Jimmy Vo here. Wait a minute, why aren’t you following me???

A Step Ahead, the Glory Days of Roy Jones, Jr.

In this recent post, I lamented the decline of some greats in sports, including Roy Jones, Jr. Not that long ago, he was the “pound for pound” king, someone that was the considered the best in the sport of boxing. Jones, made his opponents look silly, and even past champions look like amateurs, such were his skills, timing, and speed. Take a look at this great highlight video [some content may be offensive].

In those days, Jones was always thinking and reacting at least a step ahead of his opponents. Those days are clearly gone. But it was a fun ride.

For more information:

All-Time Fastest Boxers at The Pound Online