Remember…

On the last Monday of every May, we remember those US service members who have died to bring us the freedom and prosperity we enjoy.

Let’s use this time to celebrate and remember those who have laid down their lives for us. From USMemorialDay.org:

Traditional observance of Memorial day has diminished over the years. Many Americans nowadays have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day. At many cemeteries, the graves of the fallen are increasingly ignored, neglected. Most people no longer remember the proper flag etiquette for the day. While there are towns and cities that still hold Memorial Day parades, many have not held a parade in decades. Some people think the day is for honoring any and all dead, and not just those fallen in service to our country.

There are a few notable exceptions. Since the late 50's on the Thursday before Memorial Day, the 1,200 soldiers of the 3d U.S. Infantry place small American flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. They then patrol 24 hours a day during the weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing. In 1951, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts of St. Louis began placing flags on the 150,000 graves at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery as an annual Good Turn, a practice that continues to this day. More recently, beginning in 1998, on the Saturday before the observed day for Memorial Day, the Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts place a candle at each of approximately 15,300 grave sites of soldiers buried at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park on Marye's Heights (the Luminaria Program). And in 2004, Washington D.C. held its first Memorial Day parade in over 60 years.

To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the "National Moment of Remembrance" resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps."

For more information:

http://www.usmemorialday.org/

Danny Da Costa Q and A

This is a continuation of Bob Patterson (Striking Thoughts) interview of Danny Da Costa, the founder of Shinjido from earlier this month. I think you will find it illuminating. Mr. Da Costa has agreed to take more questions, which we will add to this post. – Nathan

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1. Does Shinjido have belt rankings? How do you get rank and/or advance in Shinjido.
Shinjido does not have an association. Bear in mind that Shinjido after all, simple translates as Danny’s Way and originated through my own experiments. My students have Aikido licences and are graded in Aikido. Subsequently Shinjido does not have its own ranking system, although this may change in due course.

2. Why do you give away pumpkins and other vegetables?
Whilst I can enjoy pomp and ceremony, there is something in my perverse sense of humour that finds it amusing. The very first “reciprocal gift ceremony” was many years ago at the British Open Championship. The competitors were somewhat surprised that we were having an Olympic style presentation complete with podium. The medals were presented by Charles Palmer MBE, President of the Olympic Association, who was attended by an attractive young lady with a medal tray. On the basis that it is better to give than receive, I felt that a reciprocal gesture was appropriate and I gave Palmer a cauliflower and the girl a kiss.
Due to sports politics, some assumed that there must be a hidden meaning, so on a following occasions I gave bananas. The gift would always change but it became expected of me. The joke never wore thin because there was never an explanation. It was like a punch line that belonged to a different story.

Three Ways to Fail at Supplemental Conditioning

This is a continuation of a series of guest posts by martial arts (and other) bloggers that I respect and enjoy. Starting with The Things Worth Believing In, Mokuren Dojo, and Low Tech Combat, all on the “21-Foot Rule”. Since then, we’ve had Striking Thoughts post an interview with the founder of Shinjido, Danny Da Costa, and now, the man I hate, Craig Willits of Martial Arts Spectrum with more torture for me valuable information on conditioning. Why did I invite Craig? I’m not really sure. Just kidding! Craig, who runs a commercial program teaching several styles in Virginia has been a standout among new bloggers in this field. He’s got strong opinions, but has the seasoning and communication skills to share why, and his content has been excellent. I recommend you read this post, then head over to Martial Arts Spectrum for more. Please ignore his blatant attempts at flattery. I sent him cash, just like Bob – fail!
- Nathan

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About three weeks ago, during a discussion on TDA Training about supplemental conditioning for martial artists, I said that any conditioning a martial artist does "should be structured to work with [one's] martial arts training and not against it." Nathan seemed dubious, voicing his concerns with characteristic candor: "Great idea, but what training goes against your martial arts training?" I had intended to answer his question in an article I planned to post to Martial Arts Spectrum. But then I got sick. As in can't-do-anything-but-lie-in-bed-for-a-week sick. And the article never got written. Meanwhile, I had committed to write a guest post for TDA Training. I'm just a newbie blogger, so in martial arts blog terms this is like a 12-year-old kid getting a personal invitation from Robert Young to write the cover story for next month's Black Belt. I was excited, but was having trouble coming up with an article. Then I had a flash of inspiration. I needed an article, and I was still on the hook to answer Nathan's question. Why not kill two birds with one stone, and answer my host's question on his own blog? Double win. So that's the back story. Now for the article.

Todays Quote: John Zimmer

So I for one do not think there is any “best” martial art or a most effective way to fight MMA. I will grant you there are more generally accepted ways of fighting MMA but as soon as one dismisses a formal style and forgets how to defend against it – it will probably come back and bite you in the butt! - John Zimmer in Master Seagal Mentors the Spider and the Dragon?

Geeky Blogger Stuff and a Threat!

Help me, or I'll rip Mike's head clean off! I swear!

Ok, now asking for advice from my fellow bloggers. I will list my methods and tools below, and ask for your suggestions and feedback. What I’m looking for is help to be better at this, beside being smarter, a better writer, or more imaginative, which is not going to happen. Ha.

Anyway, here is is:

Purpose	Tool	Notes
Post editing and creation	Windows Live Writer	I know there are alternatives, including using the native Blogger post editor. What do you use? WLW does a really good job, I think, but I’m interested in trying something else.
Scheduling posts	Blogger post editor and/or Windows Live Writer	Both have the ability to schedule publishing a post, so if I was a good blogger, I’d write a bunch, then have it post them when I want. Any other ideas
Campaign planning	Google calendar	Ok – I’m just starting this now. I realized that to be more effective and create themes and series like the good guys (Mokuren Dojo, Ikigai, Martial Development, etc.) I need to plan more. How do you do it?
Metrics	Feedburner and Google Analytics	Use anything else? There’s so much I wish I knew, but don’t really care to learn unless I could make time or do a course/tutorial.
Site design	Standard Blogger templates, but modified.	Suggestions for something cheap or free? Advice on my current layout or design would be appreciated and may win you an autographed t-shirt. It would be old and sweaty, too!
Advertising/monetization	Adsense	I haven’t cared all that much about making money on this, but a enough to take the wife out to dinner every month would win me some points. How do you go about direct advertising. I think my stats can show a strong following and good numbers, but what’s the best advertising method, in your opinion.
Posting ideas	RSS and email, news	I use feeds almost exclusively, but is that the best way? What do you do?
Promotion and social networking (same?)	Our facebook page, and some Twitter	Ok – I do little with Twitter for this, but am interested in learning to be more effective promoting on FB. Any ideas?

OK, so I’m baring all of my “secrets” and asking for your help. What advice can you give, even if you don’t blog. Is there something that’s really annoying, besides my writing? If you like, please respond here in comments, or if you want a conversation, let’s hook up on Google Talk chat or send me an email.

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This is Hilarious!

Check out Craig’s lead-up post to his guest post here tomorrow! Must read!

Why I Hate Craig Willits and His Upcoming Guest Post

Craig Willits: What a jerk!
Craig Willits of Martial Arts Spectrum did a short series on core strength in March, and a post that was cryptically named, “Core Training, Part 2: Measuring Strength and Stability.”
What a crock!!! (Yes, that deserved three exclamation points!)

TDA Interview of Bob Patterson?

I’d forgotten about this interview of the now famous (since he’s guest-posted here recently) Bob Patterson of Striking Thoughts. For some reason, Bob’s guest post didn’t make a big splash then, but now that he’s a celebrity, I’m thinking we’ll see him linked with Lindsey Lohan, Lady Gaga, Justin Beiber, and others in some way. If not, there’s always next year!

Ok, now I’m pissed!–updated Blogger back up. Update 2: some comments still missing

At least a couple of posts are now missing. The Shinjido interview with Danny Da Costa by Bob is gone, my recent technical bloggy post is gone, and there may be others. Will have to look at my feeds and backup (if I have one). I may have to republish, but all the links may now be dead. I’m guessing Blogger may know why? I will give you updates as I know.

A Thank You to My Readers

I don’t do this often enough, so feel free to yell at me in the comments for it. Snarky remarks are always appreciated, too.

Anyway, here goes:

The reader response in the form of comments, RSS, and email subscriptions has been extremely gratifying, and has made my return to blogging not only successful (this site actually has more readers and pageviews than before), but fun. What makes it worthwhile is interaction with you, so feel free to drop me a line or link via email or on FB if you want me to post or comment on it.

Very interesting Guest Post tomorrow

Bob from Striking Thoughts has graced us with his insight in an interview of someone who’s the founder of his own martial art.

I think you will find it interesting. Can you guess who the interview subject is?

Look for it after 1600 hours on Wednesday, May 11 (US, Eastern time). Don’t miss it.

How I Almost Got My Purple Heart (Warning: Graphic)

Not me, but pretty close. I’m a lot scarier looking, and my gun is, uh, bigger.

I think it was bad enough for a purple heart, but I’m glad I turned it down, ‘cause that’s how I roll. Read on.

Does Judo Cause Terrorism?

Is Judo the art of choice for terrorists?

A lighthearted title, based on my heavy posts about bin Laden last week. This was tweeted by Black Belt Mag, and is a great find!

A top Taiwanese judo coach says he trained Osama bin Laden in Saudi Arabia in the 1980s and remembers his serious demeanor.

Take it easy on me in the comments! LOL.

Other posts you may enjoy:

My Dream Interview: 'Judo' Gene LeBell
Ground randori
Video: Masahiko Kimura vs Heloi Gracie Match, 1951
Dose of Reality - Judo in MMA
What is the relationship of sport judo to unarmed combat?
TSA Airport Devices Aim to Detect Evil Intent
Should We Be Profiling?

Response to Elias on the bin Laden Killing post

The offending subject matter!

Should a martial arts site comment on politics? Maybe not. Several commenters in the past have been upset by it. But this one does, and it’s no secret that it happens. I invite debate, as long as it’s not gratuitous insults and relevant to the topic at hand. I will respect the opinions of anyone whose opinions are shared with respect and respond in kind. Most of you also know that, I would probably be considered right of center, I respect and link to several excellent blogs that rant and opine from the left perspective, and I consider us friends – good friends in the martial arts, as a matter of fact. So bear in mind that I will, occasionally, go there, but also pledge to try not to. In this case, what I regularly post about (martial arts, self-defense, law enforcement, and military matters, making fun of my training partners hitting me, and the like) is intertwined with politics, as going over a border and taking out a terrorist leader is inherently political. So just grin and bear it, and feel free to unsubscribe or just yell at me here in the comments, or on our Facebook page.

Hiding Behind Quotes and bin Laden

Looks like a lot of people are mis-attributing a Martin Luther King, Jr. quote in an effort to claim the moral high ground in reference to others’ spontaneous happiness (or grim satisfaction) about the death of Osama bin Laden. This is not to any one person, but a response to many that have posted similar thoughts to this.

Justice, served warm and sweet via the US Military

Osama bin Laden has been killed by American special forces in Pakistan since my last post. Where to begin on the biggest story of the year, if not the decade?

First, kudos all around!