Might for Right

Taekwondo legend Jhoon Rhee is one of the true masters of modern times. He invented much of the safety equipment being used in taekwondo today, and he was without doubt the first to run martial arts schools as a true, solid business.

Many of the things he did back in the early days is being copied still today. Here is an old TV ad of his.

Funny to watch today, but I guess it was effective back then. The best part is the music :-)

You can watch or download the clip in flv format (1.35MB) here,
or in mpg format (2.25MB) here.

You need the free flv player to watch flv files, you can get it here.

Mixed Marijuana Arts

Nick Diaz failed a drug test he was required to take before fighting Takanori Gomi at Pride 33. The fight went on as scheduled because the drug test results are not ready until several days after the match up. He tested positive for marijuana.

Diaz took the drug test before the fight, as is required by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC). He then went on to beat Gomi, who is ranked the #1 lightweight Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter in the world.

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Considering a Ban

British officials are considering a ban on the sale of samurai-style swords after a series of sword attacks.

The decorative knives are allegedly being carried by gang members to gain street credibility.

Officials say there have been at least 80 crimes, including six murders, involving samurai swords in England and Wales in the past four years.

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Karate Mobsters

Bulgaria -- Sofia Mayor Boyko Borissov explained that his connections with Rumen Nikolov, dubbed Pashata, and Alexey Petrov were only because all were in the Bulgarian Karate Federation.

Nikolov was the president of the Federation, Petrov was a senior coach and I was the chair of coaches' council, Borissov said in light of the Congressional Quarterly article that stated he had business ties with mobsters.

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Obscene Pictures

Arizona -- A Tempe martial arts instructor is accused of giving obscene pictures to a 16-year-old student, police said Friday.

The 23-year-old man was arrested and charged with two counts of furnishing obscenities to a minor.

Tempe police said their investigation revealed that he allegedly took things too far in an apparent relationship with the girl while he was her Tae Kwon Do instructor.

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Big in Japan

A dyslexic student who learned to read and write upside down and back to front before overcoming her problems with special orange filter paper has seen her life story turned into a Japanese TV show.

Sports-mad Gemma Williams, 17, was diagnosed with a rare form of dyslexia as a child. She had to turn her computer monitor upside down to make sense of writing.

"I would love to go to Japan one day as I am also a black belt in judo."

Gemma, a sports student from Rochdale, suffers from a condition known as Irlen Syndrome, which was only discovered in the early 1980s.

It means she has difficulty reading text on a white background as it appears fuzzy and causes headaches.

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Does Not Sit Idle

California -- Mentor, professor, psychologist, chaplain, and a karate black belt, Edward Muneer Abdulmumin is a man who does not sit idle.

The 60-year-old resident of Riverside reverted to Islam in 1975 and views his faith as the motivating factor in making a difference in his community.

Born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, Abdulmumin is no stranger to the violence, drug, and gang problems plaguing this area. Much of Abdulmumin’s life has been dedicated to mentoring and providing opportunities to underprivileged youth.

He heads the Du Bois Institute to provide positive alternatives to street life for youth through fitness, academic and creative research and tutoring, as well as gang and drug prevention.

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A Total Miss

Of course it's both a foul as well as a total miss. Everyone in the know could tell you it must be a judo chop, not karate chop. "Krotty" is used in the media just for kicks (known as "a karate kick") :-)

Story:
You can’t pick up a newspaper in North Carolina without reading about Gerald Henderson's gruesome foul of Tyler Hansbrough in the waning seconds of North Carolina's 86-72 win over Duke.

The Charlotte Observer is conducting an online poll and 41 percent of its readers believe Henderson's karate chop was as flagrant as you can get. Fifteen percent (Duke fans and Billy Packer) voted that the foul wasn't intentional and was instead a "total miss."

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More Soccer Mayhem

How do they know it was a karate kick? Did someone tell the reporters he went into a typical Shotokan stance, or delivered a classical Kyukushinkai leg technique? Could it be that this "mildly aggressive" soccer dad simply soccer kicked the boy?

Story:
A 42-year-old German man was so enraged by a foul during a boys' soccer match that he invaded the pitch and felled the 8-year-old culprit with a karate kick, then jumped on him, police said on Wednesday.

"It seems likely the man was related to the player who was fouled, but it’s not entirely clear at this point," said a spokesman for police in the southwestern town of Hassloch.

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Judo Chinese Cult Program

Heck yes, of course we're a cult - worshiping the dark forces and evil empires, doing mystical rites ... wearing colored belts (spooky ...), bowing to god knows what (pardon the expression).

And yes, you're so right - judo is actually a "Chinese cult program" :-) Can't wait to tell my judo friends! I'll bet these pajamas wearing monsters with their totally wicked belts even sacrifice children.

Seriously, where do these people come from - the Middle ages? And of course religions are not being cults ...?

Best, or rather, worst part is that people actually spend time to answer brain-farts (again, pardon the expression) like this.

Story (a question posted online):
"Is it wrong for Christians, or priests, or ministers of the Christian faith to attend judo classes and earn color belts? Is judo not a Chinese cult program? I pray for these people, but I'm concerned about what they're doing and whether such activity would scandalize the parish."

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Whos Cheating

In Japan, a scandal surrounding the national sport of sumo looks set to be wrestled within the courts.

The National Sumo Association has launched court action against the country's largest magazine publisher, after it ran a series of articles accusing high-profile wrestlers of cheating and match fixing.

As Tokyo Correspondent Shane McLeod reports, there have been similar allegations in the past, but this time sumo wrestlers have decided enough is enough.

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Lewdo

South Carolina -- Investigators say an Abbeville man had a 14-year-old boy living with him for the past couple of days.

The boy had runaway from his Greenwood County home sometime last week. Investigators say that boy was also a student of the man's martial arts studio in Greenwood County.

The man, a six-degree black belt, is accused of performing a lewd act on the boy, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and obstruction of justice.

Investigators believe the accused used his position as an instructor, and a mentor to the children to lure the 14-year-old into his house.

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Numchukkas

Numchukkas? Why not call it nunchaku? After all, that's what it is...

Story:
New Zealand -- A man practising his moves with numchukkas and a machete in a Sunshine Bay car park at night has been arrested.

Acting sergeant Terry Wood says the local has been charged with possessing offensive weapons.

He was "by himself practising martial arts" at 11:30 p.m. on February 20, Wood says.

"A guy rang us – he was a bit worried about it. He said the guy's behaviour was a bit odd, when everything was taken into account."

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Carate

Carate - cool!

Story:
A Northern California car salesman didn't think twice before stopping a guy he thought was trying to get away with a jaguar. It turns out John Salazar had a few tricks under his belt.

Police say 18-year-old suspect walked into John's Jaguar dealership pretending to have a gun and demanded the keys to a new car. What he didn't bargain for was that Salazar is a martial arts expert.

Turns out the thief wasn't armed. The salesmen tied Celso up with extension cords until police arrived.

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More Drunkarate

This police blotter leaves me kind of wondering:

"4:43 p.m. Drunk in public reported on the 300 block of E. 21st Street. 'Subject urinating on a curb. Now, near the field doing karate.'"

Was he doing karate after shaking hands with Mr Pee? I mean, doing karate while your relieving yourself would be quite a feat after all...

Anger Problem

"Anger problem"? I would say that is putting it mildly!

Story:
A former martial arts instructor who may have been inspired by bondage-related pornography when he raped and murdered a real estate agent has been jailed for 27 years.

The 36-year old man sat calmly in the Supreme Court dock as he was sentenced over his attack on the 48-year-old woman.

Supporters of the woman's family called out "monster" and "dog" as he was led from the courtroom. Outside court, her daughter said she was happy with the sentence.

Justice John Coldrey said the man had never provided a real explanation for his crimes, except that he had an anger problem, and lost control when he got angry.

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Cleared

An Asotin County Superior Court jury deliberated for three hours before clearing a Clarkston karate instructor and middle school teacher of charges he molested a 15-year-old girl.

The 38-year-old man sobbed with relief in a packed courtroom as the jury returned their verdict Friday evening. He faced charges of third-degree child rape and third-degree child molestation, based on allegations from a karate and Lincoln Middle School student.

The girl insisted that the man had touched her sexually on 23 occasions following karate lessons in 2003 and 2004. The man denied it, and his attorney sought to disprove that his client and the girl could have been alone together that often. He also pointed to inconsistencies in the girl's account and to her acknowledged crush on the teacher.

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No Sticks

"Handling Criminal Without Nightsticks" ...? To me that sounds more like a program on how to handle a criminal who's not using a nightstick :-) But what do I know, I don't speak English (either).

And what is this confusing stuff about "dealing with suspects politely - The techniques taught to confront suspects and possible attackers involve moves from tae kwan do, judo, aikido and karate." :-) Does this mean that you'll beat the daylight out of people in a polite manner? Saying: "Sorry about that, old chap" after breaking someones wrist?

This is so confusing ...

Story:
Turkey -- Police are no longer allowed to use their nightsticks to restrain criminals; instead, they are instructed to rely on defensive techniques -- making one symbol of a policeman’s regalia history.

The Security General Directorate has launched training in a program called “Handling Criminal Without Nightsticks” in connection with EU harmonization.

Police are taught how to deal with suspects politely without resorting to violence or causing physical harm. The techniques taught to confront suspects and possible attackers involve moves from tae kwan do, judo, aikido and karate. European police reportedly use the same techniques.

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Kung-Tooth

I may have reported about this tough Chinese gran before. Doesn't matter - this is so sweet!

Story:
A 73-year-old woman in Jinan, capital of Shandong Province, can pull a 4.2-ton van forward for a dozen meters with a rope in her teeth.

The woman, surnamed Wang, started practicing martial arts at the age of 40 to keep healthy. She remained so energetic that when she was 66 years old she chased a robber on her bicycle for more than a kilometer and recovered the bag she was robbed of.

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A Gesture

"A martial arts gesture" ... you mean he bowed, and you stabbed him? Or was it the deadly "waiving metal sticks" gesture?

Story:
A Flushing man was charged Tuesday with murder in the death of Zhang Hongqi, the restaurant deliveryman stabbed last month returning home from a Chinese New Year celebration, authorities said.

Kendall Walker, 21, admitted to stabbing Zhang, 41, but suggested that he did so because Zhang scared him by waving metal rods at him in a martial arts gesture, a law enforcement source said.

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Charged With Rape

Idaho - The rape trial of a 37-year-old Clarkston middle school teacher an karate instructor continued Wednesday.

The alleged victim was 15 at the time of the alleged crimes. She is now 18, and was cross-examined by the defense Wednesday morning.

According to her, the accused touched her inappropriately and performed oral sex on her at his martial arts school.

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Hitting the Cancer

Man, there are some truly exceptional fighters - true warriors out there!

Story:
It's 8 p.m. on a Wednesday at a mini-mall in Foxboro. Helen Taylor, 49, of Mansfield and 14-year-old Nisha Shah of Foxboro are warily circling one another. They wear helmets, gloves, body pads, mouth guards and no-nonsense expressions. "Hiii-yeh!" shouts Taylor, landing a punch on Shah, who deftly lifts her leg and kicks Taylor's helmet.

Taylor has one particular adversary in mind.

"I'm hitting the cancer - that's what I'm thinking about when I'm punching," she says during a break, sweat running down her face.

When her colon cancer was first diagnosed in January 2004, Taylor had surgery and was declared cancer-free. She fought to stay healthy through her diet, lifestyle, kick-boxing and karate, but in October 2005, the cancer returned in her liver. It was inoperable.

"It's treatable, but in the end, the cancer usually wins," a surgeon told her. "Win? I'll decide who will win - and it won't be the cancer," she thought.

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Security Certificate

Canada -- The Supreme Court has struck down key elements of the security certificate system used by the federal government to detain and deport foreign-born terrorist suspects. Five men stand accused of terrorist links under the certificates.

One of the men is Adil C. He's 33, married, two children. Native of Morocco. Former University of Montreal student, karate instructor, pizzeria operator. Arrested in 2003 in Montreal, freed on bail with strict conditions in 2005.

He is accused by CSIS of membership in Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group which has ties to al-Qaida and a history of terrorist attacks in Morocco and Spain. CSIS also clams Ahmed R., convicted in 2001 of plotting to blow up Lost Angeles International Airport, identified Charkaoui as someone he met at an al-Qaida training camp in Afghanistan - a contention denied by Charkaoui. He says CSIS once tried to recruit him as an informant and promised to make trouble if he refused. He says he's now being framed by Canadian and Moroccan intelligence.

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Credits Karate

Georgia -- At approximately 9:30 pm, University of West Georgia sophomore David Calhoun was on the lawn waiting for friends when he was approached from behind by a male who demanded his wallet. The male had a large straight-edged knife, and upon turning to see the armed robber, Calhoun jumped back and pulled his own knife. Calhoun then claims that the male lunged at him with his knife, yet the knife got caught in Calhoun's jacket. Calhoun suffered only a small cut on his arm. Calhoun then kicked the male, causing him to fall on the ground.

"I decided it was best to get away then" Calhoun said. He quickly ran inside the Fish House, where others inside called the police.

Calhoun credits much of his safety to his past experience with karate, and highly recommends self-defense courses: "It is always advisable to take self-defense courses. Also, travel in larger numbers, and always use your better judgment."

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More Fitness Fads

Guess it had to come. And from New York - who would have guessed...

For those who likes to try out anything that is "new", "exciting" and "cool", but really don't want to learn anything properly (not to mention having to touch other people - yuck!), here's another opportunity to work it out with a fitness instructor shouting into a microphone.

What's next? "Fixed Martial Arts", Mixed Martial Arts with absolutely no contact (we all know contact is bad for the fitness people) and disco music?

Story:
The Samurai Sword Workout is attracting standing-room only crowds in swank New York City gyms. Now it's made it's way to Virginia Beach.

Here, in an expansive mirrored room, the instructor twice a week leads these hour-long, total body, no-impact workout classes that combine the basic elements of two Japanese sword fighting techniques - Kendo and Aikijujitsu.

From martial arts? I just had to try it.

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Kickin in Obstacles

Inspirational piece! Only gripe here is that they mix the Japanese term dojo with the Korean art of taekwondo. The correct term is dojang - and no, karate and taekwondo is NOT the same :-)

Story:
When Eric Cohen began taking Tae Kwon Do lessons back when he was four-years-old, he loved it so much he was dressed and ready for his dad to take him to the dojo every day, even on Sunday. Problem was, it wasn't open on Sunday.

The now 21-years-old, Cohen, a who is a senior attending special education classes at George Washington High, did find enough time in the six days a week to become an expert at Tae Kwon Do.

He is currently a fourth-degree black belt and a certified international instructor and helps teach classes at Red Tiger.

As far as dojo owner Master Mario Cancelliere knows, and he has traveled around the world for competitions, Cohen is the only special needs person who has reached the fourth-degree level (there are nine degrees of black belt in Tae Kwon Do).

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Sons Began to Grow

Mesa, Arizona -- There are two brothers, as the story goes. One had the heart of a lion but a mouth like a hyena, always meaning well but never knowing when or how to restrain himself.

The other, the first son, had the heart of a cub but the poise of a groundhog in winter, always wanting to mean well but never appearing from behind his own personal wall.

Their father knows both worlds and longed to see his sons grow as he has grown. So he had them learn martial arts and its traditional teachings. Seven months passed and the sons began to grow as their father had.

The lion-hearted, hyena-mouthed one learned self-control. The other gained self-confidence, a groundhog in winter no more.

"I think it's one of the best things I've ever done for them," the father said of signing his sons up at for karate. "It worked for both kids for different reasons."

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Read this and other inspirational martial arts stories at:
http://www.your-martial-arts-resources.com/inspiration.html

More Clouseau

For all you fans of Pink Panther by the legendary Peter Sellers, here he is demonstrating the "deadly judo chop" on his assistant and sparring partner Kato.

I think very few things make me laugh harder than watching the "French" Chief Inspector Clouseau and his antics :-)

The scenes where he and Kato fights has to be the best (most funny) fighting sequences ever made.

You can download this clip here (wmv file, 15.50MB)

You'll find several other, similar clips here.

Young Fighter Dies

Eric Wray, a young mixed martial arts fighter who had won 11 of his 12 fights, was gearing up for the biggest fight of his short career this month.

After losing to former Spike TV Ultimate Fighter contestant Jason "Live Wire" Von Flue in October, Wray, 25, was excited to redeem himself in a March 31 fight against Gladiator Challenge Welterweight Champion Jeremiah Metcalf.

Wray had just started working out again when he suddenly fell ill Tuesday night. Wray's girlfriend found him in their Redwood City home nearly unconscious. She called 911 and paramedics responded. They tried for 45 minutes to revive him, but their efforts ran short.

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Confuse-Us Speaks #11

Ancient ...? Yes, for a kid anything from last year is ancient. It's got to be that these guys are thinking about, all the time TKD is from the 1950s.

Story:
Pupils at Smannell and Enham CE Primary School learnt about the ancient art of tae-kwon do when The Black Belt Leadership School paid them a visit.

Children from years three, four, five and six had a chance to learn some of the skills of the sport including blocking with hands and feet and punching.

They also learnt a valuable lesson in respect - before and after performing any move they had to bow to their opponent and call the instructors sir'.

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Chop Sticks

A takeaway delivery driver ended up in court after he was caught with a dangerous martial arts weapon alongside the Chinese meals he was transporting.

Cops who pulled over 25-year-old Grant Morris as he was delivering meals got a surprise when they discovered he was packing a pair of nunchucks.

Morris told the officers he was carrying the weapon – which consists of two sticks connected at their ends with a short metal chain – for his self-defence.

Morris, who lists martial arts as one of his hobbies, was charged with possessing an offensive weapon after he told the police he had the nunchucks for his own protection.

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Charlie the Chimp

Actors don't have to be human to work for a good cause. Take Charlie the Karate Chimp.

Charlie has a cameo appearance in a new Nicolas Cage movie opening today, and the money he makes will go toward a sanctuary for abused and homeless primates.

The famous Niagara Falls chimpanzee, who has appeared on television, came out of retirement to be in the movie "Ghost Rider," starring Cage, Peter Fonda and Eva Mendes.

Charlie's paycheck will go toward a rural refuge for Charlie and two dozen fellow primates now holed up inside a building in the inner city.

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Kung-Fooled

Dang, they lost 56 members just like that! Oh well, they still have several hundred millions comrades, I guess.

Story:
China -- We are a group of martial arts students. We now solemnly declare our withdrawals from the evil organizations of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the Communist Youth League (CYL) and the Communist Young Pioneers (CYP).

We were deceived by the CCP into joining these organizations. Our martial art teacher often talks about the CCP's different tyrannies and the various extravagant luxuries of its corrupt officials. They simply do not care about the hardships of the common people, and they turn a deaf ear to people's cries of discontent. This has bothered us for a long time.

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