Lacrosse-Over

Yeah I know, you just have to overlook the fact that these people insist on training karate, when they in fact are doing taekwondo ... That aside, it is a great read :-)

Story:
Maryland -- When Allie Buote was 9 years old, she wanted to be a Ninja Turtle. Jumping on the couch and leaping across the room, she mimicked the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles she saw on TV. She was dying to take karate lessons, so her parents enrolled her in taekwondo for her birthday.

"My mom didn't think I'd actually stick with it," Buote said with a laugh. She did. She loved it. By 12, she had earned a black belt. By 14, she had a first-degree black belt.

All the while, Buote was learning a host of skills and strategies that would help her with the sport she had a passion for most - lacrosse. Instead of becoming a Ninja Turtle, Buote became a Maryland Terrapin.

The starting goalie for the nation's No. 2-ranked women's lacrosse team, Buote has found that taekwondo instruction has made her a better goalkeeper, both physically and mentally.

"From karate, I definitely had good reflexes," she said. "We did a lot of stuff like footwork and sparring, which is good because you have to react to what the other person does and act back. I think that, speed-wise, it helped me with my decision making."

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Open to Public and Ninja

Texas -- The backstory on a mysterious ninja seen at City Council last month has been uncovered. In a centerspread of a new free publication, The Vent Daily, Mayor Henry Garrett is pictured with said ninja.

The ninja showed up at City Hall on April 24 just as the five-hour meeting was ending.

Dressed in a black robe with a mask leaving only his eyes visible, the ninja peered out from behind a column in the City Council chambers for a few minutes before a Corpus Christi Police officer kicked him out.

That's when the ninja approached the mayor for a photo. He didn't have his hood on when he came up, Garrett said.

The ninja asked for a pic. Garrett obliged. The ninja pulled on his mask, shook hands and then he was gone.

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Diaper Dan is Coming ...

So you think we are joking about this topic? I'm afraid it won't be long before the first toddler - or proud parents rather - claims "black belt, expert" status.

Story:
Meet the real karate kid. Two-year-old Isaac Hill has become the youngest person in Leicester to win a martial arts ranking.

Isaac is barely out of nappies but can already punch and karate kick his way around a class with children years older than him.

The pint-sized pupil has already moved from the beginners' white belt standard to the first grading of white belt with red stripe in just three months of training.

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Black Belt at 70

Missouri -- Very few have the dedication it takes to earn a black belt in a martial art. Fewer yet are able to do so at the age of 70.

On March 2, Janet Hinson of Morehouse became the most senior student in the area to successfully test to the rank of first degree black belt in taekwondo.

"I started when I was 65 I think, about five years ago," Hinson said. "My doctor required me to exercise. I do not like exercising at the gym on those stupid machines and I get bored walking around a walking track. And I like watching martial art movies."

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Ninja Taking Pictures

All he took - was pictures :-)

Do these guys come from "The ninja church of morons" or something?

Story:
Florida -- A man dressed like a ninja broke into an Orlando home, smashed furniture, attacked two people and then vanished without a trace.

Three people were inside the home watching a movie Sunday afternoon when the ninja ran in, punched one man in the mouth and then kicked another man.

The victims reported that the costumed man slammed the DVD player and VCR into a dresser. Then he pulled out a knife and started waiving it around. The victims say the intruder didn't steal anything from the house but took several pictures with his cell phone camera.

When it was time for the ninja to make his escape, he didn't disappear in a cloud of smoke. The victims say the man ran down the street to a car and drove off.

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Plan Execute Fail

Guys, kids! Don't you know that any plan, even remotely associated to anything ninja-flavored, is doomed to fail? Don't you read the papers or watch the news? :-)

Story:
For three Simsbury High School students, The Country Market in Higganum proved tougher to crack than Fort Knox.

Their target, state police say, was the store's office. Once inside, they expected to find enough cash to buy a computer. They were familiar with the terrain, since one of them used to work at the store and his mother still does.

Plan A, in which one of them hid inside a sealed cardboard box that was carried, Trojan Horse-like, inside the store by the other two, failed when the would-be burglar burst from the box before the store was empty.

Plan B, four days later, was less subtle: A masked, ninja-wearing, machete- and-baseball-bat waving frontal assault. That didn't work either.

After the first arrest, there reportedly won't be a Plan C.

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Shattering Stereotypes

Wendy Chang shatters the stereotype of a meek Muslim woman the way a karate chop splits a piece of wood.

The 35-year-old nurse was raised Catholic by her parents, who emigrated from Beijing, but converted to Islam after she met her husband, whose father moved to the United States from Jordan.

Today, the Redwood City native, wears a traditional Islamic head scarf, but can accessorize with a second-degree black belt in martial arts, which she's studied since a co-worker stalked her 12 years ago.

"It was a very threatening and scary experience," she said. "I decided I needed to take control of my life again."

Chang met he husband during self-defense classes in Fremont and now teaches occasional empowerment sessions for Muslim women in Hayward.

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Confuse-Us Speaks #14

I think I'll do golf for four years and become and "expert" - let's say, in volleyball? Hope this is just the media messing things up again ...

Story:
One day in the market place of Fez, Morocco, a local peddler accosts Dryden. He immediately saw through the man's kind offer of "best leather in Fez" but repeated attempts to avoid any exchange went unheeded and a shoving match ensued.

Luckily, or rather "unluckily," for Dryden, he was a seasoned karate expert, having spent four years studying tae kwon do stateside.

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Insufficient Evidence

California -- The case against a Livermore karate teacher involving allegations he molested two of his female students was dropped by the Alameda County district attorney's office because there was not enough evidence to prosecute him.

The man was arrested August 4, 2006, on two counts of lewd acts with a minor, which are felonies, and annoying or molesting a child, a misdemeanor.

"There was insufficient evidence to prove any criminal sexual intent," the prosecutor said. "His activities could be considered boorish and inappropriate," he said, but criminal intent had to be proved for charges to be filed.

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Trial Date Set

California -- A 43-year-old Daly City martial arts instructor accused of sexually molesting five female students, age from 9 to 29, at a karate school will stand trial in September. The incidents allegedly took place from 2005 through 2006.

The man was arrested on May 12, 2006, after two girls came forward with accusations that he molested them over a yearlong period when they were ages 10 and 15, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.

After publicity from the initial case, three more female students, ages 9, 15 and 29, brought similar accusations against him, prosecutors said.

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Having a Smashing Time

These ladies are truly something else!

Story:
The 22 members of the South Korean 'Grandma Taekwondo Federation demonstration team', are aged between 58 and 78. Part of the daily training routine for the formidably tough grannies is to shatter stacks of roof tiles with a single powerful punch.

They exercise at least two hours a day and six days a week under the guidance of taekwondo master Yoon Yeo-Ho.

According to Mr Yoon, it started as an idea that the martial art could help these grannies improve their health and that "uniforms would look good on them".

Now, the team of TKD grannies now performs several times a year at home and abroad - in China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

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Violent Dan

Alaska -- Authorities have charged a 37-year-old New Hampshire State Prison inmate who lived in Rochester, with murdering an 18-year-old college student in Anchorage on the morning of Sept. 28, 1994.

The man was stationed in Alaska through the mid-1990s while in the Army. He was sentenced to six to 15 years in 2003 after pleading guilty to two armed robberies in Rochester and Farmington.

The man held a 5th degree black belt in karate, according to his estranged wife. "He was cocky and very sure of himself. "(...) He was a violent person. You never knew what was going to set him off," she said.

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Hotel Despera-Do

"Poor" thing ...

Story:
Paris Hilton is signing up for self-defense classes so she can protect herself from violent inmates who have threatened to kill her in jail.

The blond hotel heiress is desperate to harden up after receiving chilling death threats from jailbirds. So Paris, 26, is working on karate techniques with a personal trainer before starting her 45-day prison sentence for driving while banned.

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TKD Fashion Feud

What started as a minor dispute over karate headgear has degenerated into an international incident that could tear apart an Olympic sport. On Monday, amid pugnacious rancor, the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) upheld a ban on Muslim hijabs during sanctioned matches, fueling cries of religious intolerance.

The fashion feud started at a tournament in Quebec last month when "five Muslim girls, ages eight to 13... were told they could not compete... unless they removed their headscarves." Though the official rules state that "wearing any item on the head other than the head protector shall not be permitted," the ultimatum sparked a flurry of outrage across Canada with protesters claiming unfair treatment and inconsistent application.

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Hes Really Nice Really

How far out is it possible to get? I mean, consider a statement from this dude's girlfriend: "He's really nice unless you provoke him," (she said before leaving the courthouse with a friend). Oh well, we just have to make sure that no one (like the police, or law-abiding citizens) provokes him then ...

I'm glad Mr. Lykourinous stepped in - I'd rather call this gentleman really nice!

Story:
Massachusetts -- When 39-year-old Vasileios Lykourinos from Foxboro saw a police officer fall in a violent struggle during a traffic stop Wednesday, he thought of a New Hampshire police officer killed in the line of duty just five days earlier.

Lykourinos said he stopped his car and ran after the suspect, who had fled into back yards near city hall.

"Me and another citizen started running after the guy," Lykourinos said. The suspect and the two pursuers jumped over four or five fences before Lykourinos caught up with him. "After the last fence I jumped on the guy," he said.

A black belt in karate and a wrestler in his native Greece, Lykourinos said he put the man in a head lock and held on until police officers arrived.

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Bachelor of Martial Art

Connecticut -- The University of Bridgeport awarded the nation's first two bachelor's degrees in martial arts Saturday.

Two students received their degrees yesterday, part of a 1,200 member graduating class at the school.

Bridgeport started the nation's only martial arts major in 2005 in the school's International College.

The program offers courses on the philosophical, historical and psychosocial aspects of the martial arts as well as practical classes on tae kwon do, tai chi and judo.

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Hes Now a Role Model

There are very few things that I personally find more meaningful - and inspirational - than stories like this.

Story:
UK -- When Andrew Brooks was born with Down's Syndrome in the 1970s his parents were told not to expect much of him and were even given advice to "put him away" in seclusion.

Despite the bleak prognosis and severe learning difficulties, Andrew has proved his doubters wrong in magnificent style.

Today he is celebrating something many would have thought impossible - he has gained one of the top ranks in karate, a black belt.

With a steely determination 31-year-old Andrew, of Felixstowe, has spent the last 11 years dedicating himself to the ancient martial art.

Thanks to the gentle encouragement of his parents, the patient guidance of his instructors and sheer desire to succeed, Andrew, who cannot read or write, is now a role model for other martial artists.

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Sword Violence

UK -- A 50-year-old man who stabbed his ex-girlfriend with a samurai sword, leaving her with life-threatening kidney damage, has been jailed indefinitely. The man allegedly turned on the 51-year-old woman because she went to look for him in a pub.

The man then plunged the blade into her side at their home in Gateshead, on November 18 last year - leaving an eight-inch deep gash.

The woman needed two operations to save her life because her kidney had been punctured. She was in hospital until January 10 while she recovered from her injuries.

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Judo and Karate Tricks

Tricks? Are you sure it wasn't ju jitsu rather than judo or karate? Look, it's really simple - it's judo chops, karate kicks, ju jitsu tricks! :-)

Story:
India -- According to a report, on April 16 a male foreigner, apparently European, and a female, reportedly from Japan, took tickets meant for Indian tourists and tried to enter the premises of the Sun Temple from the main entrance. The ticket for the entry of an Indian tourist cost Rs 10, while in case of a foreigner it is priced about Rs 250 (five US dollars).

Security personnel tried to prohibit their entry, as they didn't have valid tickets, adding that the tourists didn't listen to the guards and jumped into the premises from the embankment on south and then the north sides.

The report says that "the male foreigner is said to be a fairly tall man with the knowledge of Judo and Karate tricks, which he used to overpower the security staff. In the process, the security staff tried to protect themselves at which time the photo which has appeared in the media could have been taken".

"The security staff behaved rationally and never used force to overpower him in retaliation. After the tussle, the foreigners left the temple premises. Neither the foreigners nor the security staff lodged any FIR in the local police station," the report said.

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Karate Fan With Fan

Another nutcase "black belt in karate". Probably an "expert" too :-)

Story:
Connecticut -- According to a suspicious person complaint on May 3 at 3:47 p.m., a woman said a male in a van was parked near her driveway at about 10 a.m. May 1.

The driver reportedly opened the rear door of the van and put out a traffic cone. The truck had no marking on it.

When the woman left and then returned home a half hour later, the van was across the street in front of a neighbor's house. Police said the neighbor spoke to the man, who showed him what appeared to be a United Illuminating Co. ID badge.

The neighbor said the man had a collapsible fan and told the neighbor he was using the fan to "practice his marital arts moves" and that he had a black belt in karate.

Police said the driver claimed he was in the area checking the electrical hookups. The neighbor noted that the man never went to any of the houses.

The complainant called to check out the man's story and reportedly learned there were no work orders for her street.

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Chief Instructor Dies

Really sorry to hear this.

Story:
Pennsylvania -- Many area martial artists were numb yesterday as they learned of the death of Robert Massaroni, a champion Tang Soo Do instructor who collapsed and died moments after he finished a 10-mile street run on Sunday.

Massaroni, 29, of Holland, Bucks County, was chief instructor at the Bensalem branch of Nate Gordon's Black Belt Academy, where he was idolized by his "little dragons," the younger students who trailed after him.

He collapsed just after completing a point-to-point run that Runner's World magazine has named one of the fastest 10-mile courses in the nation. The race started at Central High School at 8:30 a.m. and finished at the end of Broad Street in South Philadelphia.

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High-Kicking

UK -- An inspirational 10-year-old boy who lost both legs below the knee still manages to be a high-kicking karate student.

Gregg Warburton, of Telford Crescent in Leigh, was born with deformities in both legs and underwent major surgery when he was just a year old.

But the spirited junior school student does everything his peers can do and more, earning his green belt in karate and even playing for a football ("soccer") team.

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Spanish Abuse

Spain -- A karate teacher in Marbella faces up to 18 years in prison for alleged sexual abuse of one of his students.

The abuse is said to have started when the boy was 12 years old and continued for four years. It ended when the victim made an official complaint in February 2005.

The accusations from the prosecutor include threatening the child with a gun on one occasion, and forcing him to watch pornographic films and pose for photographs in the nude.

The prosecution service says the suspect threatened the boy with telling his parents and showing the photos to his friends.

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Special Olympics Champion

Wow, plain and simple!

Story:
You wouldn't have been surprised if Loretta Claiborne never amounted to anything. One of seven children born to a poor single mother, blind and with developmental disabilities, she couldn't walk or talk until she was 4.

She could run, though, and in running she found success and fame and a platform to tell the rest of us to never count out those people born with challenges to overcome. Claiborne has competed in more than 25 marathons and has twice finished as one of the top 100 women in the Boston Marathon. She is an international Special Olympics champion.

Her achievements aren't limited to the track. She speaks four languages, earned a black belt in karate, holds honorary degrees from Quinnipiac College and Villanova University, and received ESPN's ESPY Arthur Ashe Award for Courage in 1996.

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Computer Crime

A former karate teacher at Summerlin Military Academy - a military school of choice for grades nine through 12, located at Bartow High School - was arrested Thursday after computer crimes detectives discovered he was using a computer to solicit a child.

The 32-year-old man is a karate teacher at a martial arts center in Lakeland, which was under contract to provide instruction at Summerlin Academy. Investigators said the man had six conversations online with a 16-year-old female student over a two-week period, and that he solicited the girl to have sex with him.

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Conviction Upheld

The New Hampshire Supreme Court has upheld the rape conviction of a tae kwon do instructor accused of raping a teen student. The 55-year-old Newmarket man argued that the judge should not have presided over his case because she was present at previous hearings.

The man is serving up to 35 years in prison after being convicted on ten rape charges and two counts of child pornography. He ran a program for at-risk students at Newmarket Junior/Senior High School and the town's recreation center.

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Confuse-Us Speaks #13

Really... If this is anything remotely close to true, then we have a long way to go!

Story:
The word "karate" conjures up many vivid images for most of us — katana-wielding bad guys; ninjas throwing stars at a Bruce Lee lookalike while he moves with lightening speed; Jackie Chan shimmying gracefully up a wall, or boards being broken with various limbs or a head. Also, the average person may think of the mysticism commonly associated with martial arts.

However, these images, this supposedly inherent Eastern-style religiosity, and even the term karate are all overused, generic clichés that limit one's perspective of what the martial arts really are.

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Taekwondont

Canada -- Five girls, between the ages of 10 and 14, weren't allowed to compete in a local tae kwon do meet unless they removed their Islamic head scarves, according to reports.

The competition was held in Longueuil, south of Montreal. Members of the Montreal team were told they couldn't participate unless they removed their head scarves for safety reasons.

Organizers from the Muslim community centre sponsoring them claim they were at the same event in previous years, saying there was no problem whatsoever with their garments.

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Care Fu

Apart from this reporter calling wing chun a "rare form of kung fu" (these folks must be on some weird dope - kung fu, yes; rare, no), this is a fantastic article - with an unusual "angle".

And I can attest to the fact that the idea of using martial arts in this fashion works - it is precisely (part of) the thing I do when I adapt ju jitsu to psychiatric care.

Story:
Newport Beach attorney Dan Anderson has become a wing chun expert. Dan is the father of a special-needs child. Anderson says it can be a lifesaver for caregivers of those with special needs.

"Many developmentally disabled people are prone to physical outbursts, and caregivers are unintentionally injured," he says. "Wing chun is an excellent way for those caregivers to redirect blows from those unexpected or sporadic physical movements without causing pain or injury."

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Ask a Ninja

Great fun! Hope the book will turn out just as good :-)

Story:
The duo that created the Ask a Ninja series of videos on YouTube have signed a book deal with Crown Publishing.

The two creators recently won the ''Best Series'' YouTube Award for their Ninja videos, which feature ironic monologues and sketches on the supremacy of ninjas. Some videos have them interviewing celebrities, including Will Ferrell.

The book is tentatively titled The Ninja Handbook. It will be in the same vein, offering ironic advice on how to be a good ninja.

Source

You can watch a clip here (5.50MB wmv file)
Lots of other funny clips at your martial arts resources!

40 Years on

Don't let a temporary break stop you :-)

Story:
While serving as an Army infantry officer in Korea, Larry Stirling took up taekwondo and earned his "red belt." But he couldn't find an instructor when he returned home – until last year, that is.

The former California state senator and judge found out that one of his law clients is a taekwondo "grand master." So at age 65, Stirling resumed his martial arts classes.

"I have already broken a bunch of wood into kindling – a useful skill," says Stirling, "and advanced to breaking two bricks at once with one blow of my newly calloused right hand."

On Wednesday, almost 40 years to the day from when he began, Stirling earned his black belt.

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Autism

Kentucky -- One place that has become like a second home to the family and has helped the children thrive is Sheroan's Tae Kwon Do Academy. It was the first place they found community acceptance after the diagnosis.

Doctors recommended martial arts to improve Trevor's loose muscle tone, and he started taking classes 10 years ago. After seven years, he earned his black belt. The rest of the family also participates. His sisters are three belts down at brown. They’re trying to get past the fear of breaking boards with their elbows, they said. Mom and Dad also wear black belts.

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Sword-Of Crazy

Canada -- A 31-year-old black-belt martial artist who pulled out a samurai sword - threatening to cut a man's head off - has been prohibited from owning weapons for 10 years.

The offences took place August 20, 2006 about 9 p. m. Court was told that the sword was brought to a park where there had been some grading of martial arts students.

The man was walking along, wearing his black karate uniform, when three men came out of a nearby bar.

He felt threatened by the men and allegedly retreated, but the men followed him. Words were exchanged. The man then pulled out the sword and said, "I'll cut your f--- head off."

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No Cane No Gain

Malaysia -- A Malaysian teacher was dealt a rude shock when she was caned on her backside by the school's principal, who mistook her for a student, according to state media.

The secondary school teacher said she was dressed in Malay martial arts attire and ushering some students back to their classrooms Wednesday after extra-curricular activities when she was whacked.

"Suddenly and without asking questions, the female principal who was patrolling the area caned me on the buttocks and also caned several other students," the teacher was quoted as telling the state Bernama news agency late Thursday.

The teacher said the principal had apologized for mistaking her for a student, but that she had lodged a complaint with Malaysia's National Union of the Teaching Profession.

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Numbducks

Please, can't you distribute these dumbchuks to criminals ... Hopefully - and quite possibly - they will end up hurting themselves.

Story:
Australia -- Customs officials have found a massive cache of potentially lethal weapons and counterfeit goods being smuggled into the country.

More than 1000 weapons and more than 2000 counterfeit items from a Chinese shipping container was seized in Adelaide on April 5.

The cargo included 100 extendable steel batons, 831 airguns, a large quantity of airgun pellets and 197 nunchakus.

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Yeehaad Mosquedo

Just what we all need ... Another "mad boember" with martial arts background. Probably another lethal "expert".

Story:
A 43-year-old U.S. citizen born in Columbus, Ohio, has been indicted and arrested for conspiring to provide material support and resources to terrorists, conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction (explosives) and providing material support and resources to terrorists.

It's alleged that, 1990 and 1991, the man traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan and received military-training at an al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan. In approximately mid-1991, he allegedly joined al Qaeda and stayed at a guest house exclusively for al Qaeda members.

Afterwards, he returned to the U.S. and taught martial arts at a mosque in Columbus.

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Feisty Pip

Go girl!

Story:
UK -- The 14-year-old Barham girl is only 4ft 11in. Still, feisty Pip is not to be messed with.

She single-handedly fought off a knife-wielding mugger by getting him in a headlock, swinging a punch at him and holding the knife to his chest.

The high school student, which was "a bit of a tomboy" according to her mother, is now recovering at home. The teen says her only regret is that she didn't get her stolen phone back.

The mum said her daughter had done some karate training but her response to her attack was not typical of the teenager.

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Chennai Karate Priest

India -- A visit to the Ashtalakshmi Temple in Chennai may astonish many, as there is a priest who is also a karate trainer.

The forty-six-year old priest has been practicing karate since his youth.

Sheshadri's is a big fan of Bruce Lee, and derives a lot of inspiration from his father, who was also a well-known karate exponent.

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