Tuesday, June 26, 2007

A Paedophile

Spain -- A Lorca court has remanded a suspected paedophile to custody following his arrest at his home in Aguilas. The 62 year old martial arts teacher faces three counts of sexual assault and one of corruption of minors.

The mane was arrested after the parents of four children who attend his unlicensed gym in Aguilas presented complaints to the local Civil Guard barracks. Reports say that all four children are under the age of ten.

Source

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Tomboy Shot Dead

UK -- A 37-year-old woman was shot dead by police while she was brandishing a gun. The woman died from a single shot to the chest in a car park in the centre of Sevenoaks, after refusing to put down her weapon.

Her silver pistol recovered from the scene was later found to be a BB airgun. The martial arts enthusiast was known as Tosh by friends.

The woman, described as a tomboy who had shaved dark hair and always wore combat trousers, lived in a leafy residential street.

She was a blue belt in karate and trained at Sevenoaks Leisure Centre, just yards from where she was shot dead.

The chief instructor at Sevenoaks Karate and Kickboxing Club, said: "We knew her as Tosh at the club, I did not even know her name was Ann. She trained sporadically with us. I think she was interested in karate and had trained regularly when she was younger."

Source

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Nutty Night-Time Ninja

"A Russian man, dressed as a Japanese ninja warrior, allegedly terrorized rural northern Italy with late-night robberies." And inspired by Robin Hood, no less. Now, this is really strange - even for a ninja :-)

The thief - emulating Japanese ninja - dressed all in black with a knife strapped to his leg and carrying a bow and arrows had been terrorizing farmers by smashing into their homes and demanding cash and valuables.

A suspect was arrested Monday night when an elderly farmer startled a thief by discharging a rifle. The alleged thief fled on a bicycle but was chased and caught by police in a nearby deserted farmhouse, a report said.

The suspect was identified as a former member of the Russian army. He apparently had his literature confused, as the suspect told police he modeled himself on Robin Hood, who rather than stealing from the poor, stole from the rich to give to the poor.

Source

Stomped

Refused drug test? It couldn't possibly be that the former football star had been cheating? Nah, no way :-)

Didn't seem to help him much either way.

Story:
Former NFL and USC star Johnnie Morton returned to his former stomping grounds and promptly got stomped by Africa's Bernard Ackah in 38 seconds of the first round.

Morton lay unconscious for what seemed two minutes and left on a stretcher with his neck in a brace. He raised his fist as he was carried on a stretcher to an ambulance.

Source

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Charged Again

South Carolina -- The Greenwood County sheriff's office has arrested a man on Friday for the Columbia Police Department. Columbia police said the man has been charged with criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

The department said he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old boy last year at a hotel in Columbia. Tiller and the boy were there for a karate tournament.

The man was a martial arts instructor in Greenwood. He was first arrested in March. Investigators then said he confessed to having sex with a 14-year-old boy.

Source

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Hammer Time

Another man with an obvious anger management problem ... using the "über-deadly" judo chop no less ... on a 6-year-old boy!

Story:
The co-chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland Annual Campaign was struck in the head with a hammer while grocery shopping the Saturday before Mother's Day.

Beaverton Police said the woman was shopping at a store at Beaverton Town Square a little after noon when - according to numerous witnesses and store surveillance video - a man approached with a hammer, swung and hit the woman, then tossed the weapon over the aisle.

Two Beaverton Police officers happened to be in the Southwest Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway parking lot and were able to respond almost immediately to the scene, apprehending the 65-year-old suspect in a checkout line.

In August of 2002, the suspect was convicted and fined for a harassment charge, which stemmed from an altercation he had with a 6-year-old boy in his Beaverton apartment complex parking lot.

The boy reportedly approached to say hello and was verbally assaulted and then struck in the throat by the man with a judo-style-chop.

Source

Monday, June 18, 2007

Confuse-Us Speaks #15

Wushoo? Taekwando? What about 'krotty' and 'youdo'? Someone here has things things mixed up real good - and no, we're not talking Mixed Martial Arts :-)

Wushu is a beautiful art, but seriously, it would be the last art I would send anyone to if they were after self-defense ...

Story:
Malaysia -- In today's world when unpleasant incidents like abduction, rape, chain snatching and teasing are on the rise, a martial art named 'Wushoo' is popular among girls in Jharkhand's Dhanbad District. Girls are being taught new self-defence tricks.

According to a coach, whoever is trained in Wushoo, can defend oneself effectively.

"Wushoo is a Chinese martial art. Karate, Judo and Taekwando are incorporated in it. Kicks, punch and throwing are all the works in it. So, it is a complete martial art," he said.

Wushoo is national martial art of Chinese origin and can be learnt and practiced as a recreational sport, similar to Judo and Karate. Interestingly, Wushoo is one of the events at the next Olympiad being hosted in Beijing.

Source

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Terrible News

The skulls, bones and tattered clothing of a team of Iraqi martial arts experts have been found more than a year after they disappeared, presumed kidnapped, in an al-Qaeda stronghold west of Baghdad.

At least 13 bodies were found in a ditch out in the desert about 60 miles west of Ramadi in Anbar province, one of Iraq's most violent areas and where al-Qaeda and Sunni Arab insurgents are battling American and Iraqi forces. Plastic athletic sandals lay scattered on the ground near the bodies. All had been shot.

The men were members of a private sports club that hopes to one day send members to the Olympics.

The 15 tae kwon do experts were abducted in May 2006 as they were travelling by bus through the Anbar desert on their way to a training camp in Jordan.

Source

Fight Promoter Arraigned

A 33-year-old martial arts fight promoter was arraigned Thursday on charges alleging he killed 31-year-old Albert "Jason" Pacheco of Tucumcari, on February 1.

The promoter turned himself over to authorities Thursday following the issuance of a warrant for his arrest May 25, police officials said.

Police said the promoter shot and killed Pacheco during a fight outside the Apollo Gym in Tucumcari, according to court documents.

According to an arrest affidavit, the men knew each other from participation in cage fighting, also known as martial arts fighting, and were to have fought in an event in Tucumcari October 7, 2006.

Source

Finally

What's this? An American taekwondo teacher and school owner who doesn't insist on the art being old as f***? Not 2000 years old? Not even 1000? Dude, you have my respect!

Story:
Charlotte, North Carolina -- Tae kwon do, Wilson explained, is not an ancient art, but rather one that was developed in the 1950s in Korea as a martial art. While it has its roots in various other Asian martial arts, this manifestation is relatively safe and easy to learn.

Tae means foot, kwon means hand and do means art. It is, according to Wilson, the most widely practiced martial art in the world.

Source

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Bad Coaches

I really hope (even though I fear it is not) that this is mainly a problem in Korea! There are several cases referred to in this disturbing article - really makes me ashamed to be a coach/instructor ...

Story:
"I wouldn't dare talk back to my coach. It's one of the golden rules of remaining on the court as a player. The rule is as good as a shackle." A rookie female professional basketball player thus defined the coach-player relationship in a sexual harassment complaint against her 45-year ex-coach.

This is not the only case in which a coach did not hesitate to use his dominance over his players to commit indecent acts, extortion, assault, and other crimes.

A group of male Judo players on a company-owned team stated in a recent police investigation that their 46-year-old former coach, had extorted 220 million won (US$236,559) from them over a five-year period."

If we wanted to remain as an active Judo player on a team that pays well and has a better chance of not being restructured, we had no other choice but to do what the coach said," one of the players said.

Source

Friday, June 15, 2007

Too Much Vegetables

Perhaps too much vegetables can turn you into one?

Story:
A vegetable trader has been arrested on suspicion of killing and beheading at least six of his employees, and dumping four of their torsos outside a high-security jail in Delhi.

Police said yesterday that the 40-year-old man had confessed to killing the six people in the second grotesque case of serial killing to shock the Indian capital within six months.

The trader is said to have killed one man because he would not comply with his request to stop eating meat and another for having an affair with a friend's daughter. Two others were murdered because he believed they were womanisers who drank too much.

Newspaper reports said that he would tie their hands on the pretext of punishing them and then strangle them using nunchaku, a martial arts weapon made of two wooden sticks connected by a chain.

Source

Legend and a Cheater

This is troubling news.

Story:
Sherdog.com reports that Gracie tested positive for traces of Nandrolone, a commonly used anabolic steroid, after his June 2 fight in Los Angeles.

Gracie is suspended for a year, but as UFC Mania notes, a yearlong suspension is nothing compared to the way the public perception of Gracie will forever be changed.

Source

Bright Dumbchuck Idea

"These people are noisy - I have a dumbchuck - yeah, I think I will go over and talk to them ..."

Story:
UK -- A man has appeared in court for allegedly brandishing an 'exotic kung-fu weapon' (sic.) during a neighbourhood bust-up. The man was on his way to a contact's house in Barrow, to sell his ornamental rice flails — a martial arts weapon also known as a nunchaku.

The court heard the 22-year-old Barrow man became embroiled in a row in the street and was accused of threatening the disputants with the rice flails he was carrying.

The accused denied the allegation but admitted being in possession of the offensive weapon. He also pleaded guilty to using words or behavior which caused harassment, alarm or distress.

Source

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Taking Her Life Back

Living in a physically abusive relationship had taken her life away. Then she found it again thanks to jiu-jitsu.

After seven months of taking classes at the Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts Club, the 42-year-old woman has gained back her self confidence and shed the fear she once lived under daily.

"If someone asked me the definition of jiu-jitsu, I'd probably say it means new beginning," she said. "It empowers you. It allows you to get your life back. I used to be afraid to answer the door or walk down the street."

The woman got involved in the sport through her son, who had been taking classes and wouldn't let his mother's hesitation get in the way of what he knew would be exactly what she needed.

Source

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Yet Another Sword Nut

"The man was wearing denim jeans and shirt, a brown peaked cap with sunglasses on the peak and a weight lifter's belt."

Oh, and let us not forget "the ronin" - a stupid doubled edged sword ... Just another fantasy movie weirdo, I guess.

Story:
The town center pub was busy with lunchtime customers - most of them women - when the man walked in and asked the female licensee for half a cider.

She said: "He was perfectly calm and civil at first and offered to buy me a drink too. I didn't see what he had with him at first because he did not bring it to the bar, but once he sat down I noticed he had this scabbard and he pulled out a double-bladed sword."

"He then began to get really agitated. He was pacing up and down puffing and blowing, going from room to room looking at pictures ...getting the sword out and putting it away again."

Source

Monday, June 11, 2007

Expert Rapist

What a creep! And of course, he has to be an "expert" ...

Story:
Wales, UK -- A 40-year-old karate expert preyed on three girls, aged between 11 and 15, at a rented factory unit he used for his sex attacks.

The martial arts instructor, of Abertillery, Gwent, won the trust of his first victim and then met her two friends who he persuaded to join in. He took pictures of the girls in suggestive poses and stored them on his computer.

The court heard he threatened to kill one girl if she told anyone about his sex attacks. A jury at Cardiff Crown Court heard how, after one of his victims became pregnant, he stamped on her stomach. He was arrested when one of the girls finally told her mother about the abuse.

Source

Sunday, June 10, 2007

A Caring Young Man

... Who just happens to be too fond of young girls.

Story:
On Tuesday, A 28-year-old Newark man apologized before being sentenced to prison for possessing thousands of child pornography images, including pictures he took of an 8-year-old girl enrolled in a day care center run by his mother out of their home.

After the home was searched November 30, the man tried to leave the country by boarding a plane to Paris and then catching a connecting flight to Iran, authorities said. He returned to the United States after Iranian authorities denied him entry because he didn't have a visa.

The court file includes letters from acquaintances who portrayed the man as a caring young man with a black belt in karate and a university industrial science degree.

Source

Saturday, June 09, 2007

Lost His Temper

I believed karate was supposed to have a calming effect. This dude probably didn't do it correct - maybe karate-duh rather than karate-do ...

Story:
Illinois -- The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear Johnny Lee Savory's request to have DNA testing done on evidence used to convict him more than 20 years ago. In a May 18 letter, the court declined without comment to hear the matter, meaning that Savory's quest to exonerate himself has hit a dead end barring new facts or a new reason to appeal the matter.

The Prisoner Review Board paroled Savory, 44, in December after he had served nearly 30 years for brutally stabbing to death Connie Cooper, 19, and her brother, James Robinson, 14, in June 1977 at their Peoria home. Savory first was convicted based partly on his confession. Prosecutors had said he lost his temper while practicing karate with Robinson, killed him and then killed Cooper.

Source

Friday, June 08, 2007

A Determined Youngster

Miracle boy Gregg Warburton can deliver a killer karate kick and cutting blow on his opponents - despite having two artificial legs and a small, deformed hand.

The determined youngster has been amazing his parents and friends since he was baby and had both his lower limbs amputated at the shin.

Brave Gregg, who also dreams of being an amputee footballer, never lets his disability stop him joining in sports with his mates.

Source

Hands-On Indeed ...

UK -- A 47-year-old karate black-belt who lives with his mother in Plymouth at weekends and with his wife in Chippenham during the working week, has been convicted of abusing a 15-year-old girl in a dark icehouse on a Corsham industrial estate where he worked as a full-time handyman.

The girl was at a school sex education lesson discussing inappropriate behaviour when she let slip that the man had abused her during a "hands-on martial-arts lesson". The girl claimed the man touched her during karate lessons and took photos of her intimate areas.

Source

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

True Martial Arts

Don't you find it very limiting to discuss "true martial art" like this: If it doesn't involve free fighting; if it doesn't involve meditation; if it involves competition; etc, etc. - then it is not "real or true martial art"?

Why can't we have an openness - including any interpretation of what is "real" or "true"? Why limit ourselves?
Oh well ... rant-mode off. Apart from the claim: "Meditation is the foundation of any true martial art", this is a great, inspirational piece. Well worth reading.

Story:
Sifu Brown meditates daily and encourages his students to do the same. While the physical techniques they practice can help them grown strong and physically healthy, Brown insists mediation is the key to a strong mind, which is just as necessary for overcoming obstacles.

Brown is no stranger to adversity. Born with cerebral palsy and severe dyslexia, Brown grew into a highly respected member of the international martial arts community and runs one of the most successful dojos in the United States.

When he was living in Waterford Township at age 8, Brown's cerebral palsy made it impossible for him just to walk without the use of braces. Most of the time, he had to use a wheelchair.

After much searching, Brown found an isshinryu karate school that would allow him to stay in the back of the room and practice basic punches with his limited mobility. The exercises helped build upper body strength. Eventually, he was able to hold himself up long enough to start moving his legs and practice kicking.

Source

Sunday, June 03, 2007

The Ninjabi

UK -- Anyone tempted to pick on a headscarf-wearing Muslim woman better hope they don't run into a Ninjabi.

Every week around 30 Muslim women, most wearing veils, gather in a community centre in east London to learn how to block, knee and punch would-be attackers or lecherous men targeting passive-looking victims.

The organizers, who named the classes after Japanese Ninja warriors and women who wear the hijab, say Muslim women are looking to fight back against unwanted advances and a rising number of anti-Muslim attacks.

"The ladies love the Ninjabi thing. It gives them a good giggle," said class instructor Dee Terry, who is not a Muslim herself.

Source

Judo Expert

16-year-old expert - brown belt .... Yikes!

Cool kid, I'm sure. But for heaven's sake, quit calling anyone wearing a belt an expert! Please?

Story:
Carshalton judo expert Kerry Ford heads to Poland later this month in fine form after claiming a silver medal in the Dutch Cup tournament in Rotterdam last week.

The 16-year-old high school student lost out to Holland's number one in the final of the 63kg division and is looking to repeat the feat or go one beter at the Cadets A tournament in Szczyrk on May 26.

Source

Kung Fu Ghetto

Here you have another really funny spoof - a hillarious mix of kung fu and "nigga" talk.

Maybe not totally PC (politically correct) - it is rather very un-PC - but so what. It is still funny as heck.

If you find offensive language offensive (duh...) you would absolutely not want to watch the clip :-)

This is one crazy mix of "sex", fighting, bad language, dope, rap music, and polka (yep - polka!). You've got to see this!

You can download the clip here (14.20MB wmv file)

Remember that you can see lots of other funny martial arts related clips here

Sword Victim Mourned

Probably a bit over the edge, yes ... And definitely someone with a major anger management problem. But if you read the whole story, you will probably come to the conclusion that it's not only the accused killer that is a bit spooky.

Story:
Florida -- The 43-year-old estranged wife of a man accused of killing her lover with a Katana sword issued a statement Friday professing her love for the victim and calling her husband a "mad man."

Her 46-year-old husband is charged in the May 12 slaying of a 25-year-old ranch hand from Lake Wales.

The accused killer lost his right leg in a motorcycle accident in the early 1980s. He wears a prosthetic limb and is skilled in martial arts.

Source

Saturday, June 02, 2007

Officer Down Fighting

Canada -- Police departments are retraining officers to better fight on the ground after an explosion of public interest in mixed martial arts and ultimate fighting.

Those combat styles emphasize ground fighting, where combatants wrestle to establish dominant positions before pulling off brutal combinations of punches, chokes, and arm and leg holds.

The popularity of the sport led Victoria police to add specialized ground fighting techniques and defences to their use-of-force training seminar last month, said Mike Massine, the department's control tactics training co-ordinator.

Source