Nailing It

China -- To paraphrase Monty Python - "And now, for something completely else" - here's a brief article about kung fu expert Li Xin performing a head stand on top of a nail...

Impressive? You bet. Will I be doing this? Nah, I suppose I'll simply pass on this one. It does look rather painful, thank you very much :-)

Martial Arts and Pot

California -- A Vista medical marijuana dispensary was raided by authorities in September 2009 and the former owner, 46, has pleaded guilty to a felony charge of growing the drug, according to signonsandiego.com.

The man, who opened the dispensary in Vista in 2009, is reportedly also the owner of martial arts school/studio.

DUI Arrest

Hawaii -- Well-known MMA fighter Chris Leben has reportedly been arrested in Hawaii for allegedly driving under the influence, according to headlineplanet.com.

It was reported that the fighter lost control of his truck and crashed into a wall on a Freeway just prior to 2 a.m. Allegedly, he was also driving without a license and without insurance.

MA, Disabilities and Children

From Utah, here's a great inspirational piece you should check out about martial arts for children with disabilities.

I believe the art in question here is hapkido, even though karate is also mentioned.

In any case - this is another proof of how our arts, properly taught and promoted, can be beneficial on a number of levels for so many people.

Supplies!

New Jersey's Finest

New Jersey -- A 25-year-old Plainfield police officer is facing charges of driving while intoxicated, aggravated assault on a police officer, resisting arrest and obstruction of justice following an early october incident in Bloomfield.

The young man is reportedly the son of a Plainfield Police Captain, with whom he also works at a mixed martial arts academy, a tae kwon do training center (eh... OK?) in Dunellen, according to dailyrecord.com.

"Marital Arts" Fighting

China -- While the majority "marital arts" fighting begin after the knots have been tied, this doesn't always seem to be the case.

Two Chinese kung fu sisters, Xiao Lin and her sister Yin (penned as experts, of course) claim they will not get married until their suitors has proven worthy by beating them in combat, according to metro.co.uk.

It is evidently an option to choose between open-hand combat or any weapon the suitors may wish. However the sisters say they won't be holding back. "If they can't beat us, they aren't worthy," 22-year-old Lin says.

A three-day "fighting festival" will allegedly be held in Foushan. The sisters will be masked throughout the challenges, so the men must risk life and limb without even knowing what their potential brides-to-be look like.

Let me see if I get this right...

First you risk getting your furry behind whooped royally. Then, if you win, you may claim your prize without really knowing what it looks like? What if the sisters here end up being butt ugly? Will a "Thank's but no thank's" or running for cover lead to a violent rematch of sort?

I guess I'll be more than happy to pass on this one :-)

Released From Jail

Virginia -- A former Roanoke police officer and accused bank robber -- described as a cage fighter with a "light switch" temper, an arsenal of weapons, and plans to kill police officers and county sheriff's deputies -- has been set free as prosecutors moved to drop the charges against him.

The man was arrested July 1 and was awaiting a scheduled trial on November 3, according to roanoke.com.

The DA in charge said he had not received important evidence from federal investigators, who reportedly were still looking into the case.

In Need of Kung Fu

Oh dear... I'm afraid this person here will be out of luck. This individual will soon realize that the only effective counter against the deadly "ninjas" is the equally lethal "nunchucks" known as dumbchucks or numbnuts.

Never mind that it is really no plural s-ending in Japanese - like: one ninja, several ninja - and that the proper term is nunchaku. That's just boring details :-)

Self-Proclaimed Weirdness

Let's see now... What do we have in this story from San Antonio, Texas? Some weird stuff indeed.

Does someone else perhaps get a nagging feeling there's something amiss here?

Any how, the actions reportedly include a self-proclaimed MMA fighter (aged 26); a 44 year old alleged victim befriending him at a sports bar; the two men playing video games (really?) at the victim's home; and the alleged robber knocking his new found "friend" out and taking off with $2,000 in cash from the home.

Stupid, "Deadly Weapons"

Guam -- Two fighters, both co-defendants in a felony assault case, will be allowed to participate in an MMA event on November 13, according to guampdn.com.

The two men allegedly attacked a group of men in a Tumon karaoke bar February 6. One of the men allegedly hit a man in the face with a fire extinguisher, then attempted to stomp on his head. His "partner" allegedly attacked two other men.

Since the two men are trained in mixed martial arts, their hands and feet can be considered "deadly weapons," according to court documents.

Booze, Cannabis and Martial Arts

Sparring and doing martial arts in state like this ... how utterly stupid.

New Zealand -- An evening with cannabis, home brew and martial arts Father's Day 2009 ended with a man stabbed to death in the West Coast settlement of Kumara.

A 55-year man is on trial for stabbing another man on September 7, 2009, inflicting a fatal knife wound to the heart, according to stuff.co.nz.

The case prosecutor said the defendant and the deceased were interested in martial arts and sparred on occasions, as they did that night.

Toe-Kwon-Do

This may look like a lot like taekwondo, but it's not. This is the slightly less known yet equally impressive toekwondo. Nice face block, by the way...

Car-Ate

California -- An 83-year-old man, who was pulling into his second floor parking spot at a parking garage in Glendale after a karate class, drove his car through metal guard rails and onto the pavement below - landing on its roof, according to ktla.com.

Still, the senior citizen was able to walk away from the crash with minor injuries, according to reports.

This has got to be one lucky individual. Either that, or his karate was really something else. In any case, glad he wasn't seriously hurt.

Good advertisement for the solid build of the Range Rover too - car-ate for the win :-)

But wait, here's more, from abclocal.go.com this time. Seems it may be a case of bad shoe-do...

"It appeared to me that he was driving with his shoes off, which may have contributed to the accident if his foot slipped," said a parking representative.

"(...) I understand he does karate, so maybe that's why he's not wearing his shoes today," said a police spokesman.

Armed and Dangerous

New York -- State Police said they were searching for a 27-year-old, of Brushton, wanted for his involvement in a kidnapping which occurred on Octover 5, according to northcountrygazette.org.

Police said the wanted man has been involved in mixed martial arts training and that he should be considered armed and dangerous. He has a "Gracie Academy Symbol" (jiu-jitsu school) tattoo on his right arm, according to reports.

Kung Fu Sex Abuse

UK -- A 28-year-old father recently told a court how he, more than 20 years ago, was sexually abused by a man who pretended to be teaching him kung fu.

The alleged victim said the 63-year-old defendant committed the offences after telling him and a friend to strip naked for the martial art lessons at a flat in Cheltenham, according to thisisgloucestershire.co.uk.

The alleged victim said all incidents took place in the friend's home when the defendant was looking after the boy while the boy's mother was working.

Acquitted of Rape Charge

Colorado -- A former member of the U.S. Olympic judo team has been acquitted by a jury of raping a 15-year-old girl in Colorado Springs in 2008, according to gazette.com.

He was however found guilty of two misdemeanor counts of having oral sex with a juvenile who was at least 10 years his junior.

The man will be required to register as a sex offender as a result of the misdemeanor convictions. He is facing up to two years in the county jail when he is sentenced February 8, 2011.

Also, a civil lawsuit the girl and her parents filed against him and the girl's judo team is still pending.

Grandma Kwon Do

Not bad at all... In fact, very cool :-)

Here we have someone past her teens who actually have spent some time to achieve her black belt (and no, two to three years is not some time).

And not only that, the grandmother correctly explains some of the the difference between Japanese karate and Korean taekwondo - more than a lot of the MacDojo so-called "karate black belt" holders out there is capable of.

North Carolina -- At the age of 59, LaVerne Tysinger from Denton began tae kwon do lessons at the age of 59 and then set a goal for herself — to attain a black belt before she turned 65, according to the-dispatch.com.

Numbnuts and Sword

Ohio -- "It looked like a violent and graphic scene in a karate movie." This was the description given by witnesses to a recent fight in Toledo, according to wtol.com.

A fight between two men at an apartments building allegedly escalated and ended with one person being stabbed several times and seriously injured by a sword.

According to witnesses, the two men were fighting when one of the men ran into an apartment to get his older brother. The brother then came out with nunchucks (aka. numbnuts or dumbchucks) and went after another person in the crowd.

Apparently the numbnuts wasn't the right tool for the encounter. Witnesses said the man then ran back inside and came out with a sword.

It's martial arts 101 really: The krotty sticks/dumbchucks is purely designed for those who are fond of self harm. The real thing -- called nunchaku -- may only be handled by those who actually knows what they're doing.

And man ... numbnuts as well as a sword? This "brother in arms" must definitely be a martial arts enthusiast.

Martial Arts Enthusiast

Connecticut -- A man attempted to steal money from a downtown Stamford bar on September 26, according to thestamfordtimes.com and now police says the man "may be a martial arts enthusiast."

First and foremost, whenever a term like "martial arts enthusiast" is used in settings like these, it tends to indicate a full blown Martial Arts Maniac.

And what is it that told police they may be dealing with such an individual in the first place? The fact that the suspect laid in wait while the receipts were being compiled by the manager - in other word a sneaky ninja? Or was it perhaps his athletic build which gave him away?

Did he flash on of them totally awesome and deadly dumchucks, or go into a kung fu stance? Did he flash a couple equally impressive fast and furious judo chops; perhaps uttering the all time classic: "I know karate!" (pronounced 'krotty')? No?

Then what? This is so confusing...

Bad Car Kung Fu

October 5, on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno, an embarrassed actor Terrence Howard explained how he ended up injuring himself with some impromptu car-fu.

Explaining the accident he said: "I'm sitting in the car and I'm thinking about the Bruce Lee days and all of the kung-fu stuff that people used to do, and I'm trying to drive and I made a fool of myself in the process," he said according to hollywood.com and tvsquad.com.

"You know how Bruce Lee used to do that little short one-inch punch? I'm thinking I can do that in front of the rear view mirror. That one-inch punch. That mirror hit back. (...)."

So now we know - boards don't hit back (or so said Bruce), but mirrors apparently do. Good to know :-)

Karate "Skippy" Left Town

Georgia -- A Byron man has been arrested in Mississippi after being accused of failing to render karate lessons and uniforms for money paid him, according to macon.com.

The 38-year-old man is reportedly also accused of skipping bond on a traffic charge.

He is accused of taking about $2,000 from six adult and children karate students without providing lessons, uniforms and knee pads.

Instructor Takes Alford Plea

North Carolina -- A 62-year-old karate instructor has taken an Alford guilty plea to seven charges of indecent liberties with a child, according to legal.blogs.starnewsonline.com.

An Alford plea means the defendant admits enough evidence exists to convict, but that he does not admit the accusations.

The man was accused in 2009 of molesting seven students, ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade, in his after-school program in Wilmington.

The Wrong Kind of Signal?

Here's a guy who has more than a crass word to say to all the "tough" guys who walks around in Affliction MMA-style T-shirts. You know the type, lots of visible tattoos, shirt one size too small, works at the gym to get the "right" kind of muscles to show off on a Friday night...

Although the whole article is kept in a light an refreshingly humorous style, there is a sincere and serious tone to it. And indeed - I have to agree: If you want to look like a moron, here's how :-)

The whole "dress code" reminds me of the equally stupid ripped muscle shirts who was in vogue years ago with steroid pumped guys who tried to look even bigger than they actually were, and so out of touch with their own bodies they could hardly walk properly - let alone walk past a mirror without having a look at that man candy :-)

If you're an MMA fighter for real, I say go for this kind of show off! If not then do the rest of the world a favor and get something else ... please.

Jhoon Rhee

Here's a great article from politics.blogs.foxnews.com about legendary US/Korean taekwondo master Jhoon Rhee and his long dedication to teach martial arts and self defense to members of the US Congress.

For 45 years, the 79-year-old grand-master, who's physique belies his age,  has driven to the Capitol before sunrise three days a week to teach the Congress members at 6:30 in the morning.

Investigated by Child Protective Service

Indiana -- MTV is running a reality television series about teenage mothers called "Teen Mom". In a recent episode, one of the "stars" lost her temper during a fight with her ex fiancé, according to celebs.gather.com.

This is reportedly not the first time the MMA trained woman has been seen on TV hitting her daughter's father. The two young parents can allegedly be seen almost every week fighting and cursing in front of their baby daughter on the TV show.

As a result, police and Child Protective Services in the woman's hometown are investigating her for domestic abuse.