Ancient Martial Arts Techniques, Modern Applications

It is nothing new that Ancient Martial Arts Techniques can find very useful and beneficial modern day applications apart from the fighting side of things.

In my own business, I frequently use the methods and principles of ju jitsu, not only to diffuse, control and restraint aggressive behavior in psychiatric wards, jails, nightclubs and other places, but also as methods to gently lift, transport and support patients and other groups in situations of care.

Here's a new take on it: How to apply the ancient methods of kobujutsu to relieve new mothers of potential wear and tear from holding and carrying their babies. Very interesting indeed! :-)

Image from japantimes.co.jp

Angry XXL Martial Arts Expert

Each time you might be lead to think it could possibly be any more alive and breathing martial arts nitwits out there, a new one pops up for us all to shake our heads at.

Case in point; this rather angry XXL martial arts expert from the UK appears to be quite something else. Threatening workers at his apartment when they apparently was unsettling his pet snake and offended his Buddha statue is just a small fraction of his antics.

Guess it's not that hard to run away from the "rather solid" man. Wouldn't fancy him getting hold of me though...

Anger in Aikido

Anger in aikido? Image from Wikipedia.org

What are we suggesting here ... anger in aikido? The art of peace, harmony and humanity? Noooh, say it ain't so!

What would O-Sensei say if this was even remotely true?

These nice folks in hakama are supposed to be the very embodiment of cool and tranquility - no room for primal anger or aggression here mate!

We'll it appears that at least one aikidoka takes it very personal that someone dare claim that his hero, non other than movie star Steven Seagal, has been choked out by a "simple" judoka, an old school hard man in the form of Judo Gene LeBell.

True or untrue - keep smiling, and read more about it here.

Fighter Charged With Battery

Another MMA fighter - here: Alistair Overeem - with an anger management problem? Or is there more to the story than what appears in the reports, as the defense attorney indicates?

Overeem, who is 6-foot-5 and weighs more than 260 pounds, allegedly shoved a woman at about 3 a.m. local time Jan. 2, causing her to fall backward, according to Las Vegas police. He's scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 21.
"Alistair was not arrested, but was summoned to court," defense attorney David Chesnoff told the Review-Journal. "There are two sides to this story and we intend on vigorously defending this. Alistair maintains his innocence."

Alistair Overeem - picture from Wikipedia.org

What's your take on this? Do you feel that it may be too easy to judge MMA fighters prematurely simply based on the fact that they are fighters... or is it apparently that some of them do have an issue with controlling their aggression outside of the octagon/ring?

Feel free to Tweet, add comment below, or share on Faebook (to your right).

Forms on the Platform?

I suppose that letting some aggression out on the platform can be a good idea after all - in any case I am quite certain it is far better to do it there - on something solid - than on people inside a crowded subway carriage.

Perhaps that was the idea behind a well known sports brand being given the go ahead to install padded punching bags at the Xujiahui subway station in Shanghai?

The idea behind it is allegedly to allow stressed out commuters punch and kick the bags to let off some steam.

And who knows, perhaps you could even do your next workout while waiting for your train to arrive? Just don't start doing form though ... that would look totally uncool :-)

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.

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.

Man Choking Juveniles

Indiana -- In Jeffersonville, a 6'5" inches and 297 pound 43-year-old man has been charged with felony battery for allegedly grabbing a juvenile boy by the neck and threatening to kill him, according to newsandtribune.com.

The man, who claimed he "knew martial arts" had chased a group of kids and assaulted one of them after the boys allegedly had been antagonizing and throwing rocks on his son.

When one of the kids took a swing at him, the man allegedly grabbed him by the neck and "foot-swept him," making the juvenile fall on the ground.

Got 'Car-Ried' Away?

UK -- An employee at a car dealer in Liverpool was beaten by a 29-year-old Muai Thai fighter, according to menmedia.co.uk.

The heavyweight fighter and Muay Thai expert - who also trains children - reportedly lost his temper and eventually assaulted the employee after learning that his wife's car hadn't been fixed.

Fighter in Street Brawl

Texas -- Tmz.com has a story about  well known MMA fighter Roger Huerta beating and stomping another man in a street fight in Austin over the weekend.

The 27-year-old UFC figure was apparently in front of a bar in Austin around 2 a.m. on Saturday morning, when he witnessed a man punch a female.

Observing how the woman collapsed to the ground -- the fighter immediately tried to confront the attacker saying, "You just punched a [explicit] girl!"

The fighter immediately after took off his shirt and slammed his hat to the ground. He then rushed after the man and the fight broke out. 

Instructor Shot Dead

UK -- A 37-year-old bodybuilder, claimed to be addicted to steroids, shot his 27-year-old former girlfriend and killed her new boyfriend - a karate instructor.

The angered and suicidal nightclub bouncer, who had recently been released from prison where he was jailed for hitting a child, blasted his ex through a window in her home with a shotgun at 2:40 a.m., seriously wounding her.

The martial arts instructor tried to escape the house on Tyneside, according to mirror.co.uk. However, the suspected killer with a string of previous convictions, was reportedly waiting outside and shot him dead.

MMA Fighter Accused

Nevada -- A 25-year-old MMA fighter has been arrested in Las Vegas after a 26-year-old man was killed in an altercation Saturday at a resort on the Las Vegas Strip, according to lasvegassun.com.

A police spokeswoman said the two men, who were friends, got into a fight about 4 a.m. Saturday.

The MMA fighter, who was drunk and aggressive towards his girlfriend ended up punching and killing the other man.

He "Didn't Mean It"

UK -- An illegal immigrant -- originally from Iran -- told his murder trial how he "lost his temper" and "became mad" at a woman in Foleshill on September 3, 2008.

The man's ex-partner died after being stabbed 14 times during the attack at her Coventry home. The 29-year-old man admitted to killing the 34-year-old woman in front of her 7-year-old daughter, but he claimed he was provoked, according to coventrytelegraph.net .

The, who is nicknamed Jackie due to his resemblance to (martial arts movie star) Jackie Chan and because he holds a black belt in karate, told the jury he "never" meant to kill his ex-partner.

Martial Arts Threats

UK -- A 34-year-old Airdrie man has pleaded guilty to displaying aggression towards paramedics who were called to treat him after a fall. The drunk man reportedly threatened them with his martial arts skills, claiming to be a black belt in jujitsu.

The medics were called to attend the man's home on Friday, March 13. At one point, the accused became aggressive towards the helpers, a prosecutor said according to acadvertiser.co.uk.

Jaw Jitsu

Ilinois -- One McHenry man ended up missing two chunks of his earlobe and his 34-year-old Johnsburg rival ended behind bars charged with biting them off.

This was reportedly the result of an escalating dispute over martial arts training which ended with a Mike Tyson-style brawl outside a house party early Saturday, according to dailyherald.com.

Police said the fight occurred after the the aggressor began insulting the victim's martial arts training and abilities at a party hosted by a mutual acquaintance. The victim felt he was doing this to provoke a fight, so he tried to leave the scene.

He made it to the driveway, police said, when the aggressor attacked and began punching the McHenry man. During the ensuing struggle the aggressor got his mouth close enough to the victim's ear to bite it.

First Talk - Then Fight...

Florida -- One New Year's Day, a discussion about martial arts and "extensive knowledge" of the art supposedly led to physical violence, according to naplesnews.com.

A 46-year-old South Fort Myers man ended up in hospital five days later with severe injuries, as a result of the altercation.

The victim told officials a man, known to him only by a first name, beat him after he turned to watch a television about 9 p.m. in a bar. Reports says the victim was punched on the right side of the face and head and knocked to the ground.

Once on the ground, he was repeatedly kicked and punched in the face, back and rib cage by the attacker, according to the report.

Road Rage, MMA Fighter

Pennsylvania -- A 41-year-old man, of Glendora, New Jersey, was shot in the head October 5 while driving his daughter (8) to her mother's house.

A 275-pound MMA fighter and former U.S. Marine, was charged with the attempted murder, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering others and related offenses. Police alleges he shot the man after he apparently cut him off in traffic.

The 33-year-old South Philadelphia man will remain hospitalized pending further mental evaluation ahead of a hearing on the criminal charges scheduled for February 11. He has been ruled competent to stand trial but it is said medication is needed for him to "remain stable," according to philly.com.

He Doesn't Get Angry Anymore

I wonder when parents, schools and authorities are going to wake up to all the positive effects inherent in martial arts done the correct way?

UK -- Gazettelive.co.uk had a nice article on October 23 about how two teenage boys, Nathan Simms-Moody and Shaun Youll, benefited greatly from martial arts (kick-boxing).

Up until very recently, 15-year-old Nathan was an angry young man -- truanting from school and had counseling to deal with his anger issues. He could be often be found sitting with a bottle of alcohol in his hand on a street corner.

The story talks of how he now looks forward to every Wednesday -- the highlight of his week. That's when he can learn fitness and positive behavior through his weekly martial arts session.

Young Nathan now reportedly prefers to pound the streets running and has found a new enthusiasm for school.

Shaun also admits to not attending school everyday. His ADHD ('Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder') made it it hard for him to concentrate and he too would get angry.

Through the weekly training he now finds school easier to cope with. "I like doing active stuff," Shaun said "I have ADHD. I like kick boxing and it gets you fit."

Curbing Juvenile Violence

Canada -- October 23, dailygleaner.canadaeast.com had a very interesting article about youths at risk for violence and how learning martial arts can prove to be helpful in curbing inappropriate behavior, resistance to rules and aggression.

The article was seemingly an answer to -- or rather an alternative to -- an announcement by the leader of the Conservative Party, who reportedly said how he was going to get tough on juvenile crime.

The article pointed to how several psychiatrists had written about a study in the journal 'Adolescence'. The psychiatrists had attempt to reproduce other (smaller) studies - pointing to how school-linked courses in traditional martial arts could benefit juveniles at high risk for violence and delinquency.

Previous research often shows mixed results. This is because participation in the studies is voluntary, or the participant is already in a martial arts program. The researcher say that both factors self-select for more aggressive youth, with the result that some studies even show an increase in violence for students who take martial arts.

However, in the study done by the psychiatrists, school teachers identified students at high risk for violence and delinquency. As the school was located in a poor area of a large urban city, with a very high juvenile arrest rate, there was no lack of such students.

Students who were identified as high risk could only take the course if their parents agreed, and an outside martial arts teacher was brought in to teach them.

60 students with similar problematic behavior profiles were paired and then assigned randomly to either a treatment group or to a wait-list control group, to make the study scientific.

The students took three classes per week, for ten weeks, of a traditional martial art . The art emphasized self-protection and calmness, using meditation and kata (patterned movements).

In this really great article, the author points to the significant positive findings of the study. He also has some great insight as to why this is so. A must read!

Kicking Autistic Boy

Texas -- A 20-year-old man from Troup, has reportedly trained martial arts since the age of 6. He recently told a court how he has "a very short temper" and an "anger problem".

This young man has been found guilty of using kick boxing to "discipline" a young autistic boy - with the approval of the boy's mother, according to tylerpaper.com.

The boy's mother, 34, allegedly did nothing to stop her boyfriend from repeatedly kicking her then 11-year-old son as a neighbor videotaped the abuse.

The woman admitted at her trial that she caused bodily injury to her son by striking him and by failing to protect him during the incident on April 24.

Oh dear...