Local MMA Fighter Arrested in Decapitation Case

A tragic case from beginning to end

I am pretty confident that neither mixed martial arts (MMA, cage fighting) nor Islam has anything to do with this awful and tragic case from London, UK. I am also pretty confident it has a lot to do with mental and/or drug related issues.

When you have a suspect that evidently has been overheard shouting "The cats have stolen my lighter" as he hacked a poor cat to pieces with the edged weapon, it seems pretty obvious we are dealing with a very disturbed individual.

Other reports claim the suspect had ambitions to become a cage fighter, but that he had gone off the rails and was known locally for dealing drugs.

Still, the media will probably have a field day if it turns out the murderer who decapitated an 82-year-old innocent great-grandmother with a machete is indeed a Muslim convert, an African immigrant connected to local MMA fighting.

Cage fighting, mixed martial arts

Confuse-Us Speaks #28

Brown belt - by conskeptical, Flickr.com

According to our friends the gullible media nitwits (aka reporters), a karate brown belt is now the same as being an expert.

Oh yes, jolly old great-grandmaster Confuse-Us is totally on the ball with his one.

I don't even dare to think what this guy would have been called, had he been a black belt.

I am positive the man himself didn't mention anything about expert status, or any other status for that matter. Your typical reporter will fill in the blanks quite nicely and make it all oh so sensational.

In any case, here's the piece of Confuse-Us approved shenanigans with the title: "Get me out of here...I'm a karate expert." Simply brilliant!

A brown belt in karate kept his cool after ending up locked inside Maldon’s leisure centre.
When ceramic tiler Dave Collins’ late evening karate class ended Tuesday night, he had a quick shower before realising he was locked in at the Blackwater Leisure Centre.

So now you know, becoming a karate expert is just a stroll in the park, you don't even need one of them deadly black belts!

A Rare Karate Nutcase

Karate fight - Illustration from Flickr.com

This South-African dude is a rare karate nutcase for sure. For one he is a well known journalist and media figure losing his cool ...

...If you can claim that going absolutely mental is "losing your cool".

Then, this karateka not only goes mental, he absolutely beats up a female colleague! How about that for being ka-rotty ka-razy?

the "best" part though is that it appears he used his martial arts skills to beat up his female co-worker over something as trivial as singing...

Yes folks, singing...

Apparently, the female victim told the ka-razy journalist that he should stick to his day job and stop his vocal performance.

Apparently, he didn't take too kindly to the critic, and you can go here to read about the karate madman.

And if you want to know what happened to his day job, then the answer is that he don't have one right now... Bummer.

Cage Fight and Children?

Dailymail.co.uk and other ill informed British newspapers have been all over a "shocking" revelation of children doing "cage fighting" recently.

All though there are some things that were not good decisions about the two young lads fighting, one really has to wonder if the sensation seeking press has totally lost their collective marble...

Yes, the fight was held inside a one of the cages used for cage fighting, and yes it was during an MMA event. But had the half-wits of the press done any basic research they would have discovered that A. this was not an MMA fight, and B. not a "cage fight".

In fact it was nothing worse than a regular wrestling, grappling, judo or BJJ (Brazilian jiu-jitsu) match - something children all over the world are doing with great success day in and day out.

Yes, the setting and arrangement around this "cage match" should definitely not been handled the way it turned out. But one should also hope that the nitwit press representatives and the sensation seekers (some of which probably want children to wear a helmet indoors to avoid being hurt - poor things...) could refrain from talking about things of which they have absolutely no frigging clue what so ever.

Am I a great fan of young children fighting? Nope. How about MMA? I do find some parts of that questionable as well. Still I do find passages like the ones below (from said newspaper) very offensive and totally laughable really:

"The spectacle of grown men punching the life out of each other in public was stomach-churning enough. But the behaviour of the crowd as two young schoolboys were led into the cage set up in the centre of the dingy room, was sickening to the extreme."

"As the boys began to pummel each other into submission, the baying chants of the 450 adults could be heard in the streets beyond."

For your information - this was a grappling match - no punches or kicks to be seen anywhere...

"Footage of that awful fight, which had all the aggressive hallmarks of a backstreet brawl, provoked a wave of outrage this week when it surfaced on the internet."

"(...)But the British Medical Association (BMA), the NSPCC and the charity Safechild have all reacted with fury, branding the spectacle 'disturbing and sick'. They are calling for a police and social services investigation. Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has also condemned the 'sport' as 'barbaric'."

Let's hear it - what's your take on these ill-informed representatives and sensation seekers of the press? Are there any hopes of educating reporters about what martial arts is about, and finally - what's your take on MMA fights and children fighting in particular?

Feel free to comment below.

Confuse-Us Speaks #23

Taekwondo wrestlers? Really?

Last time I checked, this art/sport seen here on the left was no wresslin' thing.

Kicking? Yup ... a lot of it Wrestling? No.

So, it could be tempting to ask what kind of mind-altering drugs the reporters from news.az have been on when they wrote about the 'Azerbaijani taekwondo wrestlers' and their participation in The World Championship being held in Gyeongju, Korea.

Oh, the joy and wonders of ignorance...

More Ninja Shenanigans

Pennsylvania -- A man was reportedly dressed like a ninja (of course, what else...) and carrying a sword when he broke into a number of cars in Uniontown on Sunday morning.

The man finally pulled a sword and tried to stab a witness who confronted the black clad and masked "ninja", according to wtae.com.

Remember to check out more crazy gone-fu-ka-hapkill-duh-krotty antics from certified Martial Arts Maniacs!

Confuse-Us Speaks #21

UK -- It appears that judo might not be a martial art after all? Kind of surprising, at least to yours truly. I could have sworn it was when we last had a count...

The well informed (that was a joke) reporters at kidderminstershuttle.co.uk seems to indicate the above, by stating: "Black belts in judo are much more rare than in martial arts, (...)"

So now you know boys and girls. If you do judo, you're into a great sport obviously, but not martial arts ... at least according to a British media representative. Reporters... Yay!

The Martial Arts Maniacs

You can now visit my new lens at Squidoo: martial arts maniacs and dive into some of the stories from the more off-beat part of the martial arts :-)

"Blood Sport"

I do really have to ask if this is the kind of attention that MMA and the martial arts wants and needs...

From Delaware thestarpress.com:
Imagine a break in the action at a June 27 MMA ("Rumble in the Jungle") event to allow two young boys -- ages 5 and 6 -- to enter the cage.

And imagine that pre-school bout -- described by some as harmless wrestling but by others as a tearful experience for the children -- overseen by a Muncie police officer, who acted as referee for the evening's worth of blood sport.

You don't have to imagine it. It happened.

MA 'Experts' Attacking Media

Nepal -- In a continued attack on media and media personnel, a group of about 50 Maoists attacked Himalmedia and injured at least 12 of its editors and members of staff, Thehimalayantimes.com reports.

The large group, led by the president of the Maoist-affiliated All Nepal Hotel and Restaurant Workers' Union, is said to have stormed into the meeting hall of Himalmedia's Hattiban office around noon.

"These people appeared to be martial arts experts. They had military training. One of them could kick a tall person like me in the head," one of the victims said.

The attackers also vandalised the office and left the scene after 15 minutes, according to reports.

Judo Accusations

First of all: Sorry for the long absence guys! It's been hectic for a while, but now I'm back on track!

Off to the post:
In June 2008, American judo Olympian Ronda Rousey wrote about the accusations against high ranking judo official Fletcher Thornton on her blog.

Thornton was accused of drugging and molesting teenage competitors he coached nearly 30 years ago.

In July, he resigned from the USA Judo board of directors on day before The New York Times took up on the story about the affidavit from 1981, accusing Thornton of the sexual assaults in the late 70s,

Fit With Karate

Could someone please take one of these breaking boards and hit these folks (school owners, instructors and media ignorants) over the head with it for me?

Why can't people use karate about karate, and taekwondo about taekwondo? Are they ashamed of their own art or something? ...Or is it just me that needs to get my head fixed :-)

That said (and I fell much better now, thank you :), here's a nice article from Missouri about seniors doing karate ... which probably is taekwondo after all.

Confuse-Us Speaks #18

Heres a great, clearifying article from siasat.com:

"Another major show of taek wondo, a martial art that is an Olympic sport, will be witnessed in the city from Tuesday. The 26th senior National taek wondo championships will be held at Swarna Bharati Indoor Stadium till September 29."

Taek wondo? Sure it's not teak wondo - the art that is a sport, which was invented by none other than Spruce Lee.

Or perhaps it's Hickoryu Kobudo, Balsavate, Ash-ihara karate? Koto jutsu...? No? How about Oakido?

Confuse-Us Speaks #17

"Karate instructors at more than 2,000 American Tai Kwon Do Association studios in the country taught kids how to get away from people who may try to hurt him."

Tai Kwon Do? Karate instructors at taekwondo studios?

May seem like someone at khqa.com likes to flash their ignorance.

Another Young Expert

Let's see...

Thea Slatyer is 24 - bodyguard and plays on the Australian national football team. This according to newpaper.asia1.com.sg.

And of course, she's a martial arts expert... Gasp - she must have earned herself the deadly black belt!

Seriously, I'm sure this young women is great. But I'm contemplating to have a "word" with the next journalist I encounter.

More Blues for Seagal

Not long ago, Steven Seagal was one of the best-paid action stars in Hollywood. The martial arts master played crime-busting anti-heroes in films that generated more than $1 billion in ticket and DVD sales during the 1990s. Now he appears in low-budget productions that go straight to video.

Seagal says he knows why: Five years ago, he was implicated in a plot to frighten two journalists out of writing unflattering stories about him and his former business partner.

An FBI affidavit detailed allegations that Seagal hired private eye Anthony Pellicano to terrorize one of the reporters, a freelancer working for the Los Angeles Times.

The investigation soon changed course, focusing on allegations that Pellicano spied on celebrities and other members of the Hollywood elite. The onetime detective-to-the-stars is in federal prison, awaiting trial on wire-tapping and other charges.

Seagal and the alleged plot to intimidate journalists became a footnote. The actor was never charged, and federal authorities have privately told reporters they have no persuasive evidence against him. But the FBI has never publicly cleared him.

Seagal said the publicity has been devastating to his career. He wants an apology.

Source

Confuse-Us Speaks #16

Ah what the heck - it's all ai-kung-fu-kwon-do-karate-jutsu after all ... Not?

Story:
Karate's connection to the animal kingdom is legendary. So it doesn't come as a surprise that a 20-year-old who is studying for a master degree in zoology is good at this Chinese marital art.

The old monks in Bruce Lee movies spoke about speed of a cobra and stealth of a leopard. These were the things Rajasthan's Titikesha Jain studied for the gold medal she got for her bachelors degree in the science that deals with animal behaviour.

Source

Extremists With Dumbchucks

The "dumbchucks/rice flail" (nunchaku) for someone as dumb as this - how fitting ...

Story:
A man who called for British troops to be brought back from Iraq in body bags at a demonstration against cartoons said to be offensive to Islam was today found guilty of inciting murder.

The a 24-year-old web designer from north London, is one of four people convicted of various charges following a protest near the Danish embassy, in central London, last February.

It was organised following the publication of cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad - including one showing him as a terrorist - in a Danish newspaper. The cartoons were reprinted around Europe.

Following the verdict, the court was told he had previous convictions for offences including causing criminal damage by covering up naked women on advertising posters and having a rice flail martial arts weapon in his car.

Source

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.

Source

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.

Source