Kung Fu Instructor

Kung fu - Illustration from Flickr.com

A Texas based kung fu instuctor has been found guilty and sentenced to eight years in jail recently, according to http://scntx.com. You can read an excerpt below and get the whole article here.

Just want to mention briefly that - although you can read about quite a number of these cases here - the vast majority of martial arts schools are very safe places in all respects, and that all but a very few martial arts instructors and teachers are hard working, trustworthy and decent people.

That said, it never hurts do use some due diligence when seeking out a suitable training facility for your child in your local area.

Kung fu instructor

On March 16, area resident Ricky Earl Anderson, 48 was sentenced by a Collin County jury to eight years in prison for sexual assault of a child following a jury trial in the 199th District Court of Collin County announced Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis Friday. The trial began on March 12 and concluded March 16.
Anderson, a kung fu instructor, sexually assaulted one of his female kung fu students in his Richardson apartment on Feb. 15, 2004. The victim was 15-years-old at the time of the crime, and under Texas law, a child under the age of 17 cannot consent to sexual contact with an adult. The victim out-cried to Garland Police Detective Curtis Hale in July 2007. Hale investigated the case and coordinated the filing of the case through the Richardson Police Department.
Testimony showed that Anderson, who had conducted many kung fu classes over the years, lived and, or taught kung fu in recent years in Garland, Frisco, McKinney, Richardson, Royce City, Las Vegas, and Ft. Worth.

The good thing is that these individuals are caught and brought to justice. The really sad part is of course that this stuff is allowed to happen in the first place.

MMA Training Kicked In

MMA fighters - Illustration from Flickr

A mixed martial arts trained college student and army vet have rightfully been hailed as somewhat of a hero after his MMA training kicked in and he took a robber down recently in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

GVSU college student Zack Thome stepped up and saved the day when a local business was robbed in broad daylight (10 in the morning) Thursday.

With all the negative press martial arts in general, and MMA in particular, gets from time to time, it is really nice to read about these kind of positive stories.

Here's what fox17online says about the incident

MMA training kicked in

The man that walked into Spike N' Mike's Party Store around 10:00 a.m. last Thursday morning, intending to rob the store, was charged Monday morning.
38-year-old Brandon Slanger was charged with assault with intent to commit an armed robbery, and being an habitual offender. Slanger's preliminary hearing is set for April 5, 2012.
Slanger didn't count on a vigilant, mixed-martial arts trained customer stepping in, however.
"I look at the cashier, I kind of know him, I come in there every day.  I whispered to him, I mouthed to him, 'Are you getting robbed right now?' He said, 'Yeah,' like really scared," said Zack Thome, the GVSU college student who tackled the suspect.

We definitely need more of these kind of inspirational stories. If you have any, then I'd really appreciate it if you took the time to share them!

Bad Massage Therapy

Massage - Illustration from Flickr.com

Apparently he provided some seriously twisted, bad massage therapy...

The Norwegian martial arts instructor, in his 60s and described by media as a martial arts expert, have been jailed after being found guilty of a sexual crime against a young female student, according to vg.no (The page is in Norwegian).

It appears that the man indicated he could release body blockages in his "massage clients" by having intercourse.

Bad massage therapy

In 2008, a martial arts instructor assaulted a young woman after he claimed sex could free her of bodily blockages.
The young woman visited his long time martial arts teacher in order to be treated with massage, heat and light. The court noted during sentencing that the "massage therapist" had abused his position of trust and authority as a martial arts figure to get customers for his dubious "treatment"

Another sneaky old martial arts bugger abusing his position - very sad and troubling indeed.

MMA Banned in Thailand

Muay Thai - Illustration from Flickr.com

Really, MMA banned in Thailand? It definitely appears to be the case, somethings which appears kind of odd in a country where the hard hitting fighters of Muay Thai are national heroes and the martial art - considered brutal by many - is the national sport.

Apparently mixed martial arts has been deemed to be 'too brutal' by the governing Thai sports authorities.

Makes me wonder if there isn't some form of political pressure behind this decision.

MMA banned in Thailand

Here's a small excerpt of what bangkokpost.com has to say about this kind of strange move.

SAT officials met this week to discuss whether holding an MMA event was lawful or not following a request from a private company and they finally agreed that under the 1999 boxing law, it is unlawful to stage an MMA event in Thailand.
"Organising a MMA event here would hurt the image of Muay Thai," Sakol said.
There have been two MMA events held in Bangkok and neither were approved by the SAT, according to Sakol. He said the SAT was asking the Interior Ministry's legal advisors to consider action against any MMA organisers.
"If you want to do this kind of business, you should do it in another country," Sakol said. "Organising MMA here could mislead the public into believing that Muay Thai is brutal."

So there you have it - apparently MMA is too brutal, but Muay Thai is OK. Weird logic if you ask me. What's your opinion?

Judo Serial Killer

Judo throw - Illustration from Flickr.com

Before anything else, remember to visit our newest martial arts news related site Best Martial Arts News.

You will find more news on that new site, while we'll of course also continue to maintain this blog here ... albeit somewhat less regularly.

The case about the judo serial killer is from latino.foxnews.com and it's about a judo champion who's being accused of strangling 5 people to death in Honduras.

A judo serial killer

A martial arts expert who has been a fugitive from justice since May 2010 and is accused of strangling five people was arrested by Honduran police, authorities said Tuesday.
The spokesman for the prosecutor's office, Melvin Duarte, told Efe that Gandhi Espinal Raudales was arrested several days ago.

Don't know about you, but a judo champ who allegedly strangle people to death is a chilling thought indeed. What's your thoughts in this matter? Remember to comment below!

MMA License Reinstated

MMA fighters - Image from Flickr.com

Well known MMA heavyweight fighter Josh Bartlett failed a drug test back in 2009.

Since then he have been fighting to get his California mixed martial arts license back.

Well, it now appears he's back into the game. It is said that the primary reason is that California "needs good fighters." Mmamania.com reports:

Strikeforce heavyweight attraction and former PRIDE FC star Josh Barnett had his mixed martial arts (MMA) license reinstated today (March 5, 2012) during a special hearing in front of the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC).
But not without provisions.
"The Warmaster" must consent to "random biological fluid testing" at a time and place determined by the commission prior to his participation at any event held in the state of California.

Karate Instructor Accused

Karate grading - from Wikipedia.org

It may seem like almost an everyday occurrence that there's another taekwondo or karate instructor accused of a sexual crime of some sort involving a juvenile student.

However, considering the huge number of karate or taekwondo schools and instructors/teachers out there - it's more than anything a statistical thing that these arts are taking the spotlight more often than others.

Also, let us not forget that the vast majority of martial arts teachers are honest, dedicated and trustworthy individuals.

That said - one such case is really one too many, and it involves all martial arts in a significantly negative way.

Here's an excerpt from wtsp.com regarding a recent case from Florida:

A Sarasota teacher was arrested Friday on charges he had sex with a 14-year-old student seven years ago.
According to the affidavit, the victim, now 21, told her brothers that she had sex with John Garcia, a karate instructor at the Sarasota School of Arts and Sciences, when she was in middle school.
On Febr. 7, the woman told police in a statement that during the incident Garcia dismissed the class, locked the door, and sat her in his lap. He then began to fondle her and proceeded to have sex with her. The woman said this was the first time she ever had sex.

As always, feel free to comment below.

MMA Madness, TV Style

TV - illustration from Wikipedia.org

Here comes some instant MMA madness, TV style for you.

And we apparently won't need the real life - and out there - nutty mixed martial arts fighters when we have the couch potato variety to carry the flag of splendid madness for all the world to see.

Enter this 19-year-old TV inspired MMA crazed nitwit from Phoenix, Arizona.

When he found that his girlfriend "didn't respect him" (I do wonder why...), he allegedly incorporated some MMA moves he had learned on TV to beat her up in front of her three children, before he choked her to unconsciousness.

When Snyder was interviewed by officers, he had the woman's cell phone and admitted to choking and hitting her because she was "disrespecting him," a police report said.
Snyder told officers he only meant to cause his girlfriend to lose consciousness for a "couple of seconds" and said he tried to mimic what he learned from a mixed martial arts television program, a police report said.

 No respect? That's bad ... that's really bad.

No Headbutts in Judo!

Eric Joyce - from Wikipedia.org

No ifs or buts - there are definitely no headbutts in judo!

These attacks may be allowed in a political judo fracas - although I doubt that very much. In a drunken pub brawl, on the other hand...

It appears that a British MP (Member of Parliament)  have gone gung ho, or berserk as it has also been described, in a well-known London bar reserved parliament members and their guests.

Here's what the British dailystar.co.uk has to say about the rough and tumble political action:

Former squaddie and Judo fighter Joyce, 51, faces a court hearing after he was accused of launching a vicious fight in a House of Commons bar.He allegedly yelled “This place is full of f***ing Tories” before shoving Mr Percy against a wall and headbutting Conservative MP Stuart Andrew, 40.
Joyce is also said to have punched Tory Alec Shelbrooke, 36, and MP Phil Wilson, 52 – who is one of his fellow Labour colleagues.

Can we assume that there was alcohol involved in this brawl? In any case guys, there are no headbutts in judo - political or otherwise ... even if you've had a glass or two and really hates you opponent.

Crappy "Krotty" Drivers

Car crash - Illustration from Wikipedia

Really hope we don't see any crappy "krotty" drivers trends here...

First you had the wild story of the karate (aka. krotty) parent from Ohio who drove his two young children to karate practice, while under influence ... and managed to be an hour late to boot.

Then you had another one - from Ontario, Canada this time. Karate parent late for his son's class. Windsorstar.com reports:

A 26-year-old man has been charged with careless driving. Police reports show he was late getting his son to Karate class.
The two-car collision happened just before 6 p.m. on Tuesday night.
A 2004 Chevrolet, driven by the 26-year-old man, was travelling southbound on Bernard hit a 2009 Pontiac travelling eastbound on Seminole, causing the Chevrolet to slam into the wall of Trevi Pizza.

Guys, take it easy... please. Karate and other martial arts is supposed to be fun and all that ... nothing to risk anyone's life or health over.

Judoka Disqualified

Judo randori - Illustration, Wikipedia

A Georgian judoka and Olympic champion have reportedly been disqualified after positive doping tests.

This is according to news.az.

Georgian wrestler, Olympic Champion Irakli Tsirekidze will face a three-month disqualification due to the results of the special analysis, which revealed stimulant drugs in his blood.
To avoid any inaccuracy in the tests, it was repeated with a few months interval and in both cases the analysis confirmed that Tsirekidze had a prohibited substance in his blood.

Kung Food Fight

Food fight - Illustration from Flickr.com

Don't like the way your restaurant customers treat you? Tired of getting bad reviews? Unhappy with constant complaints about your dim sum not being hot enough ... or too hot ... or too late?

If so, then it may be time to do sum' dim mak and bring your kung food fighting skills to the table.

At least - according to asiaone.com that's apparently what this chef from Malacca in Malaysia did to one of his customers.

Using kung fu moves with a pair of chopsticks and a wooden chair, a chef here floored a customer at his restaurant two years ago.Yesterday, a Sessions Court sentenced Abdul Rahman Teoh Abdullah, 47, to five years in jail for injuring P.M. Balakrishnan, 57.The offence was committed at a restaurant in Jalan Melaka Raya 11 in Taman Melaka Raya here at about 4am on Jan 1, 2010.
Kung fu moves, chopsticks and a wooden chair? Wow, that sounds like something right out of a Jackie Chan movie script.

Where's the people with a cell phone video recording when you need them?

Judoka Stealing Toothpaste?

Toothpaste - Illustration from Wikipedia

Judoka stealing toothpaste? really?

To put it mildly, this seems like a really stupid things to do when you risk losing participation in a major event like the 2012 Olympics.

It is so stupid, that I may be tempted to believe there is something else going on here than an urgent need of toothpaste. Haaretz.com reports.

Israeli judoka Soso Palelashvili was arrested Friday on suspicion of stealing toothpaste from a grocery store in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Israeli judo officials immediately decided to ban Palelashvili from competing in the Dusseldorf Judo Grand Prix, putting a serious dent in his hopes of reaching the 2012 London Olympic Games.

What's your opinion of this? Seems rather strange, right? Apparently a troublemaker, but this is strange.

Son of Rebel Leader in Trouble

U.S. Army in Liberia - Illustration photo

It appears both father and son have some issues that needs to be taken care of.

The father is a former rebel leader who is awaiting for deportation from USA to Liberia where the 62-year-old man will answer for alleged war crime charges there.

Buffalonews.com reports from Niagara Falls in New York.

The son of a former Liberian rebel leader refused a plea offer to two felonies in a domestic violence case Friday in Niagara County Court.
Mahnseah T. Boley, 32, of Hilton, decided not to plead guilty to sexual abuse and assault charges, Assistant District Attorney Lisa M. Baehre said.
Boley, a former college wrestling champion and professional mixed martial arts fighter, is the son of George E.S. Boley, who earlier this month was ordered sent back to Liberia to stand trial on war crimes charges.

Like father, like son? It may appear to be that way.

Torturer, Martial Arts Maniac

Illustration - From Flickr.com

Well, at least we've got another addition to the ever expanding Martial Arts Maniacs chronicle..

And this fellow, who's running a juvenile boot camp in China, is apparently a real nutter.

The former criminal used to run a martial arts school, and he was not exactly your regular Mr Nice or a guiding star of infinite wisdom and compassion there either, judging from the reports:

The founder of a boot camp for juveniles with behavior problems has been arrested for torturing and raping students despite charging them an annual fee of 50,000 yuan (US$7,940).
Teng Xiaohu, who runs the boot camp in Pujiang County, eastern Zhejiang Province to help youngsters get rid of Internet addiction and develop interest in study, allegedly forced three girls to offer him massage by turns every night and sexually assaulted them, local media reported.
Teng was jailed several years ago for a fight in a martial arts school and he threatened his students not to disclose his criminal past to their parents, the paper said.

Dear, oh dear, there are some really wicked individuals out there...

Used Jiu-Jitsu to Protect Sister

Honolulu - Illustration from Flickr.com

It's always great to have a big brother protecting you, as case here from Hawaii is a shining example of :-)

11-year-old Jonah Yano used his years of jiu-jitsu training - as well as his brotherly love - to help fight of an attempted carjacker in Honolulu.

The incident occurred in November 2011, according to kitv.com. Go there to read the whole story and watch the video.

Jay Yano didn't have the day after Thanksgiving off, so he planned to take his two young children towork with him. As his kids loaded into his truck, parked right outside their home in Honolulu, Yano left the vehicle running as he quickly walked to the truck's rear.
"That's when I noticed the guy walking from across the street, coming over," said Jay Yano.
Yano said within a split second, his truck began to pull forward, with his 9-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son inside. He ran to the driver's side door.
"(When) I opened the car (door), I saw my son holding the guy down with his left hand," said Yano.

Apart from the happy ending and brave actions of Yano, the case clearly shows how quickly bad things can happen.

Stab Proof? Not Quite

There is apparently a large contingent of true blood, experimental (or you could make that simply: mental) martial arts nutcases world-wide - Russia being no exception.

When most martial artists are seriously boring and predictable individuals - like yours truly - there are a group of la-la land explorers ... people who will attempt to pull off the most unpredictable stunts without missing a beat or giving it a second thought.

What can I say but thank you ... from the bottom of my intrigued and safety conscious, 9-to-5 boring, regular guy type of soul!

Police have detained a resident of Russia's Rostov region for stabbing a friend who claimed his "abs" were strong enough to stop any knife thrust, the regional Interior Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
The suspect told police that during a party he and a friend decided to experiment with martial arts techniques. "The owner of the home got a big kitchen knife and asked his guest to stab him in the stomach. He refused at first, saying he was afraid he would kill the host. However, the host said that in his childhood he was involved in martial arts and the knife could not penetrate his abs," the statement said.
Unfortunately, that was not the case.

"Abs-olutely" freaking awesome. This has to come up at top in any Darwin Awards ranking, right?

Also, I can't help but wonder if a decent doze of alcohol may have been a contributing factor in the proceedings?

Size, is It Really a Biggie?

You may of course have heard the expression "the bigger they are, the harder they fall"? Well, that's all fine and dandy, but what if said individual decides to land on top of you? "Master Po, help... I can't use my awesome grappling skillz!"

So to anyone who still buys into the "size doesn't matter" and "I'll just use my super ninja flip technique" ideas... Good luck! Size does come in handy from time to time.

For more martial arts humor and general mayhem - visit my Facebook page here.

Crush on Karate Teacher

Karate - illustration photo, Flickr.com

It appears that a California girl's crush on her karate teacher in 2007 resulted in the man eventually being accused of a felony and a subsequent trial by jury.

The man has now been cleared by the jury of the serious charges according to pressdemocrat.com. The man was potentially facing 9 years in prison if he had been convicted.

There is definitely no winners in a case like this, and I can't help but speculate if this is a case that should have been brought to court in the first place?

41-year-old Santa Rosa karate instructor was cleared of felony child-sex charges involving a teenage student who witnesses said developed a crush on him.
Jason Bates was accused of kissing and groping the 13-year-old girl in 2007 during classes at the Finley Community Center and at a private martial arts party at his house.

What is your take on this case - or indeed similar cases of martial arts instructors being accused of felony sexual crimes and later cleared.

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?

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