Kung Fur Fighting

These cats may be doing a kata (in feline speak: Cata). Or, it may be actual kung fur (genuine animal style kung fu) fighting - what do you think?

Bear With Bo

Amazing bear showing of his bo kata. The clip says kung-fu but this looks more like Okinawa weapon skills to me. After all this is from a Japanese zoo :-)

Belt Kata

Just a funny cartoon for you today guys :-)

On a slightly more serious note, it is indeed quite a number of folks who doesn't exactly know how to properly tie a martial arts belt.

Cleaver? Not Clever

Australia -- On April 9, an Ipswich man reportedly terrified Sunshine Coast pub patrons when he began waving a meat cleaver around while performing karate moves, a court was told.

The unemployed 33-year-old had been drinking extra-strength bourbon and coke for some time prior to the incident, according to qt.com.au.

For no apparent reason, he began yelling at pub patrons, accusing one man of being a terrorist and doing his martial arts moves.

When police arrived, the man told them he needed to carry the meat cleaver with him because he was a pizza chef back in Ipswich.

He Sees Possibilities

I urge you to read this article! In particular about how this man's teacher pinpoints the very essence and beauty of teaching martial arts properly.

Story:
Canada -- 49-year-old Randy Kurzeniski lost complete sight in both eyes six years ago, according to canada.com. Since then, the orange belt has gained an understanding of himself through karate and winning several titles with perfect scores in weapons kata (forms).

"You have other treasures, and that's the beauty of the martial arts world," he said. "We have four other senses, and focusing on the others - auditory and tactile - those are truly treasures."

Shirtless Karateka

When will they ever learn? Denying a man his rightful cigarette ... no wonder he didn't want to be arrested!

And as we all know, any karate stance is dangerous stuff - probably the most deadly martial arts move ever. So when someone is capable of "exhibiting different karate style stances randomly" - shirtless no less - then oh my goodness, here comes the pain again!

Reportedly, this poser in Bremerton, Washington punched both a bystander and a police officer before he was arrested.

Good it wasn't taekwondo stances after all. Nothing can stop that, not even a judo chop.

Winning at 75

Very impressive indeed!

Story:
New jersey -- Tom Sulick Sr.'s has not stopped adding to his collection of martial arts trophies. The 75-year-old man recently added to it in fact, when on February 17 he won first place in forms for competitors 55 and older at a karate tournament.

When he served in Korea, Sulick had brief taekwondo lessons in 1952. His real start however was 1967. The Phillipsburg native became a black belt in 1972.

Sulick co-owned a karate school for several years in Dover, New Jersey, and has been inducted in several martial arts halls of fame.

Improving Motor Skills

When you read this inspirational story - just make sure you pretend you didn't see the "second dan black belt in four years" stupidity.

Apart from that, this is a great read - showing how karate (or most other martial arts for that matter), can greatly improve a childs motor skills.

Story:
For a Vienna Township family, martial arts go much further than entertainment. In fact, the discipline is credited with physical improvements in what had been a very ill child.

Nine-year-old Daniel Griffin dons his black karate uniform and makes his way to karate class several times a week. He begins the day with stretches and exercises before practicing moves associated with his kata in his course of training.

Both his parents remember a time before martial arts practice - a time when they did not expect their only child to survive.

Gymkata anyone?

Wow, I guess I must see this movie! Read this review - it's great :-)

Story:
Gymkata is not a well made movie. It's not a well acted movie, it's not a well written movie, it's not a well directed movie and it's not a well choreographed movie.

What does that make Gymkata? It makes it an awesome movie for all the wrong reasons. There are bad movies that are just plain boring and some that offer a few brief moments of unintentional comedy, but Gymkata is a tour de force of B-movie greatness.

At no point will you not be entertained. What else can you ask for from a movie starring an Olympic gymnast?

The filmmakers obviously designed the entire film around his skills as an actor and martial artist and should be commended for doing as much as they did with so little. It’s pretty depressing to realize the handicapable fighters in The Crippled Masters possessed more fighting acumen in their stubs than Kurt Thomas has in his entire body.

Source

'Street kata'

This class blends elements from tae kwon do, shodokan aikido, capoeira and tai chi with serious dance moves. Imagine "The Karate Kid Goes Break Dancing." Street Kata, according to a class description, is about "understanding movement, which flows into understanding self."

Wow! Really ...
Most of this stuff is plain stupid, perhaps funny at best. Now, I can relate to people making money with martial arts - no problem with that what so ever.

Also, coming up with a 'catchy' name; not knowing that kata is a karate term (that has nothing to do with tae kwon do or aikido); or making up "Grasshopper" phrases like "understanding movement, which flows into understanding self"; I really have nothing but a big smile for all that.

The sad part is all these people that need something new - constantly - not to be bored. Today it is quite OK to be almost anything - even dead - as long as you're not BORING. It's like we have become stuck inside a teenagers 'I'm bored' statement forever.

How do these people intend to become good at anything, when they can't repeat a task over and over? After all that is really boring, you know!

So folks, we have to make martial arts entertaining: No repetitions, always new stuff, just plain fun. Why not put on rubber noses and funny hats while we're at it?

It's showtime!

Fitness and fun

Yes it's both fun and fitness. Also I think it is absolutely brilliant that seniors are doing martial arts. We ought to see more of that!

Story:
South Dakota -- On Friday mornings at the Senior Center, three women punch the air with high blocks, knife-hand moves and the deft movements of karate.

For almost five years, Alice Melin, Bernice Rubach and Jean Kroeger have followed their sensei, or instructor, through the katas, a regimented series of moves.

The three women, who all celebrated their 70th birthdays some time ago, have achieved brown-belt status.

Source

Dicipline, focus, passion

Besides being Verona's rock-solid No. 1 golfer and Badger South all-conference choice this season, Jen Engelke is also a second-degree black belt in karate. Ask her about combining the two sports and she'll tell you it's the best marriage since music and the iPod.

Engelke uses the same discipline, focus and passion to succeed.

"In karate you often deal with focus. That comes in handy in golf because when you hit a bad shot or have a bad hole, you use that focus to put it behind you and keep going," explained Engelke, who has that rare ability as a teen-ager to look adults directly in the eyes when she speaks to them.

"It's the same thing if you're doing a form at a (karate) tournament. If you screw up, you have to keep going and stay focused. You can't stop and start over again."

Source

Beating the odds

It is not an easy task winning a karate world championship - and it is even more difficult when you are confined to a wheelchair.

Dirk van der Merwe, 33, with all the odds stacked against him, won first place in the Kata division at the Tenshinkan World Championships out of 25 able-bodied people from the US, Japan and South Africa.

Tenshinkan is a type of karate style.

Source

Just doing kata?

Maybe this guy was just doing his kata exercises? And yes, he obviously needs some assistance!

Story:
Middletown - A 28-year-old city man was immobilized by police Thursday after he allegedly became violent and assaulted an older man and officers during a wild scuffle at a Liberty Street apartment.

Police Lt. Peggy Liseo said the incident began at 1:50 p.m., Thursday, when Officer August DeFrance noticed Taylor "striking karate poses and talking to inanimate objects" on the sidewalk in front of his apartment.

Liseo said she hopes the man gets the help he apparently needs. "He needs some assistance, and hopefully, he will get some," Liseo said.

Source

What is an Expert Anyway?

Are you an expert at the level of shodan (1. dan, black belt)? Nope. I mean, some schools award the level to kids as young as 7 or 8...

Can an expert be measured by rank at all? In my opinion, no. You can buy a rank, just tag along and get promoted - plus it is hard to tell exactly what the rank includes in many styles and arts.

Are you an expert after one year, five years, twenty years? it all depends upon what you've been doing all the time doesn't it; what have you achieved?

To me a martial arts expert is someone who knows a lot (like in a LOT) or most of the things within a given art. It's not knowing the ins and outs - it's having it ingrained in every fiber of your being. It's not longer about doing, it's about being...

Do you know the history, tradition, philosophy of your art inside and out?
Do you know the technical sides inside and out, all its applications and implications?
Can you teach them to me?
Can you break any given technique down and add your own flavor to it?
Can you watch someone do any given technique in any style, and tell how that relates to your own style?
Do you know the limitations and possibilities within your given art?
Can you tell and show someone how to improve any given method within your art?
Do you know the medical, tactical, strategical, ethical, juridical and spiritual foundations and ramifications of your art?
Can you apply your art as self-defense, or show/explain how and why it is not suited; can you add what is needed to make it suitable?
Can you make a study of how your art relates to fighting, weapons, grappling, locks, chokes, restraints, blocks, deflections, evasions, take downs, throws, self-defense, forms/kata, shows etc?
Can you discuss (and preferably show) how the mechanical principles of push/pull, friction, mass, momentum, torque, balance, movement, flow, distance, timing, angle etc. comes into play in a given method of your art?

If you can, then you probably are a true expert - a true master - of your art. And this humble student would gladly travel the world to meet you!