Down Syndrome, MMA Fighter

Here's 23-year-old Garrett. He's an MMA fighter who also happens to have Down Syndrome. His parents have apparently taken quite a lot of flack for letting their son fight in mixed martial arts against someone without a disability.

Although these concerns are understandable, I'd argue that there is no easy way to hold a real fighter down when he wants to fight. And Garrett here undoubtedly is just that: a real fighter.

And as this great, inspirational video says: "What do we see in a reflection?" Are we looking at an individual with a disability, or someone with possibilities? If Garrett doesn't label himself, why should we?

Make sure you visit Garrett's fight to read more about a young man who is a role model for other people with disabilities, and who also have begun teaching MMA.

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!

Kenyaction Karate

Here's a bit of Kenyaction karate ... of karate action from Kenya if you will (bad pun, I know, I'm a terrible person :)

Anyhow, I have no idea if this movie is serious, or just pokes fun of it all...

The Karate Guard

No, it's probably not the kind of karate guard you're thinking about - it's an excellent cartoon by none other than Tom and Jerry, a classic.

I've never seen this one before, and these guys always make me laugh - good stuff! Those two knows how to throw a good fight, that's for sure!

Ninja, From Scottland

Enjoy this new cartoon about the "Scottish Ninjas". These fellows are absolutely not apposed to a bit of something strong to drink ... and a few chosen swear words.

Along with lots of fighting, anger, quarrels and general mayhem - I'd say this is bound to be a success :-)

Confuse-Us Speaks #27

A yes... our very own old Grandmaster of martial arts weirdness, Confuse-Us, is back with another edition of stage diving into the mixed-up world of martial arts lunacy!

Confucius - Illustration image from fotopedia.com/Google

This time he's found a piece from timesofindia.indiatimes.com, where you will find some (let's called them) "rather interesting" bits and pieces of information.

According to Devadanam, Aikido or mixed martial arts is the best form of self-defence and is generally taught to commandos of special forces.
Sailesh Varma of Association of Mixed Martial Arts India said, "Aikido is an effective self-defence technique that focuses on dislocation of joints and nerve points. On mixed martial arts, Varma said that it was a combination of several martial arts such as Judo, Aikido, Muay Thai and Karate.

Okidoki - It really is good finally to be informed about aikido! Being obviously uninformed, I thought (silly me) that aikido was something totally different. I guess it just goes to prove how little I actually know...

And that aikido is being a part of MMA ... wow, who would have known! These sneaky folks are good to keeping that a secret for so long. Most be some ninja activities for sure.

Or could it simply be that the good folks - here a martial arts instructor - of India knows something which has simply passed the rest of the world by?

Training Martial Arts With Disabilities

Martial arts belt - From Flickr.com

It appears that training martial arts with disabilities is another subject which may bring about discussions of pros and cons.

The debate goes primarily on what the best suited martial arts style for someone with a disability might be.

Also, it is also being discussed whether or not it is fine to grade some martial arts students with special needs and disabilities. After all, it is not uncommon that these students can not perform the things that able bodied, "regular" students can.

You can go here read more about the topic of the best martial arts for students with disabilities. It would also be great if you would take the time to leave a comment on your view on this topic.

My view is basically this: Martial arts training can great for anyone - no matter what their starting point may be. It is, to me, more about how the school and teacher is able adapt to the students needs, and also about the personal preferences that we all have - one way or the other.

A Ninja Ass-ass-in

They really don't come any deadlier, or scarier, than this - a real ninjass poster boy of lethal awesomeness. Sure hope you haven't seen him!

Krotty Shoes

And here's a "krotty shoes" video ad from Diesel. Some folks say it's funny...

If You're Looking for Gobble

"If you're looking for gooble - you came to the right place!" Seems the Turkeys are well prepared to fight back this festive season :-)

And of course: This is Turkey-do style karate, just in case you wonder.

The Karateka Video Game

If your old enough and your into playing martial arts related video games, you may remember the  Karateka video game. This mid 80's "karate" game is now more or less a classic.

The game is now being re-released, and here's a funny trailer making a couple of references to the old version.

Ninja Stealth Cake

Love cake? Love to appear all healthy and stuff? In that case, it's about time to get a little sneaky... It's time for some ninja bakery :-)

One Deadly Little Kung Fu-Ka!

This toddler is one deadly little kung fu-ka! Brilliantly made, and a real fun video: The Dragon Baby; enjoy!

We definitely need more kids with serious martial arts skills like this - no more crappy 'krotty' :-)

The Taekwondo Face-Block

Here's a video of the (oddly enough) ever-so-popular taekwondo face-block.

No one quite uses the head and face to block an attack like these guys... Great kicking though, I'll definitely give him that much.

Poking Fun at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

The Simpsons is a brilliant TV-show. Here's Homer being challenged to face his doom with Brazilian  jiu-jitsu.

Just to be clear, in case there are any haters out there - I love BJJ and grappling (as well as The Simpsons). In fact I train BJJ myself.

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.

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.

How to Choose a Martial Art

Here's Eddie Izzard's comedy take on how to choose a martial art. Brilliant observations :-)

Talent for Martial Arts

Talent or perseverance - From Flickr.com

You may or may not have what we may think of as talent for martial arts.

Similarly you may (or may not) believe yourself that you have the talent it takes to be good at it.

Without a doubt, some people takes faster to certain activities, and they seems to be able to do things without much of an effort.

Do these "naturally talented" people tend to stick with their martial arts training for any length of time? Sadly no. Almost without fail, they tend to get bored and quit before they get really good.

The ones that actually do become very good are the ones that stick to the training - the ones that have the perseverance and who show up again and again, class after class.

In other words: Talent is not nearly as important as perseverance, "just doing it".

We discuss the talent factor in this blog post. Remember to watch the video at the end!

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?