Fear vs Fear

I thought this was a pretty interesting blog post. (Hat-tip to Greg Restall.)

Comparing Kata: The Seisan/Hangetsu Family

Ryuei-ryu Seisan

Goju-ryu Seisan

Uechi-ryu Seisan

Shito-ryu Seisan

Shotokan Hangetsu

Wado-ryu Seisan

Seibukan Seisan

Isshin-ryu Seisan

Kyudokan Shorin-ryu

Useful Link: Bureau of Justice Statistics

Bureau of Justice Statistics
Click Here.

Costa Rica Dispatch

I´m travelling down in Costa Rica “on business” and am having one hell of a goodtime. While I´m near civilization, I thought I´d share a few pictures of a very special person and a very special placewith our readers:

This is Timoteo, a leader and defender of the BriBri indigenous people of Talamanca. Timoteo is eager to share his dwindling culture with anyone whio will come to visit- and if you ever get the chance, take it. You will come away changed for the better.

Timoteo took us to a catarata, a waterfall, that his people hold as sacred and purifying to those who bathe in it.

Here we are together:

And of course, big waterfalls mean Sanchin. With his blessings, I shared our tradition with his:

If you are interested in this fascinating culture and this exemplary ambassador, please email me and I will share further information with you. Buay Buay!

Chariots of Tire

Here is our newest toy:

Chariots of Tire View 1

Chariot of Tire: View 2

It is just an old tire, two twelve foot lengths of rope, some duct tape, and two 5 inch lengths of radiator hose (for the handles).
To make one follow these steps and look at the pictures.
1) Tie one end of each rope to the tire.
2) Thread the rope through the hoses at the other end.
3) Tie off the rope to make loops for handles (make sure the hoses are in the loops).
4) Duct tape your knots so the ropes stay secure.

It is easy to use just pull it after you while running. Try running both forward and backward with it. For an extra challenge have someone sit in the tire (ride in the “chariot”).

The real challenge is figuring out how you will explain it to your neighbors.

Here it is in use:

Chariot of Tire: Chris, Dave, and Bill

Chariot of Tire: Bill and Chris

Chariot of Tire: Chris and Dave

Chariot of Tire: Chris and Bill

School Ties

It has been my (merely anecdotal) experience that people who have been exposed to habitual violence are often very reluctant to wear a certain sartorial item: the tie.

Now I suppose the best explanation for this might be that the kind of people who are exposed to habitual violence most often are the kind of people who would be reluctant to wear ties anyway, but in talking to people about this I’ve often had the impression that their main concern was defensive; they were less concerned about wearing clip-on “ties” for example. So I thought this article about schools in the UK switching to clip-ons was interesting.

Full personal disclosure: I had to wear a tie at school and I have the evidence to prove it (although apparently I hadn’t got the hang of the Windsor knot yet – mine is the straggly one on the far right in the second row from the top.)

Linked Article: The Effectiveness of Tai Chi on Improving Balance in Older Adults: An Evidence Based Review”

The Effectiveness of Tai Chi on Improving Balance in Older Adults: An Evidence Based Review.
Published in the Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy by Sachiko Komagata PT, and Roberta Newton PT, PhD.

Click here to read.

Linked Article” Principles of Warm Ups”

Gerald Lefon has a very concise and well considered article on warm ups posted on the Judo America site.

Here is an excerpt:

It is generally accepted that prior to any type of athletic performance a warm up period precede the actual training phase. As with much of what occurs in Judo training, the warm up has all too often become a ritual performed without any clear purpose or goal. Traditionally, warm ups have been viewed primarily as a method to prevent injuries or lessen their severity. While this article will not cover flexibility training or debate whether warm ups prevent injuries- research by sports scientists can’t empirically validate this claim nor do they refute it- it will address issues pertaining to the purposes, goals and training parameters of warm ups.

Purpose of warm ups
Leaving aside the issue of whether warm ups are preventive medicine or not, one of the main purposes of this period is to physiologically prepare the body for the strenuous workout that follows by making it more efficient. In many ways the human body operates like a car. High and efficient performance can’t be expected from a car with a cold engine any more than from a cold body. Research in automotive fuel efficiency indicates that cars will operate at their most economical level after about fifteen minutes of warming up the engine. While there are no standard time frames for humans, efficient performance also is contingent upon adequate warm up.

Note: Many authors state that an athlete is properly warmed up after he breaks into a light sweat. It should also be noted that flexibility training, a separate but closely related training unit, should not take place until after the core temperature of the muscles has been raised at least one degree. Contrary to popular belief, flexibility training doesn’t precede the warm up period but rather follows it!

A second purpose of warm ups piggy backs the need to physiologically prepare the body. The warm up period presents the coach with an opportunity to teach participants basic psychomotor skills and kinesthetic awareness so necessary in the performance of Judo and yet undeniably ignored in many clubs. It’s a two for one deal that prepares the body for the strenuous workout while it develops and expands the inventory of athletic skills. Finally, a third purpose for warm ups is to add variety and fun to the Judo class which under traditional leanings can be quite repetitive and boring to participants.

Read the rest here.

Links for Skeptics

• Anti-oxidants nullify some benefits of exercise?
• Crank, crank, crank. (Careful what you say about this one, the British Chiropractic Association is getting litigious over Singh’s use of the word “bogus” and one of the weirder aspects of the case: the point of contention doesn’t appear to be over whether the BCA is making false claims, but over whether they’re making false claims deliberately. If I were their press officer, I’m not sure I would have advised them to get into this one.)
• Michael Pollan: In Defence of Food This is a great book, but if you have any faith left in the claims of nutritional science, it’ll tear it to shreds. Really, if you had any trust left at all it’ll make you sad. (“Wait! All that milk/bran/low-fat X, for nothing?!) But you should read it anyway.

I’ll try to post something less nihilistic soon…

Thoughts After Reading Lieutenant Colonel Dave Grossman’s Book “On Killing”

On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society

Published 1995, 1996 in Canada by Little Brown and Company

isbn 0316330000-Hard cover

isbn 0316330116-Paperback

There are plenty of reasons to read Grossman’s book “On Killing”; there are historical lessons to be gleaned, there are matters of strategy to be considered, there are lessons for society regarding the importance of honoring the service of members of its military, there are the lessons regarding drilling and conditioning, Grossman’s discussion of PTSD is very insightful, the list could go on and on. This is an incredibly rich book that not only offers the reader profound insight into the psychology and history of killing in combat, and of preparing men to kill in combat; it also examines and reveals the deep humanity at the heart of professional soldiers.

Sometimes I find the referencing of military science and literature by practitioners of the gendai budo a little off-putting; sort of “Vanilla Ice wanna be” like. I probably run the risk of putting myself in this category with this article.

Reading this book I was struck by three areas of potential relevance to the karate or martial arts practitioner: