Blog Feed: Diary of a Martial Artist

This article about a Florida man who shot a teenager, claiming self defence, highlights Florida's seven-year-old self-defence law, nicknamed the "shoot first" law. It's worth reading this article and reflecting on how you feel about self defence and what you think might constitute it. Not only from a legal point of view but a moral one also. How would you have acted in this situation? At one point when > read more

Afghan female boxer at Olympics 2012

Published on 2012-03-09 03:36:00

Whatever happens at the Olympics, I think Afghan female boxer Sadaf Rahimi's already a winner… The BBC site says, "Under Taliban rule, women in Afghanistan were forbidden from participating in any sports." Here's a BBC video about Rahimi's fight to the top And another by Al Jazeera: > read more

Freaky martial arts EU video withdrawn

Published on 2012-03-06 14:33:00

Well they said it was withdrawn because it was deemed racist, but I say it just looks plain freaky! Check out the banned video here: Interestingly it features a Bruce Lee yellow leotard clad lady passively resisting a practitioner of a Chinese chuan fa, a Brazilian capoerist and a kalaripayattu master. (ref. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17276838) Don't know what kalaripayattu is? Check out…. And if you're not at all au fait with Indian martial arts you should also check out [..] > read more

Be the best you can be in your world

Published on 2012-02-06 02:34:00

Towards the end of a short video I saw on the BBC site entitled The art of boxing, I was struck by this quote by the boxer and artist Thaddine Swift Eagle Johnson. An inspiring short video, it looks at her life as a champion boxer and the challenges she faces but also touches on her philosophy and how to look at things when life seems bleak. She says, "Be the best you can be in your world, or…someone else's world. Be that champion in someone else's world. Smile to someone on the street. You d [..] > read more

Kung fu piano playing

Published on 2012-01-30 09:58:00

Not as weird as it sounds. This pianist has developed an idea of continuous music and which necessitates long periods of piano playing sometimes culminating in 19 notes a second being played. Lubomyr Melnyk says that this requires a martial arts mindset: in order to achieve this speed one needs to turn one's body "into water". "The technique is based on a martial arts, kung fu use of the body and the energy" http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16794606 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lu [..] > read more

The Grand Master says, "she works hard, she can do it": Memoir of a female Kuk Sool Won master

Published on 2012-01-05 02:36:00

BBC News - Iron Butterfly: Memoir of a female Kuk Sool Won master Nice little film from the BBC about a young female martial artist who follows her dream. http://bbc.in/yuFmrc "As a young girl growing up in 1950s South Korea, Choon Ok Harmon faced a dismal future as the youngest of seven brothers and sisters living off money their mother earned free-diving for shellfish in the ocean." Also an interview by the publisher of the book and (ghost) writer: > read more

Meditating our way into 2012

Published on 2012-01-03 04:59:00

What with the last few months being somewhat turbulent I need to stay focused on task when I'm busy, but when I have down time it's important for me to dis-connect from those issues. Meditation is a good way but for me it is hard to stop that buzzing in my brain (and I don't mean this lovely Belgian coffee)! Possibly here…. http://www.diamondway-buddhism.org/default.asp?col=05&t=centerlist.htm&CenterID=287 > read more

New Year's Resolution for us all maybe?

Published on 2011-12-31 12:20:00

A diet rich in vitamins and fish may protect the brain from ageing while junk food has the opposite effect, research suggests. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16344228 > read more

Martial arts movie references in The Matrix

Published on 2011-10-10 16:27:00

Everything is a remix…check out robgwilson's take on the Matrix film's many martial arts references. Cool and informative video. Everything Is A Remix: THE MATRIX from robgwilson.com on Vimeo. @openculture, @ChristofZuern > read more

Shinto: Japanese belief system

Published on 2011-09-23 08:01:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b014qnld "Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Japanese belief system Shinto." Mentioned in the discussion: Kami http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kami Keyhole tombs, Japan (Kofun) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kofun > read more

Frederick The Great's Uniform

Published on 2011-09-10 13:16:00

Photograph, courtesy of Constanze Schweda http://www.constanzeschweda.com Frederick the Great His uniform was a simple officer's suit, without trim or accoutrements to show, as a true philosopher, "that outward appearance means nothing". Which made me think of a karate uniform and why we pull one on and why it's appearance is simple. Is it to remind us, like Frederick's uniform, that outward appearance is not important? Everyone should be treated equally so there is no place for fi [..] > read more

Ninja patrols streets of Yeovil

Published on 2011-08-28 07:44:00

A warrior for just causes, or a vigilante? … or a nutjob? I appreciate his sentiment that if he sees someone getting beaten up he won't just walk by but is it right for him to use his 'powers' to go and look for trouble? What do you think? > read more

Dances, War and kata

Published on 2011-08-21 04:48:00

Again my interest is piqued by something I read linking the ideas of dance to martial movement. This time the sources is not from the far East but Europe: the ancient Greek war dance. I'm reading a fascinating and comprehensive account of sword fencing throughout history (By The Sword (Gladiators, Musketeers, Samurai Warriors and Olympians) by Richard Cohen, Macmillan, London 2002) which in it's preamble of early sword fighting history touches on the ancient Greeks. The Greek infantry or Hoplite [..] > read more

Published on 2011-05-18 04:05:00

After a week or so I can now take stock of the grading and think about what went well and what didn't and how the preparation helped...or not?My main concern leading up to the day was memory recall of the techniques. I've grained long enough to know > read more

Grading Day

Published on 2011-05-16 16:17:00

Black belt grading came and went (it was the 7th May 2011) and I was lucky enough to meet and take the exam with a very capable kenshi. All went well apart from a few brain jams plus putting locks and wrist restraints on sweaty people on a hot day te > read more

Richard Holmes, military historian and top toff, dies

Published on 2011-05-02 15:36:00

Richard Holmes made military history very presentable without losing any gravitas or intelligent discussion. Modern military presenters like Dan Snow tend to sensationalise and recount the 'fluff' at the top of the story without going deep. Not Richa > read more

Final revision

Published on 2011-05-02 15:19:00

Well, as the saying goes, if I don't know it now I never will. With only five more days til grading and one more official training session I can only revise my 83 techniques, 9 katas, 6 philosophy subjects as well as general ukemi, different stances > read more

Martial Arts for mid-air combat

Published on 2011-04-21 05:35:00

This is doing the tour of Facebook (thanks NJ) at the moment: Wing Chun in action..."Hong Kong Airlines is training its cabin crew to use wing chun on unruly passengers"http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/apr/20/martial-arts-hong-kong-airlines# > read more

Ko map sum ni da

Published on 2011-04-04 06:28:00

I found this snippet recently and found it interesting, as I thought that one was a different way of saying the other! Kamsahamnida = formal, used when you are talking to anyone who is older or more educated or in a higher social statues than you. A > read more

Boxing legend Angelo Dundee

Published on 2011-03-30 12:03:00

Video of Angelo Dundee here:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/world_news_america/9406099.stmDundee cornered for the champions such as Muhammad Ali...!"That's the key. If you have fun at what you do you're gonna excel at it." > read more

Japan Day Shorinji Kempo demo at the Kaetsu Centre, Cambridge 2

Published on 2011-03-27 04:52:00

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Japan Day Shorinji Kempo demo at the Kaetsu Centre, Cambridge

Published on 2011-03-27 04:38:00

Expertly filmed in three parts...total running time for the Shorinji Kempo demo, about 20 mins. Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy! > read more

Shorinji Kempo demonstration at Japan Day, Kaetsu Centre, 5th March

Published on 2011-03-03 06:33:00

Come and see the Shorinji Kempo demonstration at Japan Day, Kaetsu Centre, 5th March.Our demo is on at 3:00 but the day starts at 12:00 and there are plenty of great activities and other martial arts demos to look forward to! Check out the official p > read more

Amazing animation and swordfight

Published on 2011-02-28 06:13:00

Check out the animation and dance choreography: very interesting show.Shadow swordfight presentation brought to you by Funny Tube > read more

Changing lives with Cricket.

Published on 2011-02-10 10:33:00

Martial arts are often seen as sports for hard people who like to fight. Or sporty people who want to express themselves physically. But there is another side to martial arts and that is the intriguing philosophy underpinning the external manifestati > read more

Black belt training

Published on 2011-01-24 04:47:00

This post is in response to Sue's questino about my preparation for Shorinoji Kempo shodan grading. Check out her full blog 'Countdown to Shodan', here.I wanted to outline my approach to my impending dan grade exam. The way I'm looking at it I need t > read more

Sports injury: Supraspinatus tendonitis

Published on 2011-01-20 02:57:00

I've been out of training this week because of my shoulder pain. I eventually went to the doctor to check what I could do to self treat it and she explained I probably have Supraspinatus tendonitis: an inflammation of the supraspinatus tendon. Tendo > read more

First post Christmas training session

Published on 2011-01-06 17:13:00

Tonight was the first training slot after the Christmas break and I have to admit that during the holidays I took every occasion to eat well. Such was my consumption though that when I actually got down to exercising this evening I sweated chocolate > read more

Weapons as training aids

Published on 2011-01-02 17:31:00

This short video clip shows TO and MH using weapons to see how classical techniques feel when 'extended'. I found this particularly useful in training as it made us work harder at the technique but also gave back some insight into the inner workings > read more

George Kerr, British judoka, receives CBE

Published on 2010-12-31 03:27:00

George Kerr, top judoka and president of the British Judo Association, has been recognised in the Queen's New Year Honours list. The 73-year-old was given a CBE for his services to judo, coming soon after being awarded the Order of the Rising Sun by > read more

Winter run

Published on 2010-12-24 10:45:00

YouTube Video > read more

Happy holidays!

Published on 2010-12-24 10:36:00

The Shorinji Kempo closing ceremony went well and sake was drunk. A time for reflection on this year's achievements and the goals for the coming year. > read more

Science of Kensetsuwaza – Joint Locks

Published on 2010-12-05 04:27:00

Science of Kensetsuwaza – Joint LocksKnow your joints: don't panic, don't crank it on. Increase your knowledge.Nice post. > read more

Mind power: keeping clarity when others are trying to spoil your game

Published on 2010-12-04 07:51:00

"The essence of good cricket is having a clear mind, so the strategy for the fielding side is to get the batsman thinking about other stuff - whether it's the runs he has or hasn't scored in the past, what his feet might be doing, what his head posit > read more

The perfect Christmas gift for martial artists everywhere

Published on 2010-12-03 03:11:00

But what sort of kick is that Chuck Norris!? > read more

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Blog Feed: Diary of a Martial Artist

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