KarateKen

On Christmas Day I slipped on some ice, fell down a couple stairs, and landed hard on some cement. Thankfully I did not hit my head though I did break a rib and damage some back muscles. I am not sure if I used it or not, but the training I have had in class about how to fall correctly might have saved me from a head injury. It all happened fast, and my feet went right out from under me. It was definitely painful, but it could have been so much worse. I don't expect any long-term problems but if I had hit my head, it could have happened for sure. So learning to fall has maybe been the closest thing to a lifesaving technique I have used from my training.

The reason I don't think Belichick will go to Dallas is because he would want more control than Jerry Jones will give. Jones would have to get out of the way and let Bill do things his way. Bill didn't win 6 Super Bowls and over 300 games to have Jerry Jones tell him how to do his job. If the Cowboys can get Bill they should take it, just seems like a tough pairing with those egos involved. Bill has already done an interview with the Atlanta Falcons, one of the frontrunners as a landing spot. The other option kicked around has been Washington. I'd like to see him with the Raiders but the Davis family likes to hire offensive coaches, so Vegas seems like a long shot. Here is the schedule for the divisional round (all times Pacific): Saturday: Texans at Ravens 1:30pm on ESPN/ABC Packers at 49ers: 5pm on FOX Sunday: Bucs at Lions 12pm on NBC Chiefs at Bills 330pm on CBS

For the first time in 32 years the Detroit Lions have won a playoff game. GO LIONS!!

Looks like we might see some crazy weather this weekend. The game in KC is expected to have wind chills of -20 degrees. If that happens, we will see how Miami reacts playing in that climate. Also there could be a snowstorm during the Steelers Bills game on Sunday with high winds included. As of Friday afternoon, the league has no intention of moving the game to a different day or location. Personally I love snow and bad weather games, we don't see it as much as we used to, so while I have no rotting interest in either game I might tune in just to see what the teams do in terrible weather.

Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard will be out at least six weeks with a broken jaw. Too bad for the league because the first overall pick is a human highlight film of hockey. Winnipeg is still tearing up the league, they are on an eight-game win streak, a franchise record, and hold the best record in the NHL. You could argue that the two best teams in the league right now are both from Canada, Winnipeg and Vancouver. The struggling Vegas Golden Knights win in OT against Boston yesterday, a nice win for a team that is still a top contender but has lost seven of their last ten. This five-game home stand for Vegas might be what gets them back on track, though they have some tough teams coming in. The Oilers have been red hot since the coaching change and are making a push. Seattle is also making a push after a slow start. San Jose has won their 10th game after losing 11 or 12 in a row, that marks the second time this season that the Sharks had a double didget losing streak. Fleury has now started over 1,000 games, only the 4th goaltender in history to do that at the NHL level. Last week he tied Patrick Roy for second place on the all time career wins list. Minnesota has been awful but I am happy for Fleury, one of my favorite players. Boston and the NY Rangers are still on top out east but Carolina is starting to look better, the big question with them come playoffs will be goaltending. Flyers head coach John Tortorella ripped into a reporter at the press conference the other day because Tortorella accused the reporter of lying about one of his players and writing stories that were not true, dismissing the idea that the anonymous sources should be considered credible. Tortorella has a long history of feuding with the media, making coaches like Billl Belichick or Greg Popovich seem friendly. See ya on the ice!

Interesting take by Alan Watts about death. Lately I have been thinking about how the future of humanity feels bleak. I met someone earlier this year who said "the world is going to (cuss word) so if my time to die is tomorrow, then I am OK with it." This kind of works for me when thinking about death and how there are so many things I imagine I won't have to put up with anymore that I find frustrating, scary, hurtful, ect. I don't want to die tomorrow, and this person I met was dealing with depression, but it made sense to me that someone would feel that way. Whether I die tomorrow or live another 50 years, I hope that when it does happen it is not painful, and that I end up in a better place.

Thanks.

Well done.

Hi, thanks for coming back.

I agree that BJJ and MMA are replacing a lot of traditional styles in commercial success. However, I am not aware of Karate fading away, I guess I thought Karate is probably the most recognized name in the history of martial arts and that it would draw an audience.

Hmmmm.... Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee would have to be on mine for sure, those two are no brainers. Otherwise, I'd have to think about the other two.

What a week it was. Jacksonville fell out of the playoffs, Pittsburg made it in, and the Dolphins end up the 6 seed and play the Chiefs in Arrowhead. That's going to be a tough one, I think. Hopefully, the cold weather will be to KC's advantage. That AFC East truly went down to the wire. The NFL had to like having what basically amounted to a couple of Division Championship games last Sunday, between the Bills and Dolphins, and the Texans and Colts. It's crazy to think that if the Dolphins would have won, they would have had Buffalo coming back to town the very next week. Jax absolutely laid an egg. This was an 8-3 team and in the running for the top seed, then lost five of six to end the season. All they had to do was win against a lousy Titans team and they would be back in the playoffs. They lost. Then the next day the Titans fired their head coach anyway.

If the Lions win on Sunday against the Rams it will be only their second playoff win in the Super Bowl era, and their first since January of 1992. Bill Belichick and the Patriots have officially parted ways. This was expected after the poor season the Patriots had, the writing was on the wall back in October. I'm guessing Bill will get some offers and will coach somewhere next year. Frontrunners appear to be the Chargers and Falcons.

Excellent! Keep us posted on your training.

How was the experience of being at the game?

Well the Lions got screwed by the refs against the Cowboys, but I am not bitter! After decades of dissapo......eh.......I have almost grown numb to it. It is to be expected. That ending was a bunch of......... Alright. Final weekend of the regular season is here, let's see how the games go, we know Baltimore and San Fran have the top seed, the rest is being sorted out this weekend.

This is what is so scary about real fights, and a big reason why I hope to never be in another as long as I live. You just don't know the intent of the assailant. Because of this, you have to assume the worst. My original sensei would always tell us that in this situations, be ready to kill someone because they could be ready to kill you. Now, he also taught constraint, and how to incapacitate rather than kill, but the message was always there. If it's them or me, I'm going to choose me. That is kind of how I look at it. Every street fight is a potential life or death situation for the fighter. Even if the attacker is not intending to kill there have been times where a person died in a street fight from hitting their head after being knocked down. You also don't know if someone is hiding in the bushes and will jump out and attack you from behind.

Don't look now (or do look, idc) but it is January 6 and the Winnipeg Jets have the best record in the NHL.

Have a happy new year.

It's not a bad idea for a gag gift but this was not even that, it was intended to be legit. I'd say at least 80 percent of the gifts I have gotten were either bad or I just did not have any use for. I'm not a big consumer and don't even really want anything, it has been that way for years, so a lot of the stuff either gets returned, regifted (that's right I said it) or donated (this is especially true for clothing and books.)

Same to you, thanks.

Even though someone might have good intentions, there are times when a Christmas gift is either lazy, bad, or even offensive. We have all had these, I assume, and I think it is funny to hear about it. If you have any experiences as a child or adult receiving rotten or bizarre gifts, please share. When I was 21 and back home from college a family friend gave me a wind-up toy penguin as a gift. Years later the same guy gave our family a framed photo of himself. When I was about 10 my dad's bother gave me a used gym bag and when we opened the bag we saw it had mold in it. Another year he gave me a book, not remembering that he gave me the exact same book a year earlier. From another relative once I got a check that bounced. I could keep going but I want to hear yours.

I'm a Lions fan. They are having their best season in decades (they have not had a record this good this late since 1991) but I still find they are too inconsistent. I like coach Cambell's aggressive approach but sometimes it gets too aggressive, like the fake punt against the Packers on Thanksgiving. It's great when it works but it is a mess when it doesn't. I do think they hang on and win the division. If they do it will be the first time since 1993. Thirty years without a division title has to be the longest current streak in the NFL, though I have not done the research. This is a franchise that has one total playoff win in the entire Super Bowl era (1991 season) and has not won a road playoff game since they won the NFL Championship in 1957! The worm has turned for the Lions but they might be one more year away from making a deep playoff run.

Yes, I first started TKD in the 1980s because of the karate kid movie. I only took it for a year, but I really liked it. I was later inspired by the Steven Seagall and Jean Claude Van Damme movies (and are still inspired by them, even though the type of karate I do now is much different than their movies). Interesting. I was inspired by the Karate Kid series as well as some Van Damme movies. Though I had been training for a year or two before I ever saw any of those films watching them did inspire me to push myself and put in more training.

I will have to think about it, I don't really consider New Year goal until Jan 1, so rain check on this one!