Piastre

It's not a matter of opinion. That is the meaning of the expression. By definition, people like Hitler are great people. However, a person such as Ted Bundy will be but a minor footnote in history, just as you would be if your contribution to humanity was to slaughter a biology class. Greatness is proportional to magnitude, not merit.

True greatness has nothing to do with being perceived in a POSITIVE light. Adolf Hitler was a great man, yet history will judge him as one of it's greatest monsters. Ditto Osama Bin Laden, Idi Amin etc. etc.. Although it must be remembered that one man's monster is anothers hero. It has to do with achieving, becoming pre-eminent, doing something of importance. Many great men were not even remotely close to being good men. A better question here would have been what personality should a hero have.

So by these definitions, is a person such as Einstein or Mozart a "great man"?

I think here there could be a large variation in the ways people judge greatness. Many people that satisfy the criteria of "greatness" may be devoid of human spirit. They may be characterised by their aloofness. They may be arrogant. They may just be a**holes (Many great people are/were). But the guy down the street who showed you how to ride a bike, or showed you the magic of a certain author may not have ever done a "great" thing in his life. But the legacy he has left you is far more profound than any that a scientist or a politician, no matter how great they may be, could ever leave you.

Cathy Freeman annoys me beyond belief

Prolonged use of most if not all hallugenogenic drugs can cause schizophrenia and other pyschotic reactions by their very nature. The interesting thing is that LSD was originally developed to HELP sufferers of mental illness in the 1930's. The doctor who developed it absorbed some, tripped and the rest is history!

Almost all research has positively linked marijuana use with schizophrenia, and my lovely girlfriend's drug-f***** ex-boyfriend has proved this case in point to me. However different people are effected in different ways by drugs. But does anyone really think that if there were such a thing as "recreational drugs", any government would miss out on the excise taxes that legalising these drugs would raise?

If you enjoy schizophrenia and paranoia, then it's the drug for you.

Agree whole-heartedly Sai. Sometimes we worry too much about what the other person thinks, but at the end of the day, you do what do because you're happy doing it. Tommy2U, don't sacrifice your own enjoyment or fulfillment for the sake of looking good doing kata, but if you want to excel at kata competition, there should be no reason why you can't look at the kata of other styles with a view to performing them.

A shi-to ryu or shi-to ryu based style may be helpful here because of the relatively high number of kata, and the fact that kata of both shuri-te and naha-te styles are included, giving a nice mixture. Seienchin and Seipai always look good in tournament, IF PERFORMED WELL.

btw, well-heeled anonymity would do me just fine

I'm pretty sure you'd need at least $100million to extricate that particular gold digger from her pet fossil!

It is good Sai. It doesn't matter if what you come up with is silly or impractical as it's easily discarded. But it does encourage you to actually analyse the techniques, and not just regurgitate them parrot fashion. The why is as important as the how.

I enjoy the opportunity to come up with an alternate bunkai for kata. One activity we've used is to divide a class into say 4 groups and have each group collectively develope a bunkai for a given kata. Each group then demonstrates what they came up with, and you can be sure that there will be 4 distinctly different bunkai. Just a case in point that bunkai is not rigid.

It would be a good idea if you had plenty of cash to grease the right palms, the IOC being the non-corrupt organisation it is Seriously though, the amount of time it and BS that has to be gone through just to get a sport to demonstration sport level is mind boggling. It's highly unlikely under any circumstances that a sport would be accepted in the few intervening years between now and Beijing. However, I believe that each host nation gets to choose one demonstration sport for automatic entry. Perhaps somebody can confirm that?

I've never been a really big fan of sports karate, and always found points fighting a bit of a game. So imagine my surprise when I found out that some people had the temerity to have different motivations than me for their ongoing martial arts training and actually enjoyed sports karate. What's the big deal? Nobody is going to hold a gun to your head and make you watch. I just hope that karate is presented in a good, positive light, and gains some good publicity.

Ad, you're height isn't an issue. My girlfriend taught me basic gymnastics when I was 26, and I'm taller than you. You also don't have the disadvantage of old, creaky bones! But do be careful. It would be very advantageous if you knew somebody who had some gymastic knowledge, and if you have access to mats.

The people that I do surround myself with are the very people whose opinions I value. It's a small, but select group.

There are very few people whose opinion I value, at least regarding my life or the things contained within. I do agree with Sai however, that the approval that we most seek is from those that are most important to us.

I don't think anybody really knows, nor do I think it is really possible to find out with any degree of accuracy. I've seen reports where tkd claims the throne with x million registered practitioners, and then another report where karate claims twice that amount. But I'm sure there are millions of unregistered martial artists of all styles. There are over a billion Chinese for example, and I'm sure that not ever Chinese martial artist is registered with an organisation! Whoever claims the throne is using it for some free and easy advertising, nothing more, just as tkd-McGee said. [ This Message was edited by: piastre on 2002-01-31 14:01 ]

I used to be a big Mike Tyson fan. It has become harder and harder to make excuses for his increasingly bizarre and self-destructive behaviour. At least when Cus D'Amato was alive, he kept him under control to a large degree, and his destructiveness was kept to the ring. For more than a decade his words and actions have just illustrated how unhinged he has become.

It will be interesting to see if it goes ahead. The richest fight in history, and one of the most high profile in many, many years. But in boxings own inimitable style, it is descending into a farce. Big surprise. [ This Message was edited by: Piastre on 2002-01-30 18:52 ]

The physical aspect of martial arts is obvious. However that is only one manisfestation of martial arts. Some people devote their lives to the martial arts. People can live it and breathe it. Would anyone say that they are merely going through the physical motions? A student who rocks up to training once a week, doesn't really care about their training, uses it as a social club or whatever, can still go through all the same motions as a truly dedicated martial artist. But who out of the above considers what they do an "art" and who is doing a physical activity?

I did kung-fu for about 3 years before I moved to karate where I started from scratch as a white belt. It didn't bother me at all. Having a martial arts background allowed me to pick up the techniques significantly more quickly than the people I started with who had never studied. In the long run, it makes no difference.