pressureguy

Don Frye won the UFC in Feb of 96 and again in Dec of 96 years back and he was a boxer/wrestler. He dominated the matches he won, but I don't think that boxing and wrestlinge unique enough to garner attention to the western martial arts in the way that we want. Also, Mark Coleman won a few times and he was a strict wrestler. pressureguy

http://kick-team.home.att.net/ Click there for and then click on "Videos" for 31 free kata/form & demonstration downloads. pressureguy

I am fascinated by the non-oriental martial arts, but realize that people can't know what is not readily available. Really, who can drive 300 miles one way to take a class in a rare style? To add to this thread, here are a few non-oriental (or close to it) styles that some here may never have heard of: Tahtib - Egyption martial art Capoeira - popular African/Brazilian style that many have heard of by now Juego del palo - Stick Fencing of the Canary Islands Lua Hãlau O Kaihewalu - Hawaiian martial art Shileigh Bata - Irish stick fighting style Glima - style of wrestling in Iceland Sambo - Russian style with some jiujitsu roots English quarterstaff - style based on that English weapon Also, there are some styles popping up now based on American Native American weapons and hand to hand techniques, but those have only recently been put into defined systems, but are nonetheless very real styles now. I highly recommend checking out this site/group which deals esclusively with these styles: http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/western-arts/ pressureguy

I have never heard of Bartitsu until yesterday and am fascinated by non- typical martial arts. Here is a piece of an article about it: ===================== Bartitsu From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Bartitsu stick fightingBartitsu is an eclectic martial art developed in England during the late 1890s and early 1900s. In 1898, Edward William Barton-Wright, a British railway engineer who had been living and working in Japan, returned to England and announced the formation of a "New Art of Self Defence". This art, he claimed, combined the best elements of a range of fighting styles into a unified whole, which he had named Bartitsu. As detailed in a series of articles Barton-Wright produced for Pearson's Magazine between 1899 and 1904, Bartitsu was largely drawn from various ko-ryu ("old school") forms of Jiujitsu, with the addition of tactics and combat techniques from British boxing and wrestling, French Savate, and a combat stick fighting style that had been developed by Professeur Pierre Vigny of Switzerland. In 1902, Barton-Wright wrote: "Under Bartitsu is included boxing, or the use of the fist as a hitting medium, the use of the feet both in an offensive and defensive sense, the use of the walking stick as a means of self- defence. Judo and jujitsu, which were secret styles of Japanese wrestling, he would call close play as applied to self-defence. In order to ensure as far as it was possible immunity against injury in cowardly attacks or quarrels, they must understand boxing in order to thoroughly appreciate the danger and rapidity of a well-directed blow, and the particular parts of the body which were scientifically attacked. The same, of course, applied to the use of the foot or the stick. Judo and jujitsu were not designed as primary means of attack and defence against a boxer or a man who kicks you, but were only to be used after coming to close quarters, and in order to get to close quarters it was absolutely necessary to understand boxing and the use of the foot." (Barton-Wright, 1902: 261) (end of cut and paste) ==================================== This is fascinating. I wonder what could have been because it wasn't until the 1960's that Bruce Lee got credit and some respect for mixing fighting styles into a system of its own. Edward William Barton-Wright did his version of an ecclectic martial art in 1898, a time where martial arts were as foreign as visitors from outer space would be to us. If things would have gone a little different, the martial arts might have been introduced to western society as something that "non-orientals" could do as well over 60 years sooner than they did (give or take 10 years). He did seem to get some notoriety as his style was mentioned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the Cherlock Holmes' novel "The Adventure of the Empty House" (1903). I wonder what things would be like in the martial arts world had he become as popular as Bruce Lee. By the way, I would highly recommend reading the rest of the article at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartitsu There are several links at the bottom of that page that will give you more info in addition to a longer version of the story I listed in the previous post. pressureguy

2nd Degree Black in Kindai No Karate 1st Degree in Zenshotokai Karate

I actually ran a school for over a year outdoors in a local park. The park has a covered picnic area approximately 40 feet by 40 feet. It has only one wall in the back and the other three sides are open air. When the weather was really nice, we would move to one of the three baseball fields or one of the four tennis courts. One thing that was nice was the park was never busy in the mornings, that way we weren't "advertising." We were just there to have fun. I have built a very slowly growing association for people who train and teach outdoors and in places like garages, parks, and backyards. Check it out if you get a chance. pressureguy http://www.backyardmartialarts.org

I have kept one since my first day of martial arts back in 1991. Now it has moved from a notebook to two full 3 ring binders full of notes and diagrams that I have kept. The only tricky part is figuring out a short hand method of writing down techniques so that you understand what you are reading. I did a pretty good job of that, as I can see and understand techniques that I learned over 12 years ago. pressureguy

http://www.budokaratehouse.com I don't know anything about them, but that above link is a 3 year live in program in Japan. They advertise in Black Belt magazine every month. The ad basically says: 3 year live in program, all expenses paid by the program, dormitory rules are very strict, daily training is madatory, no contract, no obligation, no catch. The address is listed in the ad, but just go to the website for more. When you get info on that, or any other place, keep us posted. I am curious in what you find out. pressureguy

I want to make a list of benefits of martial arts training. I am looking for the obvious (health, self-control, etc.), but I really want to see some unusual ones. pressureguy

Saturday April 9th on Spike TV 12 hour marathon of The Ultimate Fighter reality show, which ends in the live final matchup fight. pg

That place is the cheapest that I have seen. There isn't a better site to buy gear and uniforms at than there. I have a wholesale account with KWON, but I still end up going to AKMAS half of the time. Another site that has an odd variety of stuff is tigerclaw.com pressureguy

In our school, we wear tshirts during the summer - our summers stay at 100 degrees F. I like the idea because when we do outdoor workouts, we don't wear belts. Those shirts could act as a replacement for the belt in that case. pressureguy http://www.backyardmartialarts.org

I saw an ad for the Macho Martial Arts Company's new items and their newest item is.......a yellow, white, red, or blue shirt! Actually, it is a very good idea - a simple solid color shirt to match your belt. I like the idea a lot, but it would probably be cheaper and faster to go to your local bigbox retail store and buy them there (unless you have a wholesale account with Macho of course). pressureguy

You think that is bad? Go to ebay.com and type in "martial certificate." Then type in "karate certificate." Try it and prepare to be sick. I just tried it and came up with 20 results all selling black belt certificates for $6-20. pressureguy

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14185547&BRD=1306&PAG=461&dept_id=187834&rfi=6 Comments?

That is the first time I have seen that animal idea. That is brilliant. I love it! pressureguy

http://www.martialartsmart.net/kenpouniforms.html There are some more unusual uniforms there. After you look at those, click on the taekwondo and karate uniforms categories at the bottom of that page. pressureguy

Oops. I apoligize then. Here in the US, Century is the leading company, but until about three years ago, did not offer any selection. Lately they have changed that, so I guess you should always check with every company. pressureguy

Kwonusa.com sells a bright yellow gi that is actually pretty cheap, but you can give up on Century. They do not sell any purple or green. There was a company about a year ago in Black Belt magazine that advertised purple, green, and orange, but it is not in this month's issue. When I find it, I will send you the link. In the meantime, click here http://www.martialartssupermarket.com/index.cfm?action=main&catid=33 Check all of those out. The camoflauge V-neck one might be interesting for you. Also that link lists white and black uniforms that you can have trimmed in any color. pressureguy

I was at a tournament yesterday, and I saw some kids and judges doing something in the 3-5 year old division that struck me as brilliant. The judges were taking fun noodles (those 4 foot long foam tubes that you play with in the pool) and were using them as blocking bats. I checked Century, and blocking bats run about $20 (see the below link to see what I am writing about). The idea of using the noodles for that purpose is so obvious and simple that it makes me sick that I didn't come close to thinking of it. Does anyone know of any other simple ideas like that? http://tinyurl.com/3wklv = (Century block bats) pressureguy

Who is he? Where does he teach? If he is a local, non-celeberity teacher, then there are slim chances that many of us have heard of him. There are thousands of martial art schools per state/province. Here in the US, if you multipy thousands of schools per state times fifty states, you get an amazingly high number. pressureguy

I read an article in Black Belt magazine a while back saying that a good gift for the teacher would be a really nice first aid kit. I liked the idea. pressureguy

http://www.tafkac.org/faq2k/legal_2007.html Read that above link. It will give the Legal Beagle website's explanation as to why that is not true. Here is what that site says: ================ Debunked: Boxers are required to register their hands as "lethal weapons." Research has failed to reveal any statutory, regulatory or other requirement that boxers -- or anyone skilled in martial arts -- "register" their hands or any other body part as "lethal weapons" in the U.S., UKoGBaNI, Canada, or any other common law nation. However, a criminal defendant's experience in boxing, karate, or other forms of hand-to-hand combat may be relevant to determining various legal issues. First, in the United States at least, the question of whether hands (or other body parts) of a boxer, martial artist or any other person even qualifies as a "deadly" or "lethal" weapon depends largely upon how "deadly weapon," "lethal weapon," or "deadly force" is defined (usually by statute, which is then interpreted by the courts). _See,_ _e.g.,_ Vitauts M. Gulbis, "Parts of the Human Body, Other Than Feet, as Deadly or Dangerous Weapons for Purposes of Statutes Aggravating Offenses Such as Assault and Robbery," 8 A.L.R.4th 1268 (1981 and supplements); Christpher Vaeth, "Kicking as Aggravated Assault, or Assault With Dangerous or Deadly Weapon," 19 A.L.R.5th 823 (1995 and supplements). Most statutes have been interpreted to require an object external to the human body before a "deadly weapon" element can be met. For example, in _Minnesota v. Bastin_, 572 N.W.2d 281 (Minn. 1997), the Minnesota Supreme Court overruled the trial court's conclusion that the left fist of the defendant, a former licensed professional prize fighter, was a "deadly weapon." Some courts in the United States have concluded, however, that a criminal defendant's experience in boxing or martial arts should be considered when deciding whether s/he possessed a required intent to cause harm. For instance, in _Trujillo v. State_, 750 P.2d 1334 (Wyo. 1988), the Wyoming Supreme Court found that there was sufficient evidence to support the defendant's conviction for aggravated assault after he punched someone in the head. His history as a trained boxer was one bit of evidence supporting the jury's findings on his mental state. Likewise, in _In the Matter of the Welfare of D.S.F._, 416 N.W.2d 772 (Minn. App. 1988), the Minnesota Court of Appeals held that there was sufficient evidence to conclude that the actions of the defendant, who had "substantial experience in karate," were sufficient to demonstrate his knowledge that he was hitting the victim with sufficient force to break the victim's jaw. Similarly, a criminal defendant's boxing or martial arts experience may be relevant to determining the validity of a self-defense claim. For instance, in _Idaho v. Babbit_, 120 Idaho 337, 815 P.2d 1077 (Idaho App. 1991), the defendant shot the victim and claimed self-defense. The trial court admitted evidence regarding the defendant's past training and experience as a boxer, concluding that it was relevant to a determination of whether the defendant truly believed it was necessary to shoot the victim in order to protect himself and others. The Idaho Court of Appeals affirmed. Documented: A criminal defendant's experience in boxing or the martial arts may be relevant to deciding whether the elements of a criminal offense have been proven.

Not really. The site was a Yahoo club site, and after I hit a dozen members, I locked the site and built the new one. You can get to the new one at the same url: http://www.backyardmartialarts.org We have about a dozen members again, so it is going slowly, but I am happy with that. The group logo is now up at the top of the site and I found a few companies to make the patches, if I ever get to that point. Come over, check it out, and join up--it's free. pressureguy

To be honest, I just went to https://www.proboards15.com and opened a free account (just like opening an account to post here at this site) and named the categories that I wanted the site to have. It was all free, fast, and they do all of the hosting and work. I bought the .org at godaddy.com for $9 per year. To buy a .com .org or .net it runs about $9 per year. To buy a .info is about $2 per year. At godaddy, they give you one free page of web space or let you redirect people who go to it (which is what I did). Thanks for the compliment. pressureguy