The image says it all. Think about it and then truly ask yourself if you are doing the work to get the results you want?
Results – Get Some
Sensei Post in Awareness, Questions, State of Mind, Training notes，Tags: Awareness, Confidence, critical thought, training
08
May
2012
0
Armed Self-Defense
Sensei Post in Self-Defense, Weapons，Tags: Guns, Self-Defense, weapons
28
April
2012
I really liked this guys presentation style and the message is good solid advice for all those interested in defending themselves. For anyone who wants to be a victim, you can probably skip this video…
Ron Paul Martial Arts Master!
13
March
2012
While I am not a Ron Paul supporter, I do support this video…
That is how you keep government spending down and deal those wasting government funds!
Round House Kicks
Sensei Post in Technique, Training notes，Tags: Attacks, Defense, Round-House, Sparring, Technique, training
27
February
2012
The Round House Kick is perhaps the most difficult kick to master. There are several reasons for this, the most obvious is the need to trust yourself and commit to the movement of the kick. Whether it is a standing, jumping, front or reverse round house kick the commitment is the same. In any round house kick there is great power but also significant exposure. IF the kick is not executed with excellent technique and extreme speed your opponent will have ample time to slide in close where the round house kick is useless. That truly is the only defense against a round-house kick other than getting out of the way. Since the round house kick delivers a force that leverages almost all of the attackers weight plus the momentum behind that weight trying to block a round house kick is often foolhardy. The best defense is to not be where your attacker thinks you are going to be! Move!! The second defense I already mentioned which is to get in close, slow dance close to your attacker. If you succeed their round house kick will be ineffective, you will make them lose their balance, surprise them and typically be behind them or to their side with ample of targets to exploit while they recover from the surprise. If you fail, then the fight might just be over…for you…
While the round house kick is a beautiful kick, I always caution my students to only use it after they perfect it. When practicing the round house you should work with a heavy bag. You need to learn to commit to the kick and follow through without hesitation. This is best accomplished with a heavy bag so you learn proper control. Once you are skilled with the kick you can work with a partner using a arm/target bag, this way you can add the dynamics of trying to execute a round house kick on a moving target. The more you practice the better you will get. Have your partner move in and out, try to evade, etc. This will help you judge if your speed is sufficient to make the round house kick and effective sparring/fighting tool. If you your the round house in a fight, remember to help your opponent find medical attention after the fight!
Train hard, Train often. OSU!
I couldn’t resist posting this picture of a cat executing a flying round house kick to the head of this young Sumo wrestler!
Political for a Day
Sensei Post in OffTopic, Politics，Tags: Interesting, Politics
21
February
2012
I try to stay neutral topics here though I slip from time to time. Today it seems important to make a few statements. First I’d like to share a very insightful piece I found on democracy…
“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:
From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to selfishness;
From selfishness to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage”–Alexander Tytler
Of course contrary to popular belief we do not live in a Democracy, we live in a representative Republic. Splitting hairs yes but an important distinction all the same. Given the above insight I thought it also useful to share the following:
I didn’t know our current President, President Obama, was the first to do so many things. I guess that’s what leadership is all about. He is the:
· First President to apply for college aid as a foreign student, then deny he was a foreigner.
· First President to have a social security number from a state he has never lived in.
· First President to preside over a cut to the credit-rating of the United States
· First President to violate the War Powers Act. .
· First President to be held in contempt of court for illegally obstructing oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico .
· First President to defy a Federal Judge’s court order to cease implementing the Health Care Reform Law.
· First President to require all Americans to purchase a product from a third party.
· First President to spend a trillion dollars on ‘shovel-ready’ jobs when there was no such thing as ‘shovel-ready’ jobs.
· First President to abrogate bankruptcy law to turn over control of companies to his union supporters.
· First President to by-pass Congress and implement the Dream Act through executive fiat. .
· First President to order a secret amnesty program that stopped the deportation of illegal immigrants across the U.S., including those with criminal convictions.
· First President to demand a company hand-over $20 billion to one of his political appointees.
· First President to terminate America ’s ability to put a man in space.
· First President to have a law signed by an auto-pen without being present.
· First President to arbitrarily declare an existing law unconstitutional and refuse to enforce it.
· First President to threaten insurance companies if they publicly spoke-out on the reasons for their rate increases.
· First President to tell a major manufacturing company in which state it is allowed to locate a factory.
· First President to file lawsuits against the states he swore an oath to protect (AZ, WI, OH, IN).
· First President to withdraw an existing coal permit that had been properly issued years ago.
· First President to fire an inspector general of Ameri-corps for catching one of his friends in a corruption case.
· First President to appoint 45 czars to replace elected officials in his office. .
· First President to golf 73 separate times in his first two and a half years in office, 90 to date.
· First President to hide his medical, educational and travel records.
· First President to win a Nobel Peace Prize for doing NOTHING to earn it.
· First President to go on multiple global ‘apology tours’.
· First President to go on 17 lavish vacations, including date nights and Wednesday evening White House parties for his friends; paid for by the taxpayer.
· First President to have 22 personal servants (taxpayer funded) for his wife.
· First President to keep a dog trainer on retainer for $102,000 a year at taxpayer expense.
· First President to repeat the Holy Qur’an tells us the early morning call of the Azan (Islamic call to worship) is the most beautiful sound on earth.
· First President to take a 17 day vacation.
Well as you can guess I am not a supporter of the Democrats or the Obama Administration. Neither do I believe there is a big difference between the Democrats and the Republican Establishment. The fate of this great nation lies with the People, and given the current decay of our society that is not a great reason for hope. Only time will tell, I love to be surprised but doubt I will be.
This explains so much…
Sensei Post in Fun Stuff，Tags: Entertainment, Fun, Funny, Jokes, Perspective
20
February
2012
The book “Understanding Women” has finally arrived in book stores:
Thoughts on the Wall Street Occupation
02
February
2012
This post is a little late and I almost deleted it but the movement looks like it coming back with the warmer weather. While I doubt the OWS movement ever take serious hold, I will post this…
Let me say I am encouraged to see people finally getting involved in the process of government. Unfortunately these people are NOT getting involved in the process of government. When this movement started I read their manifesto, I like to be informed and understand what I am talking about. The OWS movement has so many slogans that it is easy to find something to agree with. That is part of problem, lots of platitudes without a lot of detail. The danger is you gain the support of the masses where everyone of the “masses” has a different understanding of what they are supporting. Groups that have used this method of motivating people to their cause are among the most notorious in history. The communist uprising in Russia and China had similar beginnings, interestingly the OWC movement is openly run by self-proclaimed communists and anarchists.
In reading the OWC manifesto I continued to read the comments section and was struck by the response to people who were critical of the movement in a non-hostile way. I found the ‘Liberations’ comment slightly disturbing as when he/she states “…to go further than the founding fathers did. It aspires to correct the short-comings of back then…” and then states “…more negative and hateful comments are on the way, with the sole intent of discouraging and dividing us. However we already know about these efforts and shall not let them affect us.”. It would appear that one of the short-comings of the founding fathers was the freedom of speech. Rather than listening to each comment and applying critical thought he/she wants us to close our eyes and blind ourselves to the views of others. That is the wish of dictators/elitists/fascists, to silence anyone who disagrees with them. That is how you motivate a mob, not change.
Anyone who suggests the work of the founding fathers is not valid or needs to be reworked does not have the best interests of this country or freedom at heart. Freedom, a word many use but few mean. Often those speaking mean ‘my idea of freedom’ where you must live a certain way. Not that we deserve our freedom, increasingly people are willing to hand over their freedoms without even a thought or objection. Most people do not even carry out the one responsibility they have for the freedom, to vote. Yet, that does not negate our right to freedom, let us remember that it was a minority that forced us down the path to freedom. But do the 1% have the same selflessness of the founders? Are they truly fighting for liberty for all or for their own idea of liberty?
The problems we face today are of our own making. While I am supportive of these “gatherings” I am not supportive of their approach; they seek to blame others. Everything that is happening today is a result of a complacent “We the People” who have failed to watch dog their elected officials or who have been all to happy to turn a blind eye for some personal gain or benefit (jobs/SSN/unemployment benefits/food stamps/health care/etc).
This movement does not need to occur outside the system, it should change the system from within, unless you feel “We the People” would never support what you are suggesting. Which I believe is the case. The OWS movement don’t seem to understand how our system works or how to affect change in it. Most people involved support the very corporations they rally against through the products they use. I am the first one to admit that the odds are not in our favor the system is corrupt but not broken. However, I have never shied away from a fight with bad odds when it meant standing up for what was right. Being right is important, being right is difficult, but without it the foundation of your movement is weak. The OWS movement was supposedly started as a retort to the Tea Party movement however the Tea Party has maintained a unified voice in a non-violent, non-destructive manner.
Those are my thoughts, perhaps this will change the way some people look at the problem. But then again, no need to listen and apply critical thinking, since I do not agree 100% lockstep with you, my voice doesn’t matter. Close your ears and carry on…
Hard Work ≠ Exercise
Sensei Post in Articles of Interest, Fitness, Training notes，Tags: Exercise, Fitness, Success
24
January
2012
Don’t take the title wrong, I am not making light of hard work. I have engaged in hard work most of my life, real hard work. I’ve work construction pouring concrete for 10+ hours a day, raising houses, roofing in the middle of summer and digging ditches. Real hard work not the kind you hear about at the water cooler! Hard manual work can be physically exhausting. Hard work can make your body stronger. Hard work can be very rewarding.
But… Hard Work is not Exercise.
As someone who has done hard physical labour for most of my life, this was a hard pill to swallow. The more I meditated on this thought the more I realised the truth of it. Hard work can make you strong. Hard work can give you endurance. But still, hard work is not exercise because it isn’t usually beneficial to your whole body. Not saying I want to arm-wrestle with a steel worker! But even the steel workers (I had one for a student) need exercise. Exercise is about more than strength of a specific muscle group, it is about fitness. The downside of hard work is it often leaves you to exhausted to exercise. Any good exercise program will help you accomplish 3 main things, elevate your heart rate (aerobic), work your muscles (strengthen) and most importantly and often forgotten improve your agility (flexibility). No hard work is going to do all three of these. Add a balanced diet of appropriate portion sizes and you have yourself a recipe for good health and happy thoughts. Make your exercise a part of your daily life by spreading throughout your day and night, it makes it harder to skip and will improve your mood and day.
People think exercising is hard work, if they do tell them they are doing it wrong, because Hard Work isn’t exercise!
The funny thing about exercise, is most people view it as a chore, but no matter who you are, you always feel better afterwards…
Does Age Matter?
Sensei Post in Articles of Interest, Fitness, Training notes，Tags: Age, Discipline, Fitness, training
17
January
2012
I’ve been asked this question many times. Invariably I respond with, No. But does it? On some level, of course it does, but what does that mean?
Interestingly I started to write this post back in November of 2007, a little over 4 years ago! Guess I needed some time (and age) to gain the right perspective! So what do I think, 4 years later? I still stand by my above statement, No. But I will add, your age doesn’t matter if you are willing to put in the work. We all age differently, some of this is genetic, however some of this depends on the lifestyle we choose to live. Do we eat regular healthy meals, get proper rest, exercise regularly and manage our stress correctly? Those are your lifestyle choices. Now I am a realist and not all of us have a choice about all the items in that list. Often our jobs don’t allow us to eat healthy meals or get enough rest and too often the rocket our stress levels to unhealthy heights! After all we live in the real world. If you are living in a McMansion with two Mercedes in the driveway then these factors are your chosen lifestyle. If you are supporting a family and getting by these factors are called life. That doesn’t mean we can’t do things differently to reduce the negative affects these factors can have on our life and our training. It does however take a choice and the will to act on that choice.
Age doesn’t matter if you are willing to put in the work. This is true for a student of any age, however, as we age more work is typically necessary! Yes, there always is a catch. As we age we lose two things, strength and flexibility. Everyone focuses on strength OR flexibility but few focus on both. Flexibility is actually the more important of the two since many stretching exercises will also increase your strength. IN this type of article it is nearly impossible for me to tailor the proper regiment since (especially as we age) everyone’s needs are different. By that I mean there are many factors to consider, like your body type, what your bodies strengths and weaknesses are (they may not be what you think), and what your current lifestyle is like. If you can’t make a program fit into your lifestyle then you might as well not even try because you are setting yourself up for failure. Harsh, blunt, yes, but true.
If you haven’t workout in a long time here is what I suggest. If you have been “in shape” (not obese) most of your life AND you have never been in or had any traumatic injury then I can pretty safely bet you could use most well rounded fitness programs with great success. If you don’t fall into that category and you are over 30-35 years of age I strongly suggest you go to your nearest Physical Therapy clinic and ask for a free assessment. Most PT clinics will give a free assessment which will give you some guidance on your bodies strengths and weaknesses. If you are willing to pay for one or two visits most Physical Therapists will give you customized exercises to get your body “stable” thus reducing your chances of injury.
Notice above I did not say get yourself to the nearest Dojo or Yoga studio! If you already attend, great but if you are serious about being the best martial artist you can be, then you need to start with a strong foundation. I do not offer this advice lightly, I am speaking from experience. I have had several significant traumas to my body, however I have always been “in shape” and very active (aside from trauma recovery times). Even though I consider myself a competent trainer and martial artist I believe in always seeking help where needed. I spent one and a half years in physical therapy and it was worth the time and effort. Alone I now know that I would have continued to damage my weak points and strengthen my strong points, which in an exaggerated sense leads to a Quasimodo state of fitness; strong, functional yet not well rounded and balanced!
To wrap this up, if you are willing to put in the work make sure it is the right work. If going to a PT isn’t an option test your own range of motion and reflexes. No one is usually aware of their blind spots and that includes physical blind spots because we learn to compensate for them. If you are going to go it alone just make sure you get an diverse mixture of flexibility and strength training, heavy on the flexibility training.
All this is worthless if you aren’t taking in a diet of healthy food and appropriate portions.
