This was sent by Tony Velada in Chicago and pertains to a story about a man who broke in to rape a 17 year old girl and her dad got hold of him.
http://www.theindychannel.com/news/17576601/detail.html?taf=ind
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
On the Continent
I've been in Europe for the last week or so. I was over at Marc Sigle's school in Esslingen, Germany last weekend. Marc had a great turnout there, with students from his studio, Chris Junge's club in Saarbrucken, Mike Haselwanter's club in Austria, and some of the Dusseldorf people. All the classes went very well. The theme of the classes were based on my book in the works, with subjects from the book including sophisticated basics and zone theory.
Marc and his wife, Isabelle, are wonderful hosts and I enjoy the time I spend there with them.
I headed up to England via Berlin, with an overnight there. I had a little time to look around there and then went off to the UK. Edinburgh, Scotland was my next stop for two days. That's a truly interesting and historic place to visit.
Marc and his wife, Isabelle, are wonderful hosts and I enjoy the time I spend there with them.
I headed up to England via Berlin, with an overnight there. I had a little time to look around there and then went off to the UK. Edinburgh, Scotland was my next stop for two days. That's a truly interesting and historic place to visit.
I flew down to Plymouth, England to spend some time with Gary Ellis and his people. The guys there are a fun bunch to work with and we had a lot of laughs. The weekend classes were spent on working the weapons techniques. Udo Zehl came over from Germany to attend, having missed the Esslingen event.
It's been good to see some friends and meet some new ones. I've had a chance to see some historic things, go to museums, and get a feel for the countries as well. Plans are in the works to go back next year, with a camp in England in May and one in Austria in July. Thanks again to those who attended the seminars and to Marc, Isabelle, Gary, and Sarah for putting up with me.
It's been good to see some friends and meet some new ones. I've had a chance to see some historic things, go to museums, and get a feel for the countries as well. Plans are in the works to go back next year, with a camp in England in May and one in Austria in July. Thanks again to those who attended the seminars and to Marc, Isabelle, Gary, and Sarah for putting up with me.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Bruce Lee
This was a training device used by Bruce Lee. Note the weights attached, which apparently gave it some resistance when struck. One of my black belts, Peter Boczar, lives in Hong Kong. He heard about the new Bruce Lee museum opened in China and went there. It took a 2.5 hr boat ride and 1.5 hrs by taxi to get there. He says it's in an ancestral Lee family home.
Peter is also a black sash in Fu Jow Pai, the Black Tiger system. Coincidentally, a magazine sent to me with an article in it about Glenn Wilson, whom I wrote about recently, had an article about Peter's FJP teacher in New York, Wai Hong.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Book review
Marc Rowe sent this review from the Asian Journal of Martial Arts.
Meditations 0n Violence:A Comparison of Martial Arts Training and Real World Violence by Rory MillerYMAA Publication Center 2008, 181pp. 6" x 9"ISBN 978-1-59439-118-7 paperback. $18.95Available from:YMAA Publishing Center P.O. Box 480Wolfeboro, NH 03894 USA Tol1-free: (800) 669.8892www.ymaa.comReview by John. Donohue. Ph.D. D'YouviUe University:YRory
Miller's Meditations on Violence is a serious, unflinching look at the realities of violent human confrontation. Its stark, accurate analysis of the multidimensional character of violence serves as a brutally frank critique of the fantasies and suppositions most people~specially martial artists-hold about fighting. The book is a must read for martial artists who are serious enough and honest enough to ask tough questions about themselves, their arts, and real fighting.Any committed martial artist should ask him or herself: how much of what I do is martial and how much is art? It's an important question because it can lead to a better notion of who you are, what you're up to, and why. Rory Miller's book takes a cold-eyed look at the dynamics of real violence and, in the process, strips away the most cherished fantasy of dojo warriors everywhere that our disciplines are involved with making us capable of confronting the chaos of human violence.This is not a comforting book to read. Miller has tremendous experience confronting human violence. A veteran corrections officer, martial artist and leader of a Corrections Emergency Response Team, his observations, analyses and opinions will challenge all martial artists to rethink their assessment of the martial element in their arts. Miller's book is based on personal reflection, fighting experience, and objective analysis that are grounded in a reality few of us will ever glimpse. He clearly and convincingly demonstrates the limitations and delusions inherent in various approaches to dealing with violence. Whether we train as boxers, UFC fighters, or in a classic dojo, each approach limits itself to one small portion of the huge spectrum of human violence. Violence, as the author cautions us, is big, complex, and dangerous. No one system can really cope.The author does a nice job of walking readers through these complexities: physiological issues, psychological and social influences, assumptions and beliefs. He lays bare just how challenging it can be to respond to actual events, not the simulated playacting or set piece drills so common in much of martial arts training.Miller succinctly critiques the training assumptions in most martial arts systems and briefly outlines a training blueprint for realistic preparation. It includes not only knowledge of the legal ramifications of violent conflict, personal decisions about a willingness to fight, and operant conditioning, for example, to develop a small number of counter attacks to assault, but also training in thepost-event consequences of violence. Only such a comprehensive approach can even approach preparing people for violent assault and response.I have long maintained that martial arts are widely misunderstood by practitioners and nonpractitioners alike. They are physical arts, true. They are inspired by fighting techniques of varying types. They involve us physically, mentally, and emotionally. But they are largely ritual, symbolic acts that help us define ourselves and help us craft stories about bravery, endurance, and the triumph of good over evil. Think of it as something analogous to a roller coaster ride: physically and emotionally involving, even scary, but safe. True violence is not riding a rolIer coaster, it's more like being trapped in a car that's run out of control and is about to plunge off a cliff. At the end of a ride on a rolIer coaster, you go get ice cream. At the end of a ride in a runaway car, you're dead. There's a big difference. Rory Miller's insights may come from a different perspective, but they make the same point.And here is the real value of this book: it clearly outlines for the reader the ultimately evil nature of violence and the toll it takes on the humanity of predator and victim alike. It prompts us to ask ourselves how (and whether) we will be able to confront such an evil should it befall us.Toward the end of the book, Miller says that there are people in our communities who routinely deal with the wild beast of violence. It takes a toll, but they do it so the rest of don't have to. They carry the baggage of the rhinoceros, he maintains, so the restof us can believe in unicorns.This martial artist is grateful for the service of people like Rory Miler and the insights his book provides.
Meditations 0n Violence:A Comparison of Martial Arts Training and Real World Violence by Rory MillerYMAA Publication Center 2008, 181pp. 6" x 9"ISBN 978-1-59439-118-7 paperback. $18.95Available from:YMAA Publishing Center P.O. Box 480Wolfeboro, NH 03894 USA Tol1-free: (800) 669.8892www.ymaa.comReview by John. Donohue. Ph.D. D'YouviUe University:YRory
Miller's Meditations on Violence is a serious, unflinching look at the realities of violent human confrontation. Its stark, accurate analysis of the multidimensional character of violence serves as a brutally frank critique of the fantasies and suppositions most people~specially martial artists-hold about fighting. The book is a must read for martial artists who are serious enough and honest enough to ask tough questions about themselves, their arts, and real fighting.Any committed martial artist should ask him or herself: how much of what I do is martial and how much is art? It's an important question because it can lead to a better notion of who you are, what you're up to, and why. Rory Miller's book takes a cold-eyed look at the dynamics of real violence and, in the process, strips away the most cherished fantasy of dojo warriors everywhere that our disciplines are involved with making us capable of confronting the chaos of human violence.This is not a comforting book to read. Miller has tremendous experience confronting human violence. A veteran corrections officer, martial artist and leader of a Corrections Emergency Response Team, his observations, analyses and opinions will challenge all martial artists to rethink their assessment of the martial element in their arts. Miller's book is based on personal reflection, fighting experience, and objective analysis that are grounded in a reality few of us will ever glimpse. He clearly and convincingly demonstrates the limitations and delusions inherent in various approaches to dealing with violence. Whether we train as boxers, UFC fighters, or in a classic dojo, each approach limits itself to one small portion of the huge spectrum of human violence. Violence, as the author cautions us, is big, complex, and dangerous. No one system can really cope.The author does a nice job of walking readers through these complexities: physiological issues, psychological and social influences, assumptions and beliefs. He lays bare just how challenging it can be to respond to actual events, not the simulated playacting or set piece drills so common in much of martial arts training.Miller succinctly critiques the training assumptions in most martial arts systems and briefly outlines a training blueprint for realistic preparation. It includes not only knowledge of the legal ramifications of violent conflict, personal decisions about a willingness to fight, and operant conditioning, for example, to develop a small number of counter attacks to assault, but also training in thepost-event consequences of violence. Only such a comprehensive approach can even approach preparing people for violent assault and response.I have long maintained that martial arts are widely misunderstood by practitioners and nonpractitioners alike. They are physical arts, true. They are inspired by fighting techniques of varying types. They involve us physically, mentally, and emotionally. But they are largely ritual, symbolic acts that help us define ourselves and help us craft stories about bravery, endurance, and the triumph of good over evil. Think of it as something analogous to a roller coaster ride: physically and emotionally involving, even scary, but safe. True violence is not riding a rolIer coaster, it's more like being trapped in a car that's run out of control and is about to plunge off a cliff. At the end of a ride on a rolIer coaster, you go get ice cream. At the end of a ride in a runaway car, you're dead. There's a big difference. Rory Miller's insights may come from a different perspective, but they make the same point.And here is the real value of this book: it clearly outlines for the reader the ultimately evil nature of violence and the toll it takes on the humanity of predator and victim alike. It prompts us to ask ourselves how (and whether) we will be able to confront such an evil should it befall us.Toward the end of the book, Miller says that there are people in our communities who routinely deal with the wild beast of violence. It takes a toll, but they do it so the rest of don't have to. They carry the baggage of the rhinoceros, he maintains, so the restof us can believe in unicorns.This martial artist is grateful for the service of people like Rory Miler and the insights his book provides.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Who is that masked man?
1990. Pennsylvania, after his black belt test. Ed Parker and Eddie Cabrera!
Florida black belts will know Eddie, or recognize his name, because he's been around the kenpo scene here for years. Ed's currently working on a book about kenpo and Western boxing. He's also one of the few East Coast instructors who actually met Ed Parker. Ed's doing seminars on his boxing and boxing infusions. You can find his contact info on my website in the studio directory.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Mural
In one of my books I mention a life-size mural that was done on the wall of Bruce Meyer's studio in Irmo, South Carolina years ago. The artist was Jim Middlebrooks and the drawing was taken from Ed Parker's Infinite Insights Vol. 5 of me doing the salutation. Here is one photo, more are on my website in the photo gallery.
That's some thinking
Years ago when I lived in Chicago, and instructor from another school stopped by. He was a somewhat frequent visitor and we got along fine. One day we were talking about tournament competition and he stated "I am undefeated." That's pretty impressive, huh? He followed with, "I've never competed in a tournament, so I can say I have never been defeated."
That's some thinking.
That's some thinking.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Sifu Glenn Wilson
I recently reconnected with an old friend, Sifu Glenn Wilson. We met way back in the early 80's through Al Villacampa, one of his black sash level students from Miami who was living in Chicago. I saw Glenn and his students compete when I was down in Florida for tournaments and they were strong. Over the years I'd see his name from time to time. As it turns out, he's still in Florida and is now the head of his system. If you'd like to check it out, see the website below. Al had told me there was some Kenpo influence in there and that Glenn had studied it. I know that Master Daniel Pai was an acquaintance of Ed Parker's and that the system, Pai Lum, bears his name.
Good to make the contact, and I plan to get with Sifu Wilson soon on a trip to Orlando.
Glenn C. Wilson
Grandmaster – Pai Lum Tao
Chairman – White Dragon Warrior Society
President – Glenn Wilson’s Martial Arts Academies International
955 West Lancaster Rd. #5
Orlando, Fl. 32809
407-856-9040
http://www.pailum.org/
GlennCWilson@pailum.org
http://members.aol.com/GlennCWilson/
Good to make the contact, and I plan to get with Sifu Wilson soon on a trip to Orlando.
Glenn C. Wilson
Grandmaster – Pai Lum Tao
Chairman – White Dragon Warrior Society
President – Glenn Wilson’s Martial Arts Academies International
955 West Lancaster Rd. #5
Orlando, Fl. 32809
407-856-9040
http://www.pailum.org/
GlennCWilson@pailum.org
http://members.aol.com/GlennCWilson/
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