martial artists
Last Week In Review February 2010 At TheMartialArtsReporter.com
Over the last 5 months since the inception of TheMartialArtsReporter.com my foremost goal has been and will continue to be to provide my readers with the greatest possible diversity of mainly positive martial arts related posts.
Readership has been growing faster than anticipated and I am certainly more than happy about that.
I’ll be honest with you: Make my day simply by visiting this blog whenever you want a quick ‘lift me up’ and tell all your friends about it.
If you have ever sent any comments in the past, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Don’t stop now!
If you haven’t so far, please feel free to share your thoughts on any of the previous 160 posts.
Thank you so much for your continuing support and interest.
This year seems to be moving at lightning speed. Two months have already passed and here’s the last Week In Review February 2010:
Years before Bruce Lee, …Extreme Pushups By Fitness Legend Jack LaLanne
An important topic in anybody’s life, … No Fear Or Know Fear?
Jean-Paul Belmondo … I Really Think He Was “The French Steve McQueen”
Consider Mokuso Or The Power Of Meditation Not Only For Martial Artists
Did The Movie “Enough” With Jennifer Lopez Help Women’s Self-Defense?
High-grade Muay Thai … From The Netherlands, The First Foreigner To Be Named “Muay Thai Fighter Of The Year”
Enjoy And Don’t Be A Stranger!
No Fear Or Know Fear?
How often have we heard the saying, “Have no fear!” or “Don’t be afraid!”.
So, let’s say we are telling ourselves that we don’t have fear, meaning that we are basically suppressing it.
Hmm.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
I think that denying and suppressing anything that is important in our lives is not constructive.
A better way of dealing with fear in my humble opinion is to be aware of it, acknowledge it and act despite of it.
Somewhere I heard the analogy of fear being a cobra and it would be way more beneficial to tame the cobra and not just kill it.
I think we need to have a look at what fear actually is.
Let’s start with something to think about like F-E-A-R (False Evidence Appearing Real). So is fear all just made up in our mind or is it something that is real?
A dictionary defines it like this “Fear is an emotion of alarm and agitation caused by the expectation and realization of danger. “
During this condition the hormone generally known as adrenaline is secreted which increases a person’s awareness and alertness.
Further, you become way more alert and sensitive to your immediate surroundings. Your senses are opened up to detect and tune in to the danger or the possibility of danger.
And you immediately decide between fight or flight.
The best example to show the difference would be comparing a rabbit with a grizzly bear.
Guess which one is always ready to fight and which one is prepared to flee.
You got it: Rabbits are always ready to skip town and grizzly bears hardly ever think of backing down.
The crazy thing is every one of us has actually inherited a specific amount of flight and fight adrenaline.
Everybody reading this post is equipped with different degrees of both reflexes based on our personal DNA dispersal.
I have heard of countless statements by professional fighters, law enforcement and military personnel that they all experience fear, but they use this emotion to operate at a higher level of alertness to reach their set objective. Whatever that might be.
What I’m saying is that we have to acknowledge that we have been pre-programmed and that we have to work with and around the cards we have been dealt.
It does not mean that we have to succumb to our fear, but rather control it and use it our advantage as described above.
I will elaborate more on this topic in the future, because I believe it is extremely important not only for martial artists but for everyone in daily life.
I welcome your thoughts in the meantime.
Mokuso Or The Power Of Meditation Not Only For Martial Artists
The term meditation (in Japanese, Mokuso) refers to a variety of techniques or practices intended to focus or control attention.
Most of them are rooted in Eastern traditions. These techniques have been used by many different cultures and martial arts throughout the world for thousands of years.
I remember that during my years of studying Shotokan karate we always started and ended our training sessions with a short, maybe 1-2 minute each of relaxation or meditation in a kneeling position, also known as ’seiza’.
The important part is to control your breathing like this:
Breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth, exhale from deep within the abdomen.
Relax to let the troubles of the day evaporate, and clear your mind to be ready for the Karate class and to start refreshened.
Mokuso is the time to clear your head and eliminate any anger before entering class. There is no religious meaning attached to Mokuso.
A even more physically active way of meditation would be by performing kata .
Today, many people use meditation even outside of its traditional settings as a form of mind-body medicine.
Many claims have been made about its value in promoting or improving health and wellness.
Just this morning I read that daily meditation exercises have the potential to cut the risk of death from heart attack by 30 (thirty) percent and cancer even by 49 (forty-nine) percent.
There are even claims that one can add up to 12 more years to on’e life. That’s powerful in my book.
There you have it in a nutshell: Mokuso Or The Power Of Meditation Not Only for Martial Artists.
Don’t try this while driving or operating heavy machinery!
Master Terry Lyon of Lyon-Karate.com
Meditation During Yoga Practice
The Highest Ranking Female Judoka In The World
As you know by now, it is always a pleasure for me to post something interesting and inspirational about and for female martial artists.
Today we continue our tradition and this a big one!
Our featured female martial artist, Keiko Fukuda, was born in 1913 in Tokyo, Japan.
It wasn’t until 1935 that she actually started practicing the martial art of judo at the age of 21. Look at those dates again and be amazed like I am.
At that time, Japan and many other industrialized countries were still deeply affected by The Great Depression that started in 1929 and continued for many even until the end of World War II in 1945.
I don’t consider myself a Japanology expert, but I am pretty sure that Japanese women weren’t necessarily encouraged to pursue a martial arts career in the 1930s.
Keiko Fukuda was even exceptional in those days by flat-out rejecting an arranged marriage to do just that after being being invited to study judo by its founder Jigoro Kano himself in the newly created women’s division!
Kano had been a Jujutsu student of her grandfather, Fukuda Hachinosuke, who at one time had been a samurai.
Amazingly, today Keiko Fukuda is the last living pupil of Kano.
Empowering and inspring women about the kata (forms) of Kodokan judo, Keiko Fukuda published the instructional book Born for the Mat in 1973.
In 2001, the United States Judo Federation awarded her a rare red belt for her lifelong contribution to judo.
It was in January 2006 that the Kodokan Judo Institute also awarded her the 9th degree black belt (9th dan).
Keiko Fukuda is currently the only woman in the world to hold a 9th degree black belt from any recognized judo organization.
At the time of writing this post, Keiko Fukuda is close to 97 and I bet some of you are thinking that she probably spends her days just sitting at home in front of the TV watching The Price Is Right or whatever.
Nothing could be further from the truth, because she still teaches at the Soko Joshi Judo Club in the Noe valley district of San Francisco, California as well as at the annual Joshi Judo Camp, a camp she founded in 1974 to give women judoka an opportunity to train together.
Gentle, Strong, Beautiful, she is judo pioneer, Keiko Fukuda, the highest ranking female judoka in the world.
I am dedicating today’s post to all female martial artists. Past, current and future.
Mardi Gras And Why TheMartialArtsReporter Is Going Nuts
When you think of Mardi Gras, what probably comes to mind first, is New Orleans, French Quarter and …. beads. Right?
When you think of TheMartialArtsReporter.com, I sure hope you’re thinking of inspiration, entertainment and useful information for martial arts practitioners and enthusiasts.
And today, Mardi Gras (= Fat Tuesday) should be no exception.
I don’ t know about you, but I’m going nuts today. And no, I’m not in the Crescent City.
You’re asking yourself, “Where is he going with this?”
Well, let me tell you.
During the last decade or so, nuts have been gaining in healthy-snack popularity. And rightfully so.
Let’s have a look what this means in terms of antioxidants.
But before we do, we need to know what antioxidants are and the important work they do for our bodies. And if you are a martial artist this is really essential stuff to help you perform a high level for a longer period.
In order to counteract the damaging physiological damage to animal tissue caused by oxidation and free radicals, we can simply feed our body with antioxidants.
Antioxidants are nutrients (vitamins and minerals) and enzymes (proteins in our body).
They are believed to play a pivotal role in preventing chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, stroke and even Alzheimer’s, just to name a few.
A really easy and tasty way to feed your body with antioxidants is by eating nuts that happen to be loaded with nutrients and healthy fats.
But which ones?
How about a Top Ten List of nuts based on the content of their antioxidants according to a study released by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture). Just make sure you’re getting the natural unsalted, unsweetened ones and you’re not allergic to any of them, but you knew already.
Here they are:
- Pecans
- Walnuts
- Hazelnuts
- Pistachios
- Almonds
- Peanuts
- Cashews
- Macadamias
- Brazil nuts
- Pine nuts
And now you know why TheMartialArtsReporter is going nuts …. for nuts.
What about you?
Greetings! Enjoy The Week In Review At TheMartialArtsReporter.com
This sure was another exciting week at The MartialArtsReporter.com!
And here it is “The Week In Review”.
I hope you enjoy your Sunday and find the time to take in all the video clips in their entirety.
Celebrating The Life Of Brandon Lee, Who Would Have Turned 45 Today
Get A Great Lower Body Stretching Workout In Only 3 Minutes!
Here’s An Upper Body Stretching Workout In Just 3 Minutes!
Boxing Insights From My Filipino-American Barber
Jeff Imada, The Genius Behind Great Action Movies
We Will Never Forget 9/11 American Hero And Judo Champion, Jeremy Glick
I hope you come back tomorrow for a new post.
Take care. Stay safe.
Emil Farkas, “Sensei To The Stars” And A Lot More
Having taught, among others: Herb Alpert, Fred Williamson, Dennis Hopper, Lalo Schifrin, Sherry Caffaro, Mike Connors, Peggy Lipton, Raymond St. Jacques, Irene Tsu, Peter Fonda, Linda Blair, Al Ruddy, Lou Adler, Paul Williams, Ted Mann, James Cann, Phil Spector, Barry Gordy, Jeff Barry and Lorenzo Lamas, our featured martial artist has been dubbed “Sensei To The Stars”.
Research shows that Emil Farkas is more than that. A lot more.
Hungarian-born American martial arts instructor, author and fight coordinator Emil Farkas started his martial arts career while still a youngster, and before age 20 he had earned his black belt in both Judo and Karate.
Both his parents were Holocaust survivors, and young Emil was born in the Hungarian town of Munkacz right after World War II, and grew up in an Orthodox home.
When he was 7, young Emil started getting into fights with some of his Hungarian classmates and he decidedto study judo at the local sports club.
In 1956, after Soviet tanks crushed a short-lived uprising, the family fled and ended up in Toronto.
Farkas quickly learned that anti-Semitism had preceded him across the ocean and so he was driven to put all his energy into his judo classes and trained almost every night.
Several years later, the first karate instructors arrived from Japan and Okinawa and Emil Farkas was immediately taken by the athletic kick ing and punching techniques. He became so proficient that he earned his first black belt in judo at 17, and in karate at 18.
In the mid-1960s, the Farkas family moved to Los Angeles and 19-year-old Emil looked for a job to support himself while attending college. He became a bodyguard to music industry mogul, Phil Spector.
In 1970, Farkas’ career really started to take off. That’s when he founded his own school, the Beverly Hills Karate Academy, which he still runs today. The timing was also good to attract Jewish parents and their kids, especially after the Israeli military victory in 1967.
Working for Phil Spector helped Farkas meet actors and screenwriters in Hollywood. As martial arts movies started to become popular, Farkas was in constant demand as a stunt and fight coordinator, training stunt doubles, and working with cinematographers on “choreographed action” or fight scenes, in Easy Rider, Killer Elite, Mannix, Spiderman, The Hulk, Mission Impossible and The Fall Guy, just to mention a few.
Sensei Farkas used the long waiting time on the movie sets to write books on the martial arts. He has co-authored numerous books, including the authoritative “The Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia: Tradition, History, Pioneers.”
As a martial arts instructor, Farkas now focuses mainly on “street-effective self defense” through Shotoka, a branch of karate that Farkas developed.
Today he is one of America’s most respected martial arts instructors and is without a doubt internationally recognized as a leading authority on the martial arts.
Currently, Sensei Farkas holds a 7th degree Black Belt in Karate, 4th degree Black Belt in Judo and a 4th degree Black Belt in Ju-Jitsu.
Not surprisingly, he is also an accomplished expert in realistic street combat, having worked as a bodyguard for many years.
In 2000, Farkas and Benny “The Jet” Urquidez founded the Los Angeles Film Fighting Institute, which was one of the first schools of its kind in the United States to teach martial artists the intricacies of stunt work.
In 1995, Farkas founded his own federation, The United International Martial Arts Federation, whose goal is to promote traditional martial arts worldwide.
Emil Farkas has shared his vast martial expertise as a Hand-to-Hand combat instructor to the Canadian Army as well as Women’s self-defense instructor at UCLA.
He has been on the cover of all major martial arts magazines including Black Belt Magazine, Karate Illustrated, World Karate, Inside Kung Fu, Combat, Fighters, Official Karate, Combat Karate and Budo.
In 2000, Farkas was inducted into the International Martial Arts Hall of Fame.
Hats off to Sensei Emil Farkas! ”You have come a long way since your childhood days in the Hungarian town of Munkacz.”
The Week In Review At TheMartialArtsReporter.com
The Week In Review At TheMartialArtsReporter.com
“Time keeps on moving into the future.”
But that shouldn’t stop us from having a look at this past Week In Review. Enjoy!
This has to be my personal favorite technique ever. Don’t miss “Back To Basics: Karate Middle Punch (Chudan Zuki)“
“Chewing on” an injury myself, I thought you might benefit from “Should Injured Martial Artists Still Work Out?”
At times underrated and underestimated “Judo: No Kicking And Punching, But It Can Still Hurt Like Hell!“
Do you know who ‘The Greatest Sports Figure Of The State of Iowa’ Is? Dan Gable, Olympic Wrestling Icon From The U.S. American Heartland
Yeah, it’s that time of the year again: “Jack Bauer/Kiefer Sutherland Of “24″ And The Art Of Fighting“
Congratulations To Fellow Martial Artist, Robert Downey Jr.! Wing Chun Practitioner Wins A Golden Globe Award for Sherlock Holmes!
Take it from the Little Dragon, Bruce Lee And The Power Of Goal Setting
Enjoy your Sunday!
I’ll be back here tomorrow. You, too?
Should Injured Martial Artists Still Work Out?
Good question.
It all depends on the injury and its severity.
Let me give you a very practical and current example:
It looks and feels like I irritated my right Achilles tendon on Tuesday. I will openly admit that there have been several short moments of frustration, but ‘Thank God’ these moments have been very few and very brief.
I am not alone with this type of nuissance, aka injury, which is helping me re-assess my warm-up, workout and nutrition routine.
Whenever there is an explosive movement involved your physical activity such lunging forward, sprinting etc. the risk of irritating your Achilles tendon can become an issue.
It does not apply to everyone the same way and to the same degree. It depends on age, overall physical fitness, how prone your tendons are to injury, how warmed up your body/tendons are, how well your body is supplied with the right nutrients, etc. etc.
Well, anyway, here I am talking about an issue that we tend not to give much attention to as long as we are injury-free, of course.
After immediately sustaining the injury I took 2 Ibuprofen to fight the inflammation and possible swelling and started elevated icing.
Of course, I have prescribed myself to rest and not putting any unnecessary weight or stress on the inflicted leg as well as applying Arnica-based creme.
“Rinse and repeat.” Meaning I will apply the same for at least 48 hours.
I am also taking natural supplements and enzymes to support to healing process.
After 36 hours I am already feeling both physically and mentally a lot better.
I have been through some injuries in the past that were much more painful and called for a longer recovery period than this one.
They were for example a dislocated right shoulder (my stronger arm) and 2 herniated cervical discs. OUCH!
Now finally back to my original question: “Should injured martial artists still work out?”.
In my own personal case, I have been working around the injury, such as working my back muscles while sitting and lying down and not putting any pressure on the injured leg.
I will still be working my arms, abs and upper body before putting in a stretching session.
While being less mobile during this period, I will reduce my calorie intake and will probably come out of all this even more ripped than I consider myself right now. Ha ha.
My glass is half full, because I am not dealing with a cracked rib, torn stomach muscle or some other debillitating injury that would really suck. Or even worse, damage to the fourth sacral nerve that put Bruce Lee out of commission for numerous months back in 1970.
If you are dealing with any of your own injury experiences, I would love to hear from you.
Even if you’re not, I welcome your comments.
I’m preparing my personal comeback and that reminds me of somebody with a gargantuan comeback in his own right:
Dan Gable, Olympic Wrestling Icon From The U.S. American Heartland
Unanimously, “The Greatest Sports Figure In The History Of The State Of Iowa”, Dan Gable has set the bar in high school, collegiate and Olympic freestyle wrestling soooo high, I wonder if anybody can come even close to matching or surpassing his accomplishments ever.
The reason I need to elaborate on wrestling today (again) is because it cannot be over-emphasized that the vast majority of physical encounters end up on the ground/floor and that’s where your grappling, wrestling, submission skills will be put to the test.
It was also the reason why yours truly as a tradtional Shotokan karateka saw the necessity and took he initiative to at least experiment in Judo years ago.
And honestly, every serious martial artist and every person serious about self-defense should have a very close look at their grappling skills.
Before I really get off track today, let’s get back to Iowa’s favorite amateur wrestling star, Dan Gable, who should serve as inspiration and motivation to you.
His achievements on the wrestling mat are legendary.
As a high school student Dan Gable was undefeated state champ during his sophomore through senior years. But wait, there’s more, a lot more!
While attending Iowa State University, Gable wrestled for three years and won 2 NCAA titles!
His only loss during his collegiate wrestling career was in his final match which brought his overall mark to an mind-boggling record of 181 victories and only 1 loss.
Dan Gable went on to wrestle internationally between 1971 and 1973 where he set his record at 29 wins and only 1 loss. Overall, his national and international freestyle wrestling record was 97-5.
One of his many highlights was the win of an Olympic Gold Medal as a Lightweight during the 1972 Munich Games where he did not give up a single point in all of his matches.
Following his extraordinary amateur wrestling career at the age of 28, Dan Gable became the wrestling coach at the University of Iowa in 1976.
In the nine years, from 1978 to 1986, under Gable’s leadership the Hawkeyes won the NCAA title each year, a record nine in succession.
He continued to coach the team until a sabbaticall after the 1997 season.
Gable’s coaching record in dual meets was 355-21-5 and that includes 15 NCAA titles and 21 straight Big Ten titles. Amazing!
He has also been called upon to coach the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team in 1980, 1984 and in 2000 in Sydney, Australia.
Dan Gable stays involved at the University of Iowa and not surprisingly he has also become a highly sought after motivational speaker.
In Waterloo, Iowa, they now even have a Dan Gable Museum that I am definitely going to check out when I head out there.
Now, let’s hit the mat!
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