Martial Arts for mid-air combat

This is doing the tour of Facebook (thanks NJ) at the moment: Wing Chun in action...

"Hong Kong Airlines is training its cabin crew to use wing chun on unruly passengers"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/apr/20/martial-arts-hong-kong-airlines#

and a good excuse for this...(everybody Wing Chun tonight...well, almost)

Sumo wrestling in Mongolia

Interesting article on the BBC website about sumo in Mongolia and the training that these women undergo for their martial art.

"Sumo wrestling has taken Mongolia by storm. Its male wrestlers have reached the peak of the sport in Japan, from where it originates, and in recent years, more and more women have been entering the ring."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11566529

Actor guilty of offensive weapon charge

So it seems that the Scottish courts have judged that the kubotan that Darren Day ('entertainer') was carrying when found drunk was an offensive weapon.

"the sheriff was told by two martial arts experts from Lothian and Borders Police that the kubotan was designed in the 1970s for use by the Los Angeles Police as a self-defence weapon and in a worst case scenario could be used to kill someone."

So there you have it. I'm guessing thought that the same martial arts experts could have argued that owning a pen or a credit card could also be judged offensive if used in an offensive manner. I guess their argument is that the kubotan was developed as a weapon in the first place.

Interesting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8606969.stm

How a key ring can be an offensive weapon

A British 'entertainer' is currently in court for possessing an offensive weapon. The weapon in question is what he uses as a key ring and is a kubotan: a five inch metal rod developed as a self defence system in your pocket.

The 'entertainer' in question maintains that he wasn't aware of this aspect to what he maintains is simply his way of not losing his keys. I am somewhat intrigued to see how this develops and to see if this is seen as a weapon. Is carrying some offcuts of dowel home from the DIY shop an illegal act? Or indeed a six foot curtain rail in the same form and weight as a bo staff going to cause legal problems?

Admittedly the kubotan is directly advertised as a self defence weapon and as well as being able to be used to strike, and to gain leverage in locks and pins, when keys are attached can be used as a flail. But the kubotan is a development of the traditional 'yawara' weapon used in many martial arts which is simply a short stick. Just as the kubotan was used by police forces in the US in the mid 1970s it seems that the yawara was introduced some 40 years previously to the Californian police force by Professor Frank Matsuyama. Matsuyama's yawara use was seen as 'humane' as it "enables a man to overcome his opponent before trouble can really begin" (ref).

This following video shows a modern take on defence with the kubotan by some krav mga practitioners:

And another showing how effective and somewhat viscous this little stick could be in a self defence situation:

So I can see how these small sticks can be brutally effective but surely the intent has to be to use it as a weapon. Or is this a cop out? After all, if it's classified as a weapon, then there's not much to say in its defence. It'll be interesting to see how this current kubotan court case pans out here.

Can anything be used as a weapon? What about a magazine? Surely not...

Go to 1 minute 30...

Rotary Martial Arts Festival

Sunday 16th May, 2010, from 1.00pm to approx 4.30pm

Bath University Sports Village, Main Sports Hall.

http://www.rotarymaf.com/

Featuring demonstrations from 12 different Martial Arts

Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Kung Fu, Kenbudo, Krav Maga

Ju Jitsu, Stav, Capoeira, Aikido, Systema

Combat Jutsu & Mixed Martial Arts, F.A.S.T. Defence

Man tries to karate chop a moving train...and fails

Oh well.... He probably wasn't using a deep enough stance...

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/lifestyle/the-other-side/man-tries-to-karate-chop-train-fails/story-e6frfhk6-1225824675343

"A 33-YEAR-OLD man has come off second best after trying to karate chop a moving train at Eagle Junction station in Brisbane last night."

Martial artists leave man in wheelchair stranded up Snowden!

So much for 'integrity', 'No retreat in battle' , 'perseverance' and 'indomitable spirit'...

This shocking story shows a real lack of moral fortitude or at the very least of intelligence. A group of martial artists ascend Mount Snowdon in a very noble fundraising attempt carrying a wheelchair bound guy with them. Having just checked out some photos of Llanberis Pass where they climbed they must have known they had their work cut out for them. Little did they know that when the hike up the path became too tough they'd decide to leave the man in the wheelchair and finish the climb, returning to pick him up some time later. This seems crazy already but there is still more to come! When they came back to pick him and his wheelchair up for the descent they realised they were too tired to take him down and called mountain rescue!

I don't think mountain rescue were that impressed saying that it was "cheeky"and a call-out could have been avoided if the group had decided to turn around altogether rather than ascending to the summit.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/8313108.stm

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6880145.ece

Neighbour jailed for sword death

"A man who killed his neighbour with a samurai sword in a row over a football has been jailed for 11 years for manslaughter."

Mr Martin died when one of his major heart blood vessels was cut.

Kelly told the court he acted in self-defence.

Judge Christopher Moss said to Kelly: "You had lost your self-control by reason of provocation.

"Your use of the sword was quite deliberate."

BBC site.

The Telegraph's view.

Note the use of the word 'samurai' in this piece's header.

While this may be seen as fodder for the ban the sword lobby (see the Mail article below) I see it more of a case to keep one's level-headedness and cool approach to conflict. Don't lose your cool! (or bring out the 'samurai sword' to settle domestics...!)

Whilst digging around for references to this article I came across another sword related death. This time (unsurprisingly in the Daily Mail) more samurai scare-mongering over this sword. Samurai sword mentioned in headline and in the image caption.

This is the sword.

Martial Arts Festival UK

Will it be worth the trip along the A14?

I'd like to think so, plus if we get booked into some seminars then it's more likely to be useful.

http://www.maf-uk.co.uk/

I would snip in a synopsis of the site but ALL of the text is saved as images..

DOH!

and

(sigh)