George Kerr, British judoka, receives CBE

George Kerr, top judoka and president of the British Judo Association, has been recognised in the Queen's New Year Honours list.

The 73-year-old was given a CBE for his services to judo, coming soon after being awarded the Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan.

Winter run

Happy holidays!

The Shorinji Kempo closing ceremony went well and sake was drunk. A time for reflection on this year's achievements and the goals for the coming year.

Science of Kensetsuwaza – Joint Locks

Science of Kensetsuwaza – Joint Locks

Know your joints: don't panic, don't crank it on. Increase your knowledge.

Nice post.

Mind power: keeping clarity when others are trying to spoil your game

"The essence of good cricket is having a clear mind, so the strategy for the fielding side is to get the batsman thinking about other stuff - whether it's the runs he has or hasn't scored in the past, what his feet might be doing, what his head position might be, what the selectors might be thinking about him, what the crowd might be saying," explains Justin Langer, former (excellent IMO) Australia cricket opener.

"As soon as you start thinking about those things, you're away from having clarity in your mind. That's what sledging is for me - sowing some seeds of doubt in a player's mind. But if you're playing well, with that clarity, it can't touch you."

(Taken from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tomfordyce/2010/12/revolution_in_the_head.html)

Interesting take on mind power: keep a clear mind when there is around you trying to put you off. This shows great self awareness too: confidence in your own abilities.

The perfect Christmas gift for martial artists everywhere

But what sort of kick is that Chuck Norris!?