Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Kung Fu Badfinger


Badfinger Cocanut Killer

And... The real "Badfinger"

Ahh, yes, this takes me back to Eighth Grade.
The history of this band is fascinating. Originally from the UK, they headlined with groups such as "The Yardbirds" and eventually a roadie for the Beatles hooked them up with Apple Records. The Beatles were very supportive of the group. Unfortunately, they fell into the hands of a mob-connected manager who squandered their money and left them in near financial ruin. Friction also arose when wives of band members got involved in management issues (there's always a Yoko). Lead singer Pete Ham comitted suicide, the others ended up laying carpet and working for an industrial plumbing company. I believe surviving member Joey Molland is still out on the Casino circut with remenants of the band.
So tragic, with ethical management, these guys really, really could have had a nice long run...

8 comments:

Sean C. Ledig said...

Two comments.

First, that finger in the coconut is one of most impressive breaks I've ever seen. I've broken the standard 12x12 pine boards with a spear hand and it took me a while to get to that point.

I can only imagine what kind of specialized training must be involved in the coconut break.

It's definitely better than those guys who place coconuts on the ground or against a hard wall and smash them with a palm. Newsflash! They're lifting up the coconut at the last moment and it is the impact against the ground or wall that breaks it, not the hand.

Onto the group, Badfinger - Great video! The combination of martial arts comentary, a predominance of intelligent postings, a love of classic rock and hippy chicks will always keep me coming back.

John Vesia said...

Badfinger was great. McCartney and Harrison were involved in some of their recordings. The bass player (I can't remember his name) ended up comitting suicide a few years after Ham. Very sad.

Charles James said...

Badfinger, ah the memories...

I firmly believe in karada-kitae. I also believe in moderation with full consideration for the repercussions when not practiced properly as to health and well being.

I also believe that such demonstrations and the view taken when you see the damage that it clouds minds as to training in body conditioning.

I believe you can prepare and harden the body for defense, which is necessary in my opinion, but do it in a manner that will not leave you crippled or worse...

Love the music :-)

Dojo Rat said...

I agree, Charles.
We do not need to punch through Samurai armor or car doors for that matter.
I've heard guys that were breaking champions say that they can't even hold a pencil for more than a minute anymore.
Demonstrations of the cocanut type are an oddity, but the guy says "it put food on his faminy's table for years".
We need to build, craft, type and play music to put food on our tables these days.
D.R.

Nathan at TDA Training said...

I can easily perform that stunt - and a stunt it is! I could even use my pinkie finger for it. [As long as it, and my other fingers are firmly wrapped around a hammer!] Nice segue to the band, too.

JoseFreitas said...

You can build yourself up to being an amazing "breaker" without hurting your hands or health. I know at least two such practitioners, both of which can break amazing stacks of bricks (Sifu James McNeil and Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit). They are both in their 60's and very healthy (scarily healthy, I might add). It's just a question of balancing the types of training. Sifu McNeil would never train a method which might hamper his hand sensitivity, for instance. I'm not a huge fan of this type of training, but I've taken the basic Iron Palm method, and I have to add, that for a former wimp like me, suddenly coming to the point of being able to break two or three bricks is an amazing self confidence builder.

Sean C. Ledig said...

I agree with Jose. I used to include a lot more hand conditioning in my training.

Done properly, the only outward signs of what I've done is that my palms have gotten beefier. There's a lot more meat and muscle than was there previously.

The important things are to include some good chi gong at the beginning, use a good dit da jow and a little common sense.

I don't do much hand conditioning due to the lack of time and because I have some arthritis in my thumbs. No, my doctor assures me that the type of arthritis I have is due to genetics. I have it in the exact same place as my father and my grandfather.

Still, hand conditioning does irritate it.

Right now, the main exercises I do to condition my hands are the wooden dummy training, the siniwalis from the Filipino arts and catching a heavy bean bag filled with beebees.

Weapons work, especially siniwalis with a partner, will condition your hands. If you're not used to it, you'll feel every vibration when you go stick-to-stick.

I've said for years that I could beat the overwhelming majority of strip-mall martial artists in a fight. It's not because I'm so good.

It's just that I actually hit things, like the mook, the heavy bag, etc. in my training. Bag work has become a thing of the past in most schools.

Lastly, I've been having "Baby Blue" and "Day After Day" going through my head as a result of this post on Badfinger. I'm glad to see so many other classic rock fans.

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