Wolf Pack

The worse the global economy gets, the more we are going to hear stories like this. At first glance, a martial artist might think "Hey, I can't use lethal force against these guys, they're just kids". But the bottom line is, they almost killed him. I also think this is a clear example of why you can NOT rely on submission wrestling/grappling techniques as your primary self-defense art. There's just too many attackers. I've been in two different gang-type fights with multiple attackers; has anybody else? How would you handle this?

Beaten to pulp by kids over smokes
REBEKAH CAVANAGH
May 7th, 2009
BASHED: Glenn Lambourn bears the scars of the attack. Picture: CLIVE HYDE

A TERRITORY man was beaten to a pulp by a gang of more than 20 teenage bike bandits - some as young as eight - because he had no cigarettes to give them.

Heavily bruised and suffering a fractured eye socket, broken jaw and shattered teeth, Glenn Lambourn was still shaken when talking to the Northern Territory News about the vicious street attack.
"I thought I was going to die," he said, his voice trembling. "They just kept smashing me over the head - I was on all fours and they surrounded me and kept laying the boot in flat out.
"They just did not stop - I felt my teeth go.
"All I could do was try and run but I kept falling."
Mr Lambourn, 35, said he had been drinking with friends at the Palmerston Tavern in Palmerston CBD when he left and walked towards University Ave to catch a cab about 9.30-10pm on Sunday.
He said the kids - all of Aboriginal appearance and believed to be aged between eight and 14-years-old - approached him on their bikes near the skate park and asked for a cigarette.
Shortly after he said he did not have any, he said he was whacked over the head from behind with a lump of wood "thicker than a stubby", knocking him, face-first, to the ground.
The gang then piled on top of him and repeatedly kicked him in the head, he said.
The truck driver said he managed to get to his feet and tried running, but they chased him - and when he ran through a tunnel that goes under University Ave they pounced on him again, this time picking up one of their bikes and smashing it into the side of his face.
The father-of-one finally managed to escape and was taken to Royal Darwin Hospital in an ambulance.
He said he will undergo surgery to his face where steel plates will be inserted to repair the fractures later this week.
"I'm going to end up with a big bloody scar down my face," he said. "And my teeth are f.....! I can feel them rattling around my mouth."
Mr Lambourn said he would like to see the thugs, who he described as "gutless and callous" locked up,
"But I know that is not going to happen," he said.
He said he lost all faith in the court system after his younger brother was beaten to within an inch of his life interstate and the offender, who was initially charged with attempted manslaughter, ended up walking free.
Mr Lambourn appealed to anyone who witnessed the assault in the Palmerston area on Sunday night to call police on 131 444.

LINK

Guitar "Chicken"

"Sweet Pea" (The Garden Girl, my original), and "Wagon wheel"

Oh my Freakin' DNA...
In a failed science experiment gone very wrong, I played a game of Guitar Chicken with Steve Perry at "Old Enough To Know Better". Steve is an accomplished author, martial artist and musician.
We faced off... we pointed our guitars at each other... we mashed down the pedal, poured on the gas and went careening towards each other at breakneck speed... and I lost bigtime.
Here is Steve's first song, "One Toke Over The Line", and here is his second, a play on country music.
As you can see, Steve is very professional and can actually carry a tune. Our guys suck pretty bad, I had to just laugh my ass off... the lighting was terrible, the background noise overpowered my little camera, and the guy pretending to play the harmonica didn't even want to be there.

"Tuesday's Gone"
BWA-hahaha... Ouch!
Steve! We're not worthy!

Study Of "Split" in Tai Chi Chuan

Well, it was time for Larry, Moe and Curley to do another video, so here's the latest installment of Drinking Dojo Productions.
This is a rough draft of a study of "Split" in Tai Chi Chuan. I think we'll use this as a prototype for a better scripted video at a future date. There were a lot of techniques to think about, and of course the minute the camera went off I remembered several other prominent techniques such as 'White Crane Spreads Wings" and "High Pat On Horse".
The first technique, Single Whip, is the most recognizable of common Tai Chi Chuan postures. The second technique shown, the forearm smash is out of the 88-movement two-person San Shou fighting form. It is probably the most devestating technique in the Yang style, and is also seen in a version of Irimi-nage in Aikido.
One thing that is very clear is that some versions of "Split" have a strong element of "Peng", or outward expanding energy. Others, like locking the elbow in "Raise Hands" have a strong element of "Ji", or squeeze/press. None-the-less, they are still representitive of "Split" - splitting the opponents energy and body in two different directions.
We'll dust this rough draft off and attempt a tighter and more complete version in the near future...

Mooks And Carport Kwoons

Our fellow Florida Dojo Rat Sean Ledig, AKA "Hand2Hand" from our comments section, has booted up his blog "Tales From The Carport Kwoon". Sean is a published writer and martial artist in the Chinese arts/FMA styles, and has a post up that got me thinking about Wing Chun Mooks (Dummies).
While browsing through the links in Sean's post I found the video above, a simple log transformed into a nice durable Mook. I especially like the laminated arms which would be unbreakable, but please notice the coil-spring platform that the Mook is bolted to. This is the same idea I have for the one I want to make, hopefully sometime this summer. I've got a couple of Cedar logs that came down in our woods, and I may use natural crooks of Alder or Maple for the arms and knee.
Sean had an article published in "Inside Kung Fu" with details of the Mook/Dummy that he built, and I think we'll be seeing more about that in the future.
So go on over to "Tales From The Carport Kwoon", and let's help Sean get his new Blog rolling!

When Swine Flu

Whoever thought we would get a chance to use this image of Sarah Palin again?

Or this:

Instructions on how to make a Flu mask out of a Bra. It works better if you leave the Bra securely mounted on your wife or girlfriend while you wear it as a mask. You know, sharing.

--But on a serious note, it has now been proven that the Swine Flu has it's origin in huge, unhealthy and cruel factory farms. Take a look at THIS ARTICLE...

Tai Chi Chuan Training - Yang Applications And Sword Form

Two-Person Yang-Style Sabre Form

Ah, yes. We had another great training session with our Tai Chi Chuan instructor Michael Gilman this weekend. The studio was packed with a good turnout of Michael's local students, My fellow Dojo Rat Corey and I, and Terry and Alex from Dojo Rat Southern Division (Ok, Seattle).
Michael started us on "Chan Su Jin" which is a study of spiral energy. This is something he had introduced before, but is complex to internalize and will require some personal work.

To do this, we started by tracing the Taiji symbol as above with our palms, first vertically then horizontally in front of our body. This was followed by tracing the same patterns (right and left mirror images of the symbol above)with just our internal organs. Outwardly still but inwardly moving our guts around, shifting the Dantien. Finally, and most difficult was doing this as we were walking in a large group circle, tracing the yin-yang symbol with our palms (one direction, then reverse image) in unison with our footsteps. Not as easy as it seems.
With regard to stepping, Michael talked to us about "5-4", which refers to having all five dantiens lined up on the lead foot (lifting the rear foot heal and shifting to ball of foot) before taking the next step.
These drills seem may esoteric, but work directly into proper rooting in applications of push hands etc. These are the golden hints that make Tai Chi Chuan work correctly.
We also worked on the energy of split, or lieh, which I am working out ideas for a video on. And of course, some of us had a lively few minutes of push hands also.
As a little suprise to us, Terry had asked Michael to introduce us to the two-person Sabre form, which Terry had been working on from Michael's instructional DVD.
I had seen Michael demonstrate the form before, but this is the first time we have tried to learn it. Terry actually did very well, as he had been studying the form for several weeks. We all had a blast (weapons are fun!) and I think we will be spending a few minutes on this form every seminar we go to for a while.
Stay tuned for some ideas on "Split", coming up...

Here's the link to Michael Gilman, at "The Gilman Studio".
And here is a link to Michael's YouTube Page

May: Cute Hippie Chick Of The Month

Ha,ha... Thanks to fellow Dojo Rat Shy Amir over in Israel. Oh, you kids and your music these days... Why, I had no idea Chuck Liddell did music videos...

-Off to a Tai Chi Chuan seminar, this one on supporting energies Pull down, Split, elbow and shoulder. more in a couple of days...