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Topics - maija

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Martial Arts Topics / No Trespassing
« on: June 19, 2010, 06:27:39 PM »
My house/yard is a big construction project at the moment, and though fenced is not completely secure as yet - though soon to be.
Anyway, long story short - found a homeless guy wandering around in the side yard, the 3rd such incident now - "Oh sorry, thought the property was abandoned"
Yah ......
No issues - joy of having a nice large canine companion, but it got me thinking of the psychology of protecting your home and environment (apart from the obvious high locked gates). My better half suggested pigs heads on stakes ... but I'm for a bit more subtlety personally! LOL
For instance, an old friend on mine, is ex-military and has collected military gear for many years. His neighbors say that the camo net in the front yard that he uses as a shade structure has kept the crime on their block at zero compared to the rest of the neighborhood.
I also started remembering some of the incredibly humorous no trespassing signs and bumper stickers I've seen, and thought you guys might have some suggestions to add.
My favorites: "No trespassing. Those found on the property after dark will be found on the property in the morning".
And for the bumper sticker: "Keep honking, I'm reloading".

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Martial Arts Topics / Earthquake Safety
« on: March 11, 2010, 04:26:29 PM »
Interesting piece:
 EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON THE 'TRIANGLE OF LIFE'

My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the
American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced
rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an
earthquake.

I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams
from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am
a member of many rescue teams from many countries.

I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years. I
have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except
for simultaneous disasters.

The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City
during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child
was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived
by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene,
unnecessary and I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I
didn't at the time know that the children were told to hide under
something. I am amazed that even today schools are still using the
"Duck and Cover" instructions- telling the children to squat under
their desks with their heads bowed and covered with their hands. This
was the technique used in the Mexico City school.

Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings
falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects,
leaving a space or void next to them. This space is what I call the
'triangle of life'. The larger the object, the stronger, the less i t
will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the
greater the probability that the person who is using this void for
safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed
buildings, on television, count the 'triangles' you see formed. They
are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a
collapsed building.

TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY

1) Almost everyone who simply 'ducks and covers' when buildings
collapse ARE CRUSHED TO DEATH. People who get under objects, like desks
or cars, are crushed.

2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position.
You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival
instinct. That position helps you survive in a smaller void. Get next
to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will
compress slightly but leave a void next to it.

3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during
an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the
earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids
are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing
weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will
cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.
Concrete slab buildings are the most dangerous during an earthquake.

4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply
roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can
achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting
a sign on the back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie
down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.

5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out
the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position
next to a sofa, or large chair.

6) Almost everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is
killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls
forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the
door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In
either case, you will be killed!

7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different 'moment of
frequency (they swing separately from the main part of the building).
The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each
other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people
who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads ?
horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away
from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be
damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they
may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should
always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not
damaged.


Cool Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside Of Them If Possible
- It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than
the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of
the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be
blocked.

9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above
falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly
what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway.
The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their
vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by
getting out and lying in the fetal position next to their vehicles.
Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of
their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids
3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall
directly across them.

10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices
and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact.
Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.

In 1996 we made a film, which proved my survival methodology to be
correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul , University
of Istanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this
practical, scientific test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20
mannequins inside. Ten mannequins did 'duck and cover,' and ten
mannequins I used in my 'triangle of life' survival method. After the
simulated earthquake collapse we crawled through the rubble and entered
the building to film and document the results.

The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under directly
observable, scientific conditions, relevant to building collapse,
showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck
and cover.

There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using
my method of the 'triangle of life.' This film has been seen by
millions of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe, and
it was seen in the USA , Canada and Latin America on the TV program
Real TV.

Spread the word and save someone's life... The entire world is
experiencing natural calamities so be prepared!

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Martial Arts Topics / Annual Live Cannon Shoot
« on: January 26, 2009, 08:44:09 AM »
A friend just forwarded me this for those of you with a cannon in the garage you've been itching to fire! The public is also welcome to watch.  8-)

" Friends;
Save this date:  Saturday, February 21   This is the 5th US Artillery's
(of the Civil War Reenactment Society) annual LIVE SHOOT.  Cannon owners from all over the state come to the Tulare County foothills to fire their Civil War era reproduction cannons
at various targets and see who's got the best aim!  There is really no official competition, as just watching the reaction of the guns with real ammunition is a lesson in itself.
This is the information we have so far:   It will be held on the Trivoli Ranch here in Tulare County Cutler area) and it's normally a one day thing starting at 9:00 a.m., but there has been talk of possibly allowing us to tent there overnight.  Even if that doesn't happen, it's an all day thing, so if you're traveling from a fair distance, plan to just "hold up" with us here at our place (Exeter, CA - about 25 miles from the site), and make a weekend of it. We have more than an acre to park motorhomes, cannons, etc.  If you have a cannon you want to bring, contact Steve Miller, 5th US Artillery Cmdr (real soon) at:  exeter12000@yahoo.com for approval/ instructions/ requirements, etc.
 
Here's a link to pix from last years shoot!
 http://www.slide.com/r/hdSk_IEm4j-VlhAnrPoTZkDEsUupSJk7?view=original
 
 
  Let us hear from you!
 Becki Redwine Enjoy the updated website for the Civil
War Reenactment Society:   www.cwrs.info
! New year...new news.  Be the first to know what is making headlines .






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Martial Arts Topics / Gary Spiers article
« on: November 25, 2008, 06:04:42 PM »
Here's a link to an interview by Terry O'Neill with Gary Spiers, from "Fighting Arts" magazine in 1986.
It's long, but well worth the read: Tough upbringing + traditional martial arts training + a lifetime of real life 'encounters' as a doorman and security in Australia and the UK.
http://www.cqbservices.com/?page_id=38

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Martial Arts Topics / Jamaican Fight Night
« on: May 15, 2008, 03:45:39 PM »

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Martial Arts Topics / Movie Fights
« on: January 02, 2008, 10:11:53 AM »
The subject of fight choreography has come up a bit lately, so I have to ask, what are you guys' favorites?
Obviously 'movie' and 'realism' don't really fit in the same sentence, but there are definitely more satisfying vs more irritating fight sequences out there.
I'm always looking for recommendations, so any suggestions?
Here are a few of my suggestions: For complete movies, one of my personal favorites is "The Yakuza" with Robert Mitchum. I also enjoyed the "Bourne" trilogy, "Time and Tide",The "Zatoichi" series, "Ong Bak", "Hero", "Fist of Legend", and the latest Bruce Willis "Live Free or Die Hard" which was hilarious.
There are also particular moments in movies that were neat, though the rest sucked, but I'll leave those for now....

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Martial Arts Topics / sparring/fighting with bladed weapons
« on: May 23, 2007, 05:46:20 PM »
This thread goes back to the "June 2007 Gathering" thread, and a comment by JDN on may 21st regarding the regularity with which blade sparring using training blades, usually turns into a "bloodbath" with both parties cut to ribbons.
i am personally continually irritated by blade sparring which involves the opponents, after a bit of dancing around, running at eachother into a clinch and stabbing eachother to death, with obvious complete disregard for their own safety.
standing in front of someone holding a live blade, knife, machete, katana, pinute, whatever, and i can tell you that my first impulse is not to run at them, taking a few cuts on the way in as i go for the strike/take down.
so my question is..how do you train in a respect for the blade, which holds true even when you are sparring with non-live blades?  chalking the blades has been mentioned which is great, and of course the shock knife.
any other thoughts?
the training method i learned from sonny has a built in escalation that keeps the idea of evasion uppermost whilst upping the ante on the competitive level of the flow. i think this a great way to keep aware of the unforgiving nature of the blade.
of course this can fly out of the window when the adrenalin raises, especially if you feel you are losing! but i have to say that the few occasions that i saw sonny start to lose his temper, it was because we were sparring as a group, getting sloppy and exchanging hits. the live blades would then come out and we would each have to flow with him. sometimes he would make us block with the blade held against the body whilst he struck and caused sparks from the steel to steel contact, the cold shower he called it. otherwise we would take turns with the aluminium or foam blades, and the first hit on the hand, or body we had to sit out.
i know this is a question with many aspects:- training empty hand against weapon, pure self defence, etc,  but i guess i am most interested in both opponents  armed and with some skill. i think this scenario has more subtle risk evaluation questions, and perhaps more tactical ones.
personally, getting away clean seems like a worthy goal. so how do you train it alongside the idea that you probably will not......?

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