Moving on up

For those of you looking for an update or new post, I apologize. I just moved my blog over to Wordpress - and this is the link.

I look forward to learning a bit more about blogging, and I can't wait to see you there.

Don't worry, be HAPPY

Apparently, i just like to have fun all of the time. I don't see what's so bad about that. That's how you can keep saving the world folks. Living is about your life, here and now, on earth. It makes no sense to prep for some ethereal afterlife happiness, but not have any fun while you're here. Life is about pleasure, joy, love, beauty, and seeking those things. It's more that just avoiding pain and discomfort. In fact, it's the complete opposite. Focus on what you want in life, and how you want to live, how you want to feel. The bad in life, the pain, the suffering, it never matters, at all - trust me.

Here's a tune for you all - Happy Weekend

Dream Attack by New Order

31 Jo and Kumijo practice Part One

As promised, I'm putting some of my practice notes online for all to enjoy, correct, and judge harshly. The most recent fruits of my labor are my notes on Saito Sensei's 31 Jo practice, both solo and partnered. First, a few disclaimers:

Please don't attempt to hold me in anyway whatsoever responsible for anything that happens to anyone while using these notes. They are intended for my own personal students, and for my own knowledge.

Please don't hold them as gospel. I'm not an Iwama practitioner, but I prefer the Iwama method, particularly with the handling of the weapons. I HOPE that some of my Iwama friends will see this and offer corrections. For those of you that practice the jo, but not Iwama style, I feel that these notes will give you a wonderful base that will improve all of your Jo practice.

Please seek out direct instruction. My notes are based on study under instructors much more qualified than me, most notably Sensei Thomas Huffman, and Sensei Tim Haffner. If you live here in Jacksonville, and can't find someone who knows the system to teach you, please do not hesitate to get a hold of me so that we can train. In lieu of that, if not in addition to that, I highly recommend purchasing the Aiki Jo DVD produced by Morihiro Saito Soke, available from Aikido Journal. I have not had the chance to purchase Ethan Weisgard's book on the subject, but all the reviews he has received are glowing.

That being said, I would like to offer some advice concerning the practice. First of all, I am assuming the reader is thoroughly familiar with the 20 Jo Suburi. With a decent mastery of the suburi, any kata or kumi practice will not make any sense at all. I have notes on the suburi, but they are great guides to this already on the internet. Always practice with kiai. I won't explain here why it's integral, hopefully, you'll take my word for it. Practice slowly and deliberately at first. Don't rush it - you will miss details if you rush, and develop bad habits.

First, I would like to offer a list of the movements, in order, for the 31 Jo Kata. I have added terminology where there was none listed, and indicated which side is forward with the terms hidari and migi.

Starting from Hidari Jo no Kamae:


Hidari Kaeshi Tsuki
Jodan Dome Barai
Kaeshi Tsuki
Jodan Gaeshi
Migi Uchikomi
Hidari Uchikomi
Ushiro Migi Uchikomi
Hidari Uchikomi
Ushiro Barai
Age Uchi
Hidari Uchikomi
Hidari Tsuki no Kamae
Hidari Choku Tsuki
Jodan Gaeshi
Migi Uchikomi
Migi Gedan Gaeshi no Kamae
Hidari Gedan Gaeshi
Chudan Gaeshi
Hidari Gedan Tsuki
Jodan Gaeshi Migi Gedan Uchikomi
Migi Gedan Gaeshi no Kamae
Hidari Gyakute Tsuki
Chudan Gaeshi
Hidari Choku Tsuki
Hidari Choku Tsuki
Hidari Gedan Gaeshi no Kamae
Migi Gedan Gaeshi
Migi Gyakute Tsuki
Chudan Gaeshi
Migi Choku Tsuki
Hidari Uchikomi

If the terms seem inaccurate please feel free to offer your corrections. If they seem unfamiliar, I recommend comparing my nomenclature with a viewing of the 31 Jo Kata. A YouTube search should provide that easy enough. At first, practice the 31 as you practice the suburi. Then move on to practicing the kata with the feeling of awase, that is, imagining a partner that you are moving against. I hope this is helpful. Next up, 31 Kumijo, moves one through six, illustrated. Enjoy.

For my martial artist friends

I have been compiling and organizing all of my notes lately. I'll be putting them up for folks to glimpse at if anyone is at all interested. Coming soon.

Are you kidding me?

Well, I finally got accused of "looking like Jihad" by some random guy on the street. Really, I heart Jacksonville. To death. Blah. I'm here to save you all, I swear!

You must Lern

One my number ones has an awesome project for all of my more cerebral, cybernerd friends to participate in: Robin Astro

From his site:
"RobinAstro.txt 2006 Variable Media

RobinAstro.txt is a multiuser open-source sockpuppet artwork. Her identity/data body is made available for public use. RobinAstro.txt is an artwork that grew out of my interests in online identity issues, persuasion through media, and collective/social consciousness. Robin's name is derived from round-robin and astroturfing. The above portrait is a composite of actresses Kirsten Dunst, Milla Jovovich, Keira Knightly, and Natalie Portman."

Get started

Vice City-How this Addict does it

I've been talking smack about this for a while, so it's time I just throw it down.
Here's a basic hookah how-to, all photos courtesy of me.



Starting with the glass base, I fill it with whatever I'm going to use as a filter, in this case, water. I fill it until the stem that goes into the water is cover by about an inch of liquid. That's not written in stone, but you definitely don't want to fill it all the way up, and you will know for sure when you don't have enough water.



Here we have the essential goodies that go into packing a bowl. The reddish stuff at the top is the shisha, or tobbacco. The grey sqaures are coals. These coals are the best you can use all around. The only I have used that was better was natural lump coal, which is made from petrfried lemonwood. The coals shown in the picture put out a lot of heat, are odorless, smokeless, and light in a few minutes off of the stove. They are my favorite. The foil is used to make an airtight seal over the tobacco after it's been placed in the bowl. The skewer is used to puncture holes in the foil after it's been affixed to the bowl to allow hot air to be drawn through the pipe from the coals. It will make more sense in a second.



Putting shisha in the bowl. Note the light touch I'm using.



Here's the bowl filled with shisha. You don't literally want to "fill" or "pack" the bowl. The whole thing is all about air flow. You want to break the tobacco apart and then sprinkle it into the bowl so that there's a lot of air between the tobacco pieces. After this, we add the foil seal.





Here's the bowl covered with foil. After you put shisha in the bowl, it's really easy to screw up a hookah. You want to make sure you don't pack down the tobacco when you cover it with foil. Don't over-handle it, and don't pack the shisha down at all. If you do, you'll wind up with a hookah that you won't want to smoke at all, if it actually does smoke.





Poking the holes in the foil and the bowl, almost ready to go. You want to use something thin, sharp, easy to handle, that make a tiny hole. Three things are important here: only pierce the foil so as not to pack down the shisha, don't over-handle the bowl for the same reason, and when poking holes, you about 30, and you want more around the edges and a few in the middle. The rest is pretty easy and I think it only bears illustration.



Heating the coals on the stove.



The assembled hookah, waiting for the ash-catcher, bowl, and pipe.



The ash-catcher attached, and some wet tissue added to the grommet to insure the bowl has a tight fitting seal.



Adding a foil windscreen to the bowl. This isn't completely necessary. Just wanted to show off that I could do it.



My bowl, packed, wrapped, poked, screened, and ready to be put on the hookah.



The finished assembly of all the major players. All we're waiting on are the coals and the pipe.



The coals are done. The coals I use are organic, but they use a thin layer of silver lighting agent that must be completely burned off before safe to use. Here, I'm blowing off any silvery remains over the sink.



The coals are in place and I'm good to go. Just remember - breathe in, BREATHE OUT. Smoke responsibly people. Don't ruin it for me. WORD.

I am an addict

I'm a non-smoker - no cigars, cigarettes, pot, whatever. I consider myself a moderate drinker at times. But I'm addicted to Hookah. I just got back from a road trip, six hours one way, and we smoked hookah the whole way up and down. Let me tell you all about it, how it started. A couple of years ago, I was at my favorite place, The Casbah, and a friend of mine was like "Autrelle, just try it."

Okay, it's a short story, but the point is now, I'm hooked. For those of you that don't what I'm even talking about, here is the gist: a hookah, or more properly called arghile is a glass-based water pipe that has one or more stems, and is designed to function by way of liquid filtration and indirect heat.

A quick look at this illustration will give you the idea. Generally, you smoke shisha from a hookah. Shisha, as I have come to love it, is a tobacco that is soaked in molasses and glycerine. The result is a tobacco that isn't ignited, but heated, in order to produce smoke. It comes in wonderful flavors that can be enjoyed as they are, or combined into a smoker's cocktail. Currently, my favorite flavors are watermelon, lemon, honey, cinnamon, grape, blueberry, and cherry. For real fun, you can flavor the water filter also, with milk, beer, wine, or whatever you can think of. I remember really enjoying a cherry hookah with a Dr. Pepper filter. It was the BOMB.

If anyone ever wants to smoke a hookah here in Jacksonville, I recommend the Casbah. It has the highest quality product, and is the most authentic hookah experience in Jacksonville. The food and drinks are great, the staff is beautiful and friendly - you can't go wrong. If you can't make it out to Casbah, come by the house - we'll pass the peace pipe.

Violence, anyone?

As a martial artist and a thinker, I often wonder what is the proper purpose and use of violence. I think that maybe some definitions will be needed. Let's check Merriam-Webster's:

"Pronunciation:
\ˈvī-lən(t)s, ˈvī-ə-\
Function:
noun
Date:
14th century

1 a: exertion of physical force so as to injure or abuse (as in warfare effecting illegal entry into a house)

b: an instance of violent treatment or procedure

2: injury by or as if by distortion, infringement, or profanation : outrage

3 a: intense, turbulent, or furious and often destructive action or force

b: vehement feeling or expression : fervor; also : an instance of such action or feeling

c: a clashing or jarring quality : discordance

4: undue alteration (as of wording or sense in editing a text)"

Let's go with the first one here: exertion of physical force so as to injure or abuse.

So that begs the question: when is it proper to exert physical force so as to injure someone?

ALL OF THE TIME!

Just kidding! What I can offer is only my opinion, but I will back it up for and leave you the reader to mull it over. I think it's proper in a few circumstances: immediate protection from harm of oneself and others, the protection of one's property, and justice.

Self protection and protection of others: In martial arts we are taught effective ways to hurt people. In advanced study, we are to taught deliver injury in degrees, meaning instead of killing someone in self-defense, we only have to render them unconscious or break a limb (for example). The issue here is that sometimes you can't run, and sometimes the law enforcement will not be there in time. No one has the right to impose bodily harm to you, no matter what you have done. By that I mean quite simply, I would never bother to try to justify kicking someone's ass that tried to hurt me. I feel it's my duty to stay healthy. It's not my duty to get my ass kicked. If I see someone being physically assaulted, and I feel I can safely intervene on that person's behalf, I will. Equally important to realize is that some people will assault your sensibilities. By this I mean that if you are acting really stupid, I might kick your ass over it. It's hard to give a hard and fast example of this, but I know for a fact that if someone ever insulted my mother in front of me, I would kick your ass. Your mind is just as important, if not more than your body. Assaults on your senses, on what you believe in, should not be taken lightly. I'm not advocating stabbing someone for stepping on your shoe, but I would immediately slap someone who referred to me using a slur, or if they insulted a lady in my company, or at least I would want to. That's just me.

Property rights and justice are coming soon. I want to get some sleep now.

Back from ATL

I had a blast. Heather was awesome company and the art show was on point. LOTS of pictures coming soon. Some super hot women, nice people all around, and great food. I'm euphoric! Rest now.

Wordpress

At an earlier, nerdier time, I wanted to host my blog via Wordpress on my own machine. I'm pretty happy with Blogger, but after seeing Flora's blog, I'm jocking Wordpress pretty hard. Anyone here make the switch and live to tell?

Heather and Yours Truly in Atlanta Y'all!

Your favorite guy will be in Atlanta checking out Heather Vega's art show. If you haven't checked out her site yet, get on it. Those of you in the area - stand up! Those of you I'm leaving behind - I'll be back tougher than ever.

Courtesy of Flora

Read this. It's Flora's lastest blog entry. There is a link to her Wordpress Blog on the side there. Of interest to me was this lunatic's rantings. I don't like to talk about race and racism, because, really, I don't believe in the concept of race (yes, race is a concept). I believe that race, and what follows and is known as racism are subjective things, and not a part of objective reality. You really have to convince yourself and buy into the idea of "race." Let me "explain" my standpoint somewhat.

Dogs are a great example. Two different kinds of dog are just two different kinds of dog-not two different races. Now are two "different kinds" (insert whatever way you continue to divide yourself from other people) of humans really that different? We're really talking about the differences in culture, people. Culture. Let's just go ahead and take "black" and "white" people, let's go there. Are we really talking about skin color? Because I say we're talking about culture. Let make some assumptions for the sake for discussion:

Racism in the U.S. originated from the culture of slavery about 400 years ago
All of those slaves were "black" (or "not-white"-whatever)

Let's assume that all of the problems that we call racism stem from the whole slavery thing. Now, riddle me this: what if all of the slaves and slave owners were of the same ethnicity/skin color/whatever? I really believe that if that were the case, we would have the exact same problems we have today, but they would be addressed as problems concerning culture and not "race".

I have to do some more thinking on this. There is more to follow, for sure. I want all of your feedback - do not hold back. Thank you Flora,

Reply from Sensei Tom Huffman

Hey Autrelle,

Did you read what I sent you? We handle "Psycho Stabs" and "Slashes" regularly. Also one of my senseis Nishimoto Sensei liked the knife held back along the wrist. It is much different to handle. My advanced students are getting pretty good at handling them. I don't advocate anyone going to "test" them for real. I think that would be stupid!! And, if you do that, you deserve to get stabbed.

Elizabeth has brought in an interesting attack knife that looks like a parrot's beak that is sharpened on both sides and has a twirling ring for a finger on one end. There is only one thought of someone carrying this type of knife, and it is purely to attack people. We are going to develop take-aways for this knife.

I will be stressing to people that this person does not deserve the "We don't injure people." response. I tell her that the Ai Ki in this case is for the good of the rest of society. The person who is carrying this knife should be seriously debilitated so he has a long time to consider the error of his ways.

I don't see any reason to learn knife to knife techniques. How many people in society carry a knife of any size. Not many in America. Therefore, it is better to focus on how to handle the armed attack when you are disarmed.

And the knife against a sword or jo is just stupid on the part of the knife attacker. The knife attacker is so out ranged that the knife attacker's chance at successfully disabling someone carrying a longer range weapon is probably less than 5% or 5 out of 100 attacks. The knife attacker will loose OFTEN.

Tom Huffman Aikido of Gainesville, Florida

There are some great points of interest here. I have to do some homework and wrap my brain around my own response. Huffman Sensei's input here is much valued.

How not to be sad

Sometimes I do things backwards. By that I mean, if I can't figure out exactly how to do something, I can usually figure out EXACTLY HOW NOT TO DO IT. For example, I can't tell you how to be happy. But, I can you how not to be sad.

Here's something that I learned a long time ago and I always forget:
Don't make your happiness so conditional.
Yet, we all do it everyday. If I get this job, I'll be happy. If so-and-so calls me, I'll be happy. What happens when you tell yourself these sort of things is that you program yourself to be unhappy if you don't get what you want. You don't always get what you want. There is no need to make yourself unhappy. Fight for your happiness! Lest it be torn from you by force, be happy.

October 5

I met up with a bunch of my friends the night before my birthday.
There was some beer involved. I had my camera. This is what happened.

View Album

Get your own

Whew!

I have a lot to cover. Even unemployed I find very little time for myself!
What to expect in the next few entries:

Hundreds of pictures: My martial arts friends, birthday pictures, partying, etc.
More on the knife
Some thoughts I have had about some recent conversations
What my friend Jerry calls "Go-Kyu Shihans" (I love that!)

Just stick around, okay?

Aikido and the Knife

If you haven't read my previous rant on the knife work in Aikido, I suggest you start here. That piece was an attempt to get some some answers from my Aikido community. The few answers that I got, I didn't like. And by that I mean since writing the last piece, I went to the dojo and went over the ways some things are usually done, and the suggestions I received. I was not a happy camper. Especially since I have the Filipino Martial Arts perspective on it. In my opinion, the way the knife is addressed in Kali is a wake up call to Aikidoka. Currently, I don't have detail to detail specific knife practice in Kali. Also, I don't think it's safe to try to learn or teach anything about martial arts without a live instructor. That being said, I will share what I think will be a useful start.

Let's begin by realizing that the head and body aren't the only intended targets. Quite simply, anywhere you are cut, you are going to suffer. This is important to understand because some of the Tantodori I have been taught, and most of the Tantodori I have seen, offer the hands and arms up for slicing practice. The way the arms and hands are used show little concern for or knowledge of how a knife fighter will try to hurt you. This shows a lack of knife fighting experience. What? An Aikidoka needs to understand knife fighting in order to do Tantodori? Of course. Most Aikido systems already prove this by example: We practice sword on sword to know the nature of the sword fighter, and staff on staff for the same reason. Then we practice sword and staff taking. So yes, something is missing.

Here is an article about a man who attempted to tackle a knife wielding person. Look at this picture of his arm:


So we know that a skilled knife fighter can beat you by cutting you pretty much anywhere.

Some system of knife on knife practice that relates directly to Tantodori must be practiced. It has to happen. It will foster an awareness on the matter that can't be done otherwise. I'm not sure who said it, but it was a famous Kali instructor who said "If you can't fight knife to knife, what makes you think you can face the knife bare handed?" Well spoken. Almost anything would be better than the nothing that is knife on knife practice in Aikido. Here are some factors to consider:

How are the knives held? Point up or point down? Edge up in or edge out? Single knife versus single knife? Double knife versus double? Both partners standing?

The ideas could go on and on. I think the easiest way to start is to establish a striking pattern with the knife, in the same way the FMA does. This diagram comes from the Military Combatives Manual, and is the same numbering system used in many FMA.



Now we already have a wider range to deal with instead of just Munetsuki and Yokomenuchi. What also has to happen is the idea of the attack combination. As I have said before, slashing the knife back and forth is a common and effective attack that can be done without training by anyone. So, it needs to be addressed in our Tantodori.

Allow me to backtrack a bit. I think it's odd that in Aikido, we practice Kumitachi, and Kumijo, but we don't pick up a weapon at all to go against the knife. You would think that there would be a ton of "Aiki Jo Versus the Dagger" DVDs out there. I'm going to make one right now and sell it to you!

Okay, I'm going to back to the dojo. I'll let you know what I come up with. In the meantime - Cheers.

Last Night Ubuntu Saved My Life

My iBook has been on the fritz. If you know me at all, you know that my iBook is how I get things done. I do EVERYTHING on that thing. And on Linux. I use Firefox to browse the web (duh). I use Pidgin as my multiprotocol IM client. I use k9copy for dvd backup. I use k3b to burn anything. VLC for video. I'm torn between Rhythmbox and Amarok for my choice of audio player. Gimp and Inkscape for my graphics editing. Avidemux for my video editing. Open Office for, well, my office stuff. And I know I already told you about Frostwire. Don't be jealous of my Melissa Joan Hart desktop - I made that as a transfer print for an art show years ago.

I'm way cooler than I think.

Tribe-K WANTS YOU

Come train! Get your skills UP. I won't always be there to beat up all the jerks that need to get beat up. Just get at me.

Autrelle@Tribe-K.com