T-shirt Giveaway Results from Ooshirts
Thanks to everyone who helped make this giveaway a success! We reached our goal and have crested the 10,000 mark on Facebook. The value and contributions of facebook members continue to be an important part of ikigaiway.com.
As you might recall, I decided to work with a private company called Ooshirts for this giveaway. Ooshirts.com specializes in T-shirt printing, and here is the result from the ikigaiway project:
Since receiving the shirts, I have reached out to all three randomly selected winners of the contest. If you didn't hear from me, unfortunately it means you didn't have a lucky draw - but don't worry, there will be more giveaways in the future!
I'd like to take a moment and express my appreciation for the quality of easy process provided by Ooshirts. Their website is very intuitive, and made the design process a snap. I didn't have any issues with file type or size or formatting. Many of the hair pulling elements of working with online design were carefully avoided by Ooshirts.
The company also utilizes a friendly, hands-on customer service method. They provide free review of design by their internal graphic designers, who guide you and alert you to any complications that might arise BEFORE they go about printing.
Check em out, and thanks again to everyone involved.
Bob Anderson, Master Fencer and Lightsaber Extraordinaire, Passes Away at 89
Very few martial artists have had more cultural impact than Bob Anderson...especially considering most people have never heard of him.
When you reflect on the best sword fighting scenes in cinema history, you might cite some of the following movies:
- The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
- Mask of Zorro
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
- The Princess Bride
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
- Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
- The Three Musketeers
- Highlander
Imagine one man with the depth of knowledge and passion for excellence needed to bring combat to life on all of those movies. Bob Anderson was the man behind the swords.
Image Courtesy of ScienceFiction.com
Life and Times
"Born in Gosport, Hampshire, Anderson followed his father into the Royal Marines in his early 20s. In September 1942, he was one of the survivors when HMS Coventry was badly damaged in the eastern Mediterranean by German dive-bombers. After the second world war, Anderson, who had taken up fencing at a very young age, taught the sport as an instructor for the services. He won competitions with all four weapons – foil, sabre, épée and bayonet – and represented Britain at the Olympics in Helsinki in 1952. It was while waiting to compete there that he was asked to go to Pinewood Studios to work with Flynn on The Master of Ballantrae. " - The Guardian
Bob Anderson was a man who managed to turn his expertise into a fruitful career. After working with Errol Flynn, Anderson's star rose as he moved from movie to movie. He became known as a tough perfectionist working behind the scenes, but his effort repeatedly showed on film. Anderson even made appearances as he doubled for various actors.
Years of Olympic experience and stage presence made Anderson the elite sword coach in Hollywood all throughout his life.
Here's more on Anderson as a coach and swordsman:
The Birth of the Lightsaber Duel
Although lightsabers played an important role in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, they truly came alive in the duels of the second two movies in the original trilogy. The lightsaber appeared to be a unique mixture of fencing sword crossed with medieval broadsword. The results were stunning and game changing.
The individual under the mask of Darth Vader, David Prowse, was allegedly not up to the task of bringing the duels to life. It was Anderson who stepped in, at the age of 60, and fought Mark Hamill on screen.
The portrayal of sword work in movies has never been the same.
A Lasting Career
Despite his advanced age, Anderson continued to be active on movie sets, demanding excellence from actors such as Viggo Mortensen of Lord of the Rings. In fact, he was working on the upcoming movie The Hobbit, which is set to be released toward the end of 2012.
Sadly, he won't be able to finish that particular project, but there is no doubt his mark will be left on the movie when it hits the silver screen.
The Lives of Many
The amount of lives Anderson has touched can hardly be overstated. The Princess Bride is my personal favorite movie. I recall growing up with it and every time I watched the sword duel between Wesley and Inigo I was stunned into silent study. The intrigue, banter, and athletics were perfectly executed. The moves were so fluid and astounding that I couldn't imagine two better swordsmen in the whole world.
It's satisfying to know that the man behind the choreography was indeed one of the best, and will always be remembered for his lasting efforts.
IkigaiWay T-Shirt Giveaway (Super Rare!)
Hello everyone! Every now and then I like to celebrate a milestone of the website. Happily one such milestone is approaching. The Facebook Fan Page is approaching 10,000 group members!
This is great - I didn't suspect it would grow so large and I'm very thankful it has.
In order to help get us over the hump, I want to do a giveaway. This giveaway is rather special because it is going to feature IkigaiWay T-Shirts. These are the first of their kind as IkigaiWay has never had any personal swag outside of stickers.
A custom printing company called OoShirts has been kind enough to offer three shirts for the giveaway. OoShirts is a private startup out of Berkeley California and I am happy to support them.
The Shirts
Here is a peek at the shirts you'll have a chance to win. I will gather the correct sizes after the winners have been declared and contacted.
The front of the shirt features the unique Ikigaiway tree with mitsu domoe. The site name is featured below the emblem. The back of the shirt displays kanji for the famous saying "Fall down seven, stand up eight". A quote that I feel truly embodies what the martial arts can provide in our lives.
How to Enter
Entering for this contest has two easy steps.
1. spread the word about Ikigaiway.com.
You can do this one of two ways. If you have a blog, you can make a mention of the site and link to it. The context of the mention is totally up to you.
The second is by utilizing the Facebook "share" button. Goto the Ikigaiway facebook page, and locate the share button as shown below:
(click the image to enlarge)
2. Tell me you did it.
Drop a quick comment on this blog post to let me know you shared. Be sure to include your email address when filling our your commenting name so I can reach back out to you.
That's it.
How will I know if you actually shared or not? Because you gave me your word that you did, and you are a martial artist. It's what we do and who we are. You're word is good enough for me.
End of Contest
The contest will end after we crest the 10,000 fan mark. At that time, all the participating names will be put into an electronic hat and three will be drawn randomly. Those winners will be contacted in order to get their proper size and shipping address.
Good luck, and thanks for all your support!
