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Should My Kama Have Holes? (Exploring Form and Function)

Matthew — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 18:44:15 +0000

Kama are one of the classical weapons of Okinawan Kobudo. They are short sickles that have been developed from agricultural tools into cringe-inspiring weapons.

As time has passed, these simple implements have diversified and can now be found in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and capabilities. Because of this new diversity, martial artists can be easily confused and bewildered by the options available to them.

One artist in particular asked: "Why do some kama have holes in the blade? Does it make them faster or better?"

This inspired me to take a look into the development of the weapon, and offer up some explanation as to where the kama came from and how you can discover the appropriate style for you.

Check it out:

Championship Round – Martial Art Movie Showdown

Matthew — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 21:28:08 +0000

This is it! We've come quite a ways, but the final two movies have been selected. While all four movies in the last round were outstanding, the two that have moved on are truly classic.

Trying to choose one over the other is going to be painful, but it must be done.

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The Final Choice. Which Movie is Greatest?online surveys

Round 3 – Martial Art Movie Showdown

Matthew — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:47:33 +0000

The first two rounds are complete and the riffraff has been separated and expunged. The only thing left is top tier, top dog players. Round 3 features two head-to-head competitions amongst the four remaining movies. The winners of this round are granted the right to duel it out in the final championship round. You're goal, albeit not an easy one, is to choose between these remaining players. In round 2 Drunken Master survived a late round rally from Bloodsport to move on, while the remaining three victors achieved success in convincing fashion. Now is the time for voting! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _ _

Round 2 – Martial Art Movie Showdown

Matthew — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 02:34:32 +0000

Welcome to round 2! Some very interesting results from round 1, wherein each star was made to face himself as well as a highly competitive dark horse category filled with great movies. Indeed the dark horse poll was the closest, the winner separating himself from second place by a meager 6 votes out of over 100. Click here to go back and view all the results. Consult Pei Mei's bracket below to see how the second round of competition will shape up (click the image to enlarge). The stakes are higher now as a loss equals elimination; banishment from the tournament. Choose wisely! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - -

Ikigai Mug Schwag

Matthew — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 20:41:18 +0000

I hope everyone had a great holiday and is prepping up for The New Year. I wanted to share with you one Christmas present I received that I thought was pretty super cool:

My sig. other took this ethereal site known as IkigaiWay and turned it into something tangible. This mug swag is pretty hot and is very high quality.

The logo came out really nice, and I was surprised how well it transferred onto the mug. The company she worked worth definitely kept the style and font true to the website.

Did you receive anything cool this year? Perhaps something martial arts related? Let me know!