02/06/2006 In Check It Out, Practice / Training by andy
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In my energy balance article, I mentioned a product from RMAX called Warrior Wellness that I highly recommend for releasing stored tension, increasing dynamic range of motions, and generally keeping the body working as it should. Specifically, I listed it as suggested body maintenance for Taidoka.
In this review, I will share with you some of the things I love about the Warrior Wellness program. I’m hoping that i’ll convince you to purchase it for yourself so you can experience the benefits of including it in your own practice (and I do mean include; you don’t have to add anything, as Warrior Wellness can be integrated with whatever you already do - I refer here to your Taido practice sessions).
In my energy balance article, I mentioned a product from RMAX called Warrior Wellness that I highly recommend for releasing stored tension, increasing dynamic range of motions, and generally keeping the body working as it should. Specifically, I listed it as suggested body maintenance for Taidoka.
In this review, I will share with you some of the things I love about the Warrior Wellness program. I’m hoping that i’ll convince you to purchase it for yourself so you can experience the benefits of including it in your own practice (and I do mean include; you don’t have to add anything, as Warrior Wellness can be integrated with whatever you already do - I refer here to your Taido practice sessions).
Continue Reading...
05/06/2006 In Miscellany, Taido/Blog by andy
A while back, I posted an article featuring my “Bottom 11” - the things that, in my opinion, suck about Taido. Some of these have been fleshed out in more recent articles, and some are just so dense that I have a hard time trying to work my way around them. I plan to expound on each point in due course, but some of them will take serious work. I hate to leave things on a negative note, so in the meantime, I present this opposite list: my Top 11 -the things I love most about Taido.
Let’s start at the technical end of the spectrum. I love Taido because of this ingenious strategic interjection. Unsoku per se is nothing new to martial art, but its implementation in Taido is quite unique. All martial arts of which I am aware have some notion of footwork since they were designed by and for bipeds. Moving on our feet is natural for humans, and this is exactly why most humans do not consider the strategic capabilities of their footwork.
A while back, I posted an article featuring my “Bottom 11” - the things that, in my opinion, suck about Taido. Some of these have been fleshed out in more recent articles, and some are just so dense that I have a hard time trying to work my way around them. I plan to expound on each point in due course, but some of them will take serious work. I hate to leave things on a negative note, so in the meantime, I present this opposite list: my Top 11 -the things I love most about Taido.
Let’s start at the technical end of the spectrum. I love Taido because of this ingenious strategic interjection. Unsoku per se is nothing new to martial art, but its implementation in Taido is quite unique. All martial arts of which I am aware have some notion of footwork since they were designed by and for bipeds. Moving on our feet is natural for humans, and this is exactly why most humans do not consider the strategic capabilities of their footwork.
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08/06/2006 In Learning / Teaching by andy
So, what’s the big deal about patricide? It seems to come up a lot in literature. When the Olympian gods overthrew the titans in greek mythology, it was Zeus who made the victory decisive by murdering his own father, Cronus (who, incidentally, had also murdered his own father). I’m pretty sure there’s a few patricide stories in the Bible (it’s practically a how-to manual for all-around wickedness), but I can’t think of any off the top of my head. Some primitive cultures had coming-of-age rituals in which the sons would act out battles with their fathers and uncles before learning the secrets of the tribe. In American courts, murdering one’s father has become nearly acceptable behavior, provided he did something abusive to the child at some point.
So, what’s the big deal about patricide? It seems to come up a lot in literature. When the Olympian gods overthrew the titans in greek mythology, it was Zeus who made the victory decisive by murdering his own father, Cronus (who, incidentally, had also murdered his own father). I’m pretty sure there’s a few patricide stories in the Bible (it’s practically a how-to manual for all-around wickedness), but I can’t think of any off the top of my head. Some primitive cultures had coming-of-age rituals in which the sons would act out battles with their fathers and uncles before learning the secrets of the tribe. In American courts, murdering one’s father has become nearly acceptable behavior, provided he did something abusive to the child at some point.
Continue Reading...
08/06/2006 In People by andy
note: Some people didn’t understand this article the first time around and took parts of it as an attack on my teacher - a man whom I greatly admire. I have attempted to abate this somewhat by narrowing the focus of this article and dealing with tangential issues in separate posts. Some of the content originally included here has been moved, but I have not significantly altered my general tone or message. Please understand that I am a little sarcastic sometimes, and my humor is extremely dry. There is no venom here; just an honest look at a man few people really understand.
Mits Uchida is the founder and head instructor of the “United States Taido Association.” Much has been made in recent months over my apparent falling out with him (due in large part to misinterpretations of the first incarnation of this article), but I maintain that this is essentially one-sided. Though I cannot support certain aspects of the way he runs his business, I have a deep respect for his abilities, talents, and accomplishments.
note: Some people didn’t understand this article the first time around and took parts of it as an attack on my teacher - a man whom I greatly admire. I have attempted to abate this somewhat by narrowing the focus of this article and dealing with tangential issues in separate posts. Some of the content originally included here has been moved, but I have not significantly altered my general tone or message. Please understand that I am a little sarcastic sometimes, and my humor is extremely dry. There is no venom here; just an honest look at a man few people really understand.
Mits Uchida is the founder and head instructor of the “United States Taido Association.” Much has been made in recent months over my apparent falling out with him (due in large part to misinterpretations of the first incarnation of this article), but I maintain that this is essentially one-sided. Though I cannot support certain aspects of the way he runs his business, I have a deep respect for his abilities, talents, and accomplishments.
Continue Reading...
08/06/2006 In Experiments / Ideas, Taido/Blog by andy
As I mentioned in my top 11 article, one of my favorite aspects of my Taido experience has been the opportunity to participate as a member of an international community. There are people all over the world that share my passion for Taido, and I’ve really enjoyed meeting so many of them. There are plenty of others whom I have not yet had a chance to meet, but I hope to get around to it.
It’s one of my goals for the next couple of years is to visit every country where people are practicing Taido. My reason for wanting to do this is to learn more about how Taido is practiced and what kind of people practice it. The more I can learn about the people who do Taido and the practices in which they engage, the better I can understand what Taido actually is and, more importantly, where it’s going. It’ll give me a chance to influence this evolution as well.
As I mentioned in my top 11 article, one of my favorite aspects of my Taido experience has been the opportunity to participate as a member of an international community. There are people all over the world that share my passion for Taido, and I’ve really enjoyed meeting so many of them. There are plenty of others whom I have not yet had a chance to meet, but I hope to get around to it.
It’s one of my goals for the next couple of years is to visit every country where people are practicing Taido. My reason for wanting to do this is to learn more about how Taido is practiced and what kind of people practice it. The more I can learn about the people who do Taido and the practices in which they engage, the better I can understand what Taido actually is and, more importantly, where it’s going. It’ll give me a chance to influence this evolution as well.
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12/06/2006 In Archives / Info by andy
There currently exist three authorized training locations in the United States Taido Association. I have provided some some basic information below:
US Taido Honbu Dojo - US headquarters
Head instructor - Mitsunobu “Mits” Uchida - 7dan president, US Taido Association
also
- Mitsuaki Uchida - 5dan
- Brendan Dumont - 4dan
URL - www.us-taido.com
Phone - 770.242.6406
Schedule - right here
The primary training center in the US is located in Norcross, Georgia. classes are offered six days a week, with several classes each day for children and adults.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida Dojo
Head instructor - Tom DeVenny - 5dan
URL - www.taidoftl.com
Phone - 954.763.9188
Schedule - right here
This “first branch location” was founded in 1997. Tom offers five to ten hours of classes each week, including “self-defense”, “kids karate” [sic], and Taido for children and adults.
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14/06/2006 In Archives / Info, Georgia Tech Taido by andy
This timeline represents the verifiable history of Taido in the US to the best of my knowledge. My personal history and that of the Georgia Tech Taido Club have been moved to separate posts.
1925
- Seiken Shukumine is born in Okinawa.
1932
- Shukumine begins learning Ko-Ryu under Anko Sadoyama.
1937
- Shukumine begins studying Shuri-Te under Sokko Kishimoto as well as Kendo.
1940-1944
- Shukumine enters the marine division of the kamikaze corps during World War Two. He begins to develop strategies for moving in three dimensions and sets a Japanese military high jump record which reputedly remains unchallenged.
1945
- After surviving the war, Shukumine returns to Okinawa, finding his home destroyed. He retreats to and island to meditate and train. Shukumine adapts the techniques he learned in his youth to be effective in a 3-dimensional space.
1948
- Shukumine begins teaching his martial art in Shizuoka.
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27/06/2006 In Experiments / Ideas, Taido/Blog by andy
The two words “consider it” happen to make up one of my favorite english-langage phrases. I was once asked what was required in order to be considerate - my answer was “consider it.”
So, foregoing any kind of clever segue, a few months ago, I lost the ability to do anything at all to Taido/Blog. Obviously, I have now corrected the issue, but the nature of the actual problem is still somewhat mysterious to me - it’s something semi-technical that falls under the general rubric of “things I’ve chosen not to bother with learning to understand.” Luckily for me, an upgrade of my WordPress build pretty much took care of things.
The two words “consider it” happen to make up one of my favorite english-langage phrases. I was once asked what was required in order to be considerate - my answer was “consider it.”
So, foregoing any kind of clever segue, a few months ago, I lost the ability to do anything at all to Taido/Blog. Obviously, I have now corrected the issue, but the nature of the actual problem is still somewhat mysterious to me - it’s something semi-technical that falls under the general rubric of “things I’ve chosen not to bother with learning to understand.” Luckily for me, an upgrade of my WordPress build pretty much took care of things.
Continue Reading...
27/06/2006 In Experiments / Ideas by andy
Less Talk, More Rock is the name of one of my favorite Propagandhi albums. If you don’t know Propagandhi, they are a fantastic, political punk band that makes great songs that make great sense. I learned of their existence form Joshua Gargus, a former Tech Taido student and all-around cool cat. The reason I bring this all up is because I think the martial arts world generally needs to do less talking and more rocking.
Of course, here I am, writing about not talking too much. Yes, that’s ironic, isn’t it? (and let’s go on and get one thing clear, while we’re at it - I can out-irony just about anyone you know. I was fluent in sarcasm before I could ride a bike. But I’ve changed my tone recently to a more earnest approach. For an excellent discussion of why Irony is a Dead Scene, check out this interview with brilliant writer David Foster Wallace [whose Infinite Jest is one of my five favorite books ever].)
Less Talk, More Rock is the name of one of my favorite Propagandhi albums. If you don’t know Propagandhi, they are a fantastic, political punk band that makes great songs that make great sense. I learned of their existence form Joshua Gargus, a former Tech Taido student and all-around cool cat. The reason I bring this all up is because I think the martial arts world generally needs to do less talking and more rocking.
Of course, here I am, writing about not talking too much. Yes, that’s ironic, isn’t it? (and let’s go on and get one thing clear, while we’re at it - I can out-irony just about anyone you know. I was fluent in sarcasm before I could ride a bike. But I’ve changed my tone recently to a more earnest approach. For an excellent discussion of why Irony is a Dead Scene, check out this interview with brilliant writer David Foster Wallace [whose Infinite Jest is one of my five favorite books ever].)
Continue Reading...
27/06/2006 In Polls by andy
well, it’s been a month or so since i posted the warm-up poll in the right sidebar of this site. unfortunately, there were not so many responses, but i’m guessing that this is because some people were not aware of the poll to begin with. at any rate, i’m going to try again with a brand spanking new poll and see i can make it a little more popular.
first, let’s look at what (little) the first poll may be able to tell us.
the first poll
the question was “how do you warm up?” - out of 12 responses,
- 5 warm up by light calisthenics and static stretching
- 4 warm up by dynamic stretching and joint mobility exercises
- 1 warms up by relaxation and breathing exercises
- 2 don’t warm up
well, it’s been a month or so since i posted the warm-up poll in the right sidebar of this site. unfortunately, there were not so many responses, but i’m guessing that this is because some people were not aware of the poll to begin with. at any rate, i’m going to try again with a brand spanking new poll and see i can make it a little more popular.
first, let’s look at what (little) the first poll may be able to tell us.
the first poll
the question was “how do you warm up?” - out of 12 responses,
- 5 warm up by light calisthenics and static stretching
- 4 warm up by dynamic stretching and joint mobility exercises
- 1 warms up by relaxation and breathing exercises
- 2 don’t warm up
Continue Reading...
