September 19, 2012

Title: Emperor Akbar tames an elephant

Date: c.1609

Artist: Unknown

Infomation: The 16th century Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great is shown training a war elephant.

Posted In : Art

Tomoe Gozen

September 13, 2012

Title: Tomoe Gozen

Date: 1899

Artist: Toyohara Chikanobu (1838–1912)

Infomation: This painting depicts the legendary female warrior Tomoe Gozen at the Battle of Awazu
in 1184. So the story goes, she killed one of the warriors shown with her, Uchida Ieyoshi, and
escaped capture from the other, Hatakeyama Shigetada.

Posted In : Art

Taekwondo History Legends – Lee Duk Mu

September 13, 2012

During the Yi dynasty (1392 – 1910), interest in learning martial arts in Korea faded considerably, partly as a result of a growing emphasis on classical learning on subjects such as music, art, literature and poetry, as opposed to physical pursuits that were favoured in earlier periods.

By 1790, the martial art forms that would later develop into Taekwondo were at risk of dying out so in a bid to retain their knowledge, King Chong Jo ordered Lee Duk Mu, one of his generals and a martial arts expert, to write an illustrated textbook on the subject.

The book was called the Muye Dobo Tongji, and was a masterpiece that clearly and succinctly discussed and defined techniques of both armed and unarmed combat. The work was approximately forty pages long and covered all the major martial arts styles practiced in Korea at the time, including Tae Kyon and Soo Bak.

Posted In : Art

Mortal Kombat

September 10, 2012

Use arrow keys to move
To punch - A
To block - S
To kick - D

Posted In : Retro Games

Indistinguishable From Evil

September 9, 2012

Posted In : Proverbs & Quotes

Anko Itosu - 1908

September 9, 2012

Anko Itosu (just left of centre sporting a big white moustache), at a martial arts exhibition in 1908.

Posted In : Photography

Capoeira Slaves About to be Whipped

September 1, 2012

Name: Negroes Going to be Whipped
Artist: Frederico Guilherme Briggs
Year: c.1832
Info: This print by the young Brazilian artist was one of a set that depicted common people. Here, one of the unfortunate men that are being lead off to be whipped is carrying a sign that says Capoeira.

Posted In : Art

Muay Thai Boxing Legends - Nai Khanom Tom

September 1, 2012

Nai Khanom Tom is a Muay Thai boxing legend of the highest calibre. Known as the ‘Father of Muay Thai’, Nai Khanom Tom was taken prisoner along with thousands of his countrymen when the capital Ayutthaya fell in 1767 to the Burmese. In 1774, a great festival was held by the King of Burma and as part of the celebrations, Nai Khanom Tom, still a prisoner of war, was to fight ten of the king’s men in a row.

After dispatching each of them, the Thai boxer became a legend and was rewarded with his freedom. He was also given the choice of either great financial reward, or two wives and as he believed riches were easier to come by than two beautiful women, he chose the latter.

To this day, National Muay Thai day is celebrated in his honour.

Posted In : Photography

The History of the Gojushiho Kata

August 28, 2012

Gojushiho (54 steps) is a set of two kata (sho/minor and dai/major) that both have their origin in a single kata from the Shorin-ryu style which was called Useishi (meaning 54). In a strange quirk of martial arts history, the kata known as Gojushiho Sho was previously known as Gojushiho Dai and vice-versa, but they got reversed.

Legend has it that in the 1960s or the 1970s during the All Japan Karate Championships, a high ranking karateka of the JKA announced Gojushiho Dai then did the wrong kata. Nobody dared tell him so almost everybody started reversing the name; though Hirokazu Kanazawa for one kept doing the kata the original way around. (Above, Kanazawa performing what is normally called Gojushiho Sho and below, what is usually known as Gojushiho Dai).

This story is unlikely to be true as it really makes little sense when looked at a little deeply. Whoever the mystery competitor was, at least some of his opponents would have been just as highly ranked and expected to be treated fairly in such a major competition, so would not have stood for such a blatant disregard for competition rules.

Sensei Funakoshi attempted to rename the Gojushiho kata ‘Hotaku’ (Woodpecker) but in this instance, the name did not stick. Both Gojushiho Sho and Dai are believed to have been created by Sokon ‘Bushi’ Matsumura and are thought to have been both his best, and final addition to kata that comes from his Tomari-te system.

More Kata History

Posted In : Video