Posts under ‘Martial Arts’

I was supposed to participate in a black belt promotion ceremony called a kamiza at the Academy of Okinawan Karate tonight, but the combination of winter weather and a sick child conspired against me. Not only did I miss out on what would have been a great event but I missed out on a great [...]

I’m posting a day late, but this pic was actually taken last night at the Academy of Okinawan Karate’s graduation.
Judo is something I hope to work on myself, soon. There is just enough Judo in the Shuri-ryu curriculum to give karateka a taste, but the AOK offers a dedicated Judo class as well. Once I [...]

Wrath James White put on a Muay Thai demonstration Saturday morning at the con, and as I mentioned previously, he recruited me to hold the pads for him. In a nutshell, my job was to get beaten on a little.
Ass-whoopin’ jokes aside, it was a great demo. Wrath spent a lot of time discussing the [...]

Word on the Internets is two of my friends have never heard of W.A.S.P., much less heard their infamous track “Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)”. While I wouldn’t count the band amongst my favorites, you have to have heard this song at least once, especially if you’re a fan at all of hard rock or [...]

The UFC made this video called Randy Couture Divorce Attorney for one of their award shows, and it’s worth a laugh:

Of course, this was intentionally funny. Another MMA artifact I can’t help but laugh at is this Bas Rutten commercial the Cartoon Network has been running to remind kids to wash their hands to knock [...]

For once I can show you an exact kata I’ve learned.
At the last Academy of Okinawan Karate graduation, one of the guys I worked out with on a black belt attack team, Tim Mangan, was promoted to Ikkyu, or first-degree brown belt. As a Nikyu (second-degree brown belt), we learn the kata Bassai Dai, also [...]

I posted a picture of two students of the Academy of Okinawan Karate competing in a koshiki (sparring in armor) match last week, and I have the video up now, too:

I’ve since learned the competitors hold their punches to the head back just a bit to cut down on neck injuries and limit the brain [...]

Koshiki Match
Originally uploaded by MikeOliveri
The Academy of Okinawan Karate held its Winter Tournament on Saturday. I only managed to capture a few pictures and videos, but I sat on a lot of panels as a judge. That was an interesting experience in itself.
I’m waiting for YouTube to process the first video and I have a [...]

All in all, I’m in good health. I’d like my cardio to improve, but I’m ahead of many people my age and most people my weight. Despite a family history of diabetes and high blood pressure, my blood sugar has been consistently good and my blood pressure has dropped from borderline to just a tick [...]

I’ve finally managed to put the camera to use a little more in the last month or so. Most of it has been event or family photography rather than the creative photography I’ve been intending to do all year, but at least I got out and put my rig to use.
Sometimes my 50mm prime lens [...]