Endeavoring mightily to complete the second draft of the book by day’s end. Revel in the awesome that is Pearl Chang, and catch you back here tomorrow morning.
Entries Tagged as 'martial arts'
“Liable to Abuse by Excitable Persons”
August 3rd, 2011 · 2 Comments
Inspired by a post delectably entitled “A Short History of Weaponised Umbrellas,” I decided to delve into the existing literature on the topic. What I found was a prime example of early 20th-century prose, notable for ornate turns-of-phrase that are sorely lacking in today’s self-defense manuals. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the intelligent-yet-florid glory […]
Battling Gaston vs. Pretty Pierre
November 12th, 2010 · Comments Off on Battling Gaston vs. Pretty Pierre
Americans are not the only ones who question soccer’s emergence as the world’s favorite athletic pastime. The sport has also occasionally come under fire from anti-colonialists, who would prefer that their nations opt for the games that were popular before the Europeans came a-knocking with their guns and smallpox. The Tunisian historian Borhane Errais is […]
Tags:martial arts·savate·sports·Tunisia
A Feat Worthy of Zatoichi
July 1st, 2010 · 1 Comment
Count us among the many millions who are counting the seconds until The RZA’s directorial debut, Wu-Tang vs. The Golden Phoenix, hits the big screen. In the meantime, we must sate our martial-arts jones with less cinematic fare, starting with this 13-year-old account of Manipuri swordfighting. The denizens of the Indian province have long been […]
Tags:anthropology·India·Manipur·martial arts·movies·The RZA·Wu-Tang vs. The Golden Phoenix
A Ninja’s Flighty Ideas
October 13th, 2009 · 2 Comments
In response to our recent placeholder extolling the virtues of Stan Bush’s work on Bloodsport, one of our faithful Virginia correspondents turned us on to this 1988 exposé, which argues that the film’s biographical subject is a huckster. The piece is behind a subscription wall, so those without a ProQuest account will have to make […]
Fighting to Survive (Journalism Edition)
October 8th, 2009 · 7 Comments
We’re up to our eyeballs with the day job, though happy to report that last night’s moderate alcohol consumption helped us overcome a serious creative block. This afternoon’s all about moving the narrative forward and avoiding mixed metaphors; in our absence, please enjoy what is inarguably Stan Bush‘s finest work. Not safe for the squeamish, […]
Animal Could Have Done It
July 20th, 2009 · 2 Comments
Tending to Microkhan Jr. has given us a newfound appreciation for great kiddie fare of yore, most notably the late, great Muppet empire. And do when we stumbled across this clip of various Henson creations “auditioning” for the role of Yoda, we couldn’t resist the urge to pass it along. Honestly, we could totally see […]
Tags:Drunken Master·martial arts·Muppets·parenting·Star Wars·TV·Yoda
One at a Time, Please
July 17th, 2009 · 7 Comments
This week’s installment of Bad Movie Friday brings us some serious high-concept nonsense: the 1985 Kurt Thomas vehicle Gymkata, which sought to cash in on the nation’s post-Mary Lou Retton love affair with gymnastics. And what better way than to take a slightly past-his-prime male gymnast and insert him into a limp ninja flick? We […]
Tags:Bad Movie Friday·Gymkata·gymnastics·Kurt Thomas·martial arts·Mary Lou Retton·movies·sports
The Not-So-Delicate Art of Shin-Kicking
June 29th, 2009 · 3 Comments
There’s a great passage in Luc Sante‘s Low Life, in which he recounts the 19th-century New York City spectacle of man-versus-rat fights. A human competitor wearing heavy boots was placed in a ring with a swarm of hungry rats, and challenged to stomp as many to death as possible without suffering terrible injury. It’s quite […]
Tags:Journal of Manly Arts·Luc Sante·martial arts·purring·sports
Two Sticks Better Than One
May 27th, 2009 · 2 Comments
There’s a movement afoot in the Senate of the Philippines to designate arnis the national sport. From the text of Senate Bill 1424 (PDF): Arnis is a sport that is indigenous and uniquely Filipino. Among the many games in the country, it can be considered as one of our national cultural gems that completely originated […]
Redeeming the Shillelagh
May 7th, 2009 · 1 Comment
The 1988 B-movie “classic” Bloodsport is notable for three things: Forest Whitaker’s nuanced supporting performance, Bolo Yeung‘s ‘roided-out pectorals, and the novel highlighting of non-Asian martial arts. Microkhan, for one, was first introduced to capoeira through the film, and has been a fan ever since (which meant that his time in Salvadaor de Bahia was […]
