aciddome

At this site you can read something about Azumi – another sword-fighting /samurai movie which is all the craze these days (from 2003).

In August there is the Ishido seminar in Amsterdam for some more swordplay as well as Jodo (fighting with sticks).

Have a nice bloody summer (just kiddin)

Check this movie for some real streetbody-art, deze gasten hebben schijt aan de wetten van de
zwaartekracht en jumpen en draaien overal over heen…op het speelveldje achter je huis en in de straat…
Op hun site nog meer spektakel…

At this site you can read something about Azumi – another sword-fighting /samurai movie which is all the craze these days (from 2003).

In August there is the Ishido seminar in Amsterdam for some more swordplay as well as Jodo (fighting with sticks).

Have a nice bloody summer (just kiddin)

Watch this video closely and pay special attention to

• the coach shouting ippon ippon
• how the Korean guy starts jumping up and down
• how the Iranian guy doesn’t have a clue

See you next time in the Dojo!

recorded from the 2003 Judo World Championship in Osaka

In case you did not know – the World Championship Judo 2003 is being held in Osaka at this moment. In NL you can follow it on Eurosport. Some links are:

• International Judo Federation
  
• Dedicated to the 2003 WC
  
• Judo Inside
  

Interesting to see how much swords are on the minds of filmmakers these days.

Just a few days ago I told you about this new Tarrantino movie, and while visititing the Matrix Reloaded (which includes some cool scenes where Morpheus uses a Katana), I saw a trailer of The Last Samurai.

Supposedly Tom Cruise is that last Samurai. OK… maybe a good choice – I haven’t seen the movie yet. But really, if you think about it for 2 secs..

Two kids practicing with their boken. Image from the movie trailer.

Some more images from the trailer:

Defensive move, which takes a big piece out of his sword. I was learned to use the blunt side to fend off strokes, so you spare your blade. Maybe too difficult in this case? Well, he could have put the point on the ground so the blade would be diagonal over his head. That would also defend him from a small move backwards or forwards that the standing guy can make which will cut our Tom terribly now. The blade from the standing guy would slide over the back and move to the side of his head. I am not sure though. If any readers are more experienced, let me know.

Another one: a battlefield scene. This is what it must have looked like (more or less) when two armies met each other in the old days in Japan. Don’t know much about it, but it looks quite realistic. Just imagine running to each other like crazy with drawn swords (Tom is holding two at the same time), must be pretty scary.

We have to wait until December 2003 to be able to see it.

====
Update: Seems I was wrong:
Set in Japan during the 1870s, “The Last Samurai” tells the story of Capt. Nathan Algren (Cruise), an American military officer hired by the Emperor of Japan to train the country’s first army in the art of modern warfare. As the government attempts to eradicate the ancient Samurai warrior class in preparation for more Westernized and trade-friendly policies, Algren finds himself unexpectedly affected by his encounters with the Samurai, which places him at the center of a struggle between two eras and two worlds, with only his own sense of honor to guide him.

Source

If a person falls from any storey of a building, then broken limbs are likely to be the best possible outcome. Yet cats seem to get away with such tumbles relatively unscathed. Weirdly, they can sometimes even sustain fewer injuries when dropping from greater heights.
How does that work?

There will be a new Quentin Tarrantino flick end of this year. Most interesting to see how the sword fighting is. Hope to be able to tell you after a few more lessons I am following now (Iaido).

Check the site or the trailer.

Some more images:
Sepeku ?
Katana
2 Swords Kata ?

TIP: More swordmanship, Kendo, Iaido as well as Jodo this weekend in the Calandhal, Amsterdam.