About this site and about me...
First of all - about this site:
This site is in three parts:
- On the Home page are the articles that I write about self defence topics in general. Also on the Home page are short teaching videos about the how-to’s of simple and effective self defence.
- The forum, the place where we can discuss the videos or any other little thing that has caught your attention!
- The Reviews page contains reviews of books and videos, on various pertinant topics, that I have read. If you found anything here that is useful to you, you can click right through to Amazon from here.
If you have any questions or comments, use the contacts form or register in the forum and start a new topic. I’m sorry you have to register but when I ran open forums before, I got 85+ spam emails a day, mostly for Russian used cars, and unmentionables! You also have to register if you want to add a comment.
Now - about me:
am I qualified for this subject? Ahem, I
really don’t know everything about self defence, that’s for sure. That is what my intellectual tough guy friends are for…
The forum section of this site is just for that reason; to be able to explore new ideas and concepts and make aquaintance with like minded people across the continent.
This caveate out of the way, I have some small involvement with both martial arts and self defence. I started in regular traditional karate training in 1972, over 30 years ago. Even a slow learner like myself has got to get something out of that! As well, from 1986 to 2001 when he died, I was under the tutelge of Sensei Richard Kim, 10th Dan and Black Belt mag’s martial artist of the year, a very interesting time, for sure.
I have also cross trained, (while staying true to my first martial art love, karate), in the Modern Arnis style of Remy Presas whom I met often in Victoria BC, Bagua Zhang under the internationally reknowned Andrea Falk and I am currently an assistant instructor under Gordon Muir, taking Chen Style taiji, the Practical Method of Hong Junsheng, as taught by the 19th generation international standard bearer, Chen Zhonghau.
Wow, that’s a mouthful, neh?
As for the practical side of self defence, from 1977 to a few years ago, my work has been with aggressive, emotionally disturbed, violent teens whom I certaily had no desire to hit, kick or punch out, no matter how much they deserved it! (That’s a joke by the way: my style of dealing with their aggression was always with a deep respect for them as a person while I tried my best to prove to them that they could not dominate everyone they met.)
As well, I researched a (deplorably bad production values) production of a fighting cane or cane for self defense video which I called Raising Canes. It has received a lot of favourable attention.
So, between my teacher’s patience, and the patience of my friends and training brothers, I have learned a little bit. Did you notice the logo at the top? The red Japanese ideogram in the black flower? It reads "patience," a very important concept to me.
Ted,
the old hippy with the big stick.
