Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Most Likely Moves

Many people will ask a jiu-jitsu instructor what the most common moves are in a fight. The full answer has many layers.

- One possible avenue of answer might involve the most commonly used techniques between two people who both know and practice jiu-jitsu.

- Another answer might be based around the most common moves used in MMA or similar.

- A third possible answer might center around the most likely moves used by a jiu-jitsu practitioner if attacked.

And while there will be some (natural) variation in the three collections, some techniques will be broadly applicable.


Most Likely Moves for Self Defense
Yep, name says it all. Here are the moves you need to learn for self defense, in order of importance:

1. Rear naked choke. 
This is the most likely to be used, and the most simplistic and effective.

2. Straight arm lock from the guard.
Once you learn how to use the guard to neutralize the attacks of a larger opponent who happens to be on top, you must realize that the mistakes they will make leading to a straight arm lock are plenty. Learn this move and practice it second only to the RNC.

3. Triangle choke from the guard
This movement is a piggy-back from #2 (Straight arm lock from guard). These two attacks go hand-in-hand. Like salt & pepper.

4. Guillotine choke from standing. 
Easy to use, and realistic in many self defense situations. If an opponent lowers his head while in close quarters (usually to tackle you), you can use this choke and have a devastating finish. Be sure to practice the movement such that you not only learn to get the tap while standing, but also follow up to the ground, as well.

5. Americana arm lock from mount
This movement is far less common than any of the other four. However, it is critical because not only will a novice opponent leave himself open to it, but also the use of the Americana arm lock can set up many other possibilities.

6. Kimura arm lock from guard.
By far the least common of the bunch. However, it is like its cousin, the Americana, in that, learning it will open up all new combinations and possibilities.


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Tuesday, December 30, 2014

No Good Deed...

On Friday, Dec. 19, my pastor, Greg Locke, played "Santa Claus" with the ministerial staff of the church with some local residents. The plan was to take fresh, crisp, $100 bills to 10 random people as a gift - as a blessing.

All went well, until ... well, I'll let Pastor Locke describe it.
(From his Facebook post):

If you know me, then you know it takes quite a bit to raise my temperature. However, today myself and the manager of the Goodwill of Mount Juliet had a very intense conversation to say the least. I was calm but I was very firm. You would think that a place called Goodwill would actually allow some of it to be shared every now and again. It takes a lot to shock me, but today's act of stinginess did just that. Today our church had the great blessing of going all over town and randomly blessing different people with $100 bills as a Christmas bonus. Walmart, no problem. Kroger, no problem. Dunkin' Donuts, no problem. Goodwill, are you stinking kidding me?
We picked out a lady that worked there who was showing a great smile and had a wonderful personality. I felt for sure that this was the lady that we needed to help. When we took a picture with her and let her know what was in the card she threw her arms around me and gave me the biggest hug of the day. Two hours later, she called the church not only to thank us in a big way but to let us know that she had to quit her job. The management told her that she had three options. She could either give the money back to us, she could be fired, or she could donate her blessing to the Goodwill organization since she was on the clock when she received it. She decided to keep the money and walk away. I personally went back down to that Goodwill store and met with the 20 year old manager and let him know that I was less than happy about this situation. He let me know with great sarcasm that it was her choice to quit. I then called the corporate headquarters of Middle Tennessee. The guy on the phone was floored and never heard of such foolishness. But then, his boss jumped on the line to let me know that was indeed a policy. I was told that anyone who works for Goodwill must give any gifts over to the corporation. I told the lady to keep my number and I'd help her find another job. I get it Goodwill. You've got your policies. Too bad you've lost sight of your people. It's Christmas folks.
As of this writing, this Facebook post has garnered over 4000 likes and as many shares. 

It was a Christmas gift, a joyful surprise, a random act of kindness. When representatives of a Mt. Juliet church walked unannounced into that town’s Goodwill store on Friday, they chose an employee with a big smile and a sweet personality and handed her $100 in cash. She gratefully accepted.
No one — not the employee, not the church members nor the store’s unsuspecting management, had anything but the best intentions in that moment. But there was a problem.
The employee had signed an honesty policy saying she would not accept gifts of cash or donated goods while on the clock. It is a policy that all Goodwill of Middle Tennessee’s employees for many years have agreed to follow, and there’s a great reason for it.
Goodwill is a not-for-profit that provides employment and training opportunities to thousands of Tennesseans, including those who have disabilities and others having trouble finding and keeping jobs, through the sale of donated goods. In essence, it is a charity made possible – day in and day out – through random, generous gifts from the community.
It is of the utmost importance to Goodwill that we remain good stewards of the donations we receive and that we maintain the trust of our donors and shoppers. Our unique business model demands that our employees follow a strict code of ethics, particularly with regard to the acceptance and stewardship of donations. A single inappropriate act by any one of our thousands of employees could betray that trust and have harmful consequences for the rest, not to mention endangering the much-needed services we provide the community.
But what occurred in our Mt. Juliet store Friday was not the sort of scenario this policy was intended to prevent. Had Goodwill’s management team known in advance about about the gift, they could have suggested that church members give it to the employee after hours. They would have been excited for her and might have even helped plan the surprise, knowing how much it would mean to her.
Instead, supervisors were caught off-guard and reminded the employee of the policy, and gave her the choice of returning the gift to the church or donating it to Goodwill. The situation could have been handled much better. The employee chose to keep the gift and walk away from her job.
A few hours later, the church’s pastor wrote a description of what had happened on social media, and it went viral.
On Saturday morning, Goodwill reached out to the employee and offered to allow her to keep the gift and return to work. The employee has told us she will consider the offer.
Goodwill’s President and CEO Matthew Bourlakas called the church’s pastor. He explained the importance of the policy in maintaining trust with the community and expressed regret about its strict interpretation in this instance. He told the pastor that every effort had been made to set the matter right with the employee. The pastor indicated that he understood the policy and that it was not his intent to hurt the charity’s reputation.
But the pastor’s social media post, and hundreds of comments voicing negative responses to the incident, remain online.
And so we wanted to tell you our story, how deeply we wish we had known about the church’s gift in advance and had responded differently. It was a gift of kindness, after all, and Goodwill employees — from donation attendants to truck drivers to the CEO — understand the power of that gift. We see it reflected every day in the faces of our co-workers.
We see it in the former prisoners who find jobs with Goodwill when no one else will hire them. We see it in recovering drug addicts who regain their self-respect through the power of work. We see it in those who are blind or deaf or wheelchair-bound or who have learning disabilities, all of whom lead normal lives of quiet dignity with the help of Goodwill.
And we see it in our neighbors across middle and west Tennessee — 26,000 of whom got assistance at Goodwill’s Career Solutions Centers this year and 8,600 of whom landed jobs.
All of this starts with the generosity of our donors and shoppers and is maintained through their trust in Goodwill. We will take this opportunity to review our policies and procedures. We thank our donors for their continuing support of Goodwill’s mission.
We wish you all a Happy Holidays.


What say you?

Monday, December 29, 2014

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

A college professor calls for repeal of the "stupid 2nd Amendment."

Methinks it is the professor who is stupid.
What other rights does he not want???


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Death of a Gun

The Ruger Mini-14 (and, by extension, the Mini-30) is one of those guns that ought to be a stalwart in most collections. They ought to be bought and sold with great frequency. They ought to be more than a has-been in the gun world. 

What's not to like? 
The Mini-14 is chambered in a popular caliber (.223 / 5.56 mm). It is somewhat inaccurate for the cartridge, but most shooters wouldn't know. It is a magazine-fed semi-auto. It is lightweight and easy to use. With minimal effort, one can mount a scope of choice... or just stick with the perfectly fine iron sights that come standard. It is based off the same fundamental design as the M1 and M1A - two revered rifles. 

So why is it so relatively unpopular?

Here is a basic list of some of the reasons. Call it a perfect storm, if you will.
  • Cheap AR15's - meanwhile, Mini-14 prices are soaring. (This due primarily to the fact that ARs are produced by many competing companies - but the Mini-14 is not)
  • Bill Ruger's assistance with anti-gun legislation.
  • Fairly expensive magazines.
  • Extremely inaccurate due to design issues. 
  • No updates/improvements in above-mentioned design flaws!
  • Timing of cheap SKS rifles on the American market in the late 1980's - early 1990's.
  • Poor QC, resulting in unreliable models during the 1980's and 1990's. 


Basically, it is a list of things not to do if you want to successfully sell a gun. 


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Sunday, December 28, 2014

Truth About Police Brutality

Here is an article listing seven reasons why police brutality is widespread and systemic - not merely anecdotal ("a few bad apples").

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Why Not to Trust Police

This article gives three reasons a normal, rational human would not trust police:
1. Low IQ applicants, only.
2. Incentive to kill.
3. "Protect & Serve" is a myth.

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Friday, December 26, 2014

How Do You Do It?

I mentioned earlier this week that several years back, I was much heavier (over 100 pounds heavier), and diabetic.

Three years ago, I was almost 40 pounds heavier than I am today, and was on diabetic medication- 5 mg of glyburide and 2000 mg of metformin per day. Usually, about three to four hours after taking the glyburide, my BG levels would crash into the 60's. It was an unpleasant feeling to say the least. The metformin caused "intestinal distress" (read: extreme daily diarrhea).

Note: Now that my fasting BG readings regularly hit the 60's without medications, it feels totally different!

Today, it has been almost a year since my last metformin pill. Almost two since my last regular dose of glyburide. My BG levels are lower than they ever were when I was medicated. A paleo approach has done the trick again.

Note: Funny... you NEVER hear about diet & exercise working when the diet includes grains - "healthy whole grains" or otherwise! 

How to do all this?
Here's how I did it:
- Ate fatty meats and green leafy vegetables only until your BG numbers stabilize.
- Practices intermittent fasting.
- Once BG numbers stabilized, kept on a very low carb diet - as in, the only carbs I got came in the form of whole vegetables.

These steps will cause weight loss to accelerate, and insulin and BG levels will return to normal.


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Thursday, December 25, 2014

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!



Put the "Christ" back in Christmas.
Put the "Christ" back in Christian.


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Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Proof

In 2009 (when I started this blog), I was not in as good of health as I am today. Currently, I am over 100 pounds lighter, and far stronger than I was then. Here is a comparison:

Dec. 2009 Dec. 2014
Height 6'2" (188 cm) unchanged*
Weight 323 lbs (146.5 kg) 212 lbs (96 kg)
Chest 52" 46"
Waist 45" 36"
Bicep 11" 15"
Quad 33" 27"
Max run: 300 yards 6 miles
Push ups 21 100
Pull ups 0 20
Cholesterol: 205 123
Fasting BG**: 240 69
HbA1C 11.6 4.6



Paleo diet works. It works well. It lets you lose enough weight so that you can exercise and truly get yourself in shape. 

Lose weight at the table. 
Get fit at the gym (or outdoors).


* - Did you really expect my height to change?
** - BG = Blood-Glucose level. Also known as "Blood-Sugar." 




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Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Little Pet Peeve

From time to time, I'll see diabetics on Facebook pages, blog comments, twitter, etc. refer to their blood - sugar numbers as "bs." This is a pet peeve of mine, albeit small.

The correct abbreviation is "BG" - for blood-glucose.

"BS" is an abbreviation for bull$h!t ... also known as "bovine-scatology."


So, for clarity:

BG
indicates your blood-glucose or blood sugar numbers.

BS indicates when your diabetic doctor or DIEtician says "healthy whole grains" are a necessary part of your diet and that they don't raise BG numbers.


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Monday, December 22, 2014

Show Me

In the spirit of Paleo eating, there is a lot of debate on the merits of a high-fat diet with regards to blood cholesterol and body fat. Most of the arguments against Paleo point to the "medical science" reports of high-fat diets leading to obesity and high cholesterol levels.

However, no one can point to a study that concludes that a high fat diet lead the person to being obese or having high cholesterol levels.

Show me a study where you have control groups. Show me a study where one group of participants ate a high-fat diet and no grains. Show me a study where one group of participants ate a high grain diet and no fats. Keep the protein levels virtually the same, for the sake of science. Folks, this is the scientific method. It is not too hard. Show me a study that has done this that concludes that a high fat diet is bad, and I will rethink my whole position.

Until then all you have is anecdotes, based on faux science. "Science" where no studies were done. "Science" which was funded by the grain industry and Big Pharma. And the plural of these anecdotes is not data.


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Thursday, December 18, 2014

Dear Elizabeth Warren,

Do you remember that time you referred to Republicans as being anarchists?




We real anarchists got a real kick out of that. Perhaps you should go into comedy...


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Wednesday, December 17, 2014

That's Just Asinine

Some of the Sandy Hook victims' parents are going to sue Bushmaster.

So, because a criminal stole a gun and used it illegally, the manufacturer is somehow to blame?

How about this... whenever a police officer's gun is stolen and used illegally, we sue that officer and his precinct?


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Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Less Coke, McD's

People are starting to eat better, and this report demonstrates that.
How long until grains start declining in popularity?


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Monday, December 15, 2014

Nitwittery

I recently found myself on a flight to Dallas. There was fog in the area delaying arrivals, so the pilot was forced to land the plane in Shreveport LA to refuel. The hilarity begins when the flight attendant gets on the speaker:

"Ladies and gentlemen, if there are passengers whose final destination is Shreveport,  you may disembark the plane upon our arrival. However, your checked bags will not be available when you get off the plane. Checked bags will have to go with us to Dallas and catch a later flight to Shreveport."


Nitwittery.


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Friday, December 12, 2014

The Real Rape Culture

Rolling Stone magazine did a story on a woman who claimed to have been raped.
Then they issued a note, basically recanting the story as the woman's claims were suspect.


This, friends, is the real "rape culture" in America these days - men being persecuted and prosecuted for consensual relations, and sometimes in instances where no relations took place.

Men are getting raped by our legal system every day because the system will take a woman's word, yet not accept a man's absolute proof.

Men are getting raped by our legal system every day in the form of alimony and child support.

And on...


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Thursday, December 11, 2014

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Travesty

Back in the summer, Eric Garner was killed by a NYPD cop who used a choke to do the deed. It was all caught on camera. I even did an article about it.

Recently, a grand jury failed to indict the Jack-Booted Thug. Cops almost never get indicted. They often are only reviewed by their own and cleared of wrongdoing.


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Tuesday, December 9, 2014

On Dating 10

From a reader:
"Hey, Usagi,I've read some of your stuff on your brother's divorce. I'm in about the same boat. Got any dating / woman advice for guys like us?"



I do have some advice. Probably the best summary ever is here. But I'll break it down into a weekly segment for you and others.


By Swingset
...
Item 10: Lastly, I leave you with this. It's a difficult lesson to be a man. It's a painful, self-sacrificing labor and part of the human condition to be a man. You must accept that much of your life and your ties to women rely on your honor and your good nature. Sadly, most of us choose our mates based on nothing more than a tiny dab of sexual experience and a lot of ignorance about human nature. The women you meet, fall in love with, screw, and hurt, are all human beings with complex pasts, desires and dreams. Treat each woman, no matter who she is, as if she is your best friend's girl. Give her respect, even if you don't choose to engage her in a meaningful way. Understand that she is a daughter, a sister and someone's baby and if she's not good enough to be kind to, then leave her alone. Your dealings with the chicks will come back to haunt you, and each s***ty act will be revisited on you, or your children, or your future women. Trust me here...it really happens. Be a good man, a smart man and an observant man, and women will not be a source of pain in your life. 



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Monday, December 8, 2014

Friday, December 5, 2014

Funny Stuff

Oh the irony of an Internet Tough Guy claiming to be ready to "cash a check anytime" his mouth (or keyboard) wrote... and said individual (I won't call him a man) knows where the dojo is and the class times. Of course he would never show up. 400-pounders can hardly get out of a car, much less challenge anybody to anything.



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Keyboard Warrior

1. A Person who, being unable to express his anger through physical violence (owning to their physical weakness, lack of bravery and/or conviction in real life), instead manifests said emotions through the text-based medium of the internet, usually in the form of aggressive writing that the Keyboard Warrior would not (for reasons previously mentioned) be able to give form to in real life.



Found these pictures the other day.
Entertaining.
Applicable to some folks I know and know of.







This post may or may not have been set to post on a full moon on purpose.


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Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Gun Signs Don't Work

Was at a Sonic recently, and this struck me as odd...

The sign says "Employees Only."

However, there is still a chart to measure how tall the potential robber is.


You mean criminals don't obey signs?!?
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Tuesday, December 2, 2014

On Dating 9

From a reader:
"Hey, Usagi,I've read some of your stuff on your brother's divorce. I'm in about the same boat. Got any dating / woman advice for guys like us?"



I do have some advice. Probably the best summary ever is here. But I'll break it down into a weekly segment for you and others.


By Swingset
...
Item 9: A woman's beauty is her worst enemy, and her only true servant. Be very afraid of a woman who has relied, or counted on her looks to survive or succeed - for when those looks or your attention to them wanes, she will self-destruct before your eyes. You will come home to find her gone, or on top of your best friend. Again, not to drive a point too fine, but stay away from the 10's. A stripper model does not live to enjoy a 50 year wedding anniversary, and she will not change your diapers when you're old. Believe it or not, that stuff really matters. You, like women, are driven by your nature. If you're always attracted to the worst kind of women, it's not their fault bucko. It's yours....so fight your impulses and go with what's smart not what "feels good".



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Monday, December 1, 2014

Changes Brewing

For over two years, I've written a post every weekday. Starting in 2015, that format will change. No more meticulous planning. No more 8:15 post times. Just my thoughts from my phone or tablet... As they happen.


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