RECCE ROOM

Why is it that virtually every "judge" in the US has the middle name "god" and is a complete moron? A Superior Court judge in California ruled a $1.5 Million judgement against Lowe's because their "2x4" lumber does not measure exactly 2" by 4". For the record, I learned that a 2x4 actually measures about 1.5 inches by 3.5 inches when I was seven years old. I wonder what kind of life this judge lead such that he didn't know that this is a standard practice... EVERYWHERE! (Not just Lowe's) Thoughts: The article linked has some very relevant questions that arise out of this ruling. If I was the CEO of Lowe's, I'd send $1.5 Million in wood chips to that Judge's house. Lowe's will likely win on appeal. I have met a judge who isn't a moron, and who does not think he has the middle name "god" - my friend, Andy Wright, seems to be the exception. .

Today's entry: tag. Seriously, the game of tag known as "point sparring" is a fun game, but not conducive to self defense. .

So very long ago, a jiu-jitsu master started taking karate in Japan. These were the early days of karate in Japan, as it had recently been imported from Okinawa. He was one of the fasted promoted to black belt ever. His understanding of martial technique, science, and the importance of skill was unsurpassed. Soon, the head karate instructor, Gichin Funakoshi, advised the jiu-jitsu master to go to Okinawa and study with Funakoshi's instructors. And so he did. Hironori Ohtsuka, eventually founded Wado-Ryu - one of the four original styles of karate. In doing so, he departed from many practices the other schools. He also incorporated many more training drills than other styles - and drills above and beyond the kata performed elsewhere. At the time, the drills were novel: the latest and greatest way to get students ready for self defense. As time passed, and knowledge increased, and availability of information eventually went global, these training drills came to look old-fash...

The following is copied from a Facebook conversation between two people I know. One is a police officer, the other is not. The other, whom we shall call "Citizen," is like me - feels police have too much authority, and abuse said authority way too much. Officer: Please qui [quit?] sending me the "bad" cop stuff - my job is hard enough, and I have lost friends over the years - one that was shot with her own gun. There are "bad" people in every profession - it does not make us all bad or bullied in school. Citizen: I'm not sending anything. (note - Citizen was not sending anything, but was hitting "like" on statuses. Officer: I keep getting stuff from you called "Cop Block" and it is all police bashing crap. Citizen: I do follow that page and hit "like" on a fair amount of it. I do not send that to anybody. Officer: For some reason, I keep getting it. Citizen: Upper right corner of any post is a down arrow. Click ...

This conversation, overheard recently: Person #1: "Have you ever been falsely accused of racism?" Person #2: "Every time." Person #3: "I've never not witnessed a false accusation of racism." .

I don't know how many cases he's had overturned on appeal, but it is quite a bit. One thing is for certain, though, he rules in favor of his "good ol' boys" network. Gallatin judge Tom Gray ruled that a government entity had first rights to proceeds from the sale of property of a dissolved business entity instead of a secured creditor. That means he said that their legally secured by contract document was null and void and the supposed delinquent taxes took precedent. Good thing Tom Gray is out of office now. .

For this week's installment, lets analyze kata (forms or patterns). Karate practitioners developed  kata  in the late 1800's and early 1900's. The first  kata  were developed to help the masters teach. A single instructor might have students in several towns. Clearly, only one set of students could be taught at a given time. At the time, the practice of martial arts in Okinawa was banned, so the instructors disguised their lessons as a "dance." The students would practice a specific dance for years, and rarely learned more than a handful of dances. Some people think there are literal and figurative meanings behind the moves in kata . To be sure, that is partly true. But kata is not a code written in a secret language, which needs to be deciphered. Kata is a training drill, designed to let the person practice known moves in a solo manner, all the while keeping a low profile in an area that bans martial arts practice. So, keep doing the kata , but don...