Ronda Rousey Suffers Shocking Loss To Holly Holm At UFC 193

(by Neil Frankland businessinsider.com 11-15-15)

Ronda Rousey was the UFC's unstoppable force until Holly Holm used the former champion's aggression against her to produce one of the sport's biggest upsets.

Rousey chased Holm around the ring at UFC 193 on Sunday — looking for the right hold and taking head shots along the way — until Holm saw an opening 59 seconds into the second round and snapped a kick to the head that immediately dropped her more fancied opponent to the canvas.

Holm (10-0) jumped on the prone Rousey, delivering several blows to her head before the referee intervened, ending Rousey's 12-fight unbeaten run and handing Holm the bantamweight title.

An ecstatic Holm jumped around the ring while Rousey stayed on the canvas as she received medical treatment amid the roar of a stunned, record UFC crowd.

"She's won a lot of fights and imposed her will on a lot of fighters," Holm said. "So I expected her to be aggressive and impose her will on me.

"She had me on the cage for a minute and obviously she was trying in for a take down right there ... she had a lot of things she was trying so I'm just glad I put in the practice," she added.

Rousey, a former judo Olympian, was unbeaten through 12 UFC fights before meeting Holm, and a win would have been her seventh title defense. Instead, Holm, a 34-year-old veteran female boxer from Albuquerque, New Mexico, has the championship belt.

"We figured her aggression was coming, if it didn't that's OK, but with footwork and my career we figured she wouldn't give me that space," Holm said. "There's been a lot of blood, sweat and tears but it was all worth it."

Rousey left the stadium to receive treatment for concussion and facial cuts at a nearby hospital after the loss and skipped the post-fight media conference.

"She was transported (to hospital) because she got knocked out," UFC chief Dana White said. "Obviously she's completely bummed out and depressed."

White said a rematch between Holm and Rousey made "a lot of sense" and would put other potential matchups on the backburner.

"Obviously we don't make fights the night of the fight, but the rematch makes a lot of sense," he said. "The rematch is what the people want to see."

In the other title bout, a bloodied Joanna Jedrzejczyk outlasted Valerie Letourneau to successfully defend her straw-weight belt in a five-round slugfest.

Jedrzejczyk (11-0) won a unanimous points decision over Letourneau (8-4) who offered the champion one of her tougher fights in some time.

The six-time Muay Thai world champion Jedrzejczyk started to pressure her opponent from the second round with some trademark, lightning-quick combinations to Letourneau's head, while forcing the challenger to keep her distance with some effective kicks.

Organizers announced a crowd of 56,214 at Melbourne's Etihad Stadium, which normally hosts Australian rules football matches. The mark eclipsed the 55,724 fans who attended UFC 129 at Toronto's Rogers Centre in 2011.

Rousey, 28, has taken UFC by storm since her debut in 2012 and her success has led to several movie projects as well the publishing of her autobiography.

But it was Holm's calm confidence and the manner of her win that attracted all the attention Sunday.

"Tonight was one of those moments," White said. "These are the moments in fighting that make it so crazy and so fun. Tonight was one of those moments."

Holm, a former undisputed welterweight boxing champion, said the moment of her UFC title victory was "one of those moments that you live for."

"They're the scariest moments. This fight was a lot for me mentally," she added. "I couldn't tell you how many times I cried in the gym leading up to this fight.

"It's a lot to take in, but those kinds of fights are the ones where a loss is devastating but a win is that sweet of a victory."

White said that while most onlookers were shocked by Rousey's loss, he was not one of them.
"At the end of the day I made this fight. I said this was a good fight," he said. "Holly was the right fight. Ronda had never faced anybody who uses the range and distance the way she does.

"This woman has four times more fights than Ronda does. She's been a world champion," he said.

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http://www.businessinsider.com/holly-holm-beats-ronda-rousey-in-major-upset-2015-11

Happy Karate Kid Day



Choki Motobu

Grown Adult Walks Right Into Karate Studio

(theonion.com 10-1-13)

CAPE CORAL, FL—Marcus Webster, a full-grown adult with a job, responsibilities, and who stopped being 10 years old over 25 years ago, was observed walking into a karate studio yesterday, sources confirmed.

Onlookers said that Webster did not enter the location—which the 38-year-old man earnestly refers to as a “dojo”—accompanied by a child, but was in fact there on his own in order to become better at karate.

Upon entering the studio, witnesses reported that Webster removed his shoes and changed into his specialized karate gi, which he purchased with money he earns at his job, and then spent an hour performing a variety of elaborate poses and simulated fight moves.

The grown man, who has a car and a mortgage, has been engaging in this activity three times a week for three years, and reportedly gets excited at the prospect of becoming a purple belt.

At press time, sources confirmed that Webster was bringing his palms together and bowing to another adult, a 52-year-old man who spends his entire day in a karate studio and who insists that he be addressed as “sensei.”

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http://www.theonion.com/article/grown-adult-walks-right-into-karate-studio-33333

Karate Kid 2

One journey ends, another begins

artwork by John Wallin

Fight Club vs Karate Kid Mash Up art

What happens when the Karate Kid signs up for Fight Club?

Original artwork created exclusively for Fandango by Tracy Tubera.

http://www.fandango.com/movie-news/exclusive-fight-club-vs-karate-kid-mash-up-art-748408

CSI: Reseda investigation notes

Recently released investigation notes of the attack on Daniel Larusso by the Cobra Kai on the night of October 28th, 1983.



Gichin Funakoshi

 

Please do not make Karate Kid 6 with Jaden Smith

I originally gave Jaden Smith the benefit of the doubt. When the new Karate Kid came out most people either didn't like it, or thought it was sacrilegious to try and re-create the original masterpiece.

I kind of thought it was a bad idea too, I thought a prequel trilogy to the original movie would have been better. (More on that in future posts.)

But once I saw the movie I gave it a thumbs up simply due to Jaden Smith and his character were quite likable. Then it was announced that another movie was in the works and I thought it most likely would be well done and successful due to the quality of the first.

http://thekaratekidblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/karate-kid-2-starring-jackie-chan-and.html

http://thekaratekidblog.blogspot.com/2014/07/karate-kid-2-gets-new-writers-loses.html

However lately, I have been seeing stories in the tabloids and such that Jaden Smith is a little out of control.

I didn't know whether to believe it or not, you never know with those tabloids. But if I am to derive anything from these recent photos of Jaden from a couple of the Kardashian sisters' Twitter accounts I would have to agree.

He looks like a little bit of a doofus.

This kid does not deserve to be called the Karate Kid.

Get someone new, come up with a different story that won't involve him, or don't do the movie all which is probably a safer option.

Daniel and Mr. Miyagi sketch

http://www14.big.or.jp/~kiichi/illust/30-1/index.html

Classic

30th Anniversary

whitelionwarrior.deviantart.com

This is an alternative retro movie poster for the classic 80's film, ’The Karate Kid', designed by Ehron Asher, inspired by international posters from martial arts films of the late 1960's and 1970's such as ‘Enter The Dragon', ’The Sacred Knives of Vengeance', ’The Thunder Kick', and 'The Incredible Kung Fu Master'.

It features a buffed up Daniel "Daniel-san" Larusso in his famous crane kick pose, bad guy Johnny Lawrence of Cobra Kai dojo doing a flying sidekick in his skeleton outfit, and Mr. Miyagi as an aged and long bearded karate master appropriate of a 70's chop sockie flick.

Other details include: Mr. Miyagi's "Miyagi-do Karate" Bonsai dojo logo in the background, the Japanese characters "Moment of Truth" across the top (a reference to the Survivor song featured in the film, as well as the actual name of the movie in some International markets), as well as a mixture of Japanese and English credits at the bottom.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/247971977/the-karate-kid-vintage-style-retro-movie?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=karate

artwork by P. Lukaszewski

 

available for purchase on etsy.com

Masaaki Hatsumi

 

 

artwork by P. Lukaszewski

 

available for purchase on etsy.com

Bujinkan

Aikido dojo

Iwama, Japan

Iwama is an important historical location from the development of Aikido. The former town has a famous dojo built by the founder of aikido, Morihei Ueshiba, who lived there from 1942 until his death in 1969.  (Wikipedia)

For more information check out;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iwama_dojo#The_Ibaraki_Dojo

If I failed it means I need to work harder

dinizxcc.tumblr.com

(yeah, my arms pretty much look like that)

Hideharu Onuma

Tournament is right around the corner

 

Ninja spell of concealment

In honor of tonight’s supermoon/lunar eclipse, a quote from “The Secret Traditions of the Shinobi, Hattori Hanzo’s Shinobi Hiden and other Ninja Scrolls”, Edited and Translated by Antony Cummins and Yoshie Minami, page 70-71.

-The Art of Hiding-

On the first day of a big year, [get close to] a dead woman before her funeral, and take from her one strand of hair. Steal it without being seen by anyone else. Use a shujinenshi and wrap the strand inside it. Keep it in a pure place.

Then, when it is the night of a lunar eclipse, [take some wood,] and with a blade carve a kanazashi. In your mind, continually chant the spell listed below, and repeat it countless times until the lunar eclipse ends. At this point you should finish carving the hairpin. Use this pin in your hair, and if an urgent or emergency situation in which you need to hide arises, you should pray seven times with the spell listed below. Envisage black clouds forming around you, which will hide your form; in this manner, you can immediately when need arise. Then, if you wish to end the spell, you should take a bite of the sun, which will allow your form to be seen again.

-The Spell [of Concealment]-

Rai De Seishin Kou Ten Kou Setsu

The above skills in this scroll are being given for the [receiver’s] many years of achievements, and it is imperative that [the secrets] should not be given away to anyone, even to those who are of the same school. - Konyo

Now that is what you call "full contact" sparring

I hope #25 was ok after this.

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Miyagi car wax

www.society6.com

Beautiful, ferocious karate champion Rika Usami wants you to eat your mushrooms in new commercial

(by Casey Baseel en.rocketnews24.com 8-5-15)

I  like to think of myself as having developed a pretty broad palate, what with the fact that I’ll happily choose to eat things such as cod roe, lotus root, and chicken tail. Still, there are a couple of culinary challenges I can’t overcome, and perhaps my greatest dinner plate foes are mushrooms. I mean, I know they’re good for you and all that, but seriously, they’re fungi, right?

Here with a counterpoint is karate word champion Rika Usami, and the ferociously awesome commercial she made in her new role as mushroom spokes-martial artist.

Usami earned international fame at the 2012 WKF World Karate Championships, where she went home with the top honor for the speed, precision, and power on display in her unparalleled kata performance. Although she retired from competition in 2013, the 29-year-old Tokyo native is by no means finished with her life’s work. She’s currently a member of the Tottori Prefectural Board of Education and coach of the karate team at Kokushikan University in Tokyo, in addition to serving as a goodwill ambassador for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

In her new commercial, though, Usami isn’t promoting international athletic competition, but the healthy, delicious mushrooms sold by Japanese food company Hokto.

https://youtu.be/wStzYh6MLLM

Rather than give a lengthy speech on the merits of a mushroom-rich diet, Usami leaves it up to the onscreen text to deliver the message, “People who eat their mushrooms don’t get beat.”

It’s a philosophy Usami herself believes in, as she reveals in a separate video which documents the making of the commercial.

“I always ate mushrooms before completions,” she says, “If it was winter, I’d eat them as part of a hotpot, or on top of pasta in other seasons. When I ate all of them, I didn’t lose.”

Of course, some of her success might also be due to the years and years of training. To show how far Usami’s skills have come, Hokto also put together this side-by-side comparison of her performing the same routine in 1998 and 2015.

At the closing of the “making-of” video, Usami poses with the product and runs through a number of potential slogans:

“They’ll make you stronger, too! Let’s eat mushrooms!”
“I love strong people! Let’s eat mushrooms!”
“Become stronger with me! Let’s eat mushrooms!”
“Is it OK if we make you stronger? Let’s eat mushrooms!”
“Do you like strong women? Let’s eat mushrooms!”
“Hey now, if you don’t eat mushrooms, you won’t become strong!”

And while those are all persuasive arguments, after seeing her punch and kick, we’ll pretty much do whatever she wants, as long as she promises not to hurt us.

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http://en.rocketnews24.com/2015/08/05/beautiful-ferocious-karate-champion-rika-usami-wants-you-to-eat-your-mushrooms-in-new-commercial/

Since 84

artwork by fistfullofsoul.tumblr

Miyagi-do Karate

The mid-80's were turbulent years for karate in the Valley. Ultimately the Cobra Kai dojo had to shut it doors due to lack of business. The building fell into disrepair and sat vacant for years.

Daniel had always dreamed of opening up his own dojo after he discovered the enjoyment of teaching karate during the West Valley High karate club days. Married life and children kept him busy but the dream was always in the back of his mind.

When it came to his attention that the old Cobra Kai dojo was available to lease for cheap he jumped at the chance and opened Miyagi-do Karate out of respect for Mr. Miyagi who had passed away several years earlier during the dojo wars.

Business was so good he had to limit the number of students until he could expand the dojo which he did on more than one occasion.

Here is a flyer advertising his business after one of those expansions.

The way

Training in Okinawa

Daniel, why the jeans? Are you cold?

You are in Okinawa, put on a pair of shorts for heaven's sake.

Artwork by Felipe Almeida

www.magicpaper.tumblr.com

Be like a revengeful ghost

“Even if a samurai’s head were to be suddenly cut off, he should still be able to perform one more action with certainty. With martial valor in his life; if he can make himself to be like a revengeful ghost and show great determination, though his head be cut off, he should not die.” - Tsunetomo

Robyn Lively - "Tell me again why we are making this movie."

Ralph Macchio - "I have no idea. It seemed like a good idea earlier but now......"

Robyn Lively - "Do they actually have us repelling down a mountain to look for on bonsai tree?"

Ralph Macchio - "Yeah, they do."

I hadn't seen this one before

I stumbled upon this photo while poking around the web tonight.

Funny to think there are still photos out there from the filming of the first Karate Kid movie that I haven't seen yet.

Strike like a Cobra Kai

www.bottleneckgallery.com

Sweep the Leg t-shirt design

http://www.neatoshop.com/product/Sweep-the-Leg-2?tag=113620

Cobra vs Crane

www.xombiedirge.com