Brian Lam, the proprieter and editorial director of the gadget blog Gizmodo has a great article up on BoingBoing about martial arts. If you didn’t know, Brian used to train and teach at Fairtex in San Francisco before blowing up in the gadget blog world. The article discusses Brian’s experience training there, the therapeutic qualities of practicing martial arts, and the fateful day that gym owner Alex Gong was murdered.
The article is framed with the controversy surrounding the title of Jackie Chan’s remake of “The Karate Kid”. The remake keeps the name of the original film despite the fact that it features kung fu rather than karate.
26 year-old MMA fighter Jarrod Wyatt (1-0-0 under Jared Wyatt) murdered his training partner Adam Powell, cut his heart out and cooked it while under the influence of mushrooms. Cops found him naked and covered in Adam’s blood.
Del Norte County Police Sgt. Elwood Lee, who responded to the incident early March 21, said that Wyatt told him at the scene that he saw the devil in Powell’s face and that “‘Satan was in that dude.’” He allegedly cut an 18-inch hole in Powell’s chest, removed his heart, cut his tongue off and removed a majority of Powell’s face.
Here’s Wyatt’s solitary MMA fight:
This was back in March and Wyatt is trying to fight the charges saying that it was the shrooms that made him do it. I’m inclined to say that there might have been an existing level of craziness/stupidity. This horrific incident is unfortunate on so many levels. The guy was clearly unstable to begin with but his actions put both two very misunderstood topics in a bad light. MMA and psychedelic drug use aren’t exactly very popular with the mainstream, but can be profoundly positive experiences for a lot of people who understand them well. If Wyatt’s defense is successful, it sets precedence for other crimes to be hidden under a veil that pushes blame onto the substance rather than the abuser.
I’m interested to see what Joe Rogan has to say about this.
[edit] The Times Standard has more gruesome detail on the story and also reports that Wyatt will indeed be charged with murder along with aggravated mayhem and torture.
Brucelee.com has launched, and features some great media about the life and philosophy of the late Bruce Lee. For me growing up, I idolized him for his physical ability and philosophy. He was pretty much who I wanted to be when I grew up.
The person behind the site appears to be his daughter Shannon Lee. It’s unclear to me how much of this is her cashing in, and how much of it is furthering her father’s legacy. In the intro video, she mentions that the site is in its infancy, and I hope it becomes much less of a merchandising opportunity and more of a community for users to find Bruce’s wisdom and how it relates to the modern era of martial arts.
“Expose yourself to various conditions and learn.”
“To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.”
“To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one’s potential.”
“The great mistake is to anticipate the outcome of the engagement; you ought not to be thinking of whether it ends in victory or defeat. Let nature take its course, and your tools will strike at the right moment.”
“It’s not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.”
Virginia Commonwealth University’s Son Duong has produced a documentary called “The Jiu-Jitsu Lifestyle”. It’s an incredibly well-produced piece that speaks to the sort of life commitment and enjoyment jiu-jitsu practitioners get from training. The film is a slice of life view of BJJ students and teachers in Virginia and their journeys in jiu-jitsu.
