Well, it looks like this clip is going to become a regular 4th of July feature here on Dojo Rat. From the movie "Easy Rider", Jack Nicholson, Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda posit on the qualities of individual freedom and the free individual.This clip is for the younger Ratlets out there, if you haven't seen "Easy Rider", you should rent it. Believe me, I've lived this clip, in various incarnations... Read Full Story

Here's a nice presentation of "Parting Wild Horse's Mane" by Michael at San Diego Fitness. This is exactly the kind of work Tai Chi Chuan students need to do to understand what the hell they are practicing in their form. As we know, Tai Chi Chuan (Grand Ultimate Fist) was once considered the most sophisticated fighting art in China, with Dim Mak pressure-point striking, takedowns and weapons systems. Many masters were lost to war early last Century, and when State Communism adopted Tai Chi as... Read Full Story

Yes friends, it's July 1, and you know that means time for our regular feature "Cute Hippie Chick Of The Month". This month, the death of the lovely Farrah Fawcett has been eclipsed by the freak show of the Jackson family picking at the bones of emaciated accused child molester Michael Jackson. Poor Farrah. As the golden girl of the 1970's, posters of Farrah and her feathered hair graced the bedroom walls of millions of boys and young men around the world. But it wasn't just boys that fell in... Read Full Story

Funny how things come "Full Circle"...An article I read recently talked about medicinal opium poppy fields in Tasmania that were being raveged by stoned Wallabies, sheep and deer."We have a problem with wallabies entering poppy fields, getting as high as a kite and going around in circles. Then they crash. We see crop circles in the poppy industry from wallabies that are high," The Mercury newspaper quoted Ms Giddings as saying.A manager for one of two Tasmanian companies licensed to take med... Read Full Story

*Well, I did survive the Xingyi seminar down at Jake Burroughs' Three Harmony Martial Arts Center this weekend. Above is a picture of me in the Xingyi "San Ti" posture from a couple of years ago. Jake has corrected several posture issues that I now see in my stance. I use this pic because I haven't completely figured out how to extract small clips and still photo's from my new Samsung video camera, below: My wife snagged this camera for my birthday, and I had to have a kid from the video gene... Read Full Story

Hey!We're off to the mean-streets of Seattle for a Xingyi seminar. Lots of knockdowns and throwing. I hope to survive.Updates to follow. Read Full Story

Our Friend, The Late Mike Martello"Direct transmission offers all possible wavelengths of experiance because it is holographic and infinate in nature. It can be recieved intellectually, kinesthetically, of trancendentaly, through the channels of the mind or the heart or the soul, as well as through the primal instincts of physical body awareness".-Spiritualist Suyra Ma Jake and Dana at "Three Harmonies Martial Arts Center" in Seattle were kind enough to send me a few pics of our instructor an... Read Full Story

I just love this guys stuff. This video with Kent Howard is strictly Bagua applications, in others he talks about the techniques and methods. Kent is a great example of a teacher that really teaches. I know of some internal art Masters that say "just do it for 30 years, and you'll get it". That might have been the way in China 100 years ago, but not today. I know Tai Chi Chuan students, for example that have never pushed hands or learned a single applicaton. What I am really beginning to unde... Read Full Story

I might be over my head on this one.Last week, I learned about the term "Epigenetics", and spent the last two days reading scientific journals, even contacting a scientist in an attempt to get to the bottom of this. Look, I know next-to-nothing about Microbiology. To me, a science experiment is brewing Beer. Let's start with a scientific definition of "Epigenetics": “An epigenetic trait is a stably inherited phenotype resulting from changes in a chromosome without alterations in the DNA seque... Read Full Story

Here's one hell-of-a knife fight, with the late David Carradine staring as Cole Younger. The movie was a revamp of the Jesse James/Cole Younger gang and was titled "The Long Riders" The movie actually had four sets of actor/brothers in the cast, from Wiki:The Keaches: Jesse James (James) and Frank James (Stacy) The Carradines: Cole Younger (David), Jim Younger (Keith) and Bob Younger (Robert) The Quaids: Ed Miller (Dennis) and Clell Miller (Randy) The Guests: Charley Ford (Christopher) and R... Read Full Story