Archive for January 2010


Martial Arts: Part 1 Knowing your built-in weapons

January 22nd, 2010 — 9:00am

This is the first in an intended series of posts on Exploration & Explanation. The first set is Martial Arts. I will be detailing my experience and exploration in martial arts and self-defense.

I decided to put on Bourne Supremacy today while I did some things around the house. Only minutes into the movie, I remembered my deep love and near obsession with all things “Spy” (See my favorites list on Spy Movies). If you’re familiar with the Bourne movies you will remember that amongst the secrecy, sniper-shots and fast car chases there is a good amount of close quarters hand-to-hand combat (also see Nathan’s Ten Steps: Being a Spy). Bourne and his Treadstone counter parts are all well versed in using their hands, feet and entire bodies to quickly incapacitate their opponents.

Part 1: Knowing your built-in weapons

The human body has been used since the beginning of time as a weapon potent enough to kill. And through the ages many methods and styles have been developed to hone this ability. Some focus on blunt force requiring great strength or multiple strikes to vulnerable targets. Some take a knowledge of anatomy and use of body mechanics to break bones or dislocate joints using leverage. Then there are still other styles that take the knowledge of anatomy to pinpoint pressure points and exploit weak areas of the body into submission.

Today we will start with the basics, though. Striking. There’s 1001 ways to hit a man, but the ones that are extremely efficient comprise a much shorter list. Here are 6 basic strikes to make your hands more useful in combat:

Strike Best Target
Foreknuckle Punch
Foreknuckle PunchForeknuckle Punch Side
Solar Plexus
Solar Plexus
Half Fist
Half FistHalf Fist Side
Trachea
Trachea
Knifehand Chop
Knifehand ChopKnifehand Chop Opposite
Brachial Plexus
Brachial Plexus
Reverse Knifehand
Reverse KnifehandReverse Knifehand Side
Filtrum
Filtrum
Palm (Straight Strike)
PalmPalm Side
Solar Plexus/Pubis
Solar Plexus and Pubis
Palm Heel (Downward Strike)
PalmPalm Side
Bridge of the Nose
Bridge of the Nose

More to come about Martial Arts exploration. If you have a punching bag at home or want to position a good thick pillow against the wall, you can practice familiarizing yourself with your built-in weapons.

5 comments » | Exploration & Explanation, Martial Arts

Ten Steps: Being a Spy

January 21st, 2010 — 12:34pm
James Bond Aston Martin DB9

Aston Martin DB9 ~ $170,000

1. CARS
Drive a car that is laughably and obviously way above your government pay grade. (If indeed you are officially employed by a government.)

Q & some Bond Gadgets

Q & some Bond Gadgets

2. GADGETS
If you happen to be a spy from the 60s or 70s, you absolutely must have an array of gadgets given to you ahead of time that end up being the following:
a) the only gadgets you need other than the tools lying around you at the time,
b) the exact gadgets you’ll need for incredibly specific tasks or points of danger requiring more than just the wits and dashing good looks you carry with you the rest of the time,
c)each gadget must either fit inside some unassuming object (e.g. a camera case, a briefcase panel, the heel of your Italian leather shoes), be easily deconstructed and hidden, or simply appear to be a normal item of clothing

(Note: you must carry with you a watch-based laser/grappling hook/mini-missile launcher or belt-based grappling hook/super-magnet)

Jason Bourne Bank Box

Jason Bourne Bank Box

3. IN CASE OF EMERGENCY
Always have what we like to call the “MultiDuff” — a duffel bag filled with multiple passports, multiple forms of currency, multiple concealed weapons and multiple medical kits.

Jason Bourne uses Newspaper as weapon

Bourne: Newspaper as weapon

4. WEAPONS
Possess the ability to assess which items in any given setting are viable weapons. Rooms of importance: kitchen, bathroom and office.
(Minimum requirement: we request that you carry a very small, concealed gun)

Vesper's Death

Vesper's Death

5. WOMEN
Stop thinking of women as meaningful pursuits and starting thinking about them as objects to be used and thrown away.

... and taking names

... and taking names

6. FIGHTING
You must possess instinctive fighting skills that stretch across all easily conversationally recalled forms of martial arts. This recall must be instinctive, in case of unintentional amnesia.

Bourne speaks the language

Bourne speaks the language

7. THE LANGUAGE BARRIER
You must be multilingual.
(Note: See criteria for Fighting Skills)
(Second Note: This is not required.)

Bond uses a woman for information

Getting information, that's all

8. WOMEN, AGAIN
Shortly after arriving at your first destination, it is important to become randomly acquainted with your muse for this mission. She must be worth destroying your career for while also being easy to forget should the need arise.
Additionally, you must get close enough to her for your judgment to be clouded to the point of the mission nearly failing. Possibly muliple times.
(Note: If you are a government agent and if you’re good, this can happen on the plane en route, or even at headquarters with your boss’ receptionist.)

Vesper Martini

Vesper Martini

9. ALCOHOL
You must recognize alcohol for what it truly is. – Be able to drink it as often as an athlete drinks water.
  •  Possess mundane details about it (e.g. the correct temperature to serve a chilled bottle of Bollinger champagne).

  •  Drink it without looking like you care that you’re doing so.

  •  Know the local cultural specialty drink ahead of time. Order it often while there.

  •  Create complicated drink orders, while gambling, that get the rest of the table to order the same thing. (Note: if this pisses off your host, count it as a win.)

Perfect Accuracy

Perfect Accuracy

10. MARKSMANSHIP
Be deadly accurate with any weapon that isn’t a sniper rifle. Despite it’s usefulness for accuracy, you need only use its scope to spy on those looking for you from across the street, or miss your target on purpose because she eventually becomes your muse (See: WOMEN, AGAIN).

Madmen, henchmen and the secret societies

Madmen & henchmen

11. COUP DE GRAS
Appear physically unassuming, sexually dominating, mentally sharp and emotionally vulnerable all while battling to stop one of three things:
1. A madman bent on world domination
2. The government agency trying to kill you
3. Your impending death at the hands of your captors

1 comment » | Ten Steps

Games: Curveball

January 21st, 2010 — 12:03pm

How could I have forgotten Curveball all this time!?

It hits all the requirements: Simple to learn, hard to master, addicting as all get out!

If it doesn’t work you can play it here: Curveball

4 comments » | Favorites, Games

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