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Otherwise known as Fruit Ninja Kinect for Xbox 360. As stated in the article, expect this at the end of this summer!
You have no freaking idea how awesome this is! I wonder if I can bring my bokken or staff to practice “slicing up fruits”! I can also totally see Wing Chun people (or any art specializing hand movements) in practicing with this.
It’s also available in co-op mode. Basically you can ninja your way through fruits with a partner.
Now I want an Xbox!
Left to right: Magneto, Moira MacTaggert, Emma Frost, Azazel, Beast, Havok, Angel Salvatore, Mystique, Professor X
We are told that talent creates its own opportunities. Yet it sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities but its own talents as well.
~ Bruce Lee
So this past Saturday I had the opportunity to watch the movie X-men: First Class with my cousin who’s visiting from out-of-town. Naturally I’d pass up on movies nowadays since they’re either a.) the tickets are over priced and climbing at the moment, and b.) the quality of movies have fallen to the level of shock and awe, boobs and bomb blasts – however I don’t mind the boobs at all.
Warning – SPOILERS
There was something that was drawing me to this movie, a story about beginnings. For those of you not familiar with the X-Men read this article first then this one (the second link being the movie). There’s something about “the beginning of your power” theme that drew me into the movie. A group of humans that include a runaway, a holocaust survivor, Oxford professor, shapeshifter, a “beast” of a scientist, etc would be led by the great Professor X is all brought together to save the world from nuclear war during the Cuban missile crisis. All of them have powers of their own that occur under circumstances that are unique to each of them and are discovered (usually) during their lives.
All of this hype coincided with a lesson one day that my Sensei spoke to us about: how sometimes through training there is a development of certain attributes…abilities that weren’t there in the beginning. You get what I mean? An example would be that some of us who are tall (5’10” >) can develop a sense of “groundedness”. The smaller guys could develop a sense of speed. Some others could develop a sense of flexibility without having done little to no stretching, etc. Was there something our consciences had to let go in order to let our “talents” come out? I guess so.
According to the X-men universe, a human mutant would have their respective powers come out usually during puberty (makes since that’s when our hormones are through the roof). Other ways power might show up is during times of extreme stress – a traumatic event or otherwise. I found the connection intriguing from the movie. For example: Magneto at first could only access his powers whenever he got angry (in the movie’s case, when his mother was murdered). Charles Xavier found his power right after he went through puberty and Mystique had it since she was born.
Could it just be body types? It could be, but it’s funny how I’ve noticed my body doing certain things that I’ve never thought I’d be able to do. Now I’m going to keep my “powers” a secret (mainly because they are in their infancy and they only come out after receiving an ass whooping), but I thought I’d share this funny coincidence between the movie and my Sensei’s message.
So, what’s your power?
Till next time ladies and gents!
– Note: this post will highlight the Asian American community and the years following World War 2 to the present day. I understand however that the sentiments are applicable to any and all martial arts from around the world and any person from anywhere around the globe.
Is martial arts the key to being a man? I can only imagine it being one of the many routes to becoming one. You can’t however deny that evidence of how in the past, forms of martial training were considered a big part of the “rite of passage” for most if not all young lads growing up.
A friend a while back wrote an opinion piece regarding the movie Fearless starring Jet Li.
In the Eastern perspective, a man’s strength should be used to support and protect the greater communal good, as opposed to the Western, where a man’s strength is used to obliterate and defeat the forces preventing him from reaching his personal goals and/or moral imperatives.
Which is where my journey for this post begins. So basically it all starts with a different mindset of the “ideal” form of masculinity between East and West. Back in the days before the modern era (pre-1900s), martial artists at least in China were held in high regard by their local village or town. A man capable of defending himself and the people who he cares about is on the manliness pedestal in that area.
So what does this have to do with masculinity? My personal theory is that martial arts has been one of the few ways that Asian men in particular have been able to “prove themselves” as having made the transition from boyhood to manhood. That and/or academics.
For those of you don’t know, the transcontinental railroad was built from both ends in the 1860s: California and Nebraska. The Union Pacific Railroad started the work in Nebraska using a primarily Irish workforce while the Central Pacific Railroad of California used a primarily Chinese workforce that began in California. Due to the racism during that time, the Chinese workers with their white team drivers didn’t fare very well (lower wages than their white counterparts, more hours, etc.). It didn’t come to a surprise then that stories of Chinese workers fighting back (against anyone) who knew Kung Fu and winning were the stuff of legends among the work camps and abroad.
Conditions depicted here are worse than they were in real life.
These men were usually married, leaving their families in China, and traveling by boat all the way to California, only to suffer extremely poverty, social and lawful discrimination in the US. To top it all off, their chances of going back to China alive were slim. The ones who fought back (for whatever reason) were considered mini-heros and were held to high regard.
Has this trend continued to this day and translated to the scale which those brave, individual Chinese workers have attained? Not really.
As far as martial arts never got too much mainstream exposure (in the USA at least) until Bruce Lee came on to the scene, first as Kato in “The Green Hornet” TV series and then his starring movies such as Enter the Dragon. As the status of Asian males in the US went up, the correlation between martial art and man was blurred. The stereotype of Asian men (regardless of country origin) being the “Karate Master” was lovable at best. Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid movies come to mind. Did it really help the status of Asian and American men of Asian ancestry? As my Sensei put it – and I paraphrase:
When Bruce Lee was around yes…From the 60s well into the 90s definitely with guys like Jackie Chan and Jet Li. But from the turn of the century till now there have been no icons of their caliber.
~ J.Wada Sensei, 6th Dan
My Sensei forgot about Donnie Yen of the Ip Man and Ip Man 2 fame, but whatever. In accordance to what we’ve discussed so far, many icons using martial arts eventually use their skill to the betterment of the community that they are in. Movies such as Ip Man, Fearless, Enter the Dragon, etc. show the protagonist martial artist using their skills for good – the betterment of their cause. Which is in many extents defending the rights of people other than himself. Was this manly, oh hell yes it was. But is it sexy and brought your personal glory? Yes but not so much.
Before I continue – Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Donnie Yen, Tony Jaa, and other Asian male action stars don’t count as Asian American icons. That is because that they are not American born. Bruce Lee counts because he was born in San Francisco.
I’m making this distinction because although someone will state that someone of Chinese ancestry myself, shouldn’t I identify myself with such great action icons? To be honest not really because as I mentioned, the majority of them (minus the great Bruce Lee) are not American born.
Currently in the mainstream media you do not see many strong American-born men of Asian ancestry, even fewer are in positions of power and none with protagonist power. There’s a joke among my peers regarding Asian American men. We are usually regulated to five roles in the mainstream media and they are 1.) the guy who dies early 2.) the guy who is gay 3.)the guy who never gets the girl 4.) the scientist or engineer and 5.) Any combination of the four.
Now I am who I am and I really don’t care what “the media” thinks so long as I am continually growing and becoming a better man day by day. But seeing how there’s such little to no positive representation is disheartening to say the least.
Can martial arts be used as a vehicle towards masculinity in the Asian American community? Of course; however my gripe is that it is considered “not favorable” or “not economical” as compared to the professions that most of my peers are in (accounting, doctor, lawyer, etc.). And that is the problem; too much emphasis on how to blend in and no enough emphasis on social mobility. I remember my Sensei (who is a Sansei 三世 – a third generation Japanese-American) mentioning that when Bruce Lee was around, his presence in film instilled great pride in him as a young man growing up as among the White Caucasian majority in his hometown. In fact he did mention that Bruce Lee was one of the reasons why he picked up Aikido as his career and passion – as oppose to what his parents wanted him to be which was a Ph.D in languages.
There needs to be more of my peers who are willing to stand up for what needs to happen: social mobility. Like the unknown Chinese railway workers who stood up for their comrades, like the kung fu masters in films that we all so love and idolize, like Bruce Lee himself who toke on not only his own challenges but the racism found in Hollywood at that time. There needs to be more done.
This is obviously a much deeper and complicated topic than a post can handle but this is my two cents into this matter that has been a growing hobby of mine since my undergraduate days. For those of you who are finding hard to relate I thank you for your quiet patience and ears.
As always, till next time ladies and gents!
There is only 6 munchkins here, imagine having 25!
So it’s almost the end of summer and from what I hear kids will have lots and lots of free time. Which also means that martial arts schools all over the country will have kids (with their parents) swarming to sign up their children to classes so that they may have something to do other than play video games in the living room for 3 months.
With that in mind I’d thought it’d be a good time to put down a train of thought that I’ve had for a couple of months now: a small list to guide parents on how to choose the appropriate martial arts for their kid(s). This comes from having been a children’s instructor since May of 2010. This also comes from my memories from taking Shaolin Kung Fu as a pre-teen. This list is by no means a “bible” on which is the “perfect fit” for your child, just some mannerisms from my personal observations.
1.) Instructors matter more than the art. For most kids they usually don’t stay in their first martial art. Although some arts are more geared toward self-defense rather than “classical” (i.e. MMA vs. Okinawan Karate), pay attention to how to the instructor teaches the kids. Teaching kids is an endeavor in itself and requires more than just patience. There’s something of a “magic” that’s required to teach kids and few instructors can reach kids in order to not only teach the art, but also teach the kids discipline, respect, attention skills, etc. I will say from my personal ongoing experience that it does require a “fun”mindset. So walk into the school and just observe the kids instructor(s). Ask yourself questions such as:
– How do they connect to the kids?
– What activities/exercises do they do?
– What style of teaching do they do? (rout memorizing vs. relaxed style or a mix of both, etc.)
– Is there even “play” time, to balance the time spent memorizing katas, practicing techniques, etc?
– What is the experience of the instructors? (be nice to us, some are still in training – myself included)
2.) Don’t get caught by McDojos! Watch out for schools that seem to ask for money upfront or lock you – the client – in a long term contract. Though the term “Mcdojo” has multiple meanings and does not have specific perimeters, read this article regarding this phenomena (go down to the last 1/4 of the article) and this article. The point that I’m trying to make is save your money! Be wary of schools which ask you to make a down payment of X amount in order to “lock in” your child for a certain amount of time. Personal example: I remember my dad mentioning to me way back that he had put a “down payment” of a NON refundable amount of over $3,500 for 3 years of instruction from the Shaolin school that I was attending then (doing the math that’s at least $97.20/month). Withholding my opinions, my current dojo’s rate for kids and teens is $60 and $70 respectively and are on a monthly basis only (we do accept donations however). Try and look for a school that does monthly – or at the most a bi monthly or tri-monthly plan. Ask yourself will your kids be training for a long time? Things come and go and change and life happens; your child might not like the place, you move, etc. You don’t want to make any unnecessary holes in your wallet, drama, or uneducated financial decisions.
3. Availability: Check and see if the main instructor of the school teaches the kids class and/or someone who works closely with the main instructor. A good sign would be that the they (the head instructor) would be present during the class even if they are in the office. This denotes that the head of the school cares enough about the people who are learning the martial art. A sign that a school is a “Mcdojo”? Usually the head instructors are not present at all and leave the kids (and some adult) classes to a 2nd or even their 3rd point person because they are too “busy” running the school.
4. Make sure the school has a policy that requires adults/guardians to be present during class. Cases of child abuse/molester relations in schools are the stuff of parents’ nightmares. I had walked in on a meeting of various heads of Aikido schools in my area and there is a policy that if there is a child that is under 16/17, they must be accompanied by a parent/guardian that is over 21 years of age. Ask if there is such a policy at the school that you want to enroll your child(ren) in. As a children’s instructor I’m actually comforted that there is such a policy like this in place.
5. What do you want for your child? Self-defense, a place for them to “exercise”, a potential passion, overcoming shyness, all of the above? Some kids really do gain confidence through martial arts, others not so much. Some kids really do learn how to keep themselves controlled, others will find it a little distracting. Are they getting bullied in school? Are they having confidence issues in general? For this question, I would go back to #1; it really depends on the teacher(s)/master(s). This sort of goes into the argument of traditional vs. modern/MMA. Personally I’d throw out that whole argument and just go for the school and people who are best for your Johnny or Jane. A Wing Chun Sifu could do wonders to one child whereas another could find the same result with the Brazilian JuJitsu master down the street. The Aikido Sensei in the apartment block in one corner could be perfect for the bullied kid whereas the shy girl could find her niche in the Capoeira Mestre (master) in the next.
6. Window shopping: Last but not least, don’t be afraid to shop around. As emphasized in #1 and #5, it’s mainly about what you want for your child and what your child is naturally drawn to. You might like a certain place for its X self defense skills yet if your child does nothing but scream and pander even after 6 months there might be a conflict of interest. Likewise a teacher who emphasizes self-defense for children yet teaches it with an iron fist might not be great for a shy child. As a side note, you’ll be amazed as to how little skill it takes for a child to throw a heavy punch!
Not a complete list by any means, but just some personal tips for you parents out there. Good luck and my hope is that these will come in handy at some point. Till next time ladies and gents!
This is what really goes on in the minds of martial artists!
Wong Fu Productions is an independent film company based in Los Angeles, California and have been active since 2004. The company was created by three undergraduates from UC San Diego: Wesley Chan, Ted Fu, and Phillip Wang. WFP as it is known, is internationally known and frequently showcases short films, documentaries, music videos, and personal blogs. Their works have been featured on CNN and at the Sundance Festival.
On a personal note, it also should be noted that they are one of the few film production companies of its reputation and reach that is has roots to the Asian American community here in California. It works well since this month is Asian Pacific Heritage Month. Please support their work if you can. They aren’t martial artists, but what they do is truly an art.
The Journey of an Accidental Aikidoist 