Great job to all the participants in the Knife defense seminar for law enforcement officers! We covered emptyhand vs knife, knife vs knife and did some freestyle knife work. Thank you to Master Dominick Violante for hosting the event. Thank you to all the participants for all that you do. My next seminar will be in east taunton at east taunton kenpo karate on February 25th. Stick disarms will be the main topic.

We finished editing our blue belt weapons DVD today. ( Kobujutsu ). It contains Bo form two ( Choun No kon ) Arnis sticks 12 disarms, and double and reverse sinawali. It has been my goal to have DVD's for all 3 curriculums of the 3 arts that we do: Kenpo, Modern Arnis, and Kobujutsu. This brings us one step closer!

I am looking forward to teaching at Swift Waters Self Defense Club this Sunday. The topics will be the trapping and locking of tapi tapi and also joint locking with no stick. The club is run by Sifu Jonathan Leonard and it will be good to see him again. The seminar starts at 12pm.

Chris LaCava will be teaching a seminar here tomorrow 11am - 1pm. This is going to be a great learning opportunity and also Chris is one heckuva nice guy. We already have a good number of people showing up but the more the merrier so if you can make it we would love to see you there!

I will be teaching Modern Arnis tonight at Lacava's martial arts in Milford CT at 6:30pm. The host, Chris, is a great martial artist and all around nice guy. :0) Then tomorow I cross over the bridge to teach at CT Shorin Ryu in Portland CT at 1pm. They just had a grand re-opening and this will also be a lot of fun. This school can be traced back to the 70's and was one of the first martial arts schools in this area. One thing I love about seminars is the coming together of so many people from so many different backrounds. What a great learning experience and way to make new friends.

Quick update on me. Ive decided to take a seriously look at my health since...well...im not getting any younger. I have started to close monitor my diet and workout routines to get myself back in shape.

as of September 1st I have lost 7 pounds and have completed my first 5k. Might not seem like a lot but I have terrible knees so that fact that I'm running at all is a big accomplishment for me.

I look forward to reporting back in a couple more weeks with even greater numbers

B

i have said it before but i need to say it again. I am back and this time i am serious.

Spurred by my love for my wife, my friends and family, the MA's and the great site that is MT....I AM BACK!!!

I have renewed energies to get in shape and improve myself both physically and mentally. My own mortality has come into question far to many times this year and far to many time for someone only 26yrs old. I plan to be a father one day and i plan to watch my children grow up. I also plan to watch my little cousin (who is more like my sister) graduate college and eventually get married. I have a lot of life left and i plan to live it.

I tell you this not to make you think "WTF has this guy been doing?" or to create any kind of sympathy. I tell you only because i want to and need to. My only hope is that my friends here (I am pretty sure i have made a couple) offer me support and encouragement and that maybe i also encourage someone else.

So...Here is to a new and better life!!!

B

We recently took a vacation at Ridin Hy ranch in NY. If you or your family like activities such as horse back riding, swimming, fishing, games, and great food, this place is worth trying. Everything is right there on the ranch so you don't have to go anywhere once you are there. Morning horse back riding through the trails is amazing. Most of the horses were great although one that I had was stubborn and wanted to do his own thing! :0) My favorite horses are Champ and Ernest. I am riding at intermediate level and hope to work toward advanced next year Alas, summer vacation is now over.

Where is the Summer flying off to? Lots going on in addition to regular classes. We will be filming some new videos soon as well as re-filming some older ones now that we have a brand new camera and there is also some additional info I want to add. Also it was my honor to be invited to conduct several modern arnis seminars including one in E. Hartford, CT on August 13th. This will be at Crossroads Commumity cathedral on Silver Lane, and another seminar is booked for September in Portland CT at one of the longest running schools in Central CT! I hope that everyone is staying busy and having a great summer!

A tongue in cheek look at what it takes to upgrade MT to the latest and "greatest" version of vBulletin.

Originally Posted by Bob Hubbard

When we first launched MT back when life was simple way back in 2001, upgrading the site was a simple matter of download the new files, update the config file, upload everything and run a script, then login and go.

Today, it's a bit more of a pain in the ass.

Due to the size of MT, and the growing complexity of things, I have to go through more steps to make sure nothing goes wrong, or so wrong it can't be fixed.

A recent attempt to import another site caused significant damage when backups failed to import due to corruption.

So, today's updates work something like this:

Download new files.
Update config file, including disable all plugins code.

Log into server.
Close forum.
Export out -2- full backups of database. (3GB each)
Do test import of each to a dummy database to check integrity.
copy entire web folder to backup (1GB)
upload new files.
run updater.
update all plugins.
remove abandoned ones.
upload new config file reenabling plugins.
fix or remove plugins causing issues.
fix broken template bits.
test site on 4-6 browsers and platforms.
run another backup of database and code.
reopen.

watch issues come in from members running different configurations, attempt to fix issues, often running blind from issues that only seem to effect -1- person and cannot be duplicated.

Find issue notes in the strangest of places as people forget there is a suppoprt forum and suddenly mention greyed out text in the middle of a karate thread I never read. Get PM note a week later complaining issue never resolved. Debate stopping by users house and throwing my fatter cat at them, decide scotch and scooby more important than airfare.

Spend 4-12 hours pouring through support forums for issue fixes, often finding fix to be 'in next version', 'deemed unimportant' or 'must be a conflict, you're on your own'.

Debate chucking it all and retiring into the woods.

Once certain site is reasonably stable and secure, delete most of the excess backups to free up server space.

Attempt to pacify irate member who misses feature removed by software designers, or whose coder has abandoned that isn't compatible with current version due to X. Get told 'well X has that feature and you suck', in about as many words.

Reread thanks from members who appreciate it all and decide that the woods can wait a bit longer.

Deal with expected influx of forgotten user names and passwords as a result of cache clearing and cookie resets.

Drink way too much soda, tea and coffee, avoiding checking blood pressure so as to not break machine.

Periodically rewind video playing in background to double check latest clue found by Velma.

Spend an hour trying to do something in vB4 that took 5 minutes in vB3 only to realize that software designer was probably stoned, drunk or being buggered when coding and ended up hiding the 1 bit needed to make things work and no one's ever looked for it so good luck finding it.

Decide a pay rise is over due, and debate making site pay only. Decide begging for scotch more likely to work.

Gradually kill bugs, develop workarounds and fixes for member complaints, and within a few days be back to normal.

Until next time.

When all the fun starts over again. :D

I will be making another trip to Fitchburg, MA this saturday to teach Modern Arnis. We will break into two groups and work yellow and blue material. It is very exciting to see this group growing and learning! We will touch upon high blue material and the next time we will have three groups going to include more of high blue. Dr. Brassard's group is a great group of people and the day always flies by. Stay tuned for several cool upcoming events!

Our new modern arnis patch is arriving today and is on sale for $5, add $3 to total order for shipping if you are having it mailed to you. I will be posting a photo of it on the forum once I receive it. There is also a sample photo on our facebook page. I will also be selling them on my seminar circuit.

Ive been trying to pass this test since November. Have only taken it 3 times but have had life get in the way about 4 times. Injuries, work, weather...BLAH!!! Hopefully this saturday with be the one.

If you are in SKK or something similar and have a brown strip test that makes you a little angry then you know what im talking about. to those who dont find a school and study it and you will find out what im talking about.

Thats it. not big rant just need to blow off some steam

B

More than a month ago, my best friend (we can call her Z) told me that sensei wants to put her in a team with anothr girl called N. But a team needs three members and they still hadn't found the third person. There were a few options but they weren't sure who to select. I really liked to be part of their team but I thought it was wishful thinking, because I believed both of them to be superior to me technically.

That's until last Tuesday night when Sensei called and told me she has chosen me as the third member of the team. I was delighted, but also afraid that I might not be able to live up to her expectations. We talked about it a lot. She was certain that she has made the right choice and I was glad that she trusts me.

On Thursday (27th Jan.) we trained as a team. It felt great, but we were recieving a lot of funny looks and unpleasant remarks. There was another girl called S who was around the same age and height as us and Sensei told her to train with us for the time being. When the class finished, Sensei called the four of us over. We sat in her office/changing room/etc. and she talked to us for over an hour.

She said S will be working with us as the reserve member. She said she knows that she has chosen the right people and that with a little practice we'll make a great team. She said we have to trust each other and be confident that we can get far. She said we have to be responsible (not one training session is to be missed!) and she said with great emphasis that we should ignore other people's non-constructive remarks completely. She encouraged us to point out each other's faults gently and politely. She said loads of other things too, but I don't think writing all of them is necessary.

We had team practice the next day; just the four of us in a park near our dojo. My friend Z was 10 minutes late and Sensei didn't let her train with us. She said it's very irresponsible to arrive late for the first day of our team practice.

S was absent on Sunday (30th Jan.) without offering any explanation. On Tuesday Sensei told her she's not the reserve member any more.

What is more, N didn't show up on Tuesday morning even though I'd told her to come, because I had to go somewhere in the afternoon and we could have our team practice only in the morning.

Sensei was really annoyed. I hate to see her like this.

I've had a pretty good week starting from Sunday. On Sunday (2nd January) my Sensei was in a good mood. She anounced that she is going to take a test from all of us and then divide us into different groups and separate classes based on the results of the test. The test will include technique and fitness and the groups are as follows:

Group A - Championship
Group B - Advanced
Group C - Half-Advanced
Group D - Beginner (mostly white belts)
Group E - Those who practice Karate as a hobby or a simple exercise

I think it's an excellent idea. It has started a rivalry between us, making us train harder. We practiced Zenkutsu Dachi (front stance) and Kiba Dachi (horseback-riding stance) that day. My Dachis are usually terrible, but Sensei's good mood was contagious so I tried harder and was pretty good that day.

Tuesday (4th January) was even better. We practiced the applications of Shuto Uchi Uke, Gedan Barai and Jodan Age Uke. I love Bunkai and I thoroughly enjoyed the class.