reality check

There’s an old throw in aikido, which in daito-ryu-aikijutsu was called gyaku-hijinage, and in modern aikido is known variously as udekimenage, jujinage, or simply a kokyunage variation (what isn’t?), which is often used during randori in response to yokomen or tsuki strikes. Nage moves in close to the side and slightly behind, a cross-hand grab… Continue reading →

searchin’ searchin’ for ma bay bee

I was a fan of Amazon’s A9 search engine, until they silently switched from Google to Micro$oft (greased palm no doubt). Still, it’s amazing how different search tools find and present infomation (rather than searching three times in Google, try two other engines). Some engines use “clustering” or hierachical key word nodes, while others allow… Continue reading →

music to the heart

Heard a song entitled “Why I Do These Foolish Things” by the Magicians (Villa Records, 1964), a local Bay Area band, which strongly brought back the same exotic attraction I experienced when listening to the Miracles “Who’s Loving You” (the B-side of “Shop Around”) back in high school (or was it 8th grade). I listened… Continue reading →