protectivearts

IRIMI NAGE

In the last several classes I have focused on irimi-nage starting from ai-hanmi katate-dori. To develop precision and accuracy, I’ve emphasized how nage’s hand position determines the flow of movement. More importantly, the moment of contact defines the fixed point around which all subsequent action resolves. What do I mean? Much like tai no henko,Continue reading “IRIMI NAGE”

China is the Paper Tiger

Business is war, and war is business. — Sean Connery as Captain John Connor, Rising Sun (1993) In the early 1990s, Rising Sun captured an America unsettled by Japan’s economic ascent. Beneath its murder mystery plot lay a parable about national confidence; the fear that Japan’s discipline and precision might eclipse Western improvisation and ingenuity.Continue reading “China is the Paper Tiger”

Dum Dum Bullets and Shoot to Kill

The Sisters of Mercy released Floodland in 1987, a record of industrial choirs and end-of-empire glamour. On Lucretia, My Reflection, Andrew Eldritch croons about dum-dum bullets and shoot to kill, not as moral protest but as soundtrack for dying empires. The reference wasn’t metaphorical. “Dum-Dum” was a real place: a British arsenal outside Calcutta whereContinue reading “Dum Dum Bullets and Shoot to Kill”