in other news i'm also stoked that i waited until now to pick up real swords. while it had been a long time coming, having trained with them in the past, the blades i recently purchased arrived at such an opportune time.
i'd been in sparse touch with my guro back in new york,
and having been also too caught up with work and bike riding,
i'd slacked a bit with my martial arts training.
i mean i always pick up my sticks,
and run through drills here and there,
but when you don't have to fight someone else's energy
you have to be careful that your own energy doesn't stagnate.
solo training is good training, but it requires much diligence.
so when my espada y daga set arrived this weekend,
it was a wonderful jump-start to revitalized training.
i'm very excited to be able to switch, at will,
between rattan and sharpened steel.
my edge awareness will improve considerably,
as will my live hand awareness.
your body knows it does not want to be cut!
anyways keep tapping!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
bicycle-talk: fbm sword
man i'm glad i waited out on picking up an fbm sword.
new updates: much nicer dropouts and a seat-binder in the seat-stays!!
okay so they're just pieces of metal to some people.
to bike people these are beautiful, usable works of art.
and it may be a while until these both hit production,
but i have no doubt it will be worth the wait.
(in case you didn't know, fbm is one of the most respected bmx companies in the business. the sword is their foray into the fixed gear field, and it's certainly a good one.)
new updates: much nicer dropouts and a seat-binder in the seat-stays!!
okay so they're just pieces of metal to some people.
to bike people these are beautiful, usable works of art.
and it may be a while until these both hit production,
but i have no doubt it will be worth the wait.
(in case you didn't know, fbm is one of the most respected bmx companies in the business. the sword is their foray into the fixed gear field, and it's certainly a good one.)
Monday, August 4, 2008
bicycle-talk: bashguards
i never realized how much i paid attention to the bicycle industry until i began to see trends crossing over. i can probably attribute this to the fact that i ride so many different kinds of bikes. from bmx, to mountain, to cyclocross, to fixed gear. (road is a whole different story.) when you ride bikes to shred on them, there are certain things you need to consider. strong wheels (36h!!), a solid cockpit (1 1/8"!!), etcetera. anyways i'm likely to go on a tangent if i don't focus so here's what i was thinking about recently.
if you ride a fix in any sort of freestyle manner, and check up on the progress of the such crews as mash, maca, bootleg, peel sesh, and rat cult ripping it up across the country, you may have seen this guard pop up in the east.
this is the milwaukee "crusher". the first of a few iterations to come from milwaukee bicycle co/ben's cycle.
now here's a rather new (in the past few years) concept: let's throw a bashguard on track cranks so we can grind on the chainring. without the guard you're likely to trash your chain and/or fuck your chainring. and good god why would you grind on an $85 track chainring that would get mutilated on the third attempt? let's protect that with a $120 bashguard that you can't even rotate once the side you grind on is worn down to the chain. ok. sorry.
i don't even work in the bike industry but i can tell you bmx (kink, fbm, standard, s&m, macneil, tree, etcetera) and mtb (blackspire, mrp, e. thirteen) have been working on bashguards for years and years. my favorites of recent are:
animal's for bmx. simple, small, inexpensive, durable.
and e. thirteen's for mtb. light, inexpensive, and close to indestructable. (tom lamarche runs one of these. smart fellow.)
so yeah, other companies have made similar and successful products already. what's your point? my point is: they've pioneered and then evolved the concept over much trial and error; the footwork has already been done! why not look to the experienced? do-it-yourself ethics are great, but don't waste money or resources. the bike-shredding precursors have shredded the way. bmxers ran those 3/16" chains for a while, mtbers smashed through many a paper-thin bashguard before figuring what was the best way to protect your drivetrain from ledges and rails, rocks and tree trunks (respectively).
milwaukee's newer stout guard and polo guard are decent second and third introductions to the fix-freestyle market. so check those out if you really want to smash up your track drivetrain.
if you ride a fix in any sort of freestyle manner, and check up on the progress of the such crews as mash, maca, bootleg, peel sesh, and rat cult ripping it up across the country, you may have seen this guard pop up in the east.
this is the milwaukee "crusher". the first of a few iterations to come from milwaukee bicycle co/ben's cycle.
now here's a rather new (in the past few years) concept: let's throw a bashguard on track cranks so we can grind on the chainring. without the guard you're likely to trash your chain and/or fuck your chainring. and good god why would you grind on an $85 track chainring that would get mutilated on the third attempt? let's protect that with a $120 bashguard that you can't even rotate once the side you grind on is worn down to the chain. ok. sorry.
i don't even work in the bike industry but i can tell you bmx (kink, fbm, standard, s&m, macneil, tree, etcetera) and mtb (blackspire, mrp, e. thirteen) have been working on bashguards for years and years. my favorites of recent are:
animal's for bmx. simple, small, inexpensive, durable.
and e. thirteen's for mtb. light, inexpensive, and close to indestructable. (tom lamarche runs one of these. smart fellow.)
so yeah, other companies have made similar and successful products already. what's your point? my point is: they've pioneered and then evolved the concept over much trial and error; the footwork has already been done! why not look to the experienced? do-it-yourself ethics are great, but don't waste money or resources. the bike-shredding precursors have shredded the way. bmxers ran those 3/16" chains for a while, mtbers smashed through many a paper-thin bashguard before figuring what was the best way to protect your drivetrain from ledges and rails, rocks and tree trunks (respectively).
milwaukee's newer stout guard and polo guard are decent second and third introductions to the fix-freestyle market. so check those out if you really want to smash up your track drivetrain.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
times goes by
and i've been kept busy.
with what?
so much has gone on,
it gets to be hard to say.
besides the work,
and all the monthly, weekly, daily, hourly,
little things that make up ones life
and yet are so unnoticeably minute,
it takes some effort to pick out
those extraordinary moments.
i will report soon.
with what?
so much has gone on,
it gets to be hard to say.
besides the work,
and all the monthly, weekly, daily, hourly,
little things that make up ones life
and yet are so unnoticeably minute,
it takes some effort to pick out
those extraordinary moments.
i will report soon.
Friday, July 4, 2008
night and day
the view from the hotel in downtown vancouver.
click them for more in my photostream.
or i'll just post some more from there. heehee.
click them for more in my photostream.
or i'll just post some more from there. heehee.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
what to do, what to do
there's been so much going on i have trouble keeping up.
even though the school program is out for summer,
and my other job is a bit slow right now,
it seems that there's always some happening.
which is great, don't get me wrong.
but in an effort to record,
where do i start?
highlights have been for sure:
1.
attending my friend and student's
(from the after-school program)
martial arts tournament last week.
he competed in karate kata,
weapons kata, and sparring.
he won two trophies!
here's him kicking stomach!
he's only 7 years old!
2.
spending an entire day up in point reyes
with my uncle and auntie and
a handful of their family friends.
we hiked out to the beach,
and then back up and out
to a ridge where we could see elk.
it still amazes me just how easy
it is to get out to places like these.
if you have a car, that is..
3.
well i've been riding my bike a ton.
that should come as no surprise.
i've finally found a few riders
that i can always hit up
for all sorts of sessioning.
and i've also been racing a bit,
and feeling pretty good about it.
i'm excited for when i return home,
when i can race my home streets.
i really can't say why i haven't before..
4.
i've also found truly interested
potential students to teach kali.
this possibility brings me much hope.
as i may be teaching a program
next year at the elementary school,
i need to make this summer
very productive and progressive.
i am hopeful i can make that happen.
5.
i'm going to vancouver next week!!!
the last time i visited was 3 years ago,
and i'm still psyched on the place.
i'm bring a bike; it's going to be ill.
6.
oops, almost forgot nick and inner sunset.
a friend and i went bike riding,
met up with another friend,
continued bike riding,
and then chilled at the second friend's house,
where we played with music all evening.
i am sparked to learn an instrument again.
and just to get into music again. yes!
7.
damn there's a bunch of stuff huh!?
sorry not too many pictures..
but yeah there's a bunch of stuff
going on this weekend in oakland!
music events, community parties,
bike riding and food eating, etcetera.
i seriously hate leaving oakland these days.
it's warmer, cooler, and cheaper.
forget about the city! east bay! haha..
anyways i guess i can say life is good.
in short.
even though the school program is out for summer,
and my other job is a bit slow right now,
it seems that there's always some happening.
which is great, don't get me wrong.
but in an effort to record,
where do i start?
highlights have been for sure:
1.
attending my friend and student's
(from the after-school program)
martial arts tournament last week.
he competed in karate kata,
weapons kata, and sparring.
he won two trophies!
here's him kicking stomach!
he's only 7 years old!
2.
spending an entire day up in point reyes
with my uncle and auntie and
a handful of their family friends.
we hiked out to the beach,
and then back up and out
to a ridge where we could see elk.
it still amazes me just how easy
it is to get out to places like these.
if you have a car, that is..
3.
well i've been riding my bike a ton.
that should come as no surprise.
i've finally found a few riders
that i can always hit up
for all sorts of sessioning.
and i've also been racing a bit,
and feeling pretty good about it.
i'm excited for when i return home,
when i can race my home streets.
i really can't say why i haven't before..
4.
i've also found truly interested
potential students to teach kali.
this possibility brings me much hope.
as i may be teaching a program
next year at the elementary school,
i need to make this summer
very productive and progressive.
i am hopeful i can make that happen.
5.
i'm going to vancouver next week!!!
the last time i visited was 3 years ago,
and i'm still psyched on the place.
i'm bring a bike; it's going to be ill.
6.
oops, almost forgot nick and inner sunset.
a friend and i went bike riding,
met up with another friend,
continued bike riding,
and then chilled at the second friend's house,
where we played with music all evening.
i am sparked to learn an instrument again.
and just to get into music again. yes!
7.
damn there's a bunch of stuff huh!?
sorry not too many pictures..
but yeah there's a bunch of stuff
going on this weekend in oakland!
music events, community parties,
bike riding and food eating, etcetera.
i seriously hate leaving oakland these days.
it's warmer, cooler, and cheaper.
forget about the city! east bay! haha..
anyways i guess i can say life is good.
in short.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
riding a lot
this weekend is going to take its toll i'm sure.
i rode almost all day today!!
this early afternoon i hit up joaquin miller park with my friend james. we went fixed gear trail riding and it was fun as hell! i thought that simply riding a hardtail helped you with your line, but on a cross bike (i took the tricross out today) that whole perception is magnified. you've gotta be on your TOES when descending rock gardens on thin tires and carbon parts. definitely not what i'm used to.
and then we returned to oakland and continued on with our track bikes! i dunno how many cumulative miles we rolled but it was a few. and tomorrow i ride again! to thai brunch in berkeley. and then street sessioning with photos. fun fun fun, i will admit. i just can't make time for anything else but riding my bike. and maybe i'm happy that way.
i rode almost all day today!!
this early afternoon i hit up joaquin miller park with my friend james. we went fixed gear trail riding and it was fun as hell! i thought that simply riding a hardtail helped you with your line, but on a cross bike (i took the tricross out today) that whole perception is magnified. you've gotta be on your TOES when descending rock gardens on thin tires and carbon parts. definitely not what i'm used to.
and then we returned to oakland and continued on with our track bikes! i dunno how many cumulative miles we rolled but it was a few. and tomorrow i ride again! to thai brunch in berkeley. and then street sessioning with photos. fun fun fun, i will admit. i just can't make time for anything else but riding my bike. and maybe i'm happy that way.
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