IN MEMORY OF: Ted Wong

It is with deep sadness that I post of the passing of Sifu Ted Wong. My sincerest condolences to the Wong family and his students. The JKD Community has a suffered a great loss, and if I may be so bold, indeed, the Martial Arts Community has suffered a great loss.

An Intercepting Fist (2008) - a film by Annette Lee




www.brucelee.com's Remembering Bruce Lee - Shannon Lee and Ted Wong





I have not had many opportunities to formally train but of all the instructors I've wanted to train with, I wanted to learn from Sifu Ted Wong. One of my training partners, T, was fortunate to have had a private lesson with Wong Sifu some years ago.

Wong Sifu, may you rest in peace.

---

Other posts on Wong sifu:

• (2013) Ted Wong would've been 76 years old today! (Bruce Lee's Fighting Method Full Video
• IN MEMORY OF: Ted Wong (November 5, 1937 – November 24, 2010)(2013 - posted an interview)

BOOKS: Way of the Ancient Healer by Virgil Mayor Apostol

Way of the Ancient Healer: Sacred Teachings from the Philippine Ancestral 

Traditions by Virgil Mayor Apostol (North Atlantic Books)

...
Way of the Ancient Healer provides an overview of the rich tradition of
Filipino healing practices, discussing their world influences and role
in daily life. Enhanced with over 300 photographs and illustrations,
the book gives readers a rare look at modern-day Filipino healing
rituals, including personal examples from author Virgil Apostol's
own experiences with shamanic healing and dream interpretation.
...

Please visit for more details:
 
http://www.rumsua.org/Other_Literary_Works.php#ancient_healer

Book is due out 12/28/10... this should be a good book. Not many, 

if any at all, books on Hilot and the Filipino Healing methods. 

Forthcoming review. My thanks to my good friend P. for the heads-up

on this book. 

LINKS: Rumsua.org - Filipino Healing traditions

http://www.rumsua.org/

My thanks to my friend good P. for the heads-up on this site. I've always been curious about Hilot,

the Filipino Healing Art, when I first read about it years ago on the now defunct Eskrima Digest. 

There is an 1980's or 1990's article profiling Sam Tendecia in either Inside Kung Fu or Inside 

Karate. If I recall correctly it mentioned that Dan Inosanto had an injury that Sam Tendecia cured 

using Hilot methods.

Lots of information/articles on the Filipino Healing traditions at Virgil Apostol's site. Please visit it

and check it out. I will be later! 

Filipino Martial Arts: From Kali and Escrima to Boxing

October is Filipino American History Month
Upcoming Event—October 27, 2010
Filipino Martial Arts: From Kali and Escrima to Boxing

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program and the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) present a screening of the documentary film, The Great Pinoy Boxing Era (Corky Pasquil and Agrafino Edralin) and hosts a panel discussion and demonstration on Filipino martial arts. The Great Pinoy Boxing Era is an insightful portrayal of the Filipino men who came to the U.S. not only as farm laborers but also as prize-winning boxers during the 1920s and 1930s. The film will be followed by a presentation from Professor Linda España-Maram along with presentations and demonstrations by internationally renowned martial artists Dan Inosanto and Rosie Abriam. Gem Daus of the University of Maryland-College Park will serve as moderator.

For those unable to attend the event, a live broadcast will be streamed on the day here.

When: Wednesday, October 27, 2010, 6:30—8:30 p.m.
Where: Carmichael Auditorium, National Museum of American History

 More info here:


http://apanews.si.edu/2010/09/27/the-great-pinoy-boxing-era-showing/

Here is the whole panel discussion... let it load up... about the 1 hour mark, Guro Inosanto puts on a 25 minutes Filipino Martial Arts demo. Simply amazing!



Check out:

http://www.mybarong.com/great-pinoy-boxing-high-bandwidth-version-art-1082.html

for the documentary film, The Great Pinoy Boxing Era.




My thanks to Terry Crutcher for the heads up!

BOOKS: Americane: The Grasso / Morale Method of Personal Defense

A practical guide for Personal Defense with a walking stick written by Ralph Grasso and Joshua Morale. It's 61 pages and can be purchased here:

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/americane-the-grasso-morale-method-of-personal-defense/13513616

I will be purchasing this and a review is forthcoming. If you frequent the various Martial Arts forums, Ralph Grasso should be no stranger. He was a student of the late Carl Cestari as well as Amante 'Mat' Marinas and others. I expect the book to be good. The material will be simple and straightforward. I cannot wait to read the book!

Dog Brothers on Pay-Per-View Monday, October 18, 2010

Great news... the Dog Brothers will be on PPV!

Cut and pasted from http://www.indemand.com/product/view/200437:

Stick Fights: Dog Bros' Cruel Combat
PPV Premiere: Monday, October 18, 2010

Dog Brothers Martial Arts (DBMA) presents its legendary Stick Fighting Battles for the 1st time ever on Pay Per View! Using its unique, “system of many styles”, DBMA combines Filipino & Indonesian Martial Arts and Dog Brother’s Grappling & Stick-Grappling, with some of the more traditional martial arts including Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, and Akido. Watch these Extraordinary & Explosive “never before broadcast” bouts that take MMA to the highest level of Combat!

Running Time: 0:58
Rating: TV-14 (L,V)

Spread the word!

IN MEMORY OF: Master Christopher "Topher" Ricketts (1955-2010)

Another terrible loss to the FMA Community. Yesterday Master Christopher "Topher" Ricketts of Bakbakan International passed away after a battle with cancer. He was only 55 years of age. He was one of the founders of Bakbakan, and also one of Antonio "Tatang" Illustrisimo's students, having studied under him along with Tony Diego, Yuli Romo and Edgar Sulite.


http://www.myfma.net/forum/topics/master-christopher-ricketts


My sincerest condolences to the Ricketts family as well as to the members of Bakbakan International and the Kalis Illustrisimo family.


Here is a videoclip of Master Ricketts and Tatang:

IN MEMORY OF: GM Ben Largusa (1926-2010)

It is with sadness that I report that the Filipino Martial Arts community has lost another, GM Ben Largusa.

Image from Dan Inosanto's The Filipino Martial Arts book.

Copied and pasted from http://www.villabrillelargusakali.com/:

Grandmaster Ben Largusa was the first man to bring the Kali into the United States public arena. At the 1964 Ed Parker International Karate Championships held in Long Beach, California, he gave America its first demonstration of Kali. Also in attendance were numerous martial artists from around the world, including Bruce Lee, Dan Inosanto, and Jhoon Rhee.

Born on Kauai, Hawaii in 1926, Grandmaster Largusa’s first exposure to Kali came when as a toddler, he watched the Filipino men in his hometown of Kilauea, Kauai, Hawaii practice with the sticks.

Although his Filipino Martial Arts training began under his father who exposed him to the basics of Kali, his first formal instruction came from Master Augustine, an Eskrimador. In 1945, his study in the art came to a temporary halt when he joined the United States Army. While in the service, he trained in a variety of styles including judo and boxing.

When he returned to Kauai in 1951, he was fortunate enough to become a student of Grandmaster Floro Villabrille. At 25 years old, Largusa trained one on one with Villabrille, who was still in his prime at 39 years old, for 7 unbroken years. At the onset of his training, Grandmaster Villabrille had him promise to never teach anyone else other than his own sons the deadly art of Kali. At the time, few people had ever heard of Kali. It was a closely guarded secret that was passed on from teacher to student and father to son. Only the students deemed loyal were taught the art and it was never taught to non-Filipinos. He left for mainland in 1958 but remained in close touch with Villabrille and trained with him whenever the opportunity arose.

Largusa’s genius became apparent when he systemized and broke-down Villabrille’s fighting techniques, and put into place theories and philosophies that comprise the art. He explains that Villabrille “was greatest influence in my life because he opened my eyes to many things, allowing me to observe, analyze and finally modify things for the better.” It is for this reason that the art is known today as the Villabrille-Largusa Kali System. As the years passed, he saw the need to perpetuate Villabrille’s teachings and to promote a part of the Filipino heritage. With Villabrille’s blessing, he began teaching a select group of students privately in his home in South San Francisco, California in 1969. The first generation included his sons Lindsey Largusa and Jerry Largusa, Greg Lontayao, Mel Lopez, Tony Lamadora, Greg Rojas, Kaohu Cummings, Ted Fidel and Rick Reyes. As Floro Villabrille’s foremost student, Ben Largusa was personally chosen as his successor to the Villabrille Kali System. In 1972, Villabrille bestowed upon Largusa the rank of Tuhan (Master) of the Villabrille Kali System.

In 1973, the Largusa School of Kali, in South San Francisco, California, was formally opened. It was the first school to teach Kali to the public. Later that year, the Kali Association of America was formed as the governing body of the Villabrille-Largusa Kali System of which all member schools fall under.

In 1981, Grandmaster Villabrille presented Tuhan Ben Largusa the Conveyance of Life Interest, which gives him the exclusive right, license and authority to continue to use the name of the Floro Villabrille School of Kali in perpetuating and promoting the Villabrille-Largusa Kali System.

Upon Grandmaster Villabrille’s death in 1992, Tuhan Ben Largusa succeeded him as Grandmaster of the Villabrille-Largusa Kali System. In 1994, Largusa named Professor Mel Lopez as his successor and bestowed upon him the rank of Tuhan (Master) of the Villabrille-Largusa Kali System. In keeping with Grandmaster Villabrille’s wishes, the Villabrille-Largusa Kali System has only one Grandmaster and one Master.

Grandmaster Ben T. Largusa entered eternal rest on October 3, 2010. He is preceded in death by his son, Lane and is survived by his wife, Philomena, daughter, Lois and sons, Jerry and Lindsey.

 If you wish to leave your condolences, please post here:

http://www.villabrillelargusakali.com/?page_id=318

My sincerest condolences to the Largusa family and to the rest of the Villabrille-Largusa Kali System practitioners.

RIP Manong Largusa.

Burglars Said to Have Picked Houses Based on Facebook Updates

In a previous post, I wrote about Why I Won't Use My Real Name on the Internet. This is a short followup of something that was reported in the New York Times recently. In this day and age of the Internet, Identity Theft, Privacy and Cyber Security, I hope this site's readers will use a little common sense when they are interacting on social networking sites such as Facebook.

Cut and pasted from http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/burglars-picked-houses-based-on-facebook-updates/

September 12, 2010, 10:24 am

Burglars Said to Have Picked Houses Based on Facebook Updates
By NICK BILTON
Illustration by Nick Bilton/The New York Times

If you plan to log into your Facebook account and announce to the world that you’re heading to the beach for the weekend, you might want to append the status update with a warning that your home is under 24-hour surveillance, you have a 140-pound Rottweiler who hasn’t eaten in a week and that you own a really good alarm system.

If you don’t, you personal belongings could be fodder for some tech-savvy burglars.

According to New Hampshire’s WMUR Channel 9 News, three local men, Mario Rojas, Leonardo Barroso and Victor Rodriguez, have burglarized more than 18 homes in the Nashua area of New Hampshire simply by checking status updates on Facebook and then pillaging the houses of victims who announced on the social network that they were not home.

Nashua PD via WMUR Channel 9 News. From left to right, Mario Rojas, Leonardo Barroso, Victor Rodriguez.According to the news outlet, police said they had recovered from $100,000 to  $200,000 worth of stolen property as a result of the investigation.

According to local police, investigators tracked down the burglars by listening for the sound of a specific kind of fireworks stolen from a home. When they heard it, they said, they arrested the suspects and their loot.

A Web site called Please Rob Me had noted when people informed the world they weren’t home by their status updates and check-ins on some location-based social networks. But the site has since shut down, noting that the site’s founders are “satisfied with the attention we’ve gotten for an issue that we deeply care about.”

Ron Dickerson, captain of Nashua’s Police Department, told the local news that people need to “be careful of what you post on these social networking sites.”

Be wise and stay safe!

Why I Won't Use My Real Name on the Internet

In the current landscape of the Internet, social networking is huge be it Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Classmates, Linked, etc. Most people who frequent the social networking sites or utilize their services/benefits use their real name. After all, these sites/services help you to find lost friends/relatives/classmates, find jobs, etc. It is in your best interest to use your real name.

With that said, however, there are a few reasons why I don't use my real name on the 'Net. It doesn't matter if it's a martial arts forum, a self-defense forum, or a social networking site.

UFC 116 - Lesnar X Carwin - the most anticipated heavyweight fight ever

Last night was the UFC Heavyweight Championship unification bout between reigning champion Brock Lesnar and Interim Champion Shane Carwin. This match was fireworks from the start.

3 gif's I made. If they don't show up, please let me know. First 2 shows Shane in action. Last one is Shane just before round 2 starts looking at Brock.


 

I rooted for Shane. I felt Carwin should've paced himself better instead of going 100% in each and every punch he threw in round 1. He was noticeably tired.Carwin tapped to Lesnar's choke in round 2. Lesnar was able to weather the storm of Carwin's onslaught in round 1. Lesnar showed some groundfighting skills in round 2.

Much respect to both Lesnar and Carwin.

Some new changes to the site...

Please accept my sincerest apologies on how long it's taking me to revamp the site's looks. Once it is halfway decent looking, I will be adding new content. Or maybe not. I'm not sure. Please bear with me. Some changes I've accomplished so far:

Sidebar Looks Misaligned in Internet Explorer

I'm using Firefox at home and the site looks ok. I checked this site using Internet Explorer and *gasp*, the sidebar is below the main body. Regardless, this current template is temporary, until I have time to really learn and mess with CSS and design the way I want the site to look. Yet more steps in my sojourn. So my apologies to any readers checking this site on via Internet Explorer.

Compact Header

Probably the first noticeable change is a smaller header. Moved the items around to make the header a little more compact. That reminds me, I need to make a banner of it in case there may be link exchange requests.

Added a Search Box

This temporary template had no search box, I added one to my sidebar. Was easy enough.

No More Blogger Navbar

Got rid of the blogger navbar on top. That too was easy fix.

Added an Animated Favicon

Added a "favicon" which is animated. For those that don't know what a favicon is, look at any webpage in the URL section of your browser. For example, if you are on Google's page, you will see a "G" right next to "http://www.google.com". If you were in any webpage in Internet Explorer that didn't change their favicon, you would see the blue "e". For Blogger, it's an orange rounded square with a white "B" in it. This was a tad harder, but also easy enough. I used http://www.html-kit.com which was easy to use.

Upcoming Changes

Want to Add the Blogumus Flash Cloud for Labels

Added Blogumus instead of the Labels listed straight down the sidebar. The preview worked. When I saved the change and went to view the site, it didn't work. Need to figure out the glitch. It will take up less space, but may be a nuisance to click on the right label you want. We will see... I may keep it or not, it will depend on the feedback. Also, I may have way too many labels and need to tighten up on them. Again we will see.

Navbar

Also working on populating my navbar below the header, which starts with "Home". Possible and probable categories will be:

1. About (something about me, the site, and a FAQ)
2. Contact (how to contact me via email or contact form)
3. Subscribe (subscribe by email or RSS when new posts are published)
4. Articles (martial arts and self-defense articles written by me or others)
5. Reviews (instructional, movies, books, etc -- some by me, some by others)
6. Links (i have a lot of links I want to put up, but i need to think up a way to make it presentable and not one looooong page of links

Last But Not Least

I will be trying my hand at writing some self-defense related articles. I will be archiving great articles I've come across. Also, lots of reviews to put up, both mine and reviews written by others. And I will be moving my original archives over to this site. It's been a long time coming.

My apologies to you all. Please bear with me. Thank you.

Very truly yours in the martial arts and self-defense,

~sg

Revamp of site in progress

Frustrating, very frustrating. Thought I resolved my computer issues (first malware, then malware again, malware yet again, and lately then no digital signal sent to the monitor)

Wanted to revamp the site and 'open for public' all in one go, but with the computer issues, please forgive the appearance while the site is under ongoing construction.

Army's new DVD - Techniques for Light Indian Club Swinging

My friend Army has a new DVD either out or about to be available. It deals specifically with light Indian clubs . It is 90 minutes long. I will be ordering it shortly and post a review. I have a backlog of reviews I intend to post

If you are interested, please check out Army's site:

http://www.agelesstrength.com 

Good luck in your training and enjoy! 

LINKS: General Amnat Pooksrisuk Thai Martial Arts

http://amnatpooksrisuk.com/index.html

Awesome! General Pooksriruk has his site up and running. I was able to attend one of his Thai Bareknuckle Boxing seminars a few years ago. It was a blast. He was one of the instructors to Tony Jaa. Always interested in checking out Bareknuckle Boxing in its various forms as I feel it's closer to my needs of self-defense. There are some distinctions between Western Boxing as it's a sport with gloves and Muay Thai as well. Bareknuckle Boxing techniques takes into account the lack of gloves to protect your hands. Therefore techniques as well as targets will differ. This is a fascinating area of study for me.

If you are interested in the Thai Arts, please check out General Pooksriruk.

Battle Scarf - Functional Item and Improvised Weapon

I was catching up with reading the forums and sites, and while at Pete Kautz's site, Alliance Martial Arts, I found out about the Battle Scarf. It seems like it is a great everyday functional item which can definitely be used as an Improvised Weapon for self-defense. Too bad Spring is upon me as Winter just passed, but I will be ordering one soon to check out. For anyone who doubts the power of Flexible Weapons, the Youtube clip above should help change your thinking. The power of Flexible Weapons with the breaking of cinder blocks with just a Poland Springs bottled water is awesome!


Pete Kautz has written a great review on the Battle Scarf. Read it here:

http://www.alliancemartialarts.com/battlescarf%20review.htm



For another review, please check this link:

http://tacticaledgecombatives.blogspot.com/2010/01/big-jays-battlescarf.html



If you are interested, please check out:

http://www.battlescarf.com/



In full disclosure, I am not affiliated in any way, shape or form to Battle Scarf, Pete Kautz/Alliance Martial Arts or Tactical Edge Combatives.


If you get a Battle Scarf, please let me know your thoughts and experiences with it.

EBOOKS: Safety Response: The Essential Guide to your Personal Safety by Aran Dharmeratnam

This informative manual addresses subjects such as awareness and aggression disengagement. It covers avoidance, the different forms of hostility including less discussed forms such as spatial aggression and distance based aggression. It also looks at some of the physical tactics that predatory aggressors use such as the various grabs, use of projectiles, intimidation and set ups. Plus there are numerous insights into concepts that people can use to avoid trouble such as: tactical dialogue, reading the aggression triggers and reserved tactics. These insights are very useful for both men and women interested in self defence and awareness training.

I bought this ebook about a half year ago. I was interested in Aran's book as he has a Law and Criminology degree. Wanted to check out his perspectives given is formal education on self-defense. Recently, I started reading it and am half-done. I like what I've read so far. Full review shortly. Please check out if you are interested:

http://www.globalkick.com/safetyresponse.html

LINKS: Hertao Self-Defense and MMA Blog

A friend of mine was teaching in Louisiana when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. For those that don't know about Katrina, in the history of the United States, it was one of the five deadliest hurricanes to hit America as well as being the costliest with respect to damages incurred.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina

I didn't know that Katrina wiped out his business. Living through the rampant crime must have been very difficult. He emailed me recently to let me know of his new site as well as his new ebook. He gave me a copy of the ebook for review. I will be reading soon. The review is forthcoming after I get through the backlog of books on my to-read list as well as writing the reviews.

I will be catching up with him via emails as well as reading the articles on his site and blog posts

http://www.hertao.com/

If you want to check out his ebook:

http://www.hertao.com/selfdefense/self-defense-ebook

Can you imagine living in an environment that was a natural disaster and having to deal with crime and safety daily? This is what he went through after Hurricane Katrina. Perhaps he will share some of his experiences and insights.

Upcoming changes to the site

First off, please update your bookmarks. My site's URL is officially:

http://www.stickgrappler.net

The URL took effect about a month ago. I have not been posting as of late. I am somewhat of a perfectionist. I wanted to revamp my site prior to the URL going live but I didn't master the CSS/HTML enough to give my site a facelift (yet). Also, I am not satisfied with the interim design and my ultimate design I've not accomplished yet given my crappy CSS/HTML understanding.

The first step I took is accomplished, stickgrappler.net is now a reality for me. If not for Blogger adding in some key features I've always wanted implemented (read more link and pages), and the easy registration of the domain name, stickgrappler.net probably would've still languished in the back of my mind.

I will make small and gradual changes instead of the all-sweeping-one-fell-swoop-massive-facelift I wanted to do initially. Baby steps, baby steps... Stupid perfectionist in me got in the way of posting. What is more importand? Posting or looking good? (That was a rhetorical question by the way)

Whatever I come up with on the new look of the site, may or may not be the 'final'. I will play with various elements I want to change and see where that takes me.

I will be writing articles for the site, doing martial arts dvd/book reviews, interviews, posting articles/information I think is useful for you the reader, movie and maybe TV reviews, making more animated gif's and the proverbial 'a whole lot more'.


I want to thank you, my readers, in advance for your patience and visits!

I remain very truly yours in the martial arts and self-defense,

~Stickgrappler 

p.s. it looks like the 'read more' function is not working with this template... UGH

Facebook "Friend-zy"

Sometime last year, I decided to sign up on Facebook. I wanted to check out the buzz surrounding it and experience the social networking phenomenon firsthand. I must admit I was caught up in what i call the Facebook Friend-zy.

Facebook is a powerful social networking tool. It reminds you of birthdays, it allows you to send in effect a "blast email" informing all your friends of some upcoming event, it lets you put up pictures, it lets you post links to interesting sites you found, and it even helps you track down long-lost friends. I was able to find 2 friends I've lost contact with who reside in Croatia and Germany!

I sent out many friend requests. I found first the friends I knew, then i went to check out my friends' friends and so on and so on. After awhile, I looked at my friends list and realize there were people there that I didn't really know. There were some friends I only know as their forum nicknames and not their real names.

And then I started having virus/malware problems on my computer and it was difficult to get anything done. I was very, very frustrated with the virus.I lost contact with my friends via Facebook.

As I am slowly getting some time on the net, I don't know if I will be on Facebook all that much. It is so powerful and lets me catch up on the events in my friends' lives that it takes up a lot of time! I apologize in advance to my Facebook Friends if I'm not on much. It's been probably half a year or close to it since I was last on. What free time I have I will be devoting to this site. If I get a chance, I will stop by Facebook and say hi. So for whatever this is worth, I'm "Stick Grappler" on Facebook.

Now I wonder if I should check out Twitter? LOL I'm kidding!


P.S. Sorry to my Facebook Friends, Jan 1 is not my birthday as I listed on my Facebook... I will explain in a future article about the false birth date.

A Word About My Reviews

I have to get this off my chest. In the interest of full disclosure, my reviews will be from the point of view of a beginner. We are all of varying skill levels, experiences and understanding in the martial arts. What you may find not useful to you, I may find merit in. Vice versa, I may find something I don't like and you would like.



I view myself as a beginner in the martial arts. I am not being humble, just honest with you. Although, I have a strong interest in the martial arts since I was a kid, I have not practiced since I was a kid until present. I was in and out. If I did keep it up, I can probably be called an 'expert' given my time put into the martial arts. But alas, I am far from an expert, maybe a knowledgeable beginner. My main areas of focus are the Self-Defense, Filipino Martial Arts and Jeet Kune Do Concepts. My secondary areas are Wing Chun Kuen, Muay Thai, Boxing and Tai Chi. And although I won't list them, there are a few more styles/systems/arts I am into which I have but an inkling of knowledge/experience in. It is from this background, this "lens" if you will, that I will be reviewing.




I dread writing reviews. So far, my site doesn't have many reviews.Whatever reviews I do have on the site are generally if I liked it or not. I am not a writer. I struggle with composing what I want to write when I care about what I write. Most times, I post on forums and those writings tend to be during a break in the workday. My concentration is mainly on work, but I divert some attention to posting when there may be a lull. Those posts tend to be quickies, that is, I was not out to write an article, just expressing my thoughts briefly. My reviews will be thought-out and not a quickie.

What will my reviews entail? I don't have a set format yet. It will include any combination of the following:

• Whether I liked it or not
• Things I didn't know
• Has it changed my view on anything
• Is the author right or wrong 
• Favorite quotes
• What was my take-away from it
• A link(s) to other reviews on the net

Also, reviews are tricky in that I will be reviewing some of my friend's products. I will not lie to you, that's not who I am. I will write out explicitly that it is a friend's product I am reviewing. However, please know that, even though it is my friend's product, I have purchased it. I did not receive it free. I will write an objective review.  I and my site are not out to sell you anything. You will not see Google Sense Ads here. I will not have anything for sale here.  This site is not out to "pimp" my friend's products.

Now that that is out-of-the-way, are you ready for some reviews?

Catchup I

Hello all:

My last post was in September of 2009. Since then, my home computer system has been plagued with viruses, malware, spyware and something newer called scareware (some sort of malware scaring you into buying their antivirus product). My wife and kids have been on the computer more and I don't know how our system got infected. Actually, I know partially why... I run Windows Vista at home, and Windows is infamous for having a lot of holes which hackers exploit. Total frustration spending time cleaning my system, reinstalling programs etc.

Although I have not been actively posting, I've been trying to learn some CSS and HTML and blogging in general. I will be in the process of upgrading my site. Changes are coming, and hopefully better and easier for you to navigate and check out. I've noticed my site received some spamming comments. My apologies for that. I've deleted them, and have decided that I will moderate my comments, that is, you post a comment, I will have to approve it, and your comment will be posted. This will prevent the spammers from posting.

Many events transpired since my 'absence' which I will post about in a future "Catchup 2" entry. One of the events which necessitated action on my part was the closing of the free webhosting Geocities. Some of you may know, I have a site hosted on Tripod, also a free webhost. I do not know if Tripod intends to shut down or not, but there's been something in the back of my mind that I've never gotten around to:  porting over my tripod site over to here. My original intent was to build a separate site housing the archives I set up on Tripod. However, I may just merge the archives with this site here. Regardless, check out my old archives at:

http://stickgrappler.tripod.com

Blogger has implemented some changes which I've always wanted, and my vision of what and how my site should look like is slowly becoming a reality. Stick (no pun intended) around for the upcoming changes. I think it will be to your liking.

As always, I remain very truly yours in the Martial Arts,

~Stickgrappler