Posted by: John W. Zimmer
I’m not sure if any of you have following the Smallville series but Laura Vandervoort is playing Supergirl! I remember the old comics when I was growing up when Supergirl would make an appreance. In real life this Supergirl can really kick! Here is a photo from her photo shoot on her web page (lauravandervoort.net)
Photo from http://lauravandervoort.net/gallery/Press-publicity?page=2 of Laura attending “Wizard World Comic Convention” in Texas.
Full Story »
Posted by: John W. Zimmer
I think most kids at some time or another have been bullied. I was a military brat that moved every couple of years. I remember at one school in the 5th grade a kid who always pushed me around. I did not know what to do so I tried to walk away. That seemed to give the bully courage and he would yell at me. He started using me as his punching bag. My dad freshly back from Viet Nam, told me that I had to stick up for myself. He told me that if a kid hit me, I should hit him back. Here is one video filmed by kids that talk about the problem of bullying at school.
Full Story »
Posted by: John W. Zimmer
I just saw a fight on youtube.com from the Dutch TV program, ” Try Before You Die,” where this average guy (not a fighter but a fan I think) got to fight a female Muy Tai (I’m guessing) fighter! This fight went as I thought but it would have been better if the guy had some fighting skills. He moved around a bit but could not really put an attack together. Trained fighters of either sex are a force to be reckoned with for anyone. By the way this video is in Dutch (I think) but you can get the gist of it. You can wait until the buffer loads and then just move the video about half way to see the fight.
Ilonka Elmont vs Philemon
Full Story »
Posted by: John W. Zimmer
About half of the content of this blog has been about self defense issues and the rest have been about general karate topics. While I review many things, I want you to know that I feel strongly about helping folks find a self defense solution that works! I reviewed the Kelsey Smith story that broke on June 2, 2007 about a girl being abducted from a Target parking lot in Overland Park, KS. I like most martial artists believe that if you cannot break free from the abduction; your chances of survival are limited. Here is a video of a self defense school donating some time to teach local women (AustinSelfDefense):
Full Story »
Posted by: John W. Zimmer
I may as well be talking about the fountain of youth! The death touch? What (you may be thinking) is that? If you are a fan of the Kill Bill movies – you have seen the death touch in action… a supposed touch in a certain area or sequence of touches or even by the right person in the right state of mind. What is it and why would you want to do that is what I will try to address in this posting. I found a few videos (yes isn’t the internet and YouTube great) about the Dim Mak (one the of styles that purports to have this ability) death touch. I selected one that Fox News reviewed Ripley’s Believe it or Not claims to have the death touch!
Full Story »
Posted by: John W. Zimmer

Picture from Milla Jovovich’s website: http://www.millaj.com/film/ultraviolet.shtml
One of my favorite “karate” movies in recent history is Ultraviolet! The star is Milla Jovovich. I was wondering is she actually knew her stuff so I started looking into her background. She (Milla) is a super model, actress, and singer that also practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In her roles for Resident Evil and Ultraviolet she had to learn how to do the fighting moves for her parts. She did most of her own stunts in Resident Evil. Below is a video with one of her fight scenes. Find more information about Milla Jovovich here. Full Story »
Posted by: John W. Zimmer
When I was a kid I used to see Elvis in movies doing karate! Not only was he (Elvis) the king of music but he was also the king of karate! Then I got older and started learning the martial arts. I heard rumors that Elvis could not fight his way out of a paper bag and that all of his belts were honorary. Although I am a 5th degree black belt in Kenpo Karate – I did not take the time to learn the real history!

Picture from Barracuda Central/Tiger Man Pics website Full Story »
Posted by: John W. Zimmer
You may be asking what an inverted counter punch is and why you would turn your punch upside down? Let break down what the goals are in a counter punch.
- Get out of the way of the attack or cover to miss the power of the attack.
- While the opponent is still close – attack back.
- Reach the opponent with your counter attack.

Full Story »