Homestead mailing list

[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

On Dec 17, 2008, at 11:03 AM, Lynn Wigglesworth wrote:

> I also have Billy Blanks Tae Bo. It was my son's but he never used  
> it, so I
> tried it. It's a little too energetic for me. It's kind of karate and
> boxing...it comes with a large inflatable punching bag. It's  
> weighted (the
> base is filled with water), and it's a whole lot more solid than you'd
> think. It stands up well to being punched and kicked.

You resurrected a memory from fifty-three years ago.

To practice hitting and kicking in karate class we used four-by-four  
posts wrapped with a sisal rope. My instructor, Nezumi-san (means  
"rat"), liked me because I could kick high, in the face area. During  
one session the two guys bracing the post either moved or I misjudged  
the kick and dislocated my little toe. Not to worry, Nezumi-san was a  
veterinarian by trade. He sat me down, handled the toe and quickly  
snapped it back into position. It still has a slight bulge at the joint.

He might have weighed a hundred pounds. Toughest and most physically  
skilled guy I ever met. To illustrate knife defense he had we four GI  
students bring our bayonets to class, in their scabbards. He had us  
arrange ourselves around him and try to "cut" him. All four of us  
ended up on the floor while he was of course untouched.

An offensive move, used when the adversary has been thrown to the  
ground, consists of pulling the nearest arm toward you and driving the  
stiffened fingers of the other hand in between the opponents' ribs,  
then twisting and jerking, thereby breaking a rib. Japanese students  
who knew him personally said he practiced that move on dead livestock.  
His fingers were all the same length from repeated practice.