Chatter Of The Squirrel

Getting Ubuntu To Work Right

This is important.

Before I ran this script from http://www.x2on.de/eeepc/ubuntueeetweak.sh, my Fn+2 button (to toggle Wifi on/off) wasn’t working. Only after this script, I could switch off the wifi when I’m not using it.

The wifi draws a lot of battery power.

Making Games

Just repaired a 10yr old laminating machine. One of the roller popped out of its moorings. Now I can use it to laminate cards from boardgames that I might want to protect.

Also, pretty much finished building a boardgame.

Presenting, 18AL. I printed out most of the components on card-stock, and used sap-film to laminate both sides. I’ve also salvaged a rotary paper cutter from the big office-move-and-junking-old-stuff. The cutter which I also repaired back to working condition. And it helped a lot making this boardgame.

This is one of many series of 18XX games. 

A boardgame geek introduced me to 18FL some years ago. The game simulates a period of history when locomotion changed the world. When robber barons manipulated companies for their own greed and profit. And to win, that’s how you must play.

The greatest appeal of the game is that there’s no randomness. No dice. No shuffled cards. You always have all the information. It’s up to how you play against your opponents. Thus also, the mind games is quite high.

In a zero-sum game, what benefits you, will screw someone else over. And tension can mount through the course of the game.

Makes it exciting and always interesting

Thus far, the only way we’ve been able to play, is when this friend can find the time, and invite us. Cos these 18xx games are usually handmade and hard to get hold of. It’s like the garage band of boardgames.

Now, I’ve got a set made myself. Just need to find the time to round up some players and teach them the game one weekend.

Kempo: Uchi-Uke, Tenshin Geri, Jujinuki

Revisited some old techniques for basic practice.

Just when I thought I’m done with the Uchi-uke after becoming 3rd kyu, I find out that I’m still doing so many things wrong.

Was paired up with the visiting Tai sensei from Japan, and he gave me a lot of pointers, despite the language barrier.

i) Hit the attacking arm hard. But without extending the forearm away from the body. Aim to hit the attacking arm with the part of the forearm close to the elbow. Hit with just enough force that it throws the attacker’s facing just a little off centre and expose his kidneys.

ii) Stance: rest just slightly more on the back leg than the leading leg. That puts your head a little back, giving your body more room to manuever to avoid the incoming blow, while maintaining a good upright posture.

iii) After the uchi-uke, when you throw the punch, make sure your stance is right. Too used to practice situations where you merely demonstrate the end of the technique with a tap to the ribs. In combat situations, this punch should be delivered with force. Thus your feet needs to be lined up, body crouched, shoulder lined up to deliver the strongest force possible to the target. Practise and self examination to get this down right. All the manuevering/theory becomes pretty pointless if you can’t deliver an effective punch.

Tenshin Geri

Very new to this technique, so probably am still doing everything wrong. Also a bit mixed up with Han Tenshin Geri.

Jujinuki :

Another technique to break an opponent’s hold on the arm, as illustrated on the linked site. It can be finished in one of two ways, with an upright posture, and smack the freed hand into the opponent’s nose, or break away while in a crouch, and finish with an attack on the groin.

Jujigote :

Starts the same as the Jujinuki. Opponent grabs your fore-arm, but this time you use your free hand to clasp/hook his hand onto your arm, fix it there, while you perform the rest of the jujinuki. This should bend the opponent’s attacking arm into an S shape. After that, it’s a ’simple’ matter of rotating the opponent’s palm.

A few notes: ‘rotate’ the palm. Do not push/pull it. Keep the S shape, and rotate along the median plane of the opponent’s body.

When done right, this twists the arm tendons in a manner that it does not want to go. But only when the arm is held in an S shape.

More Pagerank Info

A detailed and informative article from Smashing Magazine on this topic.

Very interesting to know.

Link here for own future reference…

Kempo: Brown belt. Woot!!

Been one and a half month since my blood-loss incident, and I figure I should be in decent enough shape to get back in action.

It was only a short absence, and it almost felt like I had to start again near the beginning. All my leg muscles have lost some of its stretch, and it’ll probably take a few weeks to stretch them out again. Also getting breathless rather quickly. And muscles aching after the 3hr practice.

Still, am enjoying the adrenaline again, and missed the workout.

I finally got my brown belt and 3rd Kyu certificate from passing the grading exam in September. And while I was gone, a number of other fellow white belts have also moved up to brown.

There’s a new Japanese black belt I’ve not met before. Presumably a visiting sensei. Kids crowd around him during breaks to watch his magic tricks. I also received about a half hour instruction with him. Can’t understand when he’s explaining in Japanese, but was able to assimilate the demonstrations easily enough…

He showed us that on top of the Koho (hard techniques) and Juho (soft techniques), there’s also Seiho (acu-pressure points). And that was very enlightening, as well as painful. Am still a little out of my depth when he started demonstrating a few pain compliance techniques, but I think I can remember one of them at least.