Dancing with Fire's definitions

Gatka

Gatka is the martial art of the Sikhs, and is tied in with the religion Sikhism. It's a weapons-based martial art, which was imparted to the Sikhs in the time of Guru Hargobind Ji (the sixth Guru of the Sikhs) by the Rajputs (Hindu warriors of northern India) in the 16th century, in gratitude for their release from imprisonment by the fledgling Sikh army of that time. The Sikhs at that time opposed the Mughal Empire, which violently oppressed both Sikhs and Hindus in the name of Islam. The Tenth Master of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, was an extremely proficient martial artist.

He continued to encourage the Sikhs to train seriously in the martial arts, and in 1699 founded the Khalsa, a special Order, to which all Sikhs would thereafter aspire to joining. The Khalsa was subject to strict military and personal discipline, and were enjoined to, inter alia, always carry 5 items with them: the Kanga (a small wooden comb), Kachhehra (long drawers instead of a loincloth), Kara (a steel bracer worn on the right wrist), Kesh (uncut hair) and Kirpan (curved sword). The Khalsa was enjoined to train to fight, and to vigorously resist the oppression of any religious community, including Sikhs and Hindus. The wearing of the kirpan represented the martial character of the Khalsa, and all Sikhs, men, women and children, were encouraged to resist their Mughal oppressors, and to train diligently in gatka. Gatka was used succesfully by the Sikhs throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, in numerous battles against the Mughal forces. Eventually, the Sikhs succeeded in deposing the Mughal overlords, and in creating a new, tolerant rulership in the Punjab (the "Land of Five Rivers", a region in modern-day India and Pakistan). Gatka is, and has always been, taught as a spiritual exercise in Sikhism. Sikhism requires its followers to become absorbed in honouring the Name of God, and this is taught through the ecstatic exercise of gatka. Sikhism and gatka are inextricably intertwined, in many ways.

by Dancing with Fire June 8, 2011

Kenpo

Kenpo is a Japanese Martial Arts form. However, unlike Karate, its origins are linked back to China and still have very strong influences from Chinese systems. The name, "kenpo," also sometimes spelled "kempo," is derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese character "chuan" and "fa." Literally translates, it means "the method of the fist/hand." This seems to be a very close translation into Chinese of what "karate-te-do" means and might have come about as a means to bridge a language divide between the two countries.

Within Kenpo, there are many variations to the art. Of the more well-known systems include: Kosho-ryu, Shaolin Kenpo, Kajukenbo, Chinese Kara-Ho Kempo, and Ed Parker's American Kenpo Karate. Kenpo has a very strong presence in Hawaii, the home base for many of the systems under Kenpo that exist today in the United States. Throughout each of the histories of the different groups there are strong signs of the continued merging of both Chinese and Japanese influences. Many people have studied Kenpo, one of the most famous is Elvis Presley, the King. Presley became acquainted with Ed Parker in 1960 and formed a friendship that lasted his lifetime. This was not Presley's first exposure to Martial Arts, nor would it be his last.

by Dancing with Fire December 30, 2010

ASMR

An acronym for “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response.”

The sole purpose of ASMR is to relax people. The ASMR community is constantly growing on Youtube. Ideally, ASMR videos are meant to give the viewer a relaxing tingle at the back of their head and/or spine. ASMR videos usually involve one or more of the following things:

• Gentle whispering
• Relaxing hand movements
• Smacking of the lips
• Nail tapping/scratching on hard surfaces such as tables
• Brushing sounds
• Etc.

by Dancing with Fire December 10, 2012

Juárez Cartel

The Juárez Cartel is responsible for smuggling tons of narcotics from Mexico into the United States throughout its long and turbulent history, and the group’s intense rivalry with the Sinaloa Cartel helped turn Juárez into one of the most violent places in the world.

Despite recent news reports, the Juárez Cartel remains one of the most powerful criminal organizations in Mexico and the region. Small cells carry out different types of operations ranging from transportation and distribution of drugs; gangs, mostly in the north, act as the enforcement wing and are involved in human trafficking and kidnapping operations.

by Dancing with Fire July 9, 2011

Sigmund Freud

A psychiatrist who is most notably known for coming up with his idea of the id, ego, and super-ego.

Sigmund Freud also did a hella Cocaine and thought the effects of cocaine were good for some of his patients with nervous disorders.

by Dancing with Fire June 18, 2011

Sinaloa Cartel

The Sinaloa Cartel, often described as the largest and most powerful drug trafficking organization in the Western Hemisphere, is an alliance of some of Mexico’s top drug traffickers. The coalition operates in concert to protect themselves and more loosely to keep their businesses going smoothly. It relies on connections at the highest levels, corrupting portions of the federal police and military to maintain an upper hand on its rivals.

The cartel’s tentacles stretch from New York City to Buenos Aires and most every major city in between. It has successfully penetrated government and security forces wherever it operates. It prefers the bribe to the bullet and the alliance to the fighting, but it is not above organizing its forces to overrun areas that it wants to control by force. Its central bond is blood: many of its members are related or have become related by marriage. However, the cartel also often acts more like a federation than a tightly knit organization. The core of the group, the Beltrán Leyva Organization, split from the cartel in 2008. The Sinaloa Cartel has since created new alliances with former enemies in the Gulf Cartel and the Familia Michoacana. More morphing is to be expected as these alliances, even those formed by blood, are tenuous.

by Dancing with Fire June 30, 2011

Hasta mañana

(Spanish) See you tomorrow.

Hasta mañana amigo.

by Dancing with Fire June 28, 2013