Dancing with Fire's definitions

Tang Soo Do

Tang Soo Do literally means "The Way of The Chinese Hand" and has roots in various styles of martial arts including those found in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean Martial Arts. These roots started in Korean Tae Kyon, Chinese Shaolin, and Japanese Shotokan.

The origin of Tang Soo Do can not be definitively traced to any single person. Lee Won Kuk is credited as being one of the first instructors of Tang Soo Do in Korea. The most famous and well known Tang Soo Do practitioner is Master Chuck Norris, among others are: Pat E. Johnson (actor and director of "The Karate Kid" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles").

by Dancing with Fire December 29, 2010

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

ETA

Euskadi Ta Askatasuna; an organization of militant Basque nationalists attempting to gain independence for the Basques, especially those ruled by Spain, until a cease-fire in 1998, by means of guerrilla warfare.

The ETA was organized in 1959 by student activists who were dissatisfied with the moderate nationalism of the traditional Basque party; want to create an independent homeland in Spain's western Pyrenees; "in 1968 ETA launched a campaign of political assassinations of government officials."

by Dancing with Fire September 7, 2012

Anyone know the name of that song?

Something that Youtube users constantly ask in the comment box for videos.

A: This is badass man. Anyone know the name of that song? It starts at 0:47.

B: Shit, I don't know. Why does everyone always ask that?

by Dancing with Fire July 13, 2011

Wrestling

Wrestling is a sport as old as mankind itself. Since the dawn of time men have been pitted against each other in physical hand-to-hand combat, making this almost certainly the most ancient of Olympic sports. Greeks immortalized wrestling on their coins and first introduced it as an event in their Olympic Games in 776 BCE. Turkish mercenaries taught the Persians the finer points of wrestling during the early middle ages. Dubbed “koresh” its various techniques quickly spread throughout the Islamic nations. Europe and Brittany modified these early forms of wrestling to suit their own preferences of the day and Medieval knights even added wrestling to their fighting repertoire. It's a simple concept. Two men or women wrestle until one is declared the winner. Over the years, wrestling techniques have become more sophisticated and generally speaking the winner of any wrestling bout is the person who has the better technique, strength and overall fitness. Wrestling is split into Greco-Roman and Freestyle disciplines. In Freestyle wrestling the competitors have a much greater freedom. They can use not only their arms and bodies, but also their legs and can take a hold of their opponent anywhere that allows them to overpower and gain total control of them.

In Greco-Roman Wrestling, it is strictly forbidden to grasp the opponent below the belt line, or to trip him or to use the legs actively to perform any action. In Free Style wrestling, however, it is permissible to grasp the legs of the opponent, to trip him and to use the legs actively to perform any action. Female wrestling follows the rules of freestyle, forbidding however the Double Nelsons.

Various styles of wrestling for which British Wrestling is the national governing body are:

- Freestyle (Male and Female)

- Greco-Roman (Male)

- Cornish Wrestling

- Cumberland & Westmorland

- Grappling

by Dancing with Fire January 26, 2011

BCE

BCE = Before Common Era.
CE = Common Era.

These two abbreviations have been used as replacements for B.C. and A.D.

Something I find funny is that while these abbreviations have been chosen as non religious alternatives, one could use the word BCE to mean, Before Christian Era, and CE to mean Christian Era.

by Dancing with Fire September 16, 2011

Mara

1) Spanish slang for a 'gang'. It can also be a reference to the Mara Salvatrucha gang (MS-13). Marero is spanish slang for a gangster.

2) A Demon King who did everything he could to disrupt or destroy Buddha and his mission of Enlightenment.

La mara por vida homie.

Mara failed to tempt the Buddha.

by Dancing with Fire November 9, 2011