by Dancing with Fire December 28, 2010
Sumo wrestling is not only the oldest of Japan’s various martial arts, it also evolved into the most distinct and ritualistic, to this day still heavily centered around the Shinto religion. When the sport was first introduced 1500 years ago it was performed mostly to ensure good harvests. Sumo’s popularity quickly spread, becoming a more public and widespread event. Matches were usually brutal, the loser often expected to forfeit his life. By the 7th century Sumo had fallen under the protection of the warring Shogunite regime and was largely banned as a public spectacle. Only the samurai, or warrior class, were allowed to practice it as part of their military training. Once peace was finally restored Sumo once again fell under the patronage of the Japanese royal courts and was dubbed the Imperial sport. By the 15th century Sumo wrestling had adopted a set of strict rules and the most talented champions were offered patronage by powerful feudal lords. In the early 1700’s “banzuke” or ranking lists, were established, a system which is still strictly adhered to today. The objective of the “sumotori," or competitors, many of whom weigh between 250 and 500 pounds, is to either knock his opponent from a specially-sized ring or manoeuvre him so that any part of his body touches the ground. This is done by using one or a series of 70 accepted Sumo moves, some of which are pushing, slapping, hoisting, tripping, pinning or throwing.
Six 15 day tournaments are held each year in Japan in the cities of Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka. Sumo matches are fought in a “dohyo," a raised and sanctified platform constructed with clay and sand and onto which a 14 foot 10 inch circle is marked out using half buried straw bales. Suspended above the ring is a wooden structure that resembles the roof of Shinto shrine. Each Sumo tournament begins with much pageantry and ceremony. The wrestlers, the referees, and the various attendants and helpers wear colorful attire, the design of which remains steeped in ancient traditions and meanings dating back to Japan’s Edo period. The grand champions, all wearing intricately embroidered silk aprons some of which are worth in excess of 500,000 yen, enter the ring first and begin their own elaborate rituals called “doyho-iri." There is no weight class in Sumo wrestling so very often the “rikishi," or competitors, find themselves squaring off against a much heftier opponent.
by Dancing with Fire January 26, 2011
A term used to describe many Chinese criminal organizations. They are the most well-known organized crime group in China, Hong Kong, and Macao. They originated in the anti-Manchu resistance in China. The term "triad" comes from the three dots which form part of the Chinese character for the Ming Emperor Hung Wu. The Triads began as "Men of Hung." They were both part of the political resistance of the Han Chinese to the Manchu dynasty, as well as outlaws who "Ta fu — chih p'in" (Hit the Rich and help the poor).
Both the Chinese Triads and the Italian Mafia and Camorra have existed at least since the early 1800s. The Triads spread all over the world and control much of the illegal and informal economy in overseas Chinese communities.
by Dancing with Fire October 31, 2011
by Dancing with Fire February 25, 2012
The Mensheviks and Bolsheviks were both Communists, but they disagreed on how the revolution could be achieved. The Mensheviks believed in mobilizing the Russian masses (workers and peasants) against the existing establishment and in using the parliamentry system to achieve it, whereas the more radical Bolsheviks believed that the revolution should come about through the works of a small group of intellectual elites such as Lenin. The reason this confuses a lot of people is because Menshevik means "minority", and Bolshevik means "majority", when actually it was the Mensheviks who believed in a revolution of the majority, and the Bolsheviks in one of the minority. The reason for these paradoxies is that the names actually represent the size of their respective parties rather than their viewpoints-- the 1905 split between the two factions revealed that the MAJORITY of Communists were Bolsheviks, and the minority were Mensheviks. The Bolsheviks went on to carry out the revolution successfully.
by Dancing with Fire April 08, 2013
Libertarians believe that individuals have the right to make their own choices, as long as it doesn’t harm oneself or other people. Libertarians generally believe in having a small, de-centralized form of government with limited taxation to give the people reign over his or her activities. These types of individuals usually regard issues such as health care, education, etc., as the responsibility of the individual and not of the state. Ron Paul and Gary Johnson are well known Libertarians.
by Dancing with Fire December 10, 2012
South African Boer “pioneers” who trekked away from Cape Colony and civilization to settle deep inland on the South African frontier.
By the beginning of the eighteenth century thousands of trekboers were living permanently on grazing farms in the interior, some of them temporarily migrating each winter to the coast, so that their cattle might enjoy its sweet grass, but generally moving farther into the plains when their land was exhausted or when their journeys of exploration had revealed more attractive grazing or water. These people rarely put up permanent dwelling places; their homes were the wagons parked by a water point on the `loan places' they had registered with the Company. Their farms usually approximated to the conveniently-managed size (for Africa) of 6,000 acres, and they generally marked out this area in a rough and ready manner by trotting a horse from the wagon along all four points of the compass for half an hour.
by Dancing with Fire June 24, 2011