Dancing with Fire's definitions

Vale Tudo

Vale Tudo means "anything goes" or "No rules" in Portugese. It's a full-contact unarmed combat fighting style with a limited number of rules, that became popular in Brazil during the 20th century.

Vale Tudo takes the most effective combat techniques from styles such as Jujitsu, Muay Thai, Sambo, Wrestling, and Western Boxing.

by Dancing with Fire January 6, 2011

Tachi

A type of Japanese sword.

A tachi is said to be more curved and slightly longer than the katana.

by Dancing with Fire June 18, 2011

Bathtub Sink Effect

Those times when you use your bathtub to heat your sink. A lot of times when one washes their hands at the sink and turns the water on hot, nothing but cold water comes out of the faucet. By letting the water in the bathtub run for about 10-15 seconds, the water heats up. Then you turn off the water in the bathtub, run your water on hot at the sink, and in a couple of seconds, you have hot water running at the sink.

Normally when the Bathtub Sink Effect is not done, you can run the sink water for minutes and get nothing but cold water even though you have it on hot.

by Dancing with Fire December 14, 2010

Tai Chi

Tai Chi is a Chinese martial art. Its full name is Tai Chi Chuan, a Chinese phrase which can be translated as approximately meaning supreme ultimate fist. Tai Chi is a relatively new martial art, with its concrete origins sometime around 1820, although it likely existed for some time before that. It is what is known as a soft style of martial combat, putting an emphasis on relaxed muscle positions and the use of an opponent’s momentum, as contrasted with the hard styles, which emphasize muscles in a high-state of readiness, and meeting an opponent’s force with one’s own force. In addition to the martial aspects of Tai Chi, there is a great deal of stress placed on the concepts of meditative calm, and overall physical health. Indeed, for many people living in the modern world, Tai Chi is not thought of as a martial art, but rather as a system of movement and breathing meant to be therapeutic. In much the same way that yoga in the West has become divorced from its original intent, so too has Tai Chi become something quite different. In many ways, Tai Chi is a very Taoist tradition. It teaches such things as learning to move with the world – both in a literal, physical sense in terms of martial self-defense, and in a more abstract, meditative sense. Indeed, the core of Tai Chi could be described as simply learning to react appropriately to whatever is offered.

This is one reason why many in the modern world find it so valuable as a discipline. Practitioners of Tai Chi usually find that within a relatively short period of time, they are better equipped to handle stressful situations, and find themselves less prone to being caught off balance either physically or mentally. In order to cultivate this state of mind, Tai Chi practitioners focus on two main types of formal training. In the first, the student learns a number of movement poses that they undertake on their own. These poses work on steady, healthy breathing, supple posture, and a smooth movement of the body’s joints. In the second, the student works with another practitioner to understand how these forms interact with another person’s movement. These pushing hands poses help teach a sensitivity, as well as helping to improve the solo poses through a more rigorous exercise. In addition to these poses, which one often sees Western practitioners doing in isolation in public parks, or in group classes, Tai Chi also makes use of more traditional martial art techniques. Sparring takes place between two practitioners, and is similar to sparring in many other widely-known martial art forms. Tai Chi practitioners may also make use of various weapons, including the spear or staff (chang or chiang), the broadsword or sabre (tao or dao), the straight sword (chien or jien). Other weapons like the chain or fan can be used as well.

by Dancing with Fire January 3, 2011

Mossad

One of Israel's intelligence agencies, noted for its expertise in wet affairs. Literally translated as "institute." Never referred to as the Mossad, but rather simply called Mossad.

Mossad launched missions, dubbed Operation Wrath of God, to track down and kill those alleged to be responsible for the murder of 11 Israeli athletes by Palestinian gunmen at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

by Dancing with Fire September 3, 2012

Product of the Environment

A caged animal becomes a product of his environment; mankind however builds his environments to suit his needs. If someone claims that you are a product of your environment, it means the environment you live in, has become your accepted norm, and now it influences you, rather than you influencing it.

Being a product of the environment is no different than saying you are the product of your own thinking.

by Dancing with Fire July 8, 2011

Halfway Cursing

Those funny times in middle school when you would say half of a curse word and then your friend would say the other half. This would usually occur during class while the teacher was trying to teach the class his or her lesson.

Halfway Cursing:

Student 1: Fu...
Student 2: ck!

Student 1: Shi...
Student 2: t!

Student 1: Cu..
Student 2: nt!!

by Dancing with Fire December 7, 2010