FrancisLau.org

Ok, Defense against a Knife:
First thing to always remember: Try to get away. Duh.

Second thing, if you’re going into a knife fight you’re gonna get cut. No matter how good you are, you’re going get cut. It’s just a fact that we all have to deal with.  The goal here is to control where and how you get cut.

Getting stabbed anywhere is bad. You can die. So don’t get stabbed. When youre defending yourself, get your arms up like a boxer except you make sure you have the top of your forearms facing them, and make sure you have your palms facing you. If you’re going to get slashed, youre getting the top of your forearms cut and not the inside where the viens and arteries are.

Next, you don’t know when he’s going to stab you, so don’t reach in and grab for the knife. The moment you start reaching, you die. Instead, be aggressive with your positioning and force them to commit or run. If they commit, you grab , if they run, you run.

Finally, once you grab onto the knife (with both hands) dont let go. Your life depends on it.

admin Uncategorized

Today I watched a guy running on a tread mill while talking on his cell phone.  I don’t know about you, but I think he’s doing something wrong.  However, it could just be me.  Anyways, inspired by said douche bag here’s a test to see if your a gym douche bag.

A) Everybody brings water to work out (If you don’t you really should).

If you water container is 1 liter give yourself a point.

If your water container is 4 liter give yourself 5 points.

If you bring one of those 16 liter bottles give yourself 10 points.

B) Bringing a cell phone to a gym is probably a bad idea, basically it can get stole, crushed or lost. But in this technology driven age it’s hard for some people not to bring them. Totally understandable. Hell, I use my cell phone to tell time because watches are so 90s. Anyways:

If your texting at a rate of 1 time per set give yourself a point.

If your texting at a rate of 10 times per set give yourself 5 points.

If your talking on your phone AND texting while running, lifting weights, etc… give yourself 10 points.

C) Wearing proper shoes is important when you work out. You need proper traction and foot support especially when your lifting weights, moving with heavy weights or running on a trend mill. Also, you’ll have some protection if the unthinkable happens and a weight is dropped on your foot.

If you wear proper running shoes that are well fitting and comfortable give yourself a point.

If your wearing flip flop, sandals, or anything that is beach wear give yourself 5 points.

If your not wearing shoes at all, and going barefoot, give yourself 10 points.

D)People sweat. It’s a totally common and natural occurrence. However, some people sweat more then others and also some people have more body hair then others. Nothing to be ashamed of or worried about, however being courteous is important too. Wiping the machine down after you use is not only a nice thing to do but it is expected. Also, if your using weights putting them away is important. Leaving them around increases the chances people might get hurt by tripping on them or hurting themselves trying to move things around.

If you wipe down the machines after use and always remember to put the weights back (i.e. being courteous) give yourself a point.

If you forget to wipe down the machines after you use it and leave your weights on the floor after using them give yourself 5 points.

If you take off your shirt while your sweating like a pig and starting using the machines and then choose not to wipe the machine even after all of this, give yourself 10 points.

E) Taking breaks in between sets is important especially if your going for muscle mass and strength. Your obviously working as hard as possible pushing your body to the limit and therefore you need time to rest and recover, and also for you to catch your breath. But remember there’s also the idea of being courteous. Unless the gym is yours, people are probably waiting to use the machines your on. Never rush to finish a set, however just be aware that people are waiting.

If you take 30-120 seconds between sets give yourself a point.

If you take 5-10 minutes between sets give yourself a point.

If you leave the gym after a set, come back and demand your machine back even though you were gone for at least 20 minutes give yourself 20 points.

So, after you total all your points you should find yourself in 3 categories:

5-15 points: Congrats! Your the furthest thing from a gym douche bag. You just go in looking to get some exercise and every gym would love to have you. Other people don’t cringe when they see you coming in and they wouldn’t mind asking for your help. Did I mention your insanely handsome (if your a guy) or very pretty (if your a girl) Your a testament to our society.

16-25 points: Try harder! It’s okay, not all of us our perfect. Just remember that in the real world you don’t always get what you want, and mommy and daddy aren’t there to hold your hand all the time. And don’t worry, we’re all judging you.

26-50: Ouch! You are a douche bag! Sorry. People in your gym are hoping you hurt yourself so you never come within 10 feet of their space. You should really ask yourself why your even there? Clearly it’s not to use the gym. Sorry, there’s no cure for stupid.

Alf Uncategorized Test!

The Title Should read, “Minimize getting killed, Know the 12 possible angles of attack with a knife”

By READING the following you AGREE the Francis Lau AND HAPKIDO VANCOUVER and it’s Intructors and Students are not responsible for how you deal with this information.

First off, let’s get the terminology down. L means left, R means Right. U means up, D means down. K = knife. Duh. Now that that’s over with, here are the 12 possible angles of attack with a knife, if you know of any more please feel free to comment and talk about it. The Next couple posts will probably be about how to stop each of the angles.

1. Knife coming from U to D, R to L (diagonal)

2. Knife coming from U to D, L to R (diagonal)

3. K coming horizontal R to L

4. K coming horizontal L to R

5.  Knife going Straight in

6. This one is hard to explain, but you are drawing a ‘)’ motion (start from the bottom of the bracket) with the knife going into the neck

7. Opposite of 6, in a ‘(‘  (starting from the bottom) motion knife going to the neck

8. K going from U to D coming from the outside

9. K going from U to D coming from the inside (for 8,9 think inside outside crescent kick but with your arms)

10. K diagonally D to U , R to L

11. K diagonally D to U, L to R

12. Knife straight in and up.

Enjoy.

admin Self Defense Hapkido, Knife

BUILD AT YOUR OWN RISK. I AND FRANCISLAU.ORG ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURIES YOU MAY INCUR FROM BUILDING THESE MATS.

Tools Required: Staple Gun, Caulking Gun (for Glue), Knife, Circular Saw

Materials (per matt): Glue, Staples, Sheet of 5/16″(or 3/8″ if need be) Plywood, 1-2 Inch Foam/Polystyrene Insulation, Vinyl Fabric or Plether

How To:

1. Cut the Plywood  and Insulation to the the preferred size (for each section of your mat – I get lazy and I usually cut the plywood to the same size as the insulation or vice versa)

2. Line em up, and glue the two pieces together. For now, let’s call the insulation side the top and the plywood side the bottom. Wait for Drying.

3. Cut your Vinyl Fabric so that it is 8 inches wider and longer than your preferred mat size.

4. Place the mat (bottom facing you) on the absolute center of the the vinyl (smooth side facing the ground).

5. Wrap that up like a Christmas present and staple together

6. Done.

Once you have the mats done, they are going to slide around and move. There are two solutions, use Wrestling Mat Tape to hold everything together or get a Ratchet Fastener (non bungee cable) and ratchet the thing together.

admin Uncategorized

Hello! This is Alf, or Allan as my birth parents call me. I finally decided to write on Francis Blog since some of the ad money he collects (begs) goes to me and a delicious McDonald’s meal. Since I’m not a professional and I don’t need to do this for a living I’ll just go over up coming fights, highlight some interesting things and also mainly talk about the main event. I’ll try not to plagiarize too much since there’s about a million other MMA websites out there now and I’ll try and write it from my own personal opinion. Anyways, good time to start with UFC 99.

Tonight it’s UFC 99 with Rich “Ace” Franklin taking on Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva as the main event. There are a few interesting things with this main event, mainly it’s the first time the UFC is having an event in Germany, Cologne to be specific. In terms of foreign venue’s the UFC has only gone to Montreal twice and the UK a bunch of different times, so this is pretty interesting and also goes to show how powerful the UFC brand is getting not only in North America but the entire world. MMA is obviously getting more popular and more mainstream and it’s only a matter of time where local UFC shows pop up everywhere. I mean hell, the UFC has gyms coming.

Another interesting fact is that the two guys in the main event, Franklin and Silva are both in the process of changing weights. Franklin after getting basically hammered out of the middle weight division by Anderson Silvia (The Spider not Da Spydar) wants to try his luck in the stacked light heavy weight division (205 lbs) and Wanderlei trying to hold onto his fleeting career thinks he’ll be re-vitalized fighting at the lighter middle weight division (185 LBs) after fighting most of his career at 205. They’ll both be fighting at a catch weight of 195 so it should be interesting to see which guy can adjust to the weight easier. Anderson Silvia is also pissed that his old training partner Wanderlei (they use to both train in the same fight camp in Brazil) wants to fight in the middle weight division and therefore has trained with Rich Franklin for this fight. Even Brazilians don’t get along in MMA! They always seemed so happy and respectful after knocking some guy’s teeth out.

So the basics of the UFC 99? Two legends of the sports, trying to find there way after so-so showings in a foreign land that has beer and sausage.

For the old hype meter I say 3.5/5. I’m a huge fan of both guys, but it honestly doesn’t really catch me that much. If you want to spend your money, save your money for UFC 100 easily the most stacked card in UFC history.

Oh and a personal note, Francis is a great hapkido teacher. You guys should all pay and get him to teach you. That’s from personal experience!

Alf News UFC 99