funny pic of week

Did u know?

* ...that the Eastern Whipbird (pictured) of the Australian wet forests is so named for its loud call which resembles the cracking of a whip?
* ...that Morlon Wiley was part of the NBA's only trade on the day of the trading deadline in 1995, being traded for Scott Brooks?
* ...that the $7m (£4.2m) estate of Gregory Hemingway, the youngest son of Ernest Hemingway, could not be left to his wife because of the same-sex marriage laws in Florida?
* ...that the first large influx of Russians in Korea came after the fall of Vladivostok to communist forces in 1922?
* ...that Dov Yosef, Israel's second Minister of Justice, immigrated to Israel as a soldier in the Canadian Jewish Legion?
* ...that biologists Emile Zuckerkandl and Linus Pauling would intentionally avoid peer review when publishing their most provocative works on molecular evolution?
# ...that the Eastern Whipbird (pictured) of the Australian wet forests is so named for its loud call which resembles the cracking of a whip?
# ...that Morlon Wiley was part of the NBA's only trade on the day of the trading deadline in 1995, being traded for Scott Brooks?
# ...that the $7m (£4.2m) estate of Gregory Hemingway, the youngest son of Ernest Hemingway, could not be left to his wife because of the same-sex marriage laws in Florida?
# ...that the first large influx of Russians in Korea came after the fall of Vladivostok to communist forces in 1922? {{*mp}...that Dov Yosef, Israel's second Minister of Justice, immigrated to Israel as a soldier in the Canadian Jewish Legion?
# ...that biologists Emile Zuckerkandl and Linus Pauling would intentionally avoid peer review when publishing their most provocative works on molecular evolution?
# ...that the SS Dunedin (pictured), the first commercially successful refrigerated ship, ushered in a meat and dairy boom in Australasia and South America with its first shipment in 1882?
# ...that Johann Sebastian Bach wrote concertos for 1, 2, 3, and even 4 harpsichords?
# ...that the pasilalinic-sympathetic compass was an attempt to communicate across vast distances using a telepathic link between snails?
# ...that Luxembourg City's Place Guillaume II is colloquially known as the 'Knuedler', after the knot in the belt worn by Franciscan friars, one of whose monasteries once stood there?
# ...that Matysiakowie is both the most popular radio drama in Poland and one of the longest running in the world, with over 2600 episodes broadcast since 1956?
# ...that the sick and the wounded left behind by the Volunteer Army during the Ice March (recruitment poster pictured) of 1919 shot themselves rather than be captured by the Bolsheviks?
# ...that the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Mrs. Thomas H. Gale House is considered a forerunner to the famous Fallingwater house in Pennsylvania?
# ...that baseball player Rollie Hemsley was the first member of Alcoholics Anonymous to break their anonymity on a national level?
# ...that St. Patrick's Church was the first Catholic parish established in New Orleans outside the French Quarter, so that Irish immigrants would have a parish that was not dominated by French-speaking Creoles?
# ...that Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia once owned the largest and finest collection of Russian coins?
# ...that footballer David Weir scored Manchester City's first ever FA Cup goal?
# ...that Charles B. DeBellevue (pictured), who had the most MiG kills during the Vietnam War, was the last American ace on active duty?
# ...that the Indonesian Association of Muslim Intellectuals was a leading Islamic political group, founded in 1990 by senior politician and later president of Indonesia, B. J. Habibie?
# ...that Paula Cooper, sentenced to death at age 15, had her sentence commuted in 1989 after an international uproar ensued and Pope John Paul II appealed to the Governor of Indiana for leniency?
# ...that Alexander Everett used techniques from the Unity Church and Jose Silva's Silva Mind Control, in his company Mind Dynamics?
# ...that Dave Brubeck's The Real Ambassadors was largely based on the goodwill tours of Louis Armstrong and other jazz musicians on behalf of the U.S. State Department during the Cold War?
# ...that the founding father of physical education in Poland, Dr. Henryk Jordan, started a school for midwives during his stay in New York City in the late 19th century?
# ...that the Villa Medicea di Pratolino (pictured), visited by Michel de Montaigne in 1581, was later owned by the Demidov princely family of Russia and by Prince Paul of Yugoslavia?
# ...that Lucy Brewer claimed to have served in the United States Marine Corps during the War of 1812, but was probably an invention of an American writer?
# ...that Suyab, the 7th-century capital of the Western Turkic Khaganate, had Buddhist temples, Nestorian monasteries, Zoroastrian ossuaries, and Turkic bal-bals?
# ...that little is known about the career of American architect John S. Van Bergen, a colleague of Frank Lloyd Wright, because a fire in 1964 destroyed most of his architectural drawings and records?
# ...that Suprasl Lavra is one of six Eastern Orthodox monasteries for men in Poland?
# ...that Alse Young from Windsor, Connecticut, was hanged in 1647, and is believed to have been the the first person executed as a witch in the American colonies?
# ...that the Arthur Heurtley House (pictured) in Oak Park, Illinois is considered the first fully mature example of architect Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie style?
# ...that British music publisher Boosey & Hawkes owns copyrights to much major 20th century music, including works by Bartók, Bernstein, Britten, Elliott Carter, Rachmaninoff, Steve Reich and Stravinsky?
# ...that Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, resigned after confessing to torture and forgery?
# ...that the Commonwealth of Kentucky had a Confederate shadow government during the U.S. Civil War, although it never officially seceded from the Union?
# ...that British politician David Renton, Baron Renton served for over 60 years in Parliament, representing two parties and then as a life peer, and was the oldest member of the House of Lords when he died?
# ...that Australian cricketer Bill Johnston, the fastest bowler to reach 100 Test wickets, took career-best figures shortly after a near-fatal car crash?
# ....that the cabriole leg (pictured) is a furniture style occurring in ancient China and Greece that re-emerged in Europe around 1700 AD?
# ...that Thoroughbred horse trainer Frank Y. Whiteley, Jr. is a United States' Racing Hall of Fame inductee and a recipient of South Carolina's highest civilian honor?
# ...that Yuri Izrael, Russian vice-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, believes the Kyoto Protocol is scientifically unsupported, and damaging to the Russian economy?
# ...that after capture by English adventurer Sir David Kirke and combat with the Iroquois, surgeon Robert Giffard de Moncel helped start the first hospital in North America and became one of the first noblemen in New France?
# ...that William Penn Patrick, founder of companies Holiday Magic and Leadership Dynamics, ran against Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination for Governor of California?
# ...that the beach volleyball events at the 2007 Games of the Small States of Europe will take place on the Larvotto, Monaco's most famous beach?
# ...that Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from the Red Mountain AVA were used to create the first US wine outside of California to receive consecutive perfect scores from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate?
# ...that the words said by the Virgin Mary in Jan van Eyck's Washington Annunciation (pictured) are painted upside down so God can read them?
# ...that, aged 38 in November 1984, Bob Holland was the oldest Australian cricketer to make his Test debut in more than half a century?
# ...that the fictional Tyranids Hive Fleets of the Warhammer 40,000 game contain special ships for an alien invasion?
# ...that the sack of Constantinople by Latin crusaders in 1204 destroyed the Byzantine economy, with the Latin emperors melting down statues for coin, and the Venetians exporting architecture spoils to decorate their churches?
# ...that the government of Kenya named the 1963-67 secessionist Shifta War after "shiftas", the local word for "bandit", as part of a propaganda initiative?
# ...that Alfred Winslow Jones, father of the hedge fund industry, was a sociologist?
# ...that the medieval Greek mystic Gregory Palamas successfully defended his doctrine of Tabor Light through three synods of the Orthodox Church?
# ...that the shooting of followers of Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Tri Quang by the Catholic government of Ngo Dinh Diem lead to months of protests which culminated in a coup in November 1963?
# ...that the government of Kenya named the 1963-67 secessionist Shifta War after "shiftas", the local word for "bandit", as part of a propaganda initiative?
# ...that the United States Marine Hospital (pictured) in Louisville, Kentucky is considered the best remaining antebellum hospital in the US?
# ...that Vagish Shastri, Sanskrit grammarian, linguist and yogi taught the pop singer Madonna Sanskrit pronounciation?
# ...that Aluminaut, the world's first aluminum submarine, helped recover a lost atomic bomb?
# ...that not only have Isobel Joyce and her twin sister Cecelia played for the Ireland women's cricket team, three of their brothers have played for the men's team?
# ...that Judge Learned Hand showed his disrespect for U.S. District Judge Robert A. Inch by frequently referring to him in internal documents as "the Inchworm" or "Judge Millimeter"?
# ...that the first experimental reforestation station established in California was Henninger Flats in 1903?
# ...that Gour Govinda Ray, Brahmo Samaj missionary and scholar specialising in Hinduism, attempted to compare Krishna with Christ?
# ...that the OSA Group was the first association of architects to bridge Constructivism from art to architecture?
# ...that Paradise National Park is home to over 2,100 species of butterfly, the highest concentration in Slovakia?
# ...that while the earliest Syrian immigrants in the United States (pictured) arrived in the 1880s, most Muslim Syrian Americans arrived over eighty years later, after the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965?
# ...that the Indian mobster turned Congress politician Pappu Kalani won two elections while in jail (1992-2001) for murdering gangsters related to don-turned-Shiv Sena politician Gopal Rajwani?
# ...that the company Leadership Dynamics was cited by psychologists as the first form of Large Group Awareness Training?
# ...that the catfish genus Steindachneridion was named for its discoverer, the Austrian zoologist Franz Steindachner?
# ...that William R. Ellis served as mayor of two Iowa cities before being elected to represent Oregon in the United States Congress?
# ...that the Society for the Reformation of Manners, founded in England in 1691, included a network of "moral guardians" in London to gather information about moral infractions?
# ...that L.J. Cooke, the first coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team, created the tradition of the Little Brown Jug, the oldest traveling trophy in college football?
# ...that the 240 mm M1 howitzer (pictured), popularly nicknamed the "Black Dragon", was the most powerful weapon deployed by US field artillery units during World War II?
# ...that an Anglo-Australian trade boycott was threatened in 1932-33 after Australian cricket captain Bill Woodfull was struck over the heart by a ball bowled by Harold Larwood according to England's Bodyline tactics?
# ...that the Discovery Institute conducts religious public relations campaigns to promote intelligent design and discredit evolution?
# ...that the Unami Lodge was the founding chapter of the Boy Scouts of America's Order of the Arrow?
# ...that during the 1990 New York Giants season, the NFL American football team set a league record for fewest turnovers in a season?
# ...that the 16th-place of "Vjerujem u ljubav" in the semi-final of Eurovision 2007 marked the first time that Croatia had not reached the final since its independence?
# ...that vinkenzetting, or vinkensport (Dutch) is a 400-year-old pursuit in which male Chaffinches try to make the most number of bird calls?
# ...that the Great Western Railway operated road motor (bus) services in England and Wales from 1903 until 1933 as it was cheaper than building new railways?
# ...that some species of waterfowl lose all their flight feathers (pictured) at once while moulting, rendering them incapable of flight?
# ...that tajchy, a network of 60 water reservoirs and more than 100 km of channels, was built in the 1700s to drain flooded silver mines in Banská Štiavnica?
# ...that before 1954, public transport in Belfast consisted mostly of electric trams?
# ...that in 1992 about 10-15% of the Nicaraguan population emigrated to the U.S.?
# ...that Pascal Taskin altered a harpsichord by Joannes Goermans to make it look like Jan Couchet's work so he could earn more from its sale?
# ...that Major League Baseball player Cass Michaels was given the last rites after being hit in the head by a career-ending pitch?
# ...that during the Napoleonic Wars, a Prussian Regiment, formed from prisoners-of-war, served in the French Army?
# ...that Sajjida Shah debuted for Pakistan's women's cricket team aged just twelve?
# ...that Wollongong Head Lighthouse is the only place in eastern Australia to have two lighthouses within close proximity?
# ...that Lieutenant General Charles Roadman II (pictured), the son of U.S. Air Force flight surgeon and command pilot Major General Charles Roadman, served as the 16th Surgeon General of the U.S. Air Force?
# ...that Anthony of Kiev left his Kiev Monastery of the Caves when it gained 12 members because he felt it was crowded?
# ...that Saudi Arabian Prince Abdul Majeed bin Abdul Aziz was Governor of the provinces of Tabuk, Medina and then Mecca, between 1980 and his death in 2007?
# ...that England has won six of the seven Women's European Cricket Championships to date?
# ...that Anthelm of Belley left his post as bishop of Belley in protest at the lifting of the excommunication of a count who had held one priest captive and murdered a second?
# ...that Sir Anthony Eden was considered the least effective British Prime Minister of the 20th century in three separate polls?
# ...that the Qinghe Special Steel Corporation disaster involved 30 tons of liquid steel at 1,500°C, engulfing a room full of workers?
# ...that James Madison's Report of 1800 was used to support the doctrine of nullification, despite his objection to that doctrine?
# ...that Friar Camilo Henríquez (pictured), a founding father of Chile and editor of Chile's first newspaper, was interrogated by the Spanish Inquisition for possessing banned Enlightenment philosophy, including books by Rousseau and Mercier?
# ...that Gay Talese's seminal 1965 magazine feature "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold" was written without Talese ever being allowed to interview Frank Sinatra?
# ...that Dr. Benjamin Bates gave up his practice to accompany Sir Francis Dashwood around Europe, but Dashwood died and Bates never received the huge payment he had been promised?
# ...that the German 502nd heavy tank battalion was the first unit to be issued the famous Tiger I heavy tank?
# ...that Pham Ngoc Thao, one of the key figures in South Vietnam's Strategic Hamlet Program, was a communist agent who deliberately mismanaged it to stimulate popular dissent?
# ...that the distinct resemblance of a certain silver mixture, known as Diana's Tree, to a forest of trees led alchemists to theorize the existence of life in the realm of minerals?
# ...that Scottish-Russian photographer William Carrick pioneered Russian ethnographic photography (example pictured)?
# ...that World War II naval aviator William O. Gallery was one of three brothers who became US Navy rear admirals?
# ...that the earliest cannon projectiles were round shot and grapeshot?
# ...that Ernie Toshack debuted for the Australian cricket team a year after World War II ended, during which he had been rejected by the army on health grounds?
# ...that Saalumarada Thimmakka was awarded the National Citizen's award for planting and nurturing 284 banyan trees along an Indian highway?
# ...that beneath Vienna's Judenplatz is an excavation that displays the remains of a medieval synagogue?
# ...that the Roman general Barbatio was beheaded for treason after his wife's indiscreet letter was intercepted by Emperor Constantius II?
# ...that the Crusade of Varna required simultaneous attacks on the Muslim Ottoman Empire by Christian Hungary and the Muslim Karamanids, which did not occur?
# ...that the external decorations of the Perugia Cathedral were never completed?
# ...that the mammals found in Senegal include the critically endangered Dama Gazelle (pictured)?
# ...that New South Wales Chief Justice Sir Leslie Herron was Australian Father of the year?
# ...that the earliest European term for "cannon" was the Medieval Latin word "bombardum", and that "cannon" itself came from the Latin word canna, meaning a tube?
# ...that in 1925 Saskatchewan produced over half of the wheat in the Dominion of Canada?
# ...that the Polish air force combated in the victory of Lublin-Brest Offensive, which cleared the path for the Red Army to recapture Warsaw?

Japanese martial arts

History

The historical origin of Japanese martial arts can be found in the warrior traditions of the samurai and the caste system that restricted the use of weapons by members of the non-warrior classes. Originally, samurai were expected to be proficient in many weapons, as well as unarmed combat, and attain the highest possible mastery of combat skills, for the purpose of glorifying either themselves or their liege. Over time, this purpose gave way to a philosophy of achieving spiritual goals by striving to perfect their martial skills.
Disarming an attacker using a tachi-dori ("sword-taking") technique.
Disarming an attacker using a tachi-dori ("sword-taking") technique.

Ordinarily, the development of combative techniques is intertwined with the tools used to execute those techniques. In a rapidly changing world, those tools are constantly being improved upon, requiring the techniques to use them to be continuously reinvented. The history of Japan is somewhat unique in its relative isolation. Compared with the rest of the world, the Japanese tools of war evolved slowly. Many people believe that this afforded the warrior class the opportunity to study their weapons with greater depth than other cultures. Nevertheless, the teaching and training of these martial arts did evolve, first with conditions on the battlefield (archery giving way to the sword; glaive giving way to spear), then through a long period of peace, and finally into modern times. Over time two trends defined the arts - first there was increasing specialization, and second, many of the arts took on trappings of budo which implies a higher purpose than just the mastering of arms.

The martial arts developed or originating in Japan are extraordinarily diverse, with vast differences in training tools, methods, and philosophy across innumerable schools and styles. That said, Japanese martial arts may generally be divided into koryu and gendai budo based on whether they existed prior to or after the Meiji Restoration, respectively. Since gendai budo and koryu often share the same historical origin, one will find various types of martial arts (such as jujutsu, kenjutsu, or naginatajutsu) on both sides of the divide.

A note on the organization of this article; it would be impossible to discuss Japanese martial arts in terms of the thousands of individual schools or styles, such as Itto-ryu, Daito-ryu, or Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu. Instead, major sections are divided based on when the art originated (regardless of whether it is still practiced), and subsections are dedicated to the root type of martial art, such as jujutsu (the art of empty-handed combat through use of indirect application of force) or kendo (Japanese sport fencing), wherein notable styles or major differences between styles may be discussed.

Koryu

Main article: Koryu
See also: List of koryu schools of martial arts

Koryu (??:????, Koryu?), meaning traditional school, or old school, refers specifically to schools of martial arts, originating in Japan, either prior to the beginning of the Meiji Restoration in 1866, or the Haitorei edict in 1876. [1] The term also is used generally to indicate that a particular style or art is "traditional", rather than "modern". However, what it means for an art to be either "traditional" or "modern" is subject to some debate. As a general rule of thumb, the primary purpose of a koryu martial art was for use in war. The most extreme example of a koryu school is one that preserves its traditional, and often ancient, martial practices even in the absence of continuing wars in which to test them. Other koryu schools may have made modifications to their practices that reflect the passage of time (which may or may not have resulted in the loss of "koryu" status in the eyes of its peers). This is as opposed to "modern" martial arts, whose primary focus is generally upon the self-improvement (mental, physical, or spiritual) of the individual practitioner, with varying degrees of emphasis on the practical application of the martial art for either sport or self defense purposes.[citation needed]

The following subsections represent not individual schools of martial arts, but rather generic "types" of martial arts. These are generally distinguishable on the basis of their training methodology and equipment, though wide variation still exists within each.


Sumo (??:???, sumo?), considered by many to be Japan's national sport, has its origins in the distant past. The earliest written records of Japan, which are dated from the eighth century A.D., record the first sumo match in 23 B.C., occurring specifically at the request of the emperor and continuing until one man was too wounded to continue. Beginning in 728 A.D., the emperor Shomu Tenno (?? ??, 701–756) began holding official sumo matches at the annual harvest festivals. This tradition of having matches in the presence of the emperor continued, but gradually spread, with matches also held at Shinto festivals, and sumo training was eventually incorporated into military training. By the seventeenth century, sumo was an organized professional sport, open to the public, enjoyed by both the upper class and commoners.

Today, sumo retains much of its traditional trappings, including a referee dressed as a Shinto priest, and a ritual where the competitors clap hands, stomp their feet, and throw salt in the ring prior to each match. To win a match, competitors employ throwing and grappling techniques to force the other man to the ground; the first man to touch the ground with a part of the body other than the bottom of the feet, or touch the ground outside the ring with any part of the body, loses. Six grand tournaments are held annually in Japan, and each professional fighter's name and relative ranking is published after each tournament in an official list, called the banzuke, which is followed