Blaine tackles the topic of McDojos in this episode of AikiCast. If you dont know what a McDojo is then you owe it to yourself to listen to this one! There are lots of lessons to be learned from McDojos and Blaine helps put it into proper perspective. There's also a little history lesson about the real Chef Boyardee (think Spaghetti-Os and Ravioli) and how his vision helped him develop his own 'McDojo' type of business that eventually made him and his family fabulously wealthy.

In this episode Blaine discusses the rise of MMA (mixed martial arts) as a distinct and well known sporting style of martial arts training and competititon. He also tackles the tough question of whether or not MMA can be considered a separate and distinct martial art by itself or is it merely just a sport? Listen in as Blaine answers some of the questions he gets quite often from the AikiCast Nation regarding MMA and its current place in the martial arts world.

This is the final segment of the AikiCast special 3 part series addressing the difficult and highly charged topic of police brutality, police killing of unarmed citizens, and the standards by which police investigate themselves in use of force incidents. Blaine covers a vast number of topics in this 3 part series which includes busting 3 of the biggest myths surrounding the profession of policing, taking a critical look at several of the most recent killings of unarmed citizens by police officers, discussing the rules under which police officers conduct themselves and discussing how martial arts should be taught and used by law enforcement individuals as a force for good and for saving people, not for doing damage to more people.

Topics covered in the 3 part series includes: the police murders of Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, Dillon Taylor, Oscar Grant, Jonathan Crawford III, Tamir Rice, the tactics utilized by police officers around the country, the myth of the good cop, the myth of police protection, the myth of the danger of policing, Graham V Connor, Warren V District of Columbia, Joseph Lozito and Maksim Gelman, Officers Jesse Kidder, Bron Cruz, Timothy Loehman, Johanes Mehserle, Terrance Howell, and Daniel Pantaleo, the difference between a guardian and a warrior and the myth of the sheepdog protecting the sheep from the wolf.

Show Notes and links:

Law Enforcement Sites
http://www.policeone.com/
http://www.officer.com/
http://www.policemag.com/
http://www.lawofficer.com/index.html
http://www.lawofficer.com/articles/2015/06/applying-and-understanding-graham-as-a-patrol-officer.html
Interesting article regarding Graham Vs Connor that talks about ‘reasonableness’ and how the officer needs to write their reports so as to be sure to explain how ‘reasonable’ they were in their actions.

“Each key is no more or less important than the other, but provide for a foundation of how one can justify “reasonable” force. Your police reports should reflect the reasonableness that you used to determine when force was applied. Your definition of reasonable is all that matters, and SCOTUS has determined that time and time again.” 

http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/press-releases/attachments/2015/03/04/ferguson_police_department_report.pdf
Report on Ferguson, Mo. police department by the department of justice. One can gain a sense of the report by reading the chapter titles.

http://www.copblock.org/128554/full-body-cam-video-released-utah-police-killing-dillon-taylor/
Dillon Taylor shooting video

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2014/dec/04/i-cant-breathe-eric-garner-chokehold-death-video
Eric Garner choking video

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2014/nov/26/cleveland-video-tamir-rice-shooting-police
Tamir Rice shooting video

http://digg.com/video/wal-mart-surveillance-video-of-john-crawford-iii-shooting
John Crawford shooting video

http://www.mediaite.com/online/video-shows-police-cruelly-lying-to-john-crawfords-girlfriend-after-killing-him-at-walmart/
Video of police interrogating John Crawford’s  girlfriend after his death

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3089495/New-video-shows-cops-taking-limp-Freddie-Gray-police-van-putting-leg-shackles-loading-head-bystanders-pleaded-officers-help-him.html
Freddie Gray videos

http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2015/04/ohio-police-officer-jesse-kidder-takes-down-murder-suspect-without-firing-a-shot/
Officer Jesse Kidder video

Police Accountability sites:
http://photographyisnotacrime.com/
http://policestatedaily.com/
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Bad_Cop_No_Donut/
Reddit forum devoted to police abuse

http://www.copblock.org/129940/those-who-cant-fight-kill/
“The martial arts don’t work on the streets.” I’ve heard this statement by many nationally-recognized defensive tactics trainers throughout my career. I have always found two things quite ironic each time the statement has been made. First, many trainers making such a statement had never worked the streets, and second, every empty-hand technique they taught could be found somewhere in the martial arts.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/12/how-police-unions-keep-abusive-cops-on-the-street/383258/
Article on police unions

http://blog.simplejustice.us/2015/06/01/the-other-white-meat-police-unions/
Article on police unions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rao33ZYlrq4
Cops gone wild documentary

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_v._Connor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_v._District_of_Columbia

This is part 2 of an AikiCast special 3 part segment addressing the difficult and highly charged topic of police brutality, police killing of unarmed citizens, and the standards by which police investigate themselves in use of force incidents. Blaine covers a vast number of topics in this 3 part series which includes busting 3 of the biggest myths surrounding the profession of policing, taking a critical look at several of the most recent killings of unarmed citizens by police officers, discussing the rules under which police officers conduct themselves and discussing how martial arts should be taught and used by law enforcement individuals as a force for good and for saving people, not for doing damage to more people.

Topics covered in the 3 part series includes: the police murders of Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, Dillon Taylor, Oscar Grant, Jonathan Crawford III, Tamir Rice, the tactics utilized by police officers around the country, the myth of the good cop, the myth of police protection, the myth of the danger of policing, Graham V Connor, Warren V District of Columbia, Joseph Lozito and Maksim Gelman, Officers Jesse Kidder, Bron Cruz, Timothy Loehman, Johanes Mehserle, Terrance Howell, and Daniel Pantaleo, the difference between a guardian and a warrior and the myth of the sheepdog protecting the sheep from the wolf.

Show Notes and links:

Law Enforcement Sites
http://www.policeone.com/

http://www.officer.com/

http://www.policemag.com/

http://www.lawofficer.com/index.html

http://www.lawofficer.com/articles/2015/06/applying-and-understanding-graham-as-a-patrol-officer.html
Interesting article regarding Graham Vs Connor that talks about ‘reasonableness’ and how the officer needs to write their reports so as to be sure to explain how ‘reasonable’ they were in their actions.
“Each key is no more or less important than the other, but provide for a foundation of how one can justify “reasonable” force. Your police reports should reflect the reasonableness that you used to determine when force was applied. Your definition of reasonable is all that matters, and SCOTUS has determined that time and time again.” 

http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/press-releases/attachments/2015/03/04/ferguson_police_department_report.pdf
Report on Ferguson, Mo. police department by the department of justice. One can gain a sense of the report by reading the chapter titles.

http://www.copblock.org/128554/full-body-cam-video-released-utah-police-killing-dillon-taylor/
Dillon Taylor shooting video

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2014/dec/04/i-cant-breathe-eric-garner-chokehold-death-video
Eric Garner choking video

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2014/nov/26/cleveland-video-tamir-rice-shooting-police
Tamir Rice shooting video

http://digg.com/video/wal-mart-surveillance-video-of-john-crawford-iii-shooting
John Crawford shooting video

http://www.mediaite.com/online/video-shows-police-cruelly-lying-to-john-crawfords-girlfriend-after-killing-him-at-walmart/
Video of police interrogating John Crawford’s  girlfriend after his death

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3089495/New-video-shows-cops-taking-limp-Freddie-Gray-police-van-putting-leg-shackles-loading-head-bystanders-pleaded-officers-help-him.html
Freddie Gray videos

http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2015/04/ohio-police-officer-jesse-kidder-takes-down-murder-suspect-without-firing-a-shot/
Officer Jesse Kidder video

Police Accountability sites:
http://photographyisnotacrime.com/

http://policestatedaily.com/

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bad_Cop_No_Donut/
Reddit forum devoted to police abuse

http://www.copblock.org/129940/those-who-cant-fight-kill/
“The martial arts don’t work on the streets.” I’ve heard this statement by many nationally-recognized defensive tactics trainers throughout my career. I have always found two things quite ironic each time the statement has been made. First, many trainers making such a statement had never worked the streets, and second, every empty-hand technique they taught could be found somewhere in the martial arts.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/12/how-police-unions-keep-abusive-cops-on-the-street/383258/
Article on police unions

http://blog.simplejustice.us/2015/06/01/the-other-white-meat-police-unions/
Article on police unions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rao33ZYlrq4
Cops gone wild documentary

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_v._Connor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_v._District_of_Columbia

This is an AikiCast special 3 part segment addressing the difficult and highly charged topic of police brutality, police killing of unarmed citizens, and the standards by which police investigate themselves in use of force incidents. Blaine covers a vast number of topics in this 3 part series which includes busting 3 of the biggest myths surrounding the profession of policing, taking a critical look at several of the most recent killings of unarmed citizens by police officers, discussing the rules under which police officers conduct themselves and discussing how martial arts should be taught and used by law enforcement individuals as a force for good and for saving people, not for doing damage to more people.

Topics covered in the 3 part series includes: the police murders of Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, Dillon Taylor, Oscar Grant, Jonathan Crawford III, Tamir Rice, the tactics utilized by police officers around the country, the myth of the good cop, the myth of police protection, the myth of the danger of policing, Graham V Connor, Warren V District of Columbia, Joseph Lozito and Maksim Gelman, Officers Jesse Kidder, Bron Cruz, Timothy Loehman, Johanes Mehserle, Terrance Howell, and Daniel Pantaleo, the difference between a guardian and a warrior and the myth of the sheepdog protecting the sheep from the wolf.

Show Notes and links:

Law Enforcement Sites
http://www.policeone.com/

http://www.officer.com/

http://www.policemag.com/

http://www.lawofficer.com/index.html

http://www.lawofficer.com/articles/2015/06/applying-and-understanding-graham-as-a-patrol-officer.html
Interesting article regarding Graham Vs Connor that talks about ‘reasonableness’ and how the officer needs to write their reports so as to be sure to explain how ‘reasonable’ they were in their actions.
“Each key is no more or less important than the other, but provide for a foundation of how one can justify “reasonable” force. Your police reports should reflect the reasonableness that you used to determine when force was applied. Your definition of reasonable is all that matters, and SCOTUS has determined that time and time again.” 

http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/press-releases/attachments/2015/03/04/ferguson_police_department_report.pdf
Report on Ferguson, Mo. police department by the department of justice. One can gain a sense of the report by reading the chapter titles.

http://www.copblock.org/128554/full-body-cam-video-released-utah-police-killing-dillon-taylor/
Dillon Taylor shooting video

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2014/dec/04/i-cant-breathe-eric-garner-chokehold-death-video
Eric Garner choking video

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2014/nov/26/cleveland-video-tamir-rice-shooting-police
Tamir Rice shooting video

http://digg.com/video/wal-mart-surveillance-video-of-john-crawford-iii-shooting
John Crawford shooting video

http://www.mediaite.com/online/video-shows-police-cruelly-lying-to-john-crawfords-girlfriend-after-killing-him-at-walmart/
Video of police interrogating John Crawford’s  girlfriend after his death

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3089495/New-video-shows-cops-taking-limp-Freddie-Gray-police-van-putting-leg-shackles-loading-head-bystanders-pleaded-officers-help-him.html
Freddie Gray videos

http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2015/04/ohio-police-officer-jesse-kidder-takes-down-murder-suspect-without-firing-a-shot/
Officer Jesse Kidder video

Police Accountability sites:
http://photographyisnotacrime.com/

http://policestatedaily.com/

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bad_Cop_No_Donut/
Reddit forum devoted to police abuse

http://www.copblock.org/129940/those-who-cant-fight-kill/
“The martial arts don’t work on the streets.” I’ve heard this statement by many nationally-recognized defensive tactics trainers throughout my career. I have always found two things quite ironic each time the statement has been made. First, many trainers making such a statement had never worked the streets, and second, every empty-hand technique they taught could be found somewhere in the martial arts.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/12/how-police-unions-keep-abusive-cops-on-the-street/383258/
Article on police unions

http://blog.simplejustice.us/2015/06/01/the-other-white-meat-police-unions/
Article on police unions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rao33ZYlrq4
Cops gone wild documentary

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_v._Connor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_v._District_of_Columbia

In this episode Blaine discusses his understanding of the meaning of the word 'Shugyo' which is typically translated as 'auster training' or 'intense training'. Blaine explains how he came to first understand the concept and how he has used the concept to enhance his life. Shugyo can be a descriptive concept and idea but also an active idea to be used as a way to find the things one knows they should be doing but are, for whatever reason, procrastinating on. 

This Diamond Mining Friday Interview is with a good friend of mine, Joe Anshel Sensei. Joe is a 4th Degree Black Belt in Aikido and spent 4 years as an uchideshi (live-in student) under the renowned Fumio Toyoda Shihan.

Joe is also a student of Zen meditation and brings a wealth of insights to this almost 3 hour long interview about Aikido, Zen, ukemi, Toyoda Sensei, being an uchideshi, and life in general.

Enjoy!

Kicking off the AikiCast Diamond Mining Friday interview series with a special guest, Meido Moore Sensei. Meido Moore is the Chief Instructor and founder of the Shinjinkai Organization, as well as the founder and Abbott of the Korinji Zen Monastery in Wisconsin. Moore Sensei has been studying Zen and Martial Arts since the 1980's and has travelled all over the world teaching both Aikido and Zen as a full time instructor and Zen priest. 

The interview covers a whole bunch of topics ranging from Moore Sensei's time as an uchi deshi with Fumio Toyoda Shihan, his Zen training, his time and training with T.K. Chiba Shihan, his personal experiences and insights, his vision of the future of both Aikido and Zen training, and his thoughts on teaching and being a full time martial arts teacher.

The links for Moore Sensei's websites mentioned in the interview are:

Korinji.org (Korinji Zen Monastery)

Shinjinkai.org (Shinjinkai Aikido Organization)

Rinzaizen.org (Rinzai Zen Organization)

In this episode Blaine talks about an experience he had with Toyoda Sensei that wasnt so pleasant but how it ultimately lead to a better friendship with him. It happened while Blaine was working for him at the Japanese Culture Center in Chicago, IL. Toyoda Sensei misinterpreted a phone call that was meant for Blaine and ended up yelling at Blaine and making accusations that he was leaving Sensei to join the military. Although this wasnt true, it was the last straw for Blaine and he resigned his post at Tenshinkan Dojo. 

Blaine made his way back to his hometown where he began a small Aikido program at a health club that eventually grew into a large Aikido school. Throughout the year after Blaine left Chicago there was no contact with Toyoda Sensei since they were both angry with each other. However, after a particularly timely phone call from another Sensei to check in with Blaine, he received some advice that would ultimately lead him to go back to Chicago and patch up the relationship. What he learned through the process is a priceless life lesson which Blaine talks about in the show.

Aikido in daily life-Taking Emotional Ukemi is all about how to take responsibility for everything that happens in our lives whether we feel we're responsible for them or not. Listen in for some more wisdom on how to be a stronger, healthier and more fulfilled human being through these martial lessons! Enjoy!

This episode of Diamond Mining Friday is a big one and an important one as it covers a topic that is, for some, controversial, and for others, a way of life. For Blaine, becoming a delibreate creator of experiences, opportunities, abundance, realtionships, and health began when he was an uchi deshi (live-in student) in Chicago. His study of Aikido and Zen lead him to begin studying what are often referred to as Universal Principles and the laws of cause and effect. Gaining an understanding of these principles lead him to seek out specific ways to utilize these principles for his own benefit as well as the benefit of others. 

Over the past 20 years, Blaine has been effectively using these principles to start several successful businesses, get in better shape and experience better health, eliminate toxic relationships and attract healthy ones, create opportunities that seemed distant or non-existent, and lead an overall extraordinary life and lifestyle. 

There's no talk about quantum physics and no secrets revealed since everything Blaine uses on a daily basis has been well known practice for thousands of years. The practices are literally as simple as breathing, walking, and thinking, although its not always easy to break the negative patterns that have become habit for so many people.

Grab a pencil and a pad of paper for this one becuase there are literally life changing tips in this episode! If you're interested in hearing the private podcast on 'How using positive affirmations are causing the opposite of what you want!", head over to www.AikiCast.com and join the AikiCast Tribe today to start receiving the private podcasts.