11 Facts About Hunger in the U.S.

In 2009, 50.2 million Americans (up from 35.5 million in 2006), including 17.2 million children, are food insecure, or didn’t have the money or assistance to get enough food to maintain active, healthy lives.

 
In 2009, 65% of adults reported that they had been hungry, but did not eat because they could not afford enough food.

In 2008 alone, a rise of about 6% in the price of groceries has led the poor to adopt a variety of survival strategies, from buying food that is beyond its expiration date to visiting food banks.

About 33.7 million people in America participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) -- a program that provides monthly benefits to poor households to purchase approved food items from authorized food stores. According to the USDA, the average benefit per person was $124 per month and the Federal government spent over $53.6 billion on the program in 2009.

America’s Second Harvest, the nation’s major food bank network, annually provides food to over 23 million people. That is more than the population of the state of Texas.

5.6 million households obtained emergency food from food pantries at least once during 2009.

To find out the rest of the facts, please visit Dosomething.org.

Sensei Chris Feldt

Samurai Karate Studio

Columbia, SC 29229

803-462-9425

Tackle Hunger

With Christmas right around the corner, let's not forget those families that are struggling to make ends meet and going hungry.

You can help!

Please consider donating to Harvest Hope, or a local food pantry in your neighborhood.

That is the spirit of Christmas!

Yes?

Sensei Chris Feldt
Samurai Karate Studio
Columbia, SC 29229
803-462-9425

What You Don't Know About Rape on College Campuses

Sexual assault crimes against female students is alarmingly common. And taking steps to stop these occurrences and putting the criminals behind bars just isn't happening. Cosmo investigates why that is...

BY ZOE RUDERMAN

A survey conducted by the Chicago Tribune found that of the sex crimes reported on college campuses in the past six years, only seven percent resulted in arrests and less than three percent resulted in convictions. That is well below the national average; about 25 percent of reported rapes result in arrests and about two-thirds of those arrests turn into convictions, according to the Tribune.

The newspaper looked at 171 cases that took place at a variety of Midwestern schools. Some of the schools they investigated, like Northwestern, had over 20 reports of sexual assault, but not a single arrest or conviction. Other colleges, such as Notre Dame, didn't have much better stats: they had 34 sex crimes and just four arrests and zero convictions. And Indiana University had a whopping 69 allegations of sexual violence and only one conviction.

And according to Russlynn Ali, the assistant secretary for civil rights in the U.S. Department of Education, this isn't just happening in the midwest. She told the Tribune, "These kinds of data are illustrative of the disturbing and alarming trend we are seeing across this country."

This comes on the heels of another scary revelation that some campuses may be neglecting to correctly and completely report sex crime statistics. A few weeks ago Yale University was found to have omitted certain "forcible sex offenses in its report of annual crime statistics when the crimes occurred". The university claims that the mistake has been corrected, but they still stand to lose federal funding for student aid because of the violation.

Read more: Sexual Assault on College Campuses - Reporting Rape Leads to Few Arrests - Cosmopolitan

7 Myths About Sexual Assault and Dating Violence

Sexual assault survivors are men and women and boys and girls of all races and social class, but 80% of them are under 30 years old when the violence takes place. DoSomething.org talked with Megan McKendry, a board member of Students Active for Ending Rape (SAFER), who dispelled 11 myths about sexual assault and dating violence.

Myth: Most rapists are strangers.
Fact: 77% of female sexual assault victims know their assailants. On college campuses, 9 out of 10 female victims know their attackers.

Myth: If victims don't aggressively fight back, they weren't raped.
Fact: Intentional sexual contact without consent of the other person constitutes sexual assault, regardless of whether or not victims fight back. Victims may not use physical force for a number of reasons, including fear or physical incapacitation.

Myth: Rape requires the use of a weapon.
Fact: According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 80% of rape and sexual assault incidents do not involve a weapon.

Myth: "Promiscuous" women cannot be raped.
Fact: Just because someone has consented to sex many times beforehand does not mean that he or she has consented to all future sexual acts. All 50 states have "rape shield laws" that apply to criminal cases and limit the introduction of evidence regarding a victim's sexual history.

Myth: Men cannot be raped.
Fact: 1 out of 33 men will be a victim of rape or sexual assault in his lifetime.

You can read the rest of the article at DoSomething.org.

Sensei Chris Feldt

Samurai Karate Studio

Columbia, SC 29229

803-462-9425

History of Karate

This is an excellent overview of the history of karate that will compliment the Wikipedia article mentioned in an earlier blog post.

What To Do If You Or Someone You Know Has Been Raped

No one expects to be in the position of dealing with the aftermath of an attack, so here’s what you need to know.

-Find a safe location away from the perpetrator. Ask a close friend to be with you for support.

-If you are still in the location where you were raped (for example, if it happened in your apartment or dorm room), don’t clean, straighten up, or remove anything.

-Report the crime to law enforcement, campus police, or a trusted school administrator.

-Don’t take a shower, wash your hands, brush your teeth, eat, or smoke.

-Preserve all evidence of the attack—don’t wash your clothing or sheets, etc.

-Write down all the details you can recall about the attack and the perpetrator.
Read more: What to Do If You or Someone You Know Has Been Raped - Cosmopolitan

Why Most Victims Don't Report Rape

College women are four times more likely to be sexually assaulted than the rest of the population, yet 95.2% of rapes on campus will never be reported, according to the Department of Justice. The National College Women Sexual Victimization study, which surveyed 4,446 women, found that many survivors don’t want to believe that something as horrible as rape could have happened to them, so they deny that it was rape. Others are afraid they’ll be ostracized by their friends if they accuse a fellow student. And some aren’t sure that the attacker meant to harm them—since most rapes covered on the news involve a scary stranger wielding a weapon, it may be hard to imagine that an assault taking place in your own dorm room by a guy you know is also considered rape.

Read more: Why Most Victims Don’t Report Rape - Cosmopolitan

How To Protect Yourself From Rape

The majority of college rapes happen during the first few weeks of freshman or sophomore year, and the first few days of freshman year are the riskiest, according to the Department of Justice. “Because incoming college freshmen are navigating an unfamiliar environment, it’s more difficult for them to identify potential dangers and protect themselves,” says Peter Lake, PhD, director for the Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy at Stetson University and author of Beyond Discipline. A big part of being able to recognize a risky situation is listening to your gut when something feels off—for example, noticing if you get a sketchy vibe from a guy. But since nothing about the college scene is “normal” yet for newbies, they have trouble picking up on those subtle warning signals. Plus, most freshman haven’t formed strong friend groups yet, so they’re more likely to get separated from the pack at parties. Stay safe with these tips from RAINN (The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network), the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization:

1. Scope out your campus. Whether you’re walking home from the library or a party, learn the safest way back to your residence: a well-lit route where there are people around and/or blue light emergency call boxes (identifiable by a blue light, these phones will connect you immediately with campus safety officials).

2. Trust your instincts. If you feel unsafe, or even just uncomfortable, go with your gut—leave the frat party, tell the dude you were flirting with that you don’t want to go home with him, whatever. Don’t worry about what others think or whether you’ll hurt someone’s feelings; your safety comes first.

3. Use your cell phone as a safety tool. Make sure it’s fully charged before you go out, and if you find yourself in a sketchy situation—for example, a dorm party with a guy who gives you a bad vibe—shoot a quick text to a friend, asking her to pick you up. (Rapists target women who are alone.) Also, prior to heading out to parties, make a plan to meet up with your friends at a specific time and location at the end of the night, just in case your phone dies.



Read more: How to Protect Yourself From Rape - How to Avoid Rape on College Campus - Cosmopolitan


Sensei Chris Feldt
Samurai Karate Studio
Columbia, SC 29229
803-462-9425
samuraikaratestudio@gmail.com

Prescription Drugs And Environmental Self Defense

Environmental self defense is one of the elements of my karate curriculum; the idea being that we have to protect our planet, just like we protect ourselves from assault.  Saving our precious resources and reducing our consumption, just makes good common sense.

One area that has recently caught my attention is the proper disposal of prescription drugs.  What do we do with the medicine that sits in our cabinet unused?

Did you know, that the human body, even when it consumes the prescription drug, typically does not metabolize all of the drug and it ends up in our water through human waste and/or sweat?  And want to know what most people do with their unused medication....they dump it in the toilet and flush it down!

You can find out more about this problem by visiting Circle of Blue.  You might want to sign up for their news letter as they do a good job of keeping you informed about what is going on with the earth's oceans and waterways.

Share this message with your friends today!

"When the well is dry, we know the worth of water."  BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

This blog post is a part of The Ultimate Black Belt Test (ultimateblackbelttest.com), an undertaking of The 100 (the100.us), and a part of Samurai Karate Studio (samuraikaratestudio.net).

Penn State Tragedy

I am sorry that the wonderful career of a living legend like Joe Paterno has come to an abrupt end. It sure would have been nice to see him leave coaching on his terms.

However, in light of the information coming out of the grand jury investigation, I have to ask myself why this legend did not do more? As a father of 3 boys, I can't understand why Joepa (as he is affectionately called) did not follow up with the authorities or do more to "press" the issue with his superiors?

This whole controversy has been shockingly horrible and one can only imagine what these poor children went through.  If you have not had a chance to read the grand jury report, I have provided a copy of it below for you.

WARNING.....

The details in this report are graphic and highly disturbing, but it will present a better picture of what occurred and help you decide if enough was done.

It is my opinion that the board acted properly by firing Coach Paterno and the president and it is my hope that in time, the university will recover from this terrible tragedy.

Meanwhile, my heart and thoughts are with the innocent children, victims of such terrible abuse!  My prayers are with them and their family's as they try to recover from this horrible ordeal.

Sensei Chris Feldt
Samurai Karate Studio
Columbia, SC 29229
803-462-9425
samuraikaratestudio@gmail.com

South Carolina Sheriff: 'You Need to Protect Yourself'

By Joshua Rhett Miller

Published November 01, 2011

FoxNews.com

 

•  Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright, above, made the suggestion at a news conference on Monday while detailing an attempted rape on Sunday at Milliken Park in Spartanburg.
  
  
  
  

A South Carolina sheriff is making the extraordinary suggestion that local women arm themselves following the attempted rape of a woman at a local park, saying, "you need to protect yourself."

Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright, the county's top law enforcement officer since 2005, suggested local women apply for a permit to carry a concealed weapon during a news conference Monday about the attack on Sunday at Milliken Park in Spartanburg.

"It just struck me wrong that we keep telling everyone 'trust us, trust us, trust us,' but in reality, you need to protect yourself," Wright told FoxNews.com. "If you are not a convicted felon or someone who causes trouble or don't have any mental issues, buy a weapon to protect yourself and get some good training."

Walter Monroe Lance, 46, of Spartanburg, was charged Monday with kidnapping, first-degree criminal sexual conduct and grand larceny in connection with the attack. Lance was ordered held without bond, Wright said.

Wright suggested that had the unidentified victim been armed, perhaps with a .45-caliber handgun concealed in a fanny pack, she would have stood a better chance fighting off her attacker.

"If she didn't shoot the guy, she could have at least stopped him and made him leave her alone," Wright said. "You can defend yourself."

Wright said he was "tired of looking at victims" of crimes whose perpetrators are arrested multiple times and are later released without significant jail time. Lance, for example, had been arrested more than 20 times, he said, including for offenses like rape, battery and resisting arrest. Wright characterized him as an "animal" during Monday's news conference.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/11/01/south-carolina-sheriff-need-to-protect-yourself/#ixzz1cwU2YwnU


Sensei Chris Feldt

Samurai Karate Studio
Columbia, SC 29229
803-462-9425
samuraikaratestudio@gmail.com

Characteristics of The Samurai

As part of my training curriculum at the University of South Carolina, I ask the students to write a two page paper on the characteristics of the Samurai.

I do this so that my students can develop a better understanding of what the Samurai men and women were like.  While they were legendary for their fighting skills and their sense of honor, they really were so much more than that.

Here are a few examples of papers submitted by students from earlier semesters that did a very good job of telling a story of what the Samurai were like.

I give my students a lot of latitude, so they can focus on an area that interests them, but they must present an overall picture in the life of a Samurai.




Student 1


Samurai is a term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. They were part of the military class of Japanese warriors. They used weapons such as bow and arrows, spears, and guns. However, there most famous weapon was the sword. The Samurai were supposed to follow the code of Bushido. The code called for loyalty and honor to one’s master, self-discipline and respect. Some Samurai would cut their abdomens before being captured by the enemy or dying a dishonorable death. Their strength and will power shown through their behavior makes them the noble word….the samurai. Several periods over time created and shaped these warriors throughout history.


During the Heian period, the samurai’s power and strength started to grow. Landlords started to hire them to help protect their property. Near the end of this period, two military powers grew and fought against each other called the Minamoto and the Taira. These wars of supremacy were fought for years.


The next period was called the Kamakura period. During this time the Minamoto defeated the Taira and created the Minamoto Yoritomo which estabilsed a new military government in Kamakura. Here, the highest military officer would become the ruler of Japan.


The following period was called the Muromachi Period. During this time, the states within Japan were constantly battling each other for power. Because of these many wars the samurai were in great demand. Also the samurai lived on the farms and worked here as protection for their landlords.


The next period was called the Azuchi-Momoyama Period. During this time, Toyotomi Hideyoshi became the ruler of Japan and created a very rigid social caste system. He demanded that rather the samurai live and protect on the farms or work as warriors in castle towns. He also forbids anyone but the samurai to carry a sword.


The last period was known as the Edo period. During this time, the samurai stood at the top of the social system followed by farmers, then artisans then merchants. Also, the samurai were forced to live in castle towns and take their form of payment as rice from the farmers. The master less samurai were called ronin and were known to create trouble in these towns. after the fall of Osaka Castle in 1615, the Tokugawa's last potential rival was demolished, and relative peace prevailed in Japan for about 250 years. As a result, the importance of martial skills declined, and most samurai became bureaucrats, teachers or artists. In 1868, Japan's feudal era came to an end, and the samurai class completely came to an end.

Student 2

The Japanese samurai was a warrior class that existed for several centuries and followed a code called bushido or “the Way of the Warrior.” The samurai were best known for their dedication to service, especially to their masters. The ultimate honor and duty for a samurai was to give his own life for another (“Samurai”). In fact, after risking his life for the defense of his master’s castle in what seemed an impossible battle, a 16th century samurai, Torii Mototado wrote to his son that “it is not the Way of the Warrior to be shamed and avoid death even under circumstances that are not particularly important. It goes without saying that to sacrifice one's life for the sake of his master is an unchanging principle. That I should be able to go ahead of all the other warriors of this country and lay down my life for the sake of my master's benevolence is an honor to my family and has been my most fervent desire for many years” (“Samurai”).


Despite the violent aspects of samurai life, the samurai’s bushido was influenced by Buddhism and Japanese Shinto which brought about the inclusion of wisdom and serenity in their lifestyle (“Bushido”). Other rules of the bushido included “frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery, and honor unto death” (“Bushido”). The seven main virtues of the samurai code were rectitude, benevolence, courage, honesty, respect, honor, and loyalty. Other virtues for the samurai included filial piety and care for the aged (“Bushido”).


While the samurai were expected to adhere to the bushido if one did commit transgressions there was only one way to find honor again. A fallen samurai would have to commit ritual suicide known as “seppuku” to prove he was aware of his dishonor. The act involved the samurai cutting himself through the abdomen to release his spirit and die in one of the most painful ways one can (“Bushido”).


An interesting point of the samurai lifestyle is how the women in samurai families were trained. While the main role of the women was to take care of the family and the home they were also “trained in wielding a polearm called a naginata or a special knife called the kaiken” (“Samurai”). The women were trained to use these weapons so that they could defend the family and home when the male samurai were away.




The samurai warrior class existed in Japan through the late 19th century. While Emperor Meiji abolished the samurai’s status as the only armed forces in Japan in 1873, it was not until a few years later that the samurai class truly declined (“Samurai”). However, the legend and history of the Japanese samurai is still celebrated in many modern films and other forms of pop culture.

Student 3

The way of the samurai is a very complex and idealistic practice. Their main concern was honor, and they literally defended it with their lives. In addition to pursuing a righteous lifestyle, the other prominent characteristic of samurais was their ability to pursue a life without fear. They were morally bound to the concept of bushido, which literally translates to “the way of the warrior.” To hold their family’s name in the highest social regard was of the utmost importance to the samurai, as a dishonorable lifestyle simply was not an option. The samurai were bound to fight bravely until death, and once defeated in battle they would even commit suicide in order to preserve a sense of honor. This practice, taking their own lives with a short sword, became known as the tradition of seppuku. It is no mystery that under such an idealistic and honor bound set of social principals, as to the reason that samurai were even legally granted the right to kill any commoner that failed to show them proper respect. Early samurai prided themselves as proficient archers, using longbows called “Yumi” while in battle. In fact, they originally only carried the sword to finish off their wounded enemies. As the times evolved, samurais developed new weapons such as “naginatas,” which were basically just long poles with curved blades at the end. The “daisho,” or long and short blade unison, consisted of the two swords that samurais eventually learned were more practical than just carrying a bow and spear. They carried the “katana” for longer range slashing combat, while the “wakizashi” was shorter and only used for stabbing. Samurai could be identified by their daisho, and full body armor.


The ancient art of the samurai is regarded as one of the most coveted fighting systems in the history of humankind. Through intense criticism, vigorous training methods, and a truly perfectionist state of mental discipline, these were some of the purest bred human combat machines in known existence. They were more of an evolutionary class of fighters, since they evolved from several different martial arts systems. In order for the purest definition of the modern day understanding of the samurai to come about, decades of evolution in fighting theory as well as training methods had to take shape into what is thought to be one of the most sophisticated class of soldiers in history.


Before the year 646 A.D., Japan was experiencing a social crisis in its class system and was unaware of how to properly maintain the most effective form of government. In what many would consider a corrupt and tyrannical society, the nation underwent its notorious “Taika” reforms and unknowingly laid the foundation for the beginnings of the Samurais. The new policies involved a feudal type system similar to the one already in place in Europe. As a result, land was taken from many small farmers and re-appropriated to a select few similar to Europe’s feudal “lords.” These landowners, now in possession of all the land and power in Japan, needed some form of security to protect their investments. Their answer to the thieves in search of cheating them out of their wealth: the “bushi,” or, samurai warrior.


The samurai began their endeavor into military history essentially as private security contractors, loyal only to their property masters. In some cases, the samurai were even family members to the landowners they were defending. In a reaffirmation of complete servitude and dedication to their “employer,” the samurai pledged a code of honor to the landowners they were associated with. This system of assigning private security in the form of samurais lasted for a couple hundred years, but the Japanese nation developed new problems when uprisings threatened their existing status quo. When the Heian Dynasty lost control of the rural areas in Japan sometime in the tenth century, the samurai class stepped up to restore stability and order to the areas of Japan outside of the nation’s capitol.


After taking over all major governing aspects of Japan after the year 1100, the samurai began to encounter conflicting interests in the form of disagreement amongst clans. Since they divided themselves into these family structures, known as clans, and never engrained their trust and leadership to outsiders, it was only a matter of time until their competitive natures led to turmoil and cause political unrest in Japan. After several decades of civil war and competition amongst rival clans, even the samurai generals, known as shoguns, began to encounter rivalry and threats to their leadership.


Unfortunately for the Japanese nation under Samurai rule, the all-powerful Chinese empire began to look at Japan as a possible entity for expansion. When the famous mongol ruler Kublai Khan demanded that Japan essentially bow down to his empire, the samurai clans in charge of Japan’s governing body refused. Unpleased with this decision, Khan launched a massive assault that nearly wiped the samurai clean of the pages of world history. Fortunately for those who appreciate the Samurai and their contributions to martial arts in the forms of discipline, training, and combat, two straight Chinese armadas were wiped out by typhoons in route to destroying Japan.


During Khan’s assault on Japan, the samurai were able to fight off the invading Chinese forces while protecting their existing culture and way of life. The shoguns, which at this time were leading Japan, were unable to re-pay the samurai for their service to the nation. While the shogun viewed their military actions as noble, the samurai still thought of themselves as mercenaries like in the days of feudal land-ownership. Demanding pay that simply was not available to them, the samurai launched a political uprising that once again changed the course of Japanese history as well as the modern-day definition of the word “samurai.” Japan reverted back to samurai rule, which offered relatively little stability. Since the nature of the samurai is to be an almighty and dominant force in daily life, this philosophy transcended into years of competition and basically sent Japan into decades of problematic leadership. After the “Warring States Period” and dozens of regime changes in Japan, the country essentially evolved from electing shogun after shogun and turned a new leaf so to speak. When their society began to adopt democratic ideals like public voting, the samurai lost their rule of Japan.