Author: thaobh.leo@gmail.com

After training in karate for the better part of two decades, Garry Howard came across Steven Seagal’s film Above the Law. Through a series of events stemming from a complimentary phone call, Howard found himself in front of the man himself and secured consistent instruction from Haruo Matsuoka, who made an annual trip to the small town of Brazil, Indiana. In this interview, Howard provides perspectives on both Seagal and Matsuoka, the growth of the latter, and how practitioners continue to refine their understanding long after the moment of “knowing” has passed. All images provided by Garry Howard. Martial Arts…

The war in Ukraine is causing undeniable harm across Russia. Ukraine’s deep strikes into Russian territory have added to the war’s civilian death toll; disrupted online commerce, a significant sector in a country as large as Russia; and prompted gasoline shortages. Burdened by a massive war, the Russian economy is delivering low growth rates and high inflation. In May, the prominent Russian banker Andrey Klepach offered a frank assessment in a speech published online: Russia is “falling behind. We are losing the [global] technological and economic competition.” In some respects, he added, “we are losing it to Ukraine.” In August,…

WARSAW, Poland — NATO allies could hold drills in proximity of Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave in an attempt to push Moscow to weaken its military posture in Ukraine and withdraw some of its troops there, said Radosław Sikorski, Poland’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister.Speaking at a Sept. 11 panel discussion held during the Yalta European Strategy conference in Kyiv, Sikorski said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in the Kremlin lowering its defenses in the Kaliningrad exclave, which borders Poland and Lithuania.While NATO should not engage in any offensive actions against Kaliningrad, an intensification of the alliance’s drills around the…

The space economy has surpassed $600 billion in annual value, with some projecting it will reach a trillion by the 2030s. Jonathan Panter is joined by Joseph Yaffe (Cowboy Space), Brian Weeden (The Aerospace Corporation), and Dan Wald (Booz Allen) to weigh where the real growth is. They discuss how AI infrastructure is blurring the line between the space economy and the regular economy, the regulatory tangle, the leap toward autonomous constellations of hundreds of thousands of satellites, competition with China, and the dual-use risks of data centers in orbit.Image: Giuseppe Donatiello via Wikimedia Commons.

Welcome to the Monday mailbag post. This is where you can submit your questions to us, the humble staff at MMA Mania. If you have something you want to ask, pop it in the comment section below.We’ll answer everything and anything (so long as you’re not trying to get us in trouble). But priority goes to time sensitive questions. For this week, that means stuff related to Noche UFC 4 or the upcoming UFC 331. You might also want to ask about Tom Aspinall vacating the Heavyweight title.You don’t have to ask UFC or MMA questions, though. I welcome off-topic…

The French DGA has launched a formal tender for embarked, long-endurance surface drones to support French Navy ISR missions, but the technical requirements for the USV are quite challenging. The French defence procurement agency (DGA) has issued a formal contract notice to acquire embarkable, long-endurance surface drones dedicated to intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. As global naval forces increasingly pivot toward the “hybrid navy” model, this procurement marks a major milestone for the French Navy (Marine Nationale) as it moves unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) deeper into operational service. According to the tender documents, the project focuses on acquiring long-endurance…

America’s nuclear weapons deterrent and how it is controlled is increasingly critical in the face of the rapidly-expanding arsenals across multiple adversaries. A new fleet of E-4C nuclear-hardened survivable airborne operations center aircraft is now in development, as is the U.S. Navy E-130J, which will provide next-generation communications with nuclear ballistic missile submarines deep beneath the waves. Focus is also turning to a mission that’s dedicated to emergency communications with the U.S. nuclear forces in times of crisis, a role known as Operation Looking Glass, which is also poised for updating under a program dubbed Looking Glass-Next. The comprehensive modernization…

Today we take a detailed look at a custom project we just completed, a 16th century German two-handed sword with scroll work details, blued hilt furniture, and forged parrying lugs. These swords are part of a complex of very large two-handers that emerged across Western Europe in the Renaissance. This group includes Scottish Claymores, Spanish Montantes, and Italian Spadones. These were all relatively specialized weapons that developed after the medieval period.  A Landsknecht mercenary with a Zweihander, dog, and Frau As always, our swords and other weapons are entirely made by us, by hand, at our shop in Minneapolis, MN.…

ROVANIEMI, Finland (AP) — European leaders joined forces Monday to highlight growing competition in the Arctic, where global warming is opening new shipping routes, governments are vying for vast natural resources and a Russian military buildup is heightening security concerns. The leaders, mostly from Nordic and Baltic countries, put a spotlight on environmental challenges, economic opportunities and military vulnerabilities at a time of doubts about whether the United States, through NATO, will remain a bulwark against Russia. “This region has become a geopolitical hotspot,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told a joint news conference, insisting a new EU focus should complement…

SureFire, LLC, manufacturer of the world’s finest—and most innovative—illumination tools and tactical products, is proud to announce a new XC3 with significantly increased performance! Building on a proven formula, the latest XC3 is fueled by a new rechargeable SFRCR123 battery that increases output to 1,000 lumens and 13,000 candela, nearly double the output of the original. The next-generation XC3 now delivers performance that rivals our gold-standard X300U duty light at roughly half the size and weight but with the same rugged reliability. Compatible with a wide range of commercially available holsters, the XC3 is robust enough for professional use and…