I played in my second volleyball tournament this past Saturday since coming out of 3 years of retirement. It felt good to be back. My team ended up winning the B- (skill rating) tournament. We came out on top in our pool after beating the current first place team (Flying Tigers) in two straight games. I had my best blocking of the day against this team, completely shutting down their middle hitters for no kills and blocking for three straight points in a row including a back-row attack.
The team we played in the semifinals had two girls on their team and were all Asian except for their good middle hitter (i.e. I couldn't block him). Make all the east-west jokes you want, but they fit directly into the stereotype of every predominant Asian volleyball team I've ever played against. They could dig every ball hit at them. Ok, they didn't dig any of my middle hits, but they got a hand on one of my outside hits (which should not have even been touched). And their outside hitter was crafty. He could jump, he could hit the ball down, and more often then not he would crank the ball off the blockers hands out of bounds. Many people can hit the ball down, but not many people are smart enough hitters to be able to "use" a block like he did. We ended up beating them 15-13 in 3 games (remember they had girls on their team) after being behind the entire 3rd game!
In the finals we had to play the Flying Tigers again. Unfortunately, I didn't have as good of a blocking game against their middle hitters, and they brought a triple block on me every time. However, we beat them in two games.
I talked to a police department to ask advice about what one should do if assaulted and battered by a bouncer outside of a bar or club. Here are some things I've learned from my experience (these things are my opinions, and if you think they are legal advice you are a jackass). These apply if you are a victim. If you started a fight you are going to get what you deserve, and have limited legal recourse.
Whatever you do, do not lose your head. This is extremely important. You can let the anger burn at a medium boil, but let it fuel your determination and use it as a gift--do not let it control you. Taunts will not hurt you. People laughing at you will not hurt you.
Protect yourself and get away but do not fuel the flames. The bouncers might all attack at once so get away.
Many times your attackers will want to act like a mob and are waiting for the spark that goads them to come after you again. Don't give them this spark. Remind them of the legal repercussions, your innocence, and the liability of the club if you think you can walk away; otherwise, run and get somewhere safe with a crowd of people. You need witnesses and they need to see you as the victim and not the aggressor.
Call the police immediately. They will not arrest the person(s) unless they see the incident as it occurs, but they will get all of your and the aggressors' information and fill out the equivalent of an accident report. You will get your day in court, but it might (probably?) be your word against your attackers' word.
Assault and battery are both criminal and civil laws. You can always pursue a civil lawsuit against the person(s) and the bar or club if they are employees. Remember the business is the place where all of the money is; don't expect to get much money out of the bouncers if you win. They are freaking bouncers--do not expect them to have a lot of money.
Stay tuned for the actual story. In the meantime don't go to the club Vertigo on 126 State State Street, Boston, MA. They don't keep a very good leash on their attack dogs, i mean bouncers.
After Wednesday night it does not appear that I will be going back to the club Vertigo on 126 State State Street, Boston, MA. Before I get into my story I want to discuss what bouncers are legally allowed to do: not much.
Unless a patron has committed a crime, floor men are not allowed to use physical force. This is not to say that you [floor men] cannot slightly touch a patron to guide, direct, or block entry. Force should only be used in self-defense or for the purpose of detaining a criminal for the police. Punching, kicking, tackling, dragging, or putting someone in a headlock are all inappropriate methods for floor men to remove someone from a nightclub. Unlike the movie "Road House" it is never appropriate for a floor man to punch a patron out of anger or because of a challenge to fight.(Security Consultant, Chris McGoey)
In his article Bouncers Need Training, Mr. McGoey goes onto say,
There's a common misconception that bouncers have authority to pick someone up and physically remove him or her from the premises. It is believed that bouncers can use pain compliance holds like full nelson's, chokeholds, wristlocks, and arm bars. This is not true. Simply stated bouncers cannot legally use force unless they are taking someone into custody or in self-defense. When force is used it must be reasonable. That means no tackling, no punching, no kicking, no choking, no head butts, and no pain compliance holds.The authority of a bouncer or any other security person is the same as any ordinary citizen. Bouncers have no special authority to physically eject a customer who merely becomes intoxicated or verbally obnoxious. As an employee of the nightclub, bouncers can only demand that the undesirable customer leave. If the customer refuses to leave your only legal recourse is to call the police. Sometimes a warning that the police will be called has the same effect causing the customer to depart. The police can remove an unwanted patron and issue a formal trespass warning not to return. If the customer returns after receiving this formal warning they are subject to arrest.
The most compelling quote is the one having to deal with bouncers not having the "authority to pick someone up and physically remove him or her from the premises." I thought it might be true, but have never seen it obeyed in practice.
My story will deal with actions that happen outside the club on the public side walk and with employees of the club on company time.
I attended a music capoeira class tonight. Music is an important and integral part of capoeira. The speed and style of the song is supposed to lead the tempo of the jogo de capoeira, the game of capoeira.
Bira Almeida better known as "Acordeon" has this to say in Capoeira-An Introductory History:
"The speed and character of the jogo are generally determined by the many different rhythms of the berimbau, a one-string musical bow, which is considered to be the primary symbol of this art form...Inspiring solos and collective singing in a call-and-response dialogue join the hypnotic percussion to complete the musical ambiance for the capoeira session."
Capoeira is played in a circle--participants on the outside and two players in the center. The circle is called roda de capoeira, or "capoeira wheel," usually shortened to just a roda (All leading Rs in Brazilian Portuguese are pronounced as an H sound, in this case roda would sound like hoe-da.). The participants ringing the circle maintain the tempo by clapping their hands and singing or playing the berimbau, the tambourine (pandeiro), or drum (atabaque).
I laugh when a think an old friend of mine from middle school seeing me now. He has been involved with music since I have met him and would be laughing his ass off to see me attempting to sing. I played sports and he was in theatre, chorus, other performance groups.
I could possible overcome the singing hurdle if it wasn't for the fact that I'm also really slow at picking up foreign languages. I think much of my language problems deal with my learning style. I cannot learn aurally. I must read it or write it down to learn (aprendi) and understand it. But I progress anyway--I'm learning Brazilian Portuguese one (um) song at a time.
Boa viejo
Found this while browsing. Who would have thought that it was so difficult to calculate the circumference of an ellipse? As the article states, "There is no simple exact formula: There are simple formulas but they are not exact...and there are exact formulas but they are not simple."
My first Batizado for my Capoeira group is this Sunday. This is our first Batizado in over 3 years, so it is a big deal, even though it will be a small internal Batizado.
What is a Batizado? I believe it means baptismal and is a big event in the sport/martial art/dance of Capoeira. Students will be given their capoeira nicknames and tested and given belts. In a large Batizado outside groups are invited to play Capoeira. The students of the group are tested by outside mestres that play with each of the students.
(Disclaimer: i'm a white, american, non-brazillian speaking beginner. ;)