The Saratoga Martial Arts Festival was excellent. Not only did I get the chance to take some wonderful seminars, but I also made some progress on some Anthro research that I’ve been interested in for quite a while. Much of Sunday was spent picking the mind Sifu Sharif Bey, a very high ranking Hung Ga practioner. Hung Ga is a traditional southern Chinese system of fighting with close ties. Historically it was a revolutionary system, concieved and developed to fight against the Qing Dynasty. What is particularly interesting to me is that embodied in it are both fighting and cultural concepts. Hopefully down the road, I’ll be able to tap Sifu Bey for more research assistance. That said, Martial Art research is currently far, far, far down my list of priorities.

Also, for those who missed the Lessig lecture here at RIT, you can find a stream of it here:

If you have two hours, take the time to watch it. It’s excellent and thought provoking.