Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

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Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#941

Post by James Y »

Earnie Shavers - Hardest Puncher of All Time (R.I.P. 1944 - 2022)

https://youtu.be/-YXSoo__M4w

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Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#942

Post by James Y »

Muhammad Ali Play-Spars With Amateur Boxer

https://youtube.com/shorts/l65j6v_hKWc?feature=share

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Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#943

Post by James Y »

Ear Slap - Self-Defense - Paul Vunak

Mr. Vunak is 100% correct; in actual physical self-defense, simple is best. IMO, SD skills should be simple and highly-refined, meaning trained almost to the point of over-saturation. And there should not be too many options (for example, types of strikes). This means that SD skills will become second nature, and therefore, automatic actions/reactions.

I like how Mr. Vunak mostly keeps his fingers together during the slap. When demonstrating slaps, many SD/combatives instructors splay their fingers apart for some reason. IMO, splaying the fingers apart makes them vulnerable to being grabbed or getting caught on something. You also want to keep your weapon compact. And having the hand very slightly cupped while slapping increases the effect, especially to the ear.

The power slap can also be done to the jawline and the base of the skull.

https://youtube.com/shorts/9pNF1AztPao?feature=share

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Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#944

Post by Takuan »

James Y wrote:
Sat Sep 17, 2022 8:29 am
Ear Slap - Self-Defense - Paul Vunak

Mr. Vunak is 100% correct; in actual physical self-defense, simple is best. IMO, SD skills should be simple and highly-refined, meaning trained almost to the point of over-saturation. And there should not be too many options (for example, types of strikes). This means that SD skills will become second nature, and therefore, automatic actions/reactions.

I like how Mr. Vunak mostly keeps his fingers together during the slap. When demonstrating slaps, many SD/combatives instructors splay their fingers apart for some reason. IMO, splaying the fingers apart makes them vulnerable to being grabbed or getting caught on something. You also want to keep your weapon compact. And having the hand very slightly cupped while slapping increases the effect, especially to the ear.

The power slap can also be done to the jawline and the base of the skull.

https://youtube.com/shorts/9pNF1AztPao?feature=share

Jim
This is an excellent technique. My first JKD instructor, Jason Korol, was an instructor under Paul Vunak (and later under Ted Wong). He taught the slap this way. Burton Richardson, my main JKD instructor since 1999, also teaches the cupped hand and stresses that the base of the palm (the part you’d use to palm strike) should hit the mandible as the cupped part of the hand strikes the ear canal. This way, you double your chances of a KO.

I have thankfully never had to use the ear slap in a fight, but quite a few of my martial arts students have used it successfully, particularly those who have worked as bouncers. One of my college students trained in a self-defense seminar that I put on for our students who were going on foreign study. She had never trained martial arts before that seminar, so she only practiced the technique about 15 minutes total. A few weeks later, she was attacked on the streets of London by a man who grabbed her and tried to drag her into an alley. She slapped his ear, knocking him to the ground, and ran away unharmed.
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Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#945

Post by James Y »

Takuan wrote:
Sat Sep 17, 2022 4:46 pm
James Y wrote:
Sat Sep 17, 2022 8:29 am
Ear Slap - Self-Defense - Paul Vunak

Mr. Vunak is 100% correct; in actual physical self-defense, simple is best. IMO, SD skills should be simple and highly-refined, meaning trained almost to the point of over-saturation. And there should not be too many options (for example, types of strikes). This means that SD skills will become second nature, and therefore, automatic actions/reactions.

I like how Mr. Vunak mostly keeps his fingers together during the slap. When demonstrating slaps, many SD/combatives instructors splay their fingers apart for some reason. IMO, splaying the fingers apart makes them vulnerable to being grabbed or getting caught on something. You also want to keep your weapon compact. And having the hand very slightly cupped while slapping increases the effect, especially to the ear.

The power slap can also be done to the jawline and the base of the skull.

https://youtube.com/shorts/9pNF1AztPao?feature=share

Jim
This is an excellent technique. My first JKD instructor, Jason Korol, was an instructor under Paul Vunak (and later under Ted Wong). He taught the slap this way. Burton Richardson, my main JKD instructor since 1999, also teaches the cupped hand and stresses that the base of the palm (the part you’d use to palm strike) should hit the mandible as the cupped part of the hand strikes the ear canal. This way, you double your chances of a KO.

I have thankfully never had to use the ear slap in a fight, but quite a few of my martial arts students have used it successfully, particularly those who have worked as bouncers. One of my college students trained in a self-defense seminar that I put on for our students who were going on foreign study. She had never trained martial arts before that seminar, so she only practiced the technique about 15 minutes total. A few weeks later, she was attacked on the streets of London by a man who grabbed her and tried to drag her into an alley. She slapped his ear, knocking him to the ground, and ran away unharmed.

Thanks a lot for sharing, Takuan. I always enjoy hearing about how other people have applied skills effectively in real life.

Although I've never used an ear slap, I did KO a couple of guys with a single slap in separate fights, many years ago. I believe the slaps hit them on their jawlines. Not really self-defense, but stupid ego street fights that could have/should have been avoided. After both fights, I lived with anxiety for a few days, worrying if something REALLY bad had happened, because of the way the men in each case (one of whom was noticeably larger than me) had fallen to the ground. In each instance, they had dropped like a marionette that had its strings cut. But luckily, nothing worse came of either incident. Fortunately, I wised up after the second of those incidents.

A full-out power slap, properly applied, is no joke.

Jim
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Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#946

Post by James Y »

Oblique Kick - Paul Vunak

This is one of my favorite kicks. I never learned it in my Karate days; I first learned it when I began training in Chinese systems, where it is one of the basic kicks. It's also one of the most practical kicks. Some people also call it the cross kick.

The kick can be done in a thrusting manner, as Mr. Vunak shows, using the heel and bottom of foot to the knee or shin; another method of delivery is swinging it, stiff-legged, or slightly bent-legged, like a pendulum, using the inside edge of the foot to strike the shin. It can be used to check, block, kick, or kick and step down on, driving your full weight onto his knee, or drive the kick into his shin, and then scrape it down to his ankle.

The oblique kick works great in close quarters in conjunction with the hands pulling and/or striking at the same time.

https://youtube.com/shorts/u2Ml6hQfE8o?feature=share

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Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#947

Post by James Y »

Actor Tom Hardy Wins BJJ Tournament in Leicester, UK, August 2022

Congratulations to one of my favorite actors (on a very short list of favorite actors)!

https://youtu.be/4H72SacLOyc

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Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#948

Post by Takuan »

Go Mad Max! I’m pleased to see that he made those guys pay for pulling guard (being both a BJJ and Judo practitioner, I hate to see guard-pulling).
"We cannot live better than in seeking to become better."
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Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#949

Post by James Y »

Bruce Lee 1960s

Some rare (and some not-so-rare) photos and film clips from the 1960s of Bruce Lee working out and giving demonstrations.

https://youtu.be/LZB-j9YK0MU

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Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#950

Post by James Y »

Don't Underestimate Anyone

I've repeated the above phrase so many times during this thread, I thought I'd make an entire post about it. It's natural for MOST people to judge other people in terms of the potential dangers they can or can't pose, by their appearance, their physique (or lack of physique), their height, their weight, their race, their age, their outward personality, or their sex.

Even if your judgment is right some, or even a good amount of the time, I guarantee that you will NOT be right all of the time. I say this from personal experience of having seen, known, and/or dealt with many different types of people, both in and outside of the martial arts, over nearly five decades. Do not underestimate what someone may be capable of, because you really don't know. Some of the most dangerous people I ever knew also happened to be some of the most innocuous-looking. As they were, they might not have won a UFC match; but in real, non-sporting fights, they would tear up the majority of the civilized population, including a good percentage of black belt-level martial artists. Some had martial arts training and some didn't. They were either born that way, or had it bred into them from hard lives from a very young age.

I've seen as well as heard of too many instances IRL when physically fit, trained, confident, and aggressive tough guy types were severely injured or killed because they underestimated what someone was capable of, and how far they were willing to go in the space of a heartbeat. When you underestimate others, you've willingly tossed out half of your own potential ability to act or respond effectively. Developing and possessing genuine confidence is vital as a martial artist or sport fighter; but having over-confidence is like playing Russian Roulette. However, from my observation, "most" guys, especially most young guys, overestimate their own abilities, and severely underestimate others based on outer appearances. And this has become even more prevalent nowadays, where images and information on almost anything is available at the push of a button. Because what is being seen in this manner is not actually being experienced by the viewer, giving many viewers the false impression that they know everything...about the person, their capabilities, their methods, etc., when in fact, they don't.

Growing up and maturing out of this know-it-all mentality that is so common among many martial artists (and is even more common among the untrained couch potatoes who only watch MMA fighting and martial arts videos online but think they know everything), is one of the best tools for avoiding trouble in most instances.

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Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#951

Post by James Y »

'Kung Fu is 90% Wrestling'

*Video below

This guy is excellent, and is 100% correct. Most of what is seen in 'Kung Fu' is actually grappling, or grappling-related, including many things that appear to only be strikes or kicks. NOT necessarily ground grappling, but standing grappling, locking/trapping, sweeping, throwing, etc. This is something that most people who see some Kung Fu, and even a high percentage of teachers and practitioners themselves, are unaware of.

The grappling aspect is generally much more obvious in Northern Kung Fu systems, but is very much present in many Southern Kung Fu systems, particularly Choy Lee Fut, which, while a Southern system, is a combination of Northern and Southern systems. That Northern influence is not necessarily due to "northern kicks" that many like to say, but in the fighting principles that are heavy on throwing, and which many people misconstrue as simply "long-range, overextended, swinging punches and strikes." Which is one interpretation, but which is far less effective than the combination of close-quarter striking and grappling aspects, which many of Choy Lee Fut’s long, exaggerated movements represent.

The guy in the video is mostly demonstrating movements and applications from Baguazhang and Taijiquan (AKA, Tai Chi), but those same principles exist in a high number of Northern styles, and Northern-influenced styles.

https://youtu.be/YRNGj3FZvl8

Jim
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Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#952

Post by James Y »

Gorilla vs Lion vs Bear: Who Wins?

John Danaher and Lex Fridman

An interesting video that I saw posted on another forum, so I decided to share it here. As the gentleman who posted this video there said, I am also not condoning animal cruelty or anything of the sort. This is all mostly hypothetical discussion, anyway.

Many years ago, I heard testimony from an eyewitness who saw a Siberian tiger kill an adult brown bear in the wild.

Near the end, Lex Fridman (the one in the suit) seems to underestimate the damage an adult chimp can do. There isn't a human fighter alive who could beat an adult chimpanzee in a real fight. The image of chimpanzees that most people have is of goofy-looking chimps dressed to look like mini-humans. Without exception, those are juvenile chimps.

https://youtu.be/mo_OtuZVDz0

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Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#953

Post by Naperville »

James!!!!

I don't log in every day like I used too because the system keeps putting me in the dog house. Not sure what I'm doing wrong but I don't want to create extra work for the admins here, so I don't comment that often.

I appreciate you keeping this thread going. I read it all the time.
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Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#954

Post by max808 »

James Y wrote:
Sat Oct 15, 2022 12:29 pm
Gorilla vs Lion vs Bear: Who Wins?

John Danaher and Lex Fridman

An interesting video that I saw posted on another forum, so I decided to share it here. As the gentleman who posted this video there said, I am also not condoning animal cruelty or anything of the sort. This is all mostly hypothetical discussion, anyway.

Many years ago, I heard testimony from an eyewitness who saw a Siberian tiger kill an adult brown bear in the wild.

Near the end, Lex Fridman (the one in the suit) seems to underestimate the damage an adult chimp can do. There isn't a human fighter alive who could beat an adult chimpanzee in a real fight. The image of chimpanzees that most people have is of goofy-looking chimps dressed to look like mini-humans. Without exception, those are juvenile chimps.

https://youtu.be/mo_OtuZVDz0

Jim
Thanks for sharing Jim. I won't bother to watch this video cuz I feel like Mr. Danaher has more valuable lessons to teach. Like his explanation of (B)JJ as a 4-step system, basically get down, get past the legs, secure a dominant position and dominate/submit. Also youngman Fridman tends to be a bit juvenile and clickbaity in his questioning, but that's just me probably. It seems Danaher Death Squad has been getting a lot of attention lately on account of its prodigal son Gordon Ryan who's been dominating the competitive circuit at quite a young age and has the physique of a demi-god. That said I agree even he would get ripped to pieces by an adult chimp.

Have a great weekend Sir,
max
MNOSD 0047 - mens sana in corpore sano -
Do more than is required of you . Patton
For man's only weapon is courage that flinches not from the gates of **** itself, and against such not even the legions of **** can stand. Robert E. Howard
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Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#955

Post by James Y »

max808 wrote:
Sat Oct 15, 2022 4:42 pm
James Y wrote:
Sat Oct 15, 2022 12:29 pm
Gorilla vs Lion vs Bear: Who Wins?

John Danaher and Lex Fridman

An interesting video that I saw posted on another forum, so I decided to share it here. As the gentleman who posted this video there said, I am also not condoning animal cruelty or anything of the sort. This is all mostly hypothetical discussion, anyway.

Many years ago, I heard testimony from an eyewitness who saw a Siberian tiger kill an adult brown bear in the wild.

Near the end, Lex Fridman (the one in the suit) seems to underestimate the damage an adult chimp can do. There isn't a human fighter alive who could beat an adult chimpanzee in a real fight. The image of chimpanzees that most people have is of goofy-looking chimps dressed to look like mini-humans. Without exception, those are juvenile chimps.

https://youtu.be/mo_OtuZVDz0

Jim
Thanks for sharing Jim. I won't bother to watch this video cuz I feel like Mr. Danaher has more valuable lessons to teach. Like his explanation of (B)JJ as a 4-step system, basically get down, get past the legs, secure a dominant position and dominate/submit. Also youngman Fridman tends to be a bit juvenile and clickbaity in his questioning, but that's just me probably. It seems Danaher Death Squad has been getting a lot of attention lately on account of its prodigal son Gordon Ryan who's been dominating the competitive circuit at quite a young age and has the physique of a demi-god. That said I agree even he would get ripped to pieces by an adult chimp.

Have a great weekend Sir,
max

Greetings, Max! Thanks for posting.

Actually, John Danaher has some rather interesting and intelligent observations about various animals in the video. Clearly, he was at least prepared for this discussion. Yes, Fridman asks some dumb questions, but you might find what Danaher has to say to be more interesting than you might expect. And yes, near the end, Danaher states that Gordon Ryan would stand zero chance in a fight against a bear, a lion, or a chimp.

You have a great weekend too, Max.

Jim
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Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#956

Post by max808 »

James Y wrote:
Sat Oct 15, 2022 6:43 pm
max808 wrote:
Sat Oct 15, 2022 4:42 pm
James Y wrote:
Sat Oct 15, 2022 12:29 pm
Gorilla vs Lion vs Bear: Who Wins?

John Danaher and Lex Fridman

An interesting video that I saw posted on another forum, so I decided to share it here. As the gentleman who posted this video there said, I am also not condoning animal cruelty or anything of the sort. This is all mostly hypothetical discussion, anyway.

Many years ago, I heard testimony from an eyewitness who saw a Siberian tiger kill an adult brown bear in the wild.

Near the end, Lex Fridman (the one in the suit) seems to underestimate the damage an adult chimp can do. There isn't a human fighter alive who could beat an adult chimpanzee in a real fight. The image of chimpanzees that most people have is of goofy-looking chimps dressed to look like mini-humans. Without exception, those are juvenile chimps.

https://youtu.be/mo_OtuZVDz0

Jim
Thanks for sharing Jim. I won't bother to watch this video cuz I feel like Mr. Danaher has more valuable lessons to teach. Like his explanation of (B)JJ as a 4-step system, basically get down, get past the legs, secure a dominant position and dominate/submit. Also youngman Fridman tends to be a bit juvenile and clickbaity in his questioning, but that's just me probably. It seems Danaher Death Squad has been getting a lot of attention lately on account of its prodigal son Gordon Ryan who's been dominating the competitive circuit at quite a young age and has the physique of a demi-god. That said I agree even he would get ripped to pieces by an adult chimp.

Have a great weekend Sir,
max

Greetings, Max! Thanks for posting.

Actually, John Danaher has some rather interesting and intelligent observations about various animals in the video. Clearly, he was at least prepared for this discussion. Yes, Fridman asks some dumb questions, but you might find what Danaher has to say to be more interesting than you might expect. And yes, near the end, Danaher states that Gordon Ryan would stand zero chance in a fight against a bear, a lion, or a chimp.

You have a great weekend too, Max.

Jim
Thanks Jim, it sure was a great weekend. I did follow up on your other thread and watched a long dogman video. If those are real, I think even Olivier Richters versus one of them would be a no contest, and he's over 7 feet tall.

Enjoy your Sunday Sir,
max
MNOSD 0047 - mens sana in corpore sano -
Do more than is required of you . Patton
For man's only weapon is courage that flinches not from the gates of **** itself, and against such not even the legions of **** can stand. Robert E. Howard
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Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#957

Post by James Y »

Hi, Max.

There isn't a man on earth, no matter how big, tall, muscular, or powerful he is, who could beat an adult chimpanzee in a fight. A chimp would easily mutilate Olivier Richters.

A man would amount to even less bare-handed (and according to some accounts, even armed) against a Dogman or Bigfoot creature, if they are real (and I believe they are), and if the creature decided to attack. People can laugh if they want. It wouldn't be funny to them if it was happening. I've seen 'manly' men who were former skeptics get emotional and start crying when they recalled encountering Bigfoot or Dogman creatures that never even showed aggression towards them; or did show aggressive behavior but didn't physically attack them. But this is straying WAY OT and into that other thread's territory.

Jim
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Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#958

Post by James Y »

Fighting Out of Cover With a Little Lethwei Influence (with Lee Morrison)

https://youtu.be/KlKL_WxMMKM

Jim
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Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#959

Post by max808 »

James Y wrote:
Sun Oct 16, 2022 7:27 pm
Hi, Max.

There isn't a man on earth, no matter how big, tall, muscular, or powerful he is, who could beat an adult chimpanzee in a fight. A chimp would easily mutilate Olivier Richters.

A man would amount to even less bare-handed (and according to some accounts, even armed) against a Dogman or Bigfoot creature, if they are real (and I believe they are), and if the creature decided to attack. People can laugh if they want. It wouldn't be funny to them if it was happening. I've seen 'manly' men who were former skeptics get emotional and start crying when they recalled encountering Bigfoot or Dogman creatures that never even showed aggression towards them; or did show aggressive behavior but didn't physically attack them. But this is straying WAY OT and into that other thread's territory.

Jim
Thanks for your explanation Jim, still on the fence but honestly found the dogman documentary very compelling. Being a bit of a amateur image analist I couldn't find any suspicious artefacts that would indicate image manipulation, which is admittedly quite a silly thing to say in this day and age of deep fakes. Then again a lone wolf has to pet himself on the back sometimes in the absence of a pack. On a related note, did you see the recent video of a climber getting attacked by a bear? People were criticizing him for not carrying a firearm into bear country, but let me tell you he nearly perfectly tai sabaki'd that bear off the ledge and managed to kick him off several times while screaming like a maniac before the bear scattered. So he gets a lot of points from me strictly for his survival instincts, even though just a single stack .45 would've been a force multiplier. Pretty sure they both learned a valuable lesson.

You have a good one Sir,
max
MNOSD 0047 - mens sana in corpore sano -
Do more than is required of you . Patton
For man's only weapon is courage that flinches not from the gates of **** itself, and against such not even the legions of **** can stand. Robert E. Howard
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Re: Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

#960

Post by James Y »

max808 wrote:
Wed Oct 19, 2022 6:18 am
James Y wrote:
Sun Oct 16, 2022 7:27 pm
Hi, Max.

There isn't a man on earth, no matter how big, tall, muscular, or powerful he is, who could beat an adult chimpanzee in a fight. A chimp would easily mutilate Olivier Richters.

A man would amount to even less bare-handed (and according to some accounts, even armed) against a Dogman or Bigfoot creature, if they are real (and I believe they are), and if the creature decided to attack. People can laugh if they want. It wouldn't be funny to them if it was happening. I've seen 'manly' men who were former skeptics get emotional and start crying when they recalled encountering Bigfoot or Dogman creatures that never even showed aggression towards them; or did show aggressive behavior but didn't physically attack them. But this is straying WAY OT and into that other thread's territory.

Jim
Thanks for your explanation Jim, still on the fence but honestly found the dogman documentary very compelling. Being a bit of a amateur image analist I couldn't find any suspicious artefacts that would indicate image manipulation, which is admittedly quite a silly thing to say in this day and age of deep fakes. Then again a lone wolf has to pet himself on the back sometimes in the absence of a pack. On a related note, did you see the recent video of a climber getting attacked by a bear? People were criticizing him for not carrying a firearm into bear country, but let me tell you he nearly perfectly tai sabaki'd that bear off the ledge and managed to kick him off several times while screaming like a maniac before the bear scattered. So he gets a lot of points from me strictly for his survival instincts, even though just a single stack .45 would've been a force multiplier. Pretty sure they both learned a valuable lesson.

You have a good one Sir,
max

Hi, Max.

Yes, I saw that video of the climber in Japan who got attacked by the bear, and fought it off by repeatedly kicking it down the steep, rocky mountaintop, while yelling loudly. That man reacted perfectly in that situation, and he was extremely fortunate that he was able to keep the bear down below him, down the rocky slope.

Anybody who criticizes him for not carrying a gun is an idiot. The incident happened in Japan, and the climber is Japanese. Gun laws (and knife carry laws) in Japan are *extremely* strict, and guns are *extremely* difficult for the vast majority of citizens to acquire in Japan, even compared to the strictest gun laws in the US. The chances of a Japanese mountain climber in Japan having access to a gun to carry for protection are most likely slim to none.

That climber did the best job of defending himself as anybody could have hoped for in that particular situation. He certainly did much better than any of his armchair warrior critics would have done if they were in his shoes. However, there are also a lot of people praising him for reacting perfectly.

Here's the video:

https://youtu.be/fxJ-zAgJzt4

Have a great week yourself, Max.

Jim
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