Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
When I first started martial arts with a Shotokan karate class at our local junior college, the instructor handed out an article for everyone to read. The article covered a study with statistics. The study found that out of every 10,000 martial arts students only 100 would go on to earn black belts. Most beginning students quit after six months
On May 11, 1931, Fritz Lang’s classic film M (affiliate link) was released in Berlin, Germany. Besides being on most lists for the top 100 films of all time, Fritz Lang believed his finest film was M (1931). The film is the story of a series of child murders that are occurring in Berlin. The police are determined to catch
St. Louis Chief of Detectives William Desmond had respect for the “old school criminals”, who plied their trade in St. Louis during the late 19th Century. However, he did not have the same degree of respect for the thug tactics of the “new school criminals”. These criminals made up for a lack of finesse with great violence. Chief Desmond said
Also known at The Sleeping Cardinal, Sherlock Holmes’ Fatal Hour (1931) is the first Sherlock Holmes film (affiliate link) starring Arthur Wontner in the title role. The film concerns a young man, who has been cheating at bridge to regain his lost wealth. Professor Moriarty uses the information in an attempt to blackmail the young man Ronald Adair, portrayed
For the Sunday, June 24, 1900 edition of the St. Louis Republic, a reporter interviewed St. Louis Chief of Detectives William Desmond about the increasing violence of the new criminal. After 10 years as St. Louis Chief of Detectives and one of the most noted thief takers in United States, Chief Desmond lamented the increasing violence he was seeing out