Why I Studied the Martial Arts I Have

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We included four or more martial arts in our academy’s curriculum.  When I look at these arts, I see a distinct reason that I studied each one.  These arts cover striking, grappling, ground fighting and a practical self-defense weapon, the cane. I started studying Shotokan karate in the Fall of 1994.  I switched to Taekwondo with my nephew in the Spring of 1995.  Taekwondo brought

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Boss Butler and the St. Louis Machine

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When it comes to machine politics and organized crime, Kansas City has always outshone St. Louis.  Kansas City’s Pendergast political machine helped land Harry S. Truman in the White House.  Kansas City was also home to several high-profile gangland shootings.  St. Louis’ last organized crime leader was arrested for playing cards. We did have a Democratic party political machine around

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Detective Desmond Catches Eddie Guerin

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Before he was the “Sherlock Holmes of St. Louis”, St. Louis Chief of Detectives William Desmond was Detective “Billy” Desmond.  One of the most talented detectives in St. Louis Police history, Desmond met one of the most famous international criminals in history, Eddie Guerin, in the mid-1880s. Guerin robbed the American Express Office in Paris in the early 1900s.  French

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William Muldoon Defeats Local Wrestler

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William Muldoon, the World Greco-Roman Wrestling Champion and physical culture proponent, came to Los Angeles on Tuesday, April 15, 1884 to face the local wrestler Fred Bauer.  The match took place at the local Turnvereine Hall in Los Angeles.  Muldoon was so confident of victory that he stipulated that he would throw Bauer ten times within an hour or he

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