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While it might not technically be vegan, I’d be willing to give it the old “ominus dominus.”  Though some will surely disagree, my issue with consuming animal products is based in the practices of the meat and dairy industries in America and other developed countries; factory farming, in particular.  It is their irreverence for life and unnecessary cruelty that are the problem.  I do not believe for a second that all people everywhere should abstain from animal based diets.  Veganism is a luxury that we have while living in a consumer driven country.  Many people throughout the world do not have that luxury.

What I challenge all vegans to consider, is that eating vegan is not always the most responsible dietary choice.  Consider this story I heard from my friend Krissi Green.  Her friends were in Hawaii on vacation.  At one point they were out to lunch at a local restaurant.  The man, whose name I can’t recall orders the mahi mahi and his wife orders a tofu dish.  Which is the more responsible choice?  The mahi was caught wild that day, by a local fisherman with one boat.  The tofu started as soybeans grown in Iowa.  During the process, the soil was tilled and fertilized, seeds were planted, crops were irrigated, harvested, shipped, processed, packaged in plastic, shipped again and only then does it arrive at the restaurant.  Which meal required the lives of more animals, directly or indirectly?  Which meal had a more profound affect on the source ecosystem?

I have been vegan for a very long time and I feel there is merit to maintaining that diet, however we seem to overlook the overwhelming negative affects that our agricultural practices have on the environment and human and non-human animals.  Would the worldwide acceptance of a vegan diet be any more sustainable than the current omnivorous one?  I think there is a strong argument to be made, that hunting or fishing for the meat that you eat and growing your own vegetables would, over a lifetime, lead to less unnecessary suffering than 90% of the diets vegans maintain today.  I know this is idealistic, and I am not trying to convert vegans to meat eaters.  I am only trying to promote real pragmatic thought about the goals you hope to achieve and whether those goals can or even should be met by your current diet.  When it is all said and done, eat responsibly and with intent.

As far as eating people…I don’t recommend it, but I guess if you kill them with your bare hands, it’s vegan.

Capitalism.  Companies focus all of their energies convincing us that we need all sorts of things.  For women, one of those things happens to be shoes.  I don’t blame them.  We have all been indoctrinated into consumerism basically since birth.  Barbie dolls, GI Joe, whatever.  The short answer is that they have been duped by an elaborate plot so compelling that they actually believe they posses that “insatiable lust for shoes.”  Sadly they are only trying to fill an emotional need that can not be met by anything purchased.  Sadly, we all do it.  Even those of us who are aware of marketing practices.  I really do like capitalism, but I admit that the free market has been compromised by the manipulation of the “demand” aspect of supply and demand.

“Are you laughing or are you buying it?”–Ray Cappo

Thank you Chris.  There are advantages and disadvantages to both.  Seitan tends to be higher in protein, versatile, and is easy to make at home.  The drawback is that it is farther removed from the whole-food source.  The primary ingredient is wheat gluten flower.  While flour is quite simply, ground wheat berries, wheat gluten flower requires additional processing to isolate the gluten.  Tempeh, on the other hand is made from whole soy beans.  This gives gives it a considerable advantage over it’s more processed counterpart.  Furthering its case, tempeh is a cultured product.  The fermentation that takes place helps to “pre-digest” parts of the bean which facilitates the absorption of nutrients.  Tempeh is also much higher in fiber and lower in sodium than seitan and most other foods, for that matter.  The main drawback to tempeh, is the difficulty in making it at home.  There is a steep learning curve for growing your own cultures.  The temperature ranges necessary to maintain a stable culture require special equipment.  Seitan, on the other hand, is much like making bread.  It requires only a bowl and possibly a pot, depending on the recipe.  This gives seitan a leg up in the area of  cost effectiveness.  To buy the tempeh equivalent to the amount of seitan I use weekly, would land me in the poor house.  Additionally, making your seitan at home allows you to control the use of sodium and preservatives, which offsets some of its disadvantages.  All in all, I admit that tempeh is a better protein source from a health standpoint, but I prefer seitan for its flavor, versatility and cost.  Below is a link to one of my favorite seitan recipes.  It is highly adaptable to any flavors you would like to include.

http://www.postpunkkitchen.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=15959&p=1

I thought you were going to challenge me.  It is obviously Kurt Engle.  OK, Seriously…this a broad question.  There are countless considerations, such as, the most skilled, or the most successful in competition.  Likewise it could be the one who developed the most revolutionary techniques, or the one who has had the greatest influence on grappling.  By these standards, I’m inclined to nominate Rickson Gracie, qualified by his undefeated record in four hundred plus fights.  I might also nominate Helio Gracie for his influence on contemporary grappling.  Through careful deliberation I have not chosen Rickson or Helio despite their obvious qualifications.

Linguistic dissection of the question affords me considerable latitude in my choice.  Obviously the superlative “greatest” is meant to be applied to “grapple” plus the inflection “-er,” or one who grapples, but it does not explicitly indicate that this individual must be greatest at grappling.  Considering this convenient oversight, I choose to read this question:  Who is the greatest person who grapples or has ever grappled?  With that in mind, I cannot think of a better choice than Theodore Roosevelt.  Not only is he a bad ass, but a great American.  He was surely the greatest man I know of who was also a grappler.  Argue amongst yourselves if you must, but for me the matter is certainly decided.  Below is an excerpt from a letter he sent to his son.

In addition to training as a weightlifter, boxer, wrestler, fencer, and (of course) shooter, Roosevelt was a student of judo/jiujitsu. He lined the White House recreation room with mats to train in jiujitsu, creating what may have been the first Western dojo.

From a letter to son Kermit, dated 02/24/1905:

Yesterday afternoon we had Professor Yamashita up here to wrestle with Grant. It was very interesting, but of course jiu jitsu and our wrestling are so far apart that it is difficult to make any comparison between them. Wrestling is simply a sport with rules almost as conventional as those of tennis, while jiu jitsu is really meant for practice in killing or disabling our adversary. In consequence, Grant did not know what to do except to put Yamashita on his back, and Yamashita was perfectly content to be on his back. Inside of a minute Yamashita had choked Grant, and inside of two minutes more he got an elbow hold on him that would have enabled him to break his arm; so that there is no question but that he could have put Grant out. So far this made it evident that the jiu jitsu man could handle the ordinary wrestler. But Grant, in the actual wrestling and throwing was about as good as the Japanese, and he was so much stronger that he evidently hurt and wore out the Japanese. With a little practice in the art I am sure that one of our big wrestlers or boxers, simply because of his greatly superior strength, would be able to kill any of those Japanese, who though very good men for their inches and pounds are altogether too small to hold their own against big, powerful, quick men who are well trained.

From “Theodore Roosevelt’s Letters to His Children” edited by Joseph Bishop.

My friend, you test me, as you are unequivocally more qualified on this matter, but supposing that this is more a riddle than a question, the “best” submission from the mount is the one your opponent gives you. I would also contend that any submission that does not compromise your position in the attempt is superior to one that does. This being said, a standard arm bar is less ideal than a belly down arm bar or choke.

My personal favorite is the triangle choke. By allowing an opening I encourage an attempt to escape out the back. This affords me several options including the opportunity to maintain a dominant position if I should miss the attempt.  Here is an example of the fine gentlemen at Submissions 101 demonstrating the technique.

Bear in mind, this video shows falling to the back to complete the submission which is not necessary and compromises your position.  I suggest finishing it from the top.

Now that I have made my case, I would like to know your thoughts.

Ok, so here is the idea.  I have a broad range of interests and expertise, and I am interested in imparting whatever wisdom I may have to whomever may need it.  Nothing is explicitly off the table.  If it happens to be an area where I lack, I will research a reliable source to satisfy your query.  I expect that queries, while not limited to, will largely be regarding my opinion on one matter or another.  Please consider that in most cases, I am not inclined toward the use of euphemisms and am less inclined to tell you only what you want to hear.  If you don’t really want to know, I suggest you direct your question elsewhere.  That being said, lets get the ball rolling.  Here’s how it will work:  Send your queries directly, through the Ask Keller Form at the top of the page.  I will get back to you if I feel clarification is necessary.  In absence of extenuating circumstances you can expect an answer within 24 hours.  Please do not leave questions in a comment, as they may go unnoticed.

If I might recommend some topics:  Travel, Veganism, Fitness, Interior Design, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, Marine Corps, Straightedge and Literature are ripe choices.