The first of an occasional series in which I talk to experienced martial artists about their history, their vision of their art and the martial arts in general, and why it's about a lot more than developing fighting skills.

Steve is one of the most well-known and respected martial artists in Britain and across the globe. We talk here about his history, the importance of the "internal" element of the martial arts - to all practitioners, not just doing the more overtly "philosophical" disciplines - and, of course, a little bit of politics and the Martial Artists Against Racism project.

Here are links to some of the martial artists that Steve mentions:

https://steve-rowe.com/2022/09/22/okimitsu-fuji/

http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/spotlight-toru-takamizawa-the-quiet-sensei-of-wado-ryu/

https://shinbukan.org.uk/?page_id=65

https://yeungfamilytaichi.com/blog/my-first-meeting-with-yeung-ma-lee-sifu/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu2wy7LgMUg

Some of Steve's books and articles:

Soft Front Strong Back

Concepts of Karate

Articles

Some videos:

Steve Rowe YouTube

Martial Artists Against Racism:

Statement of Intent

Myths about Immigration and Refugees

The Venezuelan working class and the Communist Party (PCV) are being attacked by the ruling Socialist Party.

In this podcast, Stewart McGill talks to Paul Dobson, a member of the Central Committee of the PCV. Paul describes starkly and succinctly the nature of the attacks, and asks people to spend some time trying to understand the situation. He also talks about the splits in the Socialist Party (PSUV) and how the crisis could lead to a right-wing victory in the presidential elections later in 2024.

The received perception is that Venezuela has a left-wing government: listen, think again, and always seek understanding beyond your immediate perception.

Some more information to help with that:

Class Struggle Sharpens as Minimum Wage Dismantled

Anti-Communist Attack During President Maduro’s Annual Message to the National Assembly

PSUV Prepares Assault on PCV’s Lawmaker in National Assembly

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⁠The Spartacus League

In this cast I talk to Stiofán Ó Nualláin and Seán Byers from Trademark Belfast about the prospects for the 32 counties of Ireland over the forthcoming years/ decades on a burning planet.

See more about Trademark here:

https://trademarkbelfast.com/

and here for their excellent podcasts:

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/trademark-belfast

and this is Seán's book, check it out:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Se%C3%A1n-Murray-Marxist-Leninist-Socialist-Republican/dp/0716532972

The first of our new Spartacus League podcasts. This features Roger Mackenzie, the international editor of the Morning Star, and Aston Villa fan.

The podcast was recorded just after the first reports of the explosion at al-Ahli Arab hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip, so we talked about that and the situation in Gaza more than we originally intended; but it all fitted in with the themes and the intent of the podcast.

Some Links to the people and books that we referred to in the podcast:

Walter Rodney:

https://www.walterrodneyfoundation.org/about-walter-rodney

Saklatvala:

https://phm.org.uk/blogposts/shapurji-saklatvala-an-anti-colonialist-in-the-heart-of-empire/

https://www.historicalmaterialism.org/node/1830

Priyamvada Gopal:

https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/207-insurgent-empire

Hammer and Hoe:

https://uncpress.org/book/9781469625485/hammer-and-hoe/

The Cry was Unity:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt2tv8sr

Aimé Césaire:

https://afroribooks.co.uk/products/discourse-on-colonialism-by-aime-cesaire

https://abahlali.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/153945859-Aime-Cesaire-Letter-to-Maurice-Thorez-1956.pdf

Marx at the Margins:

https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo22776846.html

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The Spartacus League

A special episode in which Communist Party of Britain General Secretary Rob Griffiths and Convenor of the party’s Political Economy Commission Stewart McGill discuss the unfolding crisis in Ukraine: how we got here and how we can work for peace. This is the comprehensive analysis based on current and historical fact that the supine mainstream media will not provide and is essential listening for those wishing to enhance their understanding of this complex situation.

Further Reading:

https://sceptical.scot/2022/01/a-crisis-made-in-the-usa-why-russia-will-likely-invade-ukraine/?fbclid=IwAR0IptagsZIFgQcIMJ0bH1gfgTIeRyzgvdPMpXhl6AIX7n2DqyspvBY2iO0

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.thenation.com/article/archive/four-years-of-ukraine-and-the-myths-of-maidan/tnamp/

https://adamtooze.substack.com/p/chartbook-68-putins-challenge-to?utm_source=url

https://ctc.usma.edu/the-nexus-between-far-right-extremists-in-the-united-states-and-ukraine/

https://jacobinmag.com/2022/02/maidan-protests-neo-nazis-russia-nato-crimea

https://www.rt.com/news/156652-odessa-fire-mainstream-media/

Nothing embodies the idea of sport as politics pursued by other means so clearly, and painfully, as the 1932/1933 cricket tour of Australia by the MCC.  This story has everything: class struggle and prejudice: camaraderie across the class divide; the attempt of a decadent empire to exert control over its uppity colony at a time of economic crisis; the wonderful complexity of Douglas Jardine who hated Australians from above but was always a good friend to the Nottinghamshire miner, Harold Larwood; the secret illegitimate child of the chairman of England selectors bowling for England in the series; splits in the Australian team based around hatred of Bradman and ill feeling between the Irish Catholics and the Free Masons in the camp; all that and some great cricket featuring some of the best who ever played the game.  Apart from the fascinating politics this is one of the best Australian soap operas you will ever encounter.

Nothing embodies the idea of sport as politics pursued by other means so clearly, and painfully, as the 1932/1933 cricket tour of Australia by the MCC.

You may not like bicycles, you may not be that keen on cyclists, but the history of cycling and its impact is fascinating, and radical. In the second of this two-parter  we talk to Les Doherty of the mighty pedal4progress about that history .

You may not like bicycles, you may not be that keen on cyclists, but the history of cycling and its impact is fascinating, and radical. In this two-part episode we talk to Les Doherty of the mighty pedal4progress about that history, more next week.

At the same time, marriages among people who lived between six and 12 miles apart doubled. But, Perry pointed out that “It must equally be remembered that, as late as 1927-36, three-quarters of all working-class marriages were to a distance of less than 12 miles.”

Perry concluded that the greater genetic diversity brought about by the change in distance between marriage partners was caused by the arrival of the bicycle.

In this Red Caste we talk to Professor Collins about his Sport in Capitalist Society, a book which could be the text book for this series.

His books have won the Aberdare Prize for Sports History four times since 1999 and he has been a consultant to numerous TV and radio programmes including the excellent Codebreakers about Welsh Rugby union players who went north to play for League clubs. 

In March 2018 he began the weekly Rugby Reloaded podcast on the history of rugby and the other football codes, which is highly recommended. 

His latest book is Rugby League: A People’s History,  published in July 2020. He is a prolific author  some of his books are listed here: