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The biggest problem with cannibalism, is that you spread certain diseases more easily. Things like Mad Cow Disease, is an example, bus just similar things applied to humans. If there is this Extinction Level Event (ELE) then we need to ensure the gene-pool survive, I mean make use of it, to get rid of AIDS. But then we are back at the level where the NAZI's where and that is a loss in humanity no matter how you look at it.

Arguably the strongest will survive, but the sum-of-the-parts will be lower then the whole. The people we need to survive is not necessarily the "strong". Nerds and geeks is what we need, basically a lot of engineers (yup, I am an Engineer), and then physical labor to build things quick or sacrifice themselves for the greater good, like the firemen of Chernobyl. Have you ever considered what will happen once there are no people to look after Nuclear Power plants, I would imagine in a countries like the USA these plants are geographically so densely distributed that if one fails the fall-out will trigger evacuations and thus failures of the others in close proximity, ultimately leaving you with a cascading domino-effect.

The people that you will need to solve this type of problem is not really the "strong". I would imagine, the "red-necks" will probably have the highest change of survival but then humanity will be gone, and we will be back in the dark ages.

I would imagine either things turnout or at least start to happen as it did in the movies, Deep Impact (FEMA) and possibly a messed up society as in Twelve Monkeys or even Mad Max.

As an engineer my biggest problem, would be to effectively restart our technology level in preferably less then 10 years. Else we might loose it altogether. Knowledge transfer would be important, else we might have a society like The Postman or the TV series, Jerimaia. The problem with most of today's technology is that the components are extremely specialized, you need high-tech to replicate them, and most parts are incremental improvements on a previous version. For example, you need a C compiler, to compile the new-improved C compiler. Some technologies are extremely recursive in this manner. So to the point that if a crucial part is lost, it might be lost forever. Basically how many technologies, can you start from ground principles ?

Things like a surface mount sintered Tantalum Cap, or a microprocessor, or even a DVD reader, to learn new generations about reading, math, etc. Can you restore your backups ? Maybe without the magnetic mantle we might have a huge EM pulse that messes up all magnetically stored data. If the step-function input is too big, we might be back in the dark ages.

Ok one part of me feel like, yeah !!! But it is the transients before we get there that scares me.

Aikido isn't a "get in your face" type of martial art, it's more of a "take your opponent down as fast as possible with adding as little of your own energy as possible" kind of art. EVERYTHING is taught by example and partner/group work.
Very cool stuff. Here for more information

They have been replaced by Japanese riot cops practicing Aikido, a fighting philosophy where there is neither victor nor vanquished.

Aikido isn't for fighting -- it's a defensive martial art whose purpose is to gently take down your opponent using a variety of joint locks, etc.

http://www.aikidofaq.com/

Interesting.

He earned a black belt in tae kwon do with less than four years of training.

I am so fuming mad after reading this line, I can't even read the rest of the article.

The problem with modern martial arts is the tendency to emphasize the art instead of the martial. The men who developed those "styles" centuries ago were warriors, and that's why the military remains among the best sources for practical hand-to-hand training. Founders of the martial arts were also often killers: Chinese organized crime still contains some of the best kung-fu masters alive. When warriors and killers trained, they trained to fight.

But nowadays the Self-Esteem Academy at every other strip mall is a place for little Jennifer and Kelly to spend a few hours until Mommy arrives in her minivan. Those kids -- the typical martial arts student in modern America -- may learn self-discipline, build confidence, and gain a certain amount of fitness on their ways to black belts.

But can they fight?

I've known a handful of black belts whom I wouldn't attempt to tackle with anything less than a 12-gauge. I've also known plenty of others whom I could take with a teaspoon. Face facts: a black belt used to mean that the man wearing it was hell in any back alley brawl, but nowadays cripples, old ladies, and kids wear them.

To quote from What does a black belt really mean?:

Through the popularity of this column, I get correspondence from all over the country. And the most commonly asked question is, "How long does it take to get a black belt?"I don't know how this question is answered in other schools, but my students know that asking such a question in my dojo would set them back several years in their training. It would be a disaster.

Most people would be overjoyed if I would say it takes just a couple of years to get a black belt, but unfortunately it does not. And though I am afraid most people would not be happy with my answer, I think the general misconceptions about "what is a black belt?" should be clarified as much as possible. This is not a popular subject to discuss in the way I am going to. Indeed, I warn my students not to ask the question in the first place. The answer is not what they want to hear.

How do you get a black belt? You find a competent teacher and a good school, begin training and work hard. Someday, who knows when, it will come. It is not easy, but it's worth it. It may take one year; it may take ten years. You may never achieve it. When you come to realize that the black belt is not as important as the practice itself, you are probably approaching black belt level. When you realize that no matter how long or how hard you train, there is a lifetime of study and practice ahead of you until you die, you are probably getting close to a black belt.

At whatever level you achieve, if you think you "deserve" a black belt, or if you think you are now "good enough" to be a black belt, you are way off the mark, and, indeed a very long way from reaching your black belt. Train hard, be humble, don't show off in front of your teacher or other students, don't complain about any task and do your best in everything in your life. This is what it means to be a black belt. To be overconfident, to show off your skill, to be competitive, to look down on others, to show a lack of respect, and to pick and chose what you do and don't do (believing that some jobs are beneath your dignity) characterize the student who will never achieve black belt. What they wear around their waist is simply a piece of merchandise brought for a few dollars in a martial arts supply store. The real black belt, worn by a real black belt holder, is the white belt of a beginner, turned black by the colour of his blood and sweat.
KTS:Lover, Poet, Artiste, Aesthete, Utensil.

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