In 1990, David Bassler intended to build a cozy log cabin somewhere on the 11 acres of rustic and picturesque property he and his wife came to purchase. Snuggled neatly along the Bitterroot River, home to compact rows of fruit orchards, the property seemed well-suited for such a quaint architectural undertaking.

At that time, Bassler knew practically nothing about earthships, the ultimate in eco-homes. Subsequently, a friend convinced the Florence man to come along to New Mexico and attend a three-day seminar on earthships. Very much enchanting, New Mexico is also known as home to many visionaries, eccentrics and renegades, including Michael Reynolds, the mastermind behind the concept of earthships. Taking place in Taos, unofficially the earthship capital of the country, the extended conference firmly planted a few salient ideas in Bassler’s head.

“Taos is a pretty interesting place,” says Bassler. “Going there opened up my eyes; I have an M.S. in environmental studies and never really heard much about earthships until going there.”

Built largely of earth and recycled materials, an earthship is, in reality, an environmentalist’s brainstorm. Looking familiar to structures found in third-world countries, congruent to the mud-built huts prominent in Pakistan and India, such dwellings are constructed using largely the byproducts of modern culture, like cans, bottles and tires. Sporting an otherworldly appeal, these structures stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and use very few natural resources.

“Earthships actually exist in almost every state and in many countries around the world, and in virtually every climate that’s habitable,” says Bassler.

While these otherworldly homes resemble something from the future, earthships are inextricably linked to the past, dating back 1,000 years: The Pueblo Indians can still be found living up and down the Rio Grande valley in matching adobe villages, the oldest inhabited arrangements in all the Americas.

Indeed, living in an earthship, a wholly independent and globally-oriented dwelling created from materials indigenous to the entire planet, sounded tempting to Bassler. But first, Bassler tested the waters by applying this newfound knowledge and building an earthship greenhouse.

Built into a berm, the greenhouse project involved some elementary building techniques and a few basic tools, including a wheel barrow, a sledge hammer and a shovel. What the project lacked in technical expertise, however, it made up for in physical exertion.

“I gained lots of experience putting the greenhouse together,” says Bassler, who also holds a B.A. in philosophy, and a B.S. in geology.  

Finishing the greenhouse gave Bassler the confidence to tackle a larger and more laborious task, specifically, creating a home adhering to the design principles of an earthship. The earthship’s major structural building component is recycled automobile tires filled with compacted earth, forming a rammed earth brick that’s encased in steel belted rubber. The brick and the resulting load bearing walls form a substance that’s nearly irrefragable.

Bassler’s earthship residence broke ground in 1997. 800 tires full of rammed dirt and 8,000 cans later, the structure began resembling a home.

Each detail of the earthship is rendered with the sort of craftsmanship that might gain praise in a science or engineering class. The range of Bassler’s creation reflects a man who felt very keenly the pull of divergent sensibilities and styles, but his aesthetic achievement never crystallizes into a singular outlook.

He perfected the use of empty aluminum cans by mortaring them into lightweight, curvable walls. All the interior walls are mud plastered. The outside walls are concrete and stucco. Infill supports the ceiling logs, the west wall and the surrounding windows. Inside there’s a large circular living room, bedroom and kitchen.

The primary inside retaining walls are constructed from used tires, filled with earth and stacked up like bricks. The outsides of the tires are then plastered with adobe and concrete, which are two cans thick, forming a narrow insulation cavity, this way the tires can’t be seen. The cans and concrete walls forming the bathroom are freeform style, meaning they were built using curves and domes, one handful at a time.

Like nearly all other Earthships, the structure has slanting south-facing windows, giving visitors inside the feeling that there’s nothing between them and never-ending space. It is a quiet and oddly beautiful structure, a colorful piece of ingenuity naturally complementing the landscape, feeling far removed from the hectic pace of day-to-day life.

One important concept predicated off of earthship living is the concept of thermal mass housing, which both cools and heats the dwelling effectively, and adapts to temperature extremes. “Dirt and concrete hold heat like batteries store electricity,” says Bassler. “They basically moderate the temperature and the daily and seasonal variations.”

Additionally, over the last few years, Bassler has become an organic orchardist heavily involved in permaculture. A system of perennial agriculture emphasizing the use of renewable natural resources and the enrichment of local ecosystems, permaculture is also a design science for sustainable living. The term, a shortening of “permanent agriculture,” has also progressed to mean “permanent culture.”

“Permaculture is really about creating a sustainable human environment,” says Bassler, who was exposed to the natural processes of farming in the Ozarks as a young boy.

“It’s about the ethics of care for the earth and for community, emphasizing the relations between those components. By concentrating on those relationships, one forms a better sense of place and community.”

Plants and trees are buried in multi-story and multi-level manners, leaving fewer ecological imprints than other agricultural methods. Sans meat and dairy products, the majority of the food Bassler eats is homegrown, including white rice, apples, carrots and plums. Broccoli and cauliflower grow in the greenhouse all year-round.

In fact, it seems that everything about Bassler’s life, his permaculture activities and his earthship creation, have unequivocally arrived at a perfect fusion of form and content. There’s an acute sense of interconnectedness and interdependability present, from the vintage 1800s wood stove that heats the earthship and water to the recycling compost toilet; to the rainwater captured off the roof which goes into an outdoor planter, all things feel and seem knit together and reciprocal.

Comparatively, perhaps the most important concept of earthship living is that the building you construct and are tuned into, likewise, takes care of you by interacting with and encountering the biology and physics of the earth. Certainly, this type of living arrangement appeals to the sentimental and day-dreaming characteristics that are bound up in the human condition, aspects rife with the luxury of altruism, self-sufficiency, and world-benefaction.

“I like to look at this place as a living structure,” says Bassler. “In our society, normally you build a house and then it starts decaying, but I like to think of this place are something that’s continually growing.”

Otto Teller had some speculative ideas which may have seemed impractical to others. Aside from being a dedicated outdoorsman and lifelong conservationist, he was a dreamer, or more quixotically speaking, a visionary.

Possessing unusual powers of foresight, Teller had the wisdom to purchase, provide for, and protect 1,200 acres of tranquility and awe that he named Teller Wildlife Refuge. Since being incorporated in 1988, the sanctuary has prided itself on being a place of study and wonder. Composed of eclectic environmental surroundings, including the Bitterroot River corridor, agricultural fields, streams and irrigation ditches, Teller Wildlife Refuge has come to establish its own distinct identity.

Near Corvallis, Teller Wildlife Refuge is the state’s only private wildlife refuge. Boundaried by the majestic Bitterroot and Sapphire Mountains, this prime farmland and river bottom territory encompasses a three-mile stretch of the Bitterroot River, and provides diverse habitat systems for numerous birds and animals.

It’s a splendid and uncommonly sparkling spring morning. Indeed, the sun is twinkling and shining as if its only job is to hem in the blackness of the fields, and tell where the blacktop and cement end and the taciturn, undulating country begins. Handsome ospreys nest high up on top of wooden telephone poles. A yellow-bellied marmot trills a loud alarm call. Flocks of green-winged teal fly speedily, executing sudden turns in unison like flocks of shorebirds.

These beautiful, delicate and monumental situations, all have roots in the meticulous research and environmental prescience of Otto Teller. Starting in 1985, he created the refuge through purchasing parcels of river bottom land, intending to protect it from creeping subdivisions that had begun to sprinkle the valley. For nearly a decade, Teller, who died in 1998, acquired small, separate land parcels, totaling over thirty, most of which were part of, or neighboring, the Slack and Chaffin family homesteads of the 1860s.

Teller’s actions and conservation ethics were as infinitely progressive as they sound. In reality, every great blue heron that flies by during spring time from a nearby rookery, and each riverside cottonwood or ponderosa, symbolizes Teller’s affection and admiration for the outdoors which never waned. One can easily imagine him on a comfortable and beautiful spring morning, similar to today, mapping, shaping and elaborating on his thoughts.

Currently, all the property’s provisions and arrangements are managed by a volunteer Board of Directors and an adoring staff, who see themselves more as involved stewards than random employees. The non-profit refuge is supported by grants and private individuals. Teller has about 5,000 volunteers who help with a variety of projects from cleaning out nesting boxes to removing and installing fencing.

“The Teller Refuge is dedicated to conserving and enhancing wildlife habitat living along the Bitterroot River corridor, and, most importantly, serving as an outdoor classroom for people to find out about conservation programs and conservation issues,” says Kate Banner, mission program coordinator at Teller National Wildlife Refuge.

“Also, we employ an integrated approach to land management that enhances habitat for wildlife,” continues Banner.

At Teller Wildlife Refuge education is most of the mission, education not simply about the natural world, but education about other subjects, like wildlife respect, sustainable agriculture, and even recreational opportunities available to the public. Teller Refuge clearly supervises its land in a way that promotes educating people about conservation techniques, which, to both the employees and board of directors at Teller, means involved and neighborly management.

“Essentially, we want people to have a place to come and learn and appreciate nature,” says Banner. As a direct result of these obliging outreach opportunities, each year nearly 2,000 visitors participate in outdoor field trips, conservation programs, on-site stewardship activities, and recreational opportunities at TWR.

“That’s the difference with this refuge, we are private land; we have to manage it in such a way. From our habitat goals to our education goals, everything that happens on the refuge here is planned with that difference in mind.”

One of the refuge’s main objectives is weed management, specifically, controlling the growth of invader plants, most notably cheat grass, along a swatch of land called knapweed flats, which has developed into a significant weed research site. A native plant refugiem has been established with the purpose of restoring and revegetating a desirable and indigenous plant community, members of which include such irresistibly daffy and enjoyable names like Sulfur Buckwheat, Wyeth’s Biscuitroot, and Fringed Sagewort.

Another major objective at the refuge is the promotion of healthy farming, organic gardening and sustainable agricultural techniques; food plots on the property grow common vegetables and grains such as rye and peas. The most fertile and appropriate parcels of land remain in cultivation of various grain crops or are untilled for the primary intention of weed management. There are approximately 400 acres managed through organic cultivation.

Furthermore, Teller Wildlife Refuge has been providing the public hunting opportunities, bird watching programs, nature hikes, workshops and events since its inception. Last November, an episode of a conservation show on Outdoor Life Network was filmed at the sanctuary.

Public access is permitted from the Woodside Fishing Access (east side of the bridge across the Bitterroot River on the Corvallis Cutoff Road between Hwy 93 and Corvallis.) Visitors are asked to please stay on the main trail to the north or to the river side (west) of the trail.  Access to the area east of the trail requires permission from the refuge manager. The accessible area provides typical bottomland habitat dominated by black cottonwoods and ponderosa pines over a dense undergrowth of shrubs.  Birding in this area is best in the spring and summer, when great blue herons, long-eared owls, woodpeckers, and warblers are frequently spotted.

The most significant and effortful event taking place at the refuge since Teller’s original land purchases is the recent implementation of an environmentally beneficial 80-acre wetlands complex on the south boundary of the main property. Teller Wildlife Refuge, in collaboration with nearly 30 private and public partners broke ground on this historic conservation project, with the intention of converting a marginal wetland area and pasture land into important habitat for migratory and colonial nesting water birds, as well as other resident wildlife. This revegetation process should be complete by the end of May.

“Everyone involved is very excited,” says Banner. “We learnt from research studies that the nesting success of breeding waterfowl was less than 1%, so we focused our goal on colonial nesting water birds, like red-winged blackbirds.” Rudimentarily speaking, the excavation overhaul being implemented starts with Willow Creek’s water being emptied into a wetlands sponge and filter mosaic, then traveling through Spring Creek, before finally ending in the Bitterroot River.

“All five wetland ponds can be individually controlled and managed,” says Banner. “These are continuous ponds that can be individually drained. This is very important because, if they need to be drained, you’re not taking the entire habitat away at once.”

Ultimately, Banner encourages the public to come and visit the refuge and participate in an event, either as a volunteer or visitor. Whether you help reestablish native plants, or note tracks in the mud of a muskrat, or come and listen for songbirds along the river floodplains, you will be received with pleasure and hospitality.

“When people are here, we want them to think about wildlife and nature in some capacity. This really is a great place. It’s a good thing that Otto Teller was so forward thinking, otherwise this beautiful area would have become just another subdivision or city.”

What began as a plastic wholesale outlet in the early 1970s has evolved into, perhaps, the most eclectically stocked store in Montana - or for that matter - the entire Rocky Mountain region.

This store, the Axmen, is absolutely cool. Its large building is situated on the store’s five-acre lot. Within the store are thousands and thousands of items, most for sale. The articles which are not for sale are probably part of the impressive and unique museum - yes, you read that right - museum. The Axmen is a store so well stocked with merchandise and visual treats that you literally could spend the entire day there and still not see everything.

“It’s a ‘how-to-live-in-Montana store’,” states Jennifer Boyer, a longtime Axmen employee.

Brothers, Guy and Grant Hanson, set up shop in 1971, in a place that is definitely “out in the boonies.” If fact, patrons have to venture 10 miles west of Missoula on Highway 10 to get there. Upon opening, its closest neighbor was the 4-B’s Crossroads Truck Stop, and that was about it. It was a bold move.

“Everyone thought we were crazy for building our store out here,” Grant says. “But, we couldn’t afford to be close to town.”

But the extra miles which customers log to get there hasn’t deterred many from the shopping experience. The Hanson brothers have obviously been doing something right all these years.

The store’s diverse inventory is a reflection on Montana’s economics for the last 30 years. As an answer to recession-proofing their store, Guy and Grant began to stock items that folks needed, no matter what the erratic lumber, farming and ranching economies were doing. What makes the store’s successful formula is they have continuously sought to sell products for a “niche market.”

“Montana always does everything in excess. In order to survive, we needed to do one thing: stock necessities, and not luxury items.” Grant explains. “We stock necessities like metal roofing, products for heating homes, and fencing that people always need to keep the cows in.”

In 1973, the Hanson brothers began carrying wood stoves as an answer to the oil embargo, and have had that niche ever since. But, wood stoves are far from their only specialty. They also specialize in alternative energy products - such as propane refrigerators and other machines, solar panels, windmills, generators, etc. They have a large fire fighting equipment department (which is the only supplier in the State of Montana); there is a humongous stockpile of fencing, roofing and irrigation piping systems in their yard. In stock are numerous distinctive weathervanes and their hardware department is impressive. This list could go on and on! It’s truly mind-boggling how much stuff they have!

From the time they opened their doors at the Axmen, the Hanson brothers not only have been selling new products, but also previously owned ones, for they also do good old-fashioned bartering and trading. For example, they have a water pump a customer bought at Sears. It works fine, but doesn’t “cut the mustard” for the customer - and Sears won’t take it back. The customer can bring it to the Axmen and trade it in for a water pump to fit their needs, and they won’t get stuck with it in their garage for 20 years. However, that traded water pump will be just the ticket for someone else, and there you can find it for sale on the floor. They have many items like that throughout the store.

The brothers have been lifelong collectors, and with some of the trading going on at the store, they have acquired a substantial collection of antiques and interesting articles. The Axmen is expecting “museum status” from the State sometime this fall.

Diane Casey, an employee in heating sales, is also the curator for the museum. Casey has prepared marvelous displays throughout the store. Her enthusiasm and knowledge of each item bubbles out, and makes the historical voyages so much fun. I suspect her favorite is the military display, which (along with others) she has done a fantastic job on.

She views the displays to be “museum of working history,” a testament as to how people managed “back then.” You will find dozens of displays - large and small - and it’s Diane’s “magic touch” behind them.

A “must see” are the atypical displays - such as the showcasing of the many vintage outdoor boat motors. Then there are the walls decked with old motorcycles, or the perhaps the circular antique sword display.

The Axmen is “a step back in time” regarding their employment philosophies and practices. Remember a few decades ago when it was common practice for most stores to be closed Sundays? The Axmen not only is closed then, but also on Monday!

One year they decided to stay open on Mondays, and found they did very well (financially). However, after examining that situation, they realized it wasn’t in their employees’ best interests and scrubbed that idea. They wanted their employees to have a 40 - 45 hour workweek, with the freedom of Sunday worship and a weekday off to tend to personal matters - like seeing their dentist and such.

The Hansons haven’t allowed themselves to be seduced by greediness. They hold the highest esteem for their employees and have resisted the extended hours that most stores have nowadays. That recipe works great for the employees, as there is virtually no turnover. It’s beneficial for customers since they deal with knowledgeable and satisfied employees.

The Axmen is open Tuesday through Friday from 8:30 - 5:30 and Saturday from 9:00 - 2:00. They also have nifty website at www.axmen.com.

Because of an emotional attachment to the game…for the intense thrill of the sudden, ferocious impact…for the camaraderie and the close friendships. These are just a few of the reasons given by players when asked why they’ve chosen to join the newly formed Bitterroot Blaze.

Who and what are the Bitterroot Blaze you wonder? Smack dab in the midst of their first season (holding a 2-1 record as of April 21), the ambitious Bitterroot Blaze are a semiprofessional football team part of the Rocky Mountain Football League (RMFL).

Established in the spring of 1997, originally based in Pocatello, Idaho, the mission of the RMFL is to provide competitive, entertaining, and recreational tackle football for interested adults in the Rocky Mountain States. Players of all skill levels are invited to participate. There is an age requirement, however, so in order to slap on a set of shoulder pads and don a helmet, players need to be over 18.

Over the last few years, the Rocky Mountain Football League has expanded into different territories throughout Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, and Utah. In 2001, Bozeman and Great Falls joined the league as Montana’s first teams, and Missoula formed an organization in 2005.

Undoubtedly, the Bitterroot Blaze are the result of the unabated love and fondness for aggressively competitive gridiron action, and a product of economic and financial necessity, too. In fact, quite a few players belonging to this football squad previously wore Missoula Raptors’ uniforms. One former Raptors’ player who made the decision to head south and regroup is Joe Murawa, also the Blaze’s head coach.

In essence, Murawa, a Darby resident, and Bryan Hellyer, a Hamilton resident, got fed up with the fact that their traveling expenses were levying such a large toll on their respective wallets. The superfluous amount of time the pair spent commuting back-and-forth to Missoula was grating on the nerves, too.

“The problem was that we were racking up thousands of miles on our cars,” says Murawa. “It was a waste of energy. Actually, the Raptors had about 9 or 10 of us from the Bitterroot playing for them last season.”

Therefore, Murawa and Hellyer did what they felt was sensible and convinced the league, through heavy negotiation and sincere, stubborn push, that the Bitterroot was ready for its own club. “The process was unbelievably difficult,” says Hellyer. “Though, it was well worth it.”

Thanks to the men’s efforts, the Bitterroot Blaze are now members of the five team RMFL AA Northern Conference, sharing ranks with the Missoula Raptors, Great Falls Gladiators, Helena Titans, and Glacier Knights.

The purpose of the league, however, isn’t necessarily to expand, make money or even grow in reputation, its intention is to provide an opportunity for local area football players to continue their careers, or in some cases, begin them.

Coach Murawa played defensive end for the Raptors last season. Possessing over 18 years of experience coaching football, including the instruction of Pop Warner clubs, Division III college squads, and a team in Europe, he brings a vast array of experience, strategy and ingenuity to the chalk board. Similarly, Blaze players have resolutely proven to Murawa that they know what goes where and who’s who.

Murawa says that he’s impressed by how well his players are gelling as a team, and believes that anybody watching the nascent group compete will be quite impressed by their high level of intensity, uncurbed enthusiasm and true grit.

“We are playing the real deal here,” says Murawa. “We are playing tough and are playing to win.”

While generally a greenish cast, Blaze members include former starters for the UM Grizzlies and Montana Bobcats, in addition to rugby converts, impassioned nine-to-fivers looking to cut loose after a day at the office, and curious thrill-seekers hoping they’ve got the necessary athleticism and willpower to play with and against the big boys. One of the Blaze’s defensive standouts is former Grizzly Tad Sheridan, a tenacious pass rusher, who won defensive player of the year honors last season.

Both Murawa and Hellyer are quite happy to be playing the sport they love on a competitive level, and find the goodwill and lighthearted rapport among teammates to be something special.

“It’s like having another family,” says Hellyer.

That’s not to suggest that practices are lackadaisical and that players are unassertive or bashful. After all, we are talking about fuming and fiery football participants here, not, well, baseball players or ballet dancers. The Blaze’s focus is to pugnaciously pound their opponents’ bodies into the dirt, and win each game by the widest of margins, while all the time gaining solid gridiron experience. Indeed, Murawa feels that with all the talent and ability on his 59-man roster, his club has a realistic opportunity to win the league title in its inaugural season. He’s not making any Joe Namath-like guarantees, however, because right now he’s too busy experimenting to make prophesy profitable.

“I want to make sure we are putting out a good product,” says Murawa.

League championship victors or not, the Bitterroot Blaze are planning on becoming something securely fixed in the minds and hearts of local sports fans for years to come.

“The amount of community support has been unreal,” says Hellyer. “We will be a permanent fixture here.”

For more information about the Bitterroot Blaze call Bryan Hellyer at 363-1309.

My definition of a responsible pet owner is someone who cares about their pet enough to keep their vaccinations and license updated, and is interested in the overall well being of the pet. Owning a dog requires invested time, money, and dedication.

As a lifetime dog trainer, I feel it is my duty to promote quality care and training for dogs. Dogs are domesticated and require specific care. That care needs to be thought out ahead of time before receiving or purchasing a dog or puppy. Do you as a prospective dog owner have the time, money and dedication? I often see dogs running around unsupervised. I can’t help wondering if the dog is lost or was just let out to run..Dog related accidents are often common with dogs that are out of control or unsupervised.

Many dog owners I have met in the Bitterroot Valley seem to have trained their dogs well enough to have their dogs off leash, perhaps in a dog park. However, letting your dogs run loose when you are not present presents liability issues for dog and owner.

As a professional dog trainer, I believe that if the dog is left to make its own decisions that eventually the dog will be in a predicament or situation that will become a liabilty.

For example : a dog running down the street decides to cut in front a vehicle, therefore possibly causing an accident. Or say a child walking home from school, a dog decides to jump on the child and the next thing you know the child is dealing with a head injury, and the owner of the dog becomes liable. There are some potential liabilities when letting your dog run loose. These scenarios are possible and can be very costly to all parties involved. One simple application can prevent this from happening. Keep the dog under control. A fenced in yard, kennel crates, and other devices might be utilized if you cannot keep your dog within the homes perimeter.

Dogs can and do cause trouble in rural areas as well, by chasing winter weakened wildlife. With several beautiful ranches close to town, dogs running loose are of a big concern year round, but especially during calving season. I can only hope to encourage pet owners to understand this and to encourage others to adhere to this advice, therefore, promoting responsible pet ownership.

David “Dogman” Riggs is the owner of Montana Retrievers. If you have any questions regarding dog training or other related topics, you may contact him via email at riggs@montanaretrievers.com or call 406-859-LABS (5227). Visit his web page www.montanaretrievers.com

In the mid-1980s, a good friend of mine drove down from Canada to climb in Blodgett Canyon. There had been a route on a spire by the name of Shoshone that had never been climbed before, and we set out to see if we could become the first. My friend’s name was Kelly Irving; a strong wiry guy I had met at a climbing gym in Calgary. After discovering we shared the same robust sense of humor, we quickly became friends, subsequently spending many a weekend adventuring in the mountains. On this day I was chosen to lead the climb. I had been climbing longer than Kelly and had a better feeling as to where I thought the route would go.

The first pitch (rope length from one belay spot to the next) was not too difficult and I had no trouble setting up a belay, and belaying my friend up. The next pitch followed a crack system up to an overhanging roof. The roof would not have been to difficult if there had been a few handholds, but the only thing I could find to hang onto was a loose rock wedged into the crack I was following. I placed a cam in the crack for protection in case I fell, grabbed onto the loose rock and made my move over the overhang. Luck was with me as I stood above the overhang in reach of good handholds and a place to put my feet. I was elated and yelled down to Kelly, “If Reinhold Messner would have seen that move he would quit climbing.” (Reinhold Messner was a world famous climber.) Kelly rolled his eyes up at the comment and kept belaying without saying a word.

I continued to climb past the overhang into more difficult terrain. The crack that I had been following was becoming smaller, and did not offer up many places to put protection. I was able to move up past the overhang about ten feet, before I found a place to put a small cam. By now the crack had turned into a seam and life was becoming a little desperate. About ten feet from the previous cam, I was able to place a small wedge called a wire stopper. The stopper was placed well and I had enough confidence in its placement to continue up the seam.

The climbing now was very delicate. Each of my movements was slow, methodical and precise. I was able to move up an additional twenty feet. With twenty feet below me that was unprotected, I would take at least a forty-foot fall. It was imperative that I put some protection into the cliff as soon as I could. I was now standing on a small pine branch the size of my baby finger, and it was the only thing keeping me from falling forty feet. Above me, I saw a place to put in a wire stopper, so I gently reached down and pulled the size stopper I thought would work. When I reached up to place it, it would not fit. At any moment I could be sailing through the air, so I placed the wire stopper in my mouth and reached for the next bigger size. All of a sudden I was airborne. The twig that I was standing on could not take my weight any longer; it bent over and set me flying.

I desperately tried to scream, but I still had the wire stopper in my mouth. Rope seemed to be flying all around me as I flew through the air. I know that I wasn’t in the air very long, but time really has a tendency to slow down as your life flashes through your mind. I was praying that the protection I had put in would hold, and that my friend Kelly would be able to stop my fall, before I hit ground at top velocity. All of a sudden I came to an abrupt halt and I swung upside down under the overhang I had scaled earlier. At that moment, I did not know if I was hurt or not. The shock of the whole episode had left me numb.

When I finally came to my senses I could hear Kelly say, “Boy, it’s too bad Reinhold Messner never saw that” and then a few seconds later, “Wilson, you cheap Son of a Gun, you didn’t spit out that two dollar wire stopper.” It was still clenched in my teeth.

There I hung for a few moments, letting my heart stop racing. I still had that wire stopper in my mouth, and, for all I know, I’m still using it today. Our climbing ended after that forty or fifty-foot fall, and, for all I know, the route has still not been done. Kelly is back in Calgary, but we still get together every year. We both have kids now and the adventures have been toned down, but we never fail to reminisce about our past adventures, to anyone that will listen.

Women have always been involved in martial arts. Examples of their participation throughout history have been evident as long as martial arts have been written about. Traditionally, these martial artists have been highborn women of social rank drawn to the lifestyle by choice, and who’ve through various circumstances distinguished themselves with acts of bravery and accomplishment. Such women have been present in many cultures, but most particularly Asian ones.

Some accounts of the exploits of women warriors rivaled those of even the most aggressive and courageous men. Men of wealth or position would, of course, try to protect their wives, concubines, daughters, and other women who were important to them, by keeping them constantly guarded by trained warriors, sworn to protect them with their lives if necessary.

Unfortunately, many of these guards were killed in an attempt to protect their charges against impossible odds, or the women they were sworn to protect, became the victims of the guards themselves. These powerful men quickly realized that the only way to make certain that their beloved women were safe, was for them to be trained as warriors themselves.

Chinese, Korean, and Japanese women of high social rank were therefore trained in the martial arts by the best martial artists available, and in time, whole classes of women were trained. The Samurai class of Japan, for example, produced women warriors who were as fierce and dedicated as any male Samurai, and often fought alongside the men in conflicts large and small. It was soon apparent to the predators of the time that it was not in their best interest to attack any women who were possibly better trained than they were. The Samurai class of women had expertise with the Katana, the Wakazashi, and the Tanto, all edged weapons sharp enough to cut through even the best armor of the time.

Many of these women were also proficient in Bojutsu, and could therefore defend themselves with sticks as short as their fingers, or taller sticks that were often lying around or had other uses besides combat. A mop handle in the hands of some of these women could easily dispatch multiple opponents. So the treasured women of the time were safe from all but the most concerted efforts to harm them.

As time went on and civilization seemed to become a little less violent, most cultures segregated their women from the warrior class and confined them, at least in their minds, to a category usually reserved for flowers and fragile works of art. This then became the typical treatment of women, until they were thought of as so gentle and fragile that they were believed to be almost feeble. The Asian cultures, however, continued to protect their women in the only practical way possible, by unceasingly training them in the martial arts, so that they could protect themselves. Other cultures slowly came to realize what Asian lords had understood for centuries, and began to train their most precious jewels, their women.

In America, where women were little more than chattel, until women’s suffrage finally allowed them to acquire the right to vote, women were still thought of as weak and helpless. It wasn’t until very recently that the “Women’s Liberation Movement” allowed women to participate in activities formerly reserved for men, and that women in America finally began to openly learn the skills of a warrior.

As women waded through the many forms of martial arts, most of which were reduced to mere sport, they stumbled toward the inevitable conclusion: no sport would give them the tools necessary to defend against larger and stronger opponents, and only the focused dedication to devastating and, sometimes lethal forms of combat, would insure their safety. Since then, women have pursued the study of deadly forms of martial arts in increasing numbers, and even today, women often comprise thirty percent or more of the mortal combat classes available.

Women’s Self Defense classes have become increasingly popular, and these are usually concentrated programs training women to defend against the manner in which women are most often attacked. While men are usually punched, kicked, or stabbed, women are usually grabbed in one way or another, and then taken to a more remote location where they may be assaulted at the mercy of their captors.

The most successful Women’s Self Defense classes always focus on the defenses against these specific kinds of assaults, and teach techniques that do not require any strength, size, or devices that are usually not present, or accessible. In fact, the most successful defense for women is to rely on techniques that use leverage, and focus on attacking the part of their opponent that is grabbing them, rather than the entire person. By breaking an opponent’s wrist or finger, they can render them harmless with very little strength or force.

Women are rapidly becoming a force to be reckoned with, and are moving away from their complacent ancestors, towards a time when women are truly equal and no longer the unwilling victims of conscienceless predators.

Merlin Eagle is the owner of Washido Studio, an elite combat Martial Arts school in Hamilton. For further information about attending a free Hapkido class, contact him at 375-0372 or visit www.washidostudio.com.