Peterbe.com

I've just finished my first Twitter app. It's basically a just a about using OAuth to allow people to sign up to KungFuPeople.com without having to pick yet another password.

I simply took the oauth.py module by Leah Culver and wrapped it with some useful functions taken from a similar Twitter app we've done at work.

Unlike other Twitter apps for this one I'm using Twitter solely for handling authorization and authentication. That means that it has to work with the existing user + profile functionality but just side-step the sign up and login.

Next goal: Google OAuth

Tonight we're launching our new Kung Fu website: kungfupeople.com

My friend Chris and I have been busy building a website where people who do kung fu can put themselves on a map to say where they train kung fu, what style they do and what kung fu club they belong to. The site is very much centred on having a world map and each little pin on the map is one kung fu martial artist.

This site is build in Django and is based on work that was done to build Django People originally developed by Simon Willison. We took his original code and revamped it almost completely.

Our goal is to slowly build up a world map of people from all sorts of clubs and styles and hopefully one day become the best place on the Internet for understanding what clubs are available where and what styles different people do. The site has been in an "alpha testing" phase now for a couple of weeks and even though we still have lots of ideas and cool features to add we believe it's ready to go live.

So if you train kung fu or know someone who trains kung fu go to our website and add yourself to the map

THANK YOU ALL who sponsored me to do the lizard walk with the FWC Kung fu club on Saturday 25th of April for the Claremonth Project. Together I believe we raised over £3,000 for the charity and it was a fun event altogether.

Pictures available here

Today I'm celebrating the Chinese New Year with a big dinner in Chinatown in central London. I love the Chinese people, their food, their culture and am perpetually interested in learning more about them and their ways.

But we mustn't forget that this otherwise great country also has a very very dark side which we must never accept or forget: The Persecution of Falun Gong.

Didn't the nazi persecution of jews teach us anything? Are you aware that Falun Gong practitioners are imprisoned, bullied and tortured? Do you know that this oppression is fully sponsored by the government and not rogue individual groups?

I was made aware of this website (warning: graphical content) and this video just a few days ago. I'm fully aware that China is a big country where many "bad" things can happen due to the sheer numerical chances with such large numbers and such many different internal cultures but that's never an excuse for this barbaric behavior.

Think about it. Remember it.

Thank you everyone who sponsored me for this weekends Kungfu endurance challenge to raise money for the Claremont project.

A reminder... The Claremont project is a venue where old people go to for activities in Islington. Many of these people are weak and lonely and doing these activities is practically all they have to meet and socialise with people.

Unfortunately I didn't win any of the individual events of the endurance challenge but I did try my best and I'm very happy that I participated and at least tried.

Thank you all who sponsored me!!

Here are some photos from the event

Yesterday I went down to Nick Fielding's new Kung Fu club in Twickenham to train because this week I've been working for VSO in Putney (southwest London). His venue is a big church hall with a very nice floor and a nice atmosphere too.

Finding the place was easy because it was near the Twickenham train station but as always happens, when you actually get near the street and house number you're looking for you get a bit confused so even though I found the street quite quickly I did actually make a hell of a detour around the block the church hall was on.

Nick and I have been training under Dave Courtney Jones and Dennis Ngo in the City & Islington club since about 2001 I think and I genuinely believe Nick is going to do well as an instructor. The classes in Twickenham have only been going for about two months but he's already got plenty of people coming regularly.

If you're reading this kung-fu-students-of-Twickenham, hello, thanks for welcoming me on my visit to your club. I hope we meet again at competitions or camps at Dennis.