As a child I used to be fascinated with Karate. Those grunts and screams accompanied with power packed hand movements that could make an opponent fall induced awe and a certain amount of fear. Well, those blood curdling screams would have induced fear in anybody who chanced upon a training session! When a group set out on the road for a warm up jog, people stopped what they were doing to gawk in respect at these killer machines that could, seemingly, rip apart a whole mountain with their bare hands!
Kalaripayattu, a fierce Indian martial arts form and one among the oldest fighting systems in existence is mainly practiced in the state of Kerala, India. It is gaining popularity all over the world because it is a complete style with fighting techniques that include striking, kicking, punching, cutting, throwing, blocking and grappling along with preset forms, weapon usage and healing methods. There are three regional variations with one of the styles using the hard techniques dominated with weaponry and the others using softer techniques.
Martial art movies invariably focus on the ultimate battle between good and evil. Both parties happen to be very good at some or the other martial art but good happens to win because that is how the dice rolls. Well, it is fun to watch such movies once in a while. However, I am saddened by the fact that no martial arts flick ever portrays the art in its real sense.
Movies portray martial arts as if they were invented simply to beat other people up. The truth is that martial arts, especially karate, are an extension of our desire to master our senses and body. This brings us to the most obvious question. Will learning karate help us do our jobs better even if it has nothing to do with beating other people?
Will you become better at your job after you learn karate? Of course, the knowledge that you have the ability to defend yourself will improve your confidence. However, will it give you the ability to focus, to concentrate, and to shut out of all irrelevant things? Would you be in a position to enjoy your job when other individuals in your position are hating their care manager jobs because of the stress and difficulties?
Well, I would love it if somebody made a movie that conveyed that this is exactly what happens when you proceed further and imbibe karate in yourself. It is a question of harnessing the internal energy of your body and focusing it on the objective.
How is it that the hand of a rather frail looking human being manages to break hard bricks? Is it simply because he or she has a stronger hand? Definitely not. It is because the individual has successfully focused the energy required to break the brick without breaking the hand.
What is shown on TV happen to be the most visible and glamorous aspect of martial arts. However, it is actually more beneficial when you implement the lessons learned in your real life.
Watching the final scene in the original The Karate Kid – where Daniel-son takes on the Black Cobra baddie, or whatever they are called…it’s been a long time since I saw that film – you could be forgiven for thinking that Karate is all about that decisive attacking move: taking your opponent down in one lethal blast of energy to the face. And, while it can come in handy if you’re getting mugged, that really isn’t what Karate is general for. Karate, you see, is more about defence than attack. It’s about discipline, patience and control.
My first experience with this excellent martial art came when I was around 14 years old. It happened at a school not far from my home, and I’ll never forget that moment I walked in to see a line of people, clad in that special white attire…
As the Sensei approached me, telling the others to continue, I was sure I was in trouble
One thing I knew instantly was that here was a place not to muck about. The Sensei stood before the line, looking only at me, as was everyone else. The look in his eyes didn’t scare me, exactly, but it certainly made me feel as if I had wandered straight into the lion’s den. I stood somewhere in the middle and followed what the others did as the lesson began.
I say as the lesson began, but in actual fact, as I have just said, I was a couple of minutes late. For this reason, I struggled with following what everyone else was doing; it also didn’t help that I had absolutely no idea of what to expect.
As the Sensei approached me, telling the others to continue, I was sure I was in trouble. But I wasn’t. Instead he smiled, led me to the side and asked me how I was doing. It was odd, I hadn’t expected that. This man was human, just like everyone else, and here he was being as docile as a house cat.
He then asked me if I’d sustained any accidents at work . I didn’t understand. He started to laugh, explaining that it was the way I was standing – it looked a bit strange; like I’d falled off a ladder or something. So, before we went any further, he showed me how to do a proper stance. And after that I joined the line and was feeling much more confident.
To anyone considering learning Karate, I’d say go for it, even if you do have a fear of the all powerful Sensei.
It’s easy to get the wrong idea about martial arts – if anyone knows that I do. Before I started learning Karate, I thought it’d be all about punching people and shouting a lot. In fact, there’s a lot more discipline than you might imagine, and this discipline is tied into an ethos of great respect towards others.
Whatever you might have seen in films, Karate isn’t about just attacking people.
to graduate up a belt and earn it, you need to perform a complex series of punches, kicks and turns. This is called a “grading”
It’s easy to get the wrong idea about martial arts – if anyone knows that I do. Before I started learning Karate, I thought it’d be all about punching people and shouting a lot. In fact, there’s a lot more discipline than you might imagine, and this discipline is tied into an ethos of great respect towards others.
Whatever you might have seen in films, Karate isn’t about just attacking people. In fact, from what I know now – and I must know quite a bit, being a brown-belt – about 70% of it is defensive. Only once you have mastered the basics of defence do you start to learn the attacking techniques.
And there is a reason for that.
Much as it’s about defence, Karate, in the wrong hands, can be lethal. Even a beginner, trained in the right way, can inflict some serious damage. It really can be a lethal weapon when used by the right hands…
One thing I didn’t bargain on learning when I started was all the routines. For example, to graduate up a belt and earn it, you need to perform a complex series of punches, kicks and turns. This is called a “grading”. The level is set high from the beginning, so there’s no room for slacking. Fun as Karate is, it is also very much a mental thing which you need to be focussed to achieve. This is good, however, as it teaches you the value of concentration – something you must always have in mind at all times.
I’ll never forget getting my orange belt. The grading was harder than I expected, all eyes were on me as I cycled through the motions, automatically shifting from one position to the next. At the end of it, I was sure I’d failed. That never sat well with me, as it would mean having to wait some time until you could take the grading again.
But then I found I had passed. Not only that, but according to the examiner I had passed with flying colours. “Keep going,” he said, and I did. I never plan on stopping either.
One last note to think about with Karate is this: it’s open to absolutely anyone, and your weight shouldn’t be a huge restriction on attending classes. It’s great for sharpening your mind, and an ideal physical activity. In short, it helps remind me that although I am spending a lot of time looking for Physiotherapy Jobs right now, I’ll always have Karate to loom forward to.
Like with any other martial art, it is quite difficult to say when exactly Wing Chun was created. Some say that Wing Chun was developed by a few Shaolin masters which combined the best self-defense techniques from China and pooled them together into one, ultimate martial art. There is also a legend saying that a Shaolin nun named Ing Mui created Wing Chun as a self-defense technique for a woman that was forced to marry a local landlord and her only option was to defeat him in a fist fight. More
My friend has a martial arts accessories store and one day as he was put up a retail display at his storefront I asked him to tell me about Kickboxing. Here is some of what he shared with me.
Kickboxing is arguably among the top five well know or popular forms of martial arts. It is an art form that seem to get anyone adrenaline pumping whether they are watching or participating in it. This martial art does not involve More
Chances are many of you who are not martial artists (and possibly some who are) have never heard of the martial art form called Capoeira. There is a number of different ways to describe Capoeira but the basic philosophy of this art form takes in elements of language, music, art, and movement of the Brazilian culture and making it a compact whole. Thus making it a forceful yet smooth form that is both dangerous and beautiful.
At its core Caporeira is seen as two bodies doing varying movements that are conversing with each other. This is when it is truly something to see and experience. The movements are accompanied by music and flows from it. The whole art form is controlled in part by the music.
During a Capoeira experience a circle or ‘roda’ is formed and is lead by the musical bow or ’berimbau’ which sets up the game or ‘jogo’ that will be displayed by those performing the Capoeira. The berimbau’s rhythm is followed by everyone who steps inside the roda. Now it is important to know that inside a rodo it is the instruments and the musicians that are the focal point.
Now with Capoeira player generally wear very comfortable clothing that is of a light fabric, nothing like bridal fabrics. This light fabric helps with the ease of movement.
Capoeira has two dominant styles. There is the Capoeira Angola which is close to what can be called the original style. This style empathizes technique and strategy and is also slower. The other style is call Capoeira Regional which is newer and focuses mostly on unique acrobatic, high kicks, a quicker beat, and the fighting.
US car support has been dangerously low in the wake of the global financial crisis. Sales are down and jobs have been lost across the nation, but who is taking the rap for it?
The failings of global banks and governments have been well documented in the past, and the knock-on effects to industries the world over have been felt hard. However, it seems that while the big leaders in the automotive industry are asking for much-needed support from the More
