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!

As time passed, my interest in this particular stream of martial arts was limited to reading. It was then that I came across an interesting snippet about a K arate expert from China who migrated to the US. Just with some Basic English, all he could find for work was as a salesman for red diesel suppliers. On one of his trips, in a deserted part of town, he was waylaid by some hoodlums who proceeded to beat him up badly after divesting him of watch, ring and the little cash he had on him.

When, bloodied and bruised, he got home, he was met with disbelief on not having defended himself. He could easily have turned the table on his three attackers. On being prodded, his answer was based on the basic tenet of this art that could main or kill with a lightening kick or a fierce chop to a nerve point. He said he did not because he knew he could. He went on to explain that at any time during the vicious attack, he could have maimed or killed his tormentors but that would have hurt three people instead of just one - him. He saw no point in inflicting pain on others when it could not help. Part of his lifelong intensive training was to control his mind, to evaluate if the deadly art he had learned needed to be used in the first place!

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Some of the Kalaripayattu forms and sparring are so graceful that they are incorporated into the Kathakali, a dance form of India. This martial arts form is also considered as a fantastic way to maintain good health and a beautiful body shape and is therefore being used as an exercise option by many.

Kalaripayattu also has some advanced methods which can be used for paralysing and even killing an opponent with just a simple poke at the appropriate points. Of course, these lessons are said to be taught only to a select few – people who have total self control and who will not misuse the martial art form.

Immense speed and power are involved in Kalaripayattu and correspondingly the training is also intensive if the student has the ambition to become an expert. The overall training is done in four broad stages though they inter-mingle. The first stage has rigorous body movements, second stage teaches fighting with wooden weapons like sticks, third stage teaches fighting with metal weapons and during the fourth stage the bare handed defence techniques are imparted. The practice sessions involve movements to increase flexibility, aggressiveness and alertness. Timesheet software can be used at such training schools to track teacher and student attendance.

The Kalaripayattu system teaches students to ward off and attack multiple opponents simultaneously and effectively.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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The main idea behind Wing Chun is to attack the central line of the opponent’s body and to hit key spots. This is very effective when you want to get him out of balance and prevent him from attacking you back. In its core, Win Chun is all about hitting and destroying the target. Bruce Lee was famous for his unbelievably fast and accurate punches which were able to throw down any opponent. The key is to block your enemy’s punches and to use his force against him.

There are only few weapons used in this martial art. This includes the standard sharp knives and wooden rods. A very interesting machine is the wooden dummy which allows the practitioner to improve his skills, especially his coordination .The Wing Chun “worriers” are able to increase their strength by working countless hours. Some of them even train outside in the urban jungle. They run alongside trains, they jump from one building to another; they try to lift biodiesel storage tanks, a bit like parkour really.

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 any form of holding or rolling on the ground, it is a stand up and kick form.

Current there are a number of variations to the basic kickboxing and like most of the other martial arts styles it is Japanese in origin. Osamu Noguchi who was a Japanese promoter has been credited with creating the term “Kickboxing” as he was responsible for creating the new martial art out of aspects of Muay Thai and Karate.

These days kickboxing is primarily of one of two forms either American kickboxing or Muay Thai kickboxing. There are other less popular variants such as Indian, Burmese, and Savate kickboxing.

Kickboxing is often used in a generic way to describe many martial arts styles that use kicks and punches and that emphasizes the stand up and fight approach. Kickboxing however is different from any other martial art in that it is a full contact martial art and relies heavily on the use of force to defeat an opponent.

There are some differences between the different forms of kickboxing such as the non use of elbows and knees in the American kickboxing.

&nbs

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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.

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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 Government, there is little chance of them getting it. Along with the refusal comes a barrage of criticism, namely that the large players in the car world have been doing some overspending of their own in the past few years. The fact that in 2008, the top three (Ford, Chrysler and General Motors) were spending billions more than they were pulling in from sales must sting. Criticisms of mismanagement have been slung since then, particularly as massive job cuts ensued and sales in US car support fell through the floor.

And the car industry blames it on the latter – namely, that the tough marketplace has resulted in consumers unwilling to purchase new vehicles especially in the midst of the global recession. They claim that this and this alone is the reason their empire seems to be falling.

In more recent news, Barack Obama finally relented and has promised governmental support to the car industry (particularly in exchange for producing more eco-friendly vehicles). It remains to be seen the full extent of the damages caused to the industry during the credit crunch, and it will be interesting to keep tabs on how relationships with Congress blossom (or decay) over the next few years. Either way, it doesn’t look like the industry will return to its pre-recession levels for some time.

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