Wednesday, January 12, 2011

History of kung fu

The term 'Kung Fu' does not relate to any specific form of martial art, but rather translates as 'skill' or 'capability'. Scholars believe that the use of Kung Fu to describe the Chinese martial form originated in Hong Kong and Kwangtung province. There are documents of the Jesuit priest, Pere Amiot, writing of the 'remarkable exercises' practised by the Taoist priests of his locality which he called 'Cong Fou'.

Wu Shu is traditionally the term readily used to describe the traditional Chinese martial arts, though other descriptions like Kuo-shu, Kuo-chi, Chien-shu and Tao-fa have also been used every now and then. (Wu Shu is the term these days used for Chinese martial arts by the People's Republic of China).

Precisely when Kung Fu first sprouted is unknown, with historians stating that Chinese martial sets most likely predate recorded history. Since the dawn of time there have been battles between man and animal, warring tribes, etc. during which conflicts combative techniques were executed and accumulated and passed down from generation to generation.

What is particular about the Chinese martial types is that many schools or styles were started by imitating the battling techniques of animals similar to monkeys, lions, tigers, snakes, bears, etc. The adaptation of animal techniques stems from a impression that in order to survive in their severe natural setting, all animals (even birds and insects) were classically endowed with skills for battling.

As a result techniques were born from the tiger's pounce, the eagle's sharp talons and the elusiveness and unpredictability of the monkey. Still, it is existent to accorded a definite date to the definite birth of Kung Fu. Some traditional historians date it as far back as the Shang Dynasty (16th century BC). Others place it in the period of the Contending States (475 - 221 BC) and the Yellow Emperor, Huang Ti. Indeed, it would appear that modern Kung Fu has adapted and evolved from the warring events of China's precedent days, with distinct traces of Mongolian, Tibetan, Indian and other cultural ideologies exhibited in many styles. If there is one common reference point in tracing Kung Fu's history, it is the Shaolin Temple and the voyage of Buddhism from India to China.

Buddhism reached China during the period of the Eastern Han Ming Emperor (58 - 76 Ad) and soon flourished. It is estimated that by 500 Ad there were more than 10,000 Buddhist temples in China and many emperors became devout Buddhists. In 495 Ad the Shaolin Temple was fabricated by the order of Emperor Wei Xiao Wen (471 - 500 Ad). The Temple was built to have room for the teachings of a Buddhist monk named Batuo, who came to China for Buddhist teaching in 464 Ad. As such Batuo might be considered the first Shaolin Temple monk, though there is no record of how or what (471 - 500 Ad). The Temple was built to suit the teachings of a Buddhist monk named Batuo, who came to China for Buddhist teaching in 464 Ad. As such Batuo might be considered the first Shaolin Temple monk, though there is no record of how or what Batuo passed down by the use of religious Qigong practice, just as there is no record of how or when he died.

The most powerful individual in the investigation of Kung Fu's history through the Shaolin Temple is an Indian monk named Da Mo (or Ta Mo). Da Mo, also known as Bodhidarma, had been a small prince of a Southern Indian tribe. He followed the Mahayana school of Buddhism and was appreciated as a bodhisattva - and enlightened being who had renounced nirvana so as to save others. The legends of Da Mo in Chinese mythology are elaborate, to say the least. One legend has Da Mo sitting in a cave where he stared at the wall for nine years in meditation. After by accident falling asleep, he became so angered with himself that he tore off his eyelids and threw them on the ground. Tea shrubs grew from the ground underneath the discarded eyelids and monks have used tea ever since to deter sleep.

http://www.martialarm.com/history/kungfu.html

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About The Author: Peter Sundbye 11yrs studying oriental and occidental arts Complete history of kung fu styles http://www.martialarm.com/history/kungfu.html Martial Arts Home Training Machine http://www.martialarm.com/

Fishing Season Is Here! Fishing For Beginners

Fishing Season Is Here.

Spring and Summer seasons are prime time fishing months. Fishing can be very relaxing, over-looking the water, whether you're on the beach or on a boat. It is also rewarding if you catch the fish. Whether you throw them back to sea or take them home and eat them, it's a great feeling. Fishing takes time and patience. If you don't have patience I don't recommend fishing. Fishing is not just for one person, it's a great activity for the whole family.

If you are new to fishing there is basic equipment needed to complete your new adventure into fishing.Importantly all equipment must match, knowing the line type and matching the reel. Most fishing rods for beginners are sold as the set. There are many different fishing rods in many sizes, for adults and for children.

When shopping for your fishing rod look for grips, or handles, they either come in cork or foam. The rod will be sold in different lenghths be sure to get the one that is most comfortable for you. Also, slightly bend it to get the feel of it. Look at the reel seat, where the reel is connected. Rember that comfortablity is key.

Rods of any types will work. The best, should be six feet long and medium weight. This should be long, straight and flexible so it won't easily break. The most popular rod is Graphite because it is light but very strong. Wispy rods should be up to 4m long to be used for long casts in moderate winds. There are different fishing lines, they are mostly made of nylon and "monofilament" that comes in spools of different lengths.

There are many fishing lines to choose from and it can be very confusing to find the best. The larger the fishing line the thicker in diameter. If you experience the reel turning into a knotted mess, don't worry, even experienced fishermen go through this now and then.

Don't forget the other basics, a net stringer, line clippers, fishing knife, first aid kit, and a pail of bait. Also you personal basics, sunglasses, suntan lotion, chair to sit on, and most importantly your cooler full of snacks and drinks.

You need to understand the mechanics of the reel and the other equipment. Learning to cast, tie knots and bait are not that complicated. Secondly, you need to learn where to fish. Successful fishermen know where the fish are located. Fish move from place to place and knowledgeable anglers understand these patterns and are able to anticipate where the fish are located.

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About The Author: Michelle Johnson - Visit her review site on Fishing at http://fishing-besthomemadebait.blogspot.com . Keep an eye out more reviews to be coming out soon.

The Anatomy of Golf

Have you ever been invited to play a round of golf, and realized when you got there, you have no idea what you are suppose to do? Well, this will help you know your surroundings when you get to the course so you aren't in the dark about you situation.

The game is played on what is a course, of which I previously said. It consists of 9 or 18 holes. Each hole is the target of your ball and you want to get your ball there in the fewest shots as possible. Each time you hit the golf ball this is called a "Stroke."

Teeing Ground

When you get on the course with your clubs, you start on the first hole at a place called the Tee. Officially it is called the "Teeing Ground," but you are trying to fit in and everyone just uses the shortended version of it. This is the beginning of each hole. It is where you hit the golf ball off a short wooden or plastic peg for a better first shot.

Fairway

The fairway is generally where a player would want to hit on to from their tee shot. If the ball goes off the point of where you wanted it, it could land in a place called the "Rough," which is basically grass that is much higher than that of the fairway. It is much harder to hit out of which is why you would aim for the fairway.

Hazard

Other than the Rough, there are much worse things on a golf course that can cause trouble to the score you are aiming at. These golf course hazards include water hazards like lakes, and rivers. If you hot your ball in to one of those, you will get charged a one stroke penalty. A different hazard is called a bunker or a sand trap. A bunker or a sand trap is exactly what it sounds like. It is a big whole of sand that traps the ball and makes it harder to hit out of. You would generally want to just hit the ball and try not to hit the sand at all. Other hazards include trees, denser vegetation, and bushes.

Putting Green

After getting through the most part of the hole, you come to the nearest part near the actual hole called the "Putting Green." The Putting Green will have the shortest grass on the course and consist of an area where you line up your ball with the hole. But that isn't as easy as it sounds. Each Putting Green is unique with small hills and slopes that can change the direction your ball goes. This is why you must study the hole a bit before attempting to put the all in. Your club, called a putter, will be different from the other clubs. It is a flat faced club which makes the ball roll along the ground towards the hole until the ball comes to rest in the cup.

Scoring

When you play a hole, you want to have your strokes under a certain level depending on the length of the hole. Having an even amount of stoke with out going over is called "Par".

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About The Author: This article was written for our friends at Golfsport to help people better understand the sport of golf. Article written and distributed by Steve Cancel, IT Manager of Michigan Computer Repair.

Chipping Basics For Dummies

Most golfers love ripping 250-yard drives down the fairway. But it's the short game that really cuts strokes off your scores. It also helps you slash your golf handicap down to size. Unfortunately, the short game is one phase of the game that players often neglect to practice. The end result is a lack of confidence in this area, as demonstrated by many players who come to me for golf lessons.

One key to short game success is proper technique. Many golfers don't know the proper technique for chipping, pitching, or putting. This lack of knowledge hurts their short games. The other key is confidence. The more confident you are in your short game, the more likely you are to make the kinds of shots you need to minimize your scores and lower your golf handicap.

This article addresses both keys to the short game. In it we provide golf tips on chipping correctly and a couple of drills designed to make practice more interesting. This information helps generate the confidence you need to improve your chipping and lower your scores and golf handicap.

Fundamentals of Chipping
A chip shot is a flat approach shot that hits the green and rolls to the flag. Its use varies depending on the situation, but like a good pitch shot, a good chip shot saves strokes when executed properly. It's ideal when you're on the green's collar or even a few feet away with no obstacles between you and the flag. The key to the shot is selecting a spot on the green and hitting it, letting the ball role to the flag.

You can chip with either an 8 iron or a 9 iron. Take a slightly open address position, with your weight forward. Position the ball closer to your back foot. And place your hands in front of the ball, which "hoods" the clubface, giving you the loft of a 7 iron. Also, grip down on the club 4 or 5 inches for more control.

You can also chip with a lofted wood, as Greg Norman did in the 1994 Dubai Desert Classic. The sole of a lofted wood is flat, making it almost impossible to stub the clubhead into the ground behind the ball. Instead, the club glides across the turf. Thus. you can loft the ball onto the putting surface and let it run to the hole.

Keys to chipping:

1. Set yourself at address
2. Grip down on club
3. Aim for a spot on green
4. Hinge wrist at takeaway
5. Hands lead in hitting zone
6. Keep wrists firm through impact
7. Follow through on shot

Address the ball with a slightly open stance, since that gets your hips out of the way, and gives you a good view to the target line. Now, pick out a spot on the green where you want the ball to land. Aim to strike the ball just above the ball's equator with the leading edge of the clubface. And hinge your wrists slightly during takeaway.

Strike down on the ball crisply, with your hands leading the shot through the hitting zone. Keep the wrists firm through impact. And make sure you don't turn your wrists over during follow-through. Returning the hands and arms to where they were at address helps produce ball-and-turf contact. And stay relaxed and loose throughout the shot.

Approaches To Chipping
Two schools of thought dominate the approach to chipping, both of which I cover in my golf lessons. Some people prefer to use their favorite club, opening the blade to add loft and turning it down to decrease loft. Depending on the shot they either hit the ball harder or softer. This approach works some but not for others. For those players, it's too complicated and has too many variables to take into account.

Other players prefer taking the same swing but changing clubs. In this case you can use anything from a 5-iron to a sand wedge. Take a slightly open stance but position the ball slightly right of your stance. Choke down on the longer clubs for better control. The backswing is about the same length on all the clubs. If you use this approach, keep in mind that the higher the lofted club you use, the more spin on the ball. Spin can be difficult to control.

Drills
Set two parallel rows of tees six inches apart on both sides of the target line. Place a ball between the rows of tees but toward the beginning of the rows. Swing the club between the tees, striking the ball and keeping the clubhead moving on a line toward the target for at least the length of the rows of tees.

Play the ball slightly toward the back in your stance. Practice using just your left had (for right-handers) to hit down on the ball. Use a punching motion and keep the wrist firm throughout the shot. If executed properly, this drill teaches you to trap the ball with a descending blow, rather than scoop the ball away.

Both drills improve your chipping. Practice them diligently. Make sure you vary the distances of the shots for better results. Try hitting some from the rough as well. The key there is not letting the grass interfere with the shot.

The chip shot isn't as dramatic at shot as a 250-yard bomb. But it can be just as satisfying, and more useful, if you execute one well. More importantly, learning how to chip well will shave strokes off your golf handicap.


Copyright (c) 2007 Jack Moorehouse

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About The Author: Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book "How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros." He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.

Paintball Gun Buying Tips

Here is how to get a paintball gun without getting ripped off! If you are buying your first marker, don't make a rash decision and buy the first one that comes along. The fact is, there are many to choose from and many deals to review. This article will help you buy the right paintball gun, and the right price.

First, you must do your homework. Regardless of your price range you will be able to find several models to choose from. Study the paintball guns features so you can weigh their strengths and weaknesses. Plenty of websites exist with in-depth reviews of the different models-all from actual paintball players who have tested or bought the model. If more than one review is down on a certain model, be cautious and ask the sales person lots of questions.

Second, don't buy a gun just because it looks cool. Looks are the first thing that may attract your attention, but don't be fooled by a great looking exterior. Hold the gun. Make sure it is comfortable and not to heavy for you to handle. Also, look at gun. What is it made of? Metal? Plastic? It is obviously your preference; just make sure you know what you are getting.

Third, remember that you will need to maintain and clean this gun a lot. On the internet you can find most instruction manual for products. If you are really interested in a certain model, locate its instruction manual. Try to discern from the manual how difficult it will be to disassemble and reassemble. After every game you should clean your marker thorougly which includes taking it apart and cleaning. Also keep your own skill level in this department in mind.

Fourth, play the game a few times before you run out and buy a gun. Do you want an unused gun lying around? Of course you will love the sport, but what if you don't? Play a few times and ask your fellow players how they like their own guns. Also, if you borrow or rent, take notice of what you are playing with. If you like it and are comfortable with it, you may want to purchase a similar model.

Fifth, be selective and smart when purchasing an aftermarket barrel. You may think from your limited knowledge and experience that a very long barrel is key for you to shoot straight. This is completely false. Well, not completely, but it is not totally true. Research has shown that a barrel that is 6 to 8 inches long is all that is required to stabilize your paintball. Pro players, however, usually stick with a paintball gun barrel that is 12 inches or 14 inches for staighter shooting. Keep in mind that a longer barrel will mean a heavier gun and more surface area to be hit by your opponent.

Newbies should be wary of choosing a paintball gun that is an automatic or semi automatic. You'll end up waisting paintballs. But worse, you may find that you have less control of your paintball gun, which includes poor aim and shooting technique. Keep your experience level in mind when you are shopping. You can always upgrade your gun if you feel you are good enough to make the jump.

Again, most importantly really do your homework, whether it is on the net or with your buddies. Know the market and don't be fooled by a salesperson with little knowledge. Now, have some confidence and go buy that gun.

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About The Author: Find articles on paintball, paintball gun reviews, strategies, gear and much more at Paintball Tips And Tricks. Do you know the secrets to buying a cheap paintball gun? This is just one of many quality articles at Paintball Tips And Tricks!

Cultural Baggage

This country''s earliest gaming activities arrived with its European settlers and were derived from their countries of origin. The nature and extent of gaming in early nineteenth-century Great Britain therefore provides clues to its characteristics in colonial New Zealand.

Gambling has been a widespread activitY for millennia, but by the seventeenth century its manifestations were having ruinous consequences in Britain. Charles Cotton, in his book The Complete Gamester (1674), described gambling dens of the time as places of continual brawling and drinking where the difference between riches and poverty hung on the throw of a dice. As he saw it, gambling was ''an itching disease that makes some scratch the head whilst others, as if they were bitten by a tarantula, are laughing themselves to death''.

British florida lottery gamblers came from all classes and both genders. The clever became ''rooks'' or professional gamesters who preyed upon naive young gentlemen in gaming houses and clubs. Few players made fortunes; most landed in penury, bringing ruin to their spouses and children as well as themselves. Occasionally, when all vestiges of propriety and honour had been stripped away, wives themselves became the stakes for play the florida lottery.

During the eighteenth century, betting on horse races, lotteries and other gaming pleasures developed rapidly as major forms of social activity. By modern standards, public entertainment was crude and extravagant: petty criminals were pelted in the pillory, malcontents rioted in the street, brawls were commonplace and large crowds cheered at public hangings. In gin shops, taverns, cock-and-hen clubs, young men and prostitutes would drink, sing and have sex. Integral to this social milieu were gambling activities such as bear- and bull-baiting, cock-fighting, pugilism, wrestling, dice and card gambling, race-track punting and buying tickets in the staterun lottery. Gambling was class-oriented and mostly deleterious.

There were laws against gambling, but aristocrats were seemingly unŹhindered by these sanctions and gambled incessantly on cards and dice in particular. Clubs established especially for the purpose ensnared the landed gentry, politicians and their retinues of beaux and lackeys. Members and their guests wagered tens of thousands of pounds at the tables. At Brooke''s Club in St James Street, London, the minimum stake for the dice game of ''hazard'' was Ł50. Sons of the nobility who attended Eton or Harrow risked being trapped by the incessant card schools which ran in the back passages or distant fields. Such was the passion that some schoolboys were in debt for life. At least one, William Parsons, the son of a baronet, turned to highway robbery in the 1740S and 1750S to try to clear his obligations.

The gentlemen''s passion for gambling is well illustrated in the tale of the unfortunate pedestrian who suffered a severe stroke on the pavement outside the most prestigious of London''s gaming clubs, White''s in St James Street. The porter hauled him into the foyer and set off to find a doctor, but when they returned the members would not let the doctor approach the victim as they had laid wagers on when he would expire, and his intervention would spoil the ''fair play'' of the bets. Those who prospered from these gambling enthusiasms were the promoters-including royalty, who from George II onwards organized massive lotteries, and entrepreneurs such as William Crock ford, formerly a Billingsgate fishmonger who�s London gaming club was worth more than Ł1 million when he died in 1844.

If club gambling became an aristocratic preoccupation it was also private and surprisingly socially acceptable. Not so among the urban poor, who gambled loudly on cards (faro, whist and 100), dice, pugilism, sports, coin tossing, horse races and lotteries in which the chance of winning number a prize was minuscule. Although bull- and bear-baiting, and dog-, rat- and cock-fighting were outlawed in 1835, they carried on clandestinely in the Victorian period and were the foci of enthusiastic punting. Many new opportunities for gambling arose from the development of organized sports such as boxing, wrestling, professional athletics, sculling (which emerged from matches for wagers among Thames River watermen), pedestrianism, cycling, association football and horse racing from their origins in villages, schools or country estates.

There was no shortage of willing participants. Punters, usually men, bet on the results, both for the pleasure of being proved right and to make money.

Proletarian attitudes to gambling were formed in part by a devil-may care attitude to incomes which were too irregular for an ethos of saving to take hold. More serious punters were attracted to sharp-talking bookmakers, some of whom won bets by outwitting or cheating their clients.

Bookmaking on all sports, including racing, occurred on a huge scale in hotels, side streets and back rooms, with look-outs posted to warn of the approach of policemen. As with other social activities, working-class gambling served as a form of defence in an exploitative capitalist environment of low wages, long hours, poverty, poor housing and political inequality. Class consciousness was deeply rooted and resilient, and involved the sharing of powerful ideological notions of sociability and mutual support in the face of adversity. Gambling was a welcome escape from the rigours of the daily grind, a gregarious activity shared by all who wanted to participate. Ironically many ''spielers'' (gambling organizers, sometimes dishonest), and bookmakers of plebeian origin were in fact petty capitalists, motivated by the same kind of greed that their clients despised among the middle classes.

Aristocratic and working-class gamblers had a symbiotic relationship.
The former provided patronage for pugilists, cock-fighters and horse racers in particular, viewing the contests from ostentatious stands while the populace crowded down below. This relationship reached its fullest expression in the organization of horse racing. From the eighteenth century royalty and members of the aristocracy owned, bred and trained the horses, organized contests (originally match racing between two horses with stakes and side-betting), and established the early Jockey Clubs. In the 1780s Richard Tattersall, whose surname later became synonymous with off-course betting and lotteries in Australia, provided facilities for the laying and selling of bets in a ''subscription room'' in the original Jockey Club premises at Newmarket.

Workers flocked to race-meetings en masse. Beyond the track there was a vast array of entertainment, from cock-fighting, boxing and wrestling each with their concomitant gambling components-to booths where punters bet on cards, dice and games of illusion. Sometimes there were races for working horses, although these could not compete against the gentlemen''s thoroughbreds. Social mixing was not encouraged and prevented entirely from the 1840s, when racecourses were enclosed and divided into separate sections for each stratum of society. Each had different admission prices and different forms of additional entertainment."

Perceived gambling excesses were partly responsible for Protestant attempts at the beginning of the nineteenth century to promote a new social order, one which demanded industry, and in which recreation existed only to prepare mind and body for work. These were effective to the extent that organized gambling was curtailed-casinos were closed, betting laws were introduced and the state lottery abolished in 1826. Later, a ''rational recreation'' movement emerged which encouraged the provision of libraries, museums, and reading rooms, public walks and gardens in the belief that such facilities would divert the working man from the public house and racetrack it was middle-class imperialism, of course, and it failed ultimately ugh a combination of working-class hostility and lack of official interest Nonetheless, the puritanical movement did remain a force throughout the Victorian period. It influenced all British churches and none more so than the Free Church of Scotland, whose Otago settlement was imbued with moral constraints, particularly in its earliest days.

In eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Britain gambling was popular among men but anti-gambling laws were enforced in a discriminatory manner. The ''rights'' of the upper class were unquestioned. When police pursued working-class gamblers they simply went underground and operated in defiance of judicial sanction. These essential characteristics of British gambling were transplanted to New Zealand, as they were to other Colonies.

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About The Author: Early American Lotteries ˇ The First Lottery ˇ State Lotteries ˇ Policy Shops. Copyscape. All Rights Reserved Š LotteryFlorida.net 2005-2007. http://www.lotteryflorida.net

Sand Shot Basics For Dummies

Few players take golf lessons on how to get out of a bunker. But improving your bunker play is essential to becoming a good golfer. In fact, bunker play is a critical area of your game. If you really want to improve your game-and chop your golf handicap down to size-you must learn how to get out of a bunker without costing yourself strokes.

Mastering bunker play means learning how to hit the tough bunker shots you often face, such as the friend egg or the buried lie. Other tough bunker shots include the uphill lie, the downhill lie, and the under the lip shot. You should also know how to hit a bunker shot in which you have an awkward stance and the long distance fairway bunker shot. Master these shots and you'll have mastered some of the hardest shots in the game.

Mastering the Basics
Many players have a hard time getting out of bunkers because they fail to grasp the shot's basic principal. The principal behind the shot is that the wedge never touches the ball. Instead, it enters the sand about an inch behind the ball and passes under it. The ball then flies out of the bunker riding on a cushion of sand. However, if you hit too far behind the ball, you grab too much sand and the ball never makes it out of the bunker, costing you a stroke.

Here are some basic bunker shot tips:

- Open the blade of the clubface first, then grip the club
- Open your stance a little
- Align your clubface square to the target
- Dig in with your feet for balance
- Position the ball near the heel of your front foot
- Make a full backswing
- Hinge your wrists at a 90-degree angle
- Accelerate on the downswing
- Make contact with the sand first
- Follow through on the swing.

Your swing path starts outside the target and cuts across the ball back to the inside. This outside-to-inside club path causes your swing to finish lower than normal. But that's to be expected. Once you've mastered the shot's basics, you can move on to hitting some of those tricky shots weekend golfers hate so much.

Tips on the Tough Shots
The key to hitting the tough bunker shot is adjusting to the lie and not becoming intimidated by the shot. With a buried lie, all you want to do is get out of the bunker. Close the clubface, so it points left (for right-handers) and swing straight down, almost on top of the ball. The impact opens the clubface, the ball hops out of the sand, and then starts rolling toward the hole. Remember to allow for the roll.

When you have an awkward stance, like one foot in the bunker and one out, try to get as comfortable as possible. Then concentrate on maintaining your balance as you make a normal shot. This shot often seems a lot harder than it really, but you can make it if you remember that getting comfortable is the key.

With downhill lies with no lip, play the ball forward in your stance, in line with your front foot. Tilt your shoulders so they're parallel with the bunker's slope and make a normal bunker shot. Maintain your balance by planting your front foot firmly in the sand.

With a fried egg-the most common of the tough bunker shots-the key to escaping is to crate a steep downswing. To do that, hinge your wrists in the backswing quickly and hit right behind the ball.

When you swing harder with your sand wedge you often lose rhythm and balance. So with long bunker shots, try taking more club to make up for the 20- 30- or 40-yards of distance. You can also drop down to an 8- or 9-iron and open the clubface to make up for the yardage.

When you need to get the ball up over the lip of a bunker, open the clubface and take a big backswing. Accelerate down through the ball but pull the club back before it hits the lip. The ball pops out of the bunker. If you have a long shot to make, drop down a club or two. You can probably go down as far as the 7-iron, as long as you remember to open the clubface.

With the fairway bunker shot, make sure the club your using has enough loft to get you out of the bunker. Keep your lower body still during the shot, and concentrate on hitting the ball first, which is the opposite of your goal when hitting from a greenside bunker. Make a full swing with one club longer than the shot normally calls for.

Keep these tips in mind next time you find yourself in a bunker. It also won't hurt to take a few golf lessons on bunker play. A few golf instruction sessions will do wonders for your shot making and your confidence. Also find a range where you can practice bunker shots and go there as often as you can.

Mastering the tough bunker shots cuts as much as two or three strokes off your average scores and helps lower your golf handicap. So if you want to become a complete golfer, learn how to get out of greenside bunkers.


Copyright (c) 2007 Jack Moorehouse

Free Article Source: http://www.za77.org

About The Author: Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book "How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros." He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.

Martial Arts Home Training Machine

The martialarm is a martial arts home training partner which allows repetitive practice of training techniques and attack methods because it simulates and reacts like a real opponent actually throwing a punch or an enemy in an aggressive guard. As you train on the martialarm it develops these attack techniques and it allows the use of full power in your strikes.

Once you come into contact with the martialarm training partner it will react - it twists and turns up, down, left and right just as a real opponent would. It has internal springs so offers realistic resistence forward and back to the center and is made of solid steel and upholstered for its superb strength.

It's true. The Martialarm provides resistance and reacts like a real partner. The arm can spring out with realistic forward pressure. And if you don't control it properly when you enter its defenses, it WILL strike you back! This is the kind of solo training experienced martial artists have been craving. The constant forward pressure and resistance to the center really opens up the possibilities of your solo training.

And it's only a fraction of the price of the traditional wooden dummy!

The Martialarm is the only martial arts training dummy that offers you complete realism in all your martial arts training in kung fu, karate, krav maga, jeet kune do, tae kwon do, kempo and more.

The martialarm is unlike other training dummies: The wooden dummy has been used for centuries as a solo training tool. In recent years, they've been made available in different materials including plastic. But still they all have one thing in common:

They dont move and they're all static.

The wooden dummy usually costs hundreds of dollars but is still only designed to absorb your blows and improve your form. It doesn't react to your attacks like a real partner would. So even though you get good repetition training, which is okay for getting the basics down, it can be difficult to use and can get boring pretty quickly.

Why Some Martial Artists Improve Faster Than Others

As martial artists, we all know this. Your martial arts instructor probably hammers the point home in class on a daily basis. Unfortunately, there are only so many classes in a week and this can limit your learning and progress.

You want to get better - fast. And you're willing put in your time with home training. But solo training can only take you so far because it lacks the interaction that only a partner can provide.

Until Now!

Owning a Martialarm gives you an interactive training partner 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It's there for you all day, every day, whether you want to train after midnight or at the crack of dawn.

With its sturdy construction, it'll take everything you've got, so you won't have to hold back! So give your little brother a break from the bruises. He's probably tired of being your practice dummy anyway!

Your Own Personal Training Partner - Hangs Right on Your Wall!

The traditional wooden dummy is quite bulky and requires a big chunk of space to set it up properly for training. That's fine if you have a big training hall, but you probably don't have that much space to devote to your training.

The Martialarm fits into even the smallest training areas.

With its compact design, it's easy to make space for it, even if you live in a tiny bachelor's apartment! Or if you have a training hall, the Martialarm is small enough for you to put up a bunch of them so more students can benefit from training with them.

It's very easy to set up and it hangs conveniently on your wall, ready and waiting for your next urge to train.

How Often Do You Hear Yourself Saying: "I'll Get Back Into Training Next Week..."?

Many people give up on their martial arts training because it stops being fun. The reason why this happens is because they're not being challenged enough so it becomes repetitive. Dont become an ex-martial artist statistic.

Break through your training block!

Add an exciting new dimension to your training that will bust through your boredom and make your martial arts training exciting again!

The Martialarm will give you the active, dynamic training workout that will renew your interest in the martial arts.


9 Reasons to Buy the Martialarm today!

1 A wooden dummy can cost over $1000. The Martialarm, on the other hand, available now at the discounted price of $399. That's nearly a $600 savings!

2 If you want your martial arts school to boom, try putting up a few Martialarms. Everyone will want to try it out! Martial arts schools everywhere are reaping the rewards.

3 Training with the Martialarm regularly will not only get you in shape, it'll help you get the cut look you've always wanted!

4 The Martialarm is the only training dummy that moves and twists - up, down, left and right - just like a real opponent would! It can spring forward and it does strike back! It's the most effective training tool for wing chun, jeet kune do or kung fu since the wooden dummy.

5 The Martialarm is your 24/7 training partner. If you want to train at 2 in the morning, it's there for you!

6 You don't have to worry about injuring anyone. If you need to relieve some tension take it out on the Martialarm. It can take it!

7 The Martialarm comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you don't love training with it after 30 days, we'll refund your money minus shipping.

8 Just learned a new technique but have no one to practice it on? The Martialarm will not only be there but will show you if it works.

9 You can learn new martial arts skills by watching the Martialarm videos. You'll learn what you need to defend yourself and your loved ones. And by training regularly, you'll get results in no time!

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About The Author: Please visit www.martialarm.com martialalrm martial arts machine Please visit www.martialarm.info martial arts article stories directory

The Game of Life" Start your own coaching: 7 days program

Have you ever been a coach to a neighborhood team? I know how it feels the first time I've coached a team of seven-year-old soccer kids and how much they can really test my patience, not to mention sanity as they run around kicking the ball like ants to a huge, white crumb. It feels strange at first, having to be stared at by a bunch of kids who they will know that I'm not the one in the field. Sounds wrong in a sense, right? But what is the deal about coaching?

Coaching is all about being a, well, 'coach' in the corporate world of handlers, front-liners and even a couple of benchwarmers biding their time to be given a chance to perform. I know how that feels when I go back to my regular day job. Some players are just MVP material, and some of them are just to support the MVP's so why bother sticking around? It sounds ironic when they say 'there is no I in team', but even the underachievers can be sore losers as well.

These are steps that can be done within the day, and no matter what, it takes determination to be a coach.

1. There is a WHOLE lot of talk these days about Corporate Team Building. There are many, many options: vacation packages, rope courses, on-going office games, ice-breakers, etc. Management can also purchase videos, books, and seminar packages to assist them in building up their organization into a team worthy of belonging. A little later I will give you some ideas of where you can go for information on these team-building tools.

2. The truth about motivation is waiting to be grasped! It is ripe and ready for you to put into action today. Don't settle for mind-numbing gibberish. Get practical in 3 small ways to begin looking forward to your alarm clock sounding off each morning before you huddle with the team.

3. Experience is the best thing despite of what course you graduated in. There is something about being a people person who knows how to stir the energetic side of one individual, and more so when you mix it up with an entire team.

4. To question a person by his or her performance is sometimes required, but never question their knowledge or their intelligence. Sadly, I have seen a few mistakes from past coaches who never seem to understand what a player has to go through to get the job right. It will lead to further aggravation and maybe even hostility. If you want the job done right, then go do it yourself. You'll see how it is to be at the receiving end and it will help your set a much better course for improvement.

5. Sending a player to the bench is probably the worse experience a coach has to go through, especially if your player is the top performer. In dealing with this kind of person, see to it that he spills his guts voluntarily. Egotism in a performer tends to make them lose their focus on even the smallest mistakes, then you can catch him or her red handed. Be firm, but understanding about it.

6. Don't allow your position to blind you from what you are supposed to do. Even coaches are human enough to think that they are far more superior, but only by rank. Even if you have been in their shoes when you were their age, it's better to dole out a piece of wisdom in order for them to realize that this will be for their own benefit.

7. Lastly, you should learn to trust yourself and your team. Decisions and performance are primarily your goals, and there are many of them to see if they could perform the task much more efficiently. So before you think about sending one member to the bench, have a good chat with him or her and see if they have any problems. If it's too personal, then just encourage them to do their best and it also helps to give them a good, encouraging slap on the back.

I guess there's all there is to it. Being a corporate drone myself, I know how important it is for a company to be successful, and we're all part of that success. Coaches are there not to make your work a little difficult just because you have either an attitude problem or not much of a performer, but they're the guides who will help you perform as hard as you can possibly can. You'll do them proud one of these days, as well as yourself.

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About The Author: Tim Maher is interested in personal development in all its facets and has read many books on this topic. It is an interest that is fed and nurtured by listening to audio books and seminars when possible. To assist your own personal growth journey get your audio resources at ==> http://www.magillaudiobooks.com/list.aspx?catId=137

Six Steps To Pull Off The 25-foot Lob

Sooner or later, you'll face a shot where you must go over an obstacle and land on the green to hole out with a par or better. It may be for bragging rights in your Tuesday morning foursome, the title to the club championship, or a friendly wager with the club pro. Or, it might just be for sheer personal pride. Whatever the case, it's a shot you must make.

When faced with a 25-foot lob like this, the first thing you need to do is to relax, as I tell students taking my golf lesson. Catch your breath and review the shot closely. Then decide if the reward is worth the risk. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor in golf. But if you're convinced it's a shot you need to make, then go for it.

Confidence is the Key
The secret to overcoming an obstacle like a tree, as I've written in my golf tips, is confidence. If you watch a good golfer address the shot and then a not-so-good golfer, you'll notice one big difference: Good golfers know they can get over the tree and land on the green. Not-so-good golfers aren't sure. Instead, they hope (and pray) for a miracle shot, one that lands on the green and sticks.

Good golfers know they can make the shot for three reasons. First, they have faith in their mechanics. They know what adjustments to make in their swings to get the job done. And they know they're swings are good enough to do it. Second, they know what the real key is to making the shot. And third, they know that they can do it because they've done it before in practice. Let's take a closer look at each of these topics.

Making the Right Adjustments
Making the right adjustments, as I have said in my golf instruction sessions, is often the difference between hitting a shot like this successfully or failing miserable. Here are six tips on hitting the shot:

1. Choke down on the club
2. Use an open stance
3. Play ball in middle of your stance
4. Align your body left of the target (for righties)
5. Align the clubface square to target
6. Swing along your body

Start by choking down on the grip and addressing the ball with an open stance. Aim your feet about 30 degrees more open than normal. Also, play the ball in the middle of your stance and position your weight on your back foot. Although you align your body left of the target, align the clubface square to the target. Position your hands directly over the ball. This is the proper position to hit the shot, as you may have read in my golf tips.

Key To The Shot
The key to this shot is taking the right swing path. You must remember to take the club back along your bodyline. That means approaching the shot on an out-to-in swing path on the downswing. Maintain the bulk of your weight on your back foot and use a steady smooth swing. And accelerate through impact. Allow your hands to release through the ball while still holding the clubface open.

Most recreational golfers don't choke up on the club when taking this shot and/or they don't open their stances. They just grab the club at the usual spot and then use a normal stance. Then they try to "lift" the ball over the obstacle. Needless to say, they're not successful.

Practice Makes Perfect
After taking a few practice swings to get comfortable, find an obstacle like a tree or a high fence and practice the shot. Address the ball as indicated above but take your mind off your swing. Concentrate on the obstacle you need to hit over instead. Visualize yourself successfully making the shot. Once you have a clear picture of success, swing away with confidence.

Practice this shot several times and concentrate on the visual image of the ball clearing the obstacle and dropping softly on the green. After a few attempts, with sufficient confidence, proper visualization, and sound mechanics, you'll ingrain the shot enough to try it on the golf course. Practice this shot as often as you can. Your goal should be to ht the shot successfully 10 times out of 10. Do that and you'll have enough confidence and skill to hit the shot in a pressure situation.


Copyright (c) 2007 Jack Moorehouse

Free Article Source: http://www.za77.org

About The Author: Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book "How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros." He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.

Avoiding the Line of Charm

Golf is as much mental as physical. You have to execute both phases to achieve a low golf handicap. Just ask any player who's ever stood over a short clutch putt. She may have made this put a thousand times before. But on the day she's asked to hole that putt for the club championship, the cup looks about as big as a pinhole, even from a foot away. The thought of missing the putt plays havoc with the golfer's mind, as I've mentioned in my golf tips, and causes some people to miss the putt.

When an architect creates a truly challenging hole, he creates the same kind of stress in the player's mind as the short putt does in the example above. The golfer starts thinking about the "bad" things that could happen, instead of concentrating on the putt. With the process of execution disturbed, the chances of success decline. The one thing the player must do on a challenging hole is carefully weigh the risk/reward factors before accepting the architect's challenge.

The Line of Charm
Course architects, as I tell students in golf lessons, often use psychological ploys to challenge and excite a player's interest. These ploys can be traps. One of the most basic is the "line of charm," a term coined by designer and writer Max Behr. He designed golf courses in the 1920s and also wrote on the subject.

The line of charm is a tantalizing path to the green that attracts the golfer's eye but is fraught with danger and disaster. The line of charm challenges the line of play that the architect has outlined. It almost always lies close to several hazards. And it draws the golfer in but threatens to undo him, if he's not careful. When faced with this situation, you must always look at the risk/reward equation, as I tell players in golf instruction sessions.

Take the 16th hole at Cypress Point Golf Club. The hole represents a great golf challenge for any player. It stretches out onto a rocky promontory in the Pacific Ocean. The course's architect, Alister Mackenzie, used the Pacific as one of the most dramatic hazards in golf. Mackenzie also stretches the limits of this par 3 hole by lengthening it to 235 yards.

Mackenzie uses the line of charm to lure golfers away from the safer layup and pitch route that ensures no worse than a bogey 4 and toward the more difficult shot over the ocean. This shot leads to a birdie or par, if executed properly. But miss it and you'll most likely end up with a double bogy or worse. Regardless of how you do on the hole, you'll remember the experience, thanks to the psychological affects the architect built into the course.

Playing Tricks
Architects also play tricks on golfers. The penal value of the hazard and the fear and excitement it arouses, don't always match up. Often, the psychological factors introduced by the hazard outweigh the physical danger. A large greenside bunker may cause players to hit away from it only to bring deep rough or a combination of other hazards into play. This is similar to the out-of-character shot created by a seemingly easy hazard. How many times have you seen a player who normally blasts good drives skip one into a small lake in front of the tee box.

Water is the most fearsome of hazards but the architect will use anything at his or her disposal. Take George Crump, who built Pine Valley Golf Club in the sandhills of western New Jersey. With limited water available, he used carries over sandy waste areas to duplicate water's psychological effect. In other words, he used sand to mimic water. And he did it effectively.

Psychological ploys, like the line of charm, tempt golfers away from the "righteous" path. The golfer's ultimate goal is to assess all the hazards on the hole, not just the dramatic ones, before deciding on the shot. Smart golfers process the risk and lay up when necessary. But you must keep your wits about you and avoid the temptations the architect places before you. And you must focus on the success of the shot, not the dangers.

The architect's job is to challenge the golfer and create fear and excitement on the hole. By understanding what the architect is trying to do and focusing on executing the shot, not what could happen if he misses, the golfer avoids succumbing to the temptation of psychological tricks, like the line of charm. To knock down your golf handicap and achieve lower scores, you need to carefully weigh the risk/reward factors on each hole before deciding on your path.


Copyright (c) 2007 Jack Moorehouse

Free Article Source: http://www.za77.org

About The Author: Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book "How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros." He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.

Martial Arts and Women

More and more people are getting involved in Martial Arts due to its many benefits and its self defense techniques. This is especially true with women.

There is certainly no denying that women often feel more intimidated in this world than men do. Physically weaker than a man, women are often at risk and often they would not have a clue as to how to protect themselves if the need arose. Luckily there is something that you can do if you are a woman and you feel a little intimidated, and that is joining a Martial Arts class!

How a Martial Arts Class May be Able to Help You

There are a variety of different Martial Arts classes available to choose from and so you should definitely find something to suit your needs. You also have the option of choosing between a Martial Arts class aimed specifically for women or a mixed gender class which may be of preference to some women.

Obviously it all depends upon personal preference as to which kind of class you join, but overall there are advantages and disadvantages to both. For example, a female only class will not always teach you how to fight against men and that is generally the main reason you are taking up the activity. So, a mixed class will enable you to protect yourself against various different body shapes and sizes.

Not only will you learn how to protect yourself but you will also become a lot more confident. You will no longer be afraid of walking down the street alone as you will know exactly how to defend yourself if something did happen. Different Martial Arts teach you different methods of self defense and generally the following are some of the best to try:

� Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
� Judo
� Karate
� Kickboxing

The Martial Arts mentioned above are especially designed to help when you are attacked. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu helps you to fight on the ground whilst Karate is one of the more popular Martial Arts which generally helps you to fight and defend yourself at the same time.

Overall it is important to pick a style of Martial Arts to suit you and also which you will feel comfortable in. If you would not feel comfortable being in a male and female class then opt for simply a female only one. As long as you are happy you will learn the best in whichever class you choose.

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About The Author: For more information go to www.ocjj.com

The Team I Would Field From This NFL Draft

The NFL Draft is finally getting close. After months of speculation and list making we are almost at the point where we will have all of our questions answered. We'll know what trades will be made (likely not as many as we want), which teams improve dramatically (not the Lions - Matt Millen still works for them) and what truly head-scratching picks will be made. I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the draft by this point in April. On one hand I am sick of all the lists and talk about who is rising and falling. On the other hand, I just can't help myself - I'll be making my lists and checking twice right up until the picks are made on April 28. In the interest of keeping myself, and you, interested, I'm going to avoid doing yet another 2007 NFL mock draft, and instead do something just a little different. Here, if I had to build an expansion team filled entirely with players in this draft, is the starting lineup I would field:

Offense

QB - JaMarcus Russell, LSU. I'm not that excited about the choices. Russell has a ridiculous arm, but I'm not convinced he has the mind to match it. Quinn has been too bad in big games to get the keys to my team. Drew Stanton is interesting, but not as a first choice.

WR - Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech and Dwayne Jarrett, USC. Johnson is obviously the biggest no-brainer in the draft. Jarrett doesn't take much thought either, in my mind. Some people don't have him at the top because he doesn't measure particularly well. I pay more attention to all the ridiculous, almost impossible, catches I've seen him make under huge pressure.

RB - Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma. I'm not happy with this pick. I'm not convinced that Peterson is durable enough to stand up in the pros since he really didn't in college, but the alternatives aren't great. Marshawn Lynch didn't play every down in college, so he's not one I would want to rely on. Michael Bush is great if he's healthy, but his leg makes me very nervous. Not an inspiring group.

FB - Brian Leonard, Rutgers. Not that anyone actually cares who the fullback is, but Leonard will be a gem. He's hard working and ridiculously selfless. A surefire offensive captain.

TE - Greg Olsen, Miami. This contest isn't even close. At the Combine Olsen looked like a machine while the rest of his closest competitors looked like boys next to him. If I went for a two-tight end set I'd go for Michael Allan from Whitworth. He's very raw, but his athleticism and attitude make him worth teaching.

OT - Joe Thomas, Wisconsin and Joe Staley, Central Michigan. Thomas takes about as much thought as Calvin Johnson does. Staley is the second choice just for his athleticism. Any guy who can run a 4.82 at 306 pounds is worth the effort to develop. He'll have less pressure on the right side and he'll flourish.

OG - Josh Beekman, Boston College and Justin Blalock, Texas. Beekman is a solid player even if he isn't a potential superstar, and he comes from B.C, which is a factory for good offensive linemen. Blalock is the class of the position in the draft and will be making post-season trips to Honolulu in his career, especially once he is coached to make his technique match his talents.

C - Ryan Kalil, USC. I don't love Kalil. His athleticism concerns me, and he got pushed around at times this season when he faced a defensive giant. Unfortunately, the center class is pretty weak, and Kalil is by far the best option.

Defense

I'll go with a 4-3 defense mainly because I like the options at defensive line a heck of a lot better than I like the linebackers.

DE - Gaines Adams, Clemson and Adam Carriker, Nebraska. Adams is a physical freak. I am counting on his skills to overcome his lack of size. Carriker is higher on my board than on some others because of the way he plays - he's a hustler who goes hard right to the whistle. Despite his faults he's a better choice in my mind than Jamaal Anderson.

DT - Amobi Okoye, Louisville and Alan Branch, Michigan. Despite his recent attitude concerns, Branch will be a solid pro for a long time. Okoye is such an intriguing player - he's only 19, so he could be a fixture for 15 years if he works out. He has to be mentally tough, too, to have thrived in college at such a young age.

OLB - Paul Posluzny, Penn State and Jon Beason, Miami. Beason gets knocked for his lack of size and his aggressiveness. His athleticism compensates for size for me, and I love a guy who is this aggressive - you just have to work with him to avoid mistakes. Posluzny has an incredible college resume and will be the heart of the defense for a decade.

ILB - Patrick Willis, Ole Miss. Another player that I'm not thrilled with, but Willis is the only ILB even remotely worth considering in the first two rounds. I like his athleticism, but I didn't at all like how he seemed to disappear when facing big blockers on the other side of the ball.

CB - Leon Hall, Michigan and Darrelle Revis, Pittsburgh. Both guys have shown what they can do, and they both are nasty players. They will both need to show that they can step up against top competition, but they have the bodies and the attitude to get it done.

S - LaRon Landry, LSU and Reggie Nelson, Florida. Landry is as solid a defensive prospect as there is. He's fast and tough and he'll be very good. I'm going with Nelson over the more popular Michael Griffin of Texas. Both guys often seem to have brain cramps, but Nelson has more upside.

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About The Author: Doc's 2007 NFL Draft page provides an updated 2007 NFL Mock Draft in addition to 2007 NFL Draft predictions and all the info you need to be informed on who your team will likely pick up.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu - The Total Explanation

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu focuses upon ground fighting and grappling and it is mainly designed for when you are attacked on the street. In this day and age self defense is an extremely great skill to learn and it could be potentially life saving. The main idea of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is to be able to gain the dominant position when needed if you are attacked.

How Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Was Formed

The practice of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is taken from the Japanese version of the art as well as incorporating some moves from Judo too. It mainly became popular in the 1990's though it has been around for quite some time!

Choke holds and submissive holds are mainly taught within the practice and this can help not only if you are attacked, but if you come face to face with somebody who is attacking somebody else. The sport is a serious one and the choke hold in particular can be hazardess if done incorrectly. This is because if the opponent does not give up, the move can knock them unconscious and if the person using the move does not know what to do, it can lead to suffocation.

There are many safety aspects that need to be dealt with in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu but overall if you have a good instructor, you should be safe enough!

The Advantages of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

The main advantage of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is of course the fact that it allows you to be able to protect yourself. Self defense is really important and this particular form of Martial Arts is one of the most effective. It focuses on the most important and most effective ways of defending yourself and it also takes away the weaker positions which were taught in Japanese Jiu Jitsu.

All Martial Arts keep you fit and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is no different. It is an active form of Martial Arts and it does help to keep your aerobic fitness really good. Overall you will become stronger, be able to breathe better and you will also feel a lot safer when you are out walking the streets. Remember that whilst Brazilian Jiu Jitsu does teach you to fight, it only teaches you the self defense aspect of fighting and it does not encourage fighting in any way shape or form.

So, if you are thinking of joining a Martial Arts class then Brazilian Jiu Jitsu may just be for you!


Copyright (c) 2007 James Liu

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About The Author: For more information go to www.bjjtapes.com

Betting MLB Team Props

When people look to bet on baseball, they most often look towards the money line. The more adventurous will try the MLB run line or maybe the totals. The savvy may give the alternate run lines a try. It's far less common for people to look at team props as a way to make a few bucks. As with most of the more obscure bets, team totals probably aren't something that you would want to play all the time. You need to find the right tool to capitalize on a given situation. Here's a look at some of the team props on offer and scenarios where they might be useful.

Total Hits, Runs and Errors - This bet is an over/under on the combined totals of both teams. It typically falls somewhere in the range of 28 to 30, though both extremes can be found in games that warrant it. The pitchers are listed, and both starters have to take the mound in order for you to get action on your bet. This is one of those bets that often doesn't seem to end up close to the number. Teams will either have a tight game and go way under the total, or have an explosion and go way over it.

There are a couple of ways to use this bet to your advantage. If you are expecting a game to be sloppy and poorly pitched then you might like the H+R+E better than the total for the game. The total is going to be set very high, and hits may come easier than runs, so the H+R+E could be easier to hit. Conversely, the number may be way too high for low scoring teams to hit. The other powerful way to use this bet is as a way to get a better price. In many cases the total and this bet are fairly closely related - it is most common that a game will go over both numbers or under both. Because the totals get played more it is conceivable that the price on a popular position will rise faster on the total than it will on this prop. It's not uncommon, in fact, to see a difference of 20 cents between the total and the H+R+E. Shopping for odds is crucial, and this bet provides another option for totals bettors to shop.

Total team runs - This bet is just a total for one team. Listed pitchers must start for action. The power of this bet is that you don't have to rely on both teams performing as you expect in order to win your bet. If, for example, you are looking at a game with a very strong team playing a very weak one then you may be confident that the good team will score a lot and the bad team won't. To go over the total, though, you may need the bad team to put a run or two on the board. By playing the team total you don't have to worry about that. You only have to decide what your team is going to do and then bet accordingly. This bet can also be another way to shop for attractive odds if you are looking to play the total in a popular game.

Team to score first - This self-explanatory bet requires both listed pitchers to start for action. This is a way to take advantage early of a perceived mismatch in starting pitchers. If a team has solid bats and has its ace on the mound then it may be reasonable to assume that it will score first. This is a way, like a first five innings bet, to bet on the performance of the starting pitchers without having to rely on a potentially shaky bullpen. Another advantage of this bet is that it often is resolved fairly quickly. That can be handy in a case where you have a lot of games to play on one day and you don't have the accessible bankroll to play them all. Your money isn't tied up as long in these bets as they are when you are playing a full game, so you can roll your money over more often. No matter how you play this bet you need to be very aware of the prices that are being offered. There can often be 30 or 40 cent lines, or prices that otherwise make the bet unattractive.

Margin of victory - This is less common, but you will occasionally be able to bet not just on which team will win, but on how many runs they will win by. As is the case with alternate runlines, this can be a way to get a shot at a significantly higher return in a game where there is a clear and heavy favorite. The challenge, though, is that it is almost impossible to accurately handicap this bet since so many factors determine the margin of victory, and there is no room for error. In some cases and for some bettors, though, the lure of the extra payoff makes the bet worthwhile. If you have two or three margins of victory that seem likely then, in some circumstances, you may be able to extract some profit from dutching the bets. That will obviously cut down on your profit, but it might still be possible to get a better price than you could on the moneyline this way.

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About The Author: Check Doc's Sports daily for updated NBA playoff odds, NBA playoff picks and updated daily content covering any sport you can wager on.

Golf is Good for Your Health

Everything about our lives is busy. We not only do our work at work now a days, but carry work with us. Cell phones, video conferencing and wireless Internet allow work to be done anywhere and anytime. Technologies advancements have helped business reach across the globe and do more work with greater speed than ever before. Yet, some businesses are seeing a decrease in workers productivity. A person can find themselves asking, "how can this be?"

Well, technology allows people to complete tasks with less physical exertion. Escalators, elevators, and cars make it easy to get where you are going without moving very much. We even have buttons to open car doors for us and save the time and effort to do it ourselves. Along with the weight control benefits of exercise lost due to all this technology, we also lose the benefits for reducing stress that come from exercise. And with stress is on the rise for many Americans these benefits are greatly needed. Stress reduces work productivity and causes businesses millions of dollars in lost work due to this reduced productivity and absenteeism associated with stress.

Lucky for the golf lover, golfing is not only recreational, but also a great healthy activity. A key to success in using golfing to reduce stress is to get all the exercise out of it that you can. If a person walks the golf course they walk 4-5 miles. Even though it is stop and go walking, it is still beneficial. An average American needs to take 10,000 steps a day to maintain weight, that is about 5 miles. Golf is the perfect solution for the goal to move more. Unfortunately, there is starting to be a trend to use a cart while golfing instead of walking. It has been said, "walking is the way that golf is meant to be played." Supporting this statement is that fact that participants in the PGA tournaments are required to walk the course. Part of playing the game is having the endurance not only to play, but also to travel in between holes. Playing traditional golf, including walking the course, also shows respect for the game.

Other benefits of walking, other than reducing stress, are time to unwind and slow down. Because most people are busy all the time, and always in a hurry to get to the next task. Walking the golf course allows a person to relax and take the time to fully enjoy what they are doing. When you have a cart, you quickly get in it to move quickly to the next hole. The person who does this robs them self of the time to look at the course and enjoy being outside. Slowing down gives you the time to think, contemplate and figure out life's problems. Stress is reduced not only for the body, through exercise, but also the mind through pondering. If you aren't able to walk the entire time due to lack of conditioning or poor health consider these suggestions:

1) walk 9 holes, use a cart for 9 holes

2) if golfing with a partner each walk half the time and use the cart half the time

3) take someone with you as a driver, to transport only between holes

4) start by walking everything you can other than the actual travel to each hole

5) Take the stairs more often, park further away from the fronts of businesses, and take a 10 minute walk on your lunch break to work up to more physical endurance.

6) Take time to slow down, enjoy the course and get all the benefits that golf has to offer.

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About The Author: Rob Daniels is a professional golfer with a passion for a number of sports. Additional information available on Rob at Golf Clubhouse http://www.golf-clubhouse.net and Horse Stall http://www.horse-stall.net

Teaching a Child Chess

Raising children in the world today has become much more complicated than it was even 20 years ago. Among some of the influences that seek to effect the youth of today are a "got to have it now attitude" and related to that, a lack of foresight as to how choices will have consequences later. There seems to be a deteriorating of values and concern with basic moral character. Responsibility, effect of choices and thinking before acting are among these traits. With the world becoming more complicated children need these skills to be equipped to meet its expectations, challenges and the many problems that will arise. A person does not need to go to extremes to help their child, its as simple as teaching the game of chess.

Benjamin Franklin said, "Chess teaches foresight, by having to plan ahead; vigilance, by having to keep watch over the whole chess board; caution, by having to restrain ourselves from making hasty moves; and finally, we learn from chess the greatest maxim in life - that even when everything seems to be going badly for us we should not lose heart, but always hoping for a change for the better, steadfastly continue searching for the solutions to our problems." Some say chess is just a game, after all, but what it teaches seems to put its position higher.

The traits that chess develops not only effect the game, but help develop the skills to be applied to all of life. There is not just one skill required to play chess, but several working together. With a game lasting at times hours, chess teaches focus. Many things want a person's attention and the ability to focus on what is before you allows for the problem to receive full attention and to be solved. One move can lose the game and before a piece is moved a player needs to think about the possible effects that move will have, this teaches thinking ahead. Concentration is required to play chess. Each choice needs to be made consciously and deliberately, not just making a move to make it, but deciding the best move. There is no force of a choice or move to be made in a certain amount of time and this teaches responsibility of choice and consequences. Chess not only requires these skills, but allows for them to be developed. With the complexities involved in chess some may wonder if it really is a game for children.

Learning chess is a natural progression, and as a child grows and matures their skills will develop and the complexity of the game will increase for them. A child can start to learn the pieces, points and direction of movement as young as 4 or 5. There are many ways to help a child learn strategies, understand the effects of their choices and be able to see things from their opponent's view. One important tool for an adult to use to teach chess is asking questions. For example, as you are contemplating a move, ask the child the value of that piece, explain why are you doing something or ask what might happen if that piece is moved. Another helpful thing to do is to turn the board once, or more during a game. This not only allows for a child to gain back the advantage and help them be successful, but it also allows for them to learn perspective and how a move or placement of pieces looks to the other player. They need to not only see the possible moves they can make on their side, but their opponents as well. Another helpful skill is to encourage them think forward to how a move will effect the board, and how will the board look after their move. Encourage them to make two to three moves in their mind before moving a piece instead of doing the first one that they see. This will help them look forward to the consequence of their choice and train their minds to think before they act. Encourage them to gain ownership of their game by asking questions about why they did something and getting them to explain their thought process out loud. This will allow them to feel responsible for their own decisions. Never throw the game. Winning needs to be earned to allow for feelings of accomplishment, it does not help a child to be given the win. They should also sometimes play against someone their level, they will win sometimes, lose sometimes, but will learn to be gracious in both instances.

Just a game? Perhaps, but the skills developed will benefit a player beyond the scope of the game. Their mind is sharper, their thinking more complex and their ability to make choices and feel responsible for those choices has increased. Who better to benefit from learning these skills than a child?

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About The Author: Francesca Black works in marketing at the Puzzle Place http://www.puzzle-place.net and Chess Strategies http://www.chess-strategies.net leading puzzle and strategy portals.

Getting Fit and Losing Weight Practicing the Martial Arts

Obesity, or being over weight, is a condition in which having too much fat in the body may pave the way for other diseases. Obese people have a high risk getting various diseases like heart disease, diabetes and arthritis. Obesity is nowadays a serious public health problem. The United States has the highest rate of obesity in the world. According to the latest statistics, 32.2% of people who were above the age of 20 years were over weight. The number of obese people is increasing at a steady rate and showing no signs of stability. There are many causes of obesity like lack of activity, lower relative cost of food, increased food production and changes in lifestyle.

Doctors say that losing body weight will help two out of every three people in the United States. Losing body weight can put many diseases away. Obese people always have greater risks of getting a heart attack. Being over weight increases the amount of cholesterol in the blood. This cholesterol gets deposited in the blood vessels and narrows them, so that blood does not flow to the heart properly. Due to lack of blood, the heart is deprived of oxygen and eventually fails to function. This causes heart attack. Taking the negative effects that being over weight can cause, it is very advised to take measures to decrease body weight.

Exercising for about 20 minutes a day helps to burn out the excess fat in the body. Exercise can involves light jogging, running or aerobics. During exercise, the cells of the body utilize the fat for producing energy and so the fat gets depleted resulting in body weight loss. Controlling the diet is also very much important. Junk food should be avoided at all costs as these contain a large amount of fats. Changing lifestyle is the best solution to obesity.

Martial arts have been known to be very effective in reducing body weight. Martial arts involve a variety of techniques to overpower an opponent and learning these techniques involves a lot of physical exercise to the body. Joining a local martial arts club may be very effective. It is very a necessity to be physically fit to learn martial arts. Physical fitness will be acquired during training. Regular training in martial arts like judo, karate and jujitsu will improve agility and make one perfect. They are also known to improve confidence and will power. Confidence and will power are very much necessary during the weight loss program. So martial can be an effective means of losing body weight.


Copyright (c) 2007 James Liu

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About The Author: For more information please go to www.bjjtapes.com

Weight Loss Practicing Martial Arts

Obesity, or being over weight, is a condition in which having too much fat in the body may pave the way for other diseases. Obese people have a high risk getting various diseases like heart disease, diabetes and arthritis. Obesity is nowadays a serious public health problem. The United States has the highest rate of obesity in the world. According to the latest statistics, 32.2% of people who were above the age of 20 years were over weight. The number of obese people is increasing at a steady rate and showing no signs of stability. There are many causes of obesity like lack of activity, lower relative cost of food, increased food production and changes in lifestyle.

Doctors say that losing body weight will help two out of every three people in the United States. Losing body weight can put many diseases away. Obese people always have greater risks of getting a heart attack. Being over weight increases the amount of cholesterol in the blood. This cholesterol gets deposited in the blood vessels and narrows them, so that blood does not flow to the heart properly. Due to lack of blood, the heart is deprived of oxygen and eventually fails to function. This causes heart attack. Taking the negative effects that being over weight can cause, it is very advised to take measures to decrease body weight.

Exercising for about 20 minutes a day helps to burn out the excess fat in the body. Exercise can involves light jogging, running or aerobics. During exercise, the cells of the body utilize the fat for producing energy and so the fat gets depleted resulting in body weight loss. Controlling the diet is also very much important. Junk food should be avoided at all costs as these contain a large amount of fats. Changing lifestyle is the best solution to obesity.

Martial arts have been known to be very effective in reducing body weight. Martial arts involve a variety of techniques to overpower an opponent and learning these techniques involves a lot of physical exercise to the body. Joining a local martial arts club may be very effective. It is very a necessity to be physically fit to learn martial arts. Physical fitness will be acquired during training. Regular training in martial arts like judo, karate and jujitsu will improve agility and make one perfect. They are also known to improve confidence and will power. Confidence and will power are very much necessary during the weight loss program. So martial can be an effective means of losing body weight.

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About The Author: For more information please go to www.ocjj.com

The Best Way To Swing the Clubhead

Ernest Jones knew he was in trouble. When he was hired in 1905 as the 18-year-old assistant pro at Chislehurst Golf Club, Kent, England, he didn't realize he had to teach golf as part of his responsibilities. He thought he was being hired just for his playing and clubmaking skills only. But then he was informed that he also was expected to give golf lessons. So he set about learning everything he could about teaching golf.

Eventually, Jones developed a simple theory on the golf swing, explained in his two golf instruction books. Swing the Clubhead debuted in 1937. It embodies all Jones' thinking on the golf swing. He published his second book, Swinging into Golf, in 1957. But it's so similar in content to his first book you only need to read the first to understand all the key principles of Jones' theory. The simple unvarnished theory Jones espoused provides much food for thought.

Swinging and Levering Jones' theory on the golf swing is embodied in two concepts, swinging and levering. According to Jones, swinging and levering are two diametrically opposed methods of applying power. In swinging, the connecting medium between the power and the object swung has both ends moving in the same direction. In "levering" the two ends move in opposite directions. It's impossible to join up the two in one unified application of power, regardless of what you do.

Moving a weight back and forth at the end of a string is probably the simplest and best way of demonstrating what Jones meant by swing the clubhead. A pocketknife attached to the end of a handkerchief does the same thing. Since the handkerchief is flexible, like the shaft on a golf club, it transfers power not through levering but through swinging with your hands and fingers. And the concept of swing, Jones believed, is what really powers a golf swing.

The Art of Golf Jones took much of his theory from Sir Walter Simpson's golf instruction book, The Art of Golf, published in 1887. Although Jones differed with Simpson on the idea of "hitting" a golf ball, Ernest agreed with Simpson that golf was not an arcane science requiring different moves and positions. Nor did Jones believe that you could learn golf by trying to eliminate mistakes. There are simply too many to correct. And he didn't believe in imitating other players. You tend to see the results before you recognize the fundamentals that caused them.

Instead, Simpson led Jones to see the golf swing as a simple but elusive art-the art of swinging the clubhead with the hands and fingers and feeling the swing therein. For Jones the swing was everything. If you wanted to generate power, you needed to move the clubhead faster through impact. Unfortunately, you can't move the clubhead faster than you can swing, says Jones. So if your grip was throttling the club, you were bound to slow the clubhead down.

"The golf swing can be readily taught and consistently performed," writes Jones, "but only if it is conceived as one, overall movement. The body and all its parts should be treated as disastrous leaders but wholly admirable followers of the actions of the hands and fingers."

The mechanics that many teachers preach in golf lessons and golf tips, which included the movement of body parts and different positions, were not part of Jones' theory. Instead, the movements of the hands and fingers more than anything else produced the golf swing results. In other words, his theory that everything follows from the movement of the hands and fingers makes him an advocate of the "tail wags the dog" theory of the swing.

His Own Best Example Jones was his own best example of his theory. Slight of build at 5 feet 5 1/2 -inches, he won the Kent Cup in 1914. He lost a leg in France in World War I in 1916. But four months later, on the day he left the hospital, he shot an 83 at the Royal Norwich Links, swing on one leg. He eventually went on to a highly successful 60-year career in teaching the ideas contained in Swing the Clubhead.

Jones' theory on the golf swing has survived through the years. Among legendary golf teachers, Bob Toski, Jim Flick, and Davis Love, Jr., all espoused his ideas. Besides containing some serious food for discussion, Jones' theory reminds us that there is more that one way to hit a golf ball, and that the best approach to the golf swing is to find a theory that fits your personality and your game. Once you do that, you'll be able to lower that golf handicap by faithful practice of the approach's principles.


Copyright (c) 2007 Jack Moorehouse

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About The Author: Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book "How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros." He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.

The World of MMA

Mixed martial arts, better known as MMA, is a form of sports that involves the use of a mixture of martial art combat techniques to win over the opponent. MMA has become very popular in recent years and MMA championships like the "UFC" or Ultimate Fighting Championships have become very popular.

MMA began with pitting one martial art technique with another under minimal rules, so that the martial art which would be the most effective in day to day life could be found. Modern mixed martial competitions have evolved from such events, but rules are much stricter due to which, the sport has been promoted into acceptance. However, there is no centralized sanctioning authority for mixed martial arts and the rules vary from place to place or organization to organization.

Striking and grappling are the common techniques used in MMA. Striking techniques involve kicks, knees and punches while grappling techniques involve the use of holds, sweeps and throws. Techniques like eye-gouging, biting and fish hooking are considered illegal in most MMA competitions. Other techniques like head butts, spinal locks and elbows may or may not be considered legal in different MMA organizations.

In MMA competitions, victory is based on the judge's decision, submission or knockout. A competitor's corner man can also decide the outcome of the match and so can the match doctor if the competitor is injured to an extent that he/she can no longer fight properly.

Competitors participating in MMA have to train themselves in a variety of fighting styles so that they can effectively overcome their opponents. MMA training usually involves stand up, clinch and ground combat. To make the stand up combat effective, boxing and kickboxing are taught. These improve kicking, punching, kneeing and most important of all-footwork. Freestyle wrestling is taught to improve clinching. Additionally, competitors are trained in Muay Thai to improve the striking power during a clinch. Training in Brazilian Jujitsu and Sambo improves ground combat by improving the competitor's positioning. Further, shoot wrestling, catch wrestling and judo are taught to enhance the competitor's ground combat abilities.

Some of the best competitors are well rounded fighters. But, they all specialize really well in one aspect of mixed martial arts. Sometimes this style is so dominant that it is overwhelming for the other opponent.

Success in modern martial arts lies in adapting many styles. These styles have to be altered accordingly. Today, MMA competitors do not train in a particular style but train all the styles together. Flexibility plays a very important role in succeeding in MMA competitions. MMA is physically a very demanding sport and being competent is the only key to success.

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About The Author: For more information go to www.ocjj.com

Five Steps To Better Putting

During golf lessons I teach that when putting you can use all sorts of ball positions, grips, and stances and still be a good putter. It's a lot like hitting a baseball. If you've ever seen a professional baseball game, you probably noticed that every hitter has his own approach to hitting the ball, including his own stance, position in the batter's box, and "pre-swing" routine. But if you really looked closer, you would have probably see that there are certain key fundamentals every good hitter does well that make him a good hitter. So it is with putting.

Below is a short golf instruction session on putting, perhaps the single most important influences on your golf scores. In this article on golf tips, I highlight five keys putting fundamentals common to all good putters. If you want to improve your putting, and thereby lower your golf handicap, you must execute these fundamentals well, regardless of whatever else you do while on the green. Otherwise, you'll muddle along as just an average putter and just an average golfer.

1. Keep Your Eyes Directly Over the Ball If you ask a good putter what the secret is to putting well, chances he or she will tell you that it's the set up. And one of the keys to adopting the right set up is maintaining your eyes directly over the ball. When you position your eyes directly over the ball you know for sure that you're aiming directly down the target line. It also helps you keep the putter low to the ground and square to the target. And it helps keep your weight centered on the balls of your feet, which eliminates any tendency to rock backward during the shot.

2. Use an Inside To Square Swing Path Many successful putters use an inside to square swing path, once they've squared off their stance. An open stance encourages the putter's blade to cut across the ball through impact. That puts sidespin on the ball instead of topspin, causing you to miss putts left, if you are a right-handed putter. An open stance also makes it harder to hit a ball solidly on longer putts. A square stance, on the other hand, encourages an inside-to-square swing path-a better swing path. It also encourages a pendulum like swing and helps keep the blade of the putter square to the hole longer.

3. Follow Through Long and Low Another common fundamental to good putting is using a follow-through that's long and low. With a short follow-through, your stroke feels stunted and abrupt. This in turn encourages you to follow through with more of a "hit" at impact, creating the feeling of chipping the ball instead of putting it. However, if you keep your arms comfortably bent, you can easily extend your stroke down the target line with little effort. That means you can follow through more on putts, maybe as much as 15 inches on a putt or more. Hence the ball rolls more smoothly and bounces much less. From a short range you can be sure the ball won't bounce unpredictably off the club. Following-through long and low also helps you determine the right pace on faster greens.

4. Change Backswing Stroke, Not Tempo There are certain elements of putting that are all too often ignored in golf lessons but that are nonetheless important. Tempo is one of them. The surface texture of the putting green doesn't matter as much as maintaining the same swing tempo while putting. The same is true of stroke length. If you're going to improve your putting, you need to learn what tempo (stroke speed) best suits you, and then stick to it. Trying to produce different tempos to match different surfaces is extremely difficult. It's better to vary the length of your backswing, then the tempo at which your swing the sputter. Learning to maintain the same tempo while varying the length of your stroke will increase your consistency and confidence when putting.

5. Speed Determines the Line Pace and fluidity, like tempo, are sometimes ignored in golf instruction sessions on putting. The teacher and student are often far more concerned about the mechanics of the putting stroke that these elements. That doesn't mean they aren't important. Both pace and fluidity are critical in determining the line of your putt. Knowing your own tendencies also helps you compute the line. If you're normally an aggressive person, allow less line for your break, than if you are a lag putter. And vice versa. Once you've decided on the direction of your putt, point the ball's trademark down the desired target line. This will give you confidence that the blade is square to the target line.

These five steps on putting all seem to be common elements that good putters excel at. You need to work on them to become a good putter and a player with a single-digit golf handicap. But they're not the only ones. So keep your eyes and ears open. Try to pick up other golf tips on putting that can help become more than just an average putter and golfer.


Copyright (c) 2007 Jack Moorehouse

Free Article Source: http://www.za77.org

About The Author: Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book "How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros." He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.