Month: April 2019

How To Choose A Martial Arts School

Arts blogger

Decide in advance what benefits you want from martial arts training.

Do you simply want to try martial arts? Do you want a unique fitness activity? Do you want to develop more discipline and focus? Do you want a social outlet? Maybe you want to test yourself in eventual competition? Or you might simply want to have fun.

Whatever you primary outcome, decide before you set foot in any martial arts facility. This will immediately help you narrow your search and know what questions to ask.

Look for a professional, well equipped facility.

Although martial arts schools will come in a variety of sizes, and layout and equipment will vary as much as the variety of martial art styles, there are some key features that are a must.

Avoid “basement dungeons” when possible. A bright, pleasant, atmosphere with lots of windows will make a big difference over the long run in your martial arts training enjoyment and the quality of the experience.

Both basement and 2nd floor locations may also indicate the owners did not have the financial solvency to be granted a ground floor prime location. Something to be considered before investing your money with such a establishment.

Absolutely do not settle for anything but a fully matted training area. Hard floors are especially hard on the joints while carpet is a serious hygiene concern as every bacteria and germ will remain in the fibers. Safety is also of course a major concern in all physical activities and a martial arts school that did not invest in proper matted flooring throughout should be avoided.

The instructor check list.

Do they look the part? Martial arts are meant to develop disciplined athletes. An great instructor leads by example in his or her training and lifestyle. Seeing an instructor that is overtly obese or a smoker for example should certainly raise questions as to their personal standards, and therefore their ability to lead you to excel.

Are they professional, courteous, friendly, with a genuine interest in you? You are potentially going to spend the next few years in contact with these individuals. Make sure you are setting yourself up for success with good coaches.

Are they good martial artists? You may not be an expert at making that distinction at this time, but aside from external factors such as old age, a good instructor needs to be at the very least a good practitioner of their craft. Be aware however that a belt rank may not be an indication of their actual skills or knowledge. Most martial arts organization hand out the higher black belt ranks and titles as patronage promotions for “good service”. That is unfortunately why the industry is full of paper tigers 7th 8th and 9th degree black belts that have not thrown a punch in decades.

Only consider martial arts schools that offer a very comprehensive trial process.

A martial arts school that does not offer a trial should definitely be suspect, but more importantly that trial should include some private lessons.

Arts, Culture and Festivals of Ireland

Arts blogger

Ireland is a country rich in arts, culture and festivals. As a holiday tourist, you are welcome to ancient old tradition and customs that have defied modernity by preserving their unique presentation of the ideals of the Irish people.

Though a visitor to Ireland may come across a lot of cultural expressions, the most notable of these are real Irish music, art, literature which can be found in the capital city of Dublin and other towns. No matter how these customs are expressed, the vacationer will recognize the deep roots of Irish heritage.

A cultural tour to Ireland will introduce you to the woks of literary luminaries such as Jonathan Swift and Oscar Wilde who have produced marvelous pieces of writing. These authors have brought glory and honor to Irish literature and are celebrated in the country. On a holiday in Ireland, you will be able to take part in festivals that celebrate the literary masterpieces of these renowned writers.

A tour to Ireland will also get you listening and dancing to Irish music. Though music forms part of the social life of these people, it is composed and played with a different purpose to bring talk about the culture of the people and how they treasure it. From rural cottages to large pubs in the cities, you will find musicians with local instruments performing to the admiration of audiences.

You will also come to appreciate the dynamic and superb theatrical performance of the countrys rich culture and tradition. You can visit the Barabbas Theater Company in Dublin, Yeats Theater Company in Sligo, the National Folk Theater of Ireland in Kerry County, the Lyric Theater in Antrim, the Grianan Theater in Donegal and the Town Hall Theater in Galway to watch opera or Irish drama.

Your visit to Ireland must include a visit to the Belleek Pottery. This is one of Irelands oldest and most fascinating attractions. The pottery makes original and unique pieces of clay products using traditional methods passed down from generation to generation. One of the most collectable and prized sets is the Black Mark range. The Belleek Pottery was established in 1857 and is recognized as holding a central place in the cultural heritage of County Fermanagh. It is located n the picturesque village of Belleek on the banks of the Lough Erne. This attractive building is home to the world famous Belleek Fine Parian China and Belleek Visitor Centre. As a tourist, you can take part in guided tours, walk around the on-site museum or visit the audio visual theatre. Additionally, there is the gift shop where visitors can purchase authentic Belleek products.

A holiday trip to Ireland offers many picturesque attractions and cultural sites for the visitor. To get the best, you need to walk most of the time so you can interact with the people, learn about their customs and appreciate their traditions which are mainly expressed through music, theater arts and festivals.

Simple Martial Arts Tips That Do Serious Damage!

Arts blogger

Have you ever wondered what the best martial arts tips might be? I’ve simplified a list of three easy martial arts moves that provide you with the best attack and causes your opponent serious pain. The following simple martial arts tips can turn any ordinary citizen into a capable fighter.

Simple martial arts tips #1 – Focusing on the groin area. There are many different ways to cause damage to the male groin area. You can kick, stomp, smash, hit, or bite the area. All these various methods will inflict a male assailant with a large quantity of pain, so you can run away! Do whatever it takes to beat or injure this area. If you are being raped you will have easy access to cause pain, or if you are in the middle of a fight sending a flying knee to his groin or a hard stomp to this area can do serious damage.

Simple martial arts tips #2 – Gouge out the eyeballs of your assailant! While I was learning how to fight in Jeetkunedo Concepts, my teacher always told me to use an eye gouge before resorting to hits or kicks. What’s the reason? An eye gouge can throw off an attacker to the point that they’ll have to retreat! If you watch the UFC, take a look at all the fights that have been ended due to eye gouges. Now imagine if a UFC fighter like Kimbo Slice, got his eyeball torn out in a fist fight. All his amazing punches and kicks would be useless.

Simple martial arts tips #3 – Kick someone in the kneecap. If you can bust through your opponents knee cap, and drop on him on the ground you’ll be able to stop him from fighting you. When you perform this move, you want to envision yourself kicking the knee joint. If you can make your attacker fall to the ground and cry out in pain, you’ve completed the fight and come out triumphant!

Keep these following 3 tips of causing damage in your memory when you are in a life or death battle. Although these simple martial arts tips aren’t fancy or showy, they will certainly prove to be effective. Make use of them when it’s necessary. Also remember to train every day with weights, or go for walks, jogs, or bike rides. Just maintain constant physical activity. I also recommend you learn more simple martial arts tips, by trying different styles of self defense including going to martial arts schools and self defense seminars as well.

The Beauty of Japanese Art

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Japanese art is amongst the most respected all over the world and it’s famous for many diverse art movements across distinct mediums, such as wooden block prints and calligraphy.

It is not just those with Japanese history in their blood that are attracted the country’s art but people all over the world who appreciate the Japanese unique and beautiful view of art and life. The top identified artists from Japan inside the western art public are currently Katsushika Hokusai, Morita, Ando Hiroshige and Kitagawa whose original paintings and wooden block prints make popular selections as reproductions framed prints or wall posters for those seeking to add just a little color and culture to their houses.

Japanese folk lore is filled with the fantastic samurai of history, the shoguns, the warlords or the pretenders – this vivid history, frequently elaborated and embroidered informs an enormous number of prints loosely known as musha-e or warrior prints. As such Japanese prints are rich with human sensation. Almost every Japanese print recounts a tale, usually bloody, of bound couples, envious spouses and suicidal warriors. Aside from the excellent battle photos you will find also genres on spiritual subjects; the nineteenth century Japanese being particularly fascinated with ghosts, demons and spirits.

Playfulness in meaning and language was a fascination in nineteenth century Japan, a scenario exaggerated by a lot of edicts on artists to censor the subject matter of their work. These were contemporary recreations of nicely known historical subjects known as mitate-e, (literally, likened) prints.

Possibly the largest genre of all is: yakusha-e or actor prints. These may be portrait busts of actors in role or individual scenes from kabuki performances. Despite the fact that these prints had been of contemporary actors, the dramas that they portray are usually historical or mythic, meaning that the print itself can be a representation of an historic or famous event.

One thing people notice is that prints by the exact same artist often vary widely in cost. There are a few reasons for this. Condition is paramount for value but also specific prints by artists are regarded as to be of exceptional artistic value, other people are rare due to the fact the editions were extremely tiny. Prints are prone to fading, attack by worms and insects, water damage, damp, fire and careless handling and excess trimming. Condition is quite crucial, don’t forget these are fragile things and it occasionally seems miraculous that they’ve survived at all. If you purchase from reputable dealers nevertheless, then marketplace value will on the entire be fairly reflected inside the cost.

Most of all buy prints simply because you like them; a great dealer will provide a lot of details on a piece: the date, subject matter, who is depicted and so on. Details like this enrich the experience of ownership enormously.

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How A Martial Artist Can Increase Their Kicking Speed With Ankle Weights

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Most martial artists are in excellent health and wonderful shape. Yet to find out how a martial artist can increase their kicking speed one must look to the simple facts of conditioning. It is pushing yourself to get to the next level in your kicking and that means pushing your body as well.

While it may seem crazy the first way to speed up the kicks is to slow down the body. One important aspect of martial arts is the need for long, lean and powerful muscles. To achieve that place an individual must stretch. Unfortunately that seems to be the part of a workout that gets overlooked. Doing stretching properly is even more important since it is to relax and release the muscles not shorten them in pain.

Warmth is the crucial aspect to stretching. Getting up and stretching first thing is not the most effective way to help your body. After a night of sleep and little movement your muscles are tight and slow. Taking a hot bath or shower is a wonderful way to wake up the muscles warmly and get them ready for stretching. Once you are warm start moving to allow the blood to begin flowing throughout the body and relaxing your muscles.

To kick higher you have to get stronger. Do this by adding extra weights to your legs during the day to push your normal activity to the next level. However, do not start kicking when you first put the weights on. Let your muscles get used to them. Just wearing them doing your normal activities is building up your muscle tone. When you feel like you are used to wearing them then you can start with low kicks to let your legs learn the new movement.

Finding a target to kick at is a great way of developing your mind and body connection. Hang something six inches higher than you can actually kick and try to reach the object. This will motivate you to reach the item and will allow your eyes to see and the mind to understand that it has to do more.

When you are used to the ankle weights try kicking with them on after proper warm up and stretching. This pushes your strength to the brink.

Then have someone video record your kick and see if you are wasting any movements. Are you taking too many steps to set up? Are you adding an extra step that not only is taking away from your speed by telling your opponent what you plan to do? Watch the tape and see where you can economize your movements to create a smoother, faster kicking process.

Once you have seen some progress with the weight on take it off to see how much easier it is to kick faster and higher. Your foot will feel light and you will see the amazing difference these steps made to how a martial artist can increase their kicking speed.