Question:
I want to mix things up to help keep my kids interested in their training. What can I do?
Answer:
Kids like fun and games. If it's fun, they will do it longer and keep coming back for more. The challenge is incorporating this into the tradition and discipline structure of training.
One of my clients closes out his classes with a game that uses some of the skills needed in training like balance or coordination or cooperation, but only if the class was well behaved. This makes it a reward and helps keep them focused.
Some of the games used include kick-force measuring kick shields, and other such devices, adding a little friendly competition as they work techniques.
A god variant is a take off of the old "Simon Says" game, where the instructor calls out techniques and those who do the wrong ones or do techniques at the wrong moment are eliminated.
For more ideas, please see my article "Spicing up your Kids Classes"
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
Video: Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu Iaijutsu
This is Sekiguchi Sensei, the head of Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu Iaijutsu, Yamauchi Ha.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Taking Better Action Photos By Bob Hubbard
Taking Better Action Photos
By Bob Hubbard
Ever been at a martial arts or other sporting event and taken pictures and not been happy with what you got? Were the eyes red and demonic looking, or did the subjects look like blurs or whispery ghosts? Here's a couple of suggestions to help you improve your shots.
1 - Know your camera settings.
Most people simply put their camera on "automatic" and hope for the best. This works in most cases, but action shots require a bit more knowledge to get right. Check and see if your camera has an "Action" or "Sports" mode. These settings use preset settings from the manufacturer to try and optimize your camera to capture fast moving action. While not perfect, it will usually improve what you do get.
2 - Use your Flash.
Yes, even in what to you looks like a nice and bright room, using your flash can help to "freeze" the action for your camera to catch it, and will add some pop to your shot.
3 - Enable Red Eye protection.
Many current pocket cameras today include a mode that ties to minimize those evil glowing demon eyes you get when using flash. Red eye is caused by the flash being too close to the lense, and the flash being "seen" in the eye. This is part of why professional photographers use those special grips and have the flash way up over the camera. If your flash is too harsh, try taping a little tissue paper over the light to soften it. Be aware that doing so will shorten the range and brightness of the light.
4 - Know what ISO your camera is set at.
Simply put, properly setting your camera's ISO will improve your pictures. A low ISO like 100-200 tends to be sharp, clear. High ISO's like 800-1600= ten to be on the fuzzy side, and grainy. So, why use a high ISO? The higher the number the more light sensitive your digital film is. Use a high ISO in low light situations.
5 - Take some test shots.
Digital cameras are great in that you can take as many shots as you want and not have to worry about bad ones. Before the event, take some test shots and preview them on the screen. Delete the ones that are really off, tweak your settings and try a few more.
Sports photography is a fun activity, but getting the best quality shots takes a little work. I hope that these tips help you enjoy your photography more.
====
Bob Hubbard is a professional photographer specializing in martial arts event, nature and portrait photography. He is also the CEO of SilverStar WebDesigns Inc, a web design and hosting company specializing in martial arts sites, as well as an administrator on the popular martial arts communities MartialTalk.com, Kenpotalk.com and FMATalk.com. His martial arts photography can be found there as well as at his martial arts photography web site, martialphotos.com. He may be reached through these sites.
Copyright © 2008 - Bob Hubbard - All Rights Reserved
Permission is granted to reprint this article on websites, blogs and ezines provided all text, links and authors bio is left intact.
By Bob Hubbard
Ever been at a martial arts or other sporting event and taken pictures and not been happy with what you got? Were the eyes red and demonic looking, or did the subjects look like blurs or whispery ghosts? Here's a couple of suggestions to help you improve your shots.
1 - Know your camera settings.
Most people simply put their camera on "automatic" and hope for the best. This works in most cases, but action shots require a bit more knowledge to get right. Check and see if your camera has an "Action" or "Sports" mode. These settings use preset settings from the manufacturer to try and optimize your camera to capture fast moving action. While not perfect, it will usually improve what you do get.
2 - Use your Flash.
Yes, even in what to you looks like a nice and bright room, using your flash can help to "freeze" the action for your camera to catch it, and will add some pop to your shot.
3 - Enable Red Eye protection.
Many current pocket cameras today include a mode that ties to minimize those evil glowing demon eyes you get when using flash. Red eye is caused by the flash being too close to the lense, and the flash being "seen" in the eye. This is part of why professional photographers use those special grips and have the flash way up over the camera. If your flash is too harsh, try taping a little tissue paper over the light to soften it. Be aware that doing so will shorten the range and brightness of the light.
4 - Know what ISO your camera is set at.
Simply put, properly setting your camera's ISO will improve your pictures. A low ISO like 100-200 tends to be sharp, clear. High ISO's like 800-1600= ten to be on the fuzzy side, and grainy. So, why use a high ISO? The higher the number the more light sensitive your digital film is. Use a high ISO in low light situations.
5 - Take some test shots.
Digital cameras are great in that you can take as many shots as you want and not have to worry about bad ones. Before the event, take some test shots and preview them on the screen. Delete the ones that are really off, tweak your settings and try a few more.
Sports photography is a fun activity, but getting the best quality shots takes a little work. I hope that these tips help you enjoy your photography more.
====
Bob Hubbard is a professional photographer specializing in martial arts event, nature and portrait photography. He is also the CEO of SilverStar WebDesigns Inc, a web design and hosting company specializing in martial arts sites, as well as an administrator on the popular martial arts communities MartialTalk.com, Kenpotalk.com and FMATalk.com. His martial arts photography can be found there as well as at his martial arts photography web site, martialphotos.com. He may be reached through these sites.
Copyright © 2008 - Bob Hubbard - All Rights Reserved
Permission is granted to reprint this article on websites, blogs and ezines provided all text, links and authors bio is left intact.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Guest Spot: 5 Steps to Choosing the Right Martial Art for You By J Moore
5 Steps to Choosing the Right Martial Art for You
By J Moore
One of the questions I get asked most frequently, in several different variations is about which martial art an individual should study. Generally which martial art, and more importantly which school to choose are fundamental decisions someone should make. My answer is usually something along the lines of, “choose the school and the system that you are going to stick with and stay with it for the rest of your life.”
The reality is that the answer is going to be different for every person. What I will attempt to do in this article is give you a set of general guidelines. I will talk in very broad terms about different martial arts, and what to look for in a school. Ultimately every teacher, at every school, in every system is going to be completely different.
1. Dispelling a common myth
Just like with religion and politics, many people honestly believe that what they do is the best thing in the world. One only has to make a cursory study of the psychological principle of cognitive dissonance to see why this is so. So many schools out there claim to be teaching, “the ultimate, deadliest, most secret, guarded system of self defense ever invented by the gods of combat.” To be quite blunt – they are full of crap.
In one respect, much of this stuff is a marketing stance. Heck, everybody wants to study the best thing in the world. If such a thing existed everybody would study it. Some martial arts schools can become very cult like as well, and this is where the cognitive dissonance comes in. The practitioners actually believe their marketing stuff.
The truth is that style is not going to fight for you – you are. Every person is different and there is not one best system for everyone. It would be quite scary for me to face a sumo wrestler in combat, but it would also be silly for me to expect to take up Sumo and be good at it.
Claims of superior systems that can make you as deadly as a Navy SEAL in 24 hours also stem from American culture. It is unfortunate that we of the MTV and Internet generation are always looking for a shortcut, a quick fix. It makes many of us miss a lot of very valuable and important stuff.
2. Let’s start with you
If I can help you answer a few key questions about yourself and your interests, you will have done most of the work toward picking out a martial arts school that is best for you.
First and foremost, what do you want to get out of martial arts training? Yes, yes, I know you want to learn self defense – put that on the list. But people study martial arts for a variety of reasons. You want to get some exercise, you want to meet new people, you want to get rid of stress, you want a new hobby, and you think the uniforms look cool. Really think about it and write down your reasons. Everything is valid and your reasons are your own. Then I would prioritize your reasons – which ones are more important than others. Maybe getting into shape is your main goal – if so, that may help determine a place to study.
3. What style?
Now, let’s talk a little bit about systems or styles. A system is just the type of martial art you will be studying like Karate, Kendo, or Kung Fu. The differences between styles may also help you to determine where to look.
The main difference between most martial arts style is focus. Some arts like Tae Kwon do focus on large kicking movements, while others – like Kendo focus on a particular weapon. Body type and interest (as we discussed before) will help you think a little about style focus. For example: I am built like a fireplug – short and wide, am somewhat slow and am very interested in the self defense aspect of training. Ketsugo Jujutsu turned out to be the best style for me as it focused on unbalancing the opponent, the kicks were low to the ground, and the fighting in close where we short guys excel.
Beyond focus is a scale of formality to informality. To me formality is a measure of emphasis on things like training etiquette, ceremony, style of dress, method of addressing seniors etc. Many Japanese and Korean styles are very formal. On the far end of the informal scale you might have a cardio kickboxing class at local gym. On the far end of the formal scale you might have a style like Kendo which places a lot of emphasis on appearance and etiquette.
Neither formal nor informal is better or worse; it is a matter of preference. I personally enjoy some of the formalities of traditional Japanese martial arts. For me they build character and shape a strong state of mind that carries over into day to day life. For others, the formalities may be difficult to grasp and they may wish for something less formal.
The following is a list of styles I have arranged from most to least formal. This arrangement is from my own best knowledge and is neither absolute nor inclusive. Many would rightfully disagree with where I have placed things on the list, but this is meant to be a general guideline. Again, every single teacher in every different school is going to be different. This is meant as a starting point:
-Formal
While you’re on the web already, it would pay off to do some research. Look up a few sites for a few of the styles I have listed here. Get some general information about focus and formality. See what strikes you as interesting. Make a small list of styles you might be interested in pursuing.
4. Practical Issues
OK, now you’ve done some soul searching and some research and you have a list of styles you might be interested in learning. Now we have to talk a little bit about lifestyle. If Kendo interests you, but the nearest school is 200 miles away – it may not be a practical choice.
You can certainly look through your yellow pages to find schools close to you or ask people you know if they know of any schools. A word to the wise: friends will always try to get you to come to their school and may get offended of you don’t or if you visit and then don’t want to sign up. That’s definitely something to consider.
Some practical things to consider are school location and proximity to home / work, costs and your ability to pay dues and other fees, class schedule and how it fits into your schedule. Other things may also be important to you like parking, and facilities – write them down.
You should narrow down your potential list of schools based on your criteria, but you should still plan on visiting more than one to give you a sense of comparison.
5. Choosing a school
The following are a list of things I suggest you look for when choosing a school or instructor. To me, these factors are more important than any other of the above factors and can make or break your martial arts experience.
•When you call the school, are all your questions answered, and answered honestly? Sometimes someone will answer the phone that may not be able to answer all your questions. They should pass you on to someone who can , or have someone call you back.
•Every school out there should offer at least one free trial class before you sign up. How else can you determine if you want to study there? Your best bet is to try out several different schools to give you some comparison.
•When you visit the school, is the practice safe, or are students allowed to train in dangerous ways or without proper supervision?
•Is the school itself hygienic and free from unsafe conditions?
•Do students and teachers show respect toward everyone? This extends beyond formal bowing and address to making sure everyone is learning and nobody is being abused.
•Be prepared that many schools these days require a contract like a health club. Make sure you are clear on the terms of the contract if you do decide to sign one, and do not be afraid to walk out if you are uncomfortable with the terms.
•Be very wary of cult-like schools that try to up-sell you to intensified black belt programs and the like. While some of these may be legitimate, there are many scam artists in black belts out there. You should be very clear about what you are paying for up front.
•Do the teacher and senior students display a lot of skill in the art they are teaching? This may be hard to determine since great martial artists are often very subtle. However, the teacher and students should display knowledge, skill, and balance which might be more obvious.
•Most importantly, trust your instincts. If something about the school doesn’t sit right with you, then it probably isn’t right. Look out for the fast talking salesman who tries to sweep your concerns under the rug.
Remember that choosing the right teacher and the right school is more important than the actual style. If you choose a school that you enjoy, study with a teacher you like, and train with students that inspire you – you are likely to stick with your martial art. The longer you stick with it – the better you’ll get. Hopefully you will discover a very positive lifelong journey that will shower hidden benefits on you as my martial art has upon me.
John Moore is a recognized expert in personal protection and a founder of Martial Training Systems LLC. He resides in Boston and provides professional consultation and training, products, and services related to self-defense and physical conditioning. He has trained in martial arts since the age of 10 including Arnis, Kenpo, Kyokushinkai, and Ketsugo Jujutsu - in which he holds an advanced black belt. He is a sought-after speaker, entrepreneur, and author - spending 90% of his time consulting in the corporate world. See http://www.martialtrainingsystems.com for more information.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=J_Moore
Reprinted with permission.
By J Moore
One of the questions I get asked most frequently, in several different variations is about which martial art an individual should study. Generally which martial art, and more importantly which school to choose are fundamental decisions someone should make. My answer is usually something along the lines of, “choose the school and the system that you are going to stick with and stay with it for the rest of your life.”
The reality is that the answer is going to be different for every person. What I will attempt to do in this article is give you a set of general guidelines. I will talk in very broad terms about different martial arts, and what to look for in a school. Ultimately every teacher, at every school, in every system is going to be completely different.
1. Dispelling a common myth
Just like with religion and politics, many people honestly believe that what they do is the best thing in the world. One only has to make a cursory study of the psychological principle of cognitive dissonance to see why this is so. So many schools out there claim to be teaching, “the ultimate, deadliest, most secret, guarded system of self defense ever invented by the gods of combat.” To be quite blunt – they are full of crap.
In one respect, much of this stuff is a marketing stance. Heck, everybody wants to study the best thing in the world. If such a thing existed everybody would study it. Some martial arts schools can become very cult like as well, and this is where the cognitive dissonance comes in. The practitioners actually believe their marketing stuff.
The truth is that style is not going to fight for you – you are. Every person is different and there is not one best system for everyone. It would be quite scary for me to face a sumo wrestler in combat, but it would also be silly for me to expect to take up Sumo and be good at it.
Claims of superior systems that can make you as deadly as a Navy SEAL in 24 hours also stem from American culture. It is unfortunate that we of the MTV and Internet generation are always looking for a shortcut, a quick fix. It makes many of us miss a lot of very valuable and important stuff.
2. Let’s start with you
If I can help you answer a few key questions about yourself and your interests, you will have done most of the work toward picking out a martial arts school that is best for you.
First and foremost, what do you want to get out of martial arts training? Yes, yes, I know you want to learn self defense – put that on the list. But people study martial arts for a variety of reasons. You want to get some exercise, you want to meet new people, you want to get rid of stress, you want a new hobby, and you think the uniforms look cool. Really think about it and write down your reasons. Everything is valid and your reasons are your own. Then I would prioritize your reasons – which ones are more important than others. Maybe getting into shape is your main goal – if so, that may help determine a place to study.
3. What style?
Now, let’s talk a little bit about systems or styles. A system is just the type of martial art you will be studying like Karate, Kendo, or Kung Fu. The differences between styles may also help you to determine where to look.
The main difference between most martial arts style is focus. Some arts like Tae Kwon do focus on large kicking movements, while others – like Kendo focus on a particular weapon. Body type and interest (as we discussed before) will help you think a little about style focus. For example: I am built like a fireplug – short and wide, am somewhat slow and am very interested in the self defense aspect of training. Ketsugo Jujutsu turned out to be the best style for me as it focused on unbalancing the opponent, the kicks were low to the ground, and the fighting in close where we short guys excel.
Beyond focus is a scale of formality to informality. To me formality is a measure of emphasis on things like training etiquette, ceremony, style of dress, method of addressing seniors etc. Many Japanese and Korean styles are very formal. On the far end of the informal scale you might have a cardio kickboxing class at local gym. On the far end of the formal scale you might have a style like Kendo which places a lot of emphasis on appearance and etiquette.
Neither formal nor informal is better or worse; it is a matter of preference. I personally enjoy some of the formalities of traditional Japanese martial arts. For me they build character and shape a strong state of mind that carries over into day to day life. For others, the formalities may be difficult to grasp and they may wish for something less formal.
The following is a list of styles I have arranged from most to least formal. This arrangement is from my own best knowledge and is neither absolute nor inclusive. Many would rightfully disagree with where I have placed things on the list, but this is meant to be a general guideline. Again, every single teacher in every different school is going to be different. This is meant as a starting point:
-Formal
- Kendo / Kumdo
- Aikido
- Tae Kwon Do
- Karate
- Jujutsu
- Kung Fu
- Silat
- Ninjutsu
- Tai Chi / Bagua / Hsing-yi
- Arnis / Kali / Escima
- Capoeira
- Kickboxing
- Boxing
While you’re on the web already, it would pay off to do some research. Look up a few sites for a few of the styles I have listed here. Get some general information about focus and formality. See what strikes you as interesting. Make a small list of styles you might be interested in pursuing.
4. Practical Issues
OK, now you’ve done some soul searching and some research and you have a list of styles you might be interested in learning. Now we have to talk a little bit about lifestyle. If Kendo interests you, but the nearest school is 200 miles away – it may not be a practical choice.
You can certainly look through your yellow pages to find schools close to you or ask people you know if they know of any schools. A word to the wise: friends will always try to get you to come to their school and may get offended of you don’t or if you visit and then don’t want to sign up. That’s definitely something to consider.
Some practical things to consider are school location and proximity to home / work, costs and your ability to pay dues and other fees, class schedule and how it fits into your schedule. Other things may also be important to you like parking, and facilities – write them down.
You should narrow down your potential list of schools based on your criteria, but you should still plan on visiting more than one to give you a sense of comparison.
5. Choosing a school
The following are a list of things I suggest you look for when choosing a school or instructor. To me, these factors are more important than any other of the above factors and can make or break your martial arts experience.
•When you call the school, are all your questions answered, and answered honestly? Sometimes someone will answer the phone that may not be able to answer all your questions. They should pass you on to someone who can , or have someone call you back.
•Every school out there should offer at least one free trial class before you sign up. How else can you determine if you want to study there? Your best bet is to try out several different schools to give you some comparison.
•When you visit the school, is the practice safe, or are students allowed to train in dangerous ways or without proper supervision?
•Is the school itself hygienic and free from unsafe conditions?
•Do students and teachers show respect toward everyone? This extends beyond formal bowing and address to making sure everyone is learning and nobody is being abused.
•Be prepared that many schools these days require a contract like a health club. Make sure you are clear on the terms of the contract if you do decide to sign one, and do not be afraid to walk out if you are uncomfortable with the terms.
•Be very wary of cult-like schools that try to up-sell you to intensified black belt programs and the like. While some of these may be legitimate, there are many scam artists in black belts out there. You should be very clear about what you are paying for up front.
•Do the teacher and senior students display a lot of skill in the art they are teaching? This may be hard to determine since great martial artists are often very subtle. However, the teacher and students should display knowledge, skill, and balance which might be more obvious.
•Most importantly, trust your instincts. If something about the school doesn’t sit right with you, then it probably isn’t right. Look out for the fast talking salesman who tries to sweep your concerns under the rug.
Remember that choosing the right teacher and the right school is more important than the actual style. If you choose a school that you enjoy, study with a teacher you like, and train with students that inspire you – you are likely to stick with your martial art. The longer you stick with it – the better you’ll get. Hopefully you will discover a very positive lifelong journey that will shower hidden benefits on you as my martial art has upon me.
John Moore is a recognized expert in personal protection and a founder of Martial Training Systems LLC. He resides in Boston and provides professional consultation and training, products, and services related to self-defense and physical conditioning. He has trained in martial arts since the age of 10 including Arnis, Kenpo, Kyokushinkai, and Ketsugo Jujutsu - in which he holds an advanced black belt. He is a sought-after speaker, entrepreneur, and author - spending 90% of his time consulting in the corporate world. See http://www.martialtrainingsystems.com for more information.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=J_Moore
Reprinted with permission.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Q&A: What can I do with my website to help keep and motivate my students?
Question:
What can I do with my website to help keep and motivate my students?
Answer:
My suggestion would be to have a dedicated section of your website, possibly password protected, for the education and recognition of your students. Some of the things you can build into it are:
You can also setup a forum, public or private, to encourage community within your school.
What can I do with my website to help keep and motivate my students?
Answer:
My suggestion would be to have a dedicated section of your website, possibly password protected, for the education and recognition of your students. Some of the things you can build into it are:
- School Announcements - Post all your news, promotions, upcoming events and seminars.
- Student Birthdays - Wishing them a Happy Birthday earns you good will, especially with parents and younger kids.
- Student of the Month - Nothing boosts satisfaction like some public recognition
- Class Schedules & Calendars - Helps keep your students informed on when classes are, as well as when you're closed and when special events are.
- School History / Lineage
- New Student Announcements & Resources - A nice way to say hello and welcome new students to the school, also helps give them all the "newbie" info.
- Form Meanings and walk throughs
- School Rules & Policies
- Tournament Information and Results
- Monthly Training Tips
- Seminar Information
- Black Belt Club - Special information for your BBC or other "specialty" groups.
- Demonstration Team - Have a demo team? Great way to promote it and recognize the members who are representing your school
You can also setup a forum, public or private, to encourage community within your school.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Video: Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu Iaijutsu
Old video of Otake Shihan performing iaijutsu kata. From Aikido Journal.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Why is it called "The Internet"?
Why is it called "The Internet"?
By Bob Hubbard
Ever wonder why this huge international maze of computers, servers, and sites is called "The Internet"?
Internet means inter-connected networks. Developed during the 1960's and 1970's, what we refer to today as "The Internet" grew from small localized networks running on colleges, universities and military bases, to larger networks connecting smaller ones, to a huge world wide network of networks.
Most people today only think of the Internet as email and websites, but in fact it is a combination of many different services.
Email consists of several different systems, including POP (Post Office Protocol) which is responsible for getting your email from your electrnic mail box, and SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) which is used to send email to the world.
Web sites run on Hypertext Transfer Protocol, or HTTP. When you type in a web address in your browser, that http:// you enter in tells the server on the other end to use the HTTP system to transfer the page to you. Modern browsers use it by default, but older browsers would fail to find a site if you forgot it.
FTP, or "File Transfer Protocol" is a means for transferring files between your system and a remote one.
IRC, or "Internet Relay Chat", also called "Chat Rooms" are the precursor to today's instant messaging and text message systems. Still in operation today, they aren't well known to most people. IRC requires special software to access.
A forgotten part of our net history is Gopher. Gopher is a combination web and ftp system for organized document retrieval. Text only, there are less than 200 Gopher servers currently online, with most neglected, however some universities still use them.
Then there is the Network News Transfer Protocol or NNTP which is an Internet application protocol used primarily for reading and posting Usenet articles, as well as transferring news among news servers. USENET is a huge world wide distributed electronic discussion system. What this means is, it is like having a global forum, spread over many systems. There are currently well over 100,000 different topics ranging from the boring to the profane. Accessing USENET requires special software called a NewsReader, as well as an account with a news provider.
As you can see, the Internet is a pretty complex thing, made simple and accessible by modern software, allowing us to communicate around the world at whim.
Additional Resources at Wikipedia
USENET http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet
NNTP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_News_Transfer_Protocol
FTP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC
POP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_Office_Protocol
SMTP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smtp
Email http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-mail
IRC http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC
HTTP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Http
Gopher http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopher_(protocol)
=========
Bob Hubbard is an administrator of the popular martial arts portal site MartialTalk.com and president of SilverStar WebDesigns inc., a web site design and hosting company specializing in affordable solutions for martial artists. Bob can be reached at webmaster@martialtalk.com
Article Copyright © 2008 - Bob Hubbard - All Rights Reserved.
This article may be reproduced provided all text, the author bio and these terms are kept intact.
By Bob Hubbard
Ever wonder why this huge international maze of computers, servers, and sites is called "The Internet"?
Internet means inter-connected networks. Developed during the 1960's and 1970's, what we refer to today as "The Internet" grew from small localized networks running on colleges, universities and military bases, to larger networks connecting smaller ones, to a huge world wide network of networks.
Most people today only think of the Internet as email and websites, but in fact it is a combination of many different services.
Email consists of several different systems, including POP (Post Office Protocol) which is responsible for getting your email from your electrnic mail box, and SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) which is used to send email to the world.
Web sites run on Hypertext Transfer Protocol, or HTTP. When you type in a web address in your browser, that http:// you enter in tells the server on the other end to use the HTTP system to transfer the page to you. Modern browsers use it by default, but older browsers would fail to find a site if you forgot it.
FTP, or "File Transfer Protocol" is a means for transferring files between your system and a remote one.
IRC, or "Internet Relay Chat", also called "Chat Rooms" are the precursor to today's instant messaging and text message systems. Still in operation today, they aren't well known to most people. IRC requires special software to access.
A forgotten part of our net history is Gopher. Gopher is a combination web and ftp system for organized document retrieval. Text only, there are less than 200 Gopher servers currently online, with most neglected, however some universities still use them.
Then there is the Network News Transfer Protocol or NNTP which is an Internet application protocol used primarily for reading and posting Usenet articles, as well as transferring news among news servers. USENET is a huge world wide distributed electronic discussion system. What this means is, it is like having a global forum, spread over many systems. There are currently well over 100,000 different topics ranging from the boring to the profane. Accessing USENET requires special software called a NewsReader, as well as an account with a news provider.
As you can see, the Internet is a pretty complex thing, made simple and accessible by modern software, allowing us to communicate around the world at whim.
Additional Resources at Wikipedia
USENET http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet
NNTP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_News_Transfer_Protocol
FTP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC
POP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_Office_Protocol
SMTP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smtp
Email http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-mail
IRC http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC
HTTP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Http
Gopher http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopher_(protocol)
=========
Bob Hubbard is an administrator of the popular martial arts portal site MartialTalk.com and president of SilverStar WebDesigns inc., a web site design and hosting company specializing in affordable solutions for martial artists. Bob can be reached at webmaster@martialtalk.com
Article Copyright © 2008 - Bob Hubbard - All Rights Reserved.
This article may be reproduced provided all text, the author bio and these terms are kept intact.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Guest Spot: Meditation Exercise - Full Body Awareness By: Robert Morgen
Meditation Exercise - Full Body Awareness
By: Robert Morgen
Now that you’re comfortable working with your breath it’s time to bring the rest of the body in. Continue breathing as I’ve outlined in my article on Breathing. Now in addition to feeling your breath flow and your stomach and ribs expand, I want you to feel the energy that flows into your body with each breath. For me it feels like a lightness, or a very light feeling. It may feel different for you so take some time here and just open up and feel the energy.
Now when you draw the energy in can you feel it pooling at your center of gravity just below your belly button? Now as you breathe just let that pool of energy expand throughout your body. Can you feel it flowing down through your legs and up your back and down your arms? Take some time here and practice this feeling that energy pool expand through your whole body. Later we’ll expand it out even further, but for now just let it flow.
This exercise should help you to feel rejuvenated and refreshed as you’re drawing energy from an infinite pool. Do this exercise whenever you’re depressed or down, and eventually as you progress you’ll learn to do it all the time. It’s a habit that you have to grow into.
Awareness and Intention
EVERYTHING is about ‘Awareness’ and ‘Intention’. Now that you’ve begun to build an awareness of the energy, called Chi, Ki or Prana in some circles, you’ll be able to do things with it and move it around in your (and other peoples) body.
We move energy with ‘Intention’, and this is a very important fact. EVERYTHING is energy! Our thoughts, our actions, our beliefs, everything around us and everything we see, feel, hear, think and do is energy. Intention is what we do with that energy.
We are all connected in a vast energy pool that encompasses everything that is, was and will be. It doesn’t matter whether a person believes in it or can feel it; they still have the ability to affect it. How many times have you seen a person with a negative attitude who continually draws more negative reactions to himself? He’s broadcasting his intentions through his attitudes with the result that he becomes a human ‘crap magnet’, drawing in all the negative feelings and emotions and experiences.
The other side of this is the continually positive person who always approaches everything from a positive attitude. This doesn’t mean that everything always goes the way she wants it, but if you’ll watch you’ll see that even the bad times provide fuel for her growth and she tries to take every ‘bad experience’ as a lesson to help improve herself.
Just as our thoughts can influence Chi subconsciously, so can they move it around in our body. Energy follows thought, so when you think about moving energy then it will actually go where you send it. The important thing here is to stay out of its way. Energy moves in a spiral and at its own speed, so don’t try to micro-manage it, just let it flow.
Now take some time and do the Full Body Awareness exercise again, and this time feel the energy go where you send it. You can also play with this a bit. Send it down to your feet, now bring it back to your center and this time just send it down to your left foot, now your right. Now send it up to your head, and down to your left elbow.
Now, the next time you’re stuck in traffic, or impatiently waiting in line at the Motor Vehicles Office, just relax and start to play with this. Isn’t this a neat toy?
© 2006 Robert Morgen. This article may be used by anyone, anywhere as long as the author’s bio and links are included.
---
“Full Body Awareness” is an excerpt from Robert Morgen’s book “Kundalini Awakening for Personal Mastery” (ISBN: 0-9773801-0-6)
His new book “Easy Meditation for Martial Artists” (ISBN: 978-0-9773801-3-8 ) is also now available.
Robert Morgen is a Reiki Master who holds a Black Belt in Hoshinjutsu and a Brown Belt in Combat Hapkido. He’s founder of the Mystic Village Online Community at www.mysticvillage.org
He writes a regular column on subtle (or internal) energy for Fight Times Magazine and a column on Kundalini Awakening at Kundalini Awakening Magazine. He’s the author of 3 books and 4 CDs on meditation and energy work.
He’s a member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids as well as the International Bujinkan Dojo Association, Canemasters International and the International Combat Hapkido Federation.
You can learn more about his books, Kundalini and Martial Arts Seminars and free events and newsletters at his website at www.mysticwolfpress.com
Article Source: http://www.mysticvillage.org/articles/
Now that you’re comfortable working with your breath it’s time to bring the rest of the body in. Continue breathing as I’ve outlined in my article on Breathing. Now in addition to feeling your breath flow and your stomach and ribs expand, I want you to feel the energy that flows into your body with each breath. For me it feels like a lightness, or a very light feeling. It may feel different for you so take some time here and just open up and feel the energy.
Now when you draw the energy in can you feel it pooling at your center of gravity just below your belly button? Now as you breathe just let that pool of energy expand throughout your body. Can you feel it flowing down through your legs and up your back and down your arms? Take some time here and practice this feeling that energy pool expand through your whole body. Later we’ll expand it out even further, but for now just let it flow.
This exercise should help you to feel rejuvenated and refreshed as you’re drawing energy from an infinite pool. Do this exercise whenever you’re depressed or down, and eventually as you progress you’ll learn to do it all the time. It’s a habit that you have to grow into.
Awareness and Intention
EVERYTHING is about ‘Awareness’ and ‘Intention’. Now that you’ve begun to build an awareness of the energy, called Chi, Ki or Prana in some circles, you’ll be able to do things with it and move it around in your (and other peoples) body.
We move energy with ‘Intention’, and this is a very important fact. EVERYTHING is energy! Our thoughts, our actions, our beliefs, everything around us and everything we see, feel, hear, think and do is energy. Intention is what we do with that energy.
We are all connected in a vast energy pool that encompasses everything that is, was and will be. It doesn’t matter whether a person believes in it or can feel it; they still have the ability to affect it. How many times have you seen a person with a negative attitude who continually draws more negative reactions to himself? He’s broadcasting his intentions through his attitudes with the result that he becomes a human ‘crap magnet’, drawing in all the negative feelings and emotions and experiences.
The other side of this is the continually positive person who always approaches everything from a positive attitude. This doesn’t mean that everything always goes the way she wants it, but if you’ll watch you’ll see that even the bad times provide fuel for her growth and she tries to take every ‘bad experience’ as a lesson to help improve herself.
Just as our thoughts can influence Chi subconsciously, so can they move it around in our body. Energy follows thought, so when you think about moving energy then it will actually go where you send it. The important thing here is to stay out of its way. Energy moves in a spiral and at its own speed, so don’t try to micro-manage it, just let it flow.
Now take some time and do the Full Body Awareness exercise again, and this time feel the energy go where you send it. You can also play with this a bit. Send it down to your feet, now bring it back to your center and this time just send it down to your left foot, now your right. Now send it up to your head, and down to your left elbow.
Now, the next time you’re stuck in traffic, or impatiently waiting in line at the Motor Vehicles Office, just relax and start to play with this. Isn’t this a neat toy?
© 2006 Robert Morgen. This article may be used by anyone, anywhere as long as the author’s bio and links are included.
---
“Full Body Awareness” is an excerpt from Robert Morgen’s book “Kundalini Awakening for Personal Mastery” (ISBN: 0-9773801-0-6)
His new book “Easy Meditation for Martial Artists” (ISBN: 978-0-9773801-3-8 ) is also now available.
Robert Morgen is a Reiki Master who holds a Black Belt in Hoshinjutsu and a Brown Belt in Combat Hapkido. He’s founder of the Mystic Village Online Community at www.mysticvillage.org
He writes a regular column on subtle (or internal) energy for Fight Times Magazine and a column on Kundalini Awakening at Kundalini Awakening Magazine. He’s the author of 3 books and 4 CDs on meditation and energy work.
He’s a member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids as well as the International Bujinkan Dojo Association, Canemasters International and the International Combat Hapkido Federation.
You can learn more about his books, Kundalini and Martial Arts Seminars and free events and newsletters at his website at www.mysticwolfpress.com
Article Source: http://www.mysticvillage.org/articles/
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Q&A: Is there a homestudy system that can do the job of computer training, and is user friendly?
Question:
Is there a homestudy system that can do the job of computer training, and is user friendly?
Answer:
Homestudy, varies in my experience. I've had great succcess with the "Dummies" series of books (used them to pass 2 certification tests even). The "Visual Guide" also works well for people who need a lot of visual cues. I've played with a number of CBT's (computer based training) which were good, but more geared towards an intermediate rather than beginner level.
Many community centers offer decent one day instruction for a nominal cost. It won't make you a wizard but usually will get your feet wet a bit. I'll have to check into the current CBT/VBT (videos) products.
For additional information, please see my series of articles on the Benefits of Computers for Martial Arts Schools.
Is there a homestudy system that can do the job of computer training, and is user friendly?
Answer:
Homestudy, varies in my experience. I've had great succcess with the "Dummies" series of books (used them to pass 2 certification tests even). The "Visual Guide" also works well for people who need a lot of visual cues. I've played with a number of CBT's (computer based training) which were good, but more geared towards an intermediate rather than beginner level.
Many community centers offer decent one day instruction for a nominal cost. It won't make you a wizard but usually will get your feet wet a bit. I'll have to check into the current CBT/VBT (videos) products.
For additional information, please see my series of articles on the Benefits of Computers for Martial Arts Schools.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Video: Sugino Sensei (10th Dan), Master of Katori Shinto Ryu
Sugino Sensei (10th Dan), Master of Katori Shinto Ryu
Friday, December 12, 2008
Staying On Top of your Website for a Successful Site.
Staying On Top of your Website for a Successful Site.
By Bob Hubbard
Business websites can be both complex and simple. Managing one, is both easy and hard, depending on what you are doing with it.
A simple, flyer site requires little regular upkeep. Pop in every couple of months, make sure everything is up to date, and forget about it until next time. But treating your website like it's merely a big phone book ad, ignores the great potential and benefits it can provide your business. The ability to change it on the fly, to update it at will, offers you a great deal more potential and greater rewards than a "update once a year" solution like the phone book.
When I talk to my clients about keeping their websites updated, I often suggest they keep a running "to do" list on their computer, and add things to it as they think of them. This is sent to me monthly for me to schedule and perform. Other times, I recommend they simply email me their changes, and I'll queue them up for once a week or once a month to maximize my efficiency and minimize their costs.
You need to take time to look at your competitions web sites. After all, you check out their locations, their offerings, their phone book ads and other advertising. Be sure to look at what they are doing on the Internet as well. Take careful note of when they were last updated, what features they have, and how easy or hard it is to navigate through their site.
Schedule time each month, or week, to look at your own site. If you list contact information, is it current? Hours of Operation? Are they accurate? Do you list specials or events or other time-sensitive information? Be sure to update that as well. How many times do you come across a site that is listing things from years ago as happening in the future? Does that give you confidence that they are on the ball in other areas of their business?
To do this, you need a reliable web master to help keep you running at peak performance. All the plans, organization or ideas are useless if they never get to your website. Webmasters aren't created equally.There are good and there are bad ones.
If you can never get in touch with them, if updates are always days or weeks late, never done, or regularly done wrong, you need to find a new webmaster.
A good webmaster will keep you posted on your sites update status, inform you of when updates are performed, notify you of any delays, as well as offer suggestions to improve the site and it's performance.
To ensure you are getting the best, you have to check your site. If you send in your updates on Monday, and the following Monday you have heard nothing and nothing has been done to the site, you may want to pick up the phone and call them. Reviewing the timelyess and qualty of your webmaster is vital. Provide them feedback so that they can help you better. Be clear in indicating when you need work done, if anything is a rush job, if certain things should be emphasized or changed. Clarity of communications is vital in having a successful working relationship with your web expert.
Regularly checking other sites an your own, working with your web master, and being clear on what you expect and when you expect it done is vital to success online today.
=========
Bob Hubbard is an administrator of the popular martial arts portal site MartialTalk.com and president of SilverStar WebDesigns inc., a web site design and hosting company specializing in affordable solutions for martial artists. Bob can be reached at webmaster@martialtalk.com
Article Copyright © 2008 - Bob Hubbard - All Rights Reserved.
This article may be reproduced provided all text, the author bio and these terms are kept intact.
By Bob Hubbard
Business websites can be both complex and simple. Managing one, is both easy and hard, depending on what you are doing with it.
A simple, flyer site requires little regular upkeep. Pop in every couple of months, make sure everything is up to date, and forget about it until next time. But treating your website like it's merely a big phone book ad, ignores the great potential and benefits it can provide your business. The ability to change it on the fly, to update it at will, offers you a great deal more potential and greater rewards than a "update once a year" solution like the phone book.
When I talk to my clients about keeping their websites updated, I often suggest they keep a running "to do" list on their computer, and add things to it as they think of them. This is sent to me monthly for me to schedule and perform. Other times, I recommend they simply email me their changes, and I'll queue them up for once a week or once a month to maximize my efficiency and minimize their costs.
You need to take time to look at your competitions web sites. After all, you check out their locations, their offerings, their phone book ads and other advertising. Be sure to look at what they are doing on the Internet as well. Take careful note of when they were last updated, what features they have, and how easy or hard it is to navigate through their site.
Schedule time each month, or week, to look at your own site. If you list contact information, is it current? Hours of Operation? Are they accurate? Do you list specials or events or other time-sensitive information? Be sure to update that as well. How many times do you come across a site that is listing things from years ago as happening in the future? Does that give you confidence that they are on the ball in other areas of their business?
To do this, you need a reliable web master to help keep you running at peak performance. All the plans, organization or ideas are useless if they never get to your website. Webmasters aren't created equally.There are good and there are bad ones.
If you can never get in touch with them, if updates are always days or weeks late, never done, or regularly done wrong, you need to find a new webmaster.
A good webmaster will keep you posted on your sites update status, inform you of when updates are performed, notify you of any delays, as well as offer suggestions to improve the site and it's performance.
To ensure you are getting the best, you have to check your site. If you send in your updates on Monday, and the following Monday you have heard nothing and nothing has been done to the site, you may want to pick up the phone and call them. Reviewing the timelyess and qualty of your webmaster is vital. Provide them feedback so that they can help you better. Be clear in indicating when you need work done, if anything is a rush job, if certain things should be emphasized or changed. Clarity of communications is vital in having a successful working relationship with your web expert.
Regularly checking other sites an your own, working with your web master, and being clear on what you expect and when you expect it done is vital to success online today.
=========
Bob Hubbard is an administrator of the popular martial arts portal site MartialTalk.com and president of SilverStar WebDesigns inc., a web site design and hosting company specializing in affordable solutions for martial artists. Bob can be reached at webmaster@martialtalk.com
Article Copyright © 2008 - Bob Hubbard - All Rights Reserved.
This article may be reproduced provided all text, the author bio and these terms are kept intact.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Guest Spot: Friends of Kenshiro Abe Sensei 1915 - 1985? By Henry Ellis
Friends of Kenshiro Abe Sensei 1915 - 1985?
By Henry Ellis
The www.KenshiroAbbe.com web site and its contributors are either direct or indirect students of Kenshiro Abbe Sensei. Students, who would never refer to themselves as `friends` of Abbe Sensei, simply privileged students. The visitor will notice that there is a distinct absence on the web site of references or contributions from any of the growing number of people who call themselves `friends` of Abbe Sensei
Budo and the Internet
With the advent of computers and the internet, we are now deluged with information that previously would have been unavailable or very difficult to find. Due to this new access to World wide information, we are now seeing so many claims to have been a direct student or friend of many of the great and sadly deceased Budo masters. At the same time the internet offers us the opportunity to research the people making these claims.
In recent years I have been amazed by the amount of people who are prepared to simply sit back and allow any individual or organisation to not only corrupt our Budo history, but also the proud lineage of our Budo and that of our teachers. I have seen so many times where people have written “Does it matter ?” ( Yes! it does matter ) --- “ Who cares “. --- ( I for one care ) “ I could not care less ! just get on the mat and practice “ ( Where do you think the knowledge comes from that you can now get on the mat and practice ) I find it hard to understand how anyone with that attitude would want to be involved in the Martial Arts at all. After all, the very core of our Budo spirit is our Lineage. If the true Lineage and the History is corrupted, what do we have to offer the future generations who will know no different.
Privileged Students
The late William ( Bill ) Woods Sensei, was the secretary and personal aide to Abbe Sensei, from his arrival to the UK in 1955. He was later instrumental in creating the British Judo Council (BJC ) and the other various Budo Councils, reaching a membership in excess of 35000, At a meeting I had with Bill before he became very ill, We discussed the rising tide of `friends` of Abbe Sensei, we agreed that this was a cry for credibility by most of these individuals making these claims. It has in recent years become more and more common to find various individuals claiming some kind of lineage to the conveniently deceased Martial Arts masters. Offering no certification or documentation or photographic evidence to ratify their claims.
I said to Bill, “ Bill, If anyone should refer to themselves as a friend of Abbe Sensei, It has to be you, with your close relationship with Abbe Sensei over all those years.” Bill replied “ Harry, we all called ourselves privileged students of Sensei, perhaps I was a little more privileged than many others.”
Although I have worked hard with the other organisers of the “ Kenshiro Abbe 50th Celebrations” In an effort to celebrate the life of Abbe Sensei and his achievements. I am not, and do not pretend to be an authority on Abbe Sensei I do receive many emails asking for information or simple clarification of certain events, where possible, I will offer my help or advice. For example, one Aikido Dan grade from the North East of England contacted me to say that his teacher claimed to have trained at the Hut Dojo, and to be a direct Aikido student of Abbe Sensei, graded to Dan grade in Aikido by Abbe Sensei, therefore, could he inform his students that they were `Indirect` students of Kenshiro Abbe Sensei ? The answer was no! His teacher was in fact a Judo student/teacher with the BJC and Abbe Sensei. his teacher had never trained at the Hut Dojo, he had never been graded to Dan grade in Aikido by Abbe Sensei. In fact, I had never seen this teacher practice Aikido. Unfortunately this teacher is now deceased and nothing is gained from naming names. I was later advised that when someone wrote to the organisation of this person asking for some Aikido history on their teacher, they were informed, “ It was my teacher who persuaded Harry Ellis in 1957 to leave Judo and join the Aikido section at the Hut Dojo” Total round objects !!!! I met this person for the first time in 1963. I had my first conversation with him in 1994.
There was another teacher in the Midlands, who not only claimed that he was a friend of Abbe Sensei, but that his wife was also a great friend of Sensei too. The truth is that he was a student on the early 1960’s seminars where Sensei Ken Williams and I taught. He was never a direct student of Abbe Sensei or a friend. Total round objects !!!
There are so many of these stories that both Gerry Gyngel and Derek Eastman and myself place this at number one. this claim is still on the offenders website, see below.
“” Mr X ( deceased ) was a great friend of Kenshiro Abbe Sensei, they met when Abbe Sensei first arrived in the UK in 1955, they instantly became great friends. They would sit into the late hours deep in philosophical and psychological discussions. Total round objects !!!
Those that knew Abbe Sensei will tell you that his command of the English language was almost zero when he arrived, and very poor when he left to go back to Japan.
No one that I know who was associated with Abbe Sensei remembers this man.
There are many such stories. We intend to protect the name of Abbe Sensei where possible.
Henry Ellis
Co-Author of Positive Aikido
http://www.KenshiroAbbe.com
http://www.geocities.com/britishaikido
Author's Bio
Henry Ellis 5th dan Aikido and a direct student of the legendary Budo Master Kenshiro Abbe Sensei from 1957.Henry is the co-author of the book Positive Aikido, he has written many articles for International Martial Arts magazines. He is the Principal coach of the Ellis Schools of Traditional Aikido.
Discuss
By Henry Ellis
The www.KenshiroAbbe.com web site and its contributors are either direct or indirect students of Kenshiro Abbe Sensei. Students, who would never refer to themselves as `friends` of Abbe Sensei, simply privileged students. The visitor will notice that there is a distinct absence on the web site of references or contributions from any of the growing number of people who call themselves `friends` of Abbe Sensei
Budo and the Internet
With the advent of computers and the internet, we are now deluged with information that previously would have been unavailable or very difficult to find. Due to this new access to World wide information, we are now seeing so many claims to have been a direct student or friend of many of the great and sadly deceased Budo masters. At the same time the internet offers us the opportunity to research the people making these claims.
In recent years I have been amazed by the amount of people who are prepared to simply sit back and allow any individual or organisation to not only corrupt our Budo history, but also the proud lineage of our Budo and that of our teachers. I have seen so many times where people have written “Does it matter ?” ( Yes! it does matter ) --- “ Who cares “. --- ( I for one care ) “ I could not care less ! just get on the mat and practice “ ( Where do you think the knowledge comes from that you can now get on the mat and practice ) I find it hard to understand how anyone with that attitude would want to be involved in the Martial Arts at all. After all, the very core of our Budo spirit is our Lineage. If the true Lineage and the History is corrupted, what do we have to offer the future generations who will know no different.
Privileged Students
The late William ( Bill ) Woods Sensei, was the secretary and personal aide to Abbe Sensei, from his arrival to the UK in 1955. He was later instrumental in creating the British Judo Council (BJC ) and the other various Budo Councils, reaching a membership in excess of 35000, At a meeting I had with Bill before he became very ill, We discussed the rising tide of `friends` of Abbe Sensei, we agreed that this was a cry for credibility by most of these individuals making these claims. It has in recent years become more and more common to find various individuals claiming some kind of lineage to the conveniently deceased Martial Arts masters. Offering no certification or documentation or photographic evidence to ratify their claims.
I said to Bill, “ Bill, If anyone should refer to themselves as a friend of Abbe Sensei, It has to be you, with your close relationship with Abbe Sensei over all those years.” Bill replied “ Harry, we all called ourselves privileged students of Sensei, perhaps I was a little more privileged than many others.”
Although I have worked hard with the other organisers of the “ Kenshiro Abbe 50th Celebrations” In an effort to celebrate the life of Abbe Sensei and his achievements. I am not, and do not pretend to be an authority on Abbe Sensei I do receive many emails asking for information or simple clarification of certain events, where possible, I will offer my help or advice. For example, one Aikido Dan grade from the North East of England contacted me to say that his teacher claimed to have trained at the Hut Dojo, and to be a direct Aikido student of Abbe Sensei, graded to Dan grade in Aikido by Abbe Sensei, therefore, could he inform his students that they were `Indirect` students of Kenshiro Abbe Sensei ? The answer was no! His teacher was in fact a Judo student/teacher with the BJC and Abbe Sensei. his teacher had never trained at the Hut Dojo, he had never been graded to Dan grade in Aikido by Abbe Sensei. In fact, I had never seen this teacher practice Aikido. Unfortunately this teacher is now deceased and nothing is gained from naming names. I was later advised that when someone wrote to the organisation of this person asking for some Aikido history on their teacher, they were informed, “ It was my teacher who persuaded Harry Ellis in 1957 to leave Judo and join the Aikido section at the Hut Dojo” Total round objects !!!! I met this person for the first time in 1963. I had my first conversation with him in 1994.
There was another teacher in the Midlands, who not only claimed that he was a friend of Abbe Sensei, but that his wife was also a great friend of Sensei too. The truth is that he was a student on the early 1960’s seminars where Sensei Ken Williams and I taught. He was never a direct student of Abbe Sensei or a friend. Total round objects !!!
There are so many of these stories that both Gerry Gyngel and Derek Eastman and myself place this at number one. this claim is still on the offenders website, see below.
“” Mr X ( deceased ) was a great friend of Kenshiro Abbe Sensei, they met when Abbe Sensei first arrived in the UK in 1955, they instantly became great friends. They would sit into the late hours deep in philosophical and psychological discussions. Total round objects !!!
Those that knew Abbe Sensei will tell you that his command of the English language was almost zero when he arrived, and very poor when he left to go back to Japan.
No one that I know who was associated with Abbe Sensei remembers this man.
There are many such stories. We intend to protect the name of Abbe Sensei where possible.
Henry Ellis
Co-Author of Positive Aikido
http://www.KenshiroAbbe.com
http://www.geocities.com/britishaikido
Author's Bio
Henry Ellis 5th dan Aikido and a direct student of the legendary Budo Master Kenshiro Abbe Sensei from 1957.Henry is the co-author of the book Positive Aikido, he has written many articles for International Martial Arts magazines. He is the Principal coach of the Ellis Schools of Traditional Aikido.
Discuss
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Q&A: How can I tell how much traffic my website is getting?
Question:
How can I tell how much traffic my website is getting?
Answer:
Check with your web host and see if they offer you any traffic information. Right now some of the more popular packages are AWStats and Webalyzer. An older but still common package is Analog Stats. My preference is AWStats as it's simple to read and seems to have a good accuracy rate.
Now, everywhere you go you'll read about "hits". But what is a "hit"? A hit is imply a count of how many times an object such as a graphic or web page has been accessed.
So, are hits good? Yes and no. A web page with 2 graphics counts as 3 hits (1 for each graphic, and 1 for the page itself), while one with 25 graphics will generate 26 hits. I prefer to count "page views" which track how many times your actual web pages are accessed. In both prior examples, they are 1 page view.
What about visitors?
Visitors are a vague thing too, like hits. A visitor is a count of each access, a unique visitor is a count of each unique computer. This is further confused by the fact that each unique computer might have several people using it. Without getting into a huge complex discussion here, I always tell people that their visitor count is somewhere between uniques and visitors. So if you have 500 uniques, and 1,000 visits, you can accept that somewhere between500 and 1,000 people visited your site.
It's not 100% accurate, but is close enough for most people. For more accurate counts, you'll have to consider advanced trackiing tools and methods that are beyond the scope of this simple Q&A.
How can I tell how much traffic my website is getting?
Answer:
Check with your web host and see if they offer you any traffic information. Right now some of the more popular packages are AWStats and Webalyzer. An older but still common package is Analog Stats. My preference is AWStats as it's simple to read and seems to have a good accuracy rate.
Now, everywhere you go you'll read about "hits". But what is a "hit"? A hit is imply a count of how many times an object such as a graphic or web page has been accessed.
So, are hits good? Yes and no. A web page with 2 graphics counts as 3 hits (1 for each graphic, and 1 for the page itself), while one with 25 graphics will generate 26 hits. I prefer to count "page views" which track how many times your actual web pages are accessed. In both prior examples, they are 1 page view.
What about visitors?
Visitors are a vague thing too, like hits. A visitor is a count of each access, a unique visitor is a count of each unique computer. This is further confused by the fact that each unique computer might have several people using it. Without getting into a huge complex discussion here, I always tell people that their visitor count is somewhere between uniques and visitors. So if you have 500 uniques, and 1,000 visits, you can accept that somewhere between500 and 1,000 people visited your site.
It's not 100% accurate, but is close enough for most people. For more accurate counts, you'll have to consider advanced trackiing tools and methods that are beyond the scope of this simple Q&A.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Video: Kenjutsu Nitô and Naginata in High Speed Camera(Slow Motion)
Impressive footage of the Kobudô Shiai category of the 7th All Brazil Kobudô Championship, held in Rio de Janeiro, in October 2008.
Shows combat between Kenjutsu Nitô (two swords) and Naginata, with comments from Sensei Jorge Kishikawa.
Friday, December 5, 2008
The Health Care Question
The Health Care Question
By Bob Hubbard
Recently, the following question came in to me at Martialtalk.
Question
"What are people doing for health insurance if they don't have coverage via a spouse? I know some people "go naked" which seems very unsafe. Can you get health insurance via NAPMA and the like? What's typical for a single martial artist with his or her own school?"
The answer unfortunately isn't a great one. Health insurance is a confusing mess right now unfortunately. There is no national system to connect to, so you are left to a maze of confusing offerings that vary from state to state. Plans for the self employed also tend to cost more than comparable plans offered to the employees.
Most insurance companies also refuse to cover "prior" conditions, the definition of 'prior' up to them.
Available plans, terms, rates and insurers vary by state as well.
Here are some resources to help you wade through the maze.
healthinsuranceinfo.net.
This site, maintained by the Georgetown Health Policy Institute, shows a map of the country and after clicking on a state, a document is downloaded that covers everything from what kinds of programs are available to small-business owners to whether there is a high-risk pool available for those who have been rejected by insurance providers.
ehealthinsurance.com
This site allows you to compare a variety of policies offered through about 70 insurance providers. One restriction: ehealthinsurance.com does not serve consumers in all states. Rhode Island, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine and North Dakota are excluded.
Other starting points are local Chamber of Commerce, the Small Business Service Bureau (sbsb.com), and local independent insurance agents.
You can also check with the Freelancers Union, however the union also has some limitations. It operates in only 30 states, and you have to work in one of the industries or occupations it serves.
Some martial arts organizations such as MATA look to offer varying programs, so contacing them is a good idea. They may have affiliate or group programs that you can tie into potentially saving a good deal of cash.
Regardless of who you end up with, several other steep obstacles await. Monthly premiums exceeding $500-1,000 for an individual seem to be common, and that is for people in good health. For those with health issues, you will face an uphill battle finding an insurer who will cover you.
=========
Bob Hubbard is an administrator of the popular martial arts portal site MartialTalk.com and president of SilverStar WebDesigns inc., a web site design and hosting company specializing in affordable solutions for martial artists. Bob can be reached at webmaster@martialtalk.com
Article Copyright © 2008 - Bob Hubbard - All Rights Reserved.
This article may be reproduced provided all text, the author bio and these terms are kept intact.
By Bob Hubbard
Recently, the following question came in to me at Martialtalk.
Question
"What are people doing for health insurance if they don't have coverage via a spouse? I know some people "go naked" which seems very unsafe. Can you get health insurance via NAPMA and the like? What's typical for a single martial artist with his or her own school?"
The answer unfortunately isn't a great one. Health insurance is a confusing mess right now unfortunately. There is no national system to connect to, so you are left to a maze of confusing offerings that vary from state to state. Plans for the self employed also tend to cost more than comparable plans offered to the employees.
Most insurance companies also refuse to cover "prior" conditions, the definition of 'prior' up to them.
Available plans, terms, rates and insurers vary by state as well.
Here are some resources to help you wade through the maze.
healthinsuranceinfo.net.
This site, maintained by the Georgetown Health Policy Institute, shows a map of the country and after clicking on a state, a document is downloaded that covers everything from what kinds of programs are available to small-business owners to whether there is a high-risk pool available for those who have been rejected by insurance providers.
ehealthinsurance.com
This site allows you to compare a variety of policies offered through about 70 insurance providers. One restriction: ehealthinsurance.com does not serve consumers in all states. Rhode Island, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine and North Dakota are excluded.
Other starting points are local Chamber of Commerce, the Small Business Service Bureau (sbsb.com), and local independent insurance agents.
You can also check with the Freelancers Union, however the union also has some limitations. It operates in only 30 states, and you have to work in one of the industries or occupations it serves.
Some martial arts organizations such as MATA look to offer varying programs, so contacing them is a good idea. They may have affiliate or group programs that you can tie into potentially saving a good deal of cash.
Regardless of who you end up with, several other steep obstacles await. Monthly premiums exceeding $500-1,000 for an individual seem to be common, and that is for people in good health. For those with health issues, you will face an uphill battle finding an insurer who will cover you.
=========
Bob Hubbard is an administrator of the popular martial arts portal site MartialTalk.com and president of SilverStar WebDesigns inc., a web site design and hosting company specializing in affordable solutions for martial artists. Bob can be reached at webmaster@martialtalk.com
Article Copyright © 2008 - Bob Hubbard - All Rights Reserved.
This article may be reproduced provided all text, the author bio and these terms are kept intact.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Guest Spot: What you Practice is What You Master By Antonio Graceffo
What you Practice is What You Master
Finding the Balance Between Body and Spirit
By Antonio Graceffo
Some professional fighters have trained their bodies to perfection, but have they forgotten their spirit?
Kru Pedro Villalobos came to Thailand and fought as a champion Muay Thai fighter. Later, he realized that his spirit wasn’t fulfilled by his ring success. So, he became a monk, and learned the precepts of Buddhism. He adopted the practices of chanting, meditation, and prayer. Later, he left the monastery so that he could return to fighting, but this time, as a teacher and trainer. He teaches his students the deadly arts of Muay Boran (ancient Muay Thai) and Krabi Krabong (Thai double-sword and stick fighting). Unlike other practitioners of obscure arts, Pedro takes a direct, no-nonsense approach teaching his students the skills they need to win fights in the professional ring. Along the way, he hopes they will learn from his example of how to bring health and growth to their spirit as well as their body.
Pedro calls his art Muay Thai Sangha. “The grappling in Muay Thai is limited. So, I added in grappling taken from other arts.” Pedro includes teachings taken from Brazilian Ju Jitsu and Filipino Arnis. This complete system is one of the most effective ring combinations I have ever seen. His school is located behind Wat Lanka, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where students train eight hours per day.
Pedro chooses his students very carefully. “I don’t want students who just want to win fights. I want students who want to grow. But, if my students want to go fight in the ring to test their skills, it is ok, they can go.”
Many of Pedro’s students have fought professionally, under his tutelage. The training and sparing is bare-knuckles. “I want the students to get the feel of hitting. Also, the pain is just part of the training. They must learn to absorb it and train past the pain.”
“Back in my home country, Spain, I started training in fighting when I was 14. My mother died when I was 16. She had been a spirit medium who helped a lot of people. As a result, I was very spiritual. I tried a lot of religions, Catholic, Jehovah’s Witness…but nothing satisfied me.”
“At 17 I began training full time.” Eventually Pedro went to America to continue his training and his professional fighting career. “In America, it was hard at first. I was working illegally. I did many different jobs. I washed dishes in a restaurant. I had a Mexican friend who helped me get a job in security.” All the while he continued training and fighting. In the states at that time there wasn’t as much of a pro-fighting circuit as there is today. So, Pedro fought in all sorts of competitions including boxing, kick boxing, Muay Thai, and full contact martial arts.
“My English was zero. I never went to school. I had to just learn it on the streets. Eventually I became successful. I had a martial arts school, which was doing well. My fighting career was good. I had nice friends and people helping me, but I was still not happy inside.”
As he dedicated himself more to Muay Thai, Pedro went to Thailand for training. “When I first came to Thailand, I only learned fighting. There was no spiritual training. It was the same in the States. I only looked for the big gyms, famous for training fighters, so I could prepare for the next fight.”
Pedro won a championship in Thailand and was even slotted to fight my hero, Nong Toom (Beautiful Boxer). The fight had to be cancelled, however, because Nong Toom was over the weight limit. He had bulked up to 85 Kgs of muscle.
“Martial arts only filled me 50%. It was time to step forward and find what I was looking for. So I came back to Thailand and became monk.”
“When I was a monk I couldn’t train. The Mahayana Buddhism, practiced in China, Korea, and Japan allows monks to practice martial arts. But, the Theravada Buddhism, practiced in Thailand, Cambodia, and Lao, prevents monks form training. Instead, monks here have to keep 227 precepts (vows) and do meditation and chanting.”
Kru Pedro had always had a special interest in the very ancient and somewhat secretive art of White Magic. “I had to study about the Khom (old word for Khmer) script from Cambodia.” Like Latin in Europe, Khom and also Pali (from India) are the basis for the religious writings in all of Indochina. (Only Vietnam is an exception, because they follow the Chinese, rather than the Indian religion.)
Kru Pedro believes that you can’t find white magic or the true spirituality in the big cities. “You have to go to the small temples in the jungle, or near the border where cultures overlap.”
Kru Pedro spent years seeking out and studying with special teachers all over Thailand. He found teachers for obscure martial arts, sword and stick fighting techniques long lost to the modern world. He learned religion and healing. His primary Krabi Krabong teacher, who he still follows, only has one student, Pedro. The teacher felt that with the condition of the world today, he didn’t want to give his art away. Sadly all of his knowledge would have died with him if Kru Pedro hadn’t become his student. “But I must always ask his permission before I demonstrate or before I teach anyone. And at any time, he could order me to stop.”
Of all of his many teachers, Pedro had a particular respect for cave monks, monks who have completely retreated from the world and cloistered themselves away, dedicated to a life of meditation and prayer.
“Religion has helped me tremendously in Muay Thai.”
“Actually fighting and religion are not related, but you can learn fighting and use it in a good way. I don’t believe in religion. I believe in good morals, good actions, and good thoughts. Religion is something on paper. For me, it is a philosophy of how to do things. Buddhism comes from the Buddha’s teachings of how we can grow.”
“Muay Thai is related to this philosophy. We use the skills to promote self control and self defense. People who study martial arts should study the spirituality too because they have to learn the philosophy as a way of living.”
Can someone make it as a fighter if he doesn’t study the religion?
“Yes, if he fights, of course he can get good at fighting. If you do something often, you get good at it. It depends on the person, what interest he has. If he wants to fight, he gets better at fighting.”
Why would someone chose to train in both the religion and fighting?
“Before, I only trained for fighting. I changed because I was empty inside. When I practiced inside…I don’t want to use the word religion, but if you practice inside as well; chanting, praying, making offerings, and keeping the precepts, if you dedicate yourself to one philosophy, you can see more clearly, the whole cycle of life. If you can see things clearly, perhaps you can change. One who practices the religion is not better or worse, only he can see.”
“It is up to you. You do according to what you are ready to do, every one on his own level. If I see another person, with different actions, I know this person has a different wisdom. No one is wrong, only they are at different levels.”
A great teacher once told me, you cannot teach anyone anything. The teacher can guide, lead and show, but the student must learn on his own.
“I do what I can to help people. I show what I do. If people want to follow, I give advice, or I explain. But, it is up to them if they want to change or not. If they change instantly, then they wouldn’t be learning they would be obeying. It is better if I show and they think, I want to do it, or, I don’t want to do it. The change has to come from inside.”
In Theravada Buddhism, monks are taught to have compassion and patience with all people, and not to impose rules on the general public. That changes, however, in the relationship of teacher and student.
“The only people who have to do what I say are my students, because they affect me as a teacher. If the person comes in the gym, I show them how to do and how to behave and how to help each other and make a good clean environment. I discourage drinking, drugs, and prostitution. I cannot eradicate everything, but I say, please put more effort into the training and stay in at night so you will be rested. According to what they do, if the person does not want to change, then I don’t put effort into teaching them.”
Students sometimes ask about the Buddhist concept of rebirth.
“We are in a cycle. The only thing we know is when we are born till when we die. And, in that period of time we should do the best we can. Some people say there is something after death. Some say no. But, it doesn’t matter. Whether you believe in after life or not, you need to concentrate on this life and do the right thing. My personal belief is that our rebirth depends 50%, on the merit we accumulate in this life. Ok, you don’t believe? No problem, then just concentrate on this life.”
“We don’t have the power to change anyone, only the power to show, and they will decide. I like people who walk, not people who talk.”
The Martial Art
The basis of teaching of Muay Thai Sangha comes from sport Muay Thai but the grappling comes from many style outside of Thailand. “Thai grappling is very limited.” Explains Kru Pedro.
In North East Asia; Japan, Korea, and even Mongolia, grappling is very popular. For the most part, South East Asia, however, doesn’t have grappling on the ground.
Pedro’s had two theories on why the Theravada countries don’t have grappling. The first was based on the religion. “In Buddhism, the feet are considered dirty and the head is considered pure.” Because it is closest to God. “Thai people don’t like to be touched on the head, because it is a sacred chakra.”
His second theory was more closely related to fighting. Martial art in Thailand developed through centuries of experience in wars with Burma and Cambodia. “In combat you don’t have time to go to the ground. If you go to the ground with one opponent, you will be stabbed in the back by the others.” So, the Thais developed an art that reflected their needs.
Why are there so many fighting arts in China but essentially only one main art, with a few subtle branches, in Thailand, Cambodia, and Lao?
“This is just my opinion.” began Kru Pedro, who was always quick to point out that he was not an expert. “In China, the martial arts practitioners were monks, who were not permitted to fight in combat or to fight in a ring for sport. So, they have many teachings but they lack pure practice in application. Thailand is the opposite, few teachings but real applications in fighting. In China, a lot of the movements don’t apply in a real fight. Many things are just talk but not walk. In Thailand they were constantly fighting, and improving on the art’s effectiveness. Kung Fu developed many branches. In Thailand, the development was in a direct line.”
“Thailand is still in the trunk. In China, many people have moved into the branches.”
Arguably, there is no country in the world with such a developed fighting circuit as Thailand. Muay Thai is the official national sport. When I was training and fighting in Thailand in 2003, there were 65,000 registered professional Muay Thai fighters. Today, Kru Pedro believes the number to be much higher.
“On every street, there is a school with 15 or 20 fighters, fighting pro every month.”
The number of pro fights in Thailand is huge. Outside of Thailand, the UFC, K-1, Pride, and MMA competitions have increased the popularity of Muay Thai in the world. But, in many ways, this is why the old Muay Thai philosophy and religion is being lost.
“My teachers taught me that when you grow, the old cycle breaks. You have to give it up and start a new cycle. When you are developing the fighting art, you loose many things. Also, they try to be popular, to get more people to participate. They change the rules so less people get hurt, and so people can fight more often. This is where sport Tae Kwan Do, for example, comes from.”
Always finding the good side of things, Pedro went on to say what he thought of Tae Kwan Do and strip mall variety martial arts.
“It is very, very good. It makes martial arts available to many people.”
A few years ago, a man named Billy Blank, made a fortune from a Muay Thai based exercise form and video series he invented, called Taibo. Shortly afterwards, fitness boxing and cardio Muay Thai became standard exercise classes at gyms around the world. Today, when you say Muay Thai in the States, every one thinks you are talking about some form of aerobics.
“At least now people have heard of Thailand and they don’t think all Asians are Chinese.” laughed Kru Pedro. “When I first moved to the States and said I was from Spain, they asked what part of Mexico was that?”
“Billy Blank is good because he makes people exercise. Everything that makes people exercise is good, as long as the schools don’t teach people the wrong way. When we use the word Muay Thai, though, we should be careful because sometimes we use it for commercialism. It is not bad if we are teaching Muay Thai, but we shouldn’t use the word without teaching it.”
Billy Blank made up his own name, Taibo, so he is not misusing the word Muay Thai.
“It is good that people like Bruce Lee and Billy Blank made martial arts available to everyone, but for me, I only want a few students. I only chose students who want to grow. I don’t want to train pro fighters. If my students want to fight pro to test themselves, ok, no problem. They can go, and I will help them. But I don’t want people who are trying to make a lot of money from fighting. We all need to make money to live but not more than that. My teachers taught me not to take a lot of students because you don’t want the skills going to the wrong people. I look before I teach. If a student does bad, the teacher gets some of the bad karma.”
“People think they can buy the teachings, but they cannot. I will, however, give opportunity to anyone.”
Pedro follows the Brahman Biharas. “Mehta means love and kindness. I give an opportunity to every person who comes.”
“Karuna, compassion, if a person is willing to follow the teachings I follow, I have compassion and I teach him. If not, I give them their money back immediately, and I can give them a recommendation to another school.”
“I am not a teacher-master. I am a teacher-student, who can help you a little. When you come to my level, we can wok together.”
In nearly thirty years of martial arts practice I don’t hold a single belt. And in articles circulated around the world, I have stated publicly how much I hate belts. Pedro was more forgiving.
“Belts are ok if people want to have them. The black belt is the white belt who didn’t quit. It doesn’t matter the color, only hat people learn. It is ok to reward their achievement. People feel good when they earn a belt. But, if the teachers give belts as part of a business, I don’t support this. Before, I did it because before, I didn’t know better. But then I learned better, and I didn’t do it anymore. I cannot say they are bad. I will say only they don’t know yet. They are not bad. They may change later, but we should give them opportunity. Give opportunity to every person to change. If after they learn, but refuse to change, that is one thing. But, if they decide to change that is good. That is very good.”
“I walk. If you want to come with me, ok, we will go together. If you don’t want to come with me, ok, I cut you out, even if you are my family, my friend, or my student.”
“Once, I kicked out a student, who refused to change. I gave him his money and sent him away. He complained, what about the customer policy. I told him, there is no customer policy. There are no customers, only students, and I am a student too.”
Kru Pedro had a single piece of advice for people around the world.
“According to your actions you will have your consequences.”
“I don’t need to say more. That says everything. If you do good, you will have good. If you do bad, you will have bad.”
If you practice fighting, you will be good at fighting. If you practice fighting and neglect the spirit, the spirit will be empty. If you train spirit and body you will be filled.
Antonio Graceffo is an adventure and martial arts author living in Asia. He is a professional fighter and the author of four books available on amazon.com Contact him Antonio@speakingadventure.com see his website www.speakingadventure.com
You can reach Kruu Pedro through his website, http://www.ancientmuaythai.com/teachers/teachers.htm
Checkout Antonio’s website http://speakingadventure.com/
Get Antonio’s books at amazon.com
The Monk from Brooklyn
Bikes, Boats, and Boxing Gloves
The Desert of Death on Three Wheels
Adventures in Formosa
Finding the Balance Between Body and Spirit
By Antonio Graceffo
Some professional fighters have trained their bodies to perfection, but have they forgotten their spirit?
Kru Pedro Villalobos came to Thailand and fought as a champion Muay Thai fighter. Later, he realized that his spirit wasn’t fulfilled by his ring success. So, he became a monk, and learned the precepts of Buddhism. He adopted the practices of chanting, meditation, and prayer. Later, he left the monastery so that he could return to fighting, but this time, as a teacher and trainer. He teaches his students the deadly arts of Muay Boran (ancient Muay Thai) and Krabi Krabong (Thai double-sword and stick fighting). Unlike other practitioners of obscure arts, Pedro takes a direct, no-nonsense approach teaching his students the skills they need to win fights in the professional ring. Along the way, he hopes they will learn from his example of how to bring health and growth to their spirit as well as their body.
Pedro calls his art Muay Thai Sangha. “The grappling in Muay Thai is limited. So, I added in grappling taken from other arts.” Pedro includes teachings taken from Brazilian Ju Jitsu and Filipino Arnis. This complete system is one of the most effective ring combinations I have ever seen. His school is located behind Wat Lanka, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where students train eight hours per day.
Pedro chooses his students very carefully. “I don’t want students who just want to win fights. I want students who want to grow. But, if my students want to go fight in the ring to test their skills, it is ok, they can go.”
Many of Pedro’s students have fought professionally, under his tutelage. The training and sparing is bare-knuckles. “I want the students to get the feel of hitting. Also, the pain is just part of the training. They must learn to absorb it and train past the pain.”
“Back in my home country, Spain, I started training in fighting when I was 14. My mother died when I was 16. She had been a spirit medium who helped a lot of people. As a result, I was very spiritual. I tried a lot of religions, Catholic, Jehovah’s Witness…but nothing satisfied me.”
“At 17 I began training full time.” Eventually Pedro went to America to continue his training and his professional fighting career. “In America, it was hard at first. I was working illegally. I did many different jobs. I washed dishes in a restaurant. I had a Mexican friend who helped me get a job in security.” All the while he continued training and fighting. In the states at that time there wasn’t as much of a pro-fighting circuit as there is today. So, Pedro fought in all sorts of competitions including boxing, kick boxing, Muay Thai, and full contact martial arts.
“My English was zero. I never went to school. I had to just learn it on the streets. Eventually I became successful. I had a martial arts school, which was doing well. My fighting career was good. I had nice friends and people helping me, but I was still not happy inside.”
As he dedicated himself more to Muay Thai, Pedro went to Thailand for training. “When I first came to Thailand, I only learned fighting. There was no spiritual training. It was the same in the States. I only looked for the big gyms, famous for training fighters, so I could prepare for the next fight.”
Pedro won a championship in Thailand and was even slotted to fight my hero, Nong Toom (Beautiful Boxer). The fight had to be cancelled, however, because Nong Toom was over the weight limit. He had bulked up to 85 Kgs of muscle.
“Martial arts only filled me 50%. It was time to step forward and find what I was looking for. So I came back to Thailand and became monk.”
“When I was a monk I couldn’t train. The Mahayana Buddhism, practiced in China, Korea, and Japan allows monks to practice martial arts. But, the Theravada Buddhism, practiced in Thailand, Cambodia, and Lao, prevents monks form training. Instead, monks here have to keep 227 precepts (vows) and do meditation and chanting.”
Kru Pedro had always had a special interest in the very ancient and somewhat secretive art of White Magic. “I had to study about the Khom (old word for Khmer) script from Cambodia.” Like Latin in Europe, Khom and also Pali (from India) are the basis for the religious writings in all of Indochina. (Only Vietnam is an exception, because they follow the Chinese, rather than the Indian religion.)
Kru Pedro believes that you can’t find white magic or the true spirituality in the big cities. “You have to go to the small temples in the jungle, or near the border where cultures overlap.”
Kru Pedro spent years seeking out and studying with special teachers all over Thailand. He found teachers for obscure martial arts, sword and stick fighting techniques long lost to the modern world. He learned religion and healing. His primary Krabi Krabong teacher, who he still follows, only has one student, Pedro. The teacher felt that with the condition of the world today, he didn’t want to give his art away. Sadly all of his knowledge would have died with him if Kru Pedro hadn’t become his student. “But I must always ask his permission before I demonstrate or before I teach anyone. And at any time, he could order me to stop.”
Of all of his many teachers, Pedro had a particular respect for cave monks, monks who have completely retreated from the world and cloistered themselves away, dedicated to a life of meditation and prayer.
“Religion has helped me tremendously in Muay Thai.”
“Actually fighting and religion are not related, but you can learn fighting and use it in a good way. I don’t believe in religion. I believe in good morals, good actions, and good thoughts. Religion is something on paper. For me, it is a philosophy of how to do things. Buddhism comes from the Buddha’s teachings of how we can grow.”
“Muay Thai is related to this philosophy. We use the skills to promote self control and self defense. People who study martial arts should study the spirituality too because they have to learn the philosophy as a way of living.”
Can someone make it as a fighter if he doesn’t study the religion?
“Yes, if he fights, of course he can get good at fighting. If you do something often, you get good at it. It depends on the person, what interest he has. If he wants to fight, he gets better at fighting.”
Why would someone chose to train in both the religion and fighting?
“Before, I only trained for fighting. I changed because I was empty inside. When I practiced inside…I don’t want to use the word religion, but if you practice inside as well; chanting, praying, making offerings, and keeping the precepts, if you dedicate yourself to one philosophy, you can see more clearly, the whole cycle of life. If you can see things clearly, perhaps you can change. One who practices the religion is not better or worse, only he can see.”
“It is up to you. You do according to what you are ready to do, every one on his own level. If I see another person, with different actions, I know this person has a different wisdom. No one is wrong, only they are at different levels.”
A great teacher once told me, you cannot teach anyone anything. The teacher can guide, lead and show, but the student must learn on his own.
“I do what I can to help people. I show what I do. If people want to follow, I give advice, or I explain. But, it is up to them if they want to change or not. If they change instantly, then they wouldn’t be learning they would be obeying. It is better if I show and they think, I want to do it, or, I don’t want to do it. The change has to come from inside.”
In Theravada Buddhism, monks are taught to have compassion and patience with all people, and not to impose rules on the general public. That changes, however, in the relationship of teacher and student.
“The only people who have to do what I say are my students, because they affect me as a teacher. If the person comes in the gym, I show them how to do and how to behave and how to help each other and make a good clean environment. I discourage drinking, drugs, and prostitution. I cannot eradicate everything, but I say, please put more effort into the training and stay in at night so you will be rested. According to what they do, if the person does not want to change, then I don’t put effort into teaching them.”
Students sometimes ask about the Buddhist concept of rebirth.
“We are in a cycle. The only thing we know is when we are born till when we die. And, in that period of time we should do the best we can. Some people say there is something after death. Some say no. But, it doesn’t matter. Whether you believe in after life or not, you need to concentrate on this life and do the right thing. My personal belief is that our rebirth depends 50%, on the merit we accumulate in this life. Ok, you don’t believe? No problem, then just concentrate on this life.”
“We don’t have the power to change anyone, only the power to show, and they will decide. I like people who walk, not people who talk.”
The Martial Art
The basis of teaching of Muay Thai Sangha comes from sport Muay Thai but the grappling comes from many style outside of Thailand. “Thai grappling is very limited.” Explains Kru Pedro.
In North East Asia; Japan, Korea, and even Mongolia, grappling is very popular. For the most part, South East Asia, however, doesn’t have grappling on the ground.
Pedro’s had two theories on why the Theravada countries don’t have grappling. The first was based on the religion. “In Buddhism, the feet are considered dirty and the head is considered pure.” Because it is closest to God. “Thai people don’t like to be touched on the head, because it is a sacred chakra.”
His second theory was more closely related to fighting. Martial art in Thailand developed through centuries of experience in wars with Burma and Cambodia. “In combat you don’t have time to go to the ground. If you go to the ground with one opponent, you will be stabbed in the back by the others.” So, the Thais developed an art that reflected their needs.
Why are there so many fighting arts in China but essentially only one main art, with a few subtle branches, in Thailand, Cambodia, and Lao?
“This is just my opinion.” began Kru Pedro, who was always quick to point out that he was not an expert. “In China, the martial arts practitioners were monks, who were not permitted to fight in combat or to fight in a ring for sport. So, they have many teachings but they lack pure practice in application. Thailand is the opposite, few teachings but real applications in fighting. In China, a lot of the movements don’t apply in a real fight. Many things are just talk but not walk. In Thailand they were constantly fighting, and improving on the art’s effectiveness. Kung Fu developed many branches. In Thailand, the development was in a direct line.”
“Thailand is still in the trunk. In China, many people have moved into the branches.”
Arguably, there is no country in the world with such a developed fighting circuit as Thailand. Muay Thai is the official national sport. When I was training and fighting in Thailand in 2003, there were 65,000 registered professional Muay Thai fighters. Today, Kru Pedro believes the number to be much higher.
“On every street, there is a school with 15 or 20 fighters, fighting pro every month.”
The number of pro fights in Thailand is huge. Outside of Thailand, the UFC, K-1, Pride, and MMA competitions have increased the popularity of Muay Thai in the world. But, in many ways, this is why the old Muay Thai philosophy and religion is being lost.
“My teachers taught me that when you grow, the old cycle breaks. You have to give it up and start a new cycle. When you are developing the fighting art, you loose many things. Also, they try to be popular, to get more people to participate. They change the rules so less people get hurt, and so people can fight more often. This is where sport Tae Kwan Do, for example, comes from.”
Always finding the good side of things, Pedro went on to say what he thought of Tae Kwan Do and strip mall variety martial arts.
“It is very, very good. It makes martial arts available to many people.”
A few years ago, a man named Billy Blank, made a fortune from a Muay Thai based exercise form and video series he invented, called Taibo. Shortly afterwards, fitness boxing and cardio Muay Thai became standard exercise classes at gyms around the world. Today, when you say Muay Thai in the States, every one thinks you are talking about some form of aerobics.
“At least now people have heard of Thailand and they don’t think all Asians are Chinese.” laughed Kru Pedro. “When I first moved to the States and said I was from Spain, they asked what part of Mexico was that?”
“Billy Blank is good because he makes people exercise. Everything that makes people exercise is good, as long as the schools don’t teach people the wrong way. When we use the word Muay Thai, though, we should be careful because sometimes we use it for commercialism. It is not bad if we are teaching Muay Thai, but we shouldn’t use the word without teaching it.”
Billy Blank made up his own name, Taibo, so he is not misusing the word Muay Thai.
“It is good that people like Bruce Lee and Billy Blank made martial arts available to everyone, but for me, I only want a few students. I only chose students who want to grow. I don’t want to train pro fighters. If my students want to fight pro to test themselves, ok, no problem. They can go, and I will help them. But I don’t want people who are trying to make a lot of money from fighting. We all need to make money to live but not more than that. My teachers taught me not to take a lot of students because you don’t want the skills going to the wrong people. I look before I teach. If a student does bad, the teacher gets some of the bad karma.”
“People think they can buy the teachings, but they cannot. I will, however, give opportunity to anyone.”
Pedro follows the Brahman Biharas. “Mehta means love and kindness. I give an opportunity to every person who comes.”
“Karuna, compassion, if a person is willing to follow the teachings I follow, I have compassion and I teach him. If not, I give them their money back immediately, and I can give them a recommendation to another school.”
“I am not a teacher-master. I am a teacher-student, who can help you a little. When you come to my level, we can wok together.”
In nearly thirty years of martial arts practice I don’t hold a single belt. And in articles circulated around the world, I have stated publicly how much I hate belts. Pedro was more forgiving.
“Belts are ok if people want to have them. The black belt is the white belt who didn’t quit. It doesn’t matter the color, only hat people learn. It is ok to reward their achievement. People feel good when they earn a belt. But, if the teachers give belts as part of a business, I don’t support this. Before, I did it because before, I didn’t know better. But then I learned better, and I didn’t do it anymore. I cannot say they are bad. I will say only they don’t know yet. They are not bad. They may change later, but we should give them opportunity. Give opportunity to every person to change. If after they learn, but refuse to change, that is one thing. But, if they decide to change that is good. That is very good.”
“I walk. If you want to come with me, ok, we will go together. If you don’t want to come with me, ok, I cut you out, even if you are my family, my friend, or my student.”
“Once, I kicked out a student, who refused to change. I gave him his money and sent him away. He complained, what about the customer policy. I told him, there is no customer policy. There are no customers, only students, and I am a student too.”
Kru Pedro had a single piece of advice for people around the world.
“According to your actions you will have your consequences.”
“I don’t need to say more. That says everything. If you do good, you will have good. If you do bad, you will have bad.”
If you practice fighting, you will be good at fighting. If you practice fighting and neglect the spirit, the spirit will be empty. If you train spirit and body you will be filled.
Antonio Graceffo is an adventure and martial arts author living in Asia. He is a professional fighter and the author of four books available on amazon.com Contact him Antonio@speakingadventure.com see his website www.speakingadventure.com
You can reach Kruu Pedro through his website, http://www.ancientmuaythai.com/teachers/teachers.htm
Checkout Antonio’s website http://speakingadventure.com/
Get Antonio’s books at amazon.com
The Monk from Brooklyn
Bikes, Boats, and Boxing Gloves
The Desert of Death on Three Wheels
Adventures in Formosa
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Q&A: How can I improve client retention and new registrations? Part 2
Q&A: How can I improve client retention and new registrations? Part 2
Question:
How can I improve client retention and new registrations?
Answer:
Last week I gave 3 answers to this question. Here are 3 more concerning your school's appearance. Remember, Clean Sells!
1- Take a look at your walls. What do you really see? Are they clean, or are they scuffed, dirty, chipped, cracked, or cobwebby? Do you have dust and web covered photos and plaques hanging up there? Are there old fliers from months or even years ago still up?
Regularly (at least quarterly) go around the entire public area and dust everything. Knock down those cobwebs and dust strings. Take down old outdated fliers, dust your photos and clean the glass so they shine.
If your walls are really scuffed, paint them with a good high gloss enamel. Clean sells, and dirty and dusty don't.
2- Check out your equipment. Get rid of anything that's past it's prime. Old, tired equipment doesn't say "success", and in fact might even be dangerous. Remember, if someone is injured because of faulty gear, it isn't their fault. It's the schools fault, and that means you. That heavy bag might cost $200, but the lawsuit and medical bills of someone injured, not to mention the increase in your insurance premium cost much much more.
3- De clutter your check in counter. Take off that stack of mail, put away that extra gear, and wipe down the table top.
Always make the time to keep your school looking it's best. If it doesn't look it's best, neither do you, and that's going to cost you. A clean, organized, and good smelling school is money in your pocket.
Question:
How can I improve client retention and new registrations?
Answer:
Last week I gave 3 answers to this question. Here are 3 more concerning your school's appearance. Remember, Clean Sells!
1- Take a look at your walls. What do you really see? Are they clean, or are they scuffed, dirty, chipped, cracked, or cobwebby? Do you have dust and web covered photos and plaques hanging up there? Are there old fliers from months or even years ago still up?
Regularly (at least quarterly) go around the entire public area and dust everything. Knock down those cobwebs and dust strings. Take down old outdated fliers, dust your photos and clean the glass so they shine.
If your walls are really scuffed, paint them with a good high gloss enamel. Clean sells, and dirty and dusty don't.
2- Check out your equipment. Get rid of anything that's past it's prime. Old, tired equipment doesn't say "success", and in fact might even be dangerous. Remember, if someone is injured because of faulty gear, it isn't their fault. It's the schools fault, and that means you. That heavy bag might cost $200, but the lawsuit and medical bills of someone injured, not to mention the increase in your insurance premium cost much much more.
3- De clutter your check in counter. Take off that stack of mail, put away that extra gear, and wipe down the table top.
Always make the time to keep your school looking it's best. If it doesn't look it's best, neither do you, and that's going to cost you. A clean, organized, and good smelling school is money in your pocket.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Buffalo Martial Arts and Fitness Expo October 17 & 18, 2009
Buffalo Martial Arts and Fitness Expo
October 17 & 18, 2009
We are proud to announce that on October 17 & 18 Buffalo, NY will host the first annual Buffalo Martial Arts and Fitness Expo.
Whether you are relatively new to martial arts or a seasoned martial artist, the Buffalo Martial Arts and Fitness Expo has something for everyone. Special features of the event will include two international tournaments and seminars taught by industry leaders, along with a premier trade show.
On October 17, the Expo will feature the Queen City Laban Laro VII. The Queen City Laban Laro is one of the area’s longest running tournaments. This year’s event has more divisions that any other regional tournament offers. To date, there are 170 divisions. In addition to the standard events of forms, weapons and fighting that most competitions offer, there will also be divisions in grappling, stick fighting, self defense, breaking and musical forms. For more information on the Queen City Laban Laro, go to www.queencitylabanlaro.com
On October 18, the Expo will host the second Can-Am Border Battle. This will be an international team competition featuring weapons, kata, point fighting and stick fighting as its events. In addition to individual awards to competitors, there are also team medals for the countries participating in this event. Last year’s results had the gold medal and Can-Am Cup going to Team Canada, Team USA took silver and NAFMA International took bronze. For more information go to www.canamborderbattle.com
The trade show will have a variety of vendors from supply companies to consulting firms. There will also be demonstrations, seminars and workshops from industry leaders to world renowned Grandmasters. Check the Expo’s website www.buffalomartialartsexpo.com regularly for added classes and instructors
Don’t miss your chance to be a part of this unique martial arts experience!
For more information contact:
Datu Tim Hartman
Phone: 716-675-0899
E-mail: admin@horizonma.com
Web www.buffalomartialartsexpo.com
October 17 & 18, 2009
We are proud to announce that on October 17 & 18 Buffalo, NY will host the first annual Buffalo Martial Arts and Fitness Expo.
Whether you are relatively new to martial arts or a seasoned martial artist, the Buffalo Martial Arts and Fitness Expo has something for everyone. Special features of the event will include two international tournaments and seminars taught by industry leaders, along with a premier trade show.
On October 17, the Expo will feature the Queen City Laban Laro VII. The Queen City Laban Laro is one of the area’s longest running tournaments. This year’s event has more divisions that any other regional tournament offers. To date, there are 170 divisions. In addition to the standard events of forms, weapons and fighting that most competitions offer, there will also be divisions in grappling, stick fighting, self defense, breaking and musical forms. For more information on the Queen City Laban Laro, go to www.queencitylabanlaro.com
On October 18, the Expo will host the second Can-Am Border Battle. This will be an international team competition featuring weapons, kata, point fighting and stick fighting as its events. In addition to individual awards to competitors, there are also team medals for the countries participating in this event. Last year’s results had the gold medal and Can-Am Cup going to Team Canada, Team USA took silver and NAFMA International took bronze. For more information go to www.canamborderbattle.com
The trade show will have a variety of vendors from supply companies to consulting firms. There will also be demonstrations, seminars and workshops from industry leaders to world renowned Grandmasters. Check the Expo’s website www.buffalomartialartsexpo.com regularly for added classes and instructors
Don’t miss your chance to be a part of this unique martial arts experience!
Datu Tim Hartman
Phone: 716-675-0899
E-mail: admin@horizonma.com
Web www.buffalomartialartsexpo.com
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