Using Karate Techniques To Find The True Art

By Al Case

To rebuild Karate as a True Art, and this would include Shotokan, Goju, Uechi, or various other types of the art, one should always look to the techniques. The applications are the kata made real, they are concepts made to work. They are the heart of the animal that is The True Art.

The first step, in making your art work, is to make your stance work. The forms teach how to get into stances from a variety of directions and previous postures. So one should practice the movements of the kata until this concept of transitioning from stance to stance can be done without thought.

The second step, if you are going to make the karate forms real, is to make sure your limbs are set in positions that are functional. There are many arm positions in the martial arts techniques where your limbs cannot support weight, and therefore can't really make the technique work. You must examine your patterns and altar arm positions until they become functional in real world situations.

The third step is to have proper body alignment between hand and foot. The body is a chain of muscles and bones from stance to impact, and you must make sure that every piece of the body is in the proper place. The old saying, a chain is as strong as its weakest link, comes to mind.

The fourth step if you are going to make karate moves become significant, is to focus on your breathing. Breathing should be relaxed, but intent upon keeping the abdomen taut, especially upon hitting, or getting hit. Breathing simply for the sake of breathing, as is done in Goju Ryu Karate, must be examined for real function, and possibly altered if you are going to have real martial arts self defense.

The fifth and final step, and ultimately the most necessary, is that you must have Coordinated Body Motion (CBM) when you use your body to do martial arts. You must harmonize all motion, taking into account the length and mass of every muscle and limb. You must understand how this all relates to real world timing, and you must make your body motions respect this concept of harmony.

An intriguing tidbit of data is that martial arts fighting has very little to do with finding The True Art. As a matter of fact, fighting tends to disrupt the mental processes that are necessary to put the pieces together that will resurrect your martial art. This piece of information is something that the old masters understood, and not just because they were old.

At any rate, any art can be great, but it requires a great teacher, and a great student. The purpose of this article has been to encourage students to be their own great teachers. Ultimately, that is who is responsible for your progress, and if you understand that then you can use Karate techniques to find the True Art.

About the Author:

You can get a lot more data on how to make your art work through the use of bunkai at Monster Martial Arts. Pick up a free ebook while you're at Monster Martial Arts 3

Ducks Rip Canucks, Backup Goalie Raycroft

By Ross Everett

After losing the services of starting goalie Roberto Luongo for the indefinite future with a broken rib, the Canucks may have breathed a sigh of relief too soon after backup goalie Andrew Raycroft's performance in his first game in relief. After an excellent effort in an overtime victory over Los Angeles, Raycroft was torched for four goals in two periods before being pulled from the game. Corey Schneider, recently recalled from Manitoba of the AHL, played the third period in net giving up three more goals as Anaheim cruised to a 7-2 victory. The Canucks scored twice in the first five minutes of the game to lead 2-0 before giving up seven unanswered goals.

Anaheim has struggled to a 4-6-1 record this season, but rewarded their backers who chose to lay the -164 price as home favorites with the Ducks. The Canucks evened their record on the season at 7-7 with the loss. The 9 combined goals put on the board sailed OVER the posted total of 6.

The Ducks snapped a four game losing streak with the offensive outburst. After spotting Vancouver a 2-0 lead early in the game, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan each tallied two goals and an assist in the lopsided victory. Mike Brown had the eventual game winning goal in the second period with his first career shorthanded marker, and even enforcer George Parros got in on the act with his first goal of the year. Jonas Hiller was sharp in goal for Anaheim, stopping 36 of 38 shots in the victory.

Vancouver's problem this season has been not getting enough shots on goal and giving up too many. In the shootout victory over Los Angeles on Thursday, they were outshot 29-12 in regulation. They'd been kept in a number of games they should have lost due to the goaltending virtuosity of Luongo, and this game didn't bode well for his absence. This was only the second time in eight games Vancouver has allowed more than two goals, a testimony to the ungodly skill of Luongo more than their defensive tenacity. They actually held a 38-34 shots on goal advantage despite the one sided tally on the big scoreboard.

Raycroft is expected to be back between the pipes for Vancouver's next game, a Sunday home date against the Colorado Avalanche. The Canucks will host the New York Rangers on Tuesday night before a road game against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday. Anaheim will play at Phoenix on Saturday night before returning to the Honda Center for the next two games. They'll host the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday before welcoming the Nashville Predators to southern California later in the week.

About the Author:

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and World Cup betting sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

MMA Flashback: Bobby Lashley Mauls Mike Cook At Maximum Fighting 21

By Ross Everett

Here's a word of advice to future opponents of Bobby Lashley--don't make fun of his background in professional wrestling. Mike Cook found that out the hard way in the co-main event of the Maximum Fighting Championships MFC 21: Hard Knocks event. After spending the run up to fight week making fun of Lashley's tenure in the WWE, Cook lasted a mere :24 seconds before being choked unconscious.

Perhaps Cook felt he was creating some sort of self doubt in the former WWE superstar by suggesting that he was out of his element in a real fight, but he turned it up a notch at the weigh in and in his ring entrance by donning a Mexican Lucha Libre mask. That clearly incensed the massive 64 250 pound Lashley, who despite his inexperience in MMA is hardly the sort of individual prone to losing bowel control at the prospect of a fight.

A smirking Cook attempted to tap gloves with Lashley before the fight, but his obviously insulted opponent would have none of it. Even after the opening bell rang, Cooks arrogant approach to the fight continued as he immediately clinched with his opponent as if he had no regard whatsoever for Lashleys strength. Lashley immediately locked in a guillotine choke and basically yanked Cook down to the mat by his head. Once on the canvas, Lashley cinched it in deeper as Cook flopped around"partially in an effort to escape, partially in an involuntary muscle reaction as he sunk into unconsciousness. Cook didn't even get the chance to tap out as veteran referee Big John McCarthy recognized he was out cold and pulled Lashley off of him.

After the fight Lashley gave his opponent a hug and flashed his trademark megawatt smile as if to say I told you so. In his postfight interview, however, he did slip in a final verbal jab toward his vanquished opponent saying that he didn't come to play and that he is all business.

Despite the fact that mixed martial arts and professional wrestling have been interwoven from the beginning, the American Top Team trained Lashley has been singled out by less knowledgeable fans for his tenure in the WWE. Against his next opponent, Bob Sapp, hell be facing a foe that has also spent some time in the worked environment of professional wrestling. In addition to his legit fighting experience in K-1 and PRIDE, Sapp has worked for several Japanese pro wrestling organizations and briefly held the prestigious IWGP Championship. The IWGP title has been held by pro wrestling legends such as Keiji The Great Muta Mutoh, Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami, as well as reigning UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.

Even though Sapp's days as a serious fighter are long past and he likely spends less time in the gym during a given year than Lashley does in a month, he does present an element of danger. Hes still got decent punching power, and his sheer bulk will be a challenge for Lashley who could give up as much as 100 pounds come fight night. Still, Sapp's only victories in several years have been against overmatched and/or outsized opponents. In his last fight against an opponent of similar stature he was destroyed in under a minute by Jan Nortje who entered the matchup with a 1-6 career MMA record. Sapp remains a hugely popular personality in Japan, however, and simply by fighting him Lashley's marketability in the lucrative Japanese fight sport market increases significantly.

About the Author:

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and noted authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and World Cup betting sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

The Basics Of The NFL Point Spread

By Ross Everett

In order to successfully bet on NFL football its important to start with the fundamentals. Were talking about the fundamentals of understanding the wagering side of the equation. There's a lot of misunderstanding about what NFL pointspreads mean and how they are set. A firm understanding of the bookmaking concept of setting NFL lines is a prerequisite for any sports betting success.

The general public has a tendency to oversimplify the meaning of an NFL pointspread. The conventional wisdom is that it is simply a prediction of which team will win and by how much. There is a component of that in the NFL bookmaking equation, but there's a lot more to it. A sportsbooks primary goal is to equally divide the action they take on an individual game. If they do their job right, the outcome of the game is irrelevant to the bookmaker.

Since a bookmakers primary goal in setting NFL betting lines is to equally divide action, they have to make each side of a wagering proposition attractive to a prospective player. For that reason, its more accurate to say that NFL lines are more of a reflection of the betting publics perception of which team will win a game and by how much than anything else. Some NFL teams are considered public teams due to their popularity and/or perceived qualitative skill. So if the numbers in a hypothetical game between Dallas and Cincinnati indicate that the Cowboys should be a -6 favorite a book may open the game at -7 or -7.

In early season wagering there are a few additional factors at play. A bookmaker may consider a teams NFL preseason record for the simple reason that the NFL betting public gives it undue attention. Sharp players know that there is little correlation between a teams preseason success (or lack thereof) and their regular season performance. Another consideration is a teams performance in the previous season or, in some cases, their historical performance. A team with a winning tradition like New England or Carolina may be priced higher than the true odds indicate as a result.

Furthermore, its important to understand why NFL lines are moved after the opening numbers are posted. While it may occasionally be due to external factors such as injury or weather, more often than not its a direct result of the money a book is drawing on one side of the proposition or another. If in our hypothetical example above, Dallas opens -7 and not long after the line is moved to -7 that is an indication that the book has received the majority of their bets on the Bengals. The idea is that by moving the line it makes wagers on the side a book wishes to attract money on more attractive. Indeed, many sharp players base their NFL football bets exclusively on line movements.

To successfully bet on NFL football, however, it is important to spend as much time as possible understanding the intricacies of the sports gambling marketplace"and in this regard nothing is more fundamentally important than understanding how NFL pointspreads are made and why they are moved.

About the Author:

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and noted authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and World Cup betting sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Skills You Have To Perfect In Basketball

By Rick Lautner

Basketball players and fans are found throughout the world. Why not join them? You can learn basic basketball skills without too much difficulty, and play the game reasonably well if you get these basics down.

Here are some skills for you to master. There are only a few.

1. Boxing Out: when you do this, one player is between a player from the opposing team and the basket. If you want to rebound the ball in the basket and get the point, this is the position. You will stand here and recover a missed shot that bounces backwards.

2. Dribbling: Without dribbling, you can't play basketball. It's an essential skill. When you dribble, you bounce the ball with your fingertips, up and down on the ground so that each time it returns to your own hand.

You have to do this so that you can move legally with the ball. If you hold the ball instead and run more than a few steps this is against the rules. Instead, dribble the ball as you run and you are fine.

3. Shooting and pivoting: when you throw the ball in the effort to make a basket, you are shooting the ball. Pivoting is another term for a type of shooting, but in pivoting you are taking some steps after turning on one foot, then shooting.

4. Fouls: You need to know what causes a foul and what the result of a foul is. When someone fouls they wrongly interfere with another player. The penalty is that the player who was fouled gets one or more free throws, or chances to make a basket without anyone countering them. An example of impeding a player and fouling them would be to blocks someone coming your way by moving your arms out horizontally to block them.

Most fouls happen, though, when one player charges another. You can't run with the ball toward someone else who is standing still. You also can't do hacking, or hitting the arm of whoever has the ball at the time.

If you want to play basketball, you have to do a few things. Start with learning your dribbling and shooting, and also reduce your fouls. You can then go from there.

About the Author:

Besides basketball, this writer also regularly shares writing on individual dental insurance companies and dental schools.