Has anyone seen this show? It airs on the history channel and is a must see for anyone interested in martial arts. The show also includes the history of the martial art, why it was formed, etc.
The basic outline for each episode is these two mma fighters travel around the world to train under a specific style for a few days. Once the training is complete they fight the champion of that style. The training mostly consists of learning one or two techniques from each sub category of the martial art. For example they will learn a technique from people who teach the martial art as a means for street self defense, and from people who teach it as a competitive sport. Then they try to implement these techniques in a full fight. They mostly fall back on their mma instincts during the fight, because it's hard to use techniques you just learned when they are not muscle memory yet. They always manage to do well though against the champion, so I think the fight is kind of set up, or at least the champion is not trying his hardest.
They have covered most of the mainstream styles such as Okinawa karate and tae kwon do. But they also do some of the lesser known martial arts such as krav maga (basically it's a french self defense style). It's a great show for a martial artist, but also for those just generally interested in history.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Holidays
Do you like the holidays? I'm starting to dislike them more and more as I get older. When I was younger I looked forward to Christmas for months, now it seems like a burden. Maybe it's because I have to buy gifts too now. It's not so much spending of money that I dislike, but the time it takes to go shopping as well as thinking of a good gift. If it were up to me I'd rather just not receive or give anything for Christmas. Of course this is socially unacceptable, and there are some people who do actually enjoy buying presents for people; and I would feel badly if someone gave me something and I gave nothing in return.
Another thing I dislike is that for both Thanksgiving and Christmas eve and day my family comes to my house. My father's side of the family comes on Christmas eve, and my mother's on Christmas day. I don't really like everyone coming to my house, or at least not for all the holidays except New Years. I have to stay with the dogs half of the time because people want to pet with them but are scared most of the time because they are so big, so it's really annoying. Although the one good thing is there's plenty of great tasting food.
Another thing I dislike is that for both Thanksgiving and Christmas eve and day my family comes to my house. My father's side of the family comes on Christmas eve, and my mother's on Christmas day. I don't really like everyone coming to my house, or at least not for all the holidays except New Years. I have to stay with the dogs half of the time because people want to pet with them but are scared most of the time because they are so big, so it's really annoying. Although the one good thing is there's plenty of great tasting food.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
BSL
BSL, breed specific laws that is, is something that really irks me. If you do not know, BSL is a law that bans the ownership of certain breeds of dogs. It is not a federal law, but some states have implemented it. The breed that receives the blunt of this law is the Pitbull.
I disagree with the BSL for a few reasons. The people who pass this law are rather ignorant when it comes to dogs, namely pit bulls. They feel that pit bulls are an innately more vicious dog that is prone to attack human beings. This is flat out incorrect. Pit bulls have the ideal size, speed, and strength to kill a human being pretty easily, no doubt about that. But the problem is not within the dog's inherent nature, it's the owners who train the dogs to behave this way. Pit bulls do have a high level of aggression towards other animals, but this can be mitigated with proper training. On the contrary Pit bulls are one of the breeds that have the least amount of aggression towards humans, because of this are generally not the best type of guard dogs. There is an actual standard dog aggression test that proved this, unfortunately I cannot find the link.
I own a pit bull, and from experience I can say she is not vicious towards any person or animal. In fact my 10 pound Yorkshire terrier is more aggressive and has actually bitten people, although it doesn't hurt much. I really wish that the law passers would educate themselves on some of the laws they pass. Instead of banning the ownership of the breed, I think it would be more fair to require a certificate that establishes someone as a capable Pit bull or other large dog owner. The Pit bull is really a great breed of dog, and it's a shame they are being punished for their inept owners.
I disagree with the BSL for a few reasons. The people who pass this law are rather ignorant when it comes to dogs, namely pit bulls. They feel that pit bulls are an innately more vicious dog that is prone to attack human beings. This is flat out incorrect. Pit bulls have the ideal size, speed, and strength to kill a human being pretty easily, no doubt about that. But the problem is not within the dog's inherent nature, it's the owners who train the dogs to behave this way. Pit bulls do have a high level of aggression towards other animals, but this can be mitigated with proper training. On the contrary Pit bulls are one of the breeds that have the least amount of aggression towards humans, because of this are generally not the best type of guard dogs. There is an actual standard dog aggression test that proved this, unfortunately I cannot find the link.
I own a pit bull, and from experience I can say she is not vicious towards any person or animal. In fact my 10 pound Yorkshire terrier is more aggressive and has actually bitten people, although it doesn't hurt much. I really wish that the law passers would educate themselves on some of the laws they pass. Instead of banning the ownership of the breed, I think it would be more fair to require a certificate that establishes someone as a capable Pit bull or other large dog owner. The Pit bull is really a great breed of dog, and it's a shame they are being punished for their inept owners.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
School Shooting.
As you probably know, there was a fatal school shooting in Finland. Six students were killed and two faculty members, the shooter then killed himself. With school shootings becoming more common, the question is why?
Do you think that human nature has changed somewhat and there are more maniacs now than in the past? Or is it that people's insane thoughts are abetted by society? I personally do not think that there is a larger amount of psychos or sociopaths. Violence is becoming less of a sensitive issue in society. People can also find and talk with others who share their radical thoughts on the Internet, further encouraging them to act on their thoughts. I think Columbine established an unfortunate precedent. Since then, school shootings have increased almost exponentially. It also doesn't help that it's getting easier and easier for teenagers to acquire guns.
All of these reasons contribute to the increases in school shootings. You can argue that there are simply more people that are lunatics, but I think it has more to do the evolution of society. At any rate it's important to stop these shootings.
Do you think that human nature has changed somewhat and there are more maniacs now than in the past? Or is it that people's insane thoughts are abetted by society? I personally do not think that there is a larger amount of psychos or sociopaths. Violence is becoming less of a sensitive issue in society. People can also find and talk with others who share their radical thoughts on the Internet, further encouraging them to act on their thoughts. I think Columbine established an unfortunate precedent. Since then, school shootings have increased almost exponentially. It also doesn't help that it's getting easier and easier for teenagers to acquire guns.
All of these reasons contribute to the increases in school shootings. You can argue that there are simply more people that are lunatics, but I think it has more to do the evolution of society. At any rate it's important to stop these shootings.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
6-2
The New York Giants, my favorite football team, now have six wins and two loses. This is obviously a good record and seemingly bodes well for their playoff chances. But the winning record shouldn't get a Giant's fan hopes up too high yet.
For the past couple of seasons the Giants have started out six and two for the first half of the season. Somewhere along the line though they have a breakdown, and barely manage to make the wild card. It's kind of odd that this would happen, a possible cause is injuries. It could also be that the Giants have a rougher schedule during the second part of the season. It's not done intentionally, it just so happens that the teams the Giants play during weeks eight through seventeen are the better teams at the moment. The real test for the Giants will be week seventeen, when they play the Unbeaten Patriots.
Even if they Giants do relatively well during the second half of the season, realistically they will probably only make the wild card round. I highly doubt that they will beat Dallas for first place in their division. Dallas is a very good team, and already beat the Giants by a significant gap in week two. During the next several weeks we find out of the Giants are really legitimate, or if they have just been taking advantage of some of the weaker teams in the NFL.
For the past couple of seasons the Giants have started out six and two for the first half of the season. Somewhere along the line though they have a breakdown, and barely manage to make the wild card. It's kind of odd that this would happen, a possible cause is injuries. It could also be that the Giants have a rougher schedule during the second part of the season. It's not done intentionally, it just so happens that the teams the Giants play during weeks eight through seventeen are the better teams at the moment. The real test for the Giants will be week seventeen, when they play the Unbeaten Patriots.
Even if they Giants do relatively well during the second half of the season, realistically they will probably only make the wild card round. I highly doubt that they will beat Dallas for first place in their division. Dallas is a very good team, and already beat the Giants by a significant gap in week two. During the next several weeks we find out of the Giants are really legitimate, or if they have just been taking advantage of some of the weaker teams in the NFL.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Nutrition
As I mentioned in my last blog, nutrition is the most important element for successful weight training. You can workout as intense as you want, but without proper nutrition your gains will literally be cut in half. It has been proven that workouts can be up to twice as effective if followed with proper post workout nutrition. So how do you eat properly for weightlifting? Well there are two main types of diets, a cut and a bulk.
A cut is when you eat less calories than maintenance (maintenance being the amount of calories you can eat without gaining or losing weight). The purpose of cut for weightlifters is to lose as much fat as possible, but retain all the muscle. It's virtually impossible for an experienced weightlifter to increase muscle and strength during a cut, so the goal is simply to not lose any of it. Beginners do have this luxury though, they can add muscle and lose fat. The most common way to go about a cut is to limit carbohydrates to less than fifty grams per day, sometimes even close to zero, while keeping protein intake at normal levels (The normal protein intake is one to one and a half grams of protein per body pound). Some simply lower calorie intake, lowering carbohydrate and protein levels proportionally, but for most people this is less effective.
On the other hand, a bulk is when you exceed your calorie maintenance levels. There are two types of bulks, a dirty bulk and a clean bulk. A dirty bulk is when you eat virtually anything that has protein, carbohydrates, and calories. On a diet like this the goal is to gain as much weight as possible, even if a good portion of it is fat. Mostly the only people who do these types of diets are football lineman or other types of athletes that are required to be big. A clean bulk is when you eat good clean foods as opposed to anything (Whole wheat bread as opposed to white bread, brown rice as opposed to white rice, etc). It's inevitable to gain some fat during a bulk, but a clean bulk limits the fat while still adding plenty of muscle and strength. It's not uncommon for bulk diets to exceed 4,000 calories per day.
A popular way of implementing these two diets is to bulk during the winter and cut during the summer. This way you add the most strength and muscle during the winter, then during the summer cut you retain that muscle, but lose the fat. It's important to note that whether on a cut or bulk, it's essential to eat at least four times a day, preferably six or seven. Just to give you an idea of how effective proper nutrition can be; my weight has varied from roughly 180 during a cut, to about 225 on a bulk. All the while I changing very little between my workout programs, and simply changed the dieting. Unfortunately there is so much to discuss about nutrition, such as macro nutrient timing and management, supplements, what your actual calorie maintenance level is, and more. This is just a very general description of two of the more popular types of dieting, but there much more information, too much to write about in a blog, covering every little facet of nutrition.
A cut is when you eat less calories than maintenance (maintenance being the amount of calories you can eat without gaining or losing weight). The purpose of cut for weightlifters is to lose as much fat as possible, but retain all the muscle. It's virtually impossible for an experienced weightlifter to increase muscle and strength during a cut, so the goal is simply to not lose any of it. Beginners do have this luxury though, they can add muscle and lose fat. The most common way to go about a cut is to limit carbohydrates to less than fifty grams per day, sometimes even close to zero, while keeping protein intake at normal levels (The normal protein intake is one to one and a half grams of protein per body pound). Some simply lower calorie intake, lowering carbohydrate and protein levels proportionally, but for most people this is less effective.
On the other hand, a bulk is when you exceed your calorie maintenance levels. There are two types of bulks, a dirty bulk and a clean bulk. A dirty bulk is when you eat virtually anything that has protein, carbohydrates, and calories. On a diet like this the goal is to gain as much weight as possible, even if a good portion of it is fat. Mostly the only people who do these types of diets are football lineman or other types of athletes that are required to be big. A clean bulk is when you eat good clean foods as opposed to anything (Whole wheat bread as opposed to white bread, brown rice as opposed to white rice, etc). It's inevitable to gain some fat during a bulk, but a clean bulk limits the fat while still adding plenty of muscle and strength. It's not uncommon for bulk diets to exceed 4,000 calories per day.
A popular way of implementing these two diets is to bulk during the winter and cut during the summer. This way you add the most strength and muscle during the winter, then during the summer cut you retain that muscle, but lose the fat. It's important to note that whether on a cut or bulk, it's essential to eat at least four times a day, preferably six or seven. Just to give you an idea of how effective proper nutrition can be; my weight has varied from roughly 180 during a cut, to about 225 on a bulk. All the while I changing very little between my workout programs, and simply changed the dieting. Unfortunately there is so much to discuss about nutrition, such as macro nutrient timing and management, supplements, what your actual calorie maintenance level is, and more. This is just a very general description of two of the more popular types of dieting, but there much more information, too much to write about in a blog, covering every little facet of nutrition.
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