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101 Uses for Dirty Diapers
As the father of a toddler, I am an expert on dirty diapers. I know exactly what to do with them: throw them out! But along comes a New York waste company and a town in California who want me to do something else with my dirty diapers. ...
Audible Books: The Evolution of Story Telling
In the days of old, stories were usually told orally from a tribal storyteller or one of the wise elders or chiefs. The next progression in storytelling came with the first hieroglyphics and visual representations of actual and mythical...
Kid's Movie Party Theme
Kid’s Movie Party Theme Lights! Camera! Action! Now with our exclusive movie party theme, your birthday child can star in their own movie! That's right, with fun kid birthday parties one-of-a-kind movie making adventure, you can turn your...
Porn Documentary Series Premieres This Fall
(Cyberspace) July 29, 2005 - WebDreams, the much anticipated 'Docu-Soap' tracking the daily lives of people in the online porn trade, will begin airing on ShowCase as of September 2005. Produced by Montreal-based Galafilm and directed by Ziad...
True Romance for Couples with Kids: 10 Inexpensive Ideas
Anyone can splurge on a formal dinner or a pricey bottle of perfume, but it takes creativity and forethought to be truly romantic. The key lies in personalizing your celebration. Here are ten ideas to fuel your own creativity: 1....
 
Martial Arts - Which Style is Best?

Martial Arts - Which Style is Best?

This is the single, most asked question I get asked via email and in person. My answer is always: "what are you trying to achieve and what style interests you"? The answers to that question is what I begin to formulate my response to address. "It's all good", is an expression I hear around martial arts training halls, seminars, tournaments and elsewhere. It doesn't work for me. I have seen too many bastardized styles based on other systems, combinations of systems, and just plain B.S. "home made", "smoke and mirrors" styles where the Chief Instructor was a Green Belt (in reality) and put his salesman's skills, together with his limited understanding of a credible style, and then promptly awards himself a 10th Dan and makes up a laughable name for it. These are always a major hoot but our "good manners" prevent us from laughing, since the unwitting students love and believe in their Grandmaster "O Sensei B.S.er". They are not to blame.

Quite honestly, the choice of a martial arts system is a daunting task. If you want to hook up with practitioners who will be able to instruct you in techniques, train your body, and speak into your life - you want to be sure. I believe that the student lends himself more readily to certain styles more than others. Stocky, stiff jointed types would probably hate Tae Kwon Do, but a flexible, lanky, body type might excel at it. The stocky, less flexible type might do better with Shotokan or an Okinawan martial art, which don't focus on aerial spinning kicks but rather, deliberate and punishing punches and kicks, on a lower line. I had an old Shorin Ryu (Okinawan karate) teacher who was tough as nails, but couldn't kick any higher than your waist. He used to mention that he didn't need to kick higher, to kick you in the face. He'd always laughingly say "I'll kick you in the


Is White, Working Class America 'Coming Apart'?
In his new book, Charles Murray, co-author of the controversial <em>The Bell Curve,</em> argues that in an increasingly economically stratified America, the white working class is slipping behind.

Sandwich Monday: The Pie McFlurry
For this week's Sandwich Monday, we go once more into the breach that is the McDonald's Secret Menu: blending a Hot Apple Pie into a McFlurry. Spoiler alert: it was amazing.


stomach and when you bend over, then I'll kick you in the head". Strange, but oh how true!

My recommendations are to DO YOUR HOMEWORK, you will want to stay for a few years or maybe longer, so go to several schools. Make these schools a good cross section of martial arts. Check out a few styles of Karate, a few Kung Fu, some grappling schools, and whatever else that may be available in your area. All will let you observe the class and give you access to the Sensei (head instructor) of the school. Most will offer some kind of "sign up" special, like a month free or a few free classes. This gives you a great opportunity to see what you will be doing, meet the teacher, assess the skills of the students attending, and help you decide if you want to invest a lot of time and energy (never mind the monthly fees) at this training hall. If you can line up about 6 or more schools of different martial arts styles, with different focuses and faithfully check them all out - WITHOUT JOINING - you will have a pretty solid idea of which one best suits your physical structure, your attitude, and your goals. Choose thoughtfully and carefully, because if you aren't having fun in your martial arts classes, as in anything, you will soon fall by the wayside - frustrated! Better to just go out and buy one of the high power stun batons on the market and crack open a brew, than spend a year in a martial arts style that you are not suited for.

Good luck in your pursuit of the unattainable Grasshoppers - choose well!

About the author:

Tom Fredrick is an accomplished martial arts practitioner with over 30 yrs. of active training and teaching Okinawan Karate, Yang Tai Chi Chuan, and Escrima. He served in the USMC, and has also worked in law enforcement, undercover airport security, and as a personal bodyguard.