Month: July 2018

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

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

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

Look for a professional, well equipped facility.

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

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

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

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

The instructor check list.

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

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

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

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

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

PHYSICAL COMPETANCE

Have you ever seen raw violence or someone getting ‘owned’? Just search google for “martial street fights” – “martial owned” Watch those movies and cringe!!!

Kung Fu, Boxing, dancing, balley, incompetance? What will you display to your attacker if that day comes?

Can you throw a punch or even stand steady on one leg? can you do a round-house or even give a kick to the knee? Ever heard of a combination, technique or form?

Today we are lazy, probably fat too.. Go look in the mirror and skip for ten minutes, then check your image again and what do you see?

I can judge I am probably half the strength and endurance form 10 years ago, how about you?

MARTIAL KNOWLEDGE

a martial art is defined as – 1 : of, relating to, or suited for war or a warrior 2 : relating to an army or to military life 3 : experienced in or inclined to war : WARLIKE

a martial art is defined as: various styles of self-defense, usually weaponless, based on techniques developed in ancient China, India, and Tibet.

The term ‘Kung Fu’ does not relate to any specific form of martial art, but rather translates as ‘talent’ or ‘aptitude’.

Wu Shu is traditionally the term popularly used to describe the traditional Chinese martial arts, though other descriptions akin to Kuo-shu, Kuo-chi, Chien-shu and Tao-fa have also been used occasionally. (Wu Shu is the term of late used for Chinese martial arts by the People’s Republic of China).

If youve never studied a martial art, your awareness of them most likely starts at Bruce Lee movies and ends with the stylized theatrics of The Matrix. If thats the case, you may not realize from what youve gleaned onscreen that there are an estimated 200 unique kinds of martial arts, and within these, thousands of different styles. Karate, judo, kung fu, and tae kwon do are among the most popular and well-known of the martial arts in the U.S., but there are numerous others.

Despite the array of martial arts and styles, most of them share common techniques, and so they can be organized into broad categories that facilitate understanding. The primary way of classifying martial arts is by the basic physical technique they use: striking or grappling.

Because karate, judo, kung fu, and tae kwon do have been more prominent than other forms in popular culture, from film to sporting events, many people mistakenly believe that all martial arts are Asian in origin. In fact, diverse cultures throughout history from Europe, Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East have also given birth to their own martial art forms.

Or a combination of triangles with small circles as can be seen in chinese trapping, wrist locks or Aikido entry and endings.

Do you even know the diffference between kung fu and karate? Do you think wing chun is a chinese dish?

The different styles can even be related to shapes or geometry – squares, triangles and circles.

MARTIAL TRAINING TO LIVE

Training is hard..really hard. The most hard is to get started and its down-hill easy from there. What you need is a martial arts machine – something new and exciting to get you off your fat ass.

Everyone knows someone who knows how to fight – with fists, knives, weapons, guns, tactical, sensless, whatever but START!

Or find a martial arts school in your area.

GO to the local phone book and look up kung fu or karate. Then give them a call, go along or take your kid.

Whats important now is to do something, start with brief excercise, get into stretching, shadow box, then step up and train hard.

ITS DANGEROUS OUT THERE

Its dangerous out there and especially for you..

The enemy may be next door and you dont know it but you got to have the guts too look. What can you really do once you see some violence or get scared or worse because you receive a bashing or king hit – do you hide in your house?

TV today scares the shiit out of many people as it promotes violence and turns the meek yellow and nervous.

The danger today is maybe not too obvious to you but you better hone your sensors or youll get hit without seeing it coming.

You know that given a situation to be a hero and stop a crime, terrorism or violence you’ll be able to step up or chase after them etc – or maybe you’ll cower or be the victim.

Were are you on the scared meter of life? Are you out there amongst it or a bit of a shy body or house mummys boy?

CONCLUSION IS ACTION

Life is not scarey but maybe your lack of skill, self confidence and personal competance is making you petrified.

Be pro-active and look, then choose and participate in action whether alone with a martial arts training machine or go to a dojo.

Life is not scarey but maybe your lack of skill, self confidence and personal competance is making you afraid.

If you are not liking what you see in the mirror, afraid to go down a dark street, scared of a potential confrontation then train now.

Be pro-active and look, then choose and participate in action whether alone with a martial arts training machine or go to a dojo.

We cant all be Bruce Lee but you also dont want to be an emotional and physical punching bag do you?

THE TRAINING ANSWER

The Martialarm is the only martial arts training dummy that bequeaths you consummate realism in all your martial arts training in kung fu, karate, krav maga, jeet kune do, tae kwon do, kempo and more.

The martialarm is unlike similar training dummies: The wooden dummy has been used for centuries as a solo training machine. In contemporary years, they’ve been provided accessible in different materials as well as synthetic. But still they all have one item in general:

They dont swing and they’re all static.

The wooden dummy frequently costs hundreds of dollars but is still only produced to absorb your blows and step up your precision moves. It doesn’t react to your attacks akin to a factual partner can. So although you get apt repetition training, which is acceptable for accomplishing the basics down, it may well be difficult to use and will get dreary so quickly.

Why A little Martial Artists Improve Faster Than Others

As martial artists, we all recognize this. Your martial arts instructor probably hammers the point home in practice every day. Alas, there are only so so many classes in a week and this can stunt your learning and headway.

You want to improve – swift. And you’re keen put in your time with home training. But solo training can only take you so far due to the fact it lacks the interaction that only a assistant can award.

Until Now!

In eighteenth century France the modern day buffet was developed which soon spread across Europe. Serving a meal to oneself has a long and interesting history, and eventually this style of eating was converted to modern day buffets.

The second half of the nineteenth century, especially in the English speaking world, buffets became extremely popular for meals. Buffets are very popular with people today, because, it offers plenty of food variety at a reasonable price. People can create their own dishes with more meat, less vegetables and fewer side dishes, plus creating salads with appealing ingredients that they enjoy. Buffets offer people the opportunity to try new types of food that they would not order off a menu in a restaurant. Infusions Restaurant at the Okanagan College hosts many buffets every year, and the last “buffet” was held a week after their Okanagan Wine Festival Gourmet Dinner which attracted a sellout crowd of over 80 dining guests. Guests were treated to a “Five Course” gourmet dinner with special Okanagan Valley wines to accompany each course.

The Okanagan College Culinary Arts Buffet will be prepared with the special talents of the new, up and coming future chefs of your favorite restaurants, cruise ships, hotels, ski and golf resorts, all directed and instructed by World Class Chefs. The buffet will include fresh meats, poultry, seafood of all types, and of course Okanagan Valley fresh vegetables and fruits.

Infusions Restaurant and the Okanagan College Culinary Arts Bakery will have a spectacular dessert buffet for this special night with freshly made gourmet desserts, and with a delicious assortment of as many freshly made Pastries, Tortes, Cakes and Chocolate Confections as a person could possibly eat after the meal.

The Culinary Arts buffet will offer a HUGH selection of seafood and seafood platters, from Sushi Rolls, Dim Sum, Salmon, Halibut to Shark and Lobster. Dishes containing Gratin of Potatoes & Yams, many types of Pasta with Grilled and Glazed Vegetables, and of course the Roast Beef and Beef Tenderloin, and ALL for $15.95!

For people in Kelowna and the Okanagan Valley who want a “Spectacular Feast”, this buffet will take place on December 12, 2008 at Okanagan College’s Infusions Restaurant. Infusions Restaurant at the Okanagan College and the Okanagan College Culinary Arts program hosts many private gourmet dinners, private functions and private buffets every year for people, companies and organizations in all parts of the Okanagan Valley and beyond.

Join them on Friday at Okanagan College’s Infusions Restaurant for their Spectacular Friday Night Seafood & Prime Rib Buffet! The Chefs and Culinary Arts Student chefs will create special tantalizing items for this special December Buffet Extravaganza! Come in on Friday, December 12, 2008 from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm and enjoy a fine gourmet meal of your choice. Infusions Restaurant is located at 1000 KLO Road, in Kelowna. Fine Dining At Kelowna’s Best Kept Secret!

A very reasonable price for this gourmet buffet at $15.95. Call for reservations at Infusions Restaurant: 250-762-5445 ext. 4426. James Murray is a successful writer and online Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) expert providing valuable tips and advice for those interested in seo and sem strategies. His numerous articles found on the Internet, provide useful and factual seo and sem information and insight. Some of his websites are : http://www.seo-worldwide.net , http://www.atclickbank.com , http://www.website-submissions-worldwide.com

Most home cooks would begin searching cookbooks for a Chicken Kiev recipe that met their tastes, cooking skill, and ingredients on hand. This is most often a time consuming task. Actually, it takes MORE time just to find the recipe that it would to cook this stuffed chicken entre.

In todays Elements of Entre Production class at Baltimores culinary arts school, we have to prepare lunch for 35 diners in the next classroom. Their class deals with elements of dinner service, and our class provides the food. Were the chefs, they are the servers.

An authentic Chicken Kiev recipe actually calls for the boneless breast to be stuffed with a heavily herbed compound butter. This is where the discussion begins among tomorrows chefs. We conclude that we dont want the butter to melt and leave a hollow cavity in the middle of our chicken.

We decide we need a binding agent to keep the stuffing together, and agree on a variation of the Russian stuffed chicken. Perhaps were headed more into Italian cooking territory, but our interpretation of Chicken Kiev will be stuffed with spinach and cheese to hold the stuffing together.

When we consider that this dish is normally breaded, it poses a possible complication. In what method should we cook stuffed chicken breasts to assure that the filling doesnt fall out during dinner service?

My culinary arts school class is very familiar with pan frying, as it was last weeks lesson. However, pan frying uses a lot of oil, could possible burn the bread coating before cooking the chicken, and means that our dish needs to be cooked in batches. This could be a headache if we were serving 150, 300 or 500 people.

We want to make production as problem-free as possible. The final decision to use a roasting method to cook the chicken is a good one because this type of cooking will allow us to compose the item in one large single batch and place them on sheet pans for the oven. We dont have to mess with oil and we can cook them all at once.

After a simple saut of spinach and onion, we add some sharp white cheese to create our stuffing. The chicken breasts are pounded thin, and filled with equal amounts of the cooled spinach mixture.

We dont need any string or toothpicks to keep the stuffing in place, because well use the natural cooking process to do that for us. Dont you hate when you find a cooked toothpick in your food? Its unnecessary. Coagulation of Proteins means that the chicken breast will stiffen and shrink, actually grabbing the stuffing and holding it in place for us.

Culinary Arts School Chicken Kiev Recipe:
Feeds 6

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
12 ounces fresh spinach leaves
cup diced onion
1 cup shredded white cheese (Asiago, Cheddar, or Goat or Brie)

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup All Purpose flour
2 cups Panko bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten with 1 Tbsp Water

1) Saute diced onion in hot olive oil until translucent.
2) Add fresh spinach and saute until totally wilted
3) Remove to a strainer and let cool.

4) Pound chicken breasts with smooth-sided meat mallet to thin consistency
5) Squeeze all excess moisture from cooled spinach mixture
6) Add cheese to spinach
7) Place 2 Tbsp cup of spinach/cheese mixture on each chicken breast
8) Fold all sides of the chicken over the spinach mixture and place seam-side down on a platter

9) Bread each stuffed chicken by dredging in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs.
Be careful to keep the stuffed breast together and not lose any stuffing. Be gentle.

10) Place each breaded stuffed chicken seam-side down on a baking sheet pan
11) Roast chicken at 350F to a finished internal temperature of 165F.
12) Let cool and slice on the bias for a nice plate presentation.

When our improvised Chicken Kiev recipe emerges from the oven, its brown and crispy on the outside and moist on the inside thanks to our spinach stuffing bound with cheese. This is a basic cooking method that you can use in your household; you dont have to be in culinary arts school to cook like tomorrows chefs.

See Chef Todds live Chicken Kiev recipe video

Are you a camp director, professor, or homeschool mom looking for a new arts and crafts idea for your children? Or maybe you are a recreation director at a senior centre or day care and could use a new project. Either way, this arts and crafts idea will be interesting and enjoyable for all. This glass box can be used, given as a present, or converted into a necklace purse.

To make the glasses box, you will need the following simple materials: a square of craft foam, plastic or large blunt needles, lanyard lace or thick yarn. Cut 2 rectangles from the foam, each 3-1/2 inches (9 cm.) by six inches (fifteen cm.). With a orifice punch, make holes on 3 sides of each rectangle, leaving one short side unpunched. Make the holes 1/2 inch apart and permit at least 1/4 inch between the orifice and the border of the craft foam. The holes need to line up so that the 2 pieces can be tangled together. In the case that you are preparing the craft for small children, you should make the holes yourself. Otherwise, the crafters can do this step if you have enough pairs of hole punches.

At this level the crafters can cut decorative shapes from other colors of craft foam, or you can buy sets of easy-cut foam shapes. If you are making the craft at a special event, like vacation Bible school, choose shapes that echo the theme of the event. For example, if the Bible school or camp has a cowboy theme, find figures that fit well, for example boots, cowboy hats, and stars. Let the children choose the shapes they prefer and glue on as desired. You might also like to provide beads or sequins to glue on as well, especially if the crafters are a bit older.

The next step in this arts and crafts idea is to thread the plastic needle with the yarn or lanyard lace. Yarn might be a bit easier to handle, but lanyard lace is shiny and attractive. In a pinch, some professors of small kids use a bobby pin as a needle. It is certainly a safe alternative. Simply loop the yarn through the opening and use the open end of the bobby pin as if it were the point of the needle. The children can now begin to lace the front and rear of the glasses box together.

To transform this arts and crafts idea into a necklace purse, simply attach a piece of lanyard lace to each corner making a long handle. Kids will have fun using this box as a place to store secret notes and tiny objects. If they’d prefer, they can give the glasses case to a parent, grandparent, or friend who wears glasses. Either way, this arts and crafts idea will be interesting for all.