Basics Of Aikido

In this modern world central to our life and a great form of stress is ensuring our own safety and the safety of our family.We can install alarms in our home and employ security companies but once we are out of our home's comfort zone we always feel vulnerable.Learning how to defend ourselves will provide a degree of confidence which relates int a form of stress management.Learning aikido will show you how to protect yourself,provide some peace within yourself that you are being pro active about ensuring your safety and first and foremost one of its main lessons is teaching calmness in the face of adversity.This power to remaining calm will not only save your life if you were in a dangerous physical situation but will also help you to manage life's stress better.

Aikido is a unique form of martial art. Its emphasis lies on the harmonious fusion of mind and body with the natural laws of Nature. Aikido focuses on accepting and respecting the energy of life and nature and channeling this harmony onto techniques that expresses this energy in physical forms.

Aikido is often viewed as more of a defensive martial art since its techniques and teachings are designed for you to avoid or get out of trouble. On the contrary, Aikido's techniques are very powerful and effective.

Basically, there are four levels of technique in Aikido training. These are the katai which refers to the basic training and is intended to build the foundation of body movements and breathing; the yawarakai trains the defendant to deflect attacks and fuse movements to take control of the attacker or situation; the ki-no-nagare which involves training the defendant to defend or counter attack by merging his movement with the attacker even before the latter makes contact; and the ki which is the absolute Aikido technique and involves establishing a link of ki or spirit from the defender to the attacker.

When training for Aikido, you need a sparring partner. The uke and the nage. The Uke is the initiator of the attack and receives the Aikido techniques, while the Nage is the defender and the one that neutralizes the attack.

Aikido basic techniques include ikky which involves control an attacker by placing one hand on the elbow and one on near the wrist giving an opportunity to throw the attacker to the ground; the niky which draws in the uke using a wristlock and twists the arm while applying painful nerve pressure; sanky which is a rotating technique aimed at applying a spiraling tension on the whole arm including the elbow and shoulder; yonky a shoulder control technique with both hands gripping the forearm; goky is another variant of ikky

Wherein the hand gripping the wrist is inverted and is quite useful in weapon take-aways; shihnage or the four-direction throw; kotegaeshi or wrist return which involves a wristlock-throw that stretches the extensor digitorum; kokynage also known as breath throws or timing throws; iriminage or entering-body throws which resembles a "clothesline" technique; tenchinage or heaven-and-earth throw; koshinage or the Aikido's version of the hip throw; jinage or the shaped-like-'ten'-throw; and kaitennage or rotation throw wherein the nage sweeps the arm of the uke back until it locks the shoulder joint after which the nage applies forward pressure to throw the attacker.

These are just basic techniques and from the list of thousands of possible implementations or combinations can be drawn by the aikidokas. In Aikido, the strikes employed during the implementation of the Aikido technique are called atemi. For beginners, grabs are the first ones to be taught. It is safer and the aikidoka can easily feel the energy flowing from the uke to the nage.

Among the basic grab techniques are the katate-dori or single-hand-grab which involves using one hand to grab one wrist; morote-dori or both-hands-grab which uses both hands to grab one wrist; ryte-dori another both-hands-grab technique wherein both hands are used to grab both wrists; kata-dori or the shoulder-grab technique; and the mune-dori or chest-grab which involves grabbing the clothing of the chest of the attacker.

Mastering each technique involves discipline and dedication. To be a good aikodoka, one must master both the techniques and principle of the marital art.

Below is the link to a cd where it teaches Aikido and self defense.

Why Some Stress is Good for You

You know the saying “everything in moderation”. This applies to all areas in our lives and obviously then applies to stress as well. We may talk about cutting stress from our lives, but we need those precious, powerful fight-or-flight hormones our bodies produce when we have a short term buzz of stress.

When the brain perceives physical or psychological stress, it starts pumping the chemicals cortisol, epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine into the body. Instantly, the heart beats faster, blood pressure increases, senses sharpen, a rise in blood glucose invigorates us. It can improve heart function and make the body resistant to infection.

Moderate amounts of stress, the kind of short-term buzz we get from a sudden burst of hormones can help people perform tasks more efficiently and can improve memory. Good stress is the type of emotional challenge where a person feels in control and provides some sense of accomplishment. Far from being something we need to eliminate from our lives, good stress stimulates us.

Bad stress which is long-term stress, such as living with a permanent disability, may render you less able to fight infections. Long term stress can have a negative effect on your body. Older people and people who are already ill are more likely to suffer damage to their immune systems due to long term stress.

The difference between stress that is good for you and stress that can damage your health is in knowing that the stressful event causing your anxiety will end soon. Good stress is short term and can be beneficial by applying a boost to your immune system and boosting your performance. Long term stress will damage your health.

New Year stress-give yourself a break

You are probably thinking-another break?Yes that's exactly what I mean.The Christmas period is one of the most stressful times of the year.Worrying about money,worrying about keeping the kids occupied,shopping for everyone and worrying about whether you are giving the right gifts and will they like it.And then having the whole family over for Christmas.And there is the drinking and celebrating.Let's face it,even the people who do nothing the whole year go out of their way to have a really good December.So we agree that was stressful.But wait,it gets worse.Now we have to worry about going back to work,getting back into routine,dealing with the traffic again.And worse of all issues like whether you really like your job are first and foremost this time of the year because most people are thinking this is the time to make a change.You stayed the whole year so you could get your Christmas bonus so now you gotta leave.
And I am saying forget all of that.Now relax.Have a glass of wine for tonight.
Tomorrow you will get up and go to work and after 3 days you will realise that you actually like this job.Forget about the money you owe until the end of January when you will get an account.Give yourself the break you deserve now until the end of January.Drink lots of water and feed your soul with good thoughts.Buy a really good book from the second hand shop(really cheap).Besides there is something about those old dusty shops that is so very calming.
Please take my advice and have a good January.

Worry no more

Eliminating Worry
We all know that our job is to organize our life and work so we can minimize surprises and problems.AND we all know that that is not always possible.Worry is essentially the fear of fear itself.We get told don’t worry be happy and few of us are able to follow this.Here is an action plan that works really well and when followed is ultimately going to leave you with the confidence to face any other worries head on the next time it comes along.In a nutshell don’t worry get busy
Step 1 –Clarity is everything
Define the worry situation clearly in writing.Half of all problems can be solved by clearly defining them
Step 2-Assume the worst
Determine the worst possible outcome of the situation
Step 3-Be willing to have it so
Resolve the accept the worst that can happen.The first step in dealing with a negative situation is to be willing to have it so.Once you resolve the accept the worst,your mind will become calm and clear,and you will be able to take some constructive action.
Step 4-Take action
The final step is to immediately begin doing everything you possibly can to improve upon the worst.
Antidote to Worry
Worry is merely a form of fear caused by indecision.You don’t see the trees you see the whole forest.Following the steps above allows you to start seeing problem by problem and to start dealing with them one step at a time.The only antidote to worry is purposeful action.Get so busy doing something about your situation that you don’t have time to worry.As you take action,your confidence,courage and sense of control will return and wipe away your fears.
2 step Action Exercises
1-Make a list down one side of a page of all the situations causing you stress or worry at the moment
2-On the other side of the page,write out the worst possible thing that could happen as a result.You will be amazed to see much of your worry disappear with this exercise.

You don’t see the trees you see the whole forest.Following the steps above allows you to start seeing problem by problem and to start dealing with them one step at a time.