Martial Arts Essay -- Asian Fighting Essays

Martial Arts I am a martial artist. When I first started, I might have said I take karate. Here in America, both of those statements are technically true. We tend to generalize all martial arts as â€Å"karate.† In reality, only some of what we see is actually karate. The word karate is Japanese, as is the style, and it means â€Å"the way of the empty hand.† It was created in the 15th century by Okinawan peasants who were not allowed to have weapons by royal decree. Thus they developed ways of protecting themselves without the use of weapons, or by using regular objects such as sticks (Hassell 14). Today there are many, many styles of this art. There are many other styles, such as tae kwon do, kung fu, capoeira, and many more. They can be very interesting, and are beneficial to participate in for many reasons. However, it is not for everyone. I hope to offer some information on how these arts work, and why joining is a good thing, but only after some thought . As I said before, I am a martial artist. I do not take karate, or tae kwon do, or kung fu. I study a style that is still in its infancy. My instructor is a bit of a maverick, and has created this style himself. It changes often and is not set stone. It is called Te Da Kuen Do, meaning â€Å"free flowing fist way.† It is a combination of several martial arts. My instructor, Sijo Mike Giles, is a sixth degree black belt in tae kwon do, a certified instructor of Lee Jun Fan Gung Fu (Bruce Lee’s style), and has lesser degree belts in a number of other styles. Sijo is Japanese for â€Å"founder,† as he is the founder of his style. Instructors are called â€Å"sensei† which means teacher. Sijo has a great deal of martial arts in his head, a... ... the teacher knows what he or she is doing. Try to get all of the information up front, especially costs, and requirements such as tournaments. Be very sure of what you want. If you don’t want forms, then I suggest you try something else, or a martial art with no forms. If you just want self defense, try to find a program for just that. If you want a martial art, you have to be willing to do all of the components. In the end, only you can decide what’s best for you. Some of what I’ve talked about can sound rough and not fun. I tend to think of it as college, you don’t always enjoy it, but the end result is worth it. The benefits really outweigh the price. As long as you are willing to try, you can attain that black belt. You gain confidence and feel truly safe. Martial arts is a wonderful, terrible, incredible thing. I highly recommend it.

Gods: Greek Mythology and Thor Essay

Zeus and Thor are both respected gods in Norse and Greek mythology. Both have amazing strength and powers and were feared by many because of this. While both were the all mighty gods of their time, one huge difference was that Zeus was the god of all gods. In Greek mythology there was no one who ruled over Zeus and ultimately Zeus was in control of all the gods and people. While Thor was the strongest god of Norse mythology, his father Odin was the supreme ruler of the gods like Zeus was in Greek mythology. While both had amazing strength, Zeus still had the power over all the gods which Thor did not. One of the huge similarities is that both Thor and Zeus were gods of the sky and thunder. Zeus would use a thunderbolt as his weapon and Thor would use his hammer in which only he was able to lift. Both of these gods also had a similar appearance. Both were muscular built and had long hair and also a long beard. Thor and Odin also both had children outside of their marriage. While Thor had children with two women, Zeus was known for his lust for women and sex and had a very large number of children. Zeus’s lust for women was one of his biggest weaknesses and also got him in a lot of trouble with his wife. While Zeus was the God of all gods and the common man respected him, Thor seemed to be more worshipped and liked as a god. Thor was the protector of the people and did not require any form of sacrifice from the people for his help. This is one of the reasons Thor surpassed even his father Odin in popularity. Odin required human sacrifices since he needs warriors on his side to fight with him at the Ragnarok, while Thor did not since he is practically a one-man army. These made him more liked then even his father Odin who was the god of all gods in Norse mythology. Another large difference between Thor and Zeus was the fact that Zeus was immortal and Thor was not and would eventually die. The Greek Gods were immortal, and were never depicted as in danger of â€Å"dying†. While most pantheons were immortal, the exception to that rule was the Norse Gods, who could die from injury or old age. Thor and other Norse gods would eventually die in the battle of Ragnarok. He fought the Midgard serpent, which surrounds the whole world. While he did succeed in killing this serpent, he walked about nine paces from its dead corpse and died from the poison it had spewed out onto him. While Thor was the mightiest God of his time just as Zeus, He was unable to avoid the faith of dying during this battle. Zeus is meant to rule Mount Olympus for all eternity amongst the rest of the Greek gods. Zeus had a hatred for his father unlike Thor. Thor fought alongside of his father while Zeus was the destruction of his. Zeus could not actually kill his father because his father Cronus was immortal just like Zeus. Instead, Zeus used his father’s own weapon to slice Cronus into a thousand pieces. Zeus then tossed all the pieces into Tartarus, the deepest crater in the underworld, and Cronus never escaped. Cronus was still alive because he was immortal, but he was harmless since his body was scattered in Tartarus. Thor had nothing but respect for his father and would do anything to help him. While Zeus did destroy and hate his father, he had plenty of reason to since his father was not what most would consider a good father. Cronos would have eaten Zeus like he did to the rest of his brothers and sisters, since he had a fear that one day one of them will rule over him. If it was not for Zeus’s mother Rhea creating a plan to save him, Zeus would have been eaten by his father and not have overthrown him and become the ruler of the gods. Overall both gods possess exceptional power and are the strongest of their times. Both gods are extremely dangerous and getting on their â€Å"bad side† is not generally a good idea. To me is seemed Thor was liked a lot more by the people then Zeus was. But with Zeus’s affairs and also the fact that he was the most revered god of his time, while Thor was not really the most revered god since Odin was, Zeus had a lot more criticism. I liked how Thor had his special weapon (Mjollnir Hammer), but I felt as if Zeus using the thunderbolt as his main weapon made him just appear more as a â€Å"Sky God† even though Thor does use thunder as a weapon as well. Both gods have many differences and similarities but one thing everyone can agree with is that no one wants to get into a battle with either of these mighty gods.

The Effects Of Music On The Body And Mind - 1684 Words

The Effect of Music on the Body and Mind â€Å"Without music, life would be a mistake.† -Friedrich Nietzsche Music has a bigger impact on the mind than what most people think. It can affect our personalities, emotions, and even the brain. Some people consider music to be just a form of entertainment, but it is considerably more than that. Music affects the brain in many ways. The personality of a person can be predicted by what song genre they choose to listen to. Different genres of music and their characteristics include: 1.) Blues fans have high self-esteem, are creative, outgoing, gentle and at ease; 2.) Jazz fans have high self-esteem, are creative, outgoing and at ease; 3.) Classical music fans have high self-esteem, are creative, introvert and at ease; 4.) Rap fans have high self-esteem and are outgoing; 5.) Opera fans have high self-esteem, are creative and gentle; 6.) Country and western fans are hardworking and outgoing; 7.) Reggae fans have high self-esteem, are creative, not hardworking, outgoing, gentle and at ease; 8.) Dance fans are creative and outgoing but not gentle; 9.) Indie fans have low self-esteem, are creative, not hard working, and not gentle; 10.) Bollywood fans are creative and outgoing; 11.) Rock/heavy metal fans have low self-esteem, are creative, not hard-working, not outgoing, gentle, an d at ease; 12.) Chart pop fans have high self-esteem, are hardworking, outgoing and gentle, but are not creative and not at ease; 13.) Soul fans have highShow MoreRelatedEffects of Music on the Mind1350 Words   |  6 PagesEffects of Music on the Mind The study of how music affects the mind has been a subject of interest for many. The interconnection between music and the physical and mental health of human beings has been researched on since long. Research has concluded that music does have positive effects on our mind. It has the power of healing certain ailments. Indian classical music has been found to have the strongest healing powers. Music has a calming effect on the mind. It is known to speed the recoveryRead MoreMusic : Music And Mindfulness951 Words   |  4 PagesMusic and Mindfulness Music is vitally important to humans, and has played a role in society since the beginning of time. From the way that the wind whistles, or birds chirp, to the many new different types of music that exist in modern society. Music has a great impact on people’s minds and can impact the way they interact with one another. Mindfulness can be characterized as the state or quality of being aware of your surroundings. 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