This got me to thinking about my own activities and what benefits I derive.
In fact when I started writing down my thoughts I realized there are some fantastic reasons for someone who is unsure or just thinking about training in the martial arts.
So please read this it may give you the confidence or the push you need to start training in a martial art.

Underneath are my top eight, I realize we are all different and you may have other ideas that is great nothing is set in stone. We should all keep an open mind and learn together.

Respect

Respect in the gym or dojo is very important. If you do not have respect for your teacher how can you learn, no respect for your classmates can result in injury or worse.

Awareness

What I mean by this unlike a lot of activities for example running, where you often see people pounding out the miles listening to music oblivious to what's happening around them.
In the martial arts mind and body have to work together, you have to be aware of whats happening around you for your own safety and others.

Stress Reduction

Many studies have shown that regular exercise such as cycling,running,aerobics all relieve bodily stress. The martial arts we train both the mind and body so relive stress to both.
With the added benefits of cutting down the risks of heart attacks or strokes.

Focus

With the mind and body working together you will be focused on what you are doing which allows you to progress quicker than you thought you could.
You may be surprised to learn that another benefit is that it carries on into your everyday life. Which can be good for work, relationships even you're driving.

Conditioning

With the martial arts you work your whole body so it is a more intense workout than say just going to the gym and using a treadmill for half an hour. The health benefits are as above cuts down on stress aids concentration cuts down the risk of heart attack or strokes.

Challenge

The martial arts present a challenge every day as there is always something new to learn or achieve. We are all students who I hope are looking to expand our knowledge.
Again this can continue into our everyday lives maybe helping with our ambitions.

Self Confidence

With the mind and body working together you have the focus, conditioning and knowledge to give you automatically more self confidence. The benefits to this are enormous it helps in work, your relationships with others and you feel good.

Self Defense

You now have the awareness, the focus, the conditioning and the knowledge to defend yourself. The self confidence can stop you acting in anger and be able to let you control the outcome of any confrontation. Even if this means having the confidence to just walk away, at least with the knowledge you could have coped if things had got physical.

Well that's my eight I am sure you could all come up with more or expand on these as I have said before nothing is set in stone except the benefits of training in the martial arts.

If you would like our free newsletter and dvd going into more detail of this amazing system please go to our website. There you will get a free self defence report plus a dvd showing you how you can double or even treble your impact with little or no extra effort. Train hard live easy Mark Stephens

In sports you have to work through the pain. If you just give up at the first sign of pain you'll be nothing. You have to fight through it. You need to become best friends with pain. Are you just going to give up in the fourth quarter of the championship game just because you hurt? If you do you're nothing. Pain makes a man out of you.

Whenever you're working out or pushing your body to the limit, remember pain is weakness leaving the body. Give all that you have, and you will become what you want. NO PAIN, NO GAIN! Fight through everything and you'll become champions!

For most die-hard boxing fans, who love nothing more than to sit around and hypothesize about how various all-time great fighters - both past and present - would do against one another in mythical match-ups, pitting two all-time great sluggers from different eras against each other in a fantasy fight is as good as it gets! There's something about punching power and punches thrown with bad intentions that riles up the competitive juices of hard-core boxing aficionados like nothing else!

And when it comes to pitting two all-time great sluggers against each other in a mythical match-up, it doesn't get any better than “Big” George Foreman, the holy terror of a wrecking ball from the 1970's, swapping bombs with “Mighty” Mike Tyson, that swarming, terrorizing ball of speed and power from the 1980's and beyond. Would Foreman be able to launch Tyson into the air with a mighty uppercut the same way he did to Joe Frazier, or would Tyson send Foreman sprawling to the canvas like he did to Trevor Berbick? One thing's for sure - this fight would not go the distance!

So, how would this fight play out if both guys fought each other in their respective primes? Although opinions vary greatly, and a strong case can be made for either fighter emerging victorious, I think the fight would play out something like this:

Mike Tyson, with his superior hand speed and explosiveness, would get off to a fast start and probably nail George with some pretty big punches - he may even send him to the canvas once or twice. Mike Tyson was no Joe Frazier; he was much faster and much more explosive, so any comparisons to the Foreman/Frazier fight in analyzing a Foreman/Tyson fight would be irrelevant in my opinion. Foreman was a fairly slow starter, and he wasn't the fastest, most elusive guy around, so Tyson would have his best moments early in the fight.

I readily concede that a quick Mike Tyson victory would definitely be possible. It wouldn't surprise me if Tyson were able to overwhelm George within the first two or three rounds and blow him out with his short, quick, and deadly precision punches. Mike Tyson was deadly, and his combination of both hand speed and punching power was phenomenal. But if Foreman were able to weather the early Mike Tyson storm, the fight would drastically turn.

Style wise, I think this would be a bad fight for Tyson. George Foreman was a master at fighting “tall” and keeping shorter opponents at bay. And Foreman's huge hooks and crosses thrown from the outside would no doubt land on Tyson. And Tyson, although he'd manage to get in close and land the occasional big shot, would have a difficult time maintaining his position without getting hurt himself.

George Foreman was very durable and overwhelmingly strong. And I think it is this innate toughness on George's part that would help him immensely in a fight with Mike Tyson. He would undoubtedly get hit, but I think he would be able to take Tyson's early assault. And, he would be clubbing back at Tyson, and he would no doubt nail Tyson with some big, powerful uppercuts and short hooks on the inside. And this would be very bad for Tyson.

Tyson, in my opinion, was not as durable - both mentally and physically - as was George Foreman. As soon as Foreman starting landing his big punches, Tyson would quickly wilt; he'd get hurt, and he'd get discouraged. And as soon as that happened, the fight would be just as good as over.

Call it a mid-rounds knockout win for George Foreman. Tyson would probably hit the canvas for good courtesy of a Foreman uppercut or sweeping left hook, but he'd no doubt finish the fight on his back. And Foreman, probably a bit swollen and hurt, would have his massive arm raised in victory!

George Foreman was having an easy night's work. He had just dropped his opponent, Alex Stewart, for the second time in the second round; the last knockdown courtesy of a beautiful straight right hand that dumped Stewart onto the seat of his pants in his corner. Rising on unsteady legs, with blood gushing from a cut over his eye, and with his senses rattled by Foreman's clubbing blows, Alex Stewart appeared to be on his way out. As the three knockdown rule was in effect, all Foreman had to do was put Stewart down once more and the fight would automatically end via TKO for Big George.

And boy, did George Foreman try to accomplish that end. He pounced on Stewart and bulled him around the ring, all the while winging big, powerful punches at Stewart. But Alex Stewart came to fight that night, and he was not ready to lie down. He managed to evade Foreman for the rest of the round, and that's when the fight started!

Foreman's expectations of an easy payday - $5 million - and another spectacular win that would hopefully vault him back into title contention were dashed when Alex Stewart came to life and fought the fight of his life. After losing brutally in his last two fights prior to facing Foreman - getting stopped by Michael Moorer and then getting trounced by a comebacking Mike Tyson - Stewart was expected to continue in his role as designated hittee.

But Alex Stewart, probably realizing that this was his last big chance in the heavyweight division, started firing back at Big George and soon had his face lumpy and swollen. It started with a small abrasion under Foreman's left eye, and it eventually grew and then spread over his entire face!

Boy, what an entertaining brawl it was. With each passing round, the faces of both fighters grew more swollen and battered. Foreman's jab was closing Stewart's right eye and making his cut worse; Stewart's combination punching and quick counters were causing George's face to swell grotesquely and bleed.

It was a scary sight. Here was big, cuddly, fan-friendly George Foreman engaging in the kind of fight that you hate to see a folk hero who is loved and adored by millions engage in. Punches were flying, blood was flowing, and facial features were eroding before millions of viewers' eyes.

George Foreman, sensing the dire circumstances that his career - and his body - were in, found the energy to mount one last great offensive assault in the 8th round. Right crosses and mighty uppercuts found Stewart's chin, and Alex appeared to be a breath away from going down. But he held firm and rode out George's assault.

When the bell rang at the end of the 10th round - ending the fight - both fighters looked battered and beaten. Foreman looked grotesque; he looked as if a hand grenade had blown up in his face. And Stewart, with cuts over his eyes and with his face swollen, didn't look much better.

When the scores were read, the closeness of the fight was reaffirmed. Two judges had Foreman winning by one point each; the third judge had Stewart winning the fight by a point.

It was close - obscenely close - and most boxing experts felt that George Foreman should retire immediately! He had taken a severe beating, and although he won the fight - just barely - he'd gone life and death against an opponent who was easily knocked out in his last two fights. But George, proving that no obstacle is too great to overcome, would continue his career and, on a shocking night in November of 1994, he would regain the heavyweight championship of the world when he knocked out Michael Moorer in the 10th round to become the oldest heavyweight champion in history at age 45.

The Baekjae kingdom also heavily influenced the modern day techniques that we use today. They practiced a similar form of martial arts that the other two kingdoms used and also used this combat technique for militaristic and entertainment purposes. Eventually the Koguryo resurfaces after a short lived defeat from the Silla and then with the three kingdoms combined they formed the Koryo dynasty.

The Koryo dynasty used martial arts in many different ways and some even say that Taekwondo came about in this dynasty. The martial arts were mainly used as something required for all solders but then evolved into a contest for solders to compete for a military officer position. The martial art was then used again as a sport and competitions were regularly held. The next and final dynasty of Korea named the Choesun witch also held martial arts contest and with its emphasis on literature the first martial arts book was made.

Martial arts in Korea continued until 1910 when Japan invaded Korea and banned the practice all together and it nearly disappeared by the end of world war two. With the help of some underground teaching of martial arts thankfully Taekwondo did not die out all together. With this came the exposure to the Koreans of Chinese and Japanese martial arts witch heavily influenced some of our techniques that we use today. After the war was over the practice came about again and then in 1959 the Korean Taekwondo Association (KTA) was formed and Taekwondo was reintroduced to the world.

In conclusion Taekwondo has evolved and transformed over the years and has a very rich history of war competition and almost complete extinction. It is a very rewarding sport and is very popular and is now an Olympic sport along with Korea's national sport.

But Foreman didn't care. He had a plan. His mission was to work himself back into shape and back into title contention, and his ultimate goal was to regain the heavyweight championship of the world, a title that had been snatched from him by the guile and brilliance of Muhammad Ali.

So, after facing a string of second-rate nobodies and complete tomato cans, Foreman was matched for the first time in his comebck against a big, hard-hitting heavyweight. Gerry Cooney, who hadn't fought in over three years, since his disastrous knockout at the hands of heavyweight champion Michael Spinks, was attempting his own comeback. And what better way to vault himself back into the heavyweight spotlight than with a win against the comebacking and immensely popular George Foreman.

The match was set for January 15th, 1990, at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, and the fight was dubbed “The Geezers at Caesars,” a reference to the age of the combatants: Foreman was 40-years-old on fight night, and Cooney was 33.

Predictions on the fight varied. Foreman, up to that point in his comeback, had feasted on washed-up heavyweights and small, underpowered light heavyweights and cruiserweights. And Cooney, although having been inactive and with considerable ring rust, was a large heavyweight - 6'7”, 233 pounds - and he owned one of the hardest left hooks in history. The consensus was that the fight wouldn't go the scheduled ten round distance; somebody was sure to hit the canvas!

The fight started out with Foreman plodding forward and Cooney, well-schooled by veteran boxing trainer and one-time Foreman trainer, Gil Clancy, circling and firing stinging left jabs at Foreman. Cooney landed some big, thudding hooks against the massive-bodied Foreman, and Foreman, utilizing his customary cross-armed Archie Moore-type defense, chugged after Cooney like a locomotive and landed stinging jabs and straight right hands.

The crowd was energized towards the end of round one when Cooney, starting to open up more with power punches, connected with a short left hook to the head that momentarily shook Foreman. For the first time in his comeback, Foreman was nailed with a big punch from a big heavyweight. Wobbling slightly but regaining his composure, Foreman chugged ahead and traded a few punches with Cooney until the bell rang.

There was excitement in the air. The crowd in attendance could sense that maybe Gerry Cooney had a real shot at derailing George Foreman's comeback. Had Foreman made a mistake in deciding to fight Gerry Cooney?

The crowd was pumped as round two started. Both fighters got to work quickly, and both men landed some heavy punches. Foreman was starting to find Cooney more and more with his heavy left jab, and his straight right hand leads were landing on Cooney with more regularity. Cooney, for his part, was still throwing his left hooks, and he was landing them quite frequently to George's ample midsection.

But then the fight changed abruptly! Foreman, perhaps wary of tasting anymore of Cooney's power punches, managed to bull Cooney towards the ropes with his heavy jab, and he uncorked a powerful right hand to Cooney's head that caused him to stagger. Foreman, sensing that Cooney was in trouble, piled on the punches and Cooney slumped to the canvas. The crowd was in a frenzy. And Cooney, wide-eyed and stunned, gamely made it to his feet. But his rubbery legs were unable to move him out of harms way, and Foreman, moving in with bad intentions, landed a howitzer of a left uppercut and followed with a hard overhand right that sent Cooney crashing to the canvas as if he'd been shot!

There would be no getting up!

The referree, sensing that the administering of a count would be futile, moved in and removed Cooney's mouthpiece and signaled the fight over. George Foreman, registering his 20th consecutive comeback victory, had his hand raised and basked in the attention and glory that comes with brutally knocking out a high-profile, if faded, former heavyweight contender.

With the Cooney victory, George Foreman's comeback gained credibility, and many in the boxing world believed that Foreman had a definite shot to regain the heavyweight championship. The naysayers and skeptics, who doubted Foreman since the start of his comeback and labeled him a complete “joke,” were forced to take Foreman and his comeback more seriously. He had taken some big punches from a big, strong heavyweight, and after being stunned, he rebounded with a brutal knockout!

George Foreman was back!

1. Before you fight him or her, make sure you know anykind of martial art technique. Boxing is an easy fighting style to learn from a friend or someone.
2. Know who you are fighting. The kind of techniques will change depending on your opponent, for example; you should try to take your opponent down if he is lighter than you and box them if you are lighter than your opponent.
3. Know your environment. Everything changes depending on where you fight. If you fight anywhere near a school, a neighborhood, or a town it is almost guaranteed that the fight will be stopped if some that isn't involved finds out. If you are going to fight in a deserted area, the fight would most likely end when one person is on the floor.
4. Know the rules. There is no rules during a street fight. Your opponent may have a knife or another type of weapon with him. You must be aware that anything can happen, for example; your opponent's friend will join the fight. You must also be aware that if you lose the fight anything can happen to you.
5. Get backup. You should never get involved in a street fight by yourself, so you should bring some of your friends along. It importnt you bring along people that you can trust. Your opponent will most likely bring a couple of his friends too. This also helps if you lose the fight, your friends will most likely get you out of the fight.

8. Fast Pace

The game of Hockey is played faster than any other sport. The tide of a game can change insanely fast. It only takes seconds for a goal to be scored. Hockey has less stoppage than any other mainstream sport. Basketball stops frequently, and football players take a 40-second break after every play.

Here is a video of 3 goals being scored in just a few minutes in the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The momentum shift in these few minutes is epic.

If you're curious, the Canadians went on to win the series in game 7.

7. Team work

Hockey is a team sport. Yeah, so what? So are football, baseball, and basketball. In football, if everyone is not on the same page, a play will go bad and you lose a down. In basketball, if everyone isn't on the same page, the point guard will take it to the net himself. In baseball, you can just sit there, bored as hell, in the outfield, while your pitcher takes care of the would-be hitters.

In hockey, if your team is even the slightest bit off, a turn over can happen, and turnovers in Hockey, as in other sports, result often in goals. When you are playing a low scoring game such as hockey, a turnover goal can be a game ender.

Chief's goalie screws up the pass to his defenseman and pays the price. The amount of awareness and ability required to play a game together with your teammates should be held in higher respect in America.

6. The Hits

Yeah, there are some good football hits out there. Now just imagine if those players who were blind-sided by a linebacker were on ice! The carnage would be crazy! Too bad we don't have a sport like that.

Oh wait….

You'd think that America's thirst for violence on TV would make hockey the number one sport, eh?

5. The Fights

Are you kidding me? A brawl on the ice? I would watch that. Oh? It's called Hockey….Well, if you say so….

Although the NHL is trying to cut down on most fighting, it still happens. You can't crash into a team for 60 minutes and not evoke some anger. Here is a massive brawl between the Flyers and Senators. It lasts a few minutes and it's over….or is it?

Still not interested in hockey? Check out these clutch plays.

4. The Saves

Watching goalies stop pucks that can come at them at speeds over 100 miles per hour is impressive. Watching them go head over heels to make saves off of rebounds is flat out incredible. I'm not sure that there is any other sport out there that so much responsibility lies with one player, who gives so much to keep the rubber out of the net.

Could you do that?

3. The Goals

Ice skating is one thing, using a stick to rocket a hunk of rubber as hard as you can at a goal that is hardly larger than the goaltender is another thing altogether. Hockey players have to learn how to shoot both left and right handed, and behind the back (both ways again). Shooting left gives most players an advantage of shooting away from the goalies glove, but shot opportunities are not always available from the position you want them.

2. The History

Hockey has a rich, deep history, with great players such as Wayne Gretzky featured in this clip. NHL started in 1917 with just 4 teams, and now it has grown to 30 franchises.

The Improbable

Every sport has its insane moments. If the fights and hits weren't crazy enough for you, check out this. If this isn't the Hail Mary of Hockey, I'm not sure what is.

Hockey requires agility, strength, endurance, awareness, speed, reflexes, and years of training, just as any other sport does. People say hockey is boring, but how can they say that? Certainly, they haven't watched these clips.

I don't know you, or how much you enjoy your hockey, but I hope this article might change your mind about one of the greatest sports of all time.

Prepare you self Laui, for now Sifu will share with you the most mysterious secret of Kung-Fu, so secret that to know it you must become Chinese. Are you ready, Laui? Are you ready to become Chinese? Good; now you are all Chinese and can learn the ultimate Kung-Fu Death Strike. Ultimate Kung-Fu Death Strike is psychic and invisible; it cannot be stopped by any means. Because you are all Chinese, Sifu will now perform the ultimate ultimate Kung-Fu Death Strike.

Capoeira

At some point in this video, Sifu will tell you Dim-Mak Death Joke. It is the funniest joke in Kung-Fu. You will not know when Sifu tell; it is that clever. But you will think about it. Sifu punch line, him so subtle, it will take you two days to get it. When Dim-Mak Death Joke strike, the proverbial Ninja Penny will drop, piercing you brain with mysterious psychological chimp. Ninjas monkeys rampage around you brain, destroying cerebral cortex. You will laugh until you go crazy and die while you family disown you. It will be as if you brain were tickling you to death, while you are kick you self in the balls for not getting it earlier. You sides will split and you will choke on you tongue. You heart will explode and you will piss you self from Sifu's Kung-Fu funniness, but before you die you will be compel to tell the joke to a friend… who will not find it funny! The knowledge that he is doom will make you laugh ever harder. It will take hours and days for you to die, uttering the punch line! You only hope to survive is to rush you self to hospital at once Laui, and be voluntarily lobotomised before the deadly Dim-Mak Death Joke can strike.

The world shall hear from me again...