tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91701958249038802172024-03-08T03:34:08.829-08:00Forget FitnessA practical guide to the human body.
<br>by tommy kirchhoffTai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-18154830938827734012016-02-28T08:28:00.001-08:002021-04-01T10:58:49.541-07:00Athletic Performance Models - Celebrating Flexible Structure<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH59pvnb-ITnDvf0a94gDr8enXQUdp_ztYMo9YPV9HfBoD49H0xgZTa4V4DlDRjfcOmYf-UjfevY1L-cH8Yhuqr2bLFAn7J7vDcYQb4qMGWLiUZi9kF_rDO7u9lkcTXbQtF7-no3UBMTcB/s1600/01_muscles3.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH59pvnb-ITnDvf0a94gDr8enXQUdp_ztYMo9YPV9HfBoD49H0xgZTa4V4DlDRjfcOmYf-UjfevY1L-cH8Yhuqr2bLFAn7J7vDcYQb4qMGWLiUZi9kF_rDO7u9lkcTXbQtF7-no3UBMTcB/s400/01_muscles3.jpg" width="315" /></a><br />
<br />
So back to the muscle guy image,<br />
the white parts, or connective<br />
tissues are vitally important to the<br />
nature of movement.<br />
<br />
Let's call the guy on the left Athletic Stance.<br />
<br />
Guy on the right we'll call <span style="background-color: white;"><span>Horse Stance</span>.</span><br />
<br />
Look at this anterior view and match it up<br />
in your mind with the Horse Stance<br />
above-right.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl8RWRpMq75Vt2m1U3YUuqytR7r4Ad4K0Kw7O25kfaTiwW_aCX-6HBp9kFjzX-dk_nukQGOkyB0M2ar6HctMSS4x2xxJFFmjTVHMQHjCCUCf3Np0t_E7olfh0pq-gIMRbDrODm_1X1XZra/s1600/horse_stance.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl8RWRpMq75Vt2m1U3YUuqytR7r4Ad4K0Kw7O25kfaTiwW_aCX-6HBp9kFjzX-dk_nukQGOkyB0M2ar6HctMSS4x2xxJFFmjTVHMQHjCCUCf3Np0t_E7olfh0pq-gIMRbDrODm_1X1XZra/s400/horse_stance.png" width="260" /></a></div>
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Horse Stance relaxes the muscles and<br />
allows the weight of the body to rest<br />
on the tendons. To say this is "different"<br />
than the common practice is a gross<br />
understatement.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm-7Gdi5KplCunLXeQ_19JLtqb9NpUmSLcOrYTWuJr9DFbttyFYDnBzxf8UUejHWlYonmApzockpBW5ccDgJxTzZbqqEADwXD4QKsM5Hk4EKeQEjB3eQqW7dTV-PYgWRquFImEzqEK5DXs/s1600/athetic_vs_horse.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm-7Gdi5KplCunLXeQ_19JLtqb9NpUmSLcOrYTWuJr9DFbttyFYDnBzxf8UUejHWlYonmApzockpBW5ccDgJxTzZbqqEADwXD4QKsM5Hk4EKeQEjB3eQqW7dTV-PYgWRquFImEzqEK5DXs/s400/athetic_vs_horse.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDE_A_Oqh3QD0FbeaDNUgeRwVgMNEbYipDutKxZkyqiyr1J8OlfQ02AAkf2nDh9_TDKC41Xuenjq4s8dn1TzTdhd8MjkDWWsDC5tcdeHOm7-0qPWTHGiid4TeMuXVDTr8IHZ2WGIdy7_sG/s1600/spine.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDE_A_Oqh3QD0FbeaDNUgeRwVgMNEbYipDutKxZkyqiyr1J8OlfQ02AAkf2nDh9_TDKC41Xuenjq4s8dn1TzTdhd8MjkDWWsDC5tcdeHOm7-0qPWTHGiid4TeMuXVDTr8IHZ2WGIdy7_sG/s320/spine.png" width="282" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit-bsLOb2OtDXaRgP1wMucySYl6GszdSg11RX1gGfgOEwAjm8gQ29l5Ux_M3-Hm0GCapwj8Ev86De1HTY7YCL9WBklnstbHWVMHAvvBANajzGo8F_ABcGb9BBTqegl2YD2M0uKnEDyxJEs/s1600/Tommy_posture.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit-bsLOb2OtDXaRgP1wMucySYl6GszdSg11RX1gGfgOEwAjm8gQ29l5Ux_M3-Hm0GCapwj8Ev86De1HTY7YCL9WBklnstbHWVMHAvvBANajzGo8F_ABcGb9BBTqegl2YD2M0uKnEDyxJEs/s320/Tommy_posture.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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With the weight resting comfortably on the tendons,<br />
the body has considerably more tonus, or state of<br />
relaxation.<br />
<br />
This facilitates movement in ways Athletic Stance<br />
can never know.Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-32087587001252333832016-01-24T11:12:00.001-08:002021-04-01T11:03:04.522-07:00Athletic Performance Models - The White Stuff<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUiQ1B2vOLWDFhvRjQOj4a4Xqto_kTSApIYpyO1aqGA0ikk-07eNj8kaJzUdF3_noPhvgQdWKkgDnIv_2Z4DUiA-HjLEHgt089627iosviWaB7-cuw67Jnb4LLlMIXUbXaza7Oy9s-ZYTz/s1600/01_muscles.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUiQ1B2vOLWDFhvRjQOj4a4Xqto_kTSApIYpyO1aqGA0ikk-07eNj8kaJzUdF3_noPhvgQdWKkgDnIv_2Z4DUiA-HjLEHgt089627iosviWaB7-cuw67Jnb4LLlMIXUbXaza7Oy9s-ZYTz/s400/01_muscles.jpeg" width="331" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>Have yourself a good look at the<br /> image above. What do you see ?<br /> <br /> The red muscles jump right out<br /> at you. If you have any education<br /> about the muscles, your mind<br /> starts to piece together how the<br /> muscle groups actuate and move<br /> the bones using the joints as<br /> fulcrums and levers.<br /> <br /> But MUSCLE-BOUND does not<br /> denote "bounding with muscle,"<br /> or even "muscular and strong."<br /> Muscle-Bound means "having the<br /> muscles large, overstrained, and<br /> inelastic, as by overexercise; it<br /> means tied up with one's own<br /> muscles. The overdeveloped muscles<br /> actually inhibit range of motion.<br /> The fastest sprinters never look<br /> like power lifters, and neither<br /> do figure skaters or ballerinas.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDLHmTQhGy0LSYGBawMckqDFkkt1X7bYfD_RnM92Zk3dWcCLhYcgA8D5llz5GrRK0sj2wxOXR5J6IdQD8MpgD2LexwB6hVp9SqeAiZdxsJw7f3FG7mjOjoTTeLCHRRiAztL16tQsLRJCIa/s1600/01_nose.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDLHmTQhGy0LSYGBawMckqDFkkt1X7bYfD_RnM92Zk3dWcCLhYcgA8D5llz5GrRK0sj2wxOXR5J6IdQD8MpgD2LexwB6hVp9SqeAiZdxsJw7f3FG7mjOjoTTeLCHRRiAztL16tQsLRJCIa/s400/01_nose.jpg" width="153" /></a><br />This is what I like to call the<br /> "Nose Plumb," and I want you<br /> to adopt this idea for yourself.<br /> From a side view draw an<br /> imaginary line from anyone's<br /> nose straight down to the floor.<br /> <br /> If the nose-plumb line lands<br /> out in front of the feet, or even<br /> on the toes, it indicates a real<br /> tendency to lean forward--<br /> and a real ignorance of the<br /> White Stuff, or connective<br /> tissues.<br /> <br /> This is commonly termed the<br /> "athletic stance," or a return<br /> to a state of correctness. But<br /> you don't have to think hard as<br /> to whether or not this body<br /> position is balanced sagittally--<br /> or front to back. This guy<br /> is forward, and he ain't going<br /> back.<br /> <br /> And it's nearly ubiquitous.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0TwS4SkeWGUbBBz_31aJfGeOlL9QR42Tusnv37f0Yg9vO9FiZyLbm4O5p7jpHIgyz3gZLGwnXud8nk0SfnfTP6wGYT6FQGTDTGUCYCwSYI5Dr5SZcYYyN_9Xaqet80Uf69d4_bxRB149B/s1600/01_athlet_stance3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0TwS4SkeWGUbBBz_31aJfGeOlL9QR42Tusnv37f0Yg9vO9FiZyLbm4O5p7jpHIgyz3gZLGwnXud8nk0SfnfTP6wGYT6FQGTDTGUCYCwSYI5Dr5SZcYYyN_9Xaqet80Uf69d4_bxRB149B/s400/01_athlet_stance3.jpg" width="315" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmtaix4kpRHDEsYle8i9nJx43QnsgRwo_uQ7E5fBRrBo4zfs8mfd3UHdtwNTvz-W8o_X6PRLy6_vEkUiTIYmpBEi1jHBeUN_zttiTvs_uWoUcOwBJi0an2JtSmhg29x6fa-gdrt1qm8zst/s1600/01_athlet_stance36.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmtaix4kpRHDEsYle8i9nJx43QnsgRwo_uQ7E5fBRrBo4zfs8mfd3UHdtwNTvz-W8o_X6PRLy6_vEkUiTIYmpBEi1jHBeUN_zttiTvs_uWoUcOwBJi0an2JtSmhg29x6fa-gdrt1qm8zst/s400/01_athlet_stance36.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgduezKhgEUnzP8b7ULugm4_jvn_Ick7YyMMSa89_TpbpvDLjLShdQVNNEZn7S4hetczmeuaXdOOiS3bT_1I_aa7qME3EmAp91VE8NS88jZTHStyWedEAzrcaH_ZAfzycgA2-E0pugCcoz9/s1600/01_athlet_stance34.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgduezKhgEUnzP8b7ULugm4_jvn_Ick7YyMMSa89_TpbpvDLjLShdQVNNEZn7S4hetczmeuaXdOOiS3bT_1I_aa7qME3EmAp91VE8NS88jZTHStyWedEAzrcaH_ZAfzycgA2-E0pugCcoz9/s400/01_athlet_stance34.jpg" width="285" /></a></div>
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Weight is on the toes.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ql1q3Ro8CnR8IqYm0x5P8Qx01G_FUfWMjHU1wbG6ZRYWucjG4ouFp3oN02Ef2xHi08Cpty8M4Og9pxv9IY8OLfOA4sV6Ix4c6vrWvOftAs46VfGJwm2inchlbHxvLnumFrnfzpbttN0u/s1600/01_athlet_stance35.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ql1q3Ro8CnR8IqYm0x5P8Qx01G_FUfWMjHU1wbG6ZRYWucjG4ouFp3oN02Ef2xHi08Cpty8M4Og9pxv9IY8OLfOA4sV6Ix4c6vrWvOftAs46VfGJwm2inchlbHxvLnumFrnfzpbttN0u/s320/01_athlet_stance35.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Even this guy--</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr_vqJhDtD3ngKLNl3dkokMAy8daMkwViTBJnmS3Dd5hzoxwk0legQCOGiBHYR_4lzxXuxWbj5X6TKJLuEo5-ZQBfx99GK4f6pokZXH-k-H70ajT6RSOaORIy1J2HCrYwWigVwoc8iVEX-/s1600/01_athlet_stance38.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr_vqJhDtD3ngKLNl3dkokMAy8daMkwViTBJnmS3Dd5hzoxwk0legQCOGiBHYR_4lzxXuxWbj5X6TKJLuEo5-ZQBfx99GK4f6pokZXH-k-H70ajT6RSOaORIy1J2HCrYwWigVwoc8iVEX-/s400/01_athlet_stance38.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />What if I told you that a real<br /> parallel universe exists where<br /> the red muscles in this image are<br /> not the important parts. What if<br /> I said, "focus on the white parts.<br /> They are the most important."<br /> <br /> After all, if the tendons do not<br /> function correctly the muscles<br /> do not matter.<br /> <br /> Did I lose you ?<br /> <br /> Did you say, "Yeah, tendons.<br /> Okay, so what ?"<br /> <br /> If you did, you're going to have<br /> to stretch out your mind now<br /> and use your imagination.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7nZPJOlu_xHUABPqTPCZdZTH3Sd6t-_5IaUBGjZuMJdZdxuExpCYOBKjlmqvXSqhZBenfddRp6sc8uQU2JyR084_n-IIcEElD1jQ4XMkz1qxI68VJRrk30uKlWf1dYHwb70jzE5gJpgR9/s1600/shaolin_spiral.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7nZPJOlu_xHUABPqTPCZdZTH3Sd6t-_5IaUBGjZuMJdZdxuExpCYOBKjlmqvXSqhZBenfddRp6sc8uQU2JyR084_n-IIcEElD1jQ4XMkz1qxI68VJRrk30uKlWf1dYHwb70jzE5gJpgR9/s400/shaolin_spiral.jpg" width="214" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Old Shaolin illustration attempting</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>to explain the spirals of the tendons</i></span><br />
<br />
So, imagine the ability to rest<br />
your weight comfortably on<br />
your system of tendons. Imagine<br />
relaxing deeply and expending<br />
very little energy in maintaining<br />
an upright position, or even an<br />
athletic stance with your knees<br />
bent.<br />
<br />
The iliotibial bands (that wrap<br />
helically around your legs)<br />
stretch and suspend your weight<br />
the way a hammock does.<br />
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Your spine is straight and bears<br />
the weight of the upper body<br />
easily.<br />
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Your muscles relax deeply--<br />
except those wrapped around<br />
your pelvis.<br />
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Your weight is on your heels.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc5RacDrkyXTRBxCkQaG5VK78WZXXNFty6S1YiWotv0MfJCJH89f8bLOYWWZauygJdlp68bg4-wJEU-t5Xi1ATBttDWlW87P9SbZ2cse_pTn7eF6hWUSpvAQ174Cv4rJEvarjvv6Mx1VJQ/s1600/01_horse_stance4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc5RacDrkyXTRBxCkQaG5VK78WZXXNFty6S1YiWotv0MfJCJH89f8bLOYWWZauygJdlp68bg4-wJEU-t5Xi1ATBttDWlW87P9SbZ2cse_pTn7eF6hWUSpvAQ174Cv4rJEvarjvv6Mx1VJQ/s400/01_horse_stance4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
With a little imagination (and Photochop)<br />
this is the same guy back to back<br />
with his exact doppleganger--<br />
but the one on the right has <a href="http://www.forgetfitness.com/2014/10/missing-from-your-exercise-stance.html" target="_blank">some</a><br />
<a href="http://www.forgetfitness.com/2014/10/missing-from-your-exercise-stance.html" target="_blank">of the skills</a> to correctly take<br />
advantage of the White Stuff:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH59pvnb-ITnDvf0a94gDr8enXQUdp_ztYMo9YPV9HfBoD49H0xgZTa4V4DlDRjfcOmYf-UjfevY1L-cH8Yhuqr2bLFAn7J7vDcYQb4qMGWLiUZi9kF_rDO7u9lkcTXbQtF7-no3UBMTcB/s1600/01_muscles3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH59pvnb-ITnDvf0a94gDr8enXQUdp_ztYMo9YPV9HfBoD49H0xgZTa4V4DlDRjfcOmYf-UjfevY1L-cH8Yhuqr2bLFAn7J7vDcYQb4qMGWLiUZi9kF_rDO7u9lkcTXbQtF7-no3UBMTcB/s400/01_muscles3.jpg" width="315" /></a></div>
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<br />Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-33536280956389479042016-01-10T06:37:00.003-08:002021-04-01T11:09:15.937-07:00Athletic Performance Models - Overview<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVJloDkNOVU465XP7uwU5r7ZPEMYCsp8ieNUbooHPCjKWlJjcsKfd1N9H_M4YjiDXG5VOldorxUH_XHyJbLX8ItzxIk831ZrzFAV9SmIe-rRLmCEFBKCgIs8bSx46O1IZFGfUO24DbiBY/s1600/sculpture.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVJloDkNOVU465XP7uwU5r7ZPEMYCsp8ieNUbooHPCjKWlJjcsKfd1N9H_M4YjiDXG5VOldorxUH_XHyJbLX8ItzxIk831ZrzFAV9SmIe-rRLmCEFBKCgIs8bSx46O1IZFGfUO24DbiBY/s400/sculpture.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Now I'd like to take a short detour<br /> and create a series aimed at discussing<br /> optimum athletic performance.<br /> <br /> To start, I want to explain a concept<br /> called athletic performance models.<br /> You see, athletic coaches and trainers<br /> work with athletes to develop them<br /> from point A to point Z. First the<br /> trainers work to hone basic skills;<br /> then they integrate exercises to gain<br /> physical capabilities such as strength,<br /> flexibility, or cardiovascular endurance.<br /> <br /> As athletes improve, trainers teach<br /> theory and sports-specific movements<br /> to help the athletes help themselves.<br /> There is an adage that goes something<br /> like, "Teach the athlete the concept<br /> and let her (or him) figure it out for herself."<br /> <br /> For example, let's say one trainer tries<br /> to work up a 14 year old boy to become<br /> a football player; while another trainer<br /> invests time in a 14 year old girl to<br /> become a figure skater. Like an artist<br /> creating a beautiful sculpture, each<br /> trainer has an image in his or her mind.<br /> This image is the athletic performance<br /> model. It is a vision of what the coach<br /> wants to catalyze the athlete to become.<br /> <br /> The football trainer might imagine a<br /> physically strong yet graceful man who is<br /> tough, coordinated, explosively fast, and<br /> intellectually savvy to react to various<br /> strategic plays on the field with finesse.<br /> Of course coach may well imagine many<br /> more goals on his training wish list<br /> depending on the specific position.<br />
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The skating trainer might imagine a<br />
graceful, flexible, fluid young lady<br />
who is also coordinated and explosively<br />
powerful, yet as soft and resilient as<br />
a tender, new blade of grass.<br />
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<br />What do the two different performance<br /> models have in common ? Both<br /> trainers imagine their young athlete<br /> becoming strong, coordinated, healthy--<br /> and having rehearsed ability to return<br /> to a balanced position. But the major<br /> point I want to make is that even<br /> though the coaches include stretching<br /> they will both focus their training on<br /> muscular development and strength.<br /> After all, it's the muscles that make<br /> the movement.<br />
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The World's Greatest Athlete is<br />
the title bestowed on the athlete who<br />
wins the Olympic decathlon--<br />
which is a multi-disciplinary event<br />
involving running, jumping and<br />
various feats of strength. The all-<br />
around requirements of the event<br />
typically demand that this "word's<br />
greatest athlete" is proportionally<br />
muscular, and also flexible, <b>toned</b><br />
<b>(meaning relaxed--</b> not trim and fit),<br />
and highly efficient in movement.<br />
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<br />Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-34565417584545849202015-03-09T17:49:00.001-07:002021-04-01T11:09:57.237-07:00Whole-Body Power and Coordination<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/OY_58aCNrhw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/OY_58aCNrhw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<br />Even if you don't like martial arts much, watch<br /> this video and check out this guy's power.<br /> <br /> At the 0:20 mark, he clearly references turning<br /> his waist to create whole-body power-- which<br /> extends out to his arms. In kinesiology, this is<br /> called the "Serape Effect."<br /> <br /> The Serape Effect is the coordination of the<br /> trunk and the extremities to create incredibly<br /> powerful movements like a pitcher throwing<br /> a 90-mile-per-hour fastball, or a football<br /> player kicking the ball way down the field.<br /> <br /> You have to watch the movements in this<br /> video very closely to see that coordination<br /> and power originate at the waist, and that<br /> the rest of the body has to follow along.<br /> The only way to get it all to work is to<br /> relax deeply, and control the body with the mind.Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com114tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-22734880524252374932014-10-31T07:52:00.003-07:002021-04-01T11:10:18.439-07:00On Memory<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<br />Some time ago, maybe 15 years ago,<br /> I read a story about a brain researcher<br /> who had a vivid memory of being<br /> a young child in England during WWII.<br /> <br /> Around the age of 20, he recounted<br /> his memory to his mother, of bombs<br /> dropping and his neighborhood being<br /> destroyed-- then his mother corrected<br /> him. She told him that while those events<br /> certainly did happen, their whole family<br /> had gotten out of England, and were<br /> hiding safely in the country somewhere<br /> else in Europe at that time. The young<br /> man was in disbelief from what his mother<br /> was telling him because his memories<br /> were so clear and so real.<br /> <br /> This event shocked the bright young man<br /> so much that he studied psychology and<br /> the brain at university, and went on to<br /> research memory and the effects of trauma<br /> and suggestion. His false memory became<br /> the catalyst for his life's work.<br /> <br /> Now imagine for yourself some traumatic<br /> instance that sometimes haunts you, or<br /> even some sour memory of how someone<br /> insulted you or did you wrong. Admit to<br /> yourself that your mind may be inflating it,<br /> or if radical enough, that it may not have<br /> happened at all. Think you were abducted<br /> by aliens ? Eh, probably not.<br /> <br /> The point of this exercise is to root yourself<br /> in the now. The past can really hamper<br /> your ability to be all you can be. What<br /> really matters is "the now."<br /> <br /> Focus on the now, and focus on your self.Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-7180676598325639042014-10-16T07:25:00.003-07:002021-04-01T11:11:15.445-07:00Missing From Your Exercise: Stance Training<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<br />
I'll tell you a little story.<br />
<br />
Once there was a boy in China who<br />
wanted to learn martial arts. At the age<br />
of 10, he saw the martial arts of a great<br />
master, and asked to become his student.<br />
The master found the boy's character to<br />
be satisfactory, so he asked the boy if<br />
he were willing to endure any kind of<br />
pain and suffering in order to learn.<br />
The boy said he would.<br />
<br />The master taught the boy one stance,<br /> and said he would be back to check<br /> on him. The boy practiced the stance<br /> every day for a year with no other<br /> practice. When the master returned,<br /> he asked to see the stance. The boy<br /> positioned his body, and the master<br /> struck him hard on the back. The boy<br /> did not lose his balance.<br />
<br />
The master was pleased, and went on<br />
to teach the boy many more skills. The<br />
lesson here is that great balance can be<br />
attained from practicing a special stance.<br />
<br />
By the way, the boy's name was<br />
<a href="http://chinesemartialstudies.com/2013/01/07/lives-of-the-chinese-martial-artists-4-sun-lutang-and-the-invention-of-the-traditional-chinese-martial-arts-part-i/" target="_blank">Sun LuTang</a>, and the stance is<br />
called <a href="http://www.energyarts.com/hsing-i-santi" target="_blank">San Ti</a>.<br />
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<br />
Many western trainers teach "athletic stance."<br />
This is usually a wider-platform,<br />
bent-knee position for "readiness."<br />
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<br />
Some trainers teach "wall sits."<br />
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<br />
Most yoga instructors teach a myriad<br />
of straight-leg standing postures.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFjl0GJrsYuYRhlYEuLVwZ1-J1WUO0c69JnxAj3C_abXqgAVDGkNJ4QZIPTYddp5-SV1mDVvnBibbmjt98_l-nd_i4nX8f-iYZiqNSTKlIgE8J2KPJ_b4iQillgNIo6mGaaBTzKKgNlhXv/s1600/yoga.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFjl0GJrsYuYRhlYEuLVwZ1-J1WUO0c69JnxAj3C_abXqgAVDGkNJ4QZIPTYddp5-SV1mDVvnBibbmjt98_l-nd_i4nX8f-iYZiqNSTKlIgE8J2KPJ_b4iQillgNIo6mGaaBTzKKgNlhXv/s1600/yoga.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFdu0yRNw3Ry4cmHh8hJE09agfRmrYTJzwLUjeDYWwMq7OvoMmgwZ0D6hrTtgTf9a3YWVEbsGY5i3jpc8PL1K0kJ_n1BhXlErfHXpGL2NKGDDiU4FCEbOLk2S1poNg5Z_7NoxApm4Er4kR/s1600/yoga2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFdu0yRNw3Ry4cmHh8hJE09agfRmrYTJzwLUjeDYWwMq7OvoMmgwZ0D6hrTtgTf9a3YWVEbsGY5i3jpc8PL1K0kJ_n1BhXlErfHXpGL2NKGDDiU4FCEbOLk2S1poNg5Z_7NoxApm4Er4kR/s1600/yoga2.jpg" width="171" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgQt8AQ3lFK1v6pdTt7BYWymcs1g5vi2JsrHnMqaUr_wI_n8-ssdgbiLruARFX7ttBlISJS-pIrVutK5jB3Aaw9M8Mn0Abm3g0wulnfwrGKpejam4Xh8LWsddBr2xmQey455R6wOLi278w/s1600/yoga3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgQt8AQ3lFK1v6pdTt7BYWymcs1g5vi2JsrHnMqaUr_wI_n8-ssdgbiLruARFX7ttBlISJS-pIrVutK5jB3Aaw9M8Mn0Abm3g0wulnfwrGKpejam4Xh8LWsddBr2xmQey455R6wOLi278w/s1600/yoga3.jpg" width="149" /></a></div>
<br />
But these do not have the same kind<br />
of benefit as what I'm suggesting.<br />
<br />
The most common Chinese stance<br />
is called the Horse Stance.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrCT-ossH02NLtm8gZ8nccGhw6GJog1zo9uFb2QkGyJeYWF0yKT4wNX__NWHNo65mqHGMawQrSk0cmX2xycf97FqkgRPaKH2hf7UGvRvMEd5B7P0Eoe54iZ7FITlyUg28Zh4XXQAgxSaiY/s1600/horse-stance-master.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrCT-ossH02NLtm8gZ8nccGhw6GJog1zo9uFb2QkGyJeYWF0yKT4wNX__NWHNo65mqHGMawQrSk0cmX2xycf97FqkgRPaKH2hf7UGvRvMEd5B7P0Eoe54iZ7FITlyUg28Zh4XXQAgxSaiY/s1600/horse-stance-master.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJT2DhzHAM5A_Pu37VhYV4RKeDQP8oLRl6HzvcUovESr8u7WRaZSN8NfBUNGYSElP6ZQPhwKzHqcnlDbJZwJJntkXm-f5eT_-XrxLB8fkK6_631AvSdk7VtRHwmtramZznEcdYwLrdGF1j/s1600/horse-stance2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJT2DhzHAM5A_Pu37VhYV4RKeDQP8oLRl6HzvcUovESr8u7WRaZSN8NfBUNGYSElP6ZQPhwKzHqcnlDbJZwJJntkXm-f5eT_-XrxLB8fkK6_631AvSdk7VtRHwmtramZznEcdYwLrdGF1j/s1600/horse-stance2.jpg" width="171" /></a></div>
<br />
Tai Chi and BaGuaZhang use "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhan_zhuang" target="_blank">Zhan Zhuang</a>"<br />
called Wuji or Quiet Stance.<br />
(although it doesn't look it, his knees are bent)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQrfuj7x9VhcPWqdqVbLSMAgsUp-_T7dQCwOL33xqrcj-BOrz5TuaQICogojO032ZKeVEz7WrJ_vjLN4vnu1VcAVOaLe0229e0NO8U4VGdgsJleHg31Z0WX4DWgi1WqIARf_ATi244t632/s1600/FuZhenSong35.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQrfuj7x9VhcPWqdqVbLSMAgsUp-_T7dQCwOL33xqrcj-BOrz5TuaQICogojO032ZKeVEz7WrJ_vjLN4vnu1VcAVOaLe0229e0NO8U4VGdgsJleHg31Z0WX4DWgi1WqIARf_ATi244t632/s1600/FuZhenSong35.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Or, they use various other <a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Do-Tai-Chi's-Horse-Stance" target="_blank">postures</a>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0v7Rf5SBOZHVwApJqqdwKbga9uP60imlH2MePvcRXlAui67MhdHNQmaMQDHl2c2G1_-x0qwgxhRKcdS1D4o8WQPgXfwcvApEoQVQZyh9MQmmLOXsgGEZZb2bPvWh9ax6I4KOfpiTq4Y0/s1600/CircleStance.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0v7Rf5SBOZHVwApJqqdwKbga9uP60imlH2MePvcRXlAui67MhdHNQmaMQDHl2c2G1_-x0qwgxhRKcdS1D4o8WQPgXfwcvApEoQVQZyh9MQmmLOXsgGEZZb2bPvWh9ax6I4KOfpiTq4Y0/s1600/CircleStance.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Many kung fu teachers (sifus) explain<br />
that stances are to develop "strong<br />
legs," "rooting" and internal energy.<br />
These are true, but let's take a more<br />
simple approach.<br />
<br />
If you try to stand in a horse stance,<br />
and don't have much practice, you<br />
probably won't last long. Your<br />
muscles will contract isometrically<br />
and give out in about a minute.<br />
<br />
But with practice, you will last<br />
longer, and be able to develop<br />
a lower stance. The reason is not<br />
because of muscle strength--<br />
but muscle relaxation and control.<br />
<br />
When you can relax, curl your<br />
tailbone under, and twist the knees<br />
to the outside, the IllioTibial<br />
Bands act like hammocks for<br />
the weight of your body. Your<br />
glutes stretch, and your weight<br />
rests in these giant rubber bands.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzgoWsCG-o5AZ7aa4M99drlJB6Or0Enp3J1MEKxmR_0dsLxAy66y6FNa75VfqtlwGF8dULM9s3P0W1LrYVPqF_hTXBPxXnI4keA_QH6XGs6uysR7e-iS9omFcd3fRTl20eKY3rz_8VAWWV/s1600/Iliotibial-Band.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzgoWsCG-o5AZ7aa4M99drlJB6Or0Enp3J1MEKxmR_0dsLxAy66y6FNa75VfqtlwGF8dULM9s3P0W1LrYVPqF_hTXBPxXnI4keA_QH6XGs6uysR7e-iS9omFcd3fRTl20eKY3rz_8VAWWV/s1600/Iliotibial-Band.jpg" width="310" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This creates an entirely new dynamic</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
for relaxed balance, and for impulse</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
power amplified by coordination.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Trust me, if you don't have this as</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
part of your physical training, you're</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
really missing something awesome.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
And then there's Fu Style.<br />
We also use Horse Stance, but we<br />
simultaneously move the upper body<br />
around in circles, coils, or both.<br />
<br />
Please try Fu Style Rolling Stretch, and<br />
feel free to leave a comment with<br />
your e-mail address if you want more.<br />
We have a more advanced version of<br />
this exercise we call "Grinding Waist."<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/LcT6C8XpRfA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-70627252913661512262014-07-29T14:45:00.003-07:002021-04-01T11:12:15.010-07:00The Brain in Your Stomach<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpV1bMNyld_KepJTL7MZ_JehdG274hrk-tMRtH7ycuk-2twtNC24_wQXbyaXvoFnI1ueqd-GBwuxH7UkYZB0-CLFRQRWj6_j_RO1fED4hzR76bhtsqi5FirJciguZVCabDWzMc4K_l9KVf/s1600/Gut-Brain.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpV1bMNyld_KepJTL7MZ_JehdG274hrk-tMRtH7ycuk-2twtNC24_wQXbyaXvoFnI1ueqd-GBwuxH7UkYZB0-CLFRQRWj6_j_RO1fED4hzR76bhtsqi5FirJciguZVCabDWzMc4K_l9KVf/s1600/Gut-Brain.jpg" width="316" /></a></div>
<br />Did anyone ever tell you that<br /> you have guts ? Did you ever<br /> get a gut feeling ? Or have a<br /> gut reaction ? Did some ever tell<br /> you to "spill your guts"? Or that<br /> they "hate your guts"?<br /> <br /> If something is difficult or tough,<br /> you either can't stomach it, and<br /> give up trying; or you exhibit<br /> "intestinal fortitude," meaning<br /> you're tougher than the problem.<br /> If you're a real dragon slayer,<br /> someone might say you have a<br /> "fire in your belly."<br /> <br /> These expressions didn't just come<br /> by way of happenstance. We have<br /> a brain in our head that does the big<br /> thinking, and we have a second<br /> "Enteric Nervous System" in our<br /> viscera. Scientists describe the latter<br /> as being separate from the autonomic<br /> nervous system, but it "receives<br /> considerable innervation from it."<br /> <br /> How many times have you heard<br /> someone talk about the "head and<br /> heart"? This is generally the same<br /> concept. The head does the "thinking,"<br /> and the stomach-brain does its best<br /> to protect you.<br /> <br /> Imagine you're walking along the<br /> beach when suddenly you step on<br /> something sharp. It could be glass,<br /> or a nail, or just a piece of shell.<br /> Before you can even look down,<br /> some part of your being instantly<br /> tried to remove your weight from<br /> that object, even if it meant you<br /> had to fall down. That's your "heart,"<br /> or the nerve-center that's always<br /> trying to keep you from getting hurt.<br /> When you say the wrong thing to<br /> your mom, or your best friend,<br /> maybe that's your heart trying to<br /> protect you from something too.<br /> <br /> This ever-present "angel" looking<br /> out for your health and best<br /> interest is a real blessing. It gave<br /> you butterflies when you were<br /> not supposed to ride that roller<br /> coaster, and it saved your precious<br /> foot when you stepped on the sharp<br /> object on the beach.<br /> <br /> But as you grow older, it gets more<br /> cautious. It shortens your steps to<br /> make sure you don't fall, and starts<br /> to suggest more and more that you<br /> don't take risks. It wants you to sit<br /> more and walk less. It wants you to<br /> avoid the crazy stuff.<br /> <br /> This also seems beneficial, but the<br /> reduction of movement takes a real<br /> toll on the body. The joints gets very<br /> stiff without the full range of movement.<br /> Bones literally start to fuse together.<br /> Then when you slip on the ice, or<br /> step on that sharp object on the beach,<br /> you lack the skills to keep from<br /> hurting yourself.<br /> <br /> When I started Tai Chi in 2003, I could<br /> feel that my "heart" or brain-stomach<br /> did not want me to move in that way.<br /> It resisted. But I followed the instruction<br /> of my teacher, and over-rode my<br /> stomach's resistance. Gradually and<br /> gently, I began to reorganize my body.<br /> <br /> The scar tissue in my ankle starting<br /> going away, and my right knee fixed<br /> itself. I went through myriads of aches<br /> and pains that started and ended in less<br /> than a week. And the aches were always<br /> in a different place. It's been weird.<br /> <br /> Now after more than 10 years of practice,<br /> my head-brain and my stomach-brain<br /> are in great alignment. I think they even<br /> talk to each other.<br /> <br /> Tai Chi looks slow and dumb, but there<br /> is just nothing like it to reorganize and<br /> fix your body. That's why they say it's<br /> the fountain of youth.Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-73039645700090397002014-02-13T07:14:00.002-08:002021-04-01T11:18:37.711-07:00PSAs & Mammograms Do More Harm Than Good<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia4DurxxzHtToqR6p3wnOaLD-9nc8f-L3pgHYW0qDMbsBYQYkz7J3B3C5ICsm3MPjOPBu8JEiu8Rt6pWrv1fkiVA345qB_iR927DYZbQrFAAcJdCGI4N_V0n_pD9wj6rsaQphiMEBRI4s0/s1600/breast.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia4DurxxzHtToqR6p3wnOaLD-9nc8f-L3pgHYW0qDMbsBYQYkz7J3B3C5ICsm3MPjOPBu8JEiu8Rt6pWrv1fkiVA345qB_iR927DYZbQrFAAcJdCGI4N_V0n_pD9wj6rsaQphiMEBRI4s0/s1600/breast.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
It's February 13, 2014.<br />
<br />
And like so many facets of human<br />
history, the CURE we created and<br />
thought was perfect turns out to be<br />
the DISEASE.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g366" target="_blank">A humongous new study on the</a><br />
<a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g366" target="_blank">effectiveness of mammography</a><br />
<a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g366" target="_blank">indicates that it's not effective</a>;<br />
and worse yet, it's damaging.<br />
<br />
If you don't like the format and<br />
language of white papers, you<br />
can read the distilled version<br />
in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/health/study-adds-new-doubts-about-value-of-mammograms.html?action=click&contentCollection=Olympics&module=MostEmailed&version=Full&region=Marginalia&src=me&pgtype=article" target="_blank">New York Times article</a>.<br />
<br />
Essentially, 90,000 women took<br />
part in a 25-year study on the<br />
outcomes of mammography. Some<br />
say the study was imperfect,<br />
especially "scientists" who want<br />
to prove the opposite; but the<br />
well-designed and enormous<br />
study demonstrates a pretty<br />
clear <b>conclusion</b>:<br />
<br />Annual mammography<br /> in women aged 40-59 <br /> does not reduce mortality <br /> from breast cancer beyond <br /> that of physical examination <br /> or usual care when adjuvant <br /> therapy for breast cancer is <br /> freely available. Overall, <br /> 22% (106/484) of screen- <br /> detected invasive breast <br /> cancers were over-diagnosed, <br /> representing one over- <br /> diagnosed breast cancer <br /> for every 424 women who <br /> received mammography <br /> screening in the trial.<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
A three--year old <a href="http://consumer.healthday.com/cancer-information-5/breast-cancer-news-94/british-study-suggests-mammograms-do-more-harm-than-good-659687.html" target="_blank">study from the</a></div>
<div>
<a href="http://consumer.healthday.com/cancer-information-5/breast-cancer-news-94/british-study-suggests-mammograms-do-more-harm-than-good-659687.html" target="_blank">U.K.</a><u> </u>basically said the same thing.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The para-conclusion offered in</div>
<div>
conjunctive-opinion is that "more</div>
<div>
money needs to be spent on research</div>
<div>
to find out what causes breast cancer."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But that would be a waste too.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm going to shock you here, because</div>
<div>
I know what causes breast cancer.</div>
<div>
You will believe it, but can you</div>
<div>
actually do something about it ?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Ready ?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Breast cancer is caused by folding,<br /> caressing, sucking, biting, squeezing,<br /> smooshing, (ugh) slapping, twisting,<br />pinching, and general idiotic abuse of<br />breasts.<br />
<div>
Dr. Steven T. Chang, who is both</div>
<div>
a Medical Doctor and a Chinese</div>
<div>
Doctor, has this to say about the</div>
<div>
breast:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
"The delicate intertwinings of <br /> numerous capillaries, nerves, <br /> lactation glands, lymphatic vessels, <br /> and other delicate structures of <br /> the breast are easily damaged by <br /> improper handling. Any damage <br /> to breast tissue can lead to <br /> accumulations and blockages. <br /> These can then lead to lumps, or <br /> possibly cancer. (The breast is so <br /> delicate that caffeine can cause <br /> lumps and cysts to form inside <br /> the breast, as was shown in recent <br /> studies). <br /> Therefore, the sensitive and easily <br /> over-stimulated breasts must never <br /> be mishandled by the woman or <br /> her sexual partner. A woman's <br /> partner should never BITE, SUCK, <br /> or PINCH the breast. Contact <br /> should be limited to a very gentle <br /> caress or kiss. <br /> The breast and nipple can, however, <br /> accomodate themselves to a limited <br /> period of stimulation, that is nursing. <br /> Pregnancy will change the breasts <br /> and nipples drastically, so that the <br /> mother will be able to tolerate the <br /> sucking of the baby. But even the <br /> stimulation for which the breast was <br /> designed must end after eight to ten <br /> months. After (that) further sucking <br /> will cause blockages to form."
<div>
<div>
(The Tao of Sexology, 1986</div>
<div>
ISBN 0-942196-03-1)</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/811846" target="_blank">PSA tests for men are just as bad</a>,</div>
<div>
if not worse.</div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
I've already <a href="http://www.forgetfitness.com/2014/01/ten-reasons-why-our-health-system-sucks.html" target="_blank">condemned the issues</a></div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.forgetfitness.com/2014/01/ten-reasons-why-our-health-system-sucks.html" target="_blank">with our health system</a>'s suggestion</div>
<div>
that mammography and PSA tests</div>
<div>
are "preventive health care." But</div>
<div>
they are not, and should not be</div>
<div>
considered viable and beneficial.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Preventive Health Care is taking</div>
<div>
care of yourself. It is not something</div>
<div>
a doctor can do to you or for you.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Warding off damaging hands and</div>
<div>
mouths from your breasts is in fact</div>
<div>
preventive health care.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Holding your semen instead of</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.forgetfitness.com/2010/01/ejaculation-throwing-your-life-away.html" target="_blank">throwing your life away</a> is in fact</div>
<div>
preventive health care.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Use your mind and take better care</div>
<div>
of yourself.</div>
Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-67882769667281189972014-02-02T17:58:00.001-08:002014-02-02T17:59:53.984-08:00Helmet Theory<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV5pdmUfhsrhMk7SCsaj_SDcV9UG8-2eW4oEcPWyOJ9H2ehbKWipptbI_ht9ybIbd2nQ-TQeshAWzE0-hglE5LfnCjbbs91R-79yKZHS5zF9JYq00LG0tJ596lB5DWEKY90BstsskNSq33/s1600/smashhelmets.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV5pdmUfhsrhMk7SCsaj_SDcV9UG8-2eW4oEcPWyOJ9H2ehbKWipptbI_ht9ybIbd2nQ-TQeshAWzE0-hglE5LfnCjbbs91R-79yKZHS5zF9JYq00LG0tJ596lB5DWEKY90BstsskNSq33/s1600/smashhelmets.jpeg" height="311" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
People wear helmets for alpine skiing<br />
because a helmet will save your head.<br />
<br />
But a theory exists that the helmet<br />
actually encourages you to take<br />
unnecessary risk because you think<br />
you're safer. People ski crazier because<br />
of the helmet.<br />
<br />
This theory is poo-pooed, but<br />
let's test it:<br />
<br />
If the NFL made a rule change<br />
so that none of the players could wear a helmet,<br />
I bet the frequency of concussions<br />
would go way, way down.Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-53155383480886843162014-01-25T09:26:00.000-08:002014-01-25T09:26:51.724-08:00Transmission of Knowledge<!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bqXuQu0U6YWsk4fg8Kf464Vd8qbgMLwwxF0T6qEyXLsQchmXjJg6TRSBaFLztBmL5Ih-5I1k34pSCOjydpeHhzYUeRYOxlbl71GfqqWUypoESt9gHr7k7Ksu1CnvcAgfc1lzNtvAnBUV/s1600/TennisCoach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bqXuQu0U6YWsk4fg8Kf464Vd8qbgMLwwxF0T6qEyXLsQchmXjJg6TRSBaFLztBmL5Ih-5I1k34pSCOjydpeHhzYUeRYOxlbl71GfqqWUypoESt9gHr7k7Ksu1CnvcAgfc1lzNtvAnBUV/s1600/TennisCoach.jpg" height="249" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Imagine that you aspire to be a TENNIS STAR</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(and let’s say you have unlimited resources).<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Where would you go for your training ?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Would who be the best trainer or coach ?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who has the best knowledge; and who might</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
have the rare ability to teach (or transmit)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that knowledge to someone else ?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It has been proven that the best way to learn<br />
something is to learn it from someone who<br />
already has that knowledge.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So let’s say you use your best resources</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
to obtain <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McEnroe" target="_blank">John McEnroe</a> as your coach--</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
tee, hee. McEnroe can probably speed you</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
through the training in ways the YMCA</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
just can’t. Five years of training (without</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
injury) under the tutelage of a great</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
master will skyrocket almost anyone’s</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
skill.<br />
<br />
How did McEnroe become the world's<br />
number one champion ? His coach was<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Hopman" target="_blank">Harry Hopman</a>, a world-acclaimed coach.<br />
<br />
And how did <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Tomba" target="_blank">Alberto Tomba</a>, a rich kid from<br />
the city of Bologna, become the best ski<br />
racer in the world ? His dad hired the ski<br />
racing legend <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustavo_Thoeni" target="_blank">Gustavo Thoeni</a>.<br />
<br />
Was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_tyson" target="_blank">Mike Tyson</a> destined to become the<br />
greatest boxer of all time ? Or was his<br />
skill carefully developed by his amazing<br />
coach, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cus_D'Amato" target="_blank">Cus D'Amato</a> ?<br />
<br />
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Some of the very best skiers I know</div>
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cannot teach a damn thing to someone</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
else. I don’t shame them for it. They</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
just don’t know how to teach.</div>
<br />
Of course, Venus and Serena Williams<br />
learned tennis from their dad, who was<br />
not a premier coach--<br />
so not all stars are created by another star.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And there are lots of other variables.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most people do no become tennis stars,<br />
nor do they have the resources.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This blog is about the transmission</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
of knowledge. Because that’s what</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
they call it in the internal martial arts.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you want to learn something, go find<br />
the best teacher you can. If you want to<br />
learn Tai Chi and martial arts, go see<br />
<a href="http://www.fustyle.com/" target="_blank">Grandmaster Fu</a>.</div>
</div>
<!--EndFragment-->Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-47917923495131798342014-01-21T13:35:00.003-08:002014-01-21T13:41:47.111-08:00Ten Reasons Why Our Health System Sucks<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhahye4y_eifi-pjsGI3JErAvu2so7Xjg49HGpyxUxkceE3wzfP6_td014YZiw8Y4nQx5K7lG1ENi7F_NipBgN3p6RHoDkOQ2_vfQJ2Cd6st5PNRgPDaEvuEEnmx0coc1yTXE9KDnb6tAtK/s1600/redcross.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhahye4y_eifi-pjsGI3JErAvu2so7Xjg49HGpyxUxkceE3wzfP6_td014YZiw8Y4nQx5K7lG1ENi7F_NipBgN3p6RHoDkOQ2_vfQJ2Cd6st5PNRgPDaEvuEEnmx0coc1yTXE9KDnb6tAtK/s1600/redcross.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
George W. Bush confidently told us that<br />
we have <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">“the best health care system in</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">the world.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">Rudolph Giuliani</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">echoed that </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">moronic </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">statement by claiming we </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">provide</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">the “best </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">medical care in the world.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">Not even close.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">In fact, <a href="http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2013/11/13/US-healthcare-Most-expensive-longest-waits-most-red-tape/UPI-30501384398664/" target="_blank">the U.S. has the most expensive</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><a href="http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2013/11/13/US-healthcare-Most-expensive-longest-waits-most-red-tape/UPI-30501384398664/" target="_blank">health care system in the world</a>; but the</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">health care outcomes-- which are the</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">statistical considerations of things like</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">infant mortality, life expectancy, length</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">of hospital stays and appropriateness</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">of medications-- demonstrate to the world</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">that the U.S. health care system ranks</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">below most other developed countries,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">down by Czech Republic.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">In a recent <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/visual-data/best-and-worst/most-efficient-health-care-countries" target="_blank">Bloomberg study of 48 countries</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/visual-data/best-and-worst/most-efficient-health-care-countries" target="_blank">for Most Efficient Health Care</a>, </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">the United</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">States ranked 46th, right behind Iran,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">Turkey </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">and Dominican Republic.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">When I point my finger here, I'm not</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">pointing it at the hospital system, or</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">insurance system, or some twisted</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">account of what the government should</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">provide; I'm pointing my finger as us,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">the U.S. of A. And by "health care system,"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">I am including the WAY WE LIVE.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">Here's why our health system sucks:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">1. Diet</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">Diet isn't what you avoid eating, it's</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">what you eat. Sugar correlates directly</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">with diabetes; greasy foods are now</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">said to contribute to Alzheimer's;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">and both contribute to obesity. But</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">on the other side, people who try to</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">lose weight or stay thin end up in the</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">E.R. or the hospital because they don't</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">eat things like meat. Most of the vege-</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">heads and vegans I've known get sick</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">all the time. Alcohol is dietary; and</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">though we don't drink as much as</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">many places, our drunks are as</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">drunk as anywhere. <a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB112671039063140472" target="_blank">Our diet sucks</a>.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">2. Exercise</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">"Whaaat ?" you say, how can exercise</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">be part of the problem ? Check out</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">the injury rate of bicycling; it's worse</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">than football. It's been two years</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">since <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/magazine/how-yoga-can-wreck-your-body.html?pagewanted=all" target="_blank">The New York Times expounded</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/magazine/how-yoga-can-wreck-your-body.html?pagewanted=all" target="_blank">on How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body</a>.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">Everyone knows that running causes</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">degeneration of the joints and puts</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">people in the hospital for knee and</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">hip surgeries. Tons of people tear</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">a muscle lifting weights. And the new</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">Cross-Fit fad is hurting people all</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">the time. Injuries from exercise</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">costs money, missed work and ends</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">up causing more and more problems</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">as life goes on. We're hurting us.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">3. Sports</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">Apart from mere exercise, "Athlos"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">or competition pushes people to do</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">all kinds of crazy. <a href="http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/sport_injuries.html" target="_blank">Kids get hurt</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><a href="http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/sport_injuries.html" target="_blank">playing football, basketball and</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><a href="http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/sport_injuries.html" target="_blank">soccer. Adults get hurt running</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">marathons, triathlons and "tough</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">mudder" </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">competitions. Ballet and</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">gymnastics </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">are likely to tweak your</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">body for </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">life. But wait-- there's more !</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">Now </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">we have "extreme sports," where</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">people go bigger and faster than</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">ever before; <a href="http://www.oddee.com/item_96668.aspx" target="_blank">hell, they even make</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><a href="http://www.oddee.com/item_96668.aspx" target="_blank">stuff up to be extreme</a>. Broken</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">bones and collapsed lungs have</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">nothing on the cost of traumatic</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">brain injuries and shattered spines.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">Subtract that from your bottom</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">line, America.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">4. Lack of Self-Care</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">In China, people take care of</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">themselves. Here, we run to the</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">doctor just as soon as something</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">goes wrong. There's a tremendous</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">difference between the two. The</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">Chinese exercise for health and</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">longevity. We exercise to look</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">good and to get six-pack abs.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">The Chinese carefully choose</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">each food for its medicinal</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">benefits. We eat whatever sounds</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">good or is lying around. Simply</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">put, we just don't take care of</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">ourselves. The Chinese must take</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">care of themselves because they</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">don't have the option to run to a</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">hospital. An ounce of Prevention</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">is worth seven pounds of Cure.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">5. "Preventive Healthcare"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">Alright, you understand the point</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">that we don't self-care--</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">but little do people realize that</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">our medical system has a function</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">it calls "prevention" that can make</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">things much worse. In essence,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">these are the medical screenings</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">to indicate pre-cancer cells and</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">the like. The problem with these</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">screenings</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"> are the high percentage</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">of "false positives," meaning the</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">test will "indicate a problem" that</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">will likely never manifest as a</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">disease. For men, the Prostate-</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">Specific Antigen (PSA) test tells</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">the likelihood of prostate cancer.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">One in 1000 men will be saved by</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">the test; but 4-5 will die from</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">cancer even though they've been</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">screened. Most men with elevated</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><a href="http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/detection/PSA" target="_blank">PSA levels turn out to not have</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><a href="http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/detection/PSA" target="_blank">cancer; and only about 25 percent</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><a href="http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/detection/PSA" target="_blank">of men who get a prostate biopsy</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><a href="http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/detection/PSA" target="_blank">(flesh removed and tested) due to</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><a href="http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/detection/PSA" target="_blank">elevated PSA levels actually have</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><a href="http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/detection/PSA" target="_blank">prostate cancer</a>. But the elevated</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">PSA makes men very anxious, and</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">many times they demand the doc</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">perform surgery; this can lead to</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">all kinds of successive problems</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">like impotency and urinary issues.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">6. Infliction</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">That's the best word I could</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">come up with to describe the</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">U.S. phenomenon of people</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">shooting each other and</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">running into each other with</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">automobiles. <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/09/guns-traffic-deaths-rates/1784595/" target="_blank">Both of these two</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/09/guns-traffic-deaths-rates/1784595/" target="_blank">situations are unique to the U.S</a>.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">They are cultural issues created</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">through our rich but short history.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">No where in the world do so</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">many people get shot by firearms</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">or find themselves in car accidents.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">We do inflict sexually-transmitted</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">diseases upon each other too.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">7. M.D. Ego</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">The reason guys like Bush and</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">Guiliani proclaim our health care</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">system as the best is because </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">of the</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">unparalleled</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"> egos of medical</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">doctors. They go to school for a long</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">time, have to endure rigorous job</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">training, and end up feeling god-like.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">Mis-diagnosis is rife in the U.S., and</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">so is misappropriate choice of med's.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">M.D.s refuse to have anyone looking</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">over their shoulders, check ing their</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">work. But 40 out of 100 medical</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">charts have glaring mistakes, and</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">98,000 people die every year from</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">mistakes doctors make. <a href="http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-horrifying-truths-about-being-medical-doctor/" target="_blank">Doctors are</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><a href="http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-horrifying-truths-about-being-medical-doctor/" target="_blank">messed up</a> ! </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"> As my </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">Chinese doctor</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">says all the time,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">"Western doctors kill people !"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">8. Ignorance of Other Systems</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">To make matters </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">even worse, there are</span><br />
<a href="http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;" target="_blank">arrogant</a> <a href="http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;" target="_blank">groups of assholes out there</a><br />
<a href="http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;" target="_blank">who</a> <a href="http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;" target="_blank">still demand that Science-based</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><a href="http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/" target="_blank">medicine is the only way</a>-- even</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">though our health system is as bad as</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">it is, and these </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">assholes have no other</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">ideas on how to make things better. They</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">ignore the 5000-year old Chinese</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">system, even though it's fare more</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">cost effective and kills way fewer</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">people.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">9. Pharmaceuticals</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/10/26/prescription-drugs-number-one-cause-preventable-death-in-us.aspx" target="_blank">Pharmaceuticals are killing people</a>.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">Have you heard the news about</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">statins ? Statins are the drugs to</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">help control cholesterol. Well,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">they are killing people ! Hormone</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">therapy is killing people. Doctors</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">prescribe Prednisone for everything--</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">and it robs you of your immune</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">system. Listen to the commercials;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">since drug companies have to list</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">the possible side-effects, you get to</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">hear all kinds of crazy things that</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">drugs can do-- but most important</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">is when they say "can sometimes</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">cause death."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">One hundred years ago, cocaine</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">was the hot pharmaceutical. Now</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">they say aspirin would never get</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">through FDA approval. What does</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">that tell you ?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">10. Stress</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">Money, marriage, sex, love, cars,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">kids, driving, sitting, family, health,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">addiction; Lust, Gluttony, Greed,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Pride.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">The American lifestyle is rife with</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">catalysts of stress; and it is well short</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">of remedies.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">Alcohol is temporary.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">Vacation is temporary.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">Most of the common fixes are just</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.815000534057617px;">band-aids, and just about as temporary.</span></span><br />
<ol>
</ol>
Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-29106290460149691302014-01-14T07:16:00.002-08:002021-04-01T11:25:43.579-07:00Which Foot Do You Favor ?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBwArqekBm5yRThXjDw2OSc3QO3G7SehPXLi6E4L05CUNx1cMjyBRsZ4wKt4bkE5F3_NeeZSoud_g2MjQEtcfbsEoBgcnGUdAl-8phniLzTnorir9aQEzzy-RQFNAVKa9PjOa2zB0x_bqh/s1600/woman_standing.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBwArqekBm5yRThXjDw2OSc3QO3G7SehPXLi6E4L05CUNx1cMjyBRsZ4wKt4bkE5F3_NeeZSoud_g2MjQEtcfbsEoBgcnGUdAl-8phniLzTnorir9aQEzzy-RQFNAVKa9PjOa2zB0x_bqh/s400/woman_standing.jpeg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />Stand, and relax.<br /> Which foot do you favor ?<br /> Have you ever noticed this before ?<br /> <br /> Whether you're 20, or 30, or 40, or even<br /> god-forbid older than that, you've been<br /> favoring that foot for a long time.<br /> <br /> How do you think this affects the rest<br /> of your body ? Is it possible that your favored<br /> foot is creating asymmetrical use of your<br /> knees ? Or your hips ?<br /> <br /> Yes, it's more than possible. In fact, favoring<br /> one foot develops asymmetrical "stretchings"<br /> of some tendons, and asymmetrical "stabilizations"<br /> of some muscles.<br /> <br /> In effect, this creates diagonals and slants<br /> throughout your entire body-- and messes<br /> you up completely. All of your physical<br /> movement, including your walking-gait,<br /> will be effected by favoring that foot.<br /> <br /> Now let's scroll back up and look at the photo<br /> at top of the blog one more time. Do you notice<br /> any problems ?<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Look again.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Now scroll down.<br /><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRBkAfkP7oqtzbrBT1lQoB9L7ykE3F37sVbNTc_kJdewz4dMM4ueBINxyinAARyYb9Xeqt72RKzNEjvypgXu3sIczJXpsdopvkGtKsWfQCgUNkjVGRoAKlJCrTAhz4gDpDceRkROUCw7_m/s1600/woman_standing2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRBkAfkP7oqtzbrBT1lQoB9L7ykE3F37sVbNTc_kJdewz4dMM4ueBINxyinAARyYb9Xeqt72RKzNEjvypgXu3sIczJXpsdopvkGtKsWfQCgUNkjVGRoAKlJCrTAhz4gDpDceRkROUCw7_m/s640/woman_standing2.jpg" width="340" /></a></div>
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How about now ?</div>
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The red line across her shoulders is not level.</div>
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"So what," you say. "That's because she</div>
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favors standing on her right foot. "</div>
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<br /></div>
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The great Tai Chi masters say "your sickness is</div>
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to be found in your hips and waist," and that</div>
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"when one or both shoulders are lifted, sickness</div>
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can enter the body easily."</div>
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<br /></div>
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Okay. Now what if she were sitting ?</div>
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You draw the red line.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMLJkfww3dyl_gTcJeVNdND9xDOxeYaqt0pNqUi5Sb2dyhvbbkDuc1wF9K8yXC2laKOa6VAVGjD4pgnZOPCnWgA7NybzefrbrxbiUxfYkzWuXhp66ydHI2N2fFYmNZHeS_94kl1Kudp6-Y/s1600/woman-sitting.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMLJkfww3dyl_gTcJeVNdND9xDOxeYaqt0pNqUi5Sb2dyhvbbkDuc1wF9K8yXC2laKOa6VAVGjD4pgnZOPCnWgA7NybzefrbrxbiUxfYkzWuXhp66ydHI2N2fFYmNZHeS_94kl1Kudp6-Y/s640/woman-sitting.jpeg" width="425" /></a></div>
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Obviously, this is not the same woman, but</div>
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we can imagine that it is--</div>
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or that both of these women favor her right foot</div>
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when standing, and her LEFT BUTT CHEEK when</div>
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sitting. This position does look fairly natural, doesn't it ?</div>
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<br /></div>
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What would you say about her shoulders ?</div>
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<br /></div>
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Now look at this guy.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4HpnN3DVwIjRNL-LoQlvJFv5WBBQmW_EPpE_Qm3B7A88aNt9fnPOBFY4q3Y4HVrWvl9Pj3q9j37uYBZQbjDjeF1ABWDpf64WuL-fN3fr1l_2gjo_bBq_LfEnUQPB4qKXdothPvfzfdUv/s1600/man-standing.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4HpnN3DVwIjRNL-LoQlvJFv5WBBQmW_EPpE_Qm3B7A88aNt9fnPOBFY4q3Y4HVrWvl9Pj3q9j37uYBZQbjDjeF1ABWDpf64WuL-fN3fr1l_2gjo_bBq_LfEnUQPB4qKXdothPvfzfdUv/s640/man-standing.jpg" width="332" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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He doesn't appear to be favoring one foot,</div>
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but I'm sure that he is. From first glance,</div>
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he appears to be posturally "straight."</div>
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But with the red lines, he clearly is not.</div>
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<br /></div>
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And how about this guy ?</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinrtQpMt-Skhx1mRUYxww6Z2MvLCdKPnm1o4pUEG9qDcD3W76nfDrH1cq1IWW0ZuZbijSTk0qF8_BvlxdDMGQKw1AwcBXgxUnQi0pKFGQ0z8XI5ZJx9-9_K7byrflfkw-Eg64FtBOZcTNj/s1600/middle-aged-man.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinrtQpMt-Skhx1mRUYxww6Z2MvLCdKPnm1o4pUEG9qDcD3W76nfDrH1cq1IWW0ZuZbijSTk0qF8_BvlxdDMGQKw1AwcBXgxUnQi0pKFGQ0z8XI5ZJx9-9_K7byrflfkw-Eg64FtBOZcTNj/s640/middle-aged-man.jpg" width="384" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Can you see it ?</div>
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Can you see that he is all kinds of crooked ?</div>
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Or are you still saying,</div>
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"So, what? So, What !!"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Well, you know what folks look like when</div>
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they get older. Favoring one foot does this:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjde5uQXsg5LlE9lXQSHZyr0ZNjBEbKWYLCCGrXxsIElnvgXpWrB3T9ZJDz1P93lz1CQVYiOkWx8BGLpM6TTnanez4VtHX4pNKfqzx41qOavBb8_cl08ybV7O5pYrDZXQs3mrZesntF8MvL/s1600/Man-Cane.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjde5uQXsg5LlE9lXQSHZyr0ZNjBEbKWYLCCGrXxsIElnvgXpWrB3T9ZJDz1P93lz1CQVYiOkWx8BGLpM6TTnanez4VtHX4pNKfqzx41qOavBb8_cl08ybV7O5pYrDZXQs3mrZesntF8MvL/s640/Man-Cane.jpeg" width="412" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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While his shoulders appear to be straight in</div>
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this photo, quite obviously, nothing else is straight.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXI0OtnepoW_zmUBtQZz6ZSdAKVtY7pwxFEe3CUxmrHrOyLS-YWoVboIFRyjHiRXTl-Tvt2tZ2zIyuSIBGt21GV1WYrNrK2vWx0y4VH7KnPyPqF73hcVQX8_z-mLG8uwihiIZrRg1ELGtC/s1600/woman-cane.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXI0OtnepoW_zmUBtQZz6ZSdAKVtY7pwxFEe3CUxmrHrOyLS-YWoVboIFRyjHiRXTl-Tvt2tZ2zIyuSIBGt21GV1WYrNrK2vWx0y4VH7KnPyPqF73hcVQX8_z-mLG8uwihiIZrRg1ELGtC/s640/woman-cane.jpeg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
True story, this is what happens to the body when it ages.<br />
<br />
I like to pick on Jillian Michaels because I think<br />
she hurts more people than she helps.<br />
Look at her and draw the red lines:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HNTrevuQKA1Ss0R913krRpmei-owns6vwwyD-VldzxAKtrcWEklBvW-RlAhZI8M0dmiw1JJQ9GGrJcfFHC-ZngWUbPIACE93Dh4LA9JFxpK6KS81wdhQl8OwJZHoGfOTsSTyUKLi6kqX/s1600/JillianMichaels.tiff" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HNTrevuQKA1Ss0R913krRpmei-owns6vwwyD-VldzxAKtrcWEklBvW-RlAhZI8M0dmiw1JJQ9GGrJcfFHC-ZngWUbPIACE93Dh4LA9JFxpK6KS81wdhQl8OwJZHoGfOTsSTyUKLi6kqX/s400/JillianMichaels.tiff" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdKLcyTI8hxHKfNgXKYm0_p_3Ua2SbpAYUH2SAEDfXEg6QKNQDzTfa3f1U_C2lYdA9LZI24fCfwXzVe4f0T9nX8vqcVzC1QAXRfxssW-NzeGwIz0mlzaJ_bM27SxZs6Mga9y-piSOxtvPO/s1600/JillianMichaels2.tiff" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdKLcyTI8hxHKfNgXKYm0_p_3Ua2SbpAYUH2SAEDfXEg6QKNQDzTfa3f1U_C2lYdA9LZI24fCfwXzVe4f0T9nX8vqcVzC1QAXRfxssW-NzeGwIz0mlzaJ_bM27SxZs6Mga9y-piSOxtvPO/s400/JillianMichaels2.tiff" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdzkYmcc0UWoIxRKW-YyAK9mWLb-8sJukqc49LivCnItYg5GJzZTF88StcJ22L70JjoKhEuwAW6JJjJb1chctUyMlpv1_ZsW2njrE2AuNahyphenhyphenYAhPE8t4Oe8i_cg70WjTu_gs0RYTCxE1s/s1600/JillianMichaels3.tiff" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdzkYmcc0UWoIxRKW-YyAK9mWLb-8sJukqc49LivCnItYg5GJzZTF88StcJ22L70JjoKhEuwAW6JJjJb1chctUyMlpv1_ZsW2njrE2AuNahyphenhyphenYAhPE8t4Oe8i_cg70WjTu_gs0RYTCxE1s/s400/JillianMichaels3.tiff" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPp8q7XGuMJ8R2DheQH8VXrLYZx0jwLCLN4YfyxWu0El7w9P5Ihd3bgVHtVREHySDiqChTJzuDOQ-3ve2u-OQRI1tCEYti_K7XJVka6V3g8g3T4qCUlg6UgJD3sjTWie1gygYd741jyCLu/s1600/Jillian-Michaels.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPp8q7XGuMJ8R2DheQH8VXrLYZx0jwLCLN4YfyxWu0El7w9P5Ihd3bgVHtVREHySDiqChTJzuDOQ-3ve2u-OQRI1tCEYti_K7XJVka6V3g8g3T4qCUlg6UgJD3sjTWie1gygYd741jyCLu/s640/Jillian-Michaels.jpg" width="318" /></a></div>
<br />
Believe it or not, these are in chronological order.<br />
In most photos, Jillian is sloped like this.<br />
<br />
And some day, Jillian Michaels is going to look like this:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXMIJ5iT_eGs73LiNJCU7VxBWZiWiZ42l2zJd7hIsKNG_tDPPdBxN_4-D_xntw0HJgg7sdqnIduTqXEV_oBB8pfpd-XXBcfd8dUMfphef330Qz0QtcXe7Vocc0AE3E8vmlNYViK_tXHiNx/s1600/woman-caneB.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXMIJ5iT_eGs73LiNJCU7VxBWZiWiZ42l2zJd7hIsKNG_tDPPdBxN_4-D_xntw0HJgg7sdqnIduTqXEV_oBB8pfpd-XXBcfd8dUMfphef330Qz0QtcXe7Vocc0AE3E8vmlNYViK_tXHiNx/s640/woman-caneB.jpeg" width="488" /></a></div>
<br />
Your question should be,<br />
"How do I head this off ?"<br />
or<br />
"How do I keep myself from getting more and more crooked ?"<br />
<br />
First, look at yourself when you brush your teeth.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLzWr_cetHwllbdlhF3T0T4UQnla5nnJUke7t9F0ELugOhhRxVivm-jwwG7WCXPvcyaBJgyINcIkjjKLvUWZQSHKy9MTDd1cCbjOXl4TyhQfGs3pmpd2jxAf_Eb6Oe5zTFkcyZugrxuYzz/s1600/Teeth-brushing.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLzWr_cetHwllbdlhF3T0T4UQnla5nnJUke7t9F0ELugOhhRxVivm-jwwG7WCXPvcyaBJgyINcIkjjKLvUWZQSHKy9MTDd1cCbjOXl4TyhQfGs3pmpd2jxAf_Eb6Oe5zTFkcyZugrxuYzz/s400/Teeth-brushing.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Do you lift one shoulder ?<br />
Is your back crooked ?<br />
Are you favoring one foot ?<br />
<br />
There are folks with tremendously healthy, straight bodies.<br />
They look like this:<br />
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<br />
Even standing on one foot, their shoulders are level and there<br />
are no crazy slants and diagonals across their bodies.<br />
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<br />
These people practice Tai Chi.<br />
There's a lot more to it than you think.Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-60728985510719015822013-07-09T06:49:00.000-07:002013-07-09T06:49:30.299-07:00Athletics on WikipediaI looked up "athletics" on Google<br />
and found nothing but heartburn.<br />
The link to Wikipedia took me right<br />
to a disambiguation page. Nice.<br />
The page called "Athletics (sport)"<br />
waxed poetic about track and field,<br />
and other forms of footracing. There<br />
was nothing on general training,<br />
coaching, technique, you know--<br />
all the stuff of athletes (that word<br />
is screwed-up too).<br />
<br />
This frustrated me enough to do<br />
the research and write the page.<br />
<br />
My philanthropic, Wikipedia gift<br />
to the world is called "Athletics<br />
(overview)." I'm going to post it<br />
here, because it will likely get<br />
edited and changed substantially.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br />
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Athletics (overview)</h1>
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<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Athletics is a broad term encompassing the competitive sports and games requiring physical skill, and the systems of training that prepare athletes for competition performance.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-0" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(overview)#cite_note-0" style="-webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[1]</a></sup></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 19.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">History<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">The word athletics is derived from the Greek word "athlos" (ἄθλος), meaning "contest" or "task." The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Olympic_Games"><span style="color: #08107c; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Ancient Olympic Games</span></a> were born of war; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">running</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">jumping</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">boxing</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrestling"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">wrestling</span></a> & <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chariot_racing"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">chariot racing</span></a> were the earliest events, followed by field events like the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javelin_throw"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">javelin throw</span></a> which was adopted from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spear"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">spear</span></a>-throwing.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(overview)#cite_note-1"><span style="color: #2048a8; font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">[2]</span></a> The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Games"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Olympic Games</span></a> were revived in the 1800s, and added <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_skating"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">figure skating</span></a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_hockey"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">ice hockey</span></a> to the list of sports in the early 20th century. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Olympics"><span style="color: #08107c; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">2008 Summer Olympics</span></a> held 28 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">sports</span></a> and 302 events, while the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Winter_Olympics"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">2006 Winter Olympics</span></a> held 84 events. Athletic clubs worldwide offer athletic training facilities for multitudes of sports and games.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 19.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Organizations<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2048a8; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Olympic_Committee"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">International Olympic Committee</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2048a8; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Collegiate_Athletic_Association"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">National Collegiate Athletic Association</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #08107c; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Association_of_Athletics_Federations"><span style="color: #08107c; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">International Association of Athletics Federations</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #08107c; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chin_Woo_Athletic_Association"><span style="color: #08107c; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Chin Woo Athletic Association</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 19.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Athletic Body Type<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Gender and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_genetics"><span style="color: #08107c; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">genetics</span></a> play major roles in assessing athletic potential. There are few full-contact <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">football</span></a> leagues for women; however, women have been active in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_arts"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">martial arts</span></a> for centuries, and sports like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_skating"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">figure skating</span></a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">tennis</span></a> tend to favor women in terms of spectator popularity. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Basketball</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_jump"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">high jump</span></a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volleyball"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">volleyball</span></a> favor taller athletes, while <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnastics"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">gymnastics</span></a> and wrestling favor shorter ones. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-distance_track_event"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Long distance</span></a> runners tend to be thinner, while competitive <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powerlifting"><span style="color: #08107c; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">weight lifters</span></a> and American football players tend to be stockier. Athletic development often begins with athletic parents.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(overview)#cite_note-Kennedy-2"><span style="color: #2048a8; font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">[3]</span></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(overview)#cite_note-3"><span style="color: #2048a8; font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">[4]</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 19.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Physical Conditioning<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">A primary athletic function is the body conditioning required for competition. Most often, trainers utilize proven athletic principles in order to develop athletic qualities; these qualities include coordination, flexibility, precision, power, speed, endurance, balance, awareness efficiency, and timing.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(overview)#cite_note-Lee-4"><span style="color: #2048a8; font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">[5]</span></a> While <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_strength"><span style="color: #08107c; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">physical strength</span></a> is prized over most other qualities in Western athletics,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(overview)#cite_note-Feinberg-5"><span style="color: #2048a8; font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">[6]</span></a> it is forbidden in the physical conditioning of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_Chi_Chuan"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Tai Chi Chuan</span></a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(overview)#cite_note-Thompson-6"><span style="color: #2048a8; font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">[7]</span></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(overview)#cite_note-Witherell-7"><span style="color: #2048a8; font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">[8]</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 19.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Psychological Preparation<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Critical to a team’s or an athlete’s success is a winning attitude. Inherent in the drive to win is the ability to remain relaxed and focused under the pressure of competition. Modern athletic coaches employ the use of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_psychology"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">sports psychologists</span></a> to help athletes organize themselves through visualization, relaxation techniques, self-talk, concentration, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 19.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Sports Medicine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">High-level athletics not only treat injuries with medical procedure, but attempt to prevent problems such as trauma and overuse injuries. Sports medicine can also include the use of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massage"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">massage</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucose_test"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">glucose testing</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolfing"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Rolfing</span></a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_therapy"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">physical therapy</span></a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_of_performance-enhancing_drugs_in_sport"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">performance enhancing drugs</span></a> like caffeine & anabolic steroids.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 19.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Technical training<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Athletes first learn basic movement patterns such as running, stopping, jumping and throwing. Coaches help athletes refine these movements into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_training"><span style="color: #08107c; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">sport specific</span></a> skills. A skill such as high jumping can then be refined into a competitive technique like the Western roll or the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fosbury_Flop"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Fosbury Flop</span></a>. An individual’s expression of a technique is often called a style; while various competitive <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming_strokes"><span style="color: #08107c; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">swimming strokes</span></a> are also called styles. Technical training may also include teaching the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_of_sport"><span style="color: #08107c; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">rules and restrictions</span></a> of a sport or game.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(overview)#cite_note-Balmain-8"><span style="color: #2048a8; font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">[9]</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 19.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Coaching<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Elite athletes and teams require high-level coaching. A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coach_(sport)"><span style="color: #08107c; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">coach</span></a> is often associated only with an athlete’s technical development; however, a coach will likely play all the roles of mentor, physical trainer, therapist, medical responder, technical trainer and performance facilitator. Coaches may or may not involve <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sportsmanship"><span style="color: #08107c; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">sportsmanship</span></a> in their program. Coaching typically signifies a quadrennial, ongoing mentorship for athletic development, as opposed to a clinician who might only assist for a short period of time.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(overview)#cite_note-Scates-9"><span style="color: #2048a8; font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">[10]</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 19.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Analysis / Evaluation<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Not only must coaches be able to teach technical form, but recognize and correct problems with an athlete’s technique and conditioning. Recent advancements in video technology can provide accurate biomechanical data to optimize the form, precision, timing, efficiency and power of an athlete’s movements.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(overview)#cite_note-10"><span style="color: #2048a8; font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">[11]</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 19.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Nutrition<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 19.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_nutrition"><span style="color: #2048a8; font-size: 13.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Sports nutrition</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Athletics_(overview)&action=edit&section=11"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">edit</span></a>]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 19.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Funding<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Athletics_(overview)&action=edit&section=12"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">edit</span></a>]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 19.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Performance<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Athletics_(overview)&action=edit&section=13"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">edit</span></a>]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 19.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">References<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #2048a8; font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(overview)#cite_ref-0"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">^</span></a></span></b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> <a href="http://www.coastal-performance.com/2010/10/10/coastal-performance-principles-athletic-movement-skills/"><span style="color: #4267b6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://www.coastal-performance.com/2010/10/10/coastal-performance-principles-athletic-movement-skills/</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #2048a8; font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(overview)#cite_ref-1"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">^</span></a></span></b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/sports.html"><span style="color: #4267b6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/sports.html</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #2048a8; font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(overview)#cite_ref-Kennedy_2-0"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">^</span></a></span></b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> Kennedy and Guo (2010). <i>Jingwu</i>. Blue Snake Books. p. 2. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">ISBN</span></a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-58394-242-0"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">978-1-58394-242-0</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #2048a8; font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(overview)#cite_ref-3"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">^</span></a></span></b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> <a href="http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/body_and_soul/article2745210.ece"><span style="color: #4267b6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/body_and_soul/article2745210.ece</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #2048a8; font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(overview)#cite_ref-Lee_4-0"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">^</span></a></span></b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> Bruce Lee (1975). <i>Tao of Jeet Kune Do</i>. Ohara Publications. p. 43. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">ISBN</span></a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-89750-048-2"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">0-89750-048-2</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #2048a8; font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(overview)#cite_ref-Feinberg_5-0"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">^</span></a></span></b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> Lisa Feinberg Densmore (2000). <i>Ski Faster</i>. McGraw-Hill. p. 22. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">ISBN</span></a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-07-134381-4"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">0-07-134381-4</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #2048a8; font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(overview)#cite_ref-Thompson_6-0"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">^</span></a></span></b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> Clem W. Thompson (1989). <i>Manual of Structural Kinesiology</i>. Times/Mirror. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">ISBN</span></a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8016-5031-3"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">0-8016-5031-3</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #2048a8; font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(overview)#cite_ref-Witherell_7-0"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">^</span></a></span></b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> Warren Witherell and David Evrard (1994). <i>The Athletic Skier</i>. The Athletic Skier, Inc.. p. 4. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">ISBN</span></a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-55566-117-3"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">1-55566-117-3</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #2048a8; font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(overview)#cite_ref-Balmain_8-0"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">^</span></a></span></b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> Patrick Thias Balmain (2005). <i>The Inner Glide</i>. Destiny Books. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">ISBN</span></a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/159477160-X"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">159477160-X</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #2048a8; font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(overview)#cite_ref-Scates_9-0"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">^</span></a></span></b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> Allen E. Scates (1989). <i>Winning Volleyball</i>. William C. Brown Publishers. pp. 221–251. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">ISBN</span></a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-697--6822-6"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">0-697--6822-6</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #2048a8; font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(overview)#cite_ref-10"><span style="color: #2048a8; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">^</span></a></span></b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> <a href="http://www.exercisephysiologists.com/BiomechanicalCONCEPTS/index.html"><span style="color: #4267b6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://www.exercisephysiologists.com/BiomechanicalCONCEPTS/index.html</span></a></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-91036941521660481162013-03-13T09:01:00.000-07:002013-03-13T09:01:09.091-07:00The Loss of One Joint<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZoNPsQN0hW8V4MEizqTTSeAf0_2JIPJH6uRfUSLE_RXrpL2MNQdq0JCD1qdxC-ARbzzwNnr6faaUhBn3ew_Eacd_Kyh6ZW7bVyFOc7N4Zk__xhWp9cqMKR9WF8DYhRoMBMngXQKNx7OGi/s1600/RazFinger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZoNPsQN0hW8V4MEizqTTSeAf0_2JIPJH6uRfUSLE_RXrpL2MNQdq0JCD1qdxC-ARbzzwNnr6faaUhBn3ew_Eacd_Kyh6ZW7bVyFOc7N4Zk__xhWp9cqMKR9WF8DYhRoMBMngXQKNx7OGi/s320/RazFinger.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Let's say you're co-worker opens a grappling<br />
<div>
gym, and you make the decision to start</div>
<div>
going there on a regular basis. You're Grappling.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A couple months into the fun, a guy grabs</div>
<div>
your hand in an awkward position, twists</div>
<div>
and pulls on it to gain an advantage, and you</div>
<div>
try to fight off the attack. Your ring finger dislocates<br />
proximally at the metacarpal, and you cry uncle.<br />
With your hand throbbing and on fire, you head<br />
to the doctor's office. He ex-rays it and muds the whole</div>
<div>
thing up in a cast.<br />
<br />
So what's changed ?<br />
You're not grappling anymore. And driving home<br />
wasn't nearly as easy as the drive to the grappling<br />
gym. Cooking dinner just got harder. Work just<br />
got really annoying. Sleeping is tougher. Skiing<br />
is out. So much of your life just got more complex<br />
and time consuming because of that one little joint.<br />
<br />
One elbow. One knee. Even the loss of one toe<br />
can blow up everything you have going. This,<br />
my friends, is from taking risk. When you practice<br />
risky behavior and get injured, you find out the<br />
hard way that your fitness plan wasn't sustainable,<br />
nor was it so much of a plan.<br />
<br />
Invest, don't divest.</div>
Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-83948251174765989342013-02-26T14:36:00.000-08:002013-03-12T12:20:37.001-07:00Perk & Grunt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXiMJ0kQVjCfq1KLxLBqJHp3Feuy6LjftaT6fCmkuUMSaaGWXp-Hwz9_gediOZLIX6G_AMgZ6RA8d8Um6b6FTQkd4gK6kWM81mb8clogbLCojWkj1sqqxb50grF_sJOc112lBUognLqVbC/s1600/perk-grunt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXiMJ0kQVjCfq1KLxLBqJHp3Feuy6LjftaT6fCmkuUMSaaGWXp-Hwz9_gediOZLIX6G_AMgZ6RA8d8Um6b6FTQkd4gK6kWM81mb8clogbLCojWkj1sqqxb50grF_sJOc112lBUognLqVbC/s320/perk-grunt.jpg" width="305" /></a></div>
<br />
Try a Google search for "grunting."<br />
The first item that appears is <b>grunting</b><br />
<b>in tennis</b> (Wikipedia).<br />
<br />
The Wikipedia article says that Monica<br />
Seles and Jimmy Connors are often<br />
credited with starting the "grunt" in<br />
tennis. Serena and Venus Williams<br />
grunt like crazy. Rafael Nadal does too.<br />
Maria Sharipova's grunt sounds more<br />
like the shriek of a banshee. Martina<br />
Navratilova thinks that grunting is<br />
cheating, and that it should be penalized.<br />
And those penalties might be coming.<br />
<br />
This is interesting because athletes in<br />
many sports make a grunting noise when<br />
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they issue power, or when they take</div>
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a hit, like in football, or when a fencer</div>
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thrusts forward.</div>
<br />
Let's examine where else we grunt.<br />
In disgust ? During orgasm ?<br />
Urination ? Defecation ?<br />
When you lift something heavy ?<br />
Tim Allen grunts after his jokes.<br />
<br />
Another link that comes up in my<br />
Google search is from the Children's<br />
Hospital of Wisconsin. The page<br />
lists "Signs of Respiratory Distress."<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Grunting</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- A grunting sound can be</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">heard each time the person exhales.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This grunting is the body's way of trying</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to keep air in the lungs so they will stay open.</span></span><br />
<br />
So if tennis players grunt. And grunting<br />
occurs so naturally that it accompanies<br />
bodily functions, and even comes as a<br />
beneficial response to breathing problems,<br />
grunting must be good, right ?<br />
Could grunting be a high-level response ?<br />
<br />
Now imagine you're going to lift a<br />
heavy table with your friend. Set your<br />
posture: bend your knees, back straight,<br />
breathe in... and grunt.<br />
<br />
Why did you breathe in ? Because you<br />
knew you were going to need to grunt.<br />
Why did you straighten your back and<br />
bend your knees ? To set yourself up<br />
for the most efficient power.<br />
That's perking.<br />
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If a grunt is the higher level expression</div>
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of power, could the perk be the next</div>
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thing to consider ?</div>
<br />
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Think of the word Perk. Where else do</div>
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you see it ? Breasts perk. Perky can be</div>
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likened to a bird. Perky is up, up, up.</div>
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Perk is posture.</div>
<br />
Consider a sneeze. The breathe<br />
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in is long and deliberate. The back and</div>
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neck extend and expand. The body</div>
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relaxes. This is the perk.</div>
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The sneeze is the grunt.</div>
<br />
Or how about for orgasm. The grunting<br />
relief is just right around the corner, but<br />
before it comes, you have to breathe in<br />
and set your body up correctly.<br />
<br />
Before those tennis players grunt, they<br />
perk. They put themselves in the most<br />
optimal position they can and breathe in.<br />
Power issuance comes like thunder, and<br />
the grunt is just the natural sound.<br />
<br />
In Tai Chi, the power is called fa jing,<br />
and it comes with a grunt. But we practice<br />
the perk all the time so that we're ready<br />
to grunt and issue power at any instant.<br />
<br />
Perk is posture and grunt is power.<br />
You have to practice both to do either well.Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-91747658301853272182012-10-31T06:15:00.003-07:002021-04-01T11:31:37.402-07:00The Kinesiology of Two Alpine Ski Racing Turns<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkZAi9BAiYeujAM1o9kd33_2waI3-5KecULVec3DeBiLh2k-0VfsRLk21kRcLP_Y5R_HQNPuGGLl1RTB3WkFkzdvhK6nHzjL1urJKKqjLG9VFiRmtNA3RqHPa5DBJqDIoFtxbNIxmyh4ri/s1600/CarvingTurnComparison.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="451" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkZAi9BAiYeujAM1o9kd33_2waI3-5KecULVec3DeBiLh2k-0VfsRLk21kRcLP_Y5R_HQNPuGGLl1RTB3WkFkzdvhK6nHzjL1urJKKqjLG9VFiRmtNA3RqHPa5DBJqDIoFtxbNIxmyh4ri/s1600/CarvingTurnComparison.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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(click on the photo above to see the whole thing)<br />
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The purpose of this study is to categorize the movement patterns, skills and requisite elements of alpine ski racing; to dichotomize the two most effective techniques; and to break down the aspects of skeletomuscular movements in each technique. While I am not a professional kinesiologist, I believe my analisis will be accurate enough for this study.<br />
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We begin by defining the “requisite elements” of alpine ski racing. The athlete we study here is one with two arms and two legs, normal range of motion in all joints, and a mind capable of grasping and demonstrating movement drills and concepts. The requisite equipment for this study shall be limited to ski boots, bindings, and alpine skis.<br />
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Next, we determine the nature and objective of alpine ski racing. The objective is to move the body and the requisite equipment as quickly as possible from the starting position, through each of a sequence of two-dimensional gates, and finally through a one-dimensional light beam at the end of the course; this performance is recorded by a clocked time, and compared to the clocked times of the other competitors.<br />
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While the skier can get himself out of the start with specific movements, and can “skate” to a certain speed, the vast majority of acceleration and speed are derived from gravity, which is used to pull the skier down the slope. Since there is a limit to how fast an athlete can travel and still complete the requirements of a racecourse, maintenance of speed is critical; paramount to the maintenance of speed is the manner of turning. The speed a ski racer is able to maintain as he or she turns left and right through the gates is chiefly determined by how well the skis are able to slide (denotes a flat ski) and carve (denotes moving longitudinally along its edge), and how he can keep the skis from “skidding” (denotes lateral sliding with the ski laterally angulated).<br />
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Because an alpine skiing racecourse has a specific beginning and end point, we say it is discreet. Because environmental factors are unpredictable and affect the athlete’s performance, we say alpine ski racing is an “open” skill.<br />
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Alpine ski racing is a dynamic skill set, requiring isometric (static), isotonic (dynamic), concentric (positive) and eccentric (negative) contractions of varying muscles and muscle groups. The mechanical principals cover a broad range: centrifugal force, acceleration, impulse, torque, gravity, mass, volume, and more. There is much science to alpine ski racing; however, modern competition dictates that a champion does not need to be a scientist.<br />
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From a historical point of view, alpine ski racing was originally based on turning very long, very stiff skis that had only marginal torsional strength (resistance to twisting), and almost no sidecut (the hourglass shape of a ski, as viewed from above). In order to turn, the athlete had to angulate the ski onto its edge medially and bend it (reverse camber) i.e. the “effort” in this case was the athlete’s center of gravity dropping down with an eccentric (negative) abduction and adduction (unilateral angulation) of the femurs; the resistances were the athletes' eccentric leg-muscle contractions, and the lengths of both skis-- because in its normal state the ski is arched up under the foot (cambered). The fulcrum was at the hip, and because the fulcrum was between the effort and the resistance, we call this a first-class lever. Historically, this need to bend the ski became known as “pressure.” (Pressure has been separated into a thousand parts, but few are able to define it, describe it or measure pressure) Because the skis were so stiff and offered so little sidecut, it was nearly impossible to bend both skis, so the focus was on bending the downhill ski.<br />
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The preparatory phase of this technique began at the turn initiation. The athlete had to first bias his weight to the downhill ski. (The uphill or inside ski was, for the most part, kept parallel, and only utilized to a small extent; therefore, for the sake of this analysis, we will suffice to say that historically the uphill ski “followed” the downhill ski, and was kept out of the way; sometimes, the uphill ski was even lifted off the snow for part or most of the turn). Then, the skier had to focus on slight lateral angulation of the ski (tipping) by some combination of flexing the knee and rotating the hip of the downhill leg, and abducting the hip of the downhill leg. Once the ski was angulated slightly (control being a major factor), the skier had to “pressure” the tip of the downhill ski by extending his waist, moving the pelvis forward, and extending the downhill hip and knee so as to bring his downhill foot behind his lateral plane (and center of gravity).<br />
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Once the ski began to “edge” or bite into the snow, the skier could begin the power phase: this was a controlled drop of his center of gravity via relaxation. Though different athletes performed varying techniques of the same skill sets, the movements were a combination of continued extension of the downhill knee; continued abduction of the downhill femur and slight pelvic tilt toward the downhill side; medial rotation (inward twisting) of the downhill hip and femur; flexion of the downhill hip; pelvic rotation toward the downhill side (counter-rotation); increased pronation of the downhill foot; and stabilization of many muscle groups to keep the upper body “quiet.” Control of this center-of-gravity drop was critical, because as the ski began to bend and turn, the lateral angle of the ski would increase and the first-class leverage would increase, which synergistically turned the ski more and created more edge angle and leverage. At the point of greatest edge angle and leverage, the skier’s feet moved down the hill relative to his center of gravity. This forced his waist, knees and ankles to flex under the massive centrifugal force.<br />
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If the ski’s edge held, the skis changed direction from down hill to across the hill. The simultaneous “release” of the downward effort and extension of the hips, knees and ankles marked the end of the power phase. The bent ski would return to its natural arch (camber), and the energy from this reflex could project in almost any direction. A skilled athlete could use this reflex to project himself down and across the slope to optimally align for the next turn.</div>
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Immediately following the release point, the skier would enter the return phase. This is termed “cross over” or “cross under,” depending on the way the torso relates to the lateral movement of the skis and feet. This phase utilized movements to re-align the skis down the slope and set up for the next turn initiation. Weight bias was more equal between the skis, however, the bias was changed to the other ski during the return phase. The chief movements involved rotation in order to “steer” the skis back the other direction. Again, this could vary from skier to skier, but in broad scope, the movements covered rotation of the femur of each leg, rotation of knee (pivoting of the feet), slight flexion of the waist and knees, return from pelvic rotation, and return from pelvic tilt from the previous power phase.<br />
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This age-old technique focused mainly on the use of the abdominal muscles for stability, the quadriceps and abductors of the legs for eccentric resistance (to take up the slack for skeletal posture deficiencies), and the gluteus maximus muscle to aid in the extension of the waist at the end of the power phase. This technique involved very little concentric (positive) contractions of muscles, as the body’s leverage to bend the ski was merely controlled with submaximal eccentric contractions (less than total negative effort) as the center of gravity moved downward. The exceptions to this were when the athlete made an error (for whatever reason) and had to “recover,” meaning regain his balance, course alignment, etc.; these recoveries could take almost any form and use almost any combinations of muscles, bones and joints in the body (many times, athletes put a hand or an elbow down on the snow to keep from falling completely).<br />
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The modern ski technique utilizes skis that are softer, shorter and provide far more sidecut. This kind of ski allows the athlete to more evenly distribute his weight between skis, and turn using both edges. In the specialized “waist steering” technique, the athlete does not need to focus on pressuring or bending the ski, but rather steering the skis toward the direction he wants to go.<br />
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The outdated Leveraged Reverse-camber technique begins with an “athletic stance;” the athlete focuses on neutral balance, but this leaves him quite stiff. The Waist Steering technique begins with “posture,” or proper stacking of the bones so that the athlete is more relaxed, comfortable and upright. The back should look flat as viewed from the side, because the vertebrae are stacked vertically. The pelvis is drawn up in front, which moves the center of gravity lower and more to the anterior than with an “athletic stance.” The chin is pulled back and the head is held very straight. The muscles of the legs coordinate to twist the knees outward at the same time both thighs rotate medially; this rests the weight of the body on the outsides of the knees where the tendons are very strong. When biased, each foot should distribute the body’s weight equally along it's surface (tread). Each foot twists outward with the knees, but the athlete should keep pressure on the big toes, the ball of each foot and the ankle. This outward twisting and drawing forward and up of the pelvis naturally keeps distance between the feet, the knees and the upper thighs.<br />
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The preparatory phase also begins at turn initiation. The athlete should first bias his weight to the uphill ski, but only slightly—this technique uses both skis, so both should be weighted. Then, the athlete should focus on slight lateral angulation of both skis by some combination of flexing the knees, supinating the uphill foot, pronating the downhill foot, adducting the uphill leg, and abducting the downhill leg. Once the skis are angulated slightly, the skier can begin to turn his waist from the direction of downhill to across the hill—in other words, he turns his waist the direction he wants to go. This waist turn should be slow at first so that both skis edge into the snow, but so that the uphill ski stays “advanced” or ahead of the downhill ski. This waist turning rotates the pelvis (coordinated with the spine and shoulders) on the hip joints. The uphill hip joint remains mostly static, while the pelvis rotates outward.<br />
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Once optimally aligned with the gate (which is a different discussion), the skier enters the power phase by continuing the waist turn through a full range of motion. This rotates the pelvis outward from the uphill hip joint. As a result, the downhill hip, leg, and ski advance relative to the uphill hip, leg and ski. By advancing the downhill ski with both skis on edge, the downhill ski will begin to (load at the tip) change direction from running down the hill to across the hill. With gravity still pulling the athletes center of mass down the hill, the skis synergize to angle more, bite deeper into the snow and cross the fallline. I liken this waist turning and forward sweep of the downhill leg to a speed skater rounding the end of the track: when he balances on the inside foot and sweeps his back leg forward.<br />
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During this synergy, the torque from the waist turn transmits through the legs and ski boots, down toward the tips of the skis. Even though it is rotational, the torque in this case is the effort; the ski boots become a rotational fulcrum; the resistance comes from the fronts of the skis they “cut” into the snow. A similar leverage system would be that of a lawnmower: the rotational force comes from the engine which spins the center fulcrum; this causes the lever or cutting arms to swing and cut the grass. Because both skis lever into the snow on the plane of the angle of the ski combined with the active advancement of the downhill foot, the turning synergy of Waist Steering has twice the effort of traditional, angulation leverage turns.. In Waist Steering, the uphill ski becomes more of the balance platform, while the downhill ski pushes the whole body uphill.<br />
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Once the skis are traveling across the hill, the skier can enter the return phase by simply turning his waist back down the hill. This eliminates the torque on both skis, causing them to flatten out, and making them easy to steer toward optimal alignment for the next gate. Here, the slight weight bias changes to the opposite foot. On steep slopes, this release reverse waist turn can be done quickly enough so that the lateral momentum can be maintained, but so the skis point down the hill and slide laterally (pivoting).<o:p></o:p><br />
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<o:p>The following is an excerpt on balance from "Manual of Structural Kinesilogy," by Clem W. Thompson, Eleventh Edition:</o:p><o:p></o:p></div>
1. A person has balance when the center <br /> of gravity falls within the base. <br /> 2. A person has balance in the direct <br /> propotion to the size of the base. The <br /> larger the base, the more balance. <br /> 3. A person has balance in proportion to <br /> the weight (mass). The greater the weight, <br /> the more balance. <br /> 4. A person has balance depending on the <br /> height of the center of gravity. The lower <br /> the center of gravity, the more balance. <br /> 5. A person has balance depending on where <br /> the center of gravity is in the base of support. <br /> The balance is less if the center of gravity <br /> is near the edge of it's base. <br /> 6. Rotation about an axis aids balance. <br /> A moveing bike is easier to balance than <br /> a stationary bike. <br /> 7. Kinesthetic physiological functions contribute <br /> to balance. The semicircular canals of the <br /> inner ear, vision, touch (pressure), and <br /> kinesthetic sense all provide balance information <br /> to the performer.<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">My take is this:</span></div>
1. The old ski racing technique moves the center <br /> of gravity well outside the base. The center of gravity <br /> actually becomes a pivot point, relating to # 6, <br /> but the center of gravity gets farther outside the <br /> base the lower one gets to the snow. <br /> Waist Steering brings the CoG near the edge <br /> of the base (relating to #5); it offers more <br /> balance because it is kept just outside the base. <br /> 2. I believe Waist Steering can offer a wider base <br /> than the old technique, although this requires <br /> practice and stretching of the hips/waist muscles <br /> and ligaments. I believe one issue not addressed <br /> with # 2 is that supination of the feet at the base <br /> is correct, while pronation is incorrect. The old <br /> way relies on pronation. Waist Steering relies on supination. <br /> 3. While # 3 may be accurate, I believe that greater <br /> greater weight (mass) is a liability when the CoG <br /> is outside the base AND there are strong rotational <br /> forces, such as in the old technique. Waist Steering <br /> should theoretically reduce the advantage of greater <br /> mass if compared to a larger skier using the old <br /> technique. <br /> 4. I believe that if you look at two people with equal <br /> skill level in each of the techniques, the old technique <br /> will offer a lower CoG; however, because the rotational <br /> forces are extended on a far greater radius, and because <br /> the CoG is outside the base, the old technique offers <br /> considerably less balance. <br /> 5. My response to # 1 covers this well. <br /> 6. I would offer this metaphor for rotation between <br /> the two techniques: the old technique is like <br /> swinging a bowling ball around on a four-foot chain. <br /> The forces are immense, and any mistake can <br /> cause great damage to the bowling ball and other <br /> things. Waist Steering is like spinning a bowling <br /> ball on a vertical axis; if a mistake is made, the ball may <br /> not even change its spin axis, and is far less likely <br /> to damage anything. <br /> 7. Because Waist Steering is based on Tai Chi, <br /> which is far more effective at strengthening equillibreum <br /> and physiological functions such as tactile sense, <br /> balance is much greater and mistakes become <br /> far less common.
Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-47349656316147111792012-10-31T05:56:00.003-07:002021-04-01T11:34:21.007-07:00Key Qualities For Athletic AchievementThe three major concerns in athletic performance training<div>are physical conditioning, adherence to form, and psychological<br />bolstering. In this thesis, we will only discuss the first two:<br />physical conditioning and adherence to form.<br /><br />Physical conditioning is limited by many variables including<br />age, body type and technology. While age and body type<br />seem to be obvious limiters, technology of physical conditioning<br />is easily overlooked. To illustrate this example, consider how an<br />athlete in a third world country would train: running and jumping<br />are innate skills and can be practiced by most anyone; sit-ups<br />and pushups are training technologies that would have to be<br />learned from someone else; isometric muscle training technology<br />would then be like a constellation—even if witnessed, an athlete’s<br />understanding may never occur. This is what is meant by training<br />technology being overlooked.<br /><br />Form, or optimal technique, is developed in all athletics. Swimming<br />has form. Running has form. Shot put and high jumping each have<br />an optimal form. Learning to adhere to specific athletic form requires<br />tutelage from a coach who can analyze an athlete’s movements,<br />compare them to the form, and communicate the corrections.<br />However, form is still superceded by physical limitation. No matter<br />how much coaching a 99-year old man receives, he simply cannot<br />adhere to proper running form the way an 18-year old athlete can.<br /><br />So when we consider physical conditioning first, the technology of<br />the training is paramount. The third-world athlete should always be<br />open to overlooked and better methods of physical training—as<br />should the top-level athletes of any sport or discipline. The optimal<br />methods of training get overlooked because they are simply not<br />in the mainstream or available to even the most savvy, worldly<br />and experienced trainers.<br /><br />There exist optimal training technologies and methods that are<br />overlooked, but have been proven over many thousands of years.<br />These are termed “internal athletics.” When compared to the<br />highest-level physical training technologies of today, the relatively<br />unknown methods of internal athletics could be considered “physical<br />laws of the human body.” Though that statement seems brash and<br />could be offensive to trainers of the world’s top athletes, the internal<br />athletics are simply overlooked; however, when one reads the “theories”<br />of internal athletic training below, they do in fact seem like law.<br />(the following information is compiled and paraphrased from a<br />high-level internal athletic trainer; phrases in quotations are his<br />own words, verbatim)<br /><br />1. Whole Body Power. The body must coordinate and<br />act as a single unit; it must utilize five powers. <br /> a. Acceleration – the power of movement and ability<br />to increase speed<br />b. Waist Power – “You have to use the waist all the time,<br />not just some of the time. Every movement must include<br />the use of the waist. The waist turns first.”<br />c. Hip Power – Use of the hips to push the earth<br />d. Bodyweight – Described as a pouncing action in which<br />the body weight comes down as if from the ski. It comes<br />through the hips. Compare this to the way an animal<br />attacks: it shoots out the front legs and back legs at the<br />same time. That is why they get excellent power when<br />hunting. The muscles shrink and explode, pushing the<br />shorter muscles. This kind of power is from the waist center.<br />Ninety percent of people cannot correctly use hip power and<br />this is one of the most difficult things to do. Animals use it<br />when hunting. A tiger can knock down an ox because he<br />knows how to use bodyweight, not because of punch power.<br />e. Whole Body Harmony—This is making all the muscles of the<br />body work together in a complex harmony. This does not<br />mean they are necessarily working in the same direction,<br />since sometimes there is an internal opposing power that<br />develops, similar to the action of a slingshot or drawing a bow.<br />When this harmony is maximized, power is generated when<br />there is a release of the opposing power of the muscles. This<br />does not always happen, because sometimes the waist muscles<br />work very hard and the other muscles are lazy. People who<br />have lazy muscles have only some muscles involved and in harmony. <br /> 2. Continuity.<br />Once you know to develop power, internal athletic systems have<br />their own ways of developing continuity. Practicing the techniques<br />slowly makes all the movements better connected and get the whole<br />body working as one unit with the waist in the center. This involves<br />opening the hip joints and not losing neck power. The emphasis is on<br />the waist, with the waist continuing, not just the limbs continuing.<br />“The whole body has to work together.” The waist is like a spring<br />and can move in any direction. “This looks easy but it is very hard to<br />get. The techniques of the limbs are easy, but the internal strength has<br />to continue and this is difficult.” <br /> 3. Understanding the movements.<br />The athlete should practice the techniques so that they become a part<br />of the body language-- so the techniques come freely, naturally and automatically. <br /> 4. Strengthening the connective muscles (tissues).<br />“If you have power, you have to be able to issue that power maximally.<br />Then the muscles can function like a powerful whip. But if you throw power<br />out maximally with out strengthening the connective tissues, muscles could<br />be torn.” The connective muscles in the two shoulders and hips should be<br />strengthened to create a strong link to your power. You should be cautioned<br />against lifting weights, because that tends to shorten the connective tissues.<br />“It may be strong but it cannot throw out the force effectively because when<br />it goes out, the short muscle pulls back too short.”<br /><br />Seven additional elements:<br />1. Heaviness. When you engage, you must be heavy.<br />Allow gravity to make you heavy but support yourself<br />through postural structure. <br /> <br />2. Snap. You must employ spring-shaking power. This<br />implies exploding power that is natural, similar to the<br />way a dog shakes off water. It should be done suddenly<br />and with speed. <br /> 3. Sticking. This means you have to change without losing<br />contact. “Once you have contact, you have to stick and be engaged.” <br /> 4. Looseness. You must be loose and not stiff, but you cannot<br />be so loose that you are like tofu; then there is not enough<br />structure. You should be loose, but still have steel inside.<br />If you are rigid, you will become like a zombie. <br /> 5. Wrapping. All parts of the body should be interlocking so<br />that the whole body becomes one unit. In any movement,<br />there must always be support and connection between the<br />muscles, like a support team with its army in the field. <br /> 6. Spiraling. Any movement has to be spiraling, not just<br />straight back and forth. Every part of the movement has<br />a spiral, from the earth on up. <br /> 7. Extension. There must be extension in all the joints. A lot<br />of people have knee problems because they don’t have<br />extension in their knees and hips and do not increase the<br />range of motion of the hips. People who have knee problems<br />put their power and weight on the knee and neglect to put<br />their weight on their hips. They must increase the hip range<br />of motion and their ankle flexibility. “These are the two keys.<br />Otherwise, the weight will go on the knee when it should be<br />back in the hips.” The knee will be kept empty of weight and<br />distress by using opposing strength— the strength goes into<br />the earth by pressing down on the foot, while at the same<br />time using the muscles above the knee to push in the other<br />direction toward the hip. That way the knee doesn’t take<br />any pressure. If a person has a good hip range of motion,<br />the hips will pull back the weight from the knee. Then because<br />there is extension in the knee, there will not be a knee problem.<br /><br />The journey into “internal athletics” is predicated with the planet in your<br />stomach. Imagine the planet Earth, with its effortless axis spin, its graceful<br />and perfect symmetry, and its massively powerful gravitational force.<br />Now scale that planetary construct down to the size of something that<br />would fit inside your lower torso. The Chinese call this the Dan Tien.<br />There is no corresponding “part” of the body in Western science. Cut<br />open a human body, and you simply cannot find it. But in the internal<br />athletics, the planet Dan Tien is as real as the heart, the lungs or the<br />bones; if the Dan Tien is a planet, the limbs become its satellites,<br />smoothly but intensely following the Dan Tien’s gravitational energy.<br />If an athlete could control the axis, change the direction, and control<br />the speed of the Dan Tien, he or she would have far more control over<br />his or her entire body. This is why it is said that, “The waist is the lord<br />of the body, and the limbs are its servants.”<br /><br />The masters of internal athletics say, “the root is in the feet.” And<br />everyone knows that balance is in the feet. But YOUR feet are week.<br />One of the reasons is that you sit far more than you stand or lay down.<br />If you stood more, your feet would be stronger (and your hips would<br />be more flexible). With stronger feet, you would be much better at<br />supporting the planet in your stomach.<br /><br />This is only the beginning. This information is to pique your interest.<br />in internal athletics. The training methods of the internal athletics have<br />been developed over many thousands of years; so the most savvy<br />trainer cannot surmise what the methods are, how to practice them,<br />and especially, how to teach them. As another famous internal athletic<br />trainer once said, “If I don’t teach it to you, you cannot figure it out yourself.”
</div>Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-4758408677908412502012-10-18T10:02:00.003-07:002012-10-19T08:39:24.510-07:00Straddling David Gorski's Line In The Sand<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">David Gorski's blog, "<a href="http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/tai-chi-and-fibromyalgia-in-the-new-england-journal-of-medicine/" target="_blank">Science-based</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/tai-chi-and-fibromyalgia-in-the-new-england-journal-of-medicine/" target="_blank">Medicine</a>," is a true asset to field of</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">functional medicine. Gorski is funny,</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">making his hard science topic wry,</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and gaffing the snake oil salesmen</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">of 2012 with some academic kindness.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Of course, there are plenty of puns</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">utilizing the word "quack."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">After you read it for some time, you can</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">understand how Gorski and company's</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">language separates itself from some</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">weaselword language used in quack</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">medicine.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">For myself, I found some happiness</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">in the fact that Gorski doesn't consider</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Tai Chi so gawd-awful, and he boldly</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">places Tai Chi on the opposite side of</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"alternative medicine" because it is</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">simply a form of gentle exercise--</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and gentle exercise is scientifically-backed</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">to benefit people, medically speaking.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I like believe Gorski likes Tai Chi:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;">"</span>As I pointed out at the time, let’s say that tai chi is the greatest thing since sliced bread and that it alleviates fibromyalgia pain and stiffness better than anything we’ve yet come up with. Let’s assume all of those things are true, just for the moment: what thought comes to mind to you? I know what thought comes to mind to me. What on earth is “alternative” or “complementary” about such a finding? In reality, such findings would simply indicate that certain forms of low-impact exercise could help fibromyalgia symptoms, which is not anything particularly surprising at all, given what we already know about fibromyalgia."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Gorski points out that some clinical tests</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">of Tai Chi are somewhat valuable, and that</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">all the "woo" of Qi theory and Traditional</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Chinese Medicine should not necessarily</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">need </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">to be associated with such a decent</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">little set of isometric Chinese exercises.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">But Tai Chi is not isometric. By definition,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">isometric exercise is strength training,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and real Tai Chi forbids the use of strength.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">That's funny too because I've been asked</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">many times after giving a demonstration,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"so are you clenching up all your muscles</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">when you do Tai Chi?" No, no, no. One</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">must relax the body far beyond the reaches</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">of clenching, pushing, pulling or any use</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">of strength. <a href="http://www.futaichi.com/Principles.html" target="_blank">"</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.futaichi.com/Principles.html" target="_blank">There should not be a single iota</a></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.futaichi.com/Principles.html" target="_blank">of brute strength remaining within your muscles</a></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.futaichi.com/Principles.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;">and bones</span>." --Fu Wing Fay.</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So in this way, Gorski thinks Tai Chi is</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">okay because it's just exercise that can</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">be broken down to its important parts,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and even mockingly replicated as a sham</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">control in a better-designed research study.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">But he's missing a lot of info in that sequitur.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Let's get back to me and Gorski in a minute.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Let's talk about my teacher, <a href="http://www.fustyle.org/" target="_blank">Victor ShengLong Fu</a>.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Master Fu is arguably the best exercise</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">instructor in the world. He says, "Tai Chi</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">is like first grade. BaGua is like tenth grade.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Most people cannot go to tenth grade without</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">first learning grades one through nine."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And trust me, BaGua is way over your head.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Master Fu also says,</span></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"More than 90 percent of all tai chi is bad. What it mean—‘bad,’ that when you see someone do tai chi, they don’t follow the <a href="http://www.futaichi.com/Principles.html" target="_blank">principles</a>. You don’t know the principles yet, but you can look for yourself if the tai chi is good or bad. When you look, look at the waist. When the tai chi is good, (they) always turn the waist. When the tai chi is bad, the arms move but the waist doesn’t turn, or the waist only turns sometimes. That’s principle. In good tai chi, the waist always turns."</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Master Fu's diligent students tend to be</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">amazing. They win martial arts competitions,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">just as the students of both his father and</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">his grandfather did.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">But Master Fu does not teach "Qi" theory.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">He tries to be practical and scientific in his</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">teaching methodology. In nine years of</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">private study, I've never heard him frame</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">any lesson inside the woo of Qi (sounds cool).</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">He will show you how to posture your body;</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and how breath deeply; and how to step</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">ten different ways.</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">But he doesn't talk about Qi.</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">What has trickled down from Master Fu's</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">high-level teachings is <a href="http://www.healingexercise.org/" target="_blank">Healing Exercise</a>,</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">a set of super-gentle, breath-centric exercises</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">for seniors, sedentary, injured and infirmed.</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It's backed by <a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/193332.php" target="_blank">peer-reviewed studies</a> and</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">it works. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">We simply show people how to</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">help themselves.</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I think David Gorski needs to meet my</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">friend <a href="http://www.healingexercise.org/MediaKit/z_IgnoreThisFolder/HTML/Persons4.html" target="_blank">Dr. Liu</a>. She was a pharmacist; then</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">an M.D. for some 20 years; then she went</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">back to school to become a Traditional</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Chinese Medicine doctor. Several members</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">of her family also share the dualistic</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">M.D. / O.M.D </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">accolades. Dr. Liu's daughter</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">has </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">kids attending Harvard, Princeton and</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Stanford simultaneously.</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">If your lying eyes did deceive you,</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Dr. Liu is a quack at first glance. She is 80</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">years old, but you would guess her at 50.</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">She walks funny and talks funny, so her</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">placebo-effect rating should be low; but</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">she </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">knows everything about everything.</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">David Gorski and company might find it</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">impressive that she wrote a thesis on</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">herbal treatments for HIV, and demonstrated</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">that cellular cAMP and cCMP are analogous</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">to yin and yang.</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Dr. Liu is the most powerful doctor I've ever</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">known, and I grew up in the business of</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">western medicine. Her prowess with</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">pharmacology and her implementation of</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">needles </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">fixes everyone I take to her.</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Dr. Liu's son won a prestigious award of</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">innovation in 2008 for developing a software</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">package that probability-diagnoses over 9000</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">diseases from 9500 symptoms, and offers</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">thousands of science-based medical treatments</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">from the combined knowledge of 41 M.D. specialists.</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Oh yeah, it also offers thousands of Traditional</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Chinese Medicine treatments, including where</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">to put the needles.</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Back to me and Gorski. Without a single credential,</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I call myself a scientist. It'd be easy for him to say</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">that I am not. But maybe he would lend some</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">tiny shred of scientific credence to my university</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">level study of kinesiology; or maybe to my abstract</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">published by the University of Salzburg for</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The International Congress on Science and</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Skiing. Skiing might not be David Gorski's cup</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">of tea, but he does live in Michigan and I know</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Michiganders do ski in that miserable mess.</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Applying the principles of Tai Chi to alpine skiing</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">created an "alternative" method of direction change</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">by posturing the body and turning the waist horizontally.</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Panting and the use of strength are both forbidden.</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I wear a tee shirt that says, "Disposable thumbs</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">make me specialer than most animals." Many</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">scientists and coaches in the alpine ski universe</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">think I'm a quack. But now, some Austrian</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">aficionados are claiming that all the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuZJim10RXA" target="_blank">World Cup</a></span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuZJim10RXA" target="_blank">ski racers are using my Waist Steering technique</a>.</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Where Traditional Chinese Medicine shines is</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>functionality</b>. Master Fu says 90 percent of all</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Tai Chi </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">is junk. It might be safe to correlate and say</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">that </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">90 percent of all acupuncture is junk too--</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">because there are few O.M.D.s like Dr. Liu.</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I would like to see bright people like David Gorski</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and company create double-blind research studies</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">on high-level masters like Master Fu and Dr. Liu.</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I always say "the proof is in the puddin'," so if it is,</span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">they should be able to extract that proof.</span></div>
Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-34883270561160500012012-10-04T10:44:00.001-07:002012-10-04T10:44:31.371-07:00Gait Is Correctible<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLu9nVh_Fiw35KQXC6nLYKAsIiUD7L0R8Sri-D7uf_WA4F0oCkk76p15YQqXisuBu9J8mu7l6x0RCRXUBliHta7OnL0dqZPGNloBNiSm4_UpAI3vlA9zj8tyNvEHvXHZfekTlpr2g-vhNx/s1600/Gait_patterns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLu9nVh_Fiw35KQXC6nLYKAsIiUD7L0R8Sri-D7uf_WA4F0oCkk76p15YQqXisuBu9J8mu7l6x0RCRXUBliHta7OnL0dqZPGNloBNiSm4_UpAI3vlA9zj8tyNvEHvXHZfekTlpr2g-vhNx/s320/Gait_patterns.jpg" width="295" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
As a human, you want to stand up.<br />
You would rather stand straight than<br />
hunched-over, or with any partial squat.<br />
You desire to walk around using your<br />
legs. You try to walk like everyone else.<br />
These are very basic concepts.<br />
<br />
But consider one joint. A knee. A hip.<br />
An elbow. How many bones are used<br />
in the elbow joint. The answer is three.<br />
How much range of motion does one<br />
joint have? It depends on flexibility.<br />
<br />
Now consider how many joints you have<br />
in your whole body. Do you know how<br />
many? The average fetus has 300 bones,<br />
while the average adult has 206 bones.<br />
Your back alone has over 30 joints, and<br />
there exist infinite mechanisms in the feet.<br />
The bones fuse over time, reducing the<br />
number of "flexible joints."<br />
<br />
It can safely be said that there are a few<br />
hundred joints in the human body.<br />
Consider the tremendous range of motion<br />
of the whole being, and compare that to<br />
the ability to stand up straight.<br />
<br />
People who are more flexible can generally<br />
stand up straighter than those who aren't.<br />
<br />
Now consider gait, or the way a person<br />
walks. First, standing up straight, trying to<br />
vertically stabilize a few hundreds joints;<br />
then, taking the first step forward. It's like<br />
trying to balance a tower of stacked plates.<br />
They go all over the place!<br />
<br />
Human gait is a forward-falling, sloppy mess<br />
of vertically-stacked joints that eventually<br />
seize-up, causing the gait to slow, stutter,<br />
and then cease.<br />
<br />
Over time, this rickety gait wears out joints<br />
in almost random selection. It certainly<br />
causes more bones to fuse, or the need<br />
to be surgically fused. You see, flexibility<br />
is lost over time and certain joints of the<br />
body wear out.<br />
<br />
But with training, everyone can learn<br />
corrective gait and practice better walking.<br />
This lengthens the life of the joints, therefor<br />
fortifying the body and lengthening the life.<br />
<br />
How abstruse !<br />
But we teach corrective gait every day !<br />
<br />Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-64114213318624291952012-09-22T07:57:00.002-07:002021-04-01T11:36:24.335-07:00The Power of a Sneeze<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.maniacworld.com/greatest-sneeze-ever.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.maniacworld.com/greatest-sneeze-ever.gif" /></a></div>
<br />
You breathe in and out all day long.<br />
You never think about your breathing<br />
(unless someone taught you how).<br />
<br />
But occasionally, you sneeze. And when<br />
you do, you are always shocked by the<br />
sheer power of it. A sneeze is amazing.<br />
And the lingering tingling in your nose<br />
and throat are almost orgasmic.<br />
<br />
Then someone will say,<br />
"God bless you," or "bless you,"<br />
or Gesundheit.<br />
<br />
Why do they say that ?<br />
<br />
Well, this is one of those times when<br />
no amount of internet research will get<br />
you the right answer. But historically and<br />
globally, the sneeze is associated with<br />
gods, the soul, and health. The Greek word<br />
for sneeze is "pneuma," which means soul<br />
or spirit; and Greek stories associating the<br />
sneeze with deities date back to the time<br />
of Christ.<br />
<br />
The biological hardwiring of your body<br />
uses all available resources to sneeze.<br />
Western science and medicine can explain<br />
the physiology of it, but not the quasi-<br />
religious experience you have each time<br />
you sneeze. In essence, a sneeze is amazing<br />
because it is so powerful, and yet its power<br />
does not come from muscular strength.<br />
Sneeze power is breath power, or more<br />
specifically, internal power.<br />
Chi.<br />
<br />
If you're one of those people who think<br />
Tai Chi looks stupid, and there's no possible<br />
way it can be a real martial art, consider<br />
that at any time a Tai Chi master can express<br />
the same "internal" power as a sneeze. He<br />
is able to do this through breath development.<br />
<br />
Tai Chi and QiGong have been developed<br />
to harness and amplify internal power.<br />
These arts prize breathing, and admonish<br />
"li," or external strength. They exalt<br />
posture, relaxedness, and deep respiration<br />
through the nose; they forbid panting like a dog<br />
with its mouth wide open.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/jmGM6fi9vKM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
You can try this candle punch exercise<br />
for yourself--<br />
but I warn you that you will hurt yourself<br />
if you try to use your strength. The speed<br />
and power come from breathing and<br />
relaxation, not from big pec's and triceps.<br />
<br />
Highly-developed breathing technique<br />
has a smooth, long breath that flows<br />
powerfully into the body and stores there.<br />
This power is immense, and can be expressed<br />
at any time. Not only is this stored power<br />
at your disposal, but its development greatly<br />
fortifies the health of the body, including the<br />
bones, joints and internal organs. Life is<br />
extended tremendously and sickness cannot<br />
enter the body.<br />
<br />
Here is one more video for you. This is<br />
118-year old Grandmaster Lu Zijian<br />
demonstrating BaGuaZhang (which is a<br />
higher- level form of Tai Chi). This video<br />
was posted to YouTube in January of 2012,<br />
and sadly, Grandmaster Lu died in March.<br />
But what a life !<br />
The description on YouTube says,<br />Where are the 100+ yr old MMA fighters,<br /> Boxers Bodybuilders etc.....??? Health first!!!<br /> Chi, Prana, Ki, Ether, Orgone<br />
<br />
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<br />Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-35580399926389887422012-07-25T09:33:00.002-07:002021-04-01T11:37:55.137-07:00Building Better Athletes - A Practical Guide<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKBdNobTbn4wPBUsV8UB9ti0XzotR2Byde5wMQ1CqPmGicIADIv5EmHsznf9Qi4f44qRqX-lQlS_9vk_GlV_Tg9zLbpuQjjcYIPBsDNb7Ab_7GinBl_EUPHDiOy72FfsPPHVl2U2B6iykb/s1600/speed-training.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKBdNobTbn4wPBUsV8UB9ti0XzotR2Byde5wMQ1CqPmGicIADIv5EmHsznf9Qi4f44qRqX-lQlS_9vk_GlV_Tg9zLbpuQjjcYIPBsDNb7Ab_7GinBl_EUPHDiOy72FfsPPHVl2U2B6iykb/s320/speed-training.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;">When the subject of athletic training<br /> is broached, the very first concept that<br /> needs to be addressed is physical health<br /> and immunity. To be an athlete-- to even<br /> consider competing in anything-- you must<br /> first be healthy. Yes, some athletes compete<br /> with broken bones and torn ligaments,<br /> but they cannot perform optimally in<br /> that condition.<br /> <br /> Next, and I'm being practical here, the<br /> concept of physical fortitude and constitution<br /> must be addressed. This means that in one's<br /> athletic training, there should be a built-in <br /> resistance to injury; and there should be<br /> some promotion of regeneration, or the <br /> ability to recover from injury. If you pound<br /> yourself mercilessly, and do not recover<br /> well, you will never compete well.<br /> <br /> After the core concepts of health, fortitude<br /> and regeneration, an athlete must develop<br /> foundational body skills. The first and most<br /> important is balance. Most definitions I've<br /> seen are ethereal, esoteric or meaningless.<br /> I like to define athletic balance as "the <br /> ability to maintain physical advantage over<br /> gravity and / or the earth." There are lots<br /> of different methods to develop balance,<br /> but we'll get back to that.<br /> <br /> Next, an athlete must develop proprioception, <br /> or the ability to perceive one's body position<br /> in space (not outer space, but three-dimensional<br /> context). This kind of mind-body skill can<br /> be developed alongside balance, but it can<br /> also be overlooked and ignored in error.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Basic movement skills like running, jumping, <br /> and balance-recovery seem like the next <br /> logical step. But without coordination, or <br /> <br /> the ability to move as a whole, the body won't <br /> perform these basic tasks well. Imagine a <br /> small child or an elderly person trying to <br /> jump. Maybe they have enough power, but <br /> without coordinating the limbs, the trunk, <br /> the head and the mind, it's difficult to go <br /> very high or very far. Talk to the top coaches <br /> in almost any sport and they all seem to agree <br /> that coordination is more important than <br /> strength and most other skills. <br /> <br /> <br /> Speaking of strength, we've gone way off the<br /> deep end when it comes to the development<br /> of strength. We seem to think it's the end-all<br /> be-all for athletics, seniors, the injured, you<br /> name it. But alas, strength can be a liability.<br /> <br /> Most pure strength training ISOLATES muscles <br /> and muscle groups to enlarge the muscles and <br /> make them more powerful; but muscle isolation <br /> training can un-develop coordination, which will</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"> take you back to not being able to jump.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;">
<br />
Read <a href="http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/tomgreen.htm">Tom Green's Sprinter Training Program</a><br />
to learn why upper body strength is slowing<br />
you down; and be sure to recognize how Tom<br />
differentiates between strength and power.<br />
<br />Power does not mean strength. While impulse<br /> power, or the ability to move or react quickly,<br /> is critical to athletics, it is much more of a<br /> coordination function than a strength function.<br /> Yes, I know all too well that muscles are<br /> what move the body; but quick reflexes, like<br /> those required in fencing or boxing, come<br /> from coordination and relaxation training,<br /> not strength. There is also power derived<br /> from special movements, like the pike, that<br /> do not require strength but coordination.<br /> <br /> An especially important power function<br /> is called "The Serape Effect." This is<br /> the ability move the limbs powerfully<br /> through coordination with the trunk. Think<br /> about a baseball player throwing a 90 mph<br /> fastball. He doesn't have to be a big, strong<br /> guy to do this; he just has to be very<br /> coordinated. I like to call this the issuance<br /> of power.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> For most sports, the next most important <br /> skill-sets are accuracy, agility and dexterity. <br /> This is the ability to perform intricate or difficult <br /> tasks well. Again, these are fine motor skills <br /> that require coordination, relaxation and <br /> high-level proprioception-- not strength. <br /> Prehensile ability is the ability to seize, carry <br /> and control objects. Tennis requires so many <br /> different kinds of motor skills that make the <br /> game extremely regimented in the way to <br /> learn how to play it. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> For muscle-heads, the concept of "throttle" <br /> only occurs when they're driving; it's the <br /> pedal on the right or the twist grip for <br /> acceleration. But an athlete's ability to move <br /> at different speeds can be a real game changer <br /> in tennis, volleyball, pugilism, etc. The <br /> off-speed volleyball spike or the slow <br /> feint in boxing can be very difficult <br /> to defend. <br /> <br /> <br /> This brings us to efficiency and stamina. <br /> When we're young, we're all impulse and <br /> no longevity. But aging athletes naturally <br /> develop the ability to continue to perform, <br /> rather than blowing it all in a few minutes. <br /> Of course, the high school kids who run <br /> cross country learn how to extend their <br /> energy by moving efficiently; but most <br /> of the rest of us have to figure it out over <br /> time. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> In kinesiology, technique usually means the <br /> sport-specific skills requiring dexterity. <br /> If you never take swimming lessons, you're <br /> probably never going to compete in Olympic <br /> swimming competition because it takes a <br /> very knowledgeable coach to teach you the <br /> techniques and iron out the problems. Once <br /> you attain a high degree of proficiency in a <br /> technique, you may be able to "tweak" it <br /> to develop your own personal "style." <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Tri-planar flexibility is the ability to move all <br /> the joints along extended routes. When you can <br /> develop the ability to rotate the body in beneficial <br /> ways, like turning, twisting and spinning, you <br /> can have major physical advantages in balance, <br /> power, and coordination. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> The highest-level athletics require not only <br /> physical skills, but mental acuity, cognition, <br /> volition, patience, and a high degree of strategy. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Most sports have two basic training modes: <br /> calisthenics (including resistance training) and <br /> sport-specific training. Inevitably, there will <br /> be gaps in skill. But when we look at the <br /> athletes in the pugilism sports, they are the <br /> finest on earth. Fighting requires all of the <br /> elements I've mentioned here. So notwithstanding <br /> getting punched in the head so many times <br /> you slur your words, pugilism training takes <br /> the body to its highest physical and mental <br /> development. Most pugilism even develops <br /> the spirit. <br /> <br /> <br /> This is why Tai Chi training is the best in <br /> the world. The athletic development comes <br /> quickly and steadily. All the skills progress, <br /> and power comes bountifully without the <br /> use of strength. The breathing training more <br /> than makes up for the lack of "cardio," which <br /> is merely panting. And the physical fortitude, <br /> joint development and immune system <br /> development are second to none. And unless <br /> you're stupid and aggressive, you'll have <br /> all the best athletic skills <br /> and you'll never have to fight.
</div>Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-49818620322643270852012-04-07T07:48:00.000-07:002012-04-07T07:48:05.638-07:00My Perspective on Jogging<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi323lEuihLCnV9dXx4C4NMrvgt7wivdAfQhgmrZo5xB348PnSMIqjuPGAyz9D1GjLn_XfNi_SXhvwDFAVYruy-IIfWRJPH73G2kouIWTODSqdxRUaOsB6u7IBM-7DoSfMt_iM4UdZRasQ0/s1600/ortho_knee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi323lEuihLCnV9dXx4C4NMrvgt7wivdAfQhgmrZo5xB348PnSMIqjuPGAyz9D1GjLn_XfNi_SXhvwDFAVYruy-IIfWRJPH73G2kouIWTODSqdxRUaOsB6u7IBM-7DoSfMt_iM4UdZRasQ0/s320/ortho_knee.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
This is the story of Gary Kirchhoff.<br />
Gary was the son of a well-to-do<br />
business man, and so he grew up<br />
in a life with many privileges.<br />
<br />
But when it came to athletics, Gary<br />
earned every one of his accolades.<br />
You could barely imagine a high<br />
school running career as successful<br />
as Gary's; and the last I knew, his<br />
high school records were still hanging.<br />
<br />
Growing up in the city, Gary ran<br />
track among the black kids who are<br />
usually faster. But he worked hard,<br />
and trained with the quarter-milers--<br />
because he said it really improves<br />
one's endurance. The quarter-mile<br />
is a puke-race for sure.<br />
<br />
In the sprints, Gary was supreme.<br />
His scrap-book of blue ribbons<br />
would drive the envy of anyone.<br />
Okay, not Usain Bolt, but most<br />
anyone else. Gary was an athletic<br />
phenom in every sport he tried.<br />
<br />
Suffice it to say, Gary would be<br />
recruited to play football for the<br />
Air Force Academy. But he blew<br />
it up. Gary made a man-child, lost<br />
his mind, and abandoned ship.<br />
<br />
In his new life, Gary started running<br />
long distance. He studied medicine,<br />
became an M.D., and believed<br />
whole-heartedly that man was<br />
"<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest/dp/0307266303">Born To Run</a>."<br />
<br />
Gary was magnificent in his athletic<br />
afterlife. He jogged every day, and<br />
finished competitively in every race<br />
he entered. Then, at age 42, both knees<br />
needed to be replaced, and this is where<br />
the story abruptly ends.<br />
<br />
I can name scores of runners whose<br />
mobility and running career was suddenly<br />
cut short. If you run, you will either quit<br />
or the running will quit you.<br />
Jogging is a self-fulfilling prophecy<br />
of worn-out joints and heart attacks.Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-73218583713244734902012-03-07T10:04:00.000-08:002012-03-07T10:04:06.918-08:00Medicinal Breathing, Therapeutic Exercise<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgGYDji8CoE5x7Fmi0zvDqh1a_BFaAC1nzSkgQkVQiIxOrkv06TqBrob2tLsxbZ_x8cRmu7vPRCMfWZ1nUZEC_Pcbod1dyZZHrdtLjXQjj2xRxxICRUghGQL5mu2caBiotpX5qlxCUMkN/s1600/21200002+-+030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgGYDji8CoE5x7Fmi0zvDqh1a_BFaAC1nzSkgQkVQiIxOrkv06TqBrob2tLsxbZ_x8cRmu7vPRCMfWZ1nUZEC_Pcbod1dyZZHrdtLjXQjj2xRxxICRUghGQL5mu2caBiotpX5qlxCUMkN/s320/21200002+-+030.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Medicinal Breathing, Therapeutic Exercise</div><br />
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Medicinal Breathing, Therapeutic ExerciseTai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-68466614717569779102012-01-31T06:33:00.001-08:002021-04-01T11:41:26.060-07:00Tommy's Exercise Equipment Review<a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCdOSjtXpGM_Qx-Abb92PBmBfzKHB1aBGlDTy_Ribk-WXzLHkT1In-wuxlAjOdHIFnBNTv1L-BihGCmqPnD3XguWxTeMF5jR9bSJ_qiV1VRbgkY5Bm8V4mD0m5s_uKEuFEC0riHeFPNIQf/s320/shake_weight.jpg" /></a><br />Before I go into the highs and lows<br /> of exercise equipment circa 2012,<br /> I want to start with the yoga mat.<br /> A recent New York Times article<br /> points out "<a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">How Yoga Can Wreck</a><br /> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Your Body</a>." The subject of the<br /> article, Glenn Black, almost certainly<br /> knows more about yoga that you do,<br /> and he says, 'the vast majority of<br /> people-- students and teachers-- should<br /> simply give up yoga altogether.'<br /> In a related <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Huffington Post article</a>,<br /> Black says the Times article got some<br /> people so made that he's received death<br /> threats. Thumbs down on yoga. Yikes!<br /> <br />Speaking of "fit to be tied," what's up<br /> with all the straps, ropes and cords for<br /> sale in the exercise equipment market ?<br /> Are these really for exercise, or do<br /> folks just keep them in the back seat<br /> of the old Honda Fit so they have<br /> something to help pull them out of<br /> the ditch ? Thumbs down on straps.<br /> Why ? Because calisthenics rule.<br /> <br /> I suppose kettle bells sound better<br /> than dumb bells; but they're not a lot<br /> smarter. People think the body should<br /> be exercised in linear, hinged motions.<br /> But the body twists and rotates, so<br /> thumbs down on dumbells too.<br /> <br /> An emerging trend is to purchase a<br /> "<a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Rack</a>" or sled-type piece of apparatus.<br /> These again work the muscles in<br /> linear, isolating movements. By<br /> isolating the muscles, you shorten<br /> the tendons, and reduce your natural<br /> ability to mobilize the joints across<br /> three planes, or rotationally. Think<br /> about the range of motion of your<br /> shoulder and your hip. How are you<br /> ever going to use a Rack to make<br /> circles with either ? Thumbs down.<br /> <br />Shake Weight ? Come on. This is<br /> the dumbest thing I've seen. Well,<br /> okay, it might TIE for the dumbest<br /> thing with the <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">BodyBlade</a>. What<br /> will people think of next ? I'm just<br /> guessing someone will create a<br /> device that turns masturbation into<br /> a full workout.<br /> <br /> Most people don't know that "core<br /> strength" exercise typically overworks<br /> the upper abs and neglects the lower abs.<br /> So many of these kinds of exercises<br /> are damaging to the lower back and<br /> will eventually have to be abandoned.<br /> Ab roller units: thumbs down.<br /> <br /> Another really dumb piece of junk<br /> is the breathing exerciser, like<br /> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">UltraBreathe</a> or BreathBooster.<br /> If you really want to learn how to<br /> breathe, practice Tai Chi. If you<br /> really want to strain your breathe<br /> with a plastic piece of junk, try<br /> to inhale with a grocery bag in<br /> your mouth. That's a joke, son.<br /> Don't do it.<br /> <br /> A <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Swiss Ball</a> or fitness ball does<br /> get high marks in my book. First,<br /> you can sit on it and practice your<br /> posture. Second, it can be used<br /> like a medicine ball to assimilate<br /> whole-body movements. Third,<br /> it is probably one of the top two<br /> balance trainers. When you can<br /> stand on one, you'll have the<br /> balance of a cat.<br /> <br /> The other balance trainer I like<br /> is the <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">bongo board</a>. These are not<br /> easy to stand on; so if you practice,<br /> it can really improve your balance,<br /> especially for sports that require<br /> balancing on a moving platform.<br /> <br /> I do see some merit in the <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">foam</a><br /> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">rollers</a> hitting the market. If you<br /> insist on exercising in traditional<br /> ways like jogging, weight lifting,<br /> or using crap mentioned in this blog,<br /> you will no doubt have super-tight<br /> IT Bands like everyone else. These<br /> foam rollers allow you to stretch.<br /> Once again, Tai Chi stretches the<br /> IT Bands without the paraphernalia.<br /> <br /> When they hit the market, a lot of<br /> people went out and bought shoes<br /> like Sketchers <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">ShapeUps</a>. I thought<br /> they were stupid, and asked my<br /> friendly pedorthist what he thought.<br /> To my surprise, he liked the idea.<br /> Now, many moons have passed,<br /> and the lawsuits are piling up sky<br /> high against all the manufacturers<br /> of stupid, round, rocker-bottom shoes.<br /> Thumbs way down.<br /> <br /> If you were thinking about buying<br /> P90X, don't. Sure, you might<br /> survive one 90-day torture--<br /> just enough to take pictures of your<br /> body and get them on P90X's next<br /> informercial. But this is too hard,<br /> and you'll quit soon; certainly you<br /> won't stick with it, and your body<br /> will trend back to a healthy level<br /> of fat. Remember people, six-pack<br /> abs are a clear indicator of unhealth<br /> because the body needs more body<br /> fat for energy reserves, immune<br /> function and warmth. If you want<br /> to understand this better, read my<br /> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Race Horse Fitness</a> blog.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div>Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com154tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170195824903880217.post-70615402101947013272012-01-26T06:56:00.001-08:002021-04-01T11:42:24.724-07:00My Chat With Sarah Burke<a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioSwsc4wkJVxFSocYsNXWfetB34REfFZdG6xiQl5MdXiicghhSJIz18LlJPpLzN21murfM6Xb4z03qqR43zXRurlRv_Waha1fJt6OpPqHOOQimXADYghraiY9texPYWs4P1dHNi11WtaSp/s320/SarahBurke.jpg" /></a><br /> I think it was 2008. I logged onto the<br /> old Facebook (before they started<br /> changing it). I wasn't big on chats,<br /> but saw that Sarah Burke was<br /> "available to chat." She wasn't<br /> someone I knew, but I had requested<br /> the FB friendship and she accepted.<br /> <br /> What do you say to Sarah Burke ?<br /> It had only been one year since she won<br /> the gold medal at the X Games in<br /> Aspen and was voted Best Female<br /> Action Sports Athlete at the ESPY<br /> Awards. She was a rockstar of the<br /> freestyle skiing world. A supermodel<br /> on the red carpet. And loved by all.<br /> <br /> I pulled up her page and saw that<br /> she had exactly 2000 friends. So<br /> that's where I started. I typed,<br /> "How can you have 2000 friends?"<br /> and hit enter. I waited with<br /> anticipation; there was a pretty<br /> good chance she wouldn't even<br /> respond.<br /> <br /> "I don't know," she responded;<br /> "they're all my real friends."<br /> The elephant in the room was me.<br /> <br /> I chopped back, "Seems like it<br /> would be hard to have actual<br /> friendships with that many<br /> people."<br /> <br /> "Not for me," she said. I looked<br /> at her FB photo. She was beautiful.<br /> "They are really all my friends."<br /> <br /> I changed the subject. "I want to<br /> ask you about your health. I know<br /> your sport well, and I know lots<br /> of the competitors get hurt quite<br /> often. Is that the case with you ?"<br /> <br /> Sarah Burke went on to tell me that<br /> she had broken bones many times,<br /> and that her 25-year old body was<br /> like a 60-year old's. She said everything<br /> hurt all the time, and that some days<br /> it was really hard to get out of bed.<br /> She was not coy in her descriptions<br /> of trauma, injuries, or ongoing pain.<br /> <br /> I told Sarah that I teach Tai Chi, and<br /> that many athletes have found great<br /> relief with the practice. I told her that<br /> there are a lot of great teachers in<br /> British Colombia, including my<br /> teacher Victor Fu.<br /> <br /> Sarah Burke said she was very interested<br /> in learning, and that it made sense to<br /> her to start trying to repair some of the<br /> damage she had done to herself.<br /> She then said she traveled a lot, and<br /> hoped that if and when things settled<br /> down for her that she would try to start.<br /> <br /> I offered to send her a DVD. She said<br /> we could hold off for now, but that she<br /> wanted to get back to me on it. Suddenly<br /> she was whisked away to chat with one<br /> of her real friends, and I was left with<br /> the feeling that Sarah Burke was one<br /> genuinely nice person.<br /> <br /> But now I'm mad.<br /> <br /> Even on the day of her death, people<br /> were talking about how her successful<br /> lobbying to add the Superpipe to the<br /> 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics would be<br /> a tribute to her life. Few would stand up<br /> and cry, "this sport is too risky, and the<br /> death of this girl is the clearest indicator !"<br /> <br /> Sarah Burke, with a battered and broken<br /> body, was out pounding the pipe, pushing<br /> the limits, and every day stretching for<br /> more amplitude. She could strive to meet<br /> the mind-bending tricks of Shawn White--<br /> table-top 1080's or roast beef on rye or<br /> whatever-the-hell they call those things--<br /> but she took those risks with a body<br /> that was far from "sound." And yes<br /> folks, she was wearing a helmet which<br /> didn't do a damn thing to save her.<br /> <br /> Kevin Pearce suffered a traumatic<br /> brain injury in the same superpipe<br /> at Park City Mountain Resort. His<br /> career is over and he's lucky to be<br /> alive.<br /> <br /> In an interview after the 2011 X Games,<br /> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Scotty Lago rattled off</a> this gem:<br /> "I just really wasn't sure if I was able to<br /> compete or not. A couple doctors told me<br /> I shouldn't; and a couple doctors told me<br /> I couldn't injure myself any worse because<br /> the bone's actually not healing, (points to<br /> his cheek) it's just free-floating in there."<br /> <br /> When you watch the Superpipe in the<br /> 2014 Sochi Olympics, and see these<br /> athletes fly flipping and spinning into<br /> the sky, remember that your entertainment<br /> is fueled by young people who get<br /> severely injured all the time and even die.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div>Tai-Chi-Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08629001506878833297noreply@blogger.com1