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Croquet Tournaments – US National Championship International Rules
I am new to the sport of croquet , as a professionally competitive sport. I have played backyard croquet and poison croquet with friends and family, but there have never been clubs or professional competitions in my vicinity. I am therefore...
FootPower for Golf
Although the ankle is the most injured body part of an athlete, very little is ever done to strengthen the stabilizing muscles that prevent rolling in and out. Golfers are no exception in neglecting ankle strengthening. They seldom sprain their...
How to Create a Weight Loss Plan of Action
Copyright 2006 strength-training-woman.com
The New Year is upon us. Resolutions have been made and
resolutions have already been broken. This is the time of year
that fitness centers see loads of new members scurry in. These
new members have...
NBA 2005 Season Predictions
The NBA season kicks of on Tuesday when the defending champion San Antonio Spurs will host the Denver Nuggets at 8 PM ET on TNT. Below is my season predictions for each conference.
This season is perhaps the most balanced season in terms of...
What’s So Great About A Trampoline?
Looking for a fun way to exercise and stay healthy? Doctors say that rebound exercising is one of the healthiest, safest kinds of exercise for your joints and heart. It's aerobic, it's fun, and it doesn't put the same stress on your joints and...
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Martial Arts in Each Season: Nature in Training
We of the Upper Peninsula, Michigan, the people who inhabit the wild lands north of The Bridge, are at the crest of winter. Which isn't saying much, because no matter what time of year, up here, winter has a way of creeping gleefully nearby, like an antic, poised to drop in on even the most summery of days - like an August wedding (mine), and remind all who live here that we live, first and last, at nature's pleasure, and not she at ours.
I love nature and the outdoors. Here, you would be hard pressed not to, since nature is ever present and wild, and cannot be constrained. We live here among the big forests, the blue-black waters of Mother Superior.
At my Center, we are about to dive into our first kangeiko, which is intensive winter training. The windows will be open, and the cold will surely come. The indoor sanctity of the dojo will be broken by the outdoors, the rude ways of the howling, northern winds.
It occurs to me - we spend so much of our time trying to protect ourselves. When it is hot outside, we try to
cool down; when it is cold, we try to keep our warmth. In Japanese martial arts tradition, kangeiko and its summer counterpart, shochugeiko, are ways of marking one’s training, and giving over to nature. When the sun is raging, and summer's heat is on - train fully, sweat, give over to the experience and hold nothing back; in the depths of winter's cold, do not tighten and try to stave it off, but accept the cold, relax into it and break through to a new understanding.
But in this training, I believe, we find a mirror to life itself. Beautiful, chaotic, demanding - nature. Nature just is.
About The Author
Paul Smith is the Founder and Director of the Aikido Center of Marquette (www.aikido-marquette.com), located in the Upper Peninsula, Michigan. He is an avid outdoorsman, and is also the webmaster of www.a1-outdoors.com, a website serving as a resource for outdoor sports gear and information.
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