Women's Self Defence Workshop

The irresistible charm of dexterity

by Spyro Katsigiannis

Unlike today's fitness industry that places extreme emphasis on either physical attributes (strength, power, speed etc) or physical appearance, folk wisdom values dexterity (the ability of an "intelligent body" to spontaneously solve problems that arise out of the interaction with one's environment) very highly. The epics, fairy tales and proverbs of cultures from all around the world praise dexterity consistently - the famous Bible legend of yound David who beat the giant Goliath using his wits and skill is one of the first to pop in mind. Russian - Jewish neurophysiologist and pioneer of the science of biomechanics N.A. Bernstein included the following fable (presumably of Russian origin) in his classic text On Dexterity and Its Development. I find it very inspiring so I thought I should share it:

"The father sent his three sons to travel around the world and to learn wisdom. In three years, the sons were back and told the father that one of them had learned the skills of the barber, the second one had learned the profession of the blacksmith, and the third one had become a fencer.
The father asked them all to sit in front of the house and to wait for a chance to demonstrate their skills. The one who bested the brothers would inherit the house and all the valuables.
They sat for a short while and saw a large hare hopping across the field.
'This one is just for me', said the barber. He took his instruments, ran after the hare, put foam on its muzzle, and shaved it clean without cutting the skin.
'Yes', said the father, "You are certainly a great master. If your brothers do not do something amazing, the house will be yours'.
'Wait a minute, daddy', said the second son, the blacksmith.
And exactly at that time, a carriage appeared on the road pulled by a pair of trotters. The blacksmith grabbed his tools, ran after the carriage, tore off all eight horseshoes and replaced them with new oneswithout stopping the carriage.
'Wow', said the father, 'I can see that you also did not waste your time. I don't know who is more dexterous of you too. Your brother will have a hard time catching his elder brothers'.
He had just spoken these words, when it started to rain. The father and the two elder sons crawled under the bench while the third son, the fencer, remained outside. He drew out his sword and sterted to swing it over his head hitting away each drop of water. The rain grew harder and harder and eventually it started to pour. But the younger son just swung his sword quicker and quicker and managed to deflect every drop according to the perfect rules of fencing, so that he remained as dry as if he were sitting under an umbrella.
The father could not make a choice and divided his estate between all three sons. That was the only smart thing to do".

I really don't know what made things change so much since the times when people recounted fables as cool as this, but it seems to me that nowadays dexterity is underrated or rather, ignored, especially in the world of martial arts and combat training, in favour of crude physical attributes, such as strength, speed and endurance. If you just perform a search on the internet, you will mostly find people obsessed with numbers: it's always about how much weight one can move, how many reps of a given exercise one can perform in a given amount of time or for how long can one continously perform one exercise before exhausting himself. And then there are the people obsessed with appearance - the "six-pack, the "big guns" (biceps, that is), and the shoulders that look as if you can rest the world on top of them. Especially in North America this "notion" of cosmetic muscle building is so pervasive that some people believe Fedor Emelianenko can't really fight, since he looks like a fat guy!

http://systemasweden.blogspot.com/2009/05/irresistible-charm-of-dexterity.html

Well said Spyros!
Emmanuel

Five Key Components to Recover from Knee Surgery

Five Key Components to achieve complete recovery from
knee pain after knee surgery...

1.) Breathing
2.) Water
3.) Nutrition
4.) Exercise
5.) Stretching

For more information check out....www.thekneepainguru.com

Healing Concepts
1214 Barret Avenue
Louisville
Kentucky 40204
United States

PUT YOUR CAR KEYS BESIDE YOUR BED AT NIGHT

Put your car keys beside your bed at night. If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car.

The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car's battery dies.

This tip came from a neighborhood watch coordinator. Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this:

It's a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation.

Test it.

It will go off from most everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key fob chain.

It works if you park in your driveway or garage If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break into your house, odds are the burglar rapist won't stick around... After a few seconds all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and sure enough the criminal won't want that. And remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there ..... This is something that should really be shared with everyone. Maybe it could save a life or a sexual abuse crime.

P.S. I am sending this to everyone I know because I think it is fantastic. Would also be useful for any emergency, such as a heart attack, where you can't reach a phone. My Mom has suggested to my Dad that he carry his car keys with him in case he falls outside and she doesn't hear him. He can activate the car alarm and then she'll know there's a problem.


Hope this helps,
emmanuel

Speed Reading

Hello All,

I finally gave in and tried one of these course....it's pretty cool but I can read faster now!

Benefits of Speed Reading

With the misconceptions cleared up, let's talk about how you can benefit from speed reading. Really, this is one skill that will help you in many areas of your life, and it's important to understand how. First you should know that the average American reads at 230 - 280 WPM (words-per-minute). A good speed reader can read at several times that speed, that is 1500 - 2500 WPM.

Imagine the next time you read that business report, community newsletter, college paper or research material, or even just an article on the Internet. With speed reading in your list of tools you will be able to finish your reading ten times faster. Suddenly that report that used to take you sixty minute to get through is only taking you six!

Of course speed is just the major benefit of reading faster; there are also some others that you should know about.
Increased Reading Comprehension: Speed reading works to increase your reading comprehension by making you focus on the task at hand. When you speed read you will understand what you've read better than you ever have before.
Better Memorization of what You've Read: Focusing on reading increases your comprehension, but it also increases retention. If you're someone who often forgets what they've just read, speed reading will aid in memorization.
You'll become a Better Teacher: Parents who learn speed reading are better enabled to teach their children to read. Speed reading increases reading ability in general and it will make you a better teacher.
You Increase your Efficiency at Many Task: Reading faster will make you more efficient at work, at home, when you're reading your morning paper. What will you do with all your extra time?
You'll be able to learn anything faster: Speed reading will make you a better learner. Whether you're a student or an adult who just wants to learn something new. As a speed reader you will get through the material faster, understand it better, and retain in better than you ever have before.

Lots of good website that offer this...check them out it's worth your time!

Hope this helps,
emmanuel

Flow, the Psychology of Optimal Experience

Highly Recommended!

Flow, the Psychology of Optimal Experience,
by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.


“We have all experienced times when, instead of being buffeted by anonymous forces, we do feel in control of our actions, masters of our own fate. On the rare occasions that it happens, we feel a sense of exhilaration, a deep sense of enjoyment that is long cherished and that becomes a landmark in memory for what life should be like….. moments like these are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times…the best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.”

An engaging book, packed with information and new ways of thinking about life. Csikszentmihalyi has spent his professional life researching happiness, and his conclusions have led him to believe (with considerable evidence) that most people are happiest at these times when they are stretching themselves to achieve something.

The conditions for the ideal flow activities are that they provide a sense of discovery, a creative feeling of transporting the person into a new reality. They push the person into higher levels of performance, and lead to previously undreamed-of states of consciousness. They transform the self by making it more complex. In turn that means that the activity needs to continue to grow and become more complex so that it continues to provide the growth and challenge to make it meaningful.
The book goes on to describe all the different ways in which people have achieved flow throughout the centuries, and how much of music, art, literature and religion can be viewed through a lens which suggests that they are all ways in which the human race tries to formalise ways in which flow can be achieved more easily.

Enjoy,
emmanuel