When most people think of kickboxing, they think of martial arts like karate, however kickboxing is far more than that. In fact, kickboxing is far more of a cardio workout than it is a traditional martial art. For that reason, along with the fact that it has been featured in a number of films, kickboxing is quickly gaining prominence in women’s fitness communities, with classes being offered in various traditional gyms across the country.
If you’re wondering what makes kickboxing such a great workout, it’s the fact that it’s incredibly active. A typical woman participating in a kickboxing class can expect to burn an average of 500 calories per hour, and for those who opt for a more intensive kickboxing class, some estimates suggest that you can burn as much as 800. In addition to the ability to burn calories quickly, kickboxing is also a great workout because it targets your arms, shoulders, abs, thighs and butt all in a single workout. There a very few workout classes on the market that manage to effectively target every single muscle group in a single workout.
The final reason that kickboxing has become such a popular workout is the fact that it makes you feel good. Studies have shown that kickboxing creates a feel good sensation and is amazing in terms of stress release. The feeling of bouncing around and having the thought of kicking one’s enemy releases endorphins in the brain, which provide an uplifting feeling. When this is combined with the usual feel-good hormones that are released in any sort of physical activity, it creates an overall positive feeling that leaves participants wanting to come back for more.
If you’re looking for a new workout that not only burns calories but also works to tone every single muscle group in the body, kickboxing just might be for you.
February 23rd marked a historic day for the UFC fighting franchise, with the first female fight inside the octagon. The much anticipated UFC 157: Rousey vs Carmouche event took place in Anaheim, California in front of a sold out audience. The fight featured the crowd (and bookie) favourite Ronda Rousey, fighting against Liz Carmouche.
Prior to the fight, Rousey had never lost a title in her MMA career and was hoping to hold onto that title. Her standing was no different following the fight, as she managed to take out her opponent using her signature move, which has garnered her fame, while also resulting in criticism that she’s a one trick pony. One trick pony or not, it was clear from the get go that Rousey definitely had a leg up on her opponent. With most bookies having odds of approximately 8:1 on the fight, the outcome came as no real surprise to fans.
Following the fight, one of the main questions that reporters were asking was whether or not Rousey would eventually take up a career in acting, seeing as she has been offered a number of positions in Hollywood since her rise to fame. While Rousey hasn’t personally commented on it thus far, the promotor of UFC feels that Rousey should finish up her UFC career before considering a career in acting.
Overall, the commercial success of the first women’s UFC fight marks a historic moment in the world of MMA wrestling and paves the way for future all female events.
If you mention wrestling among a large group of friends, you’re likely to drum up a debate about whether or not the sport is fake and whether or not it should even be considered a sport. While some consider wrestling to be a professional sport, made up of pro athletes who work hard to defeat their opponents, others feel that the entire concept is comparable to acting and is merely a farce. So which is it? Is pro wrestling fake or are there actual merits to the “fighting skills” that the pro wrestling organizations present.
Over the year’s we’ve seen our fair share of wrestling matches, and a number of wacky characters to go along with them. Whether it’s hulk hogan or the Rock, there’s something about pro wrestling that makes it seem more like a form of dramatic art than an actual fight between two pro fighters. Unlike UFC and MMA fights which have an air of realism, professional wrestling matches almost seem comical, with a variety of props, questionable rules that seem to change if the referee looks the other way and an overall sense that the entire event is staged.
As it turns out, the events often appear staged because they are. The majority of pro wrestling matches that you would find in a typical WWE fight are pre-planned and have a pre-determined winner who will move forward in the series. While certain elements of the fights may be real, including a number of the moves, the outcome is almost always predetermined. Due to this design, pro wrestling is able to appear real at times, while also providing exactly what the crowd wants.
In recent years, pro wrestling matches have lost popularity, possibly due to the fact that the majority of viewers realize that the matches are technically “fake”. With better options on the market such as UFC, which actually employs real athletes and real fighters, viewers are turning away from traditional pro wrestling in favour of actual fights.
While Zimbabwe typically hasn’t been known for it’s openness or its friendly attitude to outside organizations, the World Bino Ryu Karate Do Organization today presented an honorary black belt to the president of Zimbabwe for allowing it to operate freely in the country. The move came as a surprise to many, as President Mugabe has never actually taken part in a karate class with the organization. Instead, he has simply allowed the organization to operate freely within the country, something which is allowed by default in nearly every other country around the world.
The black belt, along with the title of “Kyoshi’ ” is the highest possible honour that one can achieve in the karate organization, and has left a number of karate practitioners shaking their head at the thought of the title being given out so easily, and to someone such as President Mugabe. In the past, President Mugabe has been heavily criticized in the international community for failing to provide basic levels of services to his people, while personally exploiting the population.
Despite this honorary black belt being handed out freely, it is important to note that there are numerous karate organizations around the world, many of who have no direct affiliation to the World Bino Ryu Karate Do Organization. The World Bino Ryu Karate Do Organization is an independent karate organization that is most prominent in India and other parts of south east asia, and has only recently begun to appear in other nations.
Nevertheless, the press in Zimbabwe is ensuring that the President is recognized for this remarkable “achievement.”
To learn more, visit: http://allafrica.com/stories/201303050241.html
Allegations recently surfaced regarding the Japanese Olympic Judo coach, Ryuji Sonoda, claiming that he used violence against the country’s judo team at a training camp in Japan. The allegations come from Japan’s own Judo Federation, which claims that in the weeks and months leading up to the 2012 summer olympics, the country’s top olympic judo coach subjected 15 of the country’s female judo wrestlers to violence and physical harassment.
The allegations are currently being investigated by the Japanese olympic committee, who will interview the 15 women who have reported being the subject of harassment by their coach. Furthermore, the olympic committee will be looking at the management of the judo team in general, to determine whether or not the abuse allegations spread further than initially thought.
In response to the allegations which recently were released by the Kyodo news agency, the sports minister of Japan, Hakubun Shimomura, has stated that if the allegations are true, it would be deplorable. However, this wouldn’t be the first time that corporal punishment has been used by the Japanese against their athletes. The country has a long history of harsh punishment for those who fail to succeed, and has even been blamed for the suicides of numerous athletes who were unable to cope with the pressure.
These recent allegations come among a series of other troubles for those involved with Japanese Judo. A few years ago, the two time Japanese olympic judo champion was accuse of using his fighting skills to rape a teenager. Furthermore, despite being the country of origin for the judo sport, the Japanese men have failed to win a gold metal in the sport in the 2012 Olympic games.
Overall, these recent allegations cast doubt on the future of Japan’s Olympic Judo team.
For men who are looking for a more challenging workout than a typical cardio and weight lifting routine, boxing might be a great alternative. Whether the goal is to lose weight, or to gain muscle mass, boxing can provide a well balanced routine that can ensure that both are achieved simultaneously.
A typical boxing routine for a man in average shape will typically burn between 400 and 600 calories per hour, depending on the specific routine and the moves practiced. When compared with other cardio activities, it’s on par with jogging and rowing, though falls slightly short of more high impact activities such as cycling and cross country skiing. Nevertheless, what boxing sacrifices in terms of calories burnt per hour, it makes up with it’s ability to provide a residence workout that is comparable to lifting weights. A typical boxing workout will provide a focused strength workout for the core, arms, chest, hips and calves.
For those who are looking to take up boxing professionally and compete in leagues, it is important to find other activities that also focus on cardio. While strength is a key component to success in a boxing match, the true power of a boxer often comes down to his endurance and ability to remain agile for the duration of the match.
Overall, if you’re looking for a high impact workout that targets multiple muscle groups with resistance training, while also providing a good amount of cardio and calorie burning, boxing could be right for you.
In today’s seemingly dangerous society, more and more people are turning to martial arts in attempt to keep themselves safe. People are under the impression that if they learn certain martial arts such as Muay Thai and Brazilian Jujitsu, they’ll be able to protect themselves if they ever end up in a dangerous situation. Unfortunately, the opposite is the case, and people are actually putting themselves in harms way in an attempt to learn self defence techniques.
In the United States, the odds of finding oneself in a violent confrontation are relatively low. The odds of finding oneself in a violent confrontation where no weapon is involved is even lower. In short, the odds that anyone who decides to learn Muay Thai for the purposes of self defence will actually have a chance to use it, are incredibly low. With that said, many Muah Thai gyms will argue that you’re better safe than sorry, even if the odds that you’ll ever have to use your martial arts skills are relatively low. While this may seem like logical reasoning, it fails to consider the fact that learning Muay Thai is a dangerous endeavour in and of itself. In fact, studies have shown that you are five times as likely to get injured while attempting to learn a martial art, then you are are from an attacker in public.
Even if you manage to get through your martial arts training unharmed, studies have shown that the best way to stay safe in the event of a violent confrontation, is to avoid the confrontation all together. Rather than attempting to fight a criminal using newly learned Muay Thai skills, the safest approach is to simply run away. While this may seem like the cowardly thing to do, it is without a doubt the safest.
In conclusion, Muay Thai and other martial arts are a great way to make you feel safe, however they do very little to keep you safe in practice. Furthermore, the risk of injury during training is incredibly high, making it far safer to simply avoid martial arts all together.
MMA fans around the world have been enjoying the rise of the sport over the last few years, but they are worried about some of the things going on in the industry. Over the last year, ratings have been sinking and other things have been pointed to decreased overall growth for the show and the fight. This is a serious problem that needs to be considered because the sport may be losing popularity.
The main fights and good cards are still getting a great deal of attention, however, there is little being done to advertise and bring new viewers into the arena. There are some many dedicated fans who are still involved, however currently people are no longer picking up the sport. The viewers are mainly those hardcore viewers who have been following specific fighters and the sport for many years.
This is something that can be alleviated if the industry begins considering expanding its viewer base. This could be done with more advertisement and other methods to bring in more people who may be watching the sport.
The idea that was what started MMA, bringing separate fighters from different fighting styles into the ring, is something that could bring people back to the sport. Instead of being an MMA trainer that blends everything, putting two totally separate fighting styles back into the ring might be a good way to bring new curious viewers in and get back to square one of the sport.
Regardless, whatever fights you are looking to watch you should make sure to enjoy them in case the sport begins going dwonhill.
When considering which discipline of martial art to pursue, you will take many things into consideration. Speed of movement, competitive element, impact to joints, and defensive ability are some of the things you’ll think about when looking at different styles to choose which is best for you. Judo is a highly useful martial art which may be perfect for what you’re looking for.
Judo means “gentle way,” and is a style of martial art created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. The main focus of this style of combat is to throw or take down the opponent, pin them, subdue or otherwise immobilize them, or force them to submit with chokes or locks. It also employs the use of weapons, as well as strikes and thrusts by the hands and feet. These things are only used in forms called kata, however, and are not allowed in competitions.
There are three types of techniques in Judo: nage-waza (throwing techniques), katame-waza (grappling techniques), and atemi-waza (striking techniques). As the focus of judo is mostly on grappling and throwing, the atemi-waza is not used as much as the nage-waza and the katame-waza.
Practitioners also must spend part of each session devoted to ukemi (break-falls) so that the nage-waza may be practiced without serious risk of injury. This also helps the artist to understand how to defend themselves against someone who is skilled in throws, and to be able to handle themselves in a fight without being injured by being thrown to the ground.
If you are thinking about taking up judo, try to find a place near you that offers classes. It is one of the most empowering ways to learn self-defense and also teaches discipline and builds physical strength.
The state wrestling championship in New Jersey has traditionally been held from March 1-3, but this year it will be one week later. Instead of being changed for an understandable reason like school schedules or weather, this championship was instead forced to move by a Lady Gaga concert.
That’s right, Lady Gaga got in the way of a wrestling competition that has been held on the same dates for years. While it was not Gaga’s intention to disrupt the traditional high school meet’s time schedule, her concert clearly was the reason that the competition had to be moved. Then, even more outrageously, Lady Gaga’s concert was canceled. Boardwalk Hall officials offered to allow the New Jersey State interscholastic Athletic Association to move the meet back to the original dates after the cancellation, but by that time they had already made commitments to the necessary logistics for the event to be held March 8-10.
A one-week delay in the wrestling competition may not seem like it’s that big of a deal, but the real reason that this is a bad move is for the young athletes that will be affected by it. Having to wait one week longer before the meet means that training schedules will have to be adapted, and nutrition timetables will be disrupted. Many of the teenagers who compete in these events cut massive amounts of weight beforehand in order to get into lower weight classes in the competition. A one-week delay in the meet will cause these athletes to have to be on highly restrictive diets for that much longer, which can be dangerous to their health.
To read more about this story, see this news article: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/lady-gaga-forces-shift-traditional-nj-state-wrestling-200512227.html
