Hobby and Sport

Stoner Make Honda Make Tough

2011-12-15T17:24:00.000-08:00

The decision to hook the HRC Repsol Honda Casey Stoner proved right. Stoner took means for Repsol Honda. Evidently, the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers were becoming increasingly tough.

Yes, the opinion was expressed by manager Jorge Lorenzo, Wilco Zeelenberg. According to him, a change in 2011 Honda is not too much. However, the ability and speed Stoner Honda RC212V makes it difficult conquered years ago.

The result, Stoner won the world title two times with 10 times the victory. In fact, the former Ducati rider was making two teammates Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso helpless.

"Changes in the amount is Stoner took the Honda to a different level. We know, the Honda team has made progress in August in Brno. In fact, Lorenzo has told Yamaha to make changes," said Zeelenberg.

"To make changes, we must use its own philosophy and you can not change it too much. If not, then you will jump as did Ducati," he continued.

"Therefore, we do not want to be in that state. So, it looks very simple, which makes us do the work fairly," he said, in an interview with MCN, Wednesday (12/14/2011)

Skateboard, a challenging sport

2011-05-28T16:29:00.000-07:00

Skateboarding is one type of exercise from the United States is quite loved by the youth of Indonesia. Because it is challenging and seem "cool", many who study the skateboard is not just a sport, but also as a venue for "stocking charm. "

In America alone, skateboarding is not only regarded as one of the usual type of game, but also as a promising income-generating professions. There are many famous skater who has reached the level of world-class fame and live very well off, like Tony Hawk, Rodney Mullen, and also Tony Alpha.

Choosing Cheap Skateboard

You could have settled on a skateboard is inexpensive, but of course price determines quality. Selection of cheap skateboard risky, more dangerous than the use of high quality skateboard.

If at any time you're doing tricks such as Ollie or grinding and without any cause your skateboard broken, then the body is you who will become victims. Cheap skateboard designs made from quality materials pickup for just appears that the board looks like a skateboard.

In the hunt for cheap but quality skateboard sometimes it's hard, but you can only get it if you want to find with little trouble in the forum skateboard.

Cheap skateboard can indeed be an option, but that does not mean you have to sacrifice your own body with the risk of injury that can be caused

Bendtner Ready to Replace Persie bombardment Hurdles

2011-03-06T02:19:00.000-08:00

Spearhead Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner confident of being able to carry the task to bring the team nicknamed The Gunners are to get rid of Barcelona in the Champions League next week.

Arsenal will travel to Camp Nou to face Barcelona next week's host. Has a capital Arsenal victory at home to 2-1 in the first game against Barcelona. Because of that, Arsenal will take advantage of it to be advanced to the quarter-finals of the Champions League by getting rid of Barcelona.

Arsenal can not play their mainstay striker, Robin van Persie. But Bendtner, who scored three goals against Leyton Orient in the FA Cup, confident of being able to fill the position of Van Persie.

"Can I lead against Barcelona? Certainly capable," said Bendtner. "I've found my best game and still will continue to rise. Printing a goal over there is my dream scenario. We must take advantage of our chances because Barcelona is always to score goals when they perform in the cage."

Bendtner feels his game has improved since last month. Because the injury that had been backing it had recovered completely.

"Last season I perform at least half the game because of my injury. But there is no other player. So I do my best and through it," said Bendtner. "It took me a long time to go back to my best game. But I am satisfied with the progress that I experienced and I have returned to the game I want."

AC Milan striker Ronaldinho

2011-01-02T14:25:00.000-08:00

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira better known as Ronaldinho was born on March 21, 1980 in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Brazilian players, occupy the position of attacking midfielder.

Ronaldinho, Ronaldo is Portuguese for Small. He is known in Brazil known as the Gaucho, to distinguish it with Ronaldo, who has been called with Ronaldinho in Brazil. Ronaldo Ronaldo finally over using the name in Europe, which makes unnecessary wear Ronaldinho Gaucho Ronaldinho and remain alone.

The ability to play soccer Ronaldinho began to be seen since childhood, and he was given the nickname Ronaldinho because he was often the youngest and smallest player in the match between a young team. His ability to attract media first, when he scored all 23 goals in a 23-0 victory against their local team. He is regarded as a potential star after shining in the Champions U-17 World Championship 1997 in Egypt, where he scored 2 goals.

Ronaldinho started his career with the youth team Gremio in the direction of coach Liam Higgins. Senior team debut in place in 1998 in the Copa Libertadores. In 2001, Arsenal nearly recruited him, but the move failed because the permit did not work out because he was not a European Union player and the number of international matches is not enough. He plans to join the Scottish club, St. Mirren, on loan. But failed because he was involved in a fake passport case in Brazil. Finally in 2001 he also joined the Paris Saint-Germain.

During the 2001-2002 season, PSG manager Luis Fernandez criticize Ronaldinho preferring to spend time in nightclubs than football. In 2003, he decided to leave as PSG fail to get into European-level competition.

Initially Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, promising to buy David Beckham. But since he already bought Real Madrid, Barcelona finally turned to Ronaldinho. Debut occurred during a friendly match against Milan and scored 1 goal. Ronaldinho got his first league title in 2004-05 season and became the best player of FIFA on 20 December 2004.

Ronaldinho played his 200th game with Barcelona when against Osasuna on February 3, 2008. However, the 2007-08 season with plenty of time for him through injury. On May 19, 2008, Laporta says Ronaldinho needs a new challenge.

Ronaldinho finally refused to £ 25.5 million bid from Manchester City to join Milan, who bought it for 21 million Euros. Because the costume number 10 has been used Clarence Seedorf, he finally chose the number 80 as a symbol of his birth year. Ronaldinho scored his first goal with the Milan derby against Inter on September 28, 2008.

On June 26, 1999, 3 days before the start of the Copa America 1999 he debuted his first Brazilian national team when against Latvia.

Manchester United prepare Fabio Coentrao as a substitute Patrice Evra

2010-12-04T18:20:00.000-08:00

Manchester United (MU), Sir Alex Ferguson, reportedly is preparing a substitute Patrice Evra. It deals with issues that Evra will move to Real Madrid.

Benfica's young wing-back, Fabio Coentrao, Fergie choice to anticipate the possibility of Evra to leave Old Trafford later. While the issue Evra departure to Real Madrid in January player transfer market exhaled by Jose Mourinho.

"The Special One" assume, filled Madrid defender Marcelo wings still fragile. Evra is considered as a player who can fix problems that defense.

Ferguson himself has long been eyeing actually Coentrao. 22-year-old player has a brilliant appearance with the national team of Portugal at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Benfica itself is rumored to be release young players such kebanggannya if any club that dared to neutralize by 20 million pounds.

Downhill Mountain Biking

2010-10-06T22:02:00.000-07:00

Introduction To Downhill Mountain Biking
Downhill mountain biking has changed the face of adventure sports, as it has all the required ingredients to excite your nerves. Imagine the ecstasy of riding a bike on full speed, constantly accepting and winning the challenges of rough terrain and battling against the pace of time. Putting in the simplest form, downhill mountain biking can be defined as racing from a starting point at a slope to the destination point at a lower height in specified amount of time. It could be a race between two bikers or race of a biker against time. Here are few important aspects of this form of biking.

Technological and Natural Challenges
Downhill biking is the most sophisticated form of adventure, as there are natural as well as technological challenges involved in it. From jumping over the rocks and dropping from heights to taking sharp turns at high speed, you can experience the frightening face of nature. At the same time, you need to maintain the balance of your bike and quickly play with the gears and brakes. Hence the thrill gets double-fold in the case of downhill biking.

Reasons for Popularity
---> Downhill racing is a great way of boosting the confidence of people suffering from low self-esteem.
---> It is not only a good physical exercise, but also improves mental abilities of the biker.
---> It also encourages an individual to face different challenges of life by reviving his or her fighting spirit.

Extra Safety Required
Needless to say, downhill biking requires a person to employ more safety measures than the regular biking rides. More safety gears and accessories are required to save your body parts from injuries. With information offered at Terry Scarr, you can start as a learner and see your growth as an experienced biker.

As you might have guessed it, downhill bike is different from those used in other types of mountain biking. Keep reading further to learn about these special bikes designed for a rough biking experience.

Source : squidoo

Didier Drogba Chelsea FC Striker

2010-09-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

Name:  Didier Drogba
Nationality:  Ivorian
Date of Birth:  11/03/1978
Height: 6' 2" (189cm)
Weight: 14st 5lbs (91.0kg)
Previous  
Clubs: Marseille, Guingamp
Position:  Striker

During that run he e scored his 100th Chelsea goal on his 225th  appearance and scored twice in a 3-0 defeat of Arsenal away. All was going well at the point and the team had a clear lead in the league table but there followed a December downturn in results before Drogba signed off for a month of international duty with a goal at home to Fulham. By now, and like so many previous seasons, back in the middle of a three-man attack, a lacklustre display at Spurs was happily a blip in the season's run-in. Drogba was part of a 7-0 win over Stoke, even if he didn't make the score sheet that day, and a Steven Gerrard assist at Liverpool put Chelsea on the threshold of the league title and Drogba poised to snatch the Golden Boot out of the grasp of Wayne Rooney. An historic 8-0 win and a second-half hat-trick was the way to do it, even if the first 45 minutes did contain a moment of anxiety about his personal tally for our centre-forward.

His winner in the 2010 FA Cup Final meant the season had a pair of Ivorian bookends - a Drogba goal at its start and at its finish. Drogba is one of eight players to have three league titles with Chelsea and also had his third FA Cup winners medal, his second having come at the end the 2008/09 season that even by the standards of his own extraordinary life, has been a rollercoaster ride for Didier.

Source : chelseafc

History of Wing Chun Martial Arts

2010-09-14T13:45:00.000-07:00

Wing Chun was originally passed down from teacher to teacher orally rather than through written documentation, making it difficult to confirm or clarify the differing accounts of its creation. Some have sought to apply the methods of higher criticism to the oral histories of Wing Chun and other Chinese martial arts. Others have attempted to discern the origins of Wing Chun by determining the specific purpose of its techniques. Mentions of the art start to appear in independent third-party documentation during the era of the Wing Chun master Leung Jan, making its subsequent history and divergence into various branches more amenable to documentary verification.

The common legend as told by Ip Man involves the young woman Yim Wing Chun (Wing Chun literally means forever springtime or praising spring) at the time after the destruction of the Southern Shaolin and its associated temples by the Qing government. After Wing Chun rebuffs the local warlord's marriage offer, he says he'll rescind his proposal if she can beat him in a martial art match. She asks a Buddhist nun- Ng Mui, who was one of the Shaolin Sect survivors, to teach her boxing; this still nameless style enables Yim Wing Chun to defeat the warlord. She thereafter marries Leung Bac-Chou and teaches him the style, which he names after her.

Since the system was developed during the Shaolin and Ming resistance to the Qing Dynasty many legends about the creator of Wing Chun were spread to confuse the enemy, including the story of Yim Wing Chun. This perhaps explains why no one has been able to accurately determine the creator or creators of Wing Chun.

Source : wikipedia

Francesco Totti the most talented player from Italy

2010-08-13T17:17:00.000-07:00

Francesco Totti is, according to many, the most talented player to have come from Italy over the past ten years. Totti started to play football at the age of ten months when he used to dribble on the beach. Francesco Totti, born in Rome in 1976, is one of Italy's and the world's great football players, and one of footballs finest players worldwide. He enjoys immense popularity with young people around the world, and his genuine desire to help children led him to become a National Ambassador for the Italian Committee for UNICEF in March 2003. Francesco Totti is one of the world's most naturally gifted players, but has struggled to prove it consistently on the international stage. He showcased his vision, incisive passing and cool finishing as Italy made the final of Euro 2000 - his first major tournament - but has failed to fulfil his potential for the Azzurri.

Francesco Totti's position is that of a striker or an attacking midfielder, though he is best known for playing as the trequartista (or second striker), a compromise between the two positions where the player acts as a link between midfield and attack. He is also Roma's first choice to take free kicks and penalties, having scored a number of goals from dead-ball situations.

Source : as-roma-calcio

The most important decisions for your child to starts sports

2010-08-08T07:04:00.000-07:00

It's not easy to determine how early to start children in organized sports. Children of the same age vary considerably in their physical and psychological maturation, and there is no practical method of measuring maturity. Assuming the child has shown interest, five or six is the generally accepted earliest starting age for organized team sports. At the early ages participation should be limited to sports that involve a lot of physical activity and encourage the development of major motor muscles.

Children in grades 1 - 4 can benefit most from games that are modified to meet their needs and abilities. Play and fun are more important to this age group than highly structured sports that emphasize the outcome rather than the process. Parents and coaches are usually the ones concerned about winning and losing. When helping your child select a sport, keep balance in mind. Encourage your children to try many sports and activities when young and not to think of specializing or playing competitively until they reach middle school. Make sure a balance also occurs between adult organized activities and free playtime. Children need time to just be kids and to play with other kids without a set of rules or adult involvement.

The most important decisions to make, are which youth sports organizations and which coaches are best for your child. Make sure that you take the time to find out about the league, its leaders and coaches. Better yet, get involved and volunteer to coach. Participating in sports is a healthy way, both physically and socially, for your children to channel their youthful energy in a positive direction. Make sure your children's first experience encourages them to begin a lifelong interest in physical activities and good health.

There are many other options besides team sports available to a child who wants to participate in sports. Parents should also encourage their children to become involved in individual and lifetime sports such as bowling, golf, swimming, tennis, gymnastics and martial arts. You can find information about these sports by visiting the facilities or through the yellow pages of the phone book.

Source : ksnusa.org

Mobile Climbing Wall provide a safe, yet challenging introduction to the sport of rock climbing for all ages and abilities

2010-07-02T15:05:00.000-07:00

Mobile rock walls are a great attraction for fundraisers, Grand Openings, picnics, corporate events, indoor conventions, promotional events, birthday parties, church events, youth camps, reunions, company parties, fairs and community events. Also available for permanent installation indoors or out, with or without the trailer. Freestanding inside, mount to an existing structure, or bolt down to a concrete pad.

Vertical Reality Climbing Walls provide a safe, yet challenging introduction to the sport of rock climbing for all ages and abilities. With multiple climbing routes and a Hydraulic Auto-Belay system equipped with individual cables, it can be operated by one person without the need for specialist qualifications. Our Mobile Climbing Walls are a huge attraction for thrill-seekers of all ages, combining fun activity with physical challenge and a great view from the top! One operator can run all 4 climbing routes with ease, confident that the climbers can make a secure, controlled descent using the patented Hydraulic Auto-Belay system.

Bali Diving Safaris

2010-07-02T14:28:00.000-07:00

These are the most time effective Bali Diving Safaris available in Bali . We take you straight to the dive sites and stay conveniently near the sites. We minimize long distance travel and maximize your time for diving, fun and above water adventure.

Did you know that Bali lies at the center of the world's richest marine biogeographical region! This Indo - Pacific region runs from the Red Sea to the West Coast of South America. Smack in the center of this vast area is Indonesia where the Pacific meets the Indian Ocean . Indonesia , with over 18,000 islands and an estimated 85,000 square kilometers of living coral reef. That's more than 14 percent of the world's coral reefs and the richest 14 percent at that.

Biologists studying species distribution have placed the very epicenter of this marine richness in an area called the "magic triangle". Forming the corners of this biological marvel are the tip of the Southern Philippines to the north, Bali to the east and Western New Guinea. This region alone encompasses the richest diversity of marine fauna on the planet. Over eighty genera of coral and perhaps twenty five hundred species of fish! ( and still counting) compare that to say the Caribbean with only twenty genera of coral and eight hundred types of fish!

So why come and dive in Bali ! Easy, you want to experience the richest and best marine environment on the planet.

Oh, did I also mention its easily accessible! You don't have to spend days on boats trekking to some far flung dive site. A simple Day Trip or Dive Safari will place you at world class dive sites and still you can enjoy all the amenities and charm that has made Bali one of the best holiday destinations in the world.

Source : balidiving

About Elliptical trainer

2010-07-02T14:19:00.000-07:00

An elliptical trainer (also sometimes called a cross-trainer) is a stationary exercise machine used to simulate walking or running without causing excessive pressure to the joints, hence decreasing the risk of impact injuries.

Elliptical trainers offer a non-impact cardiovascular workout that can vary from light to high intensity based on the resistance preference set by the user.

Though procedures vary between various models, most are similar in that the user adopts a comfortable standing position with his or her spine in a neutral position (with a straight back). The user aligns their knees, hips and ankles; and ensures that their weight is distributed between the heels and the balls of the feet. The user grips the handrails in a smooth controlled motion, striding either in a forward or reverse motion, working through a full natural range of movement smoothly and continuously.

Most elliptical trainers work the user's upper and lower body (although some models do not have moving upper body components). An elliptical trainer is designed to provide a cardiovascular workout rather than build muscles. Though elliptical trainers are considered to be minimal-impact, they are an example of a weight-bearing form of exercise. They can be self-powered by user-generated motion or need to be plugged in for adjustment of motion and/or for supplying their electronic consoles and resistance systems.

There are three types of elliptical trainers, categorized by the motor or "drive" location. The oldest elliptical design is the "rear drive" type. The "front-drive" elliptical was the second generation design. The latest design technology is the "center-drive".

On some models, the incline of sloping roller ramps beneath the pedal-links can be adjusted to produce varying pedal motion paths. The result of such adjustment changes the burdens on various muscle groups in the legs. Some models can vary the incline, resistance and stride length over the course of a workout according to a preset program. Some trainers can be driven in a reverse as well as in a forward direction. Elliptical trainers are primarily driven via the legs, and most are combination designs having handle-levers attached to each pedal-link for the purpose of enabling a burden on the arms to provide a secondary source of driving power. The user grips the handles below shoulder height and pushes/pulls them while shuffling the feet back and forth within their elliptically shaped paths. Thus the oscillating handle motions are dependently coordinated with the constrained pedal motions. Poorly designed machines are too dependent on the user's leg power, producing excessive handle speeds as a result of mechanical ratios that do not provide enough advantage to the handle-levers. Consequently such machines feel to the user as if his or her arms are simply going along for the ride, rather than sharing in the work. The better models offer a harmonious combination of arm and leg exercise in the correct ratios.

Source : wikipedia

New Product from Overton's Cover Up Boat Cover Support

2010-06-28T22:28:00.000-07:00

The Cover Up Support keeps water from sagging in your boat cover. A telescoping pole easily adjusts from 21-1/2" to 43" with a handy push-button lock. A nylon webbing strap forms a ridge under the cover to prevent water from standing on the cover. Vinyl tubing at wear points helps protect your boat's finish. Fits most boats up to 22' long.

The Cover Up Support keeps water from sagging in your boat cover.

*Extend the life of your boat cover
*Pole telescopes to 43" high
*Fits most boats up to 22' long

Source : overtons

Carlos Vela a striker player for Arsenal

2010-06-08T00:34:00.000-07:00

Some stunning cameo roles during his first season in North London have made Carlos one of the Club’s most exciting attacking prospects.

The Mexican officially signed from Celta Vigo in 2007 but spent the subsequent 18 months learning his trade on the continent. First he featured for Salamanca in the Segunda Division before helping Osasuna avoid relegation from La Liga in 2007/08.

He announced his arrival in the Gunners’ first-team as early as pre-season, netting four times in two games, but he saved his best for a much bigger stage. On his full debut for the Club, Arsenal’s Carling Cup Third Round tie against Sheffield United, the striker hit a glorious hat-trick.

His second goal of the evening was a delicate chip over the stranded goalkeeper. It was a finish which would soon become his trademark. Another one followed as the Gunners brushed aside Wigan in Round Four before the Mexican repeated the trick against Plymouth in the FA Cup.

His first Premier League goal wasn’t long in coming either, with Carlos firing Arsenal’s third in a classy 3-0 victory over Portsmouth in May. That strike brought his tally to six goals in just 10 starts in 2008/09. Exemplary for a player who spent many of his minutes on the wing.

Assured in possession and blessed with bags of flair, Carlos could be the one to watch this season.

Source : arsenal

Thomas Vermaelen a defender player for Arsenal

2010-06-08T00:27:00.000-07:00

Thomas Vermaelen looks set to have a long, prosperous Arsenal career.

He was the Club’s major summer signing in 2009 and has proved to be an ideal replacement for Kolo Toure, who left for Manchester City.

Thomas captained Ajax last term but his arrival at Emirates Stadium still raised a few eyebrows. At six feet tall, was he big enough to cut it as a Premier League centre back?

The answer has been a resounding ‘yes’. Thomas looks perfectly at home in English football. His tackling ability, aerial strength, positional awareness and calm distribution have already made him a fans’ favourite and he made a dream debut, scoring with a thumping header as Arsenal beat Everton 6-1 at Goodison Park.

A Belgian international, Thomas made his first-team debut for Ajax at just 18 and went on to make 143 appearances for the Dutch giants. He has European pedigree too - the centre back played against Arsenal twice in the 2005/06 Champions League.

Source : arsenal

William Gallas a centre-back player for Arsenal

2010-06-08T00:10:00.000-07:00

William Gallas emerged from a rollercoaster 2008/09 campaign in perhaps the best form of his Arsenal career.

The central defender, Arsenal’s oldest outfield player, had officially captained the side since the summer of 2007. However, after some comments attributed to Gallas in the French media, Arsène Wenger decided to hand the armband to Cesc Fabregas.

But far from being shaken by the decision, William pressed on and turned in some eye-catching displays before a medial knee ligament injury in April cut short his season.

His impressive response to losing the captaincy struck a chord with Wenger, who signed his compatriot from Chelsea as part of the deal which took Ashley Cole to Stamford Bridge in 2006.

Most encouraging for Arsenal fans will be William’s burgeoning partnership with summer signing Thomas Vermaelen. The Gunners’ attacking stars might hog the limelight at times this season but their defensive foundations will be just as important.

Source : arsenal

John Hartson ex-Arsenal striker

2010-06-08T00:03:00.000-07:00

John joined the Gunners as a teenager from Luton Town in January 1995 and, in two seasons at the Club, made 62 appearances, scoring 16 goals, under Bruce Rioch and Arsène Wenger.

John left Arsenal for West Ham United in February 1997 and continued his fantastic career with the Hammers, Wimbledon, Coventry City, Celtic, West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City, before retiring in January 2008. As well as his successful club career, John was also a regular for his country Wales, earning 52 caps, in which time he scored 15 goals.

Source : arsenal

Aaron Ramsey Football player for Arsenal

2010-05-15T13:01:00.000-07:00

Aaron Ramsey profile

Name
Aaron Ramse

Born
December 26, 1990 Caerphilly, Wales

Position
Midfielder

Squad Number
16

Previous Club(s)
Cardiff City

Joined Arsenal
June 13, 2008

Arsenal Debut
FC Twente (a)
Champions League
August 13, 2008
Won 2-0

First Arsenal Goal
Fenerbahce (a)
Champions League
October 21, 2008
Won 5-2

He has already played in an FA Cup Final, coming on as a substitute when Cardiff were beaten by Portsmouth in May 2008. And he has already scored in the Champions League, firing a shot in off the post when Arsenal beat Fenerbahce 5-2 in last season's competition.

Peter Schmeichel is the "World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1992 and 1993 at English club Manchester United

2010-05-14T21:08:00.000-07:00

Peter Bolesław Schmeichel MBE (born 18 November 1963) is a retired Danish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and was voted the "World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1992 and 1993. He is best remembered for his most successful years at English club Manchester United, whom he captained to the 1999 UEFA Champions League to complete The Treble. He was a key member of the Denmark national football team that won Euro 92.

Source : Wikipedia

Wayne Rooney Manchester United's Striker

2010-05-13T04:05:00.000-07:00

Wayne Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English footballer who currently plays as a striker for English Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team.

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has been named Barclays Premier League player of the season after a 26-goal campaign.

Bobby Tambling is Chelsea's all-time top scorer

2010-05-05T07:28:00.000-07:00

Bobby' Tambling (born 18 September 1941) is a retired English footballer, who played most notably for Chelsea and Crystal Palace in the 1960s and 1970s. He is Chelsea's all-time top scorer, netting 202 goals for them.

Mike Tyson is American Boxer

2010-04-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is a retired American boxer. He was the undisputed heavyweight champion and remains the youngest man ever to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles. He won the WBC title at just 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old, after defeating Trevor Berbick by a TKO in the second round. Throughout his career, Tyson became well-known for his ferocious and intimidating boxing style as well as his controversial behavior both inside and outside the ring.

Source : wikipedia

Muhammad Ali The Legendary Boxers of all time

2010-04-21T00:04:00.000-07:00

Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942) is a retired American boxer and three-time World Heavyweight Champion, who is widely considered one of the greatest heavyweight championship boxers of all time. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. After turning professional, he went on to become the first boxer to win the lineal heavyweight championship three times.

Source : wikipedia

Brian Goorjian is the most successful coach in Australian basketball history

2010-04-12T14:32:00.000-07:00

Brian Goorjian is the most successful coach in Australian basketball history. In an NBL coaching career spanning over 20 years since his debut with the Eastside Spectres in 1988 Goorjian has won six championships: two with the South East Melbourne Magic, three with the Sydney Kings and one with the South Dragons. With a win ratio of over 70% Goorjian heads Lindsay Gaze as the most winning coach in NBL history and became the second man after Gaze to coach 600 games. Goorjian was also coach the Australian National Team, the Boomers, from 2001-2008.

Source : wikipedia

Andy Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1

2010-04-12T14:26:00.000-07:00

Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick (born August 30, 1982) is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. His best surfaces are hard court and grass.

He is the top-ranked American player and the only male American inside the top 10. He became a Grand Slam singles champion when he won the title at the 2003 US Open. Roddick has reached four other Grand Slam finals (Wimbledon three times and the US Open once), losing to Roger Federer each time. He and Federer are the only players to have been ranked in the Association of Tennis Professionals top 10 at year-end from 2002 through 2009. Roddick is known for his powerful serves and holds the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, measured at 155 mph (249.5 km/h).

Roddick has been on the United States Davis Cup team for several years, helping the US win the 2007 Davis Cup, the first win by the US since 1995.

Source : wikipedia

Robbie Fowler to join Sydney FC; Gold Coast United may exit A-League

2010-04-12T14:22:00.000-07:00

Sydney FC have responded to rumours they are set to make Robbie Fowler their marquee man for the 2010-2011 season as the former England player looks to remain in the A-League.

Liverpool legend Fowler, who turns 35 on Friday, was keen to keep on playing in the A-League despite the financial dramas at North Queensland Fury.

Reports say Fowler will replace John Aloisi as Sydney FC's marquee player with the former Socceroos star having signed on for Melbourne Heart's inaugural season.

The popularity of Fowler, who scored 11 goals in 25 games last season for the Fury, is particularly attractive for Sydney FC as they attempt to lure in bigger crowds next season.

Sydney FC chief executive Edward Lugt told Fox Sports the Sky Blues are not in negotiations with Fowler or his agent, but they are certainly interested in the former Liverpool star.

Source : foxsports

Gabriel Obertan Manchester United Player

2010-04-01T15:24:00.000-07:00

Gabriel Obertan (born 26 February 1989) is a French footballer currently playing for Manchester United of England. He primarily plays as a winger, but can also play in the centre of midfield and as a striker. A former attendee of the famous Clairefontaine academy, Obertan began his professional career playing for Bordeaux in France, before joining Manchester United for an undisclosed fee in July 2009. He is a member of the France U21 football team and was named as France's best player overall at the 2009 Toulon Tournament.

Source : wikipedia

Manchester United Squad 2009/2010

2010-04-01T15:20:00.000-07:00

MANCHESTER UNITED SQUAD: GOALKEEPERS
* Edwin van der Sar
* Ben Foster
* Tomasz Kuszczak
* Ron-Robert Zieler
* Ben Amos

MANCHESTER UNITED SQUAD: DEFENDERS
* Gary Neville
* Patrice Evra
* Rio Ferdinand
* Wes Brown
* Nemanja Vidic
* Fabio
* Rafael
* John O'Shea
* Jonny Evans
* Ritchie De Laet
* Corry Evans
* David Gray
* Craig Cathcart
* James Chester
* Joe Dudgeon
* Oliver Gill

MANCHESTER UNITED SQUAD: MIDFIELDERS
* Owen Hargreaves
* Anderson
* Ryan Giggs
* Park Ji-Sung
* Michael Carrick
* Nani
* Paul Scholes
* Darren Fletcher
* Luis Antonio Valencia
* Darron Gibson
* Magnus Eikrem
* Matthew James
* Cameron Stewart
* Oliver Norwood

MANCHESTER UNITED SQUAD: FORWARDS
* Michael Owen
* Dimitar Berbatov
* Wayne Rooney
* Gabriel Obertan
* Federico Macheda
* Mame Biram Diouf
* Joshua King

Source : eurorivals

The history of rally racing

2010-03-30T16:21:00.000-07:00

Traditionally considered a gentleman's sport, rallying is a form of motorsport that takes place on public or private roads with either modified or specially built cars that are road-legal. This type of racing is unique in that it is not performed on a circuit, but rather is a point-to-point race in which the competitors and their co-drivers drive between two set points. Rallies are won either by speed or by driving in stages within a predetermined journey time.

Motorcar rallying can be traced back to 1894 to the Paris-Rouen Horseless Carriage Competition which was sponsored by Le Petit Journal. This rally attracted tremendous interest and heralded the start of this very popular motorsport. The term "rally" came into being in January 1907 from the first Monte Carlo Rally. Even then, up until the late 1920's, very few events used the term "rally" even though that is what the event would be considered under today's definitions.

The Paris-Rouen Horseless Carriage Competition led to a period of city-to-city road races in many European countries. These competitions introduced many of the features that are found in rallies today individual start times, cars running against the clock as opposed to other drivers, time controls, and entry and exit points of towns, use of road books and maps, long distance driving, and facing hazards such as everyday dust, traffic, pedestrians and even the occasional farm animals.

One of the absolute greatest races during this time period was the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris Rally of July 1895. Won by Emile Levassor, his time for the 732 mile course was 48 hours and 48 minutes which was at an average speed of 15 mph!

When you take into consideration that just eight years later, the Mors of Fernand Gabriel, running the same roads, won the Paris-Madrid race in just under five and quarter hours for 342 miles at an average speed of 65.3 miles per hour, it is a testament to how quickly technology was advancing in motorcars.

At this point, speed far exceeded safety. The roads were mostly farm roads that were primarily dirt or gravel. It was a very dangerous sport. During these early races, there were numerous crashes with many injuries and even deaths to spectators and competitors. In 1903, the French government stopped the races and banned these events due to safety reasons.

However, road racing would not go away!

Despite the ban in many parts of Europe, road racing in Italy continued to thrive, and the country's first motorcar race was held in 1897 along the shores of Lake Maggiore.

Subsequently in April 1900, the tides turned, and the Thousand Mile Trail was organized in Great Britain linking Britain's major cities. There were 70 vehicles taking part, most of them sponsored by trade organizations. Each entrant had to complete 13 stages of the route varying in length from 43 to 123 miles at average speeds up to the legal limit of 12 miles per hour! How things have changed!

In 1905, the German Herkomer Trophy Trail was held. The first event only allowed amateurs, but in 1906 professional racers were allowed and the win went to Dr. Rudolf Stoess who actually won driving a car with the smallest engine!

In 1905, France literally got back in the race when L'Auto sponsored the Coupe de l'Auto for small sporters.

WWI brought a slowdown to rally racing.

The Monte Carlo Rally, which had been terminated, was subsequently brought back and has continued to thrive except for a short time during WWII. It is an annual event and remains part of the World Rally Championship. Due to tough winters, in the 1930's it became the number one European rally.

In the 1920s, numerous rallies sprung up that were run through the Alps in Austria, Italy, France, Switzerland and Germany most notably Austria's Alpenfahrt, which continued to 1973, Italy's Coppa delle Alpi, and the Coupe Internationale des Alpes (organized by the automobile clubs in Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France.

In the UK, the first Ulster Motor Rally was held in Ireland in 1931 and was run from multiple starting points. Eventually, it transitioned into the 1,000-mile Circuit of Ireland Rally.

In Italy, after WWI, Mussolini's government encouraged motorsport, and in 1927 the Mille Miglia was founded and was run over a 1,000 mile loop of highways from Brescia to Rome and back.

The Lige of August 1939 was the last major rallying event before WWII and became a symbol of defiance. Germany was determined to secure a victory for the Reich, but were thwarted by two talented drivers in French cars - Ginet Trasenster of Belgium and Jean Trevoux of France who tied for first place.

Again, rallying was slow starting up again after WWII. However, the 1950's were the Golden Age of the long-distance road rally. The Monte Carlo Rally, the French and Austrian Alpines, and the Lige were joined by a host of new events that quickly established themselves: the 1947 Lisbon Rally in Portugal, the 1949 Tulip Rally in The Netherlands, the 1951 Rally to the Midnight Sun in Sweden (now the Swedish Rally), the Finnish Rally of the 1000 Lakes started in 1951 (now the Rally Finland), and the Acropolis Rally started in 1956 in Greece.

The challenge of rally races was addictive, and the rallies became more and more dangerous and difficult.

In South America, The Gran Premio del Norte of 1940 was run from Buenos Aires to Lima and back. Repeated in 1947 and 1948, subsequent rallies were even more daunting. This event was repeated in 1947, and in 1948 an even more ambitious one was held, the Gran Premio de la Amrica del Sur from Buenos Aires to Caracas, Venezuela where a driver was actually killed.

The Carrera Panamericana was held in 1950 and was a 1,911 mile road race performed in stages to celebrate the opening of the asphalt highway between the Guatemala and United States borders. This fast and dangerous race ran until 1954. Due to the extreme expense of putting on these types of races, they were eventually discontinued.

In 1950, the first French-run Mditerrane-le Cap, in Africa was run. This race was a 10,000 mile rally from the Mediterranean Sea to South Africa and was run sporadically until 1961 when political constraints ended it.

In 1953, the Coronation Safari in East Africa was started which eventually became the Safari Rally and World Championship round. This was followed by the Rallye du Maroc in Morocco, and the Rallye Cte d'Ivoire in the Ivory Coast. Australia's RedeX Round Australia Trial dates from 1953, although this race has remained somewhat isolated from the rest of the rallying world.

Types of Rallies:

Stage rallies. Stage rallies have been the predominant type of professional rallies performed since the 1960's. They are based on a straightforward speed over roads that are closed to other traffic. Often these stretches of road can vary anywhere from asphalt mountain passes to rough forest tracks, ice, snow, desert sand each picked out to provide specific challenges to the crew and the car's performance.

Road rallies. These are the original form and are held on highways that are open to normal traffic. The emphasis is not on speed, but on accurate timekeeping, navigation and vehicle reliability. These tend to be more for amateurs.

Rallying is a very popular sport a sort of grass roots of motorsport. Interested individuals should contact their local automotive clubs which can be found online. Club rallies tend to be run on public roads emphasizing navigation and teamwork.

Source : Helium

Privacy Policy

2010-03-22T19:19:00.001-07:00

Privacy Policy for http://hobbyandsports.blogspot.com/

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A Few Quick Soccer Tips

2010-03-08T01:52:00.000-08:00

Communicate

When you move into the professional level it becomes even more important to communicate on the field. Simple directions or alerts, such as 'man on' and 'turn' or 'you have time' make playing so much easier and become more important as the game speeds up at higher levels.
Give it and get the ball - play the ball quickly with one and two touches. You should also be prepared to receive the ball at all times, and want the ball! This kind of energy, wanting to always be involved in the play, puts the other team that much more on their heels. So play simple soccer, get the ball and play it. Look to go forward.

Try to attack the space when you have the ball. See if you can draw a defender in, and then release the ball just when they're about to close you down or get the ball.

Shielding

A simple and great exercise is to dribble in a small square and have an opponent try to take the ball from you. Use your body to shield the ball from the defender. Always keep your body between you and the defender. Tell your friend or the person who is acting as the defender to fight for the ball with a game like intensity, pushing you and playing so hard they are almost fouling you. You can add more players and if the defender wins the ball you switch roles. This game can eventually build into a possession game that focuses on shielding. You can call out to stop play now and again which ever team doesn't have the ball has to do push-ups or a few sprints.

When you can, carry the ball into the open space - all the while shielding the ball from the defender. Carrying the ball with the inside of your foot, this is the where you will get the most control, kind of dragging the ball along as the defender pushes against you. Make sure to bend your knees and have a strong sense about you that this person is not going to get the ball from you. Then, try to work on cutting the ball back and forth. Practice shielding the ball using all parts of both of your feet.

Try shielding the ball for a few yards with the inside of your right foot and playing it to your left and carrying it in the other direction. Next, you can use the sole of your foot to turn or switch directions. Try to use all the different surfaces of your foot without letting the defender get a touch on the ball. Chop and cut the ball back with the inside and outside of both feet. Keep the defense honest by turning and taking the defender on from time to time.

Freeze the Defender

Fake like you’re going to make a long pass or about to take a shot, before receiving the ball – this will freeze the defender who is rushing towards you and give you more time. Simply pull your leg back as if you’re going to play the ball down the field, or, get more animated with it, and throw your shoulders and whole body into selling the fake kick. Either way, this simple move will freeze the on rushing defender. Again, just before you receive the ball (and control it), fake like you’re going to shoot or make a pass by drawing your leg back in the shooting or kicking motion to momentarily freeze the defender.

Switch Play

As a team keep the game flowing by ball swinging the ball from one side to the other to find the best ratio of numbers and the most space. Release pressure by switching the ball.

The Quick Switch - Blind Pass

Dribble to the right with your right foot and then swing a ball to the left, send almost a blind pass. Do the same for the left. Dribble to the left side of the field and swing a ball back to the right side of the field with your left foot. The defender on the other side will not expect the pass. Hopefully you will catch the opposing team sleeping. You are selling the idea that you're going to the side you're dribbling towards when in fact you are swinging the ball over to the opposite side. Team mates will adjust to the expectation that a switch is always coming.

Sometimes you can dribble a few times in the opposite direction you really want to play the ball - to throw the defense off - then you swing the ball to the other side of the field. It doesn't have to be a long switch, just a quick cut back to the other direction can buy you time.

Get the Cross In

As a rule almost, when you have the opportunity, swing in the cross. Do this the next two or three times. Then the fourth time, or when you see the opening, you can take that player on the dribble, beat him or her down the line and cut the ball back to a teammate. Of course, you can always go to goal yourself if the opening is there.

Play with Older Players

Try to find the best game possible near where you live when you are training. To become a great player you should push yourself, and there is no better way to do this than to play with more experienced players.

You can pick up all of their tricks and skills that they have learned over the years. This kind of mentoring process is a huge part of improving your game and often you won't even realize what subtle skills you'll pick up, just by watching and playing with better and more experienced players.

Challenge yourself by playing with experienced players when you can. It will speed up your play, make you play stronger, and you will learn from their experience - where to play the ball, when, and where to make runs.

Slow Down

Essentially this is making the easy pass to the open player. It doesn't mean necessarily slowing down your speed of play, rather it's letting the ball do the work, and not forcing the play. Keep your mind moving fast and focused. If there is an open player play them the ball. Then when they get closed down they play the ball back to you.

As a young player one of the difficult things to learn is patience. This means things like letting the ball do the work through one and two touch play. Each time you make a pass the defense changes their position and new things open up at different angles on the field - new spaces to run into, dribble, and pass are created when you move the ball.

Quick Decisions

As a professional or collegiate player you won't have time to dribble or think after getting the ball. Try to know what you are going to do with the ball before you get it. Eventually, playing simple soccer will become automatic when you are involved in the rhythm of the game, wanting and always asking for the ball trying to find the player in the most advantageous position. Two or three short simple passes can lead to someone who is open in a position to make that goal scoring pass or score themselves.

You will need to use your body to shield the ball. Play simple give and goes with your teammates to get out of pressure. Be aware of where you can move or how you can position yourself to help out your teammates. Using your body means dribbling with your left when there is a defender on your right and dribbling and shielding the ball with your right foot when there is a defender on your on your left. If you don't know you can turn or have time, keep your body between the ball and the defense and get your head up and take a look around. You should always try to know where you are on the field by taking quick looks before you receive the ball.

Hold the ball for a second while I get open or in a better position where I will have more time and can see the field better. This is one of the greatest aspects of the game of soccer, where you work with your teammates to ping the ball around the other team and through the other team, where they can't even get a touch on the ball before you score a goal.

The Half Turn

When you are in the midfield you should position your body so you can connect with the forwards. You can accomplish this by not having your back to the forwards, that is usually their role, midfielders should try to be half-turned and facing one of the sidelines. This way you can view both the back line, if they are trying to make a pass to you, and the forwards to see where they are making a run.

When you play on the wing or in a position along the touchline you should open yourself to the field - in a position to see the whole field and receive the ball. Again instead of having your back facing the forwards you can turn your shoulder towards the outside touchline in this way you are open to the field.

Source : soccer-training-info

Tips to Block in Volley Ball

2010-03-08T01:46:00.000-08:00

The block is the first line of defense against the smash. It is usually performed by more than one front row players and is used to stop the the smashed ball from crossing the net and to deflect it into the opponents court.

TYPES OF BLOCK

As mentioned before you can have one two or three front court players blocking. A good block should be able to move along the net quickly and efficiently, jump in the right place, at the right time and be able to read the smasher.

HOW TO BLOCK

The player should be close to the net and shoulders parallel to the net, feet shoulder width apart, back straight and hands in front of the shoulders.

Blockers need to be ready to move along the net to be in the correct position. This should be where the attacker is anticipated to hit the ball across the net. To move laterally, side stepping is the quickest and best form of movement.

The jump should include the player jumping vertically with the extension of the legs and the hands vertically and slightly forward. The arms are extended over the net with the elbows locked. There should be no gap between both hands and the fingers of each hand should be spread.

The timing of the block depends on the characteristics of the individual smasher. The basic rule is that the blocker should jump just after the smasher.

Source : vball.org.uk

Trick to Smash in Volley Ball

2010-03-08T01:42:00.000-08:00

THE SMASH

The smash is the main attacking shot used in volleyball and is probably one of the hardest moves to master.

TYPES OF SMASH

The smasher can vary the smash by smashing cross court, down the line, hitting of the block and hitting a controlled speed block. As always the players tactical ability to decide which one to execute will determine whether they are an effective attacker.

HOW TO SMASH

To prepare for the smash the player must drop off of the net so the setter can set the ball in front of the smasher.

When jumping, both feet should be together to stop the player from jumping forward into the net. The four step approach is usually used as shown on the left. The arms are swung forcefully backwards and the knees are bent.

The power of the jump is a mixture of the arm swing and straightening of the knees and hips.

The approach should take the smasher to the place where the jump will be made before jumping.

The hitting arm is drawn back behind and to the side of the head, the arm then straightens at the elbow when jumping with the hand moving from the side of the head to the position of above and slightly in front of the hitting shoulder.

When making contact with the ball it is important to remember the hand should be slightly cupped and contact with the ball is with the palm of the hand slightly in front of the hitting shoulder.

Source : vball.org.uk

Shooting Sports

2010-02-08T14:49:00.000-08:00

Shooting is the act or process of firing rifles, shotguns or other projectile weapons such as bows or crossbows. Even the firing of artillery, rockets and missiles can be called shooting. A person who specializes in shooting is a marksman. Shooting can take place in a shooting range or in the field in hunting, in shooting sports or in combat.

Technique and safety considerations
Shooting technique differs depending on factors like the type of weapon used (from a handgun to a sniper rifle), the distance to and nature of the target, the required precision and the available time. The prone position, the kneeling position and the standing position offer different amounts of support for the shooter. Holding the gun sideways, as is sometimes seen in movies and on television, is not recommended because it makes the gun almost impossible to aim.

The utmost consideration for many shooters is gun safety. Like many activities such as mountain climbing, skiing, or sky-diving, there is an element of danger involved. And especially here, this danger demands a sober understanding and respect for firearms and the specific rules for the safe handling of them. This is compounded by the fact that the danger can easily extend beyond the participants – a stray bullet can injure or kill people other than those actually firing or handling the arms involved.

Practical uses
Shooting is used for hunting upland game birds such as grouse or pheasant, rabbits, culling, deer hunting or other wild game animals, or shooting pest animals. Sometimes "shooting" refers to the hunting activity itself.

Shooting obviously is used in warfare, self-defense, crime, and law enforcement. Duels were sometimes held using guns. Shooting without a target has applications such as celebratory gunfire, 21-gun salute or firing starting pistols, incapable of releasing bullets.

Competitive shooting
Marksmanship has inspired competition, and in several countries rifle clubs started to form in the 19th century. Soon international shooting events evolved, including shooting at the Summer Olympics (from 1896) and World Championships (from 1897). The International Shooting Sport Federation still administers Olympic and non-Olympic rifle, pistol, shotgun and running target shooting competitions, although there is also a large number of national and international shooting sports controlled by unrelated organizations.

Source : Wikipedia

Freestyle Motocross Tricks

2010-02-01T02:22:00.000-08:00

Tricks are the bread and butter of freestyle motocross riders. Basic freestyle motocross tricks include no footed can cans, heelclickers and nac nacs while more advanced

Freestyle Motocross Tricks
maneuvers range from saran wraps to kiss of deaths as well as backflips.

Can Can: Takes one foot off footpeg and bring it over the seat so that both legs are on one side of the bike. For additional style points, land in the Can Can position.

Cliffhanger: While in the air, stands straight up and catch the underside of the handlebars with toes. Place hands above in the rollercoaster position.

Coffin and Lazy Boy: For the coffin, extend legs in front of bike below the handlebars and lie back on the seat as far as possible. For the lazy boy, release the handlebars and extend arms back over head. More points are scored the farther the arm and leg extension.

Dead Body: Place body over the front of the bike while holding the bars and keep entire body horizontal with the bike.

Double Grab: Grab the back of the motorcycle with both hands while extending the body off the back of the bike.

Fender Grab: Bend over the front of the handlebars and grab the fender with both hands. Score more points by placing helmet against the fender and pointing the bike straight up and down.

Hart Attack: Point both legs pointing straight up in the air while performing the superman.

Indian Air: Extends and cross legs during a trick in a scissor motion.

Kiss of Death: While in the air, position the bike as close to vertical as possible then kick legs up above head.

Nac Nac: While leaving the jump, whip the bike sideways, remove front leg and swing it around behind the bike to the other side. Look back for additional points.

No Footer: Remove both feet from pegs when landing.

Nothing: Remove both hands and feet when landing.

Rock Solid: Perform the Superman Seat Grab, release the seat and extend both arms away from the bike so that the bike is completely detached. Grab the seat and remount the bike after catching enough air.

Rodeo Air: Perform a heel clicker with one hand free while the other hand holds the cross bar.

Stale Fish or Saran Wrap: Stick a leg through arms and bring the other leg out in front and on the outside of the arms.

Sterilizer: Execute a bar hop and leave legs extended over handlebars in front of the bike. Land while sitting on the bars and gas tanks.

Suicide Can: Lift one foot off the footpeg and raise leg up and over bike seat. While both legs are on one side of the bike, lift the other foot off the foot peg and extend both legs away from the bike. Remove both hands from handlebars.

Superman: Release both feet and kick them straight back.

Superman Seat Grab: Extend legs backwards with hands on grips. Release one hand and grab seat to increase distance of extension.

Surfer: Stand on seat of bike in a surfing position while holding on to handlebars.

Tsunami: Perform headstand in front to handlebars while keeping bike horizontal and level.

Source : freestyle-motocross.net

Paragliding

2010-01-29T12:19:00.000-08:00

Paragliding is a recreational and competitive flying sport. A paraglider is a free-flying, foot-launched aircraft. The pilot sits in a harness suspended below a fabric wing, whose shape is formed by its suspension lines and the pressure of air entering vents in the front of the wing.
In 1952 Domina Jalbert advanced governable parachutes with multi-cells and controls for lateral glide.

In 1954, Walter Neumark predicted (in an article in Flight magazine) a time when a glider pilot would be “able to launch himself by running over the edge of a cliff or down a slope ... whether on a rock-climbing holiday in Skye or ski-ing in the Alps”.

In 1961, the French engineer Pierre Lemoigne produced improved parachute designs which led to the Para-Commander. The ‘PC’, had cut-outs at the rear and sides that enabled it to be towed into the air and steered – leading to parasailing/parascending.

Sometimes credited with the greatest development in parachutes since Leonardo da Vinci[by whom?], the American Domina Jalbert invented the Parafoil which had sectioned cells in an aerofoil shape; an open leading edge and a closed trailing edge, inflated by passage through the air – the ram-air design. He filed US Patent 3131894 on January 10, 1963.

Meanwhile, David Barish was developing the Sail Wing for recovery of NASA space capsules – “slope soaring was a way of testing out ... the Sail Wing”. After tests on Hunter Mountain, New York in September 1965, he went on to promote ‘slope soaring’ as a summer activity for ski resorts (apparently without great success). NASA originated the term ‘paraglider’ in the early 1960s, and ‘paragliding’ was first used in the early 1970s to describe foot-launching of gliding parachutes.

In 1971, Steve Snyder marketing the first wing : Paraplane.

Author Walter Neumark wrote Operating Procedures for Ascending Parachutes, and he and a group of enthusiasts with a passion for tow-launching ‘PCs’ and ram-air parachutes eventually broke away from the British Parachute Association to form the British Association of Parascending Clubs (BAPC) in 1973. Authors Patrick Gilligan (Canada) and Betrand Dubuis (Switzerland) wrote the first flight manual "The Paragliding Manual" in 1985, officially coining the word Paragliding.

These threads were pulled together in June 1978 by three friends Jean-Claude Bétemps, André Bohn and Gérard Bosson from Mieussy Haute-Savoie, France. After inspiration from an article on ‘slope soaring’ in the Parachute Manual magazine by parachutist & publisher Dan Poynter, they calculated that on a suitable slope, a ‘square’ ram-air parachute could be inflated by running down the slope; Bétemps launched from Pointe du Pertuiset, Mieussy, and flew 100 m. Bohn followed him and glided down to the football pitch in the valley 1000 metres below. ‘Parapente’ (pente being French for slope) was born.

From the 1980s equipment has continued to improve and the number of paragliding pilots has continued to increase. The first World Championship was held in Kössen, Austria in 1989.

Source : Wikipedia

Hunting

2010-01-14T02:41:00.000-08:00

Hunting is the practice of pursuing living animals (usually wildlife) for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law. The species which are hunted are referred to as game and are usually mammals and migratory or non-migratory gamebirds.

Hunting can also involve the elimination of vermin, as a means of pest control to prevent diseases caused by overpopulation. Hunting advocates state that hunting can be a necessary component of modern wildlife management, for example to help maintain a population of healthy animals within an environment's ecological carrying capacity when natural checks such as predators are absent. However, a 2006 study by Penn State's Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics indicated that reducing the game animal population in small areas may lead to higher tick densities, resulting in more tick-borne infections in rodents leading to a high prevalence of tick-borne encephalitis and creating a tick hot-spot. In the United States, wildlife managers are frequently part of hunting regulatory and licensing bodies, where they help to set rules on the number, manner and conditions in which game may be hunted.

The pursuit, capture and release, or capture for food of fish is called fishing, which is not commonly categorized as a form of hunting. Trapping is also usually considered a separate activity. Neither is it considered hunting to pursue animals without intent to kill them, as in wildlife photography or birdwatching. The practice of hunting for plants or mushrooms is a colloquial term for foraging or gathering.

The aspects of skillful tracking and acquisition of an elusive target in the pursuit of game have caused the word hunting to be used the vernacular as a metaphor (such as "bargain hunting") sometimes with the killing aspect also implied (such as "hunting down corruption and waste")

Source : Wikipedia

Sport Fencing History

2010-01-14T02:36:00.000-08:00

The history of fencing parallels the evolution of civilization, back from the days of ancient Egypt and Rome, to the barbaric Dark Ages, to the fast and elegant Rennassiance, up to the modern, increasingly popular fencing of today. Fencing has always been regarded as more than a sport; it is an art form, an ancient symbol of power and glory, and a deeply personal, individual form of expression. Fencing is and always has been an intrinsic part of life, from the dueling and battle of yore to the widely captivating movies and facets of popular culture such as Zorro and The Princess Bride.
The earliest evidence of fencing as a sport comes from a carving in Egypt, dating back to about 1200 B.C., which shows a sport fencing bout with masks, protective weapon tips, and judges.
The Greek and Roman civilizations favored short swords and light spears, and taught their warriors in schools called ludi. The collapse of the Roman civilization at around 476 A.D., however, brought the crude, heavy weapons of the barbarian invaders and signalled a regression of fencing through the dark ages. It was not until the beginnings of the Renassiance in the 14th centurty that light, fast weapons such as the rapier came back into use, primarily because gunpowder rendered heavy armor obsolete.
The fifteenth century brought the beginnings of modern fencing. Spain had the first true fencers, and the first two fencing manuals were published there in 1471 and 1474, but swordplay guilds such as the Marxbruder from Germany began springing up all across Europe. About 1500 the Italians began extensive use of the Rapier. The right hand held te weapon while the left hand held a dagger (often called a Main Gauche) or buckler (a small shield), used for parrying blows. Italian fencing masters, such as Agrippa, who invented the four fencing positions (prime, seconde, tierce, and quarte), and masters Grassi and Vigiani, who invented the lunge, became very prolific in this time. The 16th century also brought a large increase in the popularity of dueling. More noblemen at during this period were killed in dueling than in war.
The Queen Catherine de Médicis of France had many Italian fencing masters come to France and develop fencing there. She was so successful that in 1567, her son, King Charles IX, officially recognized the French Fencing Academy, and awarded many hereditary titles to the new French fencing masters. These new masters were the first to classify and define fencing attacks and parries. In 1573 Henry de St. Didier was the first french fencing master to publish a treatise, and one of the first to advocate heavy use of the Épeé instead of the Rapier.
During the 17th century several major changes occured in fencing. The “fleuret”, or foil, was devoloped in France as a lighter training weapon for dueling. Right-of-way, a set of rules which made the game a series of alternating attacks and defense, became generally accepted. With right-of-way, duelists were unlikely to impale each other, as they did not both attack at the same time. This made fencing safer and reduced the number of casualties to dueling.
In the 18th century the heavier weapon called the Épeé became the popular weapon for dueling. The sabre, a weapon descended from the Oriental scimitar, becaume the national weapon of Hungary, and while the Italians helped develop the sport immensely, the Hungarians stayed the true masters of the sabre.
1780 brought an extremely important development to fencing. The French fencing master La Boessiere invented the fencing mask, allowing a much safer bout. This sparked a lot of development in non-fatal technique and strategy.
Fencing first came to America in the 1860’s-1870’s via immigrant French and Italian fencing masters, and the first American fencing school was founded in 1874. By this time fencing less resembled its violent roots and was now considered a non-harmful sport. Dueling never completely died out until after the end of World War I, but the majority of fencers were not warriors.
Men’s Sabre and foil competitions were present in the first modern olympic games in 1896, and Men’s Épeé joined in 1900. Women’s foil joined the Olympics in 1924, but it was not until 1996 that Women’s Épeé joined.
At the beginning of the 20th century French, Italians, and Hungarians were the masters of the sport, and thus it is not suprise that the International Fencing Federation (FIE) was founded in France. The French, Italians and Hungarians maintained their grip on the sport until the 1950’s, when eastern European countries such as the Soviet Union and Romania came to the fore. Their style emphasized speed and mobility, relying on touches that before would have gone undetected, but now were seen with the recently invented electric scoring machines.
Today cultural intermingling and competition has eliminated the national fencing styles; there are no longer French or Hungarian fencing techniques. Instead, the sport has become more reliant on individual technique. Fencing history is still being made today. Will Women’s sabre join as an olympic sport? Will wireless scoring devices become the norm with new technology? Only time will tell.

Source : library.thinkquest.org

Maradona the greatest footballer of all time

2010-01-09T07:44:00.000-08:00

Diego Armando Maradona (born 30 October 1960 in Lanús, Buenos Aires) is a former Argentine football player, and current manager of the Argentine national team. He is considered by many to be the greatest footballer of all time; he finished first in an internet vote for the FIFA Player of the Century award, and he shared the award with Pelé.

Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Newell's Old Boys and Napoli, setting world-record contract fees. In his international career, playing for Argentina, he earned 91 caps and scored 34 goals. He played in four FIFA World Cup tournaments, including the 1986 World Cup where he captained Argentina and led them to their victory over West Germany in the final, winning the Golden Ball award as the tournament's best player. In that same tournament's quarter-final round he scored two goals in a 2-1 victory over England that entered soccer history, though for two very different reasons. The first goal was an unpenalized handball known as the "Hand of God", while the second goal was a spectacular 60-metre weave through six England players, commonly referred to as "The Goal of the Century".

For various reasons, Maradona is considered one of the sport's most controversial and newsworthy figures. He was suspended from football for 15 months in 1991 after failing a doping test for cocaine in Italy, and he was sent home from the 1994 World Cup in the USA for using ephedrine.

After retiring from playing on his 37th birthday in 1997, he increasingly suffered ill health and weight gain, hardly helped by ongoing cocaine abuse. In 2005 a stomach stapling operation helped control his weight gain. After overcoming his cocaine addiction, he became a popular TV host in Argentina.

His outspoken manners have sometimes put him at odds with journalists and sport executives. Although he had little previous managerial experience, he became head coach of the Argentina national football team in November 2008.

Source : Wikipedia

Alessandro Nesta

2010-01-06T18:06:00.000-08:00

Complete Name: Alessandro Nesta
Nationality: Italian
Place of Birth: Rome, Italy
Date of Birth: 19/03/1976
Height: 187 cm
Weight: 79 kg
National Team: Italy
Current Club: Milan AC
Position: Defender

Biography
Alessandro Nesta (born March 19, 1976 in Rome) is an Italian footballer. He plays at center back for A.C. Milan in Serie A. He has previously played for S.S. Lazio. With amazing tackling skill, game reading ability he is widely considered one of the best defenders in the world.

Sandro had a happy childhood in his quarter of Cinecittà, in Rome. He attended the primary school at "Margherita Bosco", where he first started playing football. Fernando, Alessandro's older brother, was advised to play a sport because of his back problem, and enrolled at the local football club. Young Alessandro threw a tantrum till his father gave in and he was enrolled as well, and so his career began.

In 1985, he joined the youth academy of Lazio, where he rose through the ranks playing in various positions, including striker and midfielder. His international career first showed signs of growth when he played for the Italian national Under-15 and Under-16 sides. In 1993, he managed to join Lazio's first-team squad.

In 1996, Nesta was a member of the Italian Under-21 team that defeated Spain to win the European Under-21 Championship, picking up the award for best defender in the tournament along the way. He made his full international debut for Italy against Moldova on October 5, 1996. In 1997, he was given the captaincy of Lazio. It was in the 1997-'98 season that Lazio won the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup), beating A.C. Milan in the final, with Nesta amongst the goal-scorers.

Just before the 2002-'03 season, Nesta joined A.C. Milan. With Milan he has won the Scudetto Serie A (Italian Championship), Coppa Italia, Champions League and the European Super Cup.

Nesta has appeared over 60 times for the Italian national team and has been a mainstay in it since the late 1990s. He played for his country in Euro 96, the 1998 World Cup, Euro 2000, the 2002 World Cup, and Euro 2004.

He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.

Source : 123football.com

Horse racing

2010-01-02T07:24:00.000-08:00

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot races of Roman times are an early example, as is the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. It is inextricably associated with gambling. The common sobriquet for Thoroughbred horse racing is The Sport of Kings.

One of the principal forms of horse racing, which is popular in many parts of the world, is Thoroughbred racing. Harness racing for Standardbred horses is also popular in Australia, New Zealand, the eastern United States and more popular than Thoroughbred racing in Canada and parts of Europe. Thoroughbred racing is done on the flat or over jumps, as steeplechasing or hurdles races. Quarter horse racing is also popular in the western United States and Florida. Racing with purebred Arabian horses exists in several states in the United States, as well as in most of Europe and the Middle East. This form of racing is known as endurance racing.

The different types of racing all concern different breeds of horses. The Thoroughbred races moderate distances at very fast paces. The Standardbred horses use their ability to race in harness at a trot or pace instead of under saddle at a gallop. The Quarter Horse is involved in short distance sprinting while the Arabian is involved in endurance racing. These four different breeds of horses possess different muscle structures that make them suitable for their type of racing. These horses race on various track surfaces ranging from dirt to a synthetic surface such as viscoride or polytrack.

The breeding, training and racing of horses in many countries is now a significant economic activity as, to a greater extent, is the gambling industry which is largely supported by it. The time invested in training these horses is extensive and varies according to the type of race the horse is involved in. Exceptional horses can win millions of dollars and might make millions more by providing stud services, such as horse breeding.

Source : Wikipedia

2009 season review: Valentino Rossi

2009-12-28T19:08:00.000-08:00

A ninth World Championship title for the Italian, his seventh in the premier class, along with a 100th career GP win.

Valentino Rossi was once again crowned MotoGP World Champion in 2009 as he took his seventh premier class title at the age of 30.

The Italian took second-placed finishes in the opening two rounds at Losail and Motegi before his first win of the season, which came at Jerez. Rising from fourth on the grid Rossi established an 11-point lead early on in the campaign, as he beat Dani Pedrosa over the line by a 2.7s margin.

A difficult race followed that maiden win of 2009 though as Rossi experienced a tough one in France, in which he swapped bike three times, crashed out and was given a ride through for speeding in pit lane as he finished in last place.

Third place in Italy got him back on track before back-to-back wins at Catalunya and Assen opened up a slender lead at the top of the standings. A magnificent battle at Catalunya with team mate Jorge Lorenzo saw Rossi win with an overtake on the final corner, while he claimed victory at Assen over the Spaniard with a more comfortable five-second margin to take his 100th career World Championship Grand Prix win.

A fourth win of the season in Germany followed, before fifth at Donington as Rossi fell with 11 laps remaining. Victories at Brno and Misano were punctuated by Rossi’s only DNF of the year at Indianapolis as he crashed on lap nine while battling with Lorenzo for the lead.

A fantastic response was forthcoming in San Marino however as Rossi took his sixth and final win of the campaign, again beating Lorenzo and stretching his lead at the top of the standings to 30 points with four rounds remaining in a dominant weekend.

Fourth in Portugal and second in Australia were Rossi’s next two results, before a third-placed finish in a wet race in Malaysia brought him the 2009 title with a race to spare.

Another signature celebration followed the confirmation of his ninth World crown at Sepang, and Rossi will head into 2010 looking to take his World title haul into double figures with his legendary status already well secured.

Source : motogp.com

Tiger Wood, Professional Golfers of all time

2009-12-27T16:58:00.000-08:00

Eldrick Tont Woods (born December 30, 1975), better known as Tiger Woods, is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Currently the World No. 1, he was the highest-paid professional athlete in 2008, having earned an estimated $110 million from winnings and endorsements.

Woods has won 14 professional major golf championships, the second highest of any male player, and 71 PGA Tour events, third all time. He has more career major wins and career PGA Tour wins than any other active golfer. He is the youngest player to achieve the career Grand Slam, and the youngest and fastest to win 50 tournaments on tour. Additionally, Woods is the second golfer to have achieved a career grand slam three times along with Jack Nicklaus. Woods has won 16 World Golf Championships and has won at least one event each of the 11 years they have been in existence.

Woods has held the number one position in the world rankings for the most consecutive weeks and for the greatest total number of weeks. He has been awarded PGA Player of the Year a record ten times, the Byron Nelson Award for lowest adjusted scoring average a record eight times, and has the record of leading the money list in nine different seasons. He has been named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year a record-tying four times, and is the only person to be named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year more than once.

Since his record-breaking win at the 1997 Masters Tournament, golf's increased popularity is attributed to Woods' presence. He is credited for dramatically increasing prize money in golf, generating interest in new audiences as the first non-white person to win the Masters, and for drawing the largest TV audiences in golf history.He has been named "Athlete of the Decade" by the Associated Press in December 2009.

On December 11, 2009, Woods announced an indefinite leave from professional golf to focus on his marriage after his past infidelities came to light.

Source : Wikipedia

Fabio Cannavaro

2009-12-27T04:01:00.000-08:00

Famous Brazilian Soccer Players

2009-12-26T20:15:00.000-08:00

Roberto

Ronaldinho

Ronaldo

Rivaldo

Kaka

Dida

Cafu

About Kempo

2009-12-25T17:08:00.000-08:00

Kempo Karate is one of the oldest forms of martial arts. All martial arts have their origins in India. A man named Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk who traveled into China, and in return for the monks teachings and lodging, he taught them his fighting art Chuan Fa which is Chinese for Kempo, as well as the Buddhism principles. The monks were in a poor condition physically and mentally, due to the amount of time the monks spent in meditation without any physical exercise. By the time Bodhidharma left the temple, the Monks were performing masterful feats of martial skill, and the temple of Shaolin was never the same. From that point on the Monks were no longer the subject of abuse or ridicule. They had gained respect in their community and on an international level even today. Thus Kempo's origins are in China from the monks of the Shaolin. The English definition of Kempo is fist law.

In 1921, at the age of five, James Mitose went to Kyushu from his home in Hawaii, to study with his uncle, a Kempo master named Choki Motobu. For fifteen years, he studied this art, which was a direct descendent of the original Chinese Chuan Fa. Mitose returned to Hawaii in 1936 to train others. One of his black belts was William K.S. Chow. In 1949, Chow had attracted a following of students to his own teaching style and opened a Dojo of his own at a YMCA. To make his art more distinctive from Mitose's Kempo, he named his style Kenpo. Since then there have been numerous modifications of the original teachings. It is our goal to teach and inform others of the wonderful physical and mental aspects of Kempo, and Kempo training.

Source : kempo.org

Alessandro Del Piero, Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Serie A club Juventus

2009-12-23T15:09:00.000-08:00

Michael James Owen a striker for Manchester United

2009-12-23T14:39:00.000-08:00

Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979 in Chester) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United. The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997. In his first full season in the Premier League he finished as joint top scorer. He repeated the feat the following year and was Liverpool's top goal scorer from 1997–2004, in spite of a recurring hamstring injury. His first major club honours came in 2001 when Liverpool won a cup treble of the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and Football League Cup, and Owen was the recipient of the Ballon d'Or that year. He went on to score 118 goals in 216 appearances in the English Premier League for Liverpool.

Source Wikipedia

Pele, The Legendary Brazilian Soccer Player

2009-12-23T14:32:00.000-08:00

Pelé is the first soccer player to achieve massive international acclaim. His name is regularly mentioned today, more than a quarter century after his retirement.
Apart from his popularity, Pelé's life story is the ultimate soccer dream. He began as a poor boy from the slums in Tres Coracoes, Brazil but earned fame and fortune through his talent on the pitch. Pelé's father, Dondinho, was very influential in his son's success. Dondinho was a former footballer and made sure to pass over his knowlege to young Pelé. This paid off and by the age of 15, Pelé was signed by Santos. His international debut followed just a year after on the 7th of July 1957 against Argentina at the legendary Maracanã stadium. Merely at the age of 17, Pelé was recruited to Brazil's World Cup squad. At World Cup 1958 in Sweden, he first gained attention after his goal against Wales which clinched Brazil to the next round. Pelé proved that he wasn't a fluke in the following match, scoring three goals on France. By the tournament's final, Brazilian coach Vicente Feola was confident in the talented 17-year old. His two goals at the 1958 World Cup final ascertained his status as a soccer superstar.
Thanks to Pelé's sensational scoring, his club Santos earned the Intercontinental Cup in 1962 and 1963.

At the 1962 World Cup in Chile, Pelé missed out most of the tournament due to an injury. Brazil still managed to win the trophy. At World Cup 1966, Pele was once again was forced to permanently leave the pitch after being ferociously tackled.
After England 1966, many began to doubt the Brazilian soccer player and his superstar status. He made a triumphant return at Mexico 1970 by dazzling audiences worldwide. This was the first World Cup broadcast in color and was shown across an unprecedented number of countries. In front of over 100,000 spectators at Azteca Stadium and millions of TV viewers, Pelé scored the first goal of the 1970 World Cup final. That opened the floodgates to Brazil's crushing 4-1 victory and reclaimed Pele as the "King of Soccer".
Later in the 1970's, Pelé was signed by the New York Cosmos in the North American Soccer League. He eventually retired as the only player with over 1000 goals in professional football. Pele was the first commercial superstar of non-commercial soccer.

Source : expertfootball.com

BECKHAM 'SHOULD GO TO WORLD CUP'

2009-12-18T15:46:00.000-08:00

AC Milan's Clarence Seedorf believes David Beckham deserves to be in England's squad for the 2010 World Cup.

Fellow midfielder Beckham, 34, is set to return to Seedorf's club on loan from Los Angeles Galaxy in January to boost his chances of making the finals.

Seedorf told BBC Sport: "There should not be any discussion for anybody in England about taking David to what will most probably be his last World Cup.

"His will to perform and still play for the national team is very big."

Beckham did not feature in England's recent 1-0 defeat in Ukraine but made an appearance as a substitute in the 3-0 win over Belarus.

He turns 35 in May 2010 - a month before the start of the World Cup finals in South Africa.

Asked if Beckham was good enough and fit enough to play in the World Cup at that age, Seedorf said: "Of course he is.

"He showed that here with Milan and he will definitely show it again once he's back, there is no doubt about that."

England manager Fabio Capello has made it clear that Beckham needs to be playing in Europe to stand a chance of securing a place in the World Cup squad.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player, who has played in three World Cups, revealed last week that a return to AC Milan is "95% done".

Beckham's first stint at the San Siro began in the January transfer window and helped him get back into the England reckoning.

He was initially only scheduled to spend three months with the Italian outfit during the Major League Soccer off-season but extended his time until the end of the Serie A campaign.

He returned to LA Galaxy during the summer and will feature for them in the upcoming MLS play-offs before his anticipated return to Milan.

The Serie A side have made an unconvincing start to their season after the departures of manager Carlo Ancelotti, who is now at Chelsea, and playmaker Kaka, who joined Real Madrid in June.

However, Seedorf said the expected return of Beckham would aid the team.

Capello reveals Beckham ultimatum

"He was already a great help last year," stated the 33-year-old former Dutch international, who is the only player to win the Champions League with three different clubs - Ajax, Real Madrid and Milan.

"I'm very happy that he will be back again as we also became friends.

"We all know Beckham. The most important thing is that he is going to bring a lot of professionalism and personality with his game.

"His specific qualities are well known but what we need in a team of AC Milan players are those who are not afraid to play the big games and not afraid to take responsibility - and David is such a player."

Source : beckham-magazine.com

Cristiano Ronaldo Biography

2009-12-18T15:39:00.000-08:00

Cristiano Ronaldo is a midfielder for Portugal and Manchester United in the English Premier League. He was crowned the World’s Best footballer in 2008 by FIFA, FIFpro (the players), and France Football with their Ballon D’or. His quick feet and trickery on the ball make him one of the most entertaining players to watch – with all manner of stepovers, back-heels and clever flicks an integral part of his game. Whilst Portugal have yet to win big trophies, with Manchester United he has won the Premier League twice, and the 2008 Champions League. Childhood Cristiano Ronaldo was born on 5th February 1985 in Funchal, Madeira – one of Portugal’s islands off the coast of Africa. Cristiano had the typical upbringing on what was a poor island – playing football became one of his only pleasures, and he could always be found with a ball at his feet – even when he was having his dinner!

His games on the streets taught him to be clever with the ball, and he always liked showing his friends a new trick, and using it against them in their marathon three-hour matches. Ronaldo’s skills did not go unnoticed, and at the age of 14, he was invited to the Portugal mainland to play and live in Lisbon.

Ronaldo was desperately homesick, and was teased because he spoke with a different accent. Cristiano continued to stay strong, helped by his family who willed him to keep going in spite of all the difficulties.

Ronaldo blossomed into a great talent – he became the first player to rise from the U16 team to the first-team in just one season – and made his debut in September 2002, aged just 17. His performances as an attacking midfielder for both Sporting Lisbon and Portugal’s U-17 team ensured he was being watched by many of the best clubs in Europe.

Cristiano Ronaldo had come to the attention of Sir Alex Ferguson long before Manchester United played Sporting Lisbon in a pre-season friendly, but legend has it that Sir Alex saw young Ronny for himself for the first time and immediately decided that he had to sign this youngster with immense confidence and skill. The Man United defenders also told Sir Alex to sign him on the plane home from the match!

Ronaldo arrived at Old Trafford in August 2003, just months after Manchester United had lost out on Ronaldinho, and sold David Beckham. Cristiano requested the number 28 shirt (as he had worn this number at Sporting), but Sir Alex insisted he took the number 7 – David Beckham, Eric Cantona and George Best’s old number.

Cristiano burst on to the scene in United first match of the season against Bolton Wanderers. Thrown on as a substitute with half an hour to play, Ronaldo had such pace and control of the ball, as well as the unpredictability that his tricks brought, that Bolton couldn’t get the ball off him! Ronaldo was used sparingly at first, as United won the FA Cup, but struggled in the league.

Since that first season, Cristiano Ronaldo has gone from strength to strength – notching in goal after goal, becoming a favourite of the fans, and helping United to win back-to-back Premier League titles. It was his incredible form in the 07/08 season - scoring 42 goals as a winger is no mean feat - that led to Manchester United becoming Champions of Europe. Ronaldo was both hero and villain in the Final against Chelsea – scoring in normal time and then missing his penalty in the shootout to leave supporters on a knife-edge.

Real Madrid continue to be linked with Ronaldo, with the Spanish club remorselessly telling the Press that they have signed agreements with him that means he’ll play in the Bernabeu next year. Ronaldo insists he is happy at United, and is challenging on all fronts as United go for an unprecedented quadruple!

Source : mycristianoronaldo.com

Colin Bell Biography

2009-12-18T15:32:00.000-08:00

Colin Bell MBE (26 February 1946), is a former English football player who was born in Hesleden, County Durham, England. Nicknamed "The King of the Kippax" (after Manchester City's Kippax Street terraced stand renowned for its singing), and Nijinsky after the famous racehorse (due to his renowned stamina), Bell is widely regarded as Manchester City's greatest ever player. He was part of the famous trio of the late 1960s and early 1970s alongside Francis Lee and Mike Summerbee.

He began his career at Bury captaining the team at a young age. In 1966 he moved to Manchester City and helped the team earn promotion to the First Division that same year. When trying to sign him for Manchester City, Assistant Manager Malcolm Allison misled other clubs interested in Bell by claiming the player "can't head it, can't pass it, he's hopeless". Allison's stratagem succeeded as Bell signed for City. In 1968 he helped City win their second League Championship. In the same year Bell also won his first England cap against Sweden, where he was instrumental in a 3-1 victory - the last time England defeated Sweden. In 1969 Manchester City won the FA Cup with a 1-0 victory over Leicester City thanks to a goal by Neil Young. That same year Bell distinguished himself in the national team, scoring England's only goal in a 1-0 victory over The Netherlands and also scoring against Brazil. In 1970, Manchester City and Bell won two trophies, the League Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup.

Source : Wikipedia

Bobby Moore Biography

2009-12-16T15:31:00.000-08:00

Birth: Apr. 12, 1941
Death: Feb. 24, 1993

Football (Soccer) Player. Born Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore, he was one of the finest football (soccer) players of all time. He played for West Ham United, Fulham, San Antonio Thunder (summer 1976), and Seattle Sounders (summer 1978). He won both the F.A. Cup and European Cup Winners Cup with West Ham. The crowning moment of his career came in 1966, when he captained England's successful World Cup Winning squad. (bio by: Kieran Smith)

Source : findagrave.com

Bobby Charlton a former English football player

2009-12-16T15:27:00.000-08:00

Sir Robert "Bobby" Charlton (born October 11, 1937) is a former English football player. He survived the Munich Air Disaster. He scored 49 international goals for England, winning 106 caps and a World Cup winners medal in 1966. He also won the FA Cup (1963), European Cup (1968) and three league titles (1957, 1965, 1967) with Manchester United F.C., playing 752 games and scoring 247 goals for United.

After leaving United in 1973 he was player-manager for one season for Preston North End and after another short and unsuccessful spell in football management he joined the board at Old Trafford. He was appointed an OBE in 1969 and a CBE in 1974, and was awarded a knighthood in 1994.

He had a haircut that some considered very humorous (bald on top, with the side bits grown long and combed over the top). His brother Jack Charlton was also a football player and was a defender at Leeds United F.C..

Source : famouspeople.co.uk

Alan Shearer Biography

2009-12-16T15:22:00.000-08:00

Alan Shearer, OBE (born August 13, 1970) is a successful English footballer. He was born in Newcastle and currently plays for Newcastle United. He joined that club in July 1996 for a then record fee of £15m. He made his club debut on August 17th of that year.

Shearer's previous clubs were Southampton (1988-1992) and Blackburn (1992-1996). He played 63 times for the England team and scored 30 goals. His debut for the national side was on 19th February 1992 versus France at Wembley. He also scored 13 goals in only 11 games for the England Under 21 team.

Shearer's honours include League Championship Winner (Blackburn) 1994/95, PFA Player of the Year 1994/95 & 1996/97, Football Writers Player of the Year 1994/95, Premiership Golden Boot Winner 1994/95 (34), 1995/96 (31) & 1996/97 (25), Awarded Barclaycard Merit Award on 20 April 2002 for reaching the 200 Premiership goal landmark.
One of the most famous players in the game today, Alan was also the world's most expensive footballer at the time of his £15m move from Blackburn to Newcastle in the summer of 1996. He joined Blackburn from Southampton for a then British record £3.6m fee in 1992 and won a championship medal three years later.

Geordie Alan makes no secret of his love for Newcastle United and the partnership is a marriage made in heaven, but one which before the start of this season had borne no trophies, though a few near misses. Many believed Kevin Keegan's addition of Shearer to a squad which had just missed out on the 1995-96 Championship would seal the title, but another second place finish in 1996-97 denied United that honour, and a serious ankle injury then sidelined Alan for half of the 1997-98 campaign. In this season he was controversially cleared by the FA when he kicked Leicester City's Neil Lennon in the head.

However, his regular goal output has continued and a total of 30 in season 1999/2000 underlined his enduring ability in the penalty area. The scorer of a hat-trick on his debut for Southampton against Arsenal as a 17-year-old in 1988, Alan went on to become the first man to score 30 Premier League goals in three successive seasons.

Shearer was English PFA Player of the Year in 1995 and 1997. He scored 30 goals in 63 games for the England side before his retirement from international football at the end of Euro 2000.

During 2000/01 Alan's season was disrupted by injury which restricted him to only 23 appearances. He underwent two knee operations to clear up his tendinitis problem, one in December and one in May in the USA. He received a terrific and emotional welcome when he returned to first team action as a sub against Sunderland on 26 August before hitting two goals against Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium on his first start of the season on 8 September.

Shearer was appointed an OBE for services to Association Football in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in June 2001, an honour to go with the Freedom of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne that was bestowed upon him in March.

His brace against Ipswich Town in the Worthington Cup on 27 November took his United goals tally to 100. The goal against Arsenal on 18/12/01 was his first at Highbury and it also broke United's London jinx. Shearer hit his 200th Premiership goal against Charlton at St. James' Park on 20 April 2002. He was voted North-East Player of Year for 2001/02 and also scored North-East Goal of the Season 2001/02 (versus Aston Villa).

Shearer has announced that the 2004/05 season will be his last as a player. He is currently working on his UEFA coaching qualifications, which are required to manage a team in European competitions.

Source : famouspeople.co.uk

Famous Football Players

2009-12-16T15:21:00.000-08:00

Famous Football Players - Listed below are your favourite famous football players, past and present, with links to each persons biography. Biographical information includes, date of birth, profiles, personal history and other facts about them and their achievements.
Alan Shearer
Bobby Charlton
Bobby Moore
Colin Bell
Ronaldo
David Beckham
Diego Maradona
George Best
Henrik Larsson
Michael Owen
Pele

Source :famouspeople.co.uk

How Beach Volleyball growth

2009-12-16T05:01:00.000-08:00

Beach volleyball was probably first played in Hawaii in 1915, when the Outrigger Beach and Canoe Club set up a court on Waikiki Beach but most people believe that it begun in Santa Monica, California, in the 1920s, about 25 years after the indoor version of the game was invented on the other side of the USA in Massachusetts.

The sport began as a form of family fun at the beach and its wide appeal and low-cost meant it soon spread around the world. By the 1930s it was being played in the most strange places: Riga, Sofia and Prague, the capital cities of Latvia, Bulgaria and the then Czechoslovakia.

The sport was given a boost during the Great Depression. Cash strapped Americans in their 100's flocked to the beaches to play in what was virtually a no-cost pastime and a free source of entertainment. By the 1950s, competitions were being held in California. Included on the program were beauty contests and other forms of entertainment. As the sport continued to grow it wasn’t long before sponsors came forward to take advantage of beach volleyball's popularity and by the 1970s a fully fledged pro beach volleyball tour was organized. In 1986 International Volleyball Federation recognized the sport. Since then, beach volleyball’s World Tour has spread from the United States into Asia and Europe.

In 1999 it featured Twelve open events for men and 6 for women with total prize money of $US3.66 million. The 1999 tour attracted more than 460,000 spectators.

Beach volleyball was a demonstration sport at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, and shortly afterward the International Olympic Committee announced that the sport would be included in the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

rules and equipment

* Beach Volleyball is played on a court, which is a little smaller than an indoor court and measure’s 16 x 8 metres which is divided into 2 equal halves by a net.
* Two sidelines and two end lines define the playing court. There is NO centre line.
* As in tennis, the boundary lines are counted as part of the court, in other words on the line is in.
* The top of the net is set at the heights of 2.43 metres for men and 2.24 metres for women.
* Antennae attached to the net and set directly above the sideline mark the area which, the ball must pass between when hit over the net.
* The ball is made of leather with a bladder inside, and has a circumference of between 65cm and 67cm and weighs 260-280 grams.

* A Beach Volleyball team consists of 2 players NO substitutions can be made. (However, in social competitions 2–6 players may participate).
* Players on each team aim to hit the ball over the net with their hands, although it is permissible for any part of the body to be used to hit the ball.
* Unlike indoor volleyball, the players do not have fixed positions and can play from any position on the court.
* Rally Point scoring is used. The winner of each rally, irrespective of which team served, scores a point.
* Serves can be made from anywhere behind the end line and may be struck under or over arm with any part of the hand, fist or arm.
* Service order must be maintained throughout the set.
* A serve cannot touch a player from the same team and players cannot obscure the opposition's view of a serve.
* The server continues to serve until the serving team loses a point.
* A team may hit the ball 3 times to return it, but no player can hit the ball twice in a row including if it hits 1 part of their body and then rebounds to another part.
* A team scores a point if it hits the ball and it lands in the opposition's half of the court.
* Rallies can be lost by hitting the ball out of play or into the net, or if a player touches the net with any part of his or her body while playing the ball.
* Shots may be blocked before they cross the net, as long as the blocker does not touch the net.
* The ball can be directed anywhere into the opponent's court.
* The ball can be played off the net during a rally.
* Because weather affects play, teams swap ends every 7 points during the first two sets and every 5 points during the 3rd set.
* Each match is played over the best of 3 sets. To win a set, a team must have a 2-point break over the opposition. The match continues indefinitely until this is the case. The first 2 sets are played to twenty one points while the 3rd, if required, is played to fifteen points.
* Each team is allowed one thirty second time-out per set.
* There is a technical time out when the score adds to twenty one in the first two sets.
* No coaching is allowed during the match.

Source : athleticscholarships.net

Preparing for Rock / Ice Climbing Trip

2009-12-15T01:35:00.000-08:00

Training/Practice Exercises

In general rock climbing takes loads of energy. Every climber needs strong stamina, incredible physical strength, and enormous will power. It is not an easy activity by any means and many give up after the first attempt. Many lack the strength to even get more than few feet off the ground. Apart from increasing your muscle mass and just getting in better overall shape there are numerous things you can do to train and prepare for a big climb.

The most logical option is to take a climbing class of some sort. Brief lessons at climbing walls in your local gym or recreation center can give you the basics of climbing in a short period of time. The weather is ideal and you rarely need to worry about natural elements. It's just straightforward climbing with the safest possible equipment and “rock face.” Many Universities offer reasonably priced elective classes that include a few introductory lectures on climbing, a trip to a climbing wall, and even a short climb on a real rock face.

Climbing schools are the expert's choice for preparation. Before ascending the world's highest mountains, a training session that teaches you about safety, altitude, health, technical skills, and fitness in regards to climbing saves lives. Knowing your equipment and how to use it is one of the most important aspects of climbing and a class or lecture can help you learn quickly and efficiently. They will teach you about commonly used knots, which are one of the first and most elemental things to learn in rock climbing. Although every climber has his/her own favorites such as the overhand knot, the figure 8, the water knot, the double fisherman's knot, and others.

If climbing in high altitudes it is wise to spend a day or two just doing easy walking to acclimatize. Otherwise a day into your trip you might start feeling the effects of altitude sickness - nausea, headaches, and vomiting - which can abruptly cut your climb short.
Gear Requirements/Packing lists

For climbing there is a large assortment of other gear that is necessary and it varies form climb to climb depending on conditions: a sturdy backpack where you can fit all your food and gear as well as some group supplies, a helmet, harness, gloves, climbing shoes, and rope. Sunglasses, or glacier glasses, are incredibly important as well to ward off the intense rays of the sun that reflect off of the snow or ice. Speak with your tour operator beforehand to determine exactly what you will need to bring. Again, every climb is different and you should always consult with an expert or tour operator to determine what you need to bring for every climb.

For ice climbing you need a bit more equipment than regular rock climbing. Apart from Ropes, helmets, and harnesses you will need a decent hiking or mountaineering boot so you can dig in to the ice to retain balance with every step. You will need an ice axe to cut steps and notches into the ice of which you will need to climb. You will need crampons, which are metal boot attachments with spikes coming out of them, so you can walk on the ice and dig into it. You will need ice screws, which are like a rock climbers bolt, that allow you to tie to.

Source : iexplore.com

Sports Rafting is full of challenges

2009-12-15T01:14:00.000-08:00

Rafting on the Arkansas River, Colorado, USA

Rafting in Ljusselforsen, Krokugforsen, Pite river, Lappland Sweden.

Rafting in Brazil

Rafting or whitewater rafting is a challenging recreational activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water. This is usually done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. The development of this activity as a leisure sport has become popular since the mid-1970s.
Whitewater rafts
The modern raft is an inflatable boat, consisting of very durable, multi-layered rubberized or vinyl fabrics with several independent air chambers. The length varies between 3.5 m (11 ft) and 6 m (20 ft), the width between 1.8 m (6 ft) and 2.5 m (8 ft). The exception to this size rule is usually the packraft, which is designed as a portable single-person raft and may be as small as 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) long and weigh as little as 4 pounds (1.8 kg).

Rafts come in a few different forms. In Europe, the most common is the symmetrical raft steered with a paddle at the stern. Other types are the asymmetrical, rudder-controlled raft and the symmetrical raft with central helm (oars). Rafts are usually propelled with ordinary paddles and typically hold 4 to 12 persons. In Russia, rafts are often hand made and are often a catamaran style with two inflatable tubes attached to a frame. Pairs of paddlers navigate on these rafts. Catamaran style rafts have become popular in the western United States as well, but are typically rowed instead of paddled.

Classes of whitewater
Grade 1: Very small rough areas, might require slight maneuvering. (Skill Level: Very Basic)
Grade 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require some maneuvering.(Skill Level: Basic Paddling Skill)
Grade 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering.(Skill Level: Experienced paddling skills)
Grade 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill Level: Whitewater Experience)
Grade 5: Whitewater, large waves, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering (Skill Level: Advanced Whitewater Experience)
Grade 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous as to be effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill Level: Successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill)

Source : Wikipedia

History of Kickboxing

2009-12-09T23:57:00.000-08:00

Kickboxing started in the US during the 1970's when American karate practitioners became frustrated with strict controls on martial arts competitions that didn't allow full contact kicks and punches. Many questions were raised when the sport began about the high risk of injury. As a result, safety rules were improved and protective clothing was added. As this is a relatively new sport there are no long-term traditions. The sport has undergone changes and been refined during the last two decades. Competitors use sparring, kicks, punches, kick blocks, shadow boxing, and wood breaking that is learned and applied under professional instruction.

Source : kickboxing.com

About Capoiera

2009-12-09T23:50:00.000-08:00

Capoeira history begins with the first black slaves brought from Africa to work on sugar cane plantations and tobacco in Brazil. These slaves came from different regions and cultures of Africa, most of the Bantu tribe of Africa and the West. Realizes their new condition of forced labor to work forever, some slaves began to flee and even to rebel. Run by the plantation slaves fled to the mountains, where they formed communities of blacks. Here, the mixture of different African cultures formed the basis capoeira. This early period is however unclear and mainly based on assumptions, the first written records of the capoeira appear until around 1770, in police annals.
The African communities in the mountains started to grow, blacks increasingly going more often fromthe mountains to exchange products and especially to attack plantations and other slave issue.
Taking advantage of the Dutch attack on Brazil, which then (1630) was a Portuguese colony, slaves, blacks in the mountains revolted and fled from the plantations.
The Dutch won the war and realizes that important loss was fleeing slaves on plantations, have organized several expeditions to capture blacks in the mountains. Although in these expeditions were sent experienced soldiers , they encountered unexpected resistance from the Africans, who led the guerrilla war, characterized by rapid and unexpected attacks that caused casualties to the Dutch. Capoeira was the key element in these attacks and became the main weapon and symbol of freedom for blacks.
Blacks caught in these expeditions were taken back to the plantations. Herethey learned capoeira tothe other slaves. Sunday – the rest day, was the time when slaves had time to practice capoeira. On the plantation practice of capoeira was changed. They added dance, music and rituals to hide the fact that slaves were practicing a deadly martial art.
These workouts have the slaves ready for riots that followed, in Twenty years took place eleven major uprisings that culminated in the abolition of slavery in 1888.
Many blacks freed by not having to work on plantations, were held on criminal gangs, and the luckiest of them, because of the capoeira knowledge, were employed as bodyguards of politicians and businessmen. Fearing the threat to political stability and social order it represented capoeira, the government banned the practice, any practitioner of capoeira is shown expatriate. After a period of persecution against practitioners of capoeira, public perception of it changed after the war with Paraguay, fall capoeira practitioners were noted on the front, becoming national heroes.
Until the abolition of alcohol prohibition on capoeira in 1920, continued its practice disguised as a “folk dance. Through the efforts of practitioners, the tradition was kept alive, and capoeira was more readily accepted in the form of folk art.
In 1937, Mestre Bimba, one of the most important masters of capoeira, received the invitation from the president to make a demostratie in the capital. The demonstration was very appreciated and when he returned home, with the permission of the governor, opened the first school of capoeira in Brazil. This was the first step in the evolution of modern capoeira. Afew years later was declared a national sport in Brazil.
Today, capoeira has spread all over the world, earning increasingly more practical through its beauty and uniqueness. In Brazil it is considered part of the culture, as practiced in schools, universities, clubs and military academies.

Source : martialartsdaily.com

How to get started Fishing

2009-12-09T16:50:00.000-08:00

If you've ever wanted to have a go at fishing but aren't quite sure how to get started, take a look at Waterscape.com's fishing guide for beginners...

Setting up your equipment:

Put your rod together, ensuring that the line guides (rings) are aligned. Attach the reel to your rod at the top of the handle, ensuring that the reel spool lines up with the rod's first line guide. Open the bale-arm of the reel and thread the line through all the line guides.

To attach the float, thread the line through the small eye at the base of the float.

Now, you have to add the shot to cock the float, ie make the float sit at the right level in the water. The float you select will have a guide printed on it, telling you how much split shot is needed. An important rule when float fishing is that the bulk of the split shot, around 90%, is placed at the base of the float. The rest of the shot should be smaller in size and spread equally down the line.

Next take a size 18 ready-tied hook to nylon from the packet and tie it to the end of the line.

Note: If fishing with a small pole you only need to connect the sections together up to the required length you wish to fish, then attach a length of line and a float as described above or attach a ready tied pole rig.

Next, you need to plumb the depth of the water you are fishing, ie find out how deep it is. Attach the plummet to the hook and let it hang below the float. Swing the plummet into the anticipated fishing area using a gentle under arm cast. The float will either sink or lie flat on the water depending on whether it is set too shallow or too deep. Bring the rig back in and adjust accordingly until the exact depth is found by sliding the float up or down the line until just the painted tip is showing above the water surface. Remember you want your hook to lie either on the bottom or just slightly above the bottom.

The float rig is now set up; remove the plummet and you’re ready to fish. Now set up the rest of your tackle so it is close at hand. You need to fish from a sitting position so get yourself comfortable on your chair or box and insert your rod rest in front of you so when you place the rod on it with butt of the rod on your knee the rod tip is just touching the water. Make sure your landing net is set up and your bait and catapult are at hand.

Bait

There are many different types of bait out on the market nowadays, but the most commonly known, and the bait which is eaten by nearly all fresh water species of fish is the maggot.

Starting your session:

When you begin your session it is recommended that you start off by feeding six to ten maggots at a time - this means throwing six to ten maggots into the water so that the fish get used to seeing the bait.. Keep feeding six to ten maggots every couple of minutes, even if you are not getting any bites. The key to successful loose feeding is to keep the bait trickling in. Feed little and often.

Attach one or two maggots to your hook, cast into your chosen swim and get ready to strike when your float is pulled by a fish eating your bait.

Source : waterscape.com

History of Tai Chi

2009-12-08T18:10:00.000-08:00

Tai Chi has been practiced in China for centuries as a martial art, as exercise, and as a means of improving the flow of internal energy within the body. Because of Tai Chi's emphasis on correct form and feeling each movement, it is practiced very slowly and gently. Completely non-impact, yet involving the entire body, Tai Chi promotes strength, stamina, and flexibility, while tempering the joints of practitioners. Because the whole body moves as one, Tai Chi cultivates the link between mind and body, enhancing balance and coordination. Practitioners develop confident ease of movement.

The Taoists felt that stagnation was the cause of disease and aging. Nature moves unceasingly, and movement prevents stagnation.

Tai Chi was developed as a martial art/movement and breathing system that exersized all the joints and major muscle groups while circulating the chi, the internal energy. It is this circulation of the chi that prevents or mitigates disease and debility.

Tai Chi is performed slowly, evenly, and thoughtfully, with the emphasis on continuity of movement without break or pause. The Chinese use the metaphor of pulling silk from a cocoon: pull steadily, and the strand unravels; pull too fast or too slow, and it breaks.

Throughout the form, the body remains soft and relaxed, as if suspended from the top of the head and the joints like a puppet. The mind is centered on each movement, assessing the alignment and correctness of the form, focusing on feeling the flow from substantial to insubstantial in each movement, fending off distractions. Breathing is through the nose, slow and even, inhaling during contractions, exhaling during expansions of the form.

In Tai Chi you’re always moving, but always under complete control. There’s no overextension, no wasted effort. The whole body moves as one, with the body parts balanced in circular movement. Always moving, always rotating, always transforming into the opposite--the leg that bears the weight becomes "hollow" (weightless), the hand that was above circles below, while the other hand circles up to take its place. It’s not just hand, arm, and leg motions: the movement is controlled by the waist, and the hand, arm, and leg motions lead or follow the turning of the body. The weight shifts continuously, evenly and under complete control throughout the form, coming to rest briefly but completely on one leg or the other as the next element of the form unfolds.

As a martial art, Tai Chi uses the theory of "four ounces of strength against a ton of force" to repel the opponent without the need of force against force. Tai Chi uses the opponent’s own energy against him, while the Tai Chi practitioner exerts little or no force controlling the opponent. Where the opponent attacks, you become "insubstantial"; where the opponent is weak you attack.

History of Tai Chi

The term Tai Chi has been in the Chinese language for a very long time. It is used in philosophy, religion, literature, art, medicine and even astronomy. Now when we think of Tai Chi, we relate it to Tai Chi the martial art.
A great deal of effort was spent on finding the origin of this ancient Chinese martial art. The problem with researching the history of Tai Chi is the lack of precise written records and the fact that CNN wasn't in China then! Many books talked about Tai Chi being invented by a Taoist priest named Chang San Feng and just as many books believed that Tai Chi was invented by one of the martial art masters from the Chen village in the mid 1600's.
It is not the purpose of this web page to prove nor dispute the aforementioned theories, but to put them forth for your own analysis. For what it is worth, my belief is that Tai Chi as a martial art has been around for much longer than 300 years and cannot be attributed to one individual. Through the cumulation of many years of hard work by the masses, Tai Chi had evolved.

Source : taichiacademy.com

Badminton History

2009-12-08T01:39:00.000-08:00

The history of the development of modern badminton is a very long and complex one. Below is a brief account of the history of the game.

Origins of the Game

The sport of badminton has its origins in ancient civilisations in Europe and Asia. The ancient game known as battledore (bat or paddle) and shuttlecock probably originated more than 2000 years ago.

In the 1600s Battledore and Shuttlecock was an upper class pastime in England and many European countries. Battledore and Shuttlecock was simply two people hitting a shuttlecock backwards and forwards with a simple bat as many times as they could without allowing it to hit the ground.

Contemporary Badminton

A contemporary form of badminton - a game called ‘Poon’, was played in India in the 1800s where a net was introduced and players hit the shuttlecock across the net. British officers in the mid 1800’s took this game back to England and it was introduced as a game for the guests of the Duke of Beaufort at his stately home ‘Badminton’ in Gloucestershire, England where it became popular.

In March 1898, the first Open Tournament was held at Guildford the first 'All England' Championships were held the following year. Denmark, the USA and Canada became ardent followers of the game during the 1930s.

IBF Established in 1934

Then in 1934, the International Badminton Federation was formed, with the initial members including England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Denmark, Holland, Canada, New Zealand and France, with India joining as an affiliate in 1936.

The first major IBF tournament was the Thomas Cup (world men's team championships) in 1948. Since then, the number of world events has increased with the addition of the Uber Cup (women’s team), World Championships (individual events), Sudirman Cup (mixed team), World Junior Championships and the World Grand Prix Finals.

Commonwealth Games Sport - 1966

Badminton was introduced as a Commonwealth Games program sport in Kingston Jamaica in 1966 and has been part of every Commonwealth Games program since then. Initially all five disciplines were included – singles (men, women), doubles (men, women) and mixed doubles with the Teams Event included in the program in later Commonwealth Games.

Olympic Games Sport - 1992

Badminton is a relatively new Olympic Games sport. After being a demonstration sport in Munich in 1972, badminton became an Olympic sport in Barcelona in 1992 with the singles and doubles disciplines introduced for the first time in the Olympic Games. In Atlanta in 1996, a mixed doubles event was included and this is the only mixed doubles event in all of the Olympic sports.

Only five countries have won the gold medals since its introduction in 1992 - China (8), Indonesia (5) and Korea (5) and Denmark (1).

Susi Susanti from Indonesia won the women’s singles in Barcelona, becoming Indonesia’s first medallist in the 40 years Indonesia had competed at the Games. In the same Olympic Games, Alan Budi Kusama won Indonesia’s second gold medal in the men’s badminton singles.

Source : internationalbadminton.org

The best way to choose Camping Equipments

2009-12-08T01:31:00.000-08:00

Are you planning a great outdoor adventure? You are maybe tired of doing the same old picnic in your backyard or spending all your time driving on a vacation trip. You do not have to tire yourself.

You can spend the vacation without worrying too much on your expenses. Why don’t you try spending your vacation by camping? What is an outdoor camping?

Outdoor camping is one of the best ways to spend your holiday. Mostly, it is done far from home. Nevertheless, some families do it in the backyard. In your camping, you may need to find the best equipments to facilitate a better and worth the while outdoor camping. Why do you need these equipments?

These camping equipments allow the campers to spend the night or more outside the house. As what is stated before, you can sometimes spend your camping activities in the backyard. You need many things and do not forget that there are equipments essential for you to enjoy and have fun in your camping activities.

This will make it possible for you and your children to spend quality time away from home on a completely new different environment. This activity is not worth only for enjoyment but I also educational. Your children will learn much about the nature and about themselves.

If you are going to select camping equipments, you have to make sure that you check the equipments carefully. The equipment that you should purchase must be made with quality.

If the equipment that you will purchase promises to be waterproof, make sure that you will be safe from the rain when you use it.

Aside from that, make sure you are protected upon using it. Moreover, it can be use repeatedly but still functions well.

There are heaps of camping equipments needed in your camping activities. One of the most important camping equipments is the tent, where you and your family will spend the whole duration of camping. Tent serves as the temporary shelter for you and your family.

This is where you will sleep, eat, change clothing, cooking utensils and keep all the things that must be protected from dirt and rain. Sometimes, these materials are carried through backpack and coolers. This is why tents are essential to be waterproof.

You must be conscious about the quality of the equipments purchased. You must be aware that most of the time, these equipments will be carried in long distances therefore it should be made with quality and protected for damages.

The equipments you will be purchasing must be free from tears and resistant to damages cause by pressure and abuses. It should also be lightweight so you will not be suffering from carrying it anywhere, specially in long distances.

Many types of equipment are used for camping each with different types and different uses. It can be expensive but these equipments are all you need to continue going on with your camping activities.

Without it, you will not enjoy and have fun on your camping vacation. Your first camping trip may only be in the backyard but it will be fun and exciting as long as you purchased the products and equipments needed for this kind of outdoor activity.

Source : artofcamping.com

About Wushu

2009-12-08T01:18:00.000-08:00

Wushu has over time become a formal branch of study in the performancing arts by the Chinese. It is the most popular national sport in the country of China, and is practised by people of all ages. Modern wushu has shifted it's emphasis from combat to performance, and it is practiced for its method of achieving heath, self-defense skills, mental discipline, recreational pursuit and competition. Wushu is characterized by it dynamic and fluid motions along with its arial kicks, rolling techniques and weapons.

Wushu is the Chinese word for all the styles of Chinese Martial Arts. These arts can be Tai Chi, Shaolin Boxing, Wing Chun, and many other martial styles.

The main styles of Wushu are:

Barehands: Changquan (Long fist), Nanquan (Southern Fist), Taijiquan (Taiji Quan)
Short Weapons:

*Dao (single-edged sword)
*Jian (double-edged sword)
*Taijijian (Taiji double-edged sword)
*Nandao (Southern single-edged sword)

Long Weapons:

*Gun (Staff)
*Qiang (Spear)
*Nangun (Southern Staff)

When you look at the Chinese characters for wushu, it is actually two characters or words, Wu meaning 'martial' and Shu meaning 'art'. Upon further examination of the Chinese character for Wu, it too is two characters, Zhi meaning ' do not do' and Ge meaning 'Fight'. Thus the characters translate to 'Do not Fight'.Therefore, the word Wushu really means the 'Art of not fighting'.

Source : Wushu.com

About Ninjutsu

2009-12-07T15:10:00.000-08:00

Ninjutsu, which literally means the art of perseverance, is a martial art system that focuses on unconventional warfare, strategy, and tactics. While the majority of ninjutsu ryuha (families) became organized during the Warring States (Sengoku Jidai) period of feudal Japan history, use of ninja spies dates back to roughly 560AD. During feudal Japan, ninja operatives were routinely used by many of the powerful warlords, while other ninjutsu families used their intelligence gathering skills to keep from falling victim to the land disputes and conquering armies trampling throughout much of the country.

Ninja operatives were routinely trained in a curriculum defined by eighteen skillsets:

1. Seishin-teki kyōkō (spiritual ref)
2. Bōjutsu (stick and staff fighting)
3. Shurikenjutsu (throwing shuriken)
4. Sōjutsu (spear fighting)
5. Naginatajutsu (naginata fighting)
6. Kusarigamajutsu (kusarigama fighting)
7. Kayakujutsu (pyrotechnics and explosives)
8. Hensōjutsu (disguise and impersonation)
9. Shinobi-iri (stealth and entering methods)
10. Bajutsu (horsemanship)
11. Sui-ren (water training)
12. Bōryaku (tactics)
13. Chōhō (espionage)
14. Intonjutsu (escaping and concealment)
15. Tenmon (meteorology)
16. Chi-mon (geography)
17. Taijutsu (Unarmed Combat)
18. Kenjutsu (sword fighting)

Ninja, rather than the cut-throat mindless assassins that poorly-researched movies purport, were far more similar to spies and special operations commandos that we see today. Highly-trained - physically, mentally, and spiritually - ninja were a tremendous asset and a fascinating evolution within the strict cultural confines of Japanese history.

Source :jonfmerz.net

Parkour History

2009-12-07T14:50:00.000-08:00

A Parkour History | Who Invented Parkour? - Drew Taylor 26/09/09

Crediting one person with the invention of Parkour is difficult to do. Firstly parkour has been around as long as humans have, natural efficient movement will have been used in prehistory when chasing or escaping.

Modern Parkour developed from Georges Hébert’s ‘Natural Method’. This was a way of improving physical efficiency by using different methods of movement to complete obstacle courses. The methods of movements included walking, running, jumping, quadrupedal movement, climbing, balancing, lifting, fighting and swimming. This method of training was used to prepare Hébert’s students for what he called the “Moral Requirements” of life in the most holistic way possible. In the same way, he believed, focussing on competition didn’t enable physical education to develop mentality and moral values.

David Belle who is widely regarded as the founder of Parkour was introduced to the Natural Method by his grandfather who had seen the method practised by French soldiers. Belle, along with friends Sebastein Foucan, Yann Hnautra and Laurent Piemontesi first practised what is now known as parkour in the late nineteen-eighties. Belle introduced the practising of the natural method in urban environments to a small community of practitioners who called themselves Yamakasi. This comes from the language of Congo, meaning strong spirit, strong body, and endurance.

Many people who starting practising Parkour after the Yamakasi, are now regarded as the best in the world. Names like Daniel Illabaca, Chase Armitage, and Tim Shief are all better known than some members of the Yamakasi. Although these guys aren’t credited with the creation of urban natural method training they are extremely talented practitioners and all are individually creative with their movements.

Source : parkour-online.com

Ski Bike

2009-12-07T14:45:00.001-08:00

This will show you one way to build yourself a Ski Bike (aka Snow Bike, Skibob, Skike, or Skicycle). It is a downhill only machine and if you like bikes a lot, then it will probably keep a stupid grin plastered on your face all the way down whatever crazy hills you choose to take it on. It is easier to ride than it looks and is quite stable at high speeds (not sure about the speeds you could achieve at a ski hill, but its worked great for average hills in Wisconsin).
There are many ways you could build one of these, this is just one way to get you started.
step 1 Get a bike
Find yourself a bike that you think would be suitable. I like to keep it small so that its easier to kick with your legs or do a running start and hop on. Smaller is also g…

step 2 Remove the chainwheel
You don't need or want a chainwheel on a ski bike. I don't know if you've ever been damaged by a chainrwheel in a bike crash, but its not fun. This bike has a one piece cra…

step 3 Prepare skis
Pay a visit to your local thrift store and get yourself a cheap pair of old skis. I paid $2 for this pair of Heads. Decide how long you'd like your skis to be. I've found …

step 4Attach axles to bike
For my design, I decided to use 3/8-16 threaded rod for the axles due to cheapness and abundance of compatible hardware. Buy a ton of matching nuts and washers at Fleet Far…

step 5 Cut wood for ski mounts
Get yourself some wood that will fit between the dropouts of your bike (especially the front, which is generally narrower spacing) and be able to rotate freely without catc…

step 6 Attach blocks to ski
Now its time to screw the blocks onto the skis. First, you'll want to decide how far back you want your blocks. With 24" skis, I decided to put the blocks 6.25" from the ba…

step 7 Attach axle clamp block
Now you've got to attach the top block that will clamp the axle in place. This design is a little bit strange, but I decided to go with it because it allows fore/aft adjust…

step 8 Finished ski bike!
You're done! Go test ride it if you've got any snow. Make adjustments to the seat and handlebars until it feels right.To all who may be skeptical of the ski attachment syst…

step 9 Extra Mods
I finally got around to doing some other stuff to this bike. I was able to find and fit a 26" fork to this bike in order to reduce its tendency to double up and launch you…

Source : instructables.com

History of Football

2009-11-24T15:55:00.001-08:00

The contemporary history of the world's favourite game spans more than 100 years. It all began in 1863 in England, when rugby football and association football branched off on their different courses and the Football Association in England was formed - becoming the sport's first governing body.

Both codes stemmed from a common root and both have a long and intricately branched ancestral tree. A search down the centuries reveals at least half a dozen different games, varying to different degrees, and to which the historical development of football has been traced back. Whether this can be justified in some instances is disputable. Nevertheless, the fact remains that people have enjoyed kicking a ball about for thousands of years and there is absolutely no reason to consider it an aberration of the more 'natural' form of playing a ball with the hands.

On the contrary, apart from the need to employ the legs and feet in tough tussles for the ball, often without any laws for protection, it was recognised right at the outset that the art of controlling the ball with the feet was not easy and, as such, required no small measure of skill. The very earliest form of the game for which there is scientific evidence was an exercise from a military manual dating back to the second and third centuries BC in China.

This Han Dynasty forebear of football was called Tsu' Chu and it consisted of kicking a leather ball filled with feathers and hair through an opening, measuring only 30-40cm in width, into a small net fixed onto long bamboo canes. According to one variation of this exercise, the player was not permitted to aim at his target unimpeded, but had to use his feet, chest, back and shoulders while trying to withstand the attacks of his opponents. Use of the hands was not permitted.

Another form of the game, also originating from the Far East, was the Japanese Kemari, which began some 500-600 years later and is still played today. This is a sport lacking the competitive element of Tsu' Chu with no struggle for possession involved. Standing in a circle, the players had to pass the ball to each other, in a relatively small space, trying not to let it touch the ground.

The Greek 'Episkyros' - of which few concrete details survive - was much livelier, as was the Roman 'Harpastum'. The latter was played out with a smaller ball by two teams on a rectangular field marked by boundary lines and a centre line. The objective was to get the ball over the opposition's boundary lines and as players passed it between themselves, trickery was the order of the day. The game remained popular for 700-800 years, but, although the Romans took it to Britain with them, the use of feet was so small as to scarcely be of consequence.

Source : FIFA.COM

About Kungfu Martial Arts

2009-11-24T07:43:00.000-08:00

Kung Fu is a broad term that is used to describe all martial arts of Chinese origin. Kung-Fu existing under many different names throught China’s history. Initially Kung Fu was called Ch’uan Fa (fist way).

The Shaolin monastery housed many fugitives from justice, and many warriors turned monk, which sets the roots of Kung Fu in the Shaolin Temple in Northern China. In fact there were five different Shaolin temples in five districts, and so five distinct styles of Shaolin Kung Fu developed.

Martial arts historians stress that Kung-Fu did not start at the Shaolin temple, but simply began to flourish under Shaolin’s influence. Kung-Fu became eventually categorised into Northern and Southern styles. In the south, Cantonese people pronounce Kung Fu as gung-fu. Southern styles use low stances and kicks and strong hand techniques because they are shorter and stockier than Northern (Mandarin) people. The Northern systems are characterised by stylish and difficult patterns and acrobatic legwork, presumably because it was colder in the North so hand movement was restricted by thick robes and the mountaineous terrain enforced the development of strong legs.

Kung Fu as one of the oldest martial arts has been a great influence to other and younger martial arts styles, such as Okinawan Karate styles and subsequently Japanese Karate styles.

In modern times, Wu-shu emerged as a mixture of circus-like acrobatics and martial arts, and in China, national competitions are held in this sport. Jet-Li is a famous exponent of Wu-Shu, popularising the art in the West by appearing in martial arts movies.

Typical Kung Fu weapons are the broadsword and the butterfly knives.

Origin of Kung Fu: China

Source : martial-arts-info.com

History of Aikido Martial Arts

2009-11-24T07:33:00.000-08:00

Aikido is considered to be a non-aggressive style, as the Aikido student does not instigate the attack. The basic principle of Aikido is “Do not fight force with force”. Aikido uses very few punches and kicks. Instead, the attackers force is redirected into throws, locks and restraining techniques. Size, weight, age and physical strength differences of the opponents play only a small role, as the skilled Aikido practitioner is able to redirect the attackers energy, keeping his attacker in a constant of unbalance.

AikidoTo be effective, Aikido takes longer to learn than most other martial arts. Aikido can be practiced to a late age because this martial art does not rely on flexibility, muscle speed, or strength. Thus it has become especially popular with women and senior citizens.

Aikido training teaches the use of several martial arts weapons such as Tento, Jo and Bokken. There is also a sport style of Aikido named Tomiki Aikdo.

Origin of Aikido: Japan

Founder of Aikido: Morihei Ueshiba 1883-1969

Popularised by: Movie star Steven Seagal, the first Western person to open an Aikido school in Japan.

Source: martial-arts-info.com

Martial Arts "Karate"

2009-11-24T00:57:00.000-08:00

Master Gichin Funakoshi

Meaning “Empty hand” in Japanese, Karate is one of the more popular martial arts. Originated centuries ago from the island of Okinawa, it did not catch on in mainland Japan until the early 1900s, when Master Gichin Funakoshi simplified the self-defense techniques and added a philosophical aspect to the art. There are many different styles within Karate, but they are all characterized with the same hard blocks, punches, and kicks. Today, it is practised and studied in countries all over the world.

Source : Wikipedia

TRICKS TO RIDE DOWN HILL IN THE SNOW

2009-11-13T05:31:00.000-08:00

Professional Tweaks, Tips & Reviews By "AJ" Picarello
I hope you find my Tweaks and Tips section helpful. If there is something you want to know about, send me an email and I will try to add that to one of my upcoming articles.

Check out the conditions. If you're riding in only deep powder, you probably won't need studs (as long as the slope is very steep). Use a narrow tire. It will cut through the powder and hopefully hook up on the rocks or dirt. Try using a softer compound, especially on rock.

If the conditions are icy, you probably need studs. Some people drill 2.1" mud tires and insert sheet metal studs from the inside of the tire. They can protrude up to ¾"- 1" out of the tire. This is an extreme way to gain traction for winter riding. You can easily install over 200 screws in one tire. You'll have to line the inside of the tire with a Mr. Tuffy. This is a product that prevents the head of the screw from cutting the tube. I also install heavy-duty tubes. Be careful riding with these tires. If you slip off your pedals while riding and land on the back tire, you could possibly lose more than just blood. This winter I tried this method on my front tire only. I felt more confident and didn't notice any lack of control.

You can also purchase motorcycle ice racing studs. They come in different lengths and are inserted into the knobby from the outside. They may not be as sharp as a sheet metal screw, but still work in icy conditions. Use the Mr. Tuffy. You can still get a flat tire without one. You can also get mangled if you slip off the pedals and land on the rear tire. This is the method Professionals used at last years X Games.

Try using a rear fender. Mud Machine makes a rear fender that bolts to your bikes brake bosses. Mud Machine sells a mounting kit for bikes that don't have brake bosses. It's a very durable fender that can save your sex life.

Lengthen your bike wheel base and relax your head angle if possible. Snow riding is much harder than riding on dirt. The snow will try and launch you over your bars. You have to lean way back behind the seat. Be ready for anything. One second the bike is going perfectly straight the next it's fishtailing down vertical terrain. You'll have to use major body english to compensate for unpredictable obstacles.

Water proof socks and platform pedals are a must. Goggles are also a good idea since the cold will make your eyes water. Bring drinking water. You will probably sweat more riding in the snow than riding in the summer. Pushing a downhill bike through the snow and up a mountain is a chore. Check every section before you drop in. Check for sheets of ice. Use a rock to smash the ice if necessary. Stomp down that hard layer of snow that sometimes forms on top of powder. If you're lucky, try riding on top of that hard layer.

You will never take riding in the dry for granted again. After this winter I'll be happy riding in the rain. With some minor preparation, downhilling in the winter is 100% doable. It will make you a better rider come spring. Sometimes the conditions are better than the dry. You can hammer through packed powder with some ice and exposed rock. The snow will actually fill in gaps between rocks, smoothing out the ride.

Source : downcycles.com

Introduction to Skydiving

2009-11-13T03:40:00.000-08:00

We are offering the ultimate new skydiving experience, the AFF (Accelerated Freefall) Level 1. The cost of this introduction to skydiving course is small and is an ideal weekend adventure activity. Please visit our prices section or contact us for more information or to book.

An Accelerated Freefall (AFF) skydive is the most modern and exhilarating introduction to the skydiving world. Revolutionising the world of parachute training, it combines all the thrills of doing a tandem skydive, but with a much larger adrenalin rush and sense of achievement that you wouldn't gain from a static line jump. AFF level 1 is geared towards the person that wants to do a skydive, experiencing both freefall and being in control of their own parachute for landing.

There is no longer the necessity to be uncomfortably strapped to a Tandem Instructor to be able to experience the exhilaration of freefalling. The AFF level 1 is an introduction to skydiving where the student leaps from the aircraft (being held onto by 2 Instructors), experiences about 50 seconds of freefall, before deploying their own parachute and enjoying the amazing feeling of slowly floating down to the ground, controlling their own canopy decent for landing (the student also receives one-way radio communication from their instructor whilst under canopy).

The student and instructors will then sit down and watch the video footage of the skydive for debrief.

The training involved consists of a ground school that covers all of the various safety lessons, this usually takes about 6 hours. Then you are ready to put on your equipment and enjoy the ride up to altitude (12,000ft – 15,000ft) before jumping from the aircraft and experiencing the ultimate adrenalin rush!
15,000 feet = Jump more, learn more, enjoy more!

Source : freefalladdicts.com

Learning to Surf

2009-11-13T03:16:00.000-08:00

INTRO

It seems that we spend our lives on the hunt. Watching for the next swell, hoping the wind will clean up, living by the rhythm of the coast. And when we look back, it's full and all, but it is punctuated with these moments of blissful belonging to a perfect fluid motion. In those precious fleeting seconds, we were surfers, and all the travel, all the hours spent looking out to sea, all the friendships found on cobble and sand have all been icing on the cake.

Here in British Columbia, the best place to learn to surf is the Tofino-Ucluelet area. The national Park and Tofino city beaches provide miles of sandy shoreline with a wide variety of swell windows. Plenty of elbow room for beginners to develop their surfing skills.

WAVES
sine wave
Learning to Surf - a BC surfing tutorial - Surfing Vancouver Island
Learning to Surf - a BC surfing tutorial - Surfing Vancouver Island
Learning to Surf - a BC surfing tutorial - Surfing Vancouver Island

It's possible to learn to surf anywhere that waves break on a swimable shoreline, given the right equipment and conditions. Most of our local population lies around the straight of Georgia. We often see waves on it but you rarely see surfers on it. Waves are generated by wind moving across water. The water doesn't move with the wind so much as it transfers the energy of the wind dragging across it, into a series of waves. The further distance the wind drags across the water, called fetch, the more powerful and better organized the energy becomes. The waves spread out, and fall into groups that we call sets. There are dominant waves that we call set waves and less dominate waves that we call "your wave" with a smile and a nod. The distance between waves is measured in seconds and we call that the period. We see just the very top of waves. Most of the energy goes deep into the ocean. [graphic of sine waves overlaid on ocean cross section]

When waves are generated over thousands of km, we call that groundswell and we recognize it when the period between the peaks of the waves grows to about 12 seconds or more. In BC we get very little solid groundswell in the mid to high teens [what we hope for] but occasionally we get swells periods of 20 & 22 seconds. When you go through the spin cycle in an overhead long period wave, you become fully aware of the additional power. That should be a long way off for you at this point and we'll talk about picking suitable learning conditions a little later.

Most of the swells that we get are generated by storms [stormswell] that start in the Aleutians and spin down the coast of North America all fall and winter. They get dragged onto the continent by the jet stream anywhere from Alaska to California. We hope for swell direction [where the swell is coming from] that will get into any given break while the wind blows out from the shoreline straight against the waves.

The same storms that send swell to Vancouver Island send swells thousands of km south to Hawaii. When you picture a wave in motion, picture it moving through the water, and like an iceberg, the great majority of the wave is below the surface. As it comes into shallower water at some point the wave begins to drag on the bottom.
the wave begins to drag on the bottom, the wave jacks up, kinda trips and it breaks
This forces the water up [the wave jacks up] and kinda trips the wave and it breaks, the top of the wave falls down in front of itself. The Hawaiian Island are basically a series of Volcanoes that rise from a deep ocean floor. Because the water is so deep, so close to the shore, You end up with the pure, undiminished groundswell, hitting a very steeply rising bottom contour, such as a reef or even a steep beach, and the result is some of the biggest, finest surfing waves in the world. Here in BC the same storms fire swell at us over a shorter distance, and over La Peruse Bank which runs out 20 to 40 km from shore. As a result our beaches slope far more gradually than in Hawaii and consequently our surfing waves are comparatively scaled down in size and power.

For more info and good animations about waves and how they move, check out Traveling Waves

WIND

If the wind is blowing from the water onto the land they are onshore winds. This causes waves to break a little earlier, kind of pushes them over.

If the wind blows from the land out to sea, they are offshore winds. Surfers like em because they haven't traveled across enough water to make chop when we want glassy smooth faces to surf on. They also blow against the incoming swell and sustain the waves from breaking while they jack up a little higher and steeper before they break.

EQUIPMENT

WETSUITS
Learning to Surf - a BC surfing tutorial - Surfing Vancouver Island
Learning to Surf - a BC surfing tutorial - Surfing Vancouver Island

Water temperatures off Vancouver Island vary between the high 40s F in the winter and the low 70's in the height of the summer. We wear suits most of the time. Wetsuits keep you warm by trapping a thin layer of water against your body, which your body heats. If your suit fits loosely it will hold more water, which your body has to heat. The more water that flushes in and out through the cuffs or holes in old suits, the more water your body has to heat. Heating too much water will lower your core temperature and aside from being uncomfortable, could become dangerous in extreme circumstances. If you are shivering uncontrollably, it is time to go in and get warm. If you wait till you stop shivering, it's probably too late for you to rescue yourself.

Fit is not as important these days. Modern stretchy materials form to the wearer so well that a size up or down will probably keep you warm as a perfect fitting wetsuit.

A new suit should almost feel too tight. New materials will stretch out and conform to your body. Make sure you have lots of length in arms and legs. Make sure you can't grab a handful of suit over your lower back. There should be no folds of material under your arms or down your lats.

Most Island surfers make do with a 5/4/3 hooded suit year round. These numbers represent the thickness in millimeters of the body panels/arm & leg panels/joint panels. Thicker suits are available, but as active as surfing is, it's possible to be overheated, even throughout the winter months. We would strongly recommend an attached hood with your suit. It is possible to use a separate hood or a hooded vest with a suit, but when duckdiving through waves, there is usually a lot of flush through the neck seal and down your back.

A second summer suit is great to have. You can make due with a 4/3 or even a 3/2 without hood, gloves or boots through the summer and into the early fall most years, but the thinner the suit the shorter the season that it will keep you warm. Better to pull your neck seal open and flush a little water through to cool you off, than to be stuck with a suit that you're always cold in.

Boots and gloves should be snug without being constricting and should be overlapped by your arm and leg cuffs to create a good seal at those points. Thickness is a matter of warmth vs. dexterity and ability to feel your board with your feet. You can generally find thicknesses from 3 to 7 mm. Many times I've seen surfers in dish gloves when they've forgotten their neoprene gloves. A sorry substitute, but better than nothing on a cold winter day.

Basically it all boils down to one thing in this day of modern surf specific, wetsuits. If you are cold, your suit doesn't fit right.

WETSUIT CARE
Don't pee in your wetsuit. Yes it is comforting when you're cold in a "mother is home but what she don't know won't hurt me" sort of way, but you're just waging chemical, and bacteriological warfare against your poor wetsuit, and it will stink.

Rinse you suit thoroughly every time you use it.

Use a mild detergent or a wetsuit specific soap in warm water to wash your suit, and especially your boots and gloves regularly. Hot water is not recommended for wetsuits.

Keep your suit on a wide plastic hanger. Wire hangers and leaving your suit in a heap on the floor will create creases that will be the first wear-out points on your suit. Creases decrease lifespan.

Do not store your suit in direct sunlight. It will lose elasticity and become stiff and brittle before it's time.

SURFBOARDS

Don't go out and buy a new board right away.

First the surfboard that you use as an accomplished surfer will be far too fragile to take you through the learning process. We want to surf lightweight boards, which means a thin skin over Styrofoam. Beginners tend to be very tough on surfboards. They hit them hard with their knees and put great dents in them. Beginners tend to lean surfboards against cars and walls where they can fall over. They bump them against sharp pointy things, handle them roughly and don't keep them in good padded boardbags. Beginners don't get dings fixed right away and the board takes on water and deteriorates from within. They ride their boards right to the shore and drag their fins on the bottom, causing excessive wear and cracking the glass around their fins or breaking them right off.

For all these reasons you should always borrow your friend's board to learn on, or maybe rent one. If you want to buy a board, look for a larger board somewhere between 7-9' depending on your weight and size. An old beater longboard or mini-mal with layers of fiberglass will work, but the ideal board to lean on is a seamless epoxy or molded plastic surfboard. These boards are nearly indestructible and are what most surf schools use and what most shops rent out. Once you progress to a better surfboard, your beginner board will be handy for small days and as a loaner, for when your friends want to learn.

The board should have some rocker to it. This is the curve you see [or don't see] when you look down the length of the bottom of a surfboard. The rocker makes a board easier to turn, but a little less stable in straight forward motion.

A big wide tail [squash tail] will provide easier maneuverability for turning, but will not anchor in a wave as well as a thin tail [pin tail] and therefore will not turn quite as easily. There are many other types and variations of tails, but to start, stick with the basics and stay choose something besides a pin tail in the early stages.

The wider a board, the more stable it will be. Aim for a surfboard that is at least 20" wide and 24" would not be too wide depending on your body size and arm length. Remember you have to lay on this board and paddle it.

The thickness of a board is a key indicator of how well it will float you. To begin you probably want a pretty thick board at least 2.5" and it could even be over 3" thick. Shortboards are far harder to paddle than longboards because the surfers weight sinks the board and much of the surfer below the water's surface creating drag.

If you buy a shortboard because you are sure you will become a short boarder, you will start out on a surfboard which will be too small for you to learn on. Paddling is tougher and that will make it tougher to catch waves. Learning to surf on a shortboard can be extremely frustrating, but if you must buy a shortboard right off, go for a fish or egg shape, wider than other shortboards and fatter for increased volume to float you better. These are boards that you might well keep in your quiver for smaller, mushier days.
SURFBOARD CARE

While were talking about surfboards, surf wax goes on the top. Unlike most sports, surfers use wax to stick to their boards while skaters, skiers and snowboarders use wax to make their boards slide. If you want to clean old wax off, leave your board in the sun for a while or use a hair dryer and then use a wax comb or plastic scraper. A citrus based cleaner on a cloth will clean up the rest.

Apply wax from the edge of the bar, dragging it across the surface of the board at 90 degrees so the bar of wax kind of stutters and jumps across your surfboard. Over successive applications wax will build into bumps all over the riding surface of your board.

Keep your surfboard out of direct sunlight. The UV will deteriorate the fiberglass skin and discolor it.

Keep your surfboard in a boardbag. Most damage to surfboards is caused in transport and in storage. If you want to look at it in your home, secure it to the wall or ceiling so it can't be knocked over and where it won't get bumped, gouged, bent, spindled, folded or mutilated. Don't lean your board up against your car. It's just about sure to fall over and get damaged.

If you ding it on a trip, seal it immediately. Duck tape is an iffy patch. There are temporary sun cured patching systems available. As well, most surf shops sell permanent resin patch kits with full instructions starting at about $20. Most important rule is to get all the water out before you patch permanently. Pear the hole a little larger if you have to and use a hair dryer or keep the board near a heat source for a few weeks if you have to. If you don't, the water will discolor the affected area over time, big time. Surfboard resins are clearer than ordinary resins and a distinctly different product but if looks aren't a big issue, any polyester resin will do in a pinch.

Learning to Surf - a BC surfing tutorial - Surfing Vancouver Island
Learning to Surf - a BC surfing tutorial - Surfing Vancouver Island
Learning to Surf - a BC surfing tutorial - Surfing Vancouver Island
Learning to Surf - a BC surfing tutorial - Surfing Vancouver Island

YOUR LEASH

Stop before you enter the water and put on your leash. Put your board on the sand fins down [don't want sand in your wax] and attach the Velcro band around your ankle. Sometimes you'll see longboarders secure it around their upper calf. This is to absorb the added pull from a big board in big surf and to keep the leash out of the way a little better when walking around on the surfboard.

When Olympic swimmer Duke Kahanamoku introduced the original California crew to surfing in the 1920s no one used leashes. When they fell, they tried to keep control of their boards because letting go meant swimming into shore to retrieve it and then punching their way back out to the lineup. A lot of work, but it kept surfers in top shape. By the the 60s, surgical rubber tubing was tied to a hole in the fin and the other end around your ankle. A 10' section of leash might stretch out to 30' or more, and begin it's recoil just before your head broke the surface. It was a little like being tethered to a guided missile and you were ground zero. These days leashes are fairly stable, more comfortable to wear and substantially more reliable. Over time they will stretch and this is pretty important to keep an eye on. If you bought an 8' leash and it's now 9.5' long, it has probably become a leash that you should not trust anymore, especially if you have progressed to larger waves.

That brings us to another very important point. You can learn to surf with limited swimming abilities in shallow water and waist high waves. If you want to safely progress into larger waves, you must improve your swimming ability and then keep training. A surfboard is not a life preserver and all leashes can break. If you go out on your surfboard in conditions that you could not swim back into shore through, you are playing Russian roulette. Even just getting out to the lineup with your surfboard can require tremendous physical excretion and if you're not in peak physical condition, you'll get out there exhausted and unable to surf well or enjoyably.

SOMEONE TO SURF WITH

For may people finding the right person to surf with makes every difference in how far you eventually progress. Although it can be said that a surfer is on his own in the water, for most people, surfing is just plain safer and more fun with friends, especially if you surf and learn with someone close to your own skill level. There are the added bonuses of sharing expenses and sharing the responsibility for each other's safety in the water.

Back in the day, we learned to surf by moving to a surfing area and surfing with the folks that we found there. Today there are so many people surfing and the surf areas have such limited housing and jobs available that this is just not an option for most would be surfers. On Vancouver Island most surfers drive from 1 to 3 hrs to surf. Mainlanders add 2hrs for the ferry if they time it just right and there's no line-up.

When planning surf trips, keep in mind that two or more consecutive days of surfing will progress your surfing ability far more substantially than the same number of surfing days over a period of weeks or months. Your first day of surfing will be far more rewarding and safer if you have some guidance and introduction to the equipment and local waters from an experienced surfer to get you started. If you have friends, surfboards and equipment, there is no better way to spend time.

Introductory and the occasional advanced surfing lessons will maximize your learning curve during short surf trips.

TRAINING
Learning to Surf - a BC surfing tutorial - Surfing Vancouver Island
Learning to Surf - a BC surfing tutorial - Surfing Vancouver Island
Learning to Surf - a BC surfing tutorial - Surfing Vancouver Island
Learning to Surf - a BC surfing tutorial - Surfing Vancouver Island

You can enjoy learning to surf mellow little waves with a minimum of physical ability. From youth to old age, whatever your physical condition, the more you invest in your body, the more you will be capable of enjoying surfing. Surfing and paddling employ very specific and little used muscle groups. Unless you surf nearly everyday, you'll want to do a little training to enable your surfing to progress. Your goals are;

* increase your wind and endurance
* strengthen your pop up
* strengthen paddling mussels which are very difficult to target in a gym.

Push-ups, push-ups, push-ups and then more push-ups. This will strengthen your arms for paddling and greatly improve control in your popup.

Squat thrusts are good and any and all cardio exercises to increase your wind.

Chin ups are great but remember to vary the position and direction of your grip on the bar to target as wide a variety of mussels as possible.

Swim laps if you have access to a pool. The breast stroke is close to paddling, but all swimming will help big time.

A good excercise machine can be constructed from a 5 gallon bucket of weights. A cable goes straight up to a clothesline pulley on the ceiling, over to another pulley 5 feet away, and down to a bar that you can barely reach when standing flatfooted on the floor. Doing pull downs on this targets some paddling mussels.

There are commercial surf paddling exercise machines on the market.

POP-UPS
lay on your surfboard with your hands beside your chest
roll your power foot over on your inside ankle and do a push up
bring your front foot up beneath you.
spread your feet wide, both centered on the stringer & 90 deg to the stringer

A pop-up takes you from lying prone on your surfboard to standing position. To practice this you can draw a surfboard in the sand, tape one out on your floor or put your surfboard across your bed [simulates water and protects board. Just don't fall on your head!]

First you have to figure out if you're goofy or regular foot. You may already know which foot you favor if you skate ski or board. If you don't, stand with both feet together at attention and get someone to gently push you forward. Usually the foot you step forward with will be your power [back] foot on the surfboard. Right foot back is regular, and left back is goofy foot.

You need to find your stance. A good stance is spreading your feet as wide as is comfortable. Both feet centered on the stringer and at 90 deg to the stringer.

Do not stand straight up on your surfboard. It will put your center of gravity so high you are sure to fall over fast. Create the lowest center of gravity possible by bending your knees.

Your hands should stretch forward and backward along the line of the stringer to help stabilize you further. In order to stay centered on the board your feet and shoulders should stay centered over the surfboard's stringer.

Now lay flat on your surfboard or sudo surfboard taped out floor with your hands beside your chest like your going to do a pushup.

Take your power foot and roll it over on your inside ankle.

Let the hip above your power foot roll up off the board.

Keeping your power foot back, push your chest off the board and start bringing your front foot up beneath you.

This should take you in one continuous motion from a prone position to two feet on the board . If you go to your knees in the middle of the pop-up, you will not be able to make the bottom turn and your surfing will not progress.

As you become more practiced, your motion will become smoother and more fluent. You will learn how to end your popup stably planted on your board without putting your hands on the board to balance.

Lot's of surfers swear by balance boards for improving balance.

PADDLING

Learning to Surf - a BC surfing tutorial - Surfing Vancouver Island
video .wmv 205 megs

Learning to paddle efficiently is an essential part of surfing. If you can't paddle well, you can't get out to the surf and you can't catch a wave. If you do manage to struggle out, chances are you'll be too tired to enjoy your surf.

We need to find your sweet spot. What that means is you have to find the position of balance on your board where you are neither too far forward or back on your surfboard. If you are too far forward your board will pearl end over end every time. If you are too far back, the submerged tail of your board creates drag and you lose efficiency. Lay prone on your surfboard in the water and extend your arms out to either side. Adjust your body forward or back to make the board float very close to level.

Keep your feet together and begin an overhand crawl. Establish a slow deliberate rhythm and work your breathing pattern into to the paddling rhythm. Fully extend your arms and dig deep. Shallow, short strokes will get you nowhere. The smoother your paddling technique the less energy you will expend for any distance traveled. Don't push too hard. More exertion does not always equal better paddling.

If you have access to lakes rivers or salt chuck, paddle regularly. If you have access to a pool you can even tie the ladder and stationary paddle. Without forward momentum your surfboard will be quite unstable but you'll get paddling exercise and balance training.

FINDING A PLACE TO SURF

Because there is a limited amount of road access to our exposed west coast, there are only a few areas that are commonly surfed on Vancouver Island. This can lead to crowding and short tempers at surfing breaks, especially on the south island. With many people competing for waves, the last thing you want to do is venture into the middle of busy breaks before you have the acquired the skill level to consistently catch and surf waves. There is just no point in frustrating and alienating the people that you will surf with for years to come while you are learning.

If you must learn at crowded breaks, pick areas away from the crowds points, reefs and peaks. Choose the smaller waves off to the side or hunt out lesser used breaks. To my way of thinking the Tofino area is by far the superior area to learn to surf. Not only is there miles of beachbreak making for oodles of elbow room, but most of the bottom is sand which is a little more forgiving to beginners and their surfboard fins.

To begin with you want to be away from other surfers and never directly inshore from kayakers. A Kayak full of water a being pushed by a wave makes a formidable steamroller. By the same token, you on your surfboard in motion can seriously hurt a swimmer, so take care.

Ideally find a sand beach with waste high waves breaking in waste deep water. Ideally the whitewater should break at a point in the wave and gradually spread down the wave face. Become familiar with your surfboard and learn to pop up and stand in these conditions. If the waves wall up sharply and large sections of the wave dump all at once, keep looking. This beach is not a reasonable place to learn at this time. Also be aware that the majority of surf injuries occur to beginners close to the shore [and to well accomplished surfers for that matter]. The problems are varied and include

* laying too far forward on the board so that it nose dives to the bottom [pearls] and stops abruptly. Facial & head injuries can result.
* trying to paddle into a wave that is breaking all at once [dumping shore pound we call it] gets you worked like you were out further in bigger waves only you're in shallow water and the bottom is right there for you to bounce off, and your board is attached to you and kept close in shallow water and will smack you.

A few lessons with a skilled surf instructor can minimize easily avoidable injuries and dramatically sharpen your learning curve.

When you have become very comfortable close to shore you will probably want to get into some bigger waves. They will provide cleaner larger faces and the opportunity to gain enough speed to start making bottom turns and on into all manner of surfing maneuvers.

Wherever you choose to learn, spend lots of time watching. Watch the waves, where they break and the pattern of their breaking. Watch the wind interact with the waves. Ideally it will be straight offshore, and it's force will slow and draw out the breaking of the wave. Be aware of wind direction and speed, swell direction and height, tide height and direction, and remember how they work together at each particular break. As you accumulate this kind of spot knowledge, you'll become better at hitting the right break for any given conditions. Discovering breaks with your friends and learning this stuff on your own kinda makes a spot your own in a way that learning from someone else can never do. That's my considered opinion.

Learning to Surf - a BC surfing tutorial - Surfing Vancouver Island
Learning to Surf - a BC surfing tutorial - Surfing Vancouver Island

PADDLING OUT
Watch the waves at a spot before you go out. Most surfers check a spot before putting on their wetsuit and might watch for a few minutes or might stand there for hours if they're waiting for tide or wind changes. They watch for how the waves are breaking, how long the surfable sections are, where they close out and of course where they break. They watch for sets [the patterns of a big waves and smaller waves] and they look for sets within sets. Forget that nonsense about 7 waves in a set. Every swell is different and swells vary according to many influences including fetch, wind, currents, bottom contour, tide height and direction and then you start mixing swells, two hitting at once, or the period of transition between two swells at any given location. What I'm getting at is that every break works differently for each swell that arrives, and you want to learn to surf well, you have to study waves. It's also handy to know when any lulls are going to happen and how long they might last so you can sneak out during them instead of fighting your way out through the set waves [the big dudes]. They look for cleanup sets that huge compared with the rest and leave surfers scratching for the outside lest they get pummeled inside.

Watch other surfers at the spot where you will surf, where they paddle out and how they time their go out in between sets. Watch them paddle anywhere, even into turbulent waters rather than get in the way of an up and riding surfer.

Watch the foam on the surface and look for horizontal movement indicating rip currents and look for where the foam moves out to sea. Notice that the incoming waves are kind of beaten down and smaller around these outflow channels and that makes them a good place to paddle out. Rip currents are caused by incoming waves piling up water along the shoreline. The excess water moves horizontally along the shore to a headland, rocks or a trench and then flows back out to sea. The currents can be surprisingly strong, like being in a fast flowing river. If you are caught in one of these outflows and try to paddle straight back into the shore, you'll only exhaust yourself, and are unlikely to make any headway. If you turn parallel to the shore and paddle a short way, you'll be out of the outflow in moments and in water that is pushing back towards the shore. One of the many situations in the ocean where panic will screw you, and a moment of clear thinking will keep you safe and in control of your situation.
DUCK DIVING
The purpose of duckdiving is to get you through a wave that you can't paddle around or over, while losing as little gained distance as possible to the shoreward motion of the wave.

Carry as much momentum paddling toward and up to the wave, as you can. Lay prone on your board and as the trough of the wave approaches lift your chest as high off the board as you can. Drive the nose of your board as deep into the water as possible with as much force as you can muster. As the wave passes over you transfer your weight from the nose of the board to the back using your foot and pulling up on the nose. Depending on your positioning and momentum, it may take little to make you rise up through the backside of the wave and continue paddling down into the trough beyond. Repeat as necessary.

Learning to Surf - a BC surfing tutorial - Surfing Vancouver Island

CATCHING A WAVE - Beginner on shoreline reformed waves
Once you have chosen a wave, turn your board toward the shore and paddle as hard as you can toward the shore. As the wave hits your feet take 2 or 3 more strong strokes and as the whitewater gets to your chest you will feel the wave take over pushing you. This is your big chance. Popup and remember your stance. If you stand straight up, you will fall straight over like it was a law or something.
CATCHING A WAVE - Novice
Once out in the lineup beyond the impact zone [where the waves break] always keep an eye toward the incoming waves. Although you are outside where the waves normally break, cleanup sets can surprise you and leave you inside and next in line for a pounding, not to mention having to paddle back out without a ride.

Choose a wave that looks like it will be steep enough to ride and that you think will break very close to you. On beach break the takeoff point will vary back and forth and takes a bit of luck to start with. Paddle hard and fast to match the speed of the incoming wave as closely as you are able. As the trough of the wave seems to fall out from in front of you the wave will start to grab you. this is the moment of truth. If you can make it onto the face of the wave, take another stroke or two, pop up and ride down the face. If the wave is going to break out from under you, back stroke with both hands to pull yourself onto the back of the wave and turn and paddle back out. Keeping a close eye on the next incoming wave. It may have your name on it.

The Rules

* Don't Drop In
the surfer up and riding who is closest to the white water owns the wave. If you drop in on someone's wave, the cosmos may no longer support you. All warrantees and guarantees, written, stated or implied, may be voided.

* Don't Snake
In the lineup, if you paddle around someone who is in position and get deeper in position than they are to take their wave you have snaked the other surfer. Sea lions find this particularly arousing, but you never, ever want to arouse a sea lion.

* Don't Go Agro
If you go agro with other surfers, surely the same will be revisited on you, tenfold. If you go agro on a wave, we want to watch.

* Respect the Locals
Respect the regulars at all breaks. They wait long periods for good swell and then face crowds when the swells arrive.

The line-up
The lineup is where you wait to catch waves, just a little outside of where they will break. Most surfers sit on their boards and face offshore to watch for incoming waves. Because different size waves will break closer to shore and further out, your point of take off will vary on any given wave. When a set comes in, your position in the lineup will dictate wether you can go for a wave. If the surfers close by you have been waiting longer than you or not will dictate if you should go for a wave or not.
Localism
When you paddle out into a new lineup for the first many times, chances are good that you are paddling out into a group of people that have known each other for years. They will generally not be particularly happy to see a new face. They will have no idea if you have any manners or not, if you will be a wave hog, or just bring down the vibe in the lineup. Wether you will go out of turn, or just clog up the lineup without having the skill level to make use of the precious few waves available at the spot. If you show up full of attitude, you can expect to be received as poorly as if you had just burst into a stranger's living room uninvited. Of course all people, citizens and visitors alike are guaranteed unrestricted access to foreshores and waterways in Canada, but the trick is to reject any denial of access to any public lands or waterways in Canada without getting so serious about it that you invite pecking from the other roosters & chickens in the yard.

The advice is simple;

* Watch a surfing break for a long time, even over several visits, before you paddle out. Even after you are surfed out [or before] check spots that you would like to surf in the future.
* Learn to surf on small waves that proficient surfers aren't into. You find them near where better surfers are surfing. Do not pick a spot between the beach and where surfers are sitting. They'll be surfing there.
* As you progress and want to move into better formed breaks, make the move when the break doesn't have a packed lineup. Real good surfers show up at their favorite breaks and move on, because it's overcrowded, all the time. Go explore a bit and find a quiet little break to hone your skills. You'll also learn faster with the better wave count a quiet break will provide you with.
* Be friendly with others, regardless of their demeanor. Do not expect confrontation and don't be quick to recognize a standoffish demeanor as confrontational.
* If you surf with courtesy, you will become accepted.
* If you are confronted with a threat of violence at a surfing break, call 911. The only way surfers can continue to expect a peaceful surfing experience is to reject and confront any other alternative.

Surfing related aggression and violence is more of an urban myth on Vancouver Island, than an ongoing phenomenon. As far as we can figure, a very few incidence have taken on legendary status. There are a few unfriendly characters as can be expected in any surfing population these days, but by and large BC surfers are hospitable to each other and visitors alike.

Source : surfingvancouverisland.com

Hiking Equipment

2009-11-04T18:08:00.001-08:00

Hiking equipment is gear or equipment that one takes along on an outdoors hiking trip. While hiking is considered different from backpacking (overnight camping), the equipment is of necessity of a shorter term more practical nature for such a walk. However even for a day trip it is prudent to pack at least rudimentary solutions for eventualities that may arise including being forced to stay the night, getting lost, or accidents.

Hiking equipment may be considered in several categories

* Items Worn - Things that a hiker wears on the hiking trip. This may include footwear, clothing, head gear, etc.
* Carrying Items - Backpacks, waist packs, walking sticks or staffs, etc.
* Essential gear - Items that are essential for the hike safety or necessary in potential emergency situations.
* Food and drink - Food items to consume as snacks, lunch, or in emergencies.
* Optional Items - Any other items that the hiker desires to bring along including seating pads, chairs, notebooks, hammocks, and sometimes even computers.

Weight and bulk limit the amount of equipment that one can carry (particularly if one follows the principle of Leave No Trace and does not discard items on the trail). Criteria for packing an item include weight, bulk (size), number of alternative uses and the chances of each of those uses becoming apparent, weighed against the importance. For example, a whistle may seem unlikely to become necessary, but can be real life saver when it does and weighs next to nothing. Other items, like a sleeping bag, can also be important but can also be very restricting, so a simpler alternative like an extra layer of clothing might be a better idea.

First of all, one needs something to carry the equipment in. This can be simple fisherman's jacket or a daypack for short hikes, or a full backpack.

Source : Wikipedia.org

Hiking

2009-11-04T18:02:00.000-08:00

Rock Climbing Equipment and Techniques

2009-11-04T17:54:00.000-08:00

THE SPORT of free climbing---climbing rocks using equipment for safety only---has grown very popular: hundreds of thousands of people practice the sport in the U.S. alone. Its popularity has grown in part because of advances in climbing equipment that make climbing safer.
These pages discuss the sport of free climbing---rock climbing using equipment for safety only. The sport presents a physical and mental challenge with minimal danger. Because of the potential for serious injury, much specialized safety equipment has been devised, making it a very safe sport in most cases. Detailed knowledge of safety equipment is crucial for safe climbing, however, and requires an attention to detail absent in many other sports.
These pages describe some of the safety equipment used in free climbing and two common techniques for using it. In one technique, top-roping, a rope from the top of the climb always holds the climber, making most slips harmless. In the other technique, lead climbing, the climber attaches the rope to the rock at points along the climb. This is not as safe, it allows more routes to be climbed.
These pages also describe how to get started in the sport. Finding a place to climb is easily done with one of the many available guidebooks. How to use equipment safely is best learned from an experienced climber, although some books are available.
To the uninitiated, climbing can seem intimidating, but most beginners are surprised at how quickly they can get started. Fundamentally, it is not that much different from climbing trees, something most of us did as children. The difference is that good rock is more trustworthy than a tree.

Rock Climbing

2009-11-04T17:51:00.000-08:00

Tips Choosing a Bike Type

2009-10-22T20:41:00.000-07:00

We never confuse with the kinds of bicycles that circulate in the market, in general we have a lot of bicycles in circulation is the kind of MTB or more known as a mountain bike and Road Bike better known as Road Bike.

Mountain bike or MTB is still on for several more such types of Competitve XC, XC Trail, All Mountain, Freeride / Downhill, Progrsive HT, Recreational XC. While for Road bike or racing bike as well as in the sharing of related species such as Com [etitive Road, Endurance, TT (time trial), Fixed Gear (single speed), Fitness (comutte).

That outlines the many types of bicycles in circulation, but many vendors do a special development and create new types of bicycles as bicycles cyclocross, dirtjumper, and many other modif bike.

To find out what bike fits your needs and desires is useful to know the descriptions of each type of bike, these tips contain descriptions of global bicycle that allows you choose a bike.

Mountain Bike MTB.
a. Competitive XC:
This bike is usually quite mild for this type of MTB, a lightweight bike for cross country (offroad). Competitive XC usually used for off-road terrain that is not too down, very suitable for the likes speed and power in the field explore offroads.
b. XC Trail:
Type a more bike made for off-road terrain is extremely bad, it seems a rather sharp derivative with many corners, front and rear suspension are usually more tender than the Competitive XC, front and rear suspension are also able to set the scale in hard and soft.
c. All Mountain:
MTB are seen in the muscular appeal of any other XC, had a greater suspension and stronger. This bike rider in the appropriations for the likes of many off-road terrain jumping locations. This bike is suitable for light downhill and attractions in cycling.

d. Freeride / Downhill:
This bike we often see in the world championship downhill, the bike is very heavy for this type MTB. This bike frame is very heavy because the downhill requires extremely high stability. This type of suspension bikes have front trafel (length of suspension) versus longer in other MTB bike, and certainly the rear suspension is mandatory in this type of bike.
e. Progresive / Dirt jumpers
More on perutukan for riders who love the show showoff and skills or hone skills in bicycle attractions. With a frame shape that seemed straight from the front and rear.
f. Recreational XC
XC bike is to field a lightweight cross contry, this is a lot of bicycles in use today MTB in mild off-road and cross coutry.

Road bike.

a. Competitive Road
Is a racing bike in the appropriations for the competitive event, with a very light weight of the total weight of the bike can reach 5kg, for the healthy like a paved road biking is one option.
b. Endurance Road
Is a racing bike with a frame that is more resistant to smooth path such that no block paving, bike with this type meyukai suitable for the type of road asphalt is not only smooth but the bad asphalt road. In addition to suitable light for the fans speed, this type of bike made feasible the option of cycling on non-asphalted roads.
c. TT (time trial)
This is real racing bike, very light with the aero dynamic design carefully to the wind. Bike racing is a lot of use for the competition Time Trial / Thriatlon that requires speed.
d. Single speed.
With a single gear bike, bike fit anywhere. Single speed bike with it had no speed settings, make this bike simple and prakstis especially for those who live in urban areas.
e. Commute
Bike is a joint design of bicycle racing competition classes and daily necessities. Many vendors ranging from bicycles to adjust handle bar (handlebar), to the composition of the tires and gear ratios.

From the description above we start the bike has a picture if a suitable bike for the needs of our cycling is good for health or special indeed for the competition.
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Kami akan menggunakan saran Anda untuk meningkatkan kualitas terjemahan saat sistem kami diperbarui di masa mendatang. Tips Choosing a Bike Type
We never confuse with the kinds of bicycles that circulate in the market, in general we have a lot of bicycles in circulation is the kind of MTB or more known as a mountain bike and Road Bike better known as Road Bike.

Mountain bike or MTB is still on for several more such types of Competitve XC, XC Trail, All Mountain, Freeride / Downhill, Progrsive HT, Recreational XC. While for Road bike or racing bike as well as in the sharing of related species such as Com [etitive Road, Endurance, TT (time trial), Fixed Gear (single speed), Fitness (comutte).

That outlines the many types of bicycles in circulation, but many vendors do a special development and create new types of bicycles as bicycles cyclocross, dirtjumper, and many other modif bike.

To find out what bike fits your needs and desires is useful to know the descriptions of each type of bike, these tips contain descriptions of global bicycle that allows you choose a bike.

Mountain Bike MTB.
a. Competitive XC:
This bike is usually quite mild for this type of MTB, a lightweight bike for cross country (offroad). Competitive XC usually used for off-road terrain that is not too down, very suitable for the likes speed and power in the field explore offroads.
b. XC Trail:
Type a more bike made for off-road terrain is extremely bad, it seems a rather sharp derivative with many corners, front and rear suspension are usually more tender than the Competitive XC, front and rear suspension are also able to set the scale in hard and soft.
c. All Mountain:
MTB are seen in the muscular appeal of any other XC, had a greater suspension and stronger. This bike rider in the appropriations for the likes of many off-road terrain jumping locations. This bike is suitable for light downhill and attractions in cycling.

d. Freeride / Downhill:
This bike we often see in the world championship downhill, the bike is very heavy for this type MTB. This bike frame is very heavy because the downhill requires extremely high stability. This type of suspension bikes have front trafel (length of suspension) versus longer in other MTB bike, and certainly the rear suspension is mandatory in this type of bike.
e. Progresive / Dirt jumpers
More on perutukan for riders who love the show showoff and skills or hone skills in bicycle attractions. With a frame shape that seemed straight from the front and rear.
f. Recreational XC
XC bike is to field a lightweight cross contry, this is a lot of bicycles in use today MTB in mild off-road and cross coutry.

Road bike.

a. Competitive Road
Is a racing bike in the appropriations for the competitive event, with a very light weight of the total weight of the bike can reach 5kg, for the healthy like a paved road biking is one option.
b. Endurance Road
Is a racing bike with a frame that is more resistant to smooth path such that no block paving, bike with this type meyukai suitable for the type of road asphalt is not only smooth but the bad asphalt road. In addition to suitable light for the fans speed, this type of bike made feasible the option of cycling on non-asphalted roads.
c. TT (time trial)
This is real racing bike, very light with the aero dynamic design carefully to the wind. Bike racing is a lot of use for the competition Time Trial / Thriatlon that requires speed.
d. Single speed.
With a single gear bike, bike fit anywhere. Single speed bike with it had no speed settings, make this bike simple and prakstis especially for those who live in urban areas.
e. Commute
Bike is a joint design of bicycle racing competition classes and daily necessities. Many vendors ranging from bicycles to adjust handle bar (handlebar), to the composition of the tires and gear ratios.

From the description above we start the bike has a picture if a suitable bike for the needs of our cycling is good for health or special indeed for the competition.

Tips to buy a bike for beginners

2009-10-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

Determine What You Need
The first thing you should consider before shopping for a mountain bike what you need. Do you plan on cycling for exclusively off-road terrain? Is for community to work or to school? Or mix for both? And the important thing, too, how often you will be driving it. If you are looking for a mountain bike for offroad use, but never drove it in the off-road, try to borrow a bicycle past your friends and ask where the off-road terrain with beginner like you. Cycling in the field is very different from off-road biking on the road. Next, multiply reading mountain bike magazines, browsing the Internet or join the community forum with the bike. Reading is a very good start.

How Much Money Spend What You Want
Deciding how much money you want to remove it is a difficult decision. As a general rule, the more money you want to spend the better bike you will get. Striking difference between the price difference was the components (eg shifter, derailleur, brakes). The more expensive the better durability (unless you start buying high-end components that are usually very light and will reduce the durability). Most beginners buy a bicycle from the low end first, will later upgrade the components needed. There is also another idea is buy a bike with the best components you can, with reason would be more efficient than upgrade it later on.

Mirroring Good Dealer Bicycles The Good
When you visit the store, the important thing is to find a retailer to understand the bike and you taste good when talking to him. Ask him if there are words that are less understood. Try to love the questions to those you already know the answer and wait for the answer. If the answer is not satisfactory, try searching for other people to help you. Also ask what bike he used. If the person who asked not wearing a mountain bike, you should find another. A good seller will listen to what you need and help you find a suitable bike for you. Visit to a bike shop. Each store has different options and bicycle-bike models. Quality stores are also important. You buy at the store should be liable for any rakitannya. Bad assembly will make uncomfortable when driving. Make sure you are comfortable with the skill taste of his staff. You want a convenient store to bring your bike to the service at a later date.

The Right Bike
Try some kind of bicycle ride from the low end of your budget and the high end. Feel the difference. Try also with the difference of its components to find the best that you feel. Large stores have several options and has a size suitable for the try. When you try it on the ground quite roomy, try also on grass, asphalt and soil. Feel comfortable feeling when a try. Usually bicycle dealers will allow you to try the bike around 5-10 minutes.The most important when you try and buy a bike is the right size for you. For mountain bikes, at least 2 inches from the top tube when you stand in the middle-middle. You also make sure the seat height range. Your legs should be almost straight when sitting and your feet on the pedals at the lowest point. There are two ways to measure the size of a bicycle bar. One, from the middle of the bottom bracket to the seat tube. Two, from the middle of the bottom bracket to top tube. Standard size bike is very different from the manufacturer. So try first and find the right which anda.Cobalah drive sizes in the field who have the asphalt, grass, dirt, etc.. If you think a bike has found a match with you, try several times again. Make sure the drive with a sense of comfort, pengoperan teeth were correct and the standard brakes.

Mountain Bike picture

2009-10-22T20:22:00.000-07:00

Cycling

2009-10-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

Cycling is a recreational activity or sport, and is one mode of transportation that use bicycles. Many cycling fans who do these activities in various fields, such as hills, steep terrain or simply just race speed.

Professional cycling sport is called racing bikes.

People who use bicycles as a mode of transportation can also be called a regular commuter. The use of bicycles as a mode of transportation is not routinely carried out only by workers who work in non-formal sector, but also performed by workers employed in the formal sector.

The formal sector workers who use bicycles as a mode of transportation is routinely incorporated in most of the cycling community workers or what is known as Bike To Work Indonesia (B2W Indonesia).