Want to learn some of the best kept secrets of martial arts moves that work great? I want to explore and share with you a collection of street self defense fighting techniques that will make you a better fighter. I have been a martial artist my whole life, and have fought in many dangerous situations outside of the dojo. From what I can tell you, these are the following best kept secrets of reality based self defense training:
Learn martial arts moves #1 – The kick to the groin. You can use the kick, or a knee strike to cause and inflict damage and mostly pain to a male opponent. This move is not just limited with kicks and knee strikes, you can elbow the groin, stomp, bite, squeeze, rip. It is a very painful and sensitive area on every male opponent and if you need to fight for your life everything is fair on the street. Remember that and use this move.
Learn martial arts moves #2 – Stab your fingers into their eyes. When I did years of training in Jeetkunedo Concepts I quickly learned that one of the best reality based self defense techniques I could ever use was none other then the eye gouge. It is a simple move and has devastating consequences to the person who is attacking you. It causes temporary or permanent blindness and extreme pain. If you need to protect yourself, try using this self defense move!
Learn martial arts moves #3 – Smash your attacker into his kneecaps. You can cause permanent damage or more specifically break his knee cap. It is an easy strike and what you want to do is smash through it with your foot and breaking his knee joint. If anything this will cause pain and hold back an attacker being able to chase you as fast and quickly as he could if not for you using this move.
Be sure that you memorize and use all these techniques and incorporate them into your street self defense and martial arts moves. They work in street based scenarios so be sure to practice and improve your training. Be sure to do daily physical activity and training to be prepared for violence! Continue improving your education and skill levels of martial arts. Be sure to eat properly and maintain your physical health. I hope you have learned something from this article.
Jason Mecier is a mixed media artist that has spent over 10 years making three dimensional mosaics of pop icons. Every portrait is created from discarded items that come directly from the celebrities themselves. Working and living in San Francisco, Jason Mecier wishes ultimately to trade his art with Jane Seymour, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Marilyn Manson whose watercolors are available for sale on his website.
Among the mixed media art that he creates, Jason Mecier offers his rendition of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Created on a panel, the wide array of Elviras refuse has been put together to create not only a very close likeness, but a piece of art that any Elvira fan would enjoy. The background is created from the line of Halloween makeup that has the Elvira likeness and name attached. Made up of false nails, spiders, comics, bracelets, tubes and even a remote control, Elvira stands striking the pose so many fans know her for.
Willie Nelson is another of Jason Meciers mixed media art portraits. Made of objects such as paperclips, buttons, a feather, leaves, a die and even a plug, this portrait resembles the star whose trademark black shirt is made of roofing tiles. With wood as a backdrop, this piece could be hung on the walls of any fan or collector of Jason or Willies pieces.
Jason creates a likeness of Donald Trump in the next piece, whose background is made up of the likeness of one hundred dollar bills. A bow tie made from hair clipper guards, jacket including a remote control and a shoe, even discarded bow ties from Mr. Trump make up this fantastic image. An old cordless home phone, a hairspray can, Colgate can and an H. Urmann cigar tube are all included in this masterpiece. Cell phones, plug wires, shells and circuit boards along with the artistic touch of Jason Mecier, is all it takes to create the Trump in your home.
Phyllis Diller, the comedienne of days gone by is recreated in this stunning likeness by Jason Mecier. O a 70s inspired flowered panel, Phyllis Diller is in life a creation of mixed media art. This piece is made from many items including a Tabasco sauce bottle, doll torso, lipstick applicator, toothbrush, beads and baubles as well as perfume bottles and a matchbox from the St. Francis and scotch tape dispensers. Mecier outdone himself on this piece, as it is hard to pin down the woman in life, and depicting her in art is rarely done correctly. This piece is not only a tribute to the woman, but to Jasons hard work and determination in perfection.
When it comes to depicting the life of the rich and famous in mixed media art, it seems as though this artist has all the bases covered. From reclaimed materials and personal items to arrangement for creation of his pieces, Jason Mecier has created his own personal niche in the art world in the form of sunglasses and gum wrappers.
In the “old days,” it was not unusual for jugs of water, bags of rice, and buckets filled with sand to be incorporated into a number of different workout programs. Nowadays, we’re fortunate enough to have access to an excellent selection of martial arts equipment. Because of the effective usage of such equipment, it becomes possible to achieve the most from a structured class or private training.
Of course, this could raise questions regarding the type of martial arts equipment is necessary for the “average” workout. Again, there’s enormous variety available. Below is a brief overview of the martial arts equipment you’ll commonly encounter. Nearly all of it is a must for virtually every martial arts practitioner regardless of style.
Certainly, the common punch bag is a clear must in a dojo or training hall. Punching bags not just give you a definitive target to direct your blows towards. Such bags enhance the possibility to develop solid endurance and cardiovascular conditioning. You can find great variety among the many different punching bags available and they include:
Standard Boxing Size: These would be traditional boxing bags that mimic the shape and size of the torso. They’re primarily for the purpose of punching but mid-line and high line kicks are generally effectively trained on these bags as well.
Banana Bags: Most are thinner punching bags which are the size of the human body. The lower region of the punch bag permits the effective training of leg kicks, knees, and also other strikes.
Light Bags: Light punching bags are low weight (about 1/3 the weight and size of a punching bag) and are designed mainly to give resistance to jabbing style punches as well as hook and uppercut line blows. Some even make use of a lightweight punch bag to train headbutts!
Punching bags may be hanging bags that are affixed to various “hooks” in the ceiling or they may be freestanding. Freestanding bags are, essentially durable base mounts. Such bags are significantly more expensive than a number of the traditional hanging bags but they are much easier to move and store.
While hitting the heavy bag is really a must for effective training, you really do need to hit it in as safe a manner as possible. This will likely require the proper protective gloves essential for hitting an impact target. Including all manner of impact targets – heavy bags, focus mitts, shields, and Muay Thai pads. The knuckles inside the hand are quite small and fragile bones. For this reason reliable gloves – whether they are traditional 12oz, 14oz, or 16oz boxing gloves, boxing bag gloves, or mixed martial arts lightweight finger free gloves – must be worn when hitting a heavy punch bag. For those that enjoy sparring with “point karate” gloves, be mindful of the fact that such gloves aren’t manufactured for hitting impact targets. They will not provide you with the adequate protection you require for such training. Stick with using them for light contact sparring instead.
As most martial artists realize, the hands are not the only area that require protection which explains why a substantial amount of martial arts equipment will provide protection to the feet. Shin pads and point fighting footwear are two of the most common. Some may assume that such equipment is only used in sparring. In actuality, wearing when hitting impact targets is advisable too since this can protect the lower extremities and nerve endings from damage. Really, the perennial running theme here is that most martial arts equipment is intended to enhance safety. Obviously, you can also get some items that serve other purposes as well and they’re well worth a look at too.
Stretching devices can be employed to help you extend the range of motion in the leg ligaments. This will definitely prove helpful for people who would like to enhance their kicking flexibility. Similarly, the “old school” Eagle Catcher is a perfect spring action handheld device designed to build up a great level of gripping stretch. The classic makiwara pad has long since been used to toughen the hands in traditional karate training. Similarly, the kung fu wall bag is a fantastic asset for developing strikes common in the Chinese martial arts. Such older and more traditional training aids definitely have their place in a modern world which is becoming more and more noted for its sportive approach to training. But, whether you are practicing for competition or traditional self-defense, you will need equipment that helps facilitate your goals.
Regardless of the type of martial arts equipment you purchase, you want to make sure it is from a reputable name brand manufacturer. Some will make the error of buying more affordable equipment from a “no frills” manufacturer. Rarely is such equipment worth much of anything. Not only will cheap equipment not deliver on expectations, it can put the user at an injury risk. Certainly, that would not be helpful in any way whatsoever. Keep with reliable name brands for your martial arts equipment needs. Such an approach will assuredly prove significantly more helpful in the end.
There are 3 things you must do every week – and sometimes every day in every class – to make sure your martial arts school thrives. Those 3 things are:
Bring in new students
Retain the students you have
Get more from your students
It is critical to the survival of your school that you block off time every week to focus on these 3 things. This might be 1 hour or 1 day. It might be to create a new class, new marketing program or for education in martial arts management to make sure you are growing as a martial arts school owner.
Marketing
You should be setting aside time every week to work on growing your school. This does not mean you have to create a brand new marketing plan every week. One week each month you can focus on education. Just like learning martial arts – you are constantly learning new things, right?
The same applies to marketing. Pick up a book, read a blog, read the business section of the newspaper. You have to learn the basics and continue to learn and grow in marketing as well.
Student Retention
Student retention is vital to any martial arts school. If you get 3 new students but 4 leave then you have not just gone back by a count of 1 youve actually gone back by 4 because had you retained those students you would now have a total of 7 students.
Each week you should be doing things to ensure your students are going to stay in your program as long as possible. This could be sending out birthday cards, writing a school newsletter, offering special workshops, learning more about the student and their family to build a stronger relationship, the list is almost endless.
Internal Marketing
The last item, internal marketing, is one that is often forgotten. Yet it is critically important.
What most small business owners, and most martial arts school owners, fail to understand is that it takes a whole lot more effort and money to find a new client then it does to sell again to an existing client.
To get a new student you must spend a lot of time and money finding them and convincing them that your school is what they are looking for and need.
It takes much less time and money to sell your current students on a Saturday workshop, or sell them a T-shirt, or get them to take private lessons.
You Are Not Alone
You do not have to take on these tasks all by yourself. There are many places you can get information to cut down your learning curve or save time and money by using existing materials.
You can get books on marketing, you can ask other martial arts school owners what they do, you can join online forums in places like LinkedIn, or fan pages on FaceBook, you can purchase materials from martial arts business or management companies.
International Martial Arts Management Systems, (IMAMS) is one such place. We offer a system that is created of training modules that consistently brings in 4, 5, maybe 10 students every month. We have modules for student retention and many many ways to help you with internal marketing.
The job of pastry bakers is no longer limited to turning raw ingredients into baked treats. Instead it extends to quantity bakery production, labour cost controls, purchasing for commercial kitchen, menu planning, practices of nutrition, and human resource planning.
Traditionally, pastry bakers were expected to just bake pastries, cookies, breads, cakes and chocolates. However, times have changed. Now, the industry offers them more legitimate career options in the areas of supply management, hospitality management, human resource planning, and sanitation, hygiene and safety, marketing of baked goods, and kitchen management.
The professionals are now required to have excellent baking skills combined with strong business acumen. They should be able to work in state-of-the-art kitchens, while using the latest equipments and ensuring their smooth transition into the workforce. They are not only required to bake cakes and pastries, but are also expected to innovate and bring a new product or concept to the market.
Baking Arts Management Programs
Prospective pastry bakers in Canada are required to go through a formal and intensive training in baking arts management before entering the world of work. In fact, this is considered as the basic requirement to pursue an entry level job in the industry.
Previously pastry bakers were trained on-the-job and paid decently after several years of hard work. However, nowadays, structured post-secondary educational programs are available in Canada with the colleges of repute.
Bakery arts management programs are designed to provide students with the skills to effectively manage commercial bakery outlets. They learn to expand their knowledge of baking and produce commercial quantities of breads, muffins, cakes, pastries, pies, rolls, sweet dough and savoury. They also learn to mange product costs, labour costs, purchase and storage of materials, product marketing, hiring and managing personnel.
Program Details
Centennial College’s baking program runs for two years and offers a unique blend of classroom learning, hands-on baking lab and an individualized internship with industry partners. The program focuses on helping students develop pastry baking arts and business management skills.
The post-secondary program in baking arts covers a wide range of subjects including
– Baking and pastry arts theory and practical
– Hospitality accounting
– Sanitation, safety and hygiene
– Quantity bakery production
– Principles of food, beverage and labour cost controls
– Principles of hospitality management
– Purchasing for commercial kitchen
– Human resources management
– Marketing strategies
– Principles and practices of nutrition for culinarians
– Supervisory practices for Kitchen Manager
In addition, the program lays a strong emphasis on professional communication, report writing, mathematics for bakers, and knowledge in computers.
Benefits of Baking Programs
The graduates of baking arts programs are capable of
– Working on the latest baking equipments
– Producing baking goods in large quantities
– Managing commercial bakery outlets
– Managing materials purchase and storage
– Marketing baked products effectively
– Hiring and managing personnel at a commercial bakery
– Ensuring sanitation, safety and hygiene
They can find employment with hotels, restaurants, retail pastry outlets, bistros, resorts, camps, department stores, supermarkets, and other related businesses. The graduates can also start their own pastry establishment.
Students looking for better job prospects can also consider studying further by enrolling into advanced bakery arts program with associated universities.