Martial Arts

My Tae-Kwon-Doe instrutors

Martial Arts literally means the art of war. The human race always needed this skill to defend themselves. Nowadays, more than defense, it is used as a way to stay fit and be disciplined in life. There are several forms of Martial Arts such as, Karate, Tae-Kwon-Doe, and Tai-Chi. 

Most Martial Arts originated in China, Japan, and South Korea. Karate mainly originated in Japan. Karate focuses primarily on striking. Punching kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-hand techniques are all part of Karate. Another Marital Art type is Tae-Kwon-Doe. It's origin is in South Korea. I take Tae-Kwon-Doe, which focuses on kicking and punching. One last Martial Art method is Tai-Chi. Originated in Japan, Tai Chi is very slow moving, and is only a demonstration competition in the Olympics.

My own journey of Tae-Kwon-Doe started when I was six-years-old. I thought on my first day that I would learn how to do a back flip, instead I learned that Tae-Kwon-Doe was much more than crazy tricks. It was hard work and took a lot of courage to keep going. Now that I have reached first degree Black Belt I learned to have a "respect all, fear none" attitude.  I thank all my teachers and Tae-Kwon-Doe instructors for helping me achieve this remarkable feat. This has enhanced my respect for all my teachers.

One thing that i have always enjoyed is watching movies based on Martial Arts.
Martial Arts and movies are not alien to each other. Martial Arts have been involved in movies for a really long time. Karate Kid is one of the best known but there are others like  The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, or  Enter the Dragon. Enter the dragon was Bruce Lee's final film before he died on July 20, 1973. The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, is a movie that stars Gordon Liu and Lo Lieh. Two not-so common names of Karate stars.


What type of Martial Arts would you like to join?

Election

At the time this blog is being written, the election seems to be in favor of the Republicans. This is going the way many people, and channels have predicted! Republicans only need 10 seats to take control of the Senate, but analysts have predicted that they won't win. But in the House, analysts are pretty sure that they will win as they only need 39 seats. If the Republicans are in majority in House or Senate, there will be no bills passed for the next two years as the President holds the veto power to reject any bill that he doesn't like. Also, to get a bill to the President both houses need to pass the bill and that will not happen as Republicans will be in majority in one and Democrat will be in other.

Only way out is if Republicans and Democrats work together in the interest of the people and the nation. But that's a big "IF" and the real question would be then whether country can afford this gridlock at this point of time My fingers are crossed, what about you? Leave your opinion as comment.

Country of The Week

Every week I have decided to come up with the country of the week.The country of the week will include:

World Map

1. Background
2. Information
3. Cool site's to visit
4. A video of that country

After I post the latest country, you can leave a comment about which country you want me to do next week.Sometimes i might have a poll on the side asking you the country of the week. The countries will be picked in a random order, so don't think the first country I pick is my favorite country. Hope you learn something new.

Blogger's Cafe

Bloggers Cafe is really fun! You can do a lot of things there. Of course, there are some rules and regulations:

1. Eat first.             You cannot use the computers if you are eating.

2. Wash your hands           If the computers get dirty Mr.Poole will be very angry.

3. No fooling around.         Using the time you have in the Blogger's Cafe is a must.

You can do a lot of things at the Blogger's Cafe. Using the time you have efficiently would include doing your Techy Tuesday or blogging and editing your blog. Mr. Poole is there to help you with any issues.

The atmosphere at the Blogger's Cafe is very enticing. There is always some type of calm music playing. Mr.Poole himself prefers "hippie music" which amuses me because the music he plays is country. There are two sides one for eating and one for Blogging.

I think the Blogger's Cafe is really cool and that everyone should try it out. And if you need help Mr. Poole is there to help you out!

Does Patriotism still matter?

Does Patriotism still matter? First of all, what does the word “patriotism” mean? The dictionary definition of “patriotism” is devoted love, support, and defense of one’s country, but I feel that patriotism is much more than that. To me the word “patriotism” evokes a feeling of responsibility and reminds me of the words of John F. Kennedy “Ask not, what your country can do for you.  Ask what, you can do for your country.”  Be it a good time or a bad time, the country always needs you, so patriotism still matters and will always matter.

The spirit of patriotism keeps the country united, it brings people from different walks of life to work together to make the country better, stronger and prosperous. Although the symbolism of putting our right hands on our hearts and reciting the pledge of allegiance may add to the spirit of patriotism, the continuous fight for protecting our fundamental values is the real patriotism.

As our country stands for freedom, equal opportunity, and justice for all, these values must be protected at any cost. At the time of adversity these values get attacked by anti-American forces so we need to be vigilant at all times with a true spirit of patriotism.

On 9/11, our country was attacked by external anti-American forces. It was an attack on our freedom and everything that America stood for. Whole country came together and showed patriotism by supporting our government and our military to fight the enemy and at the same time we made sure that liberty of citizens of our country is protected.

Currently we are passing through another adversity. We are facing the worse economic downturn of our times. People are suffering and it is endangering the right to live happily. It’s again a time for us to show our patriotism for our country.  We need to help the needy by sharing. We need to work hard, innovate and transform so that we create more opportunities and put America back on top. To do this, we need strong desire and great ideas about what we can do for the country. So, patriotism still matters and will continue to matter.

As a sixth-grader of HHMS, I show my patriotism by saluting our national flag and paying homage to the fallen braves, but at the same time by listening to our current president, Barack Obama, to study hard.

This post was used to enter the Edublogger blogging contest>

Faveorite Book

 My favorite book is a book on football. The book is called Cover-Up Mystery at the Super Bowl by John Feinstein. I like this book because its by one of the best authors and because its in my favorite genre, mystery.

        This book takes place during present time in Indianapolis. The two main characters are Susan Carol Anderson and Stevie Thomas. Age wise they both are the same (14) but height wise Susan Carole is much more taller. The conflict is that the Dreams’ (one of the football teams playing at the Super Bowl) entire offensive line has taken a HGH drug. HGH is illegal in the NFL and players can be eliminated for taking it. Somebody has covered up the fact that they have tested positive and is now up to Susan and Stevie to prove it true.

        I recommend this book to whomever likes sports, mystery or both. To learn more about the book read it! Check this link out for the bookstore.

Schools

    Some schools in America need to be fixed, others, not so much. Schools can be fixed in two ways, education wise and it’s facilities. Although this is very important, to have fixed, the American people and leaders, I feel, are just not working hard enough to do so! For example, a school in Edison NJ had to cut it’s language program out to save money. This could have been opposed but people voted it because it would raise their taxes.
Did you know that the most expensive school in the country is in Los Angles? The Robert F. Community Schools has a price tag of 578 million dollars. The campus was once the Ambassador Hotel, where Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated during his run for president.  The Robert F. Community actually consists of six schools. The grounds have a pool, soccer field, a painting of the school’s namesake, a public park, theater, and more! The school has also over 4,200 students. This shows the effectiveness of working hard to create better schools.