Robert Jones asked:


Chances are, you are probably not a martial arts master, but if you think about it, there is no better time than now to start your training. I’m not going to smooth it over and say that it’s an easy journey or that if you start now you can be a full-fledged master in a year or two. It will probably take ten years and it will definitely take a lot of work for you to become a master of martial arts, but you’ll have so much to show for your accomplishment. Besides, the next ten years are going to go by no matter what you do, so why not use them to reach a goal? While you are training to become a master, you’ll begin to incorporate all aspects of the art, from the training and techniques to the tactics and history, into your life and it will change you life in ways that you couldn’t do any other way.

Physical Fitness

As you train to become a master of martial arts, you’ll learn that you need to always incorporate your entire body to control your movements. Unlike other physical activities that often use just one muscle set at a time, martial arts doesn’t require you to have different routines to work various muscle sets of the body. Besides, a great training program will have your exercises change and evolve with you so that you get the maximum out of every training session. By the time you become a master, your body will be extremely physically fit and, as a side benefit, you’ll have increased your health and lowered your risk of certain diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity. As a part of your training, you’ll also work on your flexibility. Regardless of your age or your current flexibility, martial arts will help you improve your overall flexibility and reduce your risks of injuries, increase your posture and help you be able to better relax your muscles.

Mental Fitness

You cannot train martial arts while zoning out, reading a magazine or watching a television program. To train martial arts, and especially to become a master, you’ll need to get and keep your mind and body in tune with one another. You’ll raise your awareness of your body and its abilities, but you’ll also increase your focus and concentration. This is necessary because you’ll need to make sure that you concentrate on every movement to make sure you don’t injure yourself or those around you. This necessary focus and concentration then carries over to other aspects of your life. As you train and increase these abilities, you’ll find out that your focus and concentration also increase on the job, at home and in other situations as well. Having your mind and body in tune with one another also gives you a clear sense of what you are capable of and increases your confidence because you know that you’ll be able to defend yourself physically and mentally. In addition to that, martial arts training is always changing which means you’ll never get bored and you’ll always have a challenge to look forward to. Mastering each new move challenges not only your body, but your mind as well.

Lower Stress Levels

While any type of physical exercise is a great stress reliever, regular practice of a martial art goes one step further. Physical exercise alone can reduce the physical effects of stress, but activities such as jogging, walking, biking or playing a sport don’t help you relieve as much stress as you could. The mental concentration and focus required to train martial arts can give your full stress relief in once activity. Becoming a master gives you the skills you need to handle stressful situations in all aspects of your life.

You might choose to train a martial art for many different reasons: to train for self-defense, for a fitness regime, to reduce stress, for mental discipline or to build self-confidence. Whatever your reason to start, you might as well set your sights to the highest goal within the art and strive to be a master. Ten years from now you’ll look back and may not even believe how it’s changed your life.



Caffeinated Content

Kimberly Chabot Davis asked:


Removable tattoos are not just for children anymore. They can offer adults the chance to experience having a tattoo without the painful and permanent consequences of a standard tattoo or the limitations of style and dress that also affect the tattoo wearer. Using removable tattoos as an accessory is becoming more and more popular precisely because of the freedom that they offer the wearer. What’s more, they also come in several varieties and can be swapped for another after the previous removable tattoo wears off or is taken off. This allows for more creativity and flexibility. This also means that the wearer can easily remove it if it clashes with work or school policy and put a fresh one on when they get back home or go out on the weekend. In essence wearing a removable tattoo affords the wearer a new sense of freedom about using their body to express themselves.

 

Removable tattoos offer the wearer a way to change the look of their body to suit their style of dress and feeling at will. Unlike permanent tattoos a removable tattoo offers the same range of options that many find in makeup and clothes. Although they are no longer as taboo as they once were there remains a sense of mystery and curiosity about the people who wear them. Embodying this spirit of rebellion and uniqueness allows the wearer to stand out and draw new interest from the people around them. In many ways a removable tattoo affords the wearer the ability to feel and look different for an evening without actually having to inhabit the persona they’ve taken on.

 

The customizable nature of removable tattoos makes them a much more preferable way to express one’s self than permanent tattoos. They can be readily applied and removed to better fit one’s mood and choice of clothing with a minimal amount of effort. Not only does this mean that you can wear them wherever and however you wish (unlike permanent tattoos which must often be able to covered in many work environments) it also means that you can completely remove them when you do not feel like wearing them. The limitations of cultural and conservative views no longer need to affect your ability to wear body art. A removable tattoo can be as freeing as you chose for it to be.

 

That being said, wearing removable tattoos can also act as an experiment in wearing body art before you get a permanent piece done. For many, the cost both personal and public of wearing a tattoo can prevent them from considering the idea valid although it interests them. Wearing a temporary tattoo allows them to better understand the reactions and other changes they might experience if they’d gotten a permanent tattoo without having to be totally committed to the idea for life. In this way wearing removable tattoos can act as a test run for the real deal down the road. If the experience is undesirable or better left as temporary they’ve at least had the chance to satisfy their curiosity.



Caffeinated Content