Applied Kingfu

While the UFC has certainly upped it's talent pool with the addition of many fighters from the Pride Fighting Championships, the UFC welterweight division has always been deep in talent. In fact, our top two fighters each hold wins over each other and our #3 fighter holds the title. Hold on for a bumpy ride as I try to justify my top five UFC welterweight rankings. 5. Jon Fitch is #5 on my top UFC welterweight list. While the UFC marketing machine has been busy promoting Diego Sanchez and Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch has been slowly building what is the best record in the welterweight division. In fact, Fitch has not been defeated since 2002. He's beaten Luigi Fioravanti, Thiago Alves, Josh Burkman...

Developed in the former Soviet Union and recognized as an official sport by the USSR All-Union Sports Committee in 1938, Sambo is a modern martial art. It is most definitely a combat sport and also a self defense system. Sometimes referred to in the USA as Sombo, Sambo literally means "self-defense without a weapon" and has its roots in folk styles of wrestling like Mongolian Khapsagay, Armenian Koch and Georgian Chidaoba. Although there is no real recognized founder of Sambo, Anatoly Kharlampiev is often officially stated as being the founder. Vasili Oshchepkov, who was shot during the political purges of 1933, and Viktor Spiridonov, due to a shoulder injury during the Russo-Japanese war, used...

Another issue to be addressed is that some of the historical background on many of the practices are based on specific exercises and postures that were created to facilitate specific energetic processes and little explanation other than to just do the exercises is commonly taught to beginners. High level Chi Kung skills like so many other advanced practices can require years of dedication and practice to develop and many potential students of Chi Kung start because they see a demonstration or hear about a high level skill and desire to learn it. Unfortunately, many Chi Kung teachers feel that the beginner must earn the right to learn the real material and see little reason to give any incentive to...

Get into a good martial arts school that teaches you how to survive! Don't spend years learning useless forms or how to use weapons that were popular in ancient societies. Who carries around a staff or sword in the real world? Find a school with a curriculum that emphasizes overall fitness, self-defense, and survival! Most martial artists will tell you that your chances of surviving abduction once an attacker gets you into his car are slim to none. Their advice is to fight for your life because statistics show that the consequences are grim. On Wednesday, July 28, 2004, Larissa del Mar Fiallo, Miss Dominican Republic, was assaulted by two men who tried to kidnap her in the parking lot of a...

This is easily director Ronny Yu's best film since THE BRIDE WITH WHITE HAIR. He's had success here in the states with BRIDE OF CHUCKY and JASON VS. FREDDY but those type of popcorn flicks can in no way compare to the scope and pathos of his latest film JET LI'S FEARLESS, the true story of Chinese Martial Arts Master Huo Yuanjia (Jet Li) who was the founder and spititual guru of the Jin Wu Sports Federation. With action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping returning to help Li with some of the most amazing fight sequences since HERO, this film is anything but non-stop action (the two previously worked together on FIST OF LEGEND, BLACK MASK, and most recently on UNLEASHED). This is not to say that fighting...

The usual concept of pruning is to trim evergreens to maintain their natural lines, to remove dead wood, and to clip for the purpose of increasing the density of the plants. However, the heritage of a different type of training has come to us through the centuries. There are three definite methods other than the ordinary pruning procedure for attaining unusual, and in many instances, charming effects. These methods of training are espalier, bonsai, and topiary work. Espalier The art of training woody ornamentals on a support such as a wall, trellis, or fence is known as espalier. In European gardens this practice stemmed from the necessity of utilizing every available space for planting purposes...

There once was a time when boxing ruled the sports landscape. The heavyweight champion was the most feared and famous athlete on the planet. Boxers like Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and Mike Tyson were household names throughout the world. However, over the last decade, a sport with history and honor has lost its popularity to upstart sports like mixed martial arts (MMA). The decline of elite fighters in the heavyweight division and the lack of knockouts have led many young men to look for action and excitement in sports like MMA. Because of the decline of boxing, mixed martial arts has taken over and has become the sport of choice for the age 18-34 demographic and put the Ultimate...

Qigong is being used as part of the Traditional Chinese Medication in preventive and therapeutic health care. Qi is seen as the vital energy in one's body to maintain life. Qigong will train one to work on physical to control and exercise this energy for own good or if becomes an expert, one can even use qi for treatment. Qigong is part of TCM based on Taoism. Qigong has two types "soft" and "hard" qigong. "Soft" qigong is called inner qigong or soft qigong such as Taiji. One sample of hard qigong is the famous Shaolin kungfu. Medical qigong involves qi exercises combined with meditation. The qi exercises will bring one to a state of meditation. Distress and anxiety will be driven away during the...

Go Orlando Cards are the smartest way to spend your holiday in Florida. With the help of this card one can visit several parks on the single payment. The flexibility of this card is suitable to every individual. You have to decide for how many days you are going to purchase the cards as the price of the Go Orlando Cards depends on the number of days. After the first activation of the card, you can use it for 14 days non-stop regular visit to the selected parks. Over 50 Orlando attractions can be seen by producing your card for general admission to the theme parks. Since all of the attractions are included, you can change your mind and your schedule at any time. Great value and unlimited flexibility...

Like the Loch Ness Monster of Scotland, China has its myths and legends of dragons, some helpful and benevolent, and some not so. Of the evil variety, there's one that's been slain on stages around the world during the 2006 NTDTV's Global Chinese New Year Spectaculars. The performance is called "Nine Swords," and it obviously was one of the audiences' favorites as it receiving roaring applause. I hope NTDTV will bring this performance back in its 2007 shows for it's a drama worth seeing repeatedly as it is more than a myth or a legend. The evil red dragon symbolizes the specter of communism in China and its brutality of repression and bloodshed. And in a ritual drama nine dancers from the New Tang...

Success at home, work or on the mat is what drives all of us. Sooner or later, you're going to want something more. It's in our very nature to succeed. It is a primary survival instinct. The benefits of success are obvious. Sense of accomplishment, self worth and self-actualization are a few. Other, less obvious by-products are confidence and attitude. While these feelings help to drive us and are our eventual goals and reasons to be successful, they do little in helping us become successful. They are psychological effects of accomplishment. The real technical growth, the real "nuts and bolts" lay in every setback and every failure. Vince Lombardi said, "Show me a good loser and I'll show you a...

Celebrities, for the most part, stand the test of time. Once they become stars, they remain stars until the day they die and even beyond. But there is another type of celebrity. This kind is known as the "fleeting celebrity". They are said to have their "15 minutes of fame", which was a phrase coined by the late Andy Warhol. Our culture has seen a number of these 15 minute wonders. We're going to take a look at just a few of them here. Why don't we start off with two for the price of one? Remember quite a few years ago when a 16 year old girl by the name of Amy Fisher had an affair with a guy by the name of Joey Buttafuco? Amy ended up shooting the guy's wife in the head and ended up going to prison...