Condition no handicap in pursuit of black belt

A woman who was born without arms or kneecaps is preparing to test for her black belt in taekwondo.

Sheila Radziewicz of Salem is to take her test next month at Bruce McCorry’s Martial Arts in Peabody.

The 32-year-old brown belt, who was born with thrombocytopenia absent radius, told The Salem News she has been training in martial arts for three years.

McCorry, her teacher, said that despite her condition, Radziewicz can use nunchucks and break boards with her kicks.

Radziewicz works as an advocate for victims of domestic violence.

http://www.kansascity.com

Self Defense Is the Best Defense

The world is becoming a very unsafe place to live in. Especially, women have to be on their toes at all times. When faced with a situation to defend yourself, do not expect a super hero to come to your rescue. Instead, learn to protect yourself. Self defense is the best form of defense and it is very essential for women. It does not mean that you must have a formal training in martial arts, like judo, karate, or taekwondo, although it is always good to learn any one of them. But, you should have an idea about defending yourself when being attacked.

Till the time you get trained in one of the martial art forms, there are self-defense products that will come to your rescue when you have to fend for your safety. The category includes stun guns, pepper sprays, personal alarms, and much more and is a non-violent method of defending yourself. Use them judiciously to ward off an attack, mugging, rape, or any other form of assault. To make the correct choice of self-defense products to suit your requirements, read on to know more about them.

Self-defense pepper spray is one of the most effective tools available in the market. It is an inflammatory agent made from very hot peppers and is available in the form of liquid stream, mist, foam, gel, or powdered grains. A shot from the personal defense spray immediately causes a sharp shooting pain. The veins in the eyes and the mucous membranes swell. The person can’t open his eyes and will find it extremely difficult to breathe. The effects are only temporary and last for about 45 minutes, a valuable time for you to escape. The self-defense pepper spray is available as key chains, holsters, pens, and cans that can be easily carried in a purse or pocket.

Self-defense stun gun is another easy-to-use and valuable product, which is more useful in close encounters. It is an electrical self-defense weapon that emits a high voltage and whichever muscle group it is applied to, is depleted of energy due to rapid expanding and contracting. This tool is completely safe for you to hold. While your attacker is left dealing with the shocking repercussions you can easily run for help.

Avis MBS

The Wrestler

The all-time list of great sports movies is not that long. “Rocky”, “Field of Dreams”, “Hoosiers”, “Raging Bull”, and “Bull Durham” stand out. Add “The Wrestler” to that short list.

Released early this year, the film realistically depicts an aging professional wrestler who should get out of the business for health reasons but does not because he lives for his fans, it's the only life he knows and he needs the money.

Professional wrestling is not true sport because the matches are fixed, but wrestlers are strong, agile athletes. The movie shows backstage camaraderie among the fighters that belies the brutal animosity they display in the ring. If you don't like to see blood, then you may not want to watch this gritty cinema masterpiece.

Mickey Rourke plays Randy “the Ram” Robinson, a star in the 1980s who didn't save enough money to retire and struggles financially. He gets by working small wrestling shows and part-time in a grocery store while living in a rundown trailer park.

During his heyday, he was hugely successful but now he is in his 50s and fading. Thanks to steroids and tanning salons he remains a great physical specimen, but the years of physical abuse have taken their toll on his heart and back. He also struggles emotionally, trying to reconcile with the daughter he abandoned and establishing a romantic relationship with a single 40-something stripper/mother.

Although the movie is about wrestling, the sport is only a vehicle to examine the human condition. As Dirty Harry said, “A man has to know his limitations.” As Jack Kerouac explained, “We have to move on to the later phases of our lives.” The Ram did neither.

While 50-some-year-old wrestlers and 40-some-year-old strippers are conceivable, 60-year-old wrestlers and 50-year-old strippers are, well, I don't want to imagine that.

“The Wrestler” is a modern day tragedy. The two main characters are both likable even though they do despicable things. They are deeply flawed, trapped in lifestyles and careers they chose for themselves decades earlier when their bodies were in their prime but now barely making it with their futures dim and dreams evaporating.

The movie is rated R for violence, sex, and drug use and is not suitable for young people.

I rented the DVD and watched it recently. With the movie still fresh in my mind, I now read that a former great football player is coming out of retirement, not to play football but mixed martial arts. Forty-seven-year-old Herschel Walker has signed with Strikeforce.

My first thought was, “Oh, no! He's too old!” He may be the best 47-year-old athlete in the world but he's still 47. MMA is real fighting, unlike professional wrestling. However, UFC superstar Randy Couture is 46 and look at him.

My second thought was, “Go for it, Herschel!” You only live once and want to accomplish as much as you can. See Brett Favre. Or Jason Tarkong.

Walker has a brown belt in taekwondo so is not completely unfamiliar with fighting. But the ending to “The Wrestler” is not pretty. I wonder if Herschel saw the movie. If he did, perhaps he would reconsider.

http://www.saipantribune.com/

Taekwondo to get rankings at last

After years of wrangling the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) has decided to implement a ranking system early next year. The intention is to make competitions and events more exciting to the public and the media, and will hopefully open up a range of marketing opportunities for athletes and the sport as a whole.

Along with the introduction of the ranking system, the WTF intends to launch a brand new annual competition to be held at the end of each year for the top 8 ranked athletes in each category, which will serve as a ‘champions championship’. The first of these competitions, provisionally called the Annual President Cup Invitational Tournament, will be held in December 2009.

At first glance the proposed ranking system seems cumbersome and complicated, but so far, a first glance is all we’ve got. According to the WTF, points will be awarded according to a formula: A (Points received according to the rank at the WTF-promoted or sanctioned championships) X B (Grade of pertinent tournaments) = final points.

The system will be applied to WTF promoted and sanctioned tournaments as follows: first placed athletes will receive 10 points, second place will receive 60% of 10 points i.e. 6 points and third place will receive 60% of 6 points i.e. 3.6 points. And then the fun starts. Points are valid for a two-year period and will be subject to a review every three months in a continuous process. During this two-year period, 25% of a particular set of awarded points will be deducted every three months, which means that when the two-year period is over no points from that set will exist.

Tournaments will be assigned an AAA, AA or A class ranking by a specially appointed Event Evaluation Committee according to the number of participants, technical level displayed and adherence to WTF rules and as such will only occur after the event.

It is hoped that the system will form the basis for a professional Taekwondo league, which will be of benefit to all Taekwondo participants; athletes as well as organisers.

Sandy Cosser
http://wtf.org/site/news/wtf.htm?realnum=237