I was in second grade and excited to begin the new school year. When I tried to greet two new students, both large boys, they stared at me and burst into sarcastic, menacing laughter, taunting me with the derogatory term “chocolate boy.” As days passed, other students took up this taunting, and it later moved to physical intimidation. I had a clear sense that danger was imminent, and I began to feel a terrible sense of vulnerability. It was at this point that I decided, after my parents’ suggestion, to learn some form of martial art as self-defense. I researched many forms of martial arts until I stumbled across a Japanese form known as Daito-Ryu-Aikido (The Great Eastern Art). This is an ancient art of self-defense based on expert …show more content…
He then explained that this art form originated 1000 years ago in Japan by peaceful farmers and was later adopted by the more spiritual Samurai, or Bushi in Japanese, to protect their emperor. For many centuries, this art form remained a closely guarded secret, until Sokaku Takeda brought it to worldwide fame in the early part of the Twentieth …show more content…
During my sophomore and junior years, I noticed that I was not feeling well most days because I would be physically tired and mentally sluggish. I realized that my grades were also starting to drop a bit and I did not know what was happening. Yet, through the years of experience of my training, I knew that worrying about what was wrong is not what a student of Daito-Ryu-Aikido worships. Four months ago, I did a blood test and the results came back showing that I had an adverse condition of Hashimoto’s disease, which caused my ill health. Yet, my training taught me to persevere through tough times and improve for the better. From the medical anuales of my condition, the doctor’s reviewed my academic history and were shocked to see how I still kept above average grades and achieve National Merit Commendable status with the condition I was suffering
Many students who are enrolled in FFA are already heading in the right direction to a bright future. FFA has many career benefits within the program. Any of the career development events (CDE’s) have something that will tie to a career in agriculture or to a career of other sorts. According to the National FFA Organization, “FFA members embrace concepts taught in agricultural science classrooms nationwide, build valuable skills through hands-on experiential learning and each year demonstrate their proficiency in competitions based on real-world agricultural skills”(“Statistics”). There are so many careers that tie into FFA, and many of them have to do with agriculture. Not every career that has to do with agriculture is about farming. There are so many different aspects of the agriculture industry that many people never think twice about. Most people are not interested in agriculture because they think it is just about farming or
The elegance of the Katana stems from its shape and the method used to create it.
The teasing, unfortunately, continued as I tried to get away from them heading to the back of the school. Jacqueline soon began chasing them away but their shouts only grew louder. Notwithstanding to hear their words anymore, I decided to go inside the building and report it to my reading teacher, Ms. Garza. I had cleared my face by the time I reached her room and entered with determination to end my own bullying. The word rushed out of mouth like lighting as new tears appeared in eyes. Ms. Garza’s face turned from concern to anger as she asked me to name everyone who had been teasing me. Reassuring me that my hair was beautiful, she set me off to go home. I kept on with the fear of having to face them the next day.
There is more to Japan than kimonos and sushi. This unique and creative culture is only known for the stereotypes media associated with that country. In response to that, a critical question to ponder is “How is Japan influenced by the demographic imperative?”. With that mentioned, I argue that Japan remains culture that focuses on tradition while accepting and adapting to ideologies of Western culture. To begin this essay, a brief history of two major events that impacted Japan will be discussed to get a better understanding of its current ways of living today. After that will follow a section of cultural identity and the basis of Japanese culture. Lastly, an analysis of demographics will be given to conclude the essay.
From the first day I walked in I was a target. I was small, skinny, had big glasses and my two front teeth looked like Bugs Bunny teeth. To make things even more worse I stuttered badly. The kids would tease me calling me ugly and skinny and always pushed me off the slide during recess. I was confused as to why I was being treated this way and I tried my hardest to fit in. I followed behind everything that everyone did, I played the games that everyone else found fun to play and I laughed when everyone laughed even when I didn't think what they were laughing at was funny. I just wanted to fit in. One particular bully I remember well was a girl named Kahdijah. She was the main reason I hated going to school everyday, because of her mean words , hateful stares and the times when she would hit me. I constantly let her walk over me because I was afraid to stand up for myself. I didn't know what to say or how to say it and I was scared to hit her back because she might hit me even harder. On top of that my teacher wasn't any help. She would hear the teasing and just tell the class to quiet down instead of coming to my defense. Well that one day in class is where I had enough of the
Park states that “Taekwondo put priority on the kick techniques as it was related to the Taekkyeon in terms of techniques and this shows that the traditional martial arts of Taekkyeon were passed down to Taekwondo”(Park 979). It makes sense that they would use kicks because Korea is mountainous. Their legs were the strongest part of their body already so they just had to convert that strength they used to climb mountains into strength to kick. Taekwondo is derived from Subak and Taekkyeon which mixes hand techniques with high strikes with the leg. Subak is a Korean martial art that utilizes punches, kicks, and throws. Taekkyeon also uses many of the same techniques as subak, with punches, and kicks. The combination of these two arts is the basis of Taekwondo. Another cultural aspect of Taekwondo is acupuncture and moxibustion. Korean people believed that acupuncture and moxibustion helped the flow of Ki throughout the body and that they were integral to becoming an accomplished martial artist. These two medicinal practises developed alongside traditional Korean martial arts and became part of Taekwondo
The techniques were kept secret and passed down to only specially chosen disciples. It was taught to martial artists after it became evident that it gave them an advantage, but it was still kept secret so that the enemy couldn’t use it.
I was thirteen when it happened. With a broken fist, displaced jaw, and a smug face, I walked into the living room. I was in agonizing pain, but I enjoyed it. I enjoyed every second of it, as it was the day I showed the bully that I wasn't just another flower child, I was a lion who would tear him down if need be. Tears rushing down her cheeks, my mother rushed me to the hospital, worried sick. She asked, “WHY?” to which I proudly replied, “Because it needed to be done”. This was the day I stood up to a bully. Even though I knew I couldn't win, I had nothing to lose. We exchanged blows, we cried in pain, we fought till one of us fell. Since then, neither me or my friends were ever bullied, we were free.
Have you ever wondered what the benefits of exercise were besides a healthy body? Well exercising helps the brain, decreases stress, and even increases your memory. The article “Exercise Builds Brawn--and Brains” by Esther Landhuis is about exercising just 20 minutes a day to improve your memory and brain skills. The second article “Strong Body helps The MInd” by Stephen Ornes is about exercising for longer periods of time and less frequently to decreases stress and depression. Though long strenuous exercise can build muscle and fight stress and depression, shorter and less frequent exercise is better to help the brain in memory and stress.
Aikido was first created approximatly 80 years ago by Morihei Ueshiba, and took a great many techniques from Jujitsu, Judo and Kenjutsu and modified them. Ueshiba focused on forming a martial art that placed a great emphasis on moral and spiritual values as well as a system of techniques that would integrate with the philosophy of Aikido.
Annually in the United States, millions of students are bullied in school with their grades ranging from kindergarten to twelfth grade. In school, bullies will target students who they have perceived as weak. A chosen victim will be most likely unable to defend themselves against a bully. Although a bully may seem confident and sure of themselves, he or she is most likely to feel insecure, jealous, and inferior to others; therefore, they will be continuous pick victims to make themselves feel more powerful. Because of this behavior, victims could be subject to verbal, physical, and emotional abuse for long periods of time. Being subject to abuse over a long period of time, a bully’s victim can develop depression, become socially isolated, and
Teens are always told, “You’re NOT alone. It’s NOT your fault” when they are dealing with drawbacks (“Are You Being Bullied?”). The quote demonstrates a child’s mindset when they are being bullied. This could be prevented with a self-defense course because the child would be able to have opportunities to physically interact with peers. When students enroll in self-defense, they would have a partner or partners that they practice with. They have to learn different situations and techniques with each other and are also forced to problem solve together. This increases social activity and cooperation which lacks in many classrooms. Moreover, students learn to respect one another and their abilities which is also very useful when working on a classroom project or activity. Dr. Gong Chen, a professor of San Jose’s State University’s department of Kinesiology, and author of five published self-defense books, noted that throughout a study on student training, the students showed respect to the adults and their peers. At the same time, they also improved collaboration in the classroom (Sethna). Learning self-defense not only teaches students to be respectful of one another but respectful of everyone whether it is a teacher, parents, or younger child. Furthermore, learning self-defense teaches children how to be self-disciplined. This can be used for them needing to do their homework or accomplishing life
Unknown Author, (4 Oct. 2000). "What is Wushu?". Electronic Text. (1999) 4 par. Available http://www.uswushuacademy.com/Wushu%20History.htm
There are many historical aspects of the Japanese, but the most interesting is the history of the Samurai. In Japans history war played a large role in the country. Controlling clans fought for parts of the land and overall control of the country. These clans were powerful families that resided in the country and who all wanted power and control of Japan for themselves. The families that would be in control were known as Shoguns. These shoguns would have warriors that fought for them if any of the other clan families would try to attack him in order to overthrow him and take his power from him. The Samurai followed a code that developed from Chinese beliefs when in battle. The Samurais code was known as the Bushido. This code was also known as “The Way of The Warrior” which was the main belief s...
Bullying is an unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real perceived power imbalance (“Bullying”). Bullying can be extremely harmful both physically and emotionally to any individual. It can be so insensitive to the point where it can make people feel embarrassed, uncomfortable, sad and angry. It can also be painful to the body if the bully attacks the individual causing bodily harm such as bruises, cuts or even broken bones. Studies have been found that bullying may cause depression, absenteeism, poor academic performance, or all of these (“Bullying”) because they are contently over thinking the situation and the possibility of being harmed. Approximately 32 percent of students report being bullied at school, leading students to most likely bring a weapon to school (“School Administrators”) because they think that is the only way they have of...